Naruto: Systematic Shinobi

Chapter 168: Foxy - 6

"Boy," Kurama then turned his attention to Daiki once more, "I will not apologize for your parents, because I am not sorry. You should feel proud though, that the being they fell to was me, the mightiest and strongest of all!"

"That's fine," Daiki shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest, gleaming scarlet meeting crimson red, "Like I said, I don't blame you for it. It's just the way this world works, but I'll say one thing back and keep it mind. You won't be the strongest of the Bijuu for long. I'll make sure Isobu surpasses you."

Kurama blinked, "…I see, so it's like that, the fool." the giant fox shook his head, then erupted into great peels of laughter, pure amusement vibrating the very air, "A goal even more foolish than Naruto wanting to become Hokage, good luck with that!"

And then he roared and a wave of pressure swept over him and the world warped around him.

Suddenly, he was back in the physical world, Naruto held aloft in his hand by the throat.

Naruto's eyes regained their focus and he kicked wildly in his grip, forcing the boy to drop him. The blonde landed on his backside and rubbed at his throat.

'That…was interesting.' Daiki mused inwardly, the thick tails of chakra behind him flicking back and forth through the air idly.

'Quite…I was not expecting Kurama to be so…accommodating.' Isobu agreed, 'He afforded you…while not respect, at least a smidgen of courtesy in the matter of your parents.'

Yeah, he was not at all expecting Kurama's…while not comforting words or an apology, but at least

acknowledgement of him and the death of his parents at his hands.

'Yes, I believe your words to Naruto and not blaming him for his part in things and even believing him to be in the right with his actions, earned you a bit of good will with my sibling,' Isobu mused, 'I don't doubt he would still kill you without a second thought if it meant gaining his freedom, but it is a start I believe towards gaining his cooperation.'

Huh. And there he was not even aiming for that. He didn't think it would be at all that simple and wouldn't amount to much beyond a tiny starting point, but it was a gain without going for it in the first place that he would happily accept.

A cough drew him from his thoughts and he looked down to see the boy with a grimace on his face and looking up at him, "…Were you telling the truth?" Naruto asked, "About being the next Hokage?"

Ah, right. Naruto hadn't really believed him. But Kurama confirmed his words.

"Yeah," Daiki confirmed bluntly, "Because of what led me to meeting and sealing the Sanbi inside me, the old man believes I'd be a good candidate. Especially since with the full power of the Sanbi, I can fight on the level of the Hokage and protect the village. There's loads of requirements for being the Hokage, but the most important is being strong enough to do the job."

Naruto visibly grit his teeth and stood up, hands clenching into fists, "I thought there wasn't any shortcuts to being Hokage, yet you're telling me if I could use the fox's power, the old man would think of letting me be it?" he asked.

Daiki scoffed, "Hell no," he replied flatly, "Naruto, I told you there's more to it. You don't need to be the smartest or most knowledgeable to be Hokage and while strength is the most important, it has to be accompanied with loyalty to the village and the maturity to know what being Hokage actually means."

He uncrossed his arms and stared the boy directly in the eyes, "You're not stupid Naruto, but you're ignorant and you refuse to compromise, you don't understand the first thing about being a ninja never mind being the Hokage," he explained, "At you're core, you're too soft and you don't have the mindset needed to do what's right for the village above all else which the Hokage needs."

"…What…what do you mean I don't understand the first thing about being a ninja?" Naruto's hands flexed.

Daiki sighed. He couldn't blame him for not knowing. Daiki himself learned this lesson from Naruto himself when he was older after all.

"To be a ninja is to endure. That's what it means. You can't even truly endure being yourself, you constantly want attention, you lie awake at night wishing you had parents to love you, you yearn for affection. And you despair at being who you are and being a Jinchuuriki," Daiki told him and lifted a single hand and pointed at him, a finger of chakra extending from his own to poke him directly on the chest, over his heart, "Here's a little advice from me to you. Get over it. You've got this far without parents haven't you? You're strong, you don't need them. If you want love, don't look to the past for something that can't be, look to the future, find someone else to love you. Accept that the world is cruel and that people die. You can rage and cry about it, but then you have to move on."

With a thought, he dispelled the chakra cloak from around his body and stepped up to the blonde, his image in Daiki's vision being superseded by an older one in a red cloak for a brief moment, "And most importantly." he said as he thought about the Naruto whom he in another life had eagerly watched and held great love for.

"…Yeah?" Naruto trembled under his gaze, such was the weight of this moment.

"Be proud of who you are, there's nothing wrong with being a Jinchuuriki, even if you put aside what I told you earlier, without you, nobody could hold back the Kyuubi and it would have destroyed the Leaf Village, you protected this village so hold your head high," Daiki smirked, "Wear it like a crown, something you alone accomplished that nobody else did and it can't be used to hurt you. And always remember who you are. You're Naruto Uzumaki, the saviour of the Leaf, the Jinchuuriki of the strongest Bijuu and above all else an enduring ninja that no matter how many times you get knocked flat on your ass, will always stand back up."

"…Daiki…" Naruto bit his lip and tears began to bud in the corner of his eyes, "…Right, I…get you I think…"

Daiki clapped him on the shoulder and turned away, walking a few steps forward and reaching within himself once more. A familiar bubbling red cloak of chakra with three tails sprung into existence around him instantly.

"Now that we've got the heavy emotional crap out of the way, let's get down to business," Daiki looked over his shoulder with a smirk, "Bring out the Kyuubi's chakra, draw on it till you can form at least one tail, I'm going to teach you how to to use it properly. Oh, and use your sexy jutsu while you're at it."

"…Eh?" Naruto blinked at his words, the heavy emotion and tears in his gaze disappearing through the power of sheer confusion.