How Kurama Leads Naruto Astray

*Top line: Clumsy-talking Uzumaki Naruto.* 

*Bottom line: Awkward-speaking Seventh Hokage.* 

*Title: I totally believed your nonsense.* 

"Uh…" Naruto's smile froze for a second before he let out an awkward laugh. 

"You noticed, huh…" 

"I'm not blind." Kazayahana Koyuki chuckled. 

"Besides, have you forgotten? Ten years ago, Kakashi was the one who rescued me from the Land of Snow. At first, I did forget what he looked like, but now I remember clearly." 

"Well, we didn't know at first…" Naruto gave an embarrassed laugh. 

"And we just wanted to try riding the horses. In the end, we did return them to you." 

"But your two teachers' reputations were completely ruined by you two," Kazayahana Koyuki said, her smile widening. 

"Now that I think about it, being your teacher must be so tough." 

"Those two weren't exactly saints to begin with," Naruto said, pouting. 

"They're both total perverts. I couldn't believe I ran into two people worse than me after graduating. It's a good thing I'm upright and didn't let them corrupt me." 

Kazayahana Koyuki didn't believe him at all. She rolled her eyes but said nothing, her smile growing even brighter. Not only her ears, but even her cheeks turned slightly red, though she didn't notice. 

Her laughter rang through the cave, like wind chimes hanging by the window in summer, tinkling melodiously in the breeze—clear, transparent, and pleasant to hear. 

Naruto turned to look at Kazayahana Koyuki. Their smiles seemed to affect each other, becoming a warm light in the dark cave, more comforting than a cozy blanket and a perfect contrast to the cold winter snow. 

Kazayahana Koyuki noticed Naruto's gaze. The icy expression she always wore softened into something alluring. 

"What is it? Little brother, are you captivated by your big sister's charm?" 

"No." Naruto, with Hinata in his heart, shook his head and smiled gently. 

"It's just… this is the first time I've seen you smile like this from the bottom of your heart. It's beautiful. No wonder you're the most famous actress among the ninja." 

Kazayahana Koyuki's smile froze. She stared dumbfounded at Naruto, then turned her head toward the smooth ice pillar beside her. In the mirror-like surface, she saw her reflection—a radiant, sunlit smile on her beautiful face. 

She raised her right hand to gently touch her cheek. The faint blush was like stars dotting the night sky, adding a spark of life to the perfect darkness. 

So beautiful... 

How long had it been since she last saw herself smile like this? 

How long had it been since she felt like this? 

"Has it been this long since I laughed so freely?" 

Kazayahana Koyuki thought to herself. It felt like ages—so long that she had almost forgotten the passage of time, forgotten that she once could smile so genuinely. No matter how good an actor someone was, a smile like this couldn't be faked. 

Kazayahana Koyuki smiled and turned to look at Naruto, just in time to catch his bright, sunny grin. 

Suddenly, she buried her face in Naruto's neck. Her slightly flushed cheeks turned a deep red, like a ripe apple, irresistibly charming. 

"You're just a kid… Don't say things that make it sound like I'd actually like you," 

Kazayahana Koyuki mumbled softly, though her tone carried an inexplicable hint of playfulness. 

Unfortunately, no one had ever spoken to Naruto in such a way before, so he didn't understand the subtlety of her tone. 

Naruto let out a helpless sigh, assuming he had upset the princess again. 

"Fine, I'm not good with words anyway, so I can't say anything profound." 

Kurama, dozing in the sealed space: "..." 

Kazayahana Koyuki rolled her eyes. 

"Yeah, yeah, you're bad with words. Only someone bad with words could say what you just did." 

"Exactly," 

Naruto nodded without a clue. 

"Kurama keeps saying I'm great at talking, even calling it the Hidden World's ultimate kekkei genkai. He says I've got some kind of 'talk-no-jutsu.' Seriously, what is that supposed to mean? I'm obviously not good at talking." 

Kazayahana Koyuki: "..." 

She didn't know who this "Kurama" was, but for once, she agreed. 

"You're definitely bad with words," 

she sighed, shaking her head and saying no more. 

"See?" 

Naruto grinned excitedly. 

"Kurama, did you hear that? Even she says I'm bad at talking. How could I possibly have that 'talk-no-jutsu' thing? You're just making stuff up." 

Kurama: "..." 

*Whatever. I'm hibernating, too much hassle to argue.* 

But before Kurama could say anything, a sudden beam of light shone from behind Naruto. It was like two massive flashlights—no, way brighter than flashlights. More like the glowing eyes of a black cat, wide as bronze bells, piercing the darkness. 

A thunderous roar accompanied it, like a dragon's growl, deafening and terrifying. 

Naruto turned around in shock, squinting at the glaring lights. 

"What is that?" 

Kazayahana Koyuki's expression shifted drastically. She instinctively wrapped her arms around Naruto. 

"That's the chakra rail train from the Land of Thunder!" 

Her voice trembled. 

"This… this is a train tunnel?!" 

"What's a rail train?" 

Naruto looked completely clueless. 

"We're done for. We're completely done for," 

Kazayahana Koyuki muttered, her previously flushed cheeks now pale as a sheet. 

"Even a ninja can't outrun a rail train. If it hits us, there'll be nothing left—just bones and dust." 

The chakra rail train was a special creation of the Land of Snow. Powered by advanced chakra technology, it burned chakra to fuel a massive iron train running on custom tracks. Its speed far surpassed horse-drawn carriages, and even ninjas struggled to keep up. 

*Basically, it's a steam train… but it burns chakra instead of coal.* 

Kurama lazily rolled over in the sealed space. 

"I don't know how fast that thing is, but if you don't start running, you really will end up as bones and dust." 

Trains were never slow, and with chakra tech, this one had to be even faster than Earth's steam trains. If it hit them, they'd be torn to pieces in an instant. Not even Naruto, with Senju Hashirama-level healing, could survive that. 

After all, once someone's body is completely shredded, no amount of healing can fix it. 

"Why didn't you say so earlier?!" 

Naruto didn't hesitate—he turned and bolted. 

Although Naruto didn't know much about trains, if Kurama said it could kill him, he wasn't going to question it. Without a second thought, he turned and ran. 

To be fair, the advanced tech behind the Land of Thunder's train was incredible. Even with Naruto's current physical abilities—far beyond the original version of himself—it was all he could do to keep up with the train. 

At least he could make sure it wouldn't catch him. 

If he weren't carrying Kazayahana Koyuki, Naruto could easily outrun the train. But with her on his back, his speed was definitely affected. Thankfully, it wasn't enough for the train to catch up. 

On Naruto's back, Kazayahana Koyuki let out a sigh of relief when she saw this. Her gaze softened as she looked at him. She didn't make things harder for him, staying quietly on his back, her bright eyes fixed on Naruto's profile. 

 Not exactly handsome—after all, a person's face during full exertion depends entirely on how shameless they are. 

And Naruto? He was as shameless as they come. 

The veins on his neck were bulging, his whole face twisted into an expression so exaggerated it could rival the over-the-top acting of Jounouchi. If Malik were the judge, he'd probably give it a nine out of ten—deducting one point just to keep Naruto from getting cocky. 

Doesn't that paint the picture? Now you get it, right? 

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