How Kurama Leads Naruto Astray

Naruto couldn't even remember how he ended up at the Hyuga Clan's residence. He also forgot that he could've asked Hinata where Team 8's meeting point was once she woke up. In short, he forgot everything—even his guilt toward Sakura. 

All his emotions, guilt, and anxiety condensed into one overwhelming feeling of confusion. Like a zombie, he moved forward in a daze, numb to the piercing stares of the Hyuga gate guards as they handed Hinata over to them. 

Then he bolted away. 

Kurama, unusually silent, hid deep within the sealed space, pretending he didn't exist. Even while Naruto was lost in confusion, Kurama stayed completely quiet, almost like he was sulking. 

Well, he wasn't actually sulking, just so stunned that he couldn't find the words to say. While he wasn't as bewildered as Naruto, he was definitely taken aback. 

He honestly didn't see it coming—Hinata, the shy girl who could barely speak a word without blushing, actually confessed her feelings while clinging to Naruto's back. Kurama, who had just finished hyping Naruto up with some motivational talk, didn't even have time to react before she swooped in. 

Kurama had a whole speech prepared, but now there was no point. Naruto wouldn't listen anyway. 

Naruto, who had grown up being scorned, beaten, and hated—who had even been rejected by Sakura—was confessed to by a girl. And the most shocking part? Kurama, with his ability to sense good and evil, could tell how genuine Hinata's feelings were. Naruto, influenced by Kurama, could sense it too. 

In that moment, Hinata's kindness shone so brightly that it practically blinded Kurama's fox eyes—no, his fox *self*. 

To be fair, Kurama had never seen anyone express such overwhelming kindness toward Naruto. Sure, Minato, Kushina, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Tsunade had shown kindness, but theirs was steady and enduring. 

Hinata's kindness in that moment, however, was something else entirely. 

Kurama couldn't even put it into words. 

In short: Hinata, you're a legend! 

Naruto clearly felt it too. Though not as sharply as Kurama, he could still distinguish kindness from malice. When Hinata confessed, he understood immediately—she wasn't joking. She was serious. 

And so, he froze. 

Hinata likes *me*? 

Naruto's brain felt like a tangled mess of string, spinning endlessly without finding the start or the end. The more he thought about it, the messier it became. All he could do was stare blankly at it. 

Lost in thought, Naruto somehow wandered back to the training grounds, where Jiraiya was sitting. Dazed, Naruto blinked at him. 

Jiraiya took a sip of sake and, seeing Naruto approach, instinctively scolded him: 

"You're slacking off? Do you know how long it took me to find you a suitable teacher? And you just ran off to slack?" 

Honestly, if Naruto hadn't seen Tsunade send Jiraiya flying into the hospital yesterday, he might've actually felt a little guilty. 

But that wasn't the point. The point was that his brain wasn't functioning well enough to process Jiraiya's words—or notice any flaws in them. 

"Huh?" Naruto stared blankly at Jiraiya. 

Jiraiya: "…" 

Shocking. The kid didn't snap back at him? 

Only then did Jiraiya notice something was off. He got up from the rock he was sitting on and walked over to Naruto, eyeing him curiously. 

"What's wrong with you? You look completely out of it." 

"I…" Naruto started to answer but stopped abruptly. 

He didn't want to say it. 

"Well? Spit it out," Jiraiya pressed, growing even more curious. "What could possibly rattle someone as carefree as you? Did you see a ghost?" 

"Perverted Sage..." 

Naruto didn't argue and instead said blankly: 

"Let's continue training. I need to master the Rasengan before tomorrow." 

Jiraiya: "..." 

Something's definitely wrong with this kid. 

Jiraiya crossed his arms and scrutinized him. 

"Judging by your state, does this have something to do with that girl named Haruno Sakura?" 

Kurama: 

"Spot on. Don't guess next time." 

Technically, it *was* related to Sakura. 

Technically, she *was* part of the reason. 

Technically... 

Yeah, no. This has nothing to do with Sakura. 

The real reason Naruto's like this is because of Hinata's sudden confession. 

Inside the sealed space, Kurama held back a smirk. 

"Naruto, you're not in the right mindset for training. I suggest you take a day off." 

Naruto, dazed: 

"Oh, then... I'll take a break today." 

Jiraiya, who had planned to guide Naruto's Rasengan training: 

"... Are you talking to me?" 

Naruto looked at Jiraiya. 

"Kurama, the Perverted Sage is asking if I'm talking to him." 

Kurama and Jiraiya: "..." 

Kurama facepalmed. 

"It's over. Naruto's CPU is fried." 

Jiraiya's expression turned numb. 

"I'm getting more and more curious about what happened to you. But looking at you now, you're clearly not fit for training. Go rest." 

Naruto's behavior was far from normal. 

He called Jiraiya "Kurama" and Kurama "Perverted Hermit." 

This wasn't just confusion—his brain seemed broken. 

"Okay, Kurama." 

Naruto replied to Jiraiya and then... 

Walked straight to the training ground to start gathering chakra, clearly preparing to train his Rasengan. 

Kurama and Jiraiya: "..." 

Jiraiya was full of question marks. 

In all his life, he'd never been left speechless as many times as he had today. 

Wasn't he supposed to rest? Why is he suddenly training again? 

He really wanted to drag Kurama out of Naruto's body and interrogate him. 

But Kurama couldn't leave, and they couldn't directly communicate. 

The only option was to have Naruto use Shadow Clones, release control of one, and let Kurama take over. 

But honestly, given Naruto's current state, Jiraiya doubted the kid could even understand what he was saying. 

Forget it. Let him do his thing. 

I'll ask others what happened later. 

Jiraiya nodded and watched Naruto gather chakra. 

After some thought, he decided he should still guide the kid. 

But before he could speak, a bright blue chakra sphere appeared in Naruto's right hand. 

It was perfectly stable, with almost no chakra leaking out except for the faint breeze it generated. 

Jiraiya's sake bottle fell to the ground. 

He rubbed his eyes hard and blinked repeatedly, stunned. 

"He... mastered it?" 

Yes, the bright blue sphere of chakra was a flawless, fully-formed Rasengan—pure and complete. 

Just yesterday morning, when Jiraiya had left Naruto, the boy was still struggling to gather chakra. 

How did his chakra control suddenly improve to this level? 

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