Prologue

Bone-chilling cold coursed through his veins as darkness blanketed his vision. Rayne felt himself falling into an endless abyss, aimlessly drifting as his consciousness rapidly faded. There was nothing he could do but accept his fate. Ever since he was born with a weak physique, constantly falling ill, he began to accept the fact that he would die at a young age. If not for being born in a well-to-do family, Rayne wouldn't have been able to live a comfortable life and instead, be stuck in a bed, all alone by himself. His only regret was having to leave his parents behind after supporting him the entire time without complaint.

Then it all stopped. The cold abruptly disappeared and Rayne found himself lying on a slightly wet solid floor. Not liking the sensation of lying on water, Rayne quickly rose to his feet.

After a quick survey of his surroundings, Rayne couldn't help but giggle in amusement as it reminded him of the gloomy sewer that was Naruto's inner world wherein he accidentally appears when he was knocked unconscious. The water on the ground rippled with each drop of water that dripped from the leaking pipes.

With one side blocked by a wall, Rayne decided to follow the only path, taking careful steps as he squinted his eyes. The lack of light has made it difficult to traverse the narrow path despite it being straight and free of obstacles. The short walk was done in silence and he soon reached the end of the path. A massive pair of metal gates loomed in front of him. A piece of paper was stuck on the middle where the gates met. There was only pitch black darkness inside but the oppression coming from it was palpable and caused his body to shiver in terror.

"Damn it!" Rayne said through gritted teeth. His playful imagination became reality at a terrifying pace. "It can't be that I became Naruto, right?" Uncertainty and helplessness evident in his voice. Suddenly, Rayne heard movement from behind the gates. A moment later, a pair of eyes with vertical pupils appeared. Each eye easily bigger than his entire body. The sense of oppression became heavier with the eyes' appearance. Rayne's body moved on its own and took a step back. He immediately knew that there was no more denying it. Those eyes belonged to Kurama. Rayne felt cold sweat drip down his back but his eyes never left Kurama. Seconds passed while neither of them made a move or a sound. It took a lot of effort for Rayne to keep himself as calm as he could be. Slowly, a sense of anticipation grew in his gut while he thought back to when he watched the anime. Due to an enormous amount of fillers, Rayne abandoned watching the anime right after Naruto received the inheritance from the sage of the six paths.

Rayne's body shook harder. But this time, not from terror, but from excitement. He watched enough to know how much of a cheat existence Naruto was. Because of his illness, Rayne always had to hold back. This time, as long as he successfully passed through this hurdle and playing it safe for some time, he would soon be able to run rampant in the Elemental Nations.

Rayne took multiple deep breaths and forced himself to calm down then bit his lower lip until it began to bleed. Keeping his eyes on Kurama, he began moving his feet and took steady steps towards the gate until his nose was almost touching the gate itself.

Kurama's eyes slightly narrowed and released a low growl but Rayne was not deterred and was determined.

"Even if I tried, I know it's impossible to hide it. Surely, you felt it when Naruto passed away?"

Not hearing any response from Kurama, Rayne continued despite knowing that what he was about to do was kind of foolish "I was but a drifting soul and for some reason, my soul was stuffed into this idiot's body. The only one I could think of that could and would have done this would be the sage of the six paths. "

Hearing the mention of the sage of the six paths, Kurama's eyes immediately sharpened and released a threatening roar which shook the entire cage that locked him in. "Brat! Who are you? How do you know of the sage?" Kurama asked between snarls.

Fear has long left Rayne's system after being reassured of his safety which was brought by the seal placed on Kurama.

Rayne nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, and tilted his head. "It's a long story. I was once called Rayne, but I guess I'm Naruto now. All I can say is that where I'm from, someone dreamed of this world, then presented it to the whole world in the form of a story. I just happen to be one of those who read it." It was the only way that Rayne could think of as to how to explain it to Kurama. After all, having spent the last five decades in a seal, it was impossible for the old fox to know what manga or anime was. "Like I said, the only one I could think of that could have done this is the sage of the six paths. Why? Well, he once prophesied of a child that would either save or destroy this world, but now he's dead."

While talking, Rayne kept glancing on Kurama's eyes. He felt Kurama wavering with each word that comes out of his mouth. Kurama inched closer while Rayne waited in silence. Rayne felt Kurama scrutinize him with his eyes, as if Kurama's eyes could see through his soul and determine whether he's lying or not. Kurama released a breath that Rayne could only imagine as a sigh.

After a moment of silence, Kurama spoke. "After hundreds of year of waiting, it finally happened. The old man foresaw this."

Rayne froze upon hearing. 'WAIT! WHAT? ' Rayne screamed in his mind.

Kurama continued after a short pause. "He left instructions for what to do when this moment finally arrives."

"W-what do you mean? " Rayne stuttered. His eyes widened in disbelief. " What instructions?"

"I am to be the husk of the new ten tails. All you need to do is gather enough chakra from my siblings and inject it into the new husk that will be formed by me." Kurama replied, all hostility disappeared from his eyes. "You are to be the jinchuuriki of the new ten tails. It's the only way to stop or survive the return of Kaguya."

Rayne suddenly felt bad for trying to deceive Kurama, and asked with his voice almost like a whisper. " Could it be...your consciousness will disappear in the process and you'd effectively die? "

Kurama nodded his head. No hesitation in his features. "Yes, so listen well. I can only explain it to you once. My siblings were made aware of what is about to happen. Once you meet them, they will feel the presence of the new husk in you. They will cooperate with you and give you enough of their chakra to complete the process of the new ten-tailed beast's creation. This must be done. Reforming the old ten-tailed beast can't be done. It was a mindless beast and full of malice. It will only cause unprecedented destruction without the sage of the six paths and his brother to once again contain it like they once did."

"I'm sorry, Kurama." It was the only thing that Rayne could say.

"I've long been prepared for this, kit. Let's begin."