Naruto ignored the Shadow Clones. He raised his hands and looked down to examine his palms. Golden Chakra flowed at his fingertips, illuminating the lines on his palms with perfect clarity.
Previously, when channeling the Nine-Tails Chakra, whether in the initial rampaging state or the Four-Tails form, he had to use Absolute Control to suppress the will of hatred within the Nine-Tails Chakra.
But now was different. Nine-Tails's Chakra was given to him willingly, the hatred within had been retracted by Nine-Tails itself before entering his body. He only needed to receive the purest power itself.
"This is the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, or rather, Kurama Chakra Mode." Naruto muttered to himself.
He bent his knees slightly and his body turned into a streak of golden light, instantly appearing on the opposite bank of the pool.
It wasn't the Body Flicker Technique, nor was it the Flying Thunder God Technique. It was simply the most basic movement speed under Kurama Chakra Mode.
He raised his hand and spread his fingers toward the pool in front of him, a brand-new sensory ability unfolding.
Negative Emotions Sensing!
Completely different from his previous detection using Absolute Control paired with Chakra fluctuations, the Negative Emotions Sensing under Kurama Chakra Mode was a much higher level of sensory ability. He could perceive others' goodwill toward him, or sense any malice they radiated.
Naruto closed his eyes, expanding the range of Negative Emotions Sensing. There were no malicious Chakra sources in the forest surrounding the waterfall, only a few scattered gray traces that were likely nocturnal animals.
As the range expanded further to the edge of Konoha, he could feel a vast amount of goodwill Chakra scattered throughout the village, with a few being particularly prominent.
Iruka, Teuchi, and the three little ones of Konohamaru's group—none of them harbored any malice toward him.
Naruto retracted his Negative Emotions Sensing, and confirmed the maximum distance of his current perception. Supported by his massive Chakra reserves, covering the entire Konoha area posed no problem at all.
Then, he carefully checked the Chakra status inside and outside the barrier once more.
After the Kurama Chakra Mode was activated, all Chakra fluctuations were contained by the Sensory Suppression Barrier, and the external scans for any traces outside the barrier also came back completely clean.
There was no commotion in Konoha, everything in the village was normal. The Anbu were still stationed in their original spots, and Hiruzen's crystal ball was highly likely still focused on his snoring Shadow Clone.
Under this double protection, this awakening of Kurama Chakra Mode did not alert anyone at all.
"Though the outcome is good, it was still a bit risky." Naruto muttered.
His plan was originally to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique first, and once he had a basic grasp of it, find a wild area far from Konoha to fist-bump Kurama and attempt to unlock Kurama Chakra Mode.
He hadn't expected Kurama to be so moved by his sincerity that, in a sudden surge of emotion, it thrust all of its Chakra onto him, completely throwing his plans into disarray.
Fortunately, the Sensory Suppression Barrier and Absolute Control worked together flawlessly. Otherwise, the burst of Chakra from just now would have been enough to jolt awake every sensory ninja in Konoha. That would have been troublesome.
Immediately after, Naruto's consciousness sank back into the Sealing Space. It was still that same blue sky, white clouds, and grassland.
Kurama's massive body lay on the grass, but unlike before, its huge frame had visibly shrunk, and its once thick fur had become somewhat sparse. Its nine tails lay limply on the grass, not even bothering to flick.
Naruto walked over to its head, placed his hand on its furry snout, and frowned slightly. "Thanks, Kurama. I'm really sorry for making you look like this."
Kurama's eyelids twitched, opening a crack. "Hmph, I didn't expect you to actually pull it off either."
"Uzumaki Naruto... no, Naruto. Now that you possess my power, I hope you use it well. Save the cheesy talk. Just let me sleep for a while."
"Also, when you have time, don't just practice those flashy Ninjutsu. Although you have the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode now, your body hasn't fully adapted to the speed and power of this form. Make adapting to the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode your top priority. Otherwise, when you throw a punch, the first thing to shatter won't be your enemy's face, but your own knuckles."
"Additionally, now that you have my Chakra, you should also start learning the Tailed Beast Ball and a few basic Tailed Beast techniques. You have such a massive reserve of Chakra now, not having the matching means to release it is a waste."
"I got it, Kurama." Naruto nodded seriously.
"Also, remember, in this mode, you are using your own Chakra to control mine. Although your Chakra control is precise, your total volume isn't that large. Don't squander it recklessly just because you have the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode."
"If you run out, my Chakra will go out of control and you won't even be able to pull it back."
"I'll keep that in mind, Kurama." Naruto responded solemnly.
"Now that you know, get lost. I need to sleep for a while."
Kurama turned its head away, presenting the back of its head to Naruto.