ABOUT THE SAME TIME
It all started with an unimportant taunt, something usual for both Naruto and the Kyuubi.
Naruto was complaining that he could not get past 7 Tails, and in a moment of complaining, he said.
'Damnit Fox, why is your chakra so difficult to control?'
'Don't complain to me, brat, it's the seal, either open it or get a new one.'
And well... That put a thought in Naruto's head, why not open it?
At this point, he considered the Kyuubi his friend, yeah sure, he was grumpy and constantly complaining, but after almost a year and a half of talking, he would say that they were friends.
Probably one of the closest friends he had, there was little the Kyuubi didn't know about him.
And besides a sarcastic comment here or there, the Kyuubi had held to it's side of the deal, even in hard fights, there had been no attempts to hijack his body or anything like that.
So, now he was thinking, hard, why not?
Kakashi-sensei would probably tell him it's a bad idea, so would Tenzo, and so would Tsunade-bachan.
But they didn't know Kyuubi, he did.
That led to Naruto siting down in a far away training ground, he focused, and with practiced ease, he focused on the connection he had with the Kyuubi.
And in an instant he appeared inside the sewer where Kyuubi was trapped.
The massive fox was laying down, lazily watching Naruto.
"Brat." He greeted lazily. "What do you want?"
Naruto walked up to the bars, staring at the giant Tailed Beast.
His expression was serious, and the Kyuubi seemed to notice, his attention fully focusing on Naruto.
"I am going to open the seal." He said firmly. The Kyuubi's eyes widened, and he got up in a flash.
"What the hell are you talking about, brat?" He snarled angrily. "Are you insane!?"
But Naruto ignored his words, walking forward with purposeful steps.
"Wait! Do you know what will happen when you open the seal?!" Kurama shouted, almost sounding nervous. "I'm going to take your body over!"
Naruto ignored him, reaching for the lock of the cage.
"Brat, are you stupid or something!?" The Kyuubi roared. "Think this through, I am not your friend, I hate all humans and I will destroy everyone you care about!"
The moment he touched the paper seal on the lock, he felt a presence flow through him, it was familiar, but weak, Naruto didn't have to guess for long, as a hand grabbed his wrist.
"You sure about this?" A voice said calmly, a man he recognized stood beside him now, his father, Minato, looked at him with a serious expression.
"I'm sure." He said firmly.
Minato sighed deeply.
"And what if you are wrong? What if the Kyuubi goes on a rampage? Do you think I can allow that risk?"
The grip around his wrist tightened painfully, and Minato's face turned cold.
This wasn't the kind father Minato, this was the Fourth Hokage who would sacrifice everything to save his village.
But Naruto didn't care, he stared his father down, resolve burning in his eyes.
"I'm not wrong." He pointed his thumb at his chest, face breaking into a confident smile. "I believe in him, and if you try to stop ill beat you up, ya know?"
For a second there was silence between the two of them, before Minato broke out in a grin, he let go of Naruto's hand.
"You're really stubborn, just like your mother." He said fondly. "Go ahead."
Minato disappeared, just as fast as he appeared, leaving nothing but a warm feeling behind.
Naruto grinned, and in a swift motion, he tore the seal off.
Immediately, he felt an explosion of energy rushing out, for once, the full energy of the Kyuubi was crashing through him.
The gates slowly opened, and for the first time, he and the Kyuubi stood face to face without any barriers.
"Brat... You're insane." The Kyuubi growled.
"No way!" Naruto said with a smile. "We are friends, right? I don't abandon my friends!"
The fox narrowed his eyes at him, before growling under his breath, taking a threatening step forward.
"I could kill you right now, earn my freedom back, I don't give a shit about your friends or whatever." He said in a low tone, slowly raising his claw. "I could crush you like a bug."
Naruto stood tall, looking up at the towering Tailed Beast without flinching.
"I trust you." He said simply.
In a single motion, the claw came down, with enough force to shake the ground around them.
But it landed right beside Naruto, missing him completely.
The Kyuubi stared down at him, for a long moment, but eventually, he sighed, lowering his head and bringing himself eye level with Naruto.
"You're an idiot, kid." He grumbled. "The dumbest person I have ever met."
Naruto grinned widely in response.
"Maybe..." He said, before reaching out and placing a hand on Kyuubi's nose. "But we are partners, if I can't trust you, then who can I trust?"
Sometimes, Naruto wasn't the smartest person, but he was confident he knew people.
"Hey, bastard fox, what's your name?"
***
AT THE SAME TIME AS THE SHINIGAMI FIGHT
"This sucks..." Naruto muttered as he sat around lazily, there was a big explosion, and he had been ordered to not leave the village, not even allowed to go train in one of the training fields outside the wall.
In Tsunade-bachan's words: 'If I catch you outside these wall, then I will break every bone in your body.'
It really sucked, especially because everyone else got to help, apparently the Hokage had called almost everyone that was available.
But they didn't ask him, Pervy sage and Kakashi-sensei both left, and even Tenzo had to go help, but not him!
Naruto rubbed his head and screamed.
"THIS SUCKSSSSS!"
'Brat...' A tired voice said from inside his mind. 'Shut up already.'
Naruto ignored the fox and kept on screaming, he was so bored.
'Seriously, brat, shut up!' Kurama growled angrily. 'Are you a child!?'
"But I'm so bored!" Naruto complained loudly.
Kurama scoffed.
'Just train.' He suggested in a tone that implied Naruto was stupid for not thinking of it himself.
"Yeah right..." He muttered. "I can't do anything cool inside the village..."
Naruto had never thought that being too strong was a problem, but now to actually train, he needed to leave the village, cause if he tried using Tailed Beast Chakra here, then everyone would freak out.
But then something happened.
The Chakra from Kurama increased, almost double what it was before, and Naruto noticed immediately.
"Hey! What the hell!?" He shouted in confusion, trying to rein in all the extra power. "What the hell are you doing!?"
But there was silence on Kurama's end, so Naruto immediately sat down and entered the mindscape.
The sewer was breaking, giant cracks were forming along its walls, the water was churning, and when he saw Kurama, he got his final surprise.
He was bigger now, almost double the size he was before.
"Holy shit!" Naruto exclaimed with shock.