I am Naruto but where is Kurama!?

" Seconds, please!"

Naruto called out as he finished off another bowl of rice and moved on to the tempura platter. He was starving. After the Trial of the Mind, he was unconscious for a week, and unfortunately, that meant his Shadow Clones got dispelled back at Konoha, which added more fatigue since all the Shadow Clones were training while he was away. The blonde ate the tempura platter with gusto and moved on to some soba noodles next.

The first thing Naruto did once he woke up and got some food in his belly was to send a fresh batch of Shadow Clones to replace the ones that got dispelled. He has been eating almost nonstop for the day as it felt more like he hadn't eaten in a month rather than a week. Haruhime brought in a stew for her fellow blonde.

" Here, Naruto-kun, be sure to chew."

Naruto swallowed his food before thanking the fox girl.

" Thanks, Haruhime."

The blonde non-kitsune dropped the honorific as his stomach felt like a bottomless pit, and hunger ruled his mind. After several plates and bowls of food, Naruto finally felt sated. Now, with hunger occupying his thoughts, he thought about the revelations of the Trial of the Mind he experienced.

" Three of the Eight Inner Gates, how did I unlock them from being trapped in a powerful Genjutsu? Is it a Mind over Matter deal with my exhaustion only existing in the Genjutsu? Can I open them again and the rest with enough practice? The Eight Inner Gates would be great as a weapon of last resort, and I know who to talk to about them: Maito Gai, Tenten's sensei."

With these thoughts in mind, he made a mental note to see how Tenten was doing since she had been swamped with Genin-level missions, mostly D-Ranks, and get to know Gai through her. After eating, the blonde decided to get up and warm up a bit with some exercise. Starting with some squats, Naruto did just enough to warm up his muscles.

Senko appeared and asked.

" How are you, Naruto-kun?"

" Well enough and about as ready as I ever will be for the next Trial."

The petite fox girl nodded at his answer and warned the blonde.

" The Trial of the Heart is the hardest Trial and is the one where most fail."

Naruto nodded in understanding and said politely.

" Please lead the way, Senko-san."

Senko nodded and turned to lead the blonde non-kitsune to the subsequent Trial, and Naruto soon found himself in the dark basement complex of the Shrine Palace once again. Naruto quietly followed the petite fox girl as he was preoccupied with his thoughts on the Eight Inner Gates.

" I wonder how Gate of Death Gai would do against Kaguya? Even Madara was impressed with Gai and called him the strongest in Taijutsu while in his Six Paths Form. Let's start with what Kaguya can do. The main techniques she had shown were her hair manipulation, All-Killing Ash Bones, transporting herself and others to dangerous environments like an active volcano, freezing tundra, intense gravity, and an arid desert.

She has decent close combat ability and high reflexes, plus her ability to read minds and, of course, absorb Ninjutsu like all Ōtsutsuki. Let's not forget her living Karma Mark, Black Zetsu. If he isn't dealt with, she will just come back later. However, could she counter Gate of Death Gai's speed and power? I'm leaning towards no as none of her attacks are fast enough to hit him, and it takes a moment to transport herself and others to somewhere a moment she wouldn't have with Gai.

Her All-Killing Ash Bones are too slow as well, but would Gai's strongest attack, Night Gai, be strong enough to finish her? I am leaning towards no since it took months for Hagoromo and Hamura to finally seal her away. Sure, they might not have tried to kill her, but still incapacitating her to have a moment to seal her was probably not easy. Ultimately, Gate of Death Gai would lose because he couldn't maintain that level of strength long enough to get a chance to win.

However, what about me with the Gate of Death? Not the current me but the future me."

Naruto frowned as he had no idea how strong he could become without Kurama, and there was the off chance he might also not have Asura's Chakra since he was not the original Naruto. The blonde sighed and thought to himself.

" I can only get as strong as I possibly can be and hope it's enough to get me a chance of winning it all."

Naruto clenched his fists as he wasn't just going to roll over and die without a fight. Senko's ear flicked in place as her Empathy Bloodline Limit told her of the turmoil and determination within the blonde. The petite fox girl smiled as she admired his will and hoped he passed the Trial of the Heart and would become the Summoning Contractor of the Fox Clan. They soon reached another massive door where Tamamo-no-mai, Miyabi, Souji, Haruhime, and two new Kitsune Naruto hadn't met yet.

Senko introduced the new faces to Naruto.

"Naruto-Kun, this is Yasaka and her daughter Kunou."

( Insert Yasaka and Kunou from High School DxD.)

Yasaka was a beautiful l, well-endowed woman with her blonde hair tied up in a gold-yellow kimono that fully exposed the cleavage of her breasts, possibly even bigger than Tsunade's. Atop her ears were a pair of golden fur fox ears with nine golden fox tails behind her and her eyes matching her gold coloring. Kunou looked around eleven to twelve in a Japanese priestess outfit with the same hair color and eyes as her mother but only had one fox tail.

Yasaka looked at Naruto with a friendly smile and greeted him.

" It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Naruto-kun. I heard a lot about you from Souji and Haruhime. I hope you can get along with my daughter. She could use a human friend to introduce her to the outside world."

" Mother!"

Kunou whined with an indignant look, and her mother just chuckled as she stroked her daughter's head. Tamamo-no-mai coughed politely to get everyone's attention. As everyone's focus shifted to the Clan Leader, she explained to Naruto.

" Naruto Uzumaki, through this door is a mirror. It is a powerful artifact that can manifest the deepest, darkest aspects of anyone who dares to gaze upon it. You must overcome your darkness, or you will die. This is your only chance to back out, but if you do, any chance of gaining a Contract with the Fox Clan disappears. With this in mind, what is your decision?"

" I'll take on the Trial."

Naruto said with one thought in mind.

" Is this like the Waterfalls of Truth on that Giant Turtle Island?"

________________________________________

The massive doors closed behind me, and I was alone. I saw the mirror in the backmost wall furthest from the door. It was a large circular mirror about the size of a small house. I walked up to the mirror and saw my reflection. I rapped my knuckles against the mirror, and it did not feel like glass but metal. I asked out loud.

" So, how does this work?"

" Like this."

Another voice said as my reflection rippled and came out of the mirror. What I saw was interesting. It wasn't a perfect reflection but rather an inverted version of myself or, rather, of Naruto. He had pitch-black hair, red eyes, and dark skin, but his clothing was the same as mine. He had the same black tank top with dark gray shorts that I was wearing, and his arms and legs were bandaged like mine.

Seeing the inverted me, I asked.

" So what now?"

" Don't worry, you already know the right answer to this Trial. Accept your dark and ugly parts, then move on."

The doppelganger answered with a smirk, and I was unimpressed. I roughly knew my darkness already and was fine with it. The inverted me then chuckled before saying.

" You already know that the Original Naruto is probably dead, and you essentially possessed his recently decreased body for whatever reason, but accepted that this is your life now. You are aware you only care about your personal peace, so there will be no peace between the Hidden Villages even if the Fourth Shinobi War happens like in the Canon or at least similar enough to because your are no Chosen One or other idiotic bullshit.

More importantly, you know you are far more likely to die than succeed in beating Madara, Kaguya, and the Ōtsutsuki Clan in the end. You probably have a non-zero chance of getting a happy ending, and you know it. It would be so much easier just to roll over and die, but what little and petty pride you have stops you from just offing yourself and taking your chances with death again. You're just giving a token resistance before you inevitably die, one way or another.

Overall, your fucked, and you know it, but you don't want to commit suicide to take the path of least resistance. I think that about covers it for the big stuff."

I sighed because everything he said was one hundred percent true, and so far, this Trial was nothing significant for me, at least. However, it seems the doppelganger wasn't done yet.

" Now let's move on to more pleasant topics, Harems and Waifus."

" Fuck."

I cursed as I was more embarrassed than anything at this topic and my feelings on it being aired out. I sincerely hope no one is hearing this.

" Now, with Harems, you already know it is possible for you to get one since the Clan Restoration Act is a thing in this world, and you are one of the few Uzumaki left. After all, Harems are a man's romance, and there is no shortage of beautiful women for the taking, fuck other guys."

The inverted me nudged me playfully with a wide grin, and I felt exasperated more than anything. I asked bluntly with a bit of hope.

" Can we just move on and get this trial over with?"

" Come on now, let me say my piece first."

The doppelganger grinned as he denied me the privacy of my thoughts. I really hope no one hears this; otherwise there will be no end to annoying headaches if this gets out.

" Let's start with the girls and women close to home. Sakura wouldn't be too bad if she wasn't obsessed with her precious Sasuke-kun, and the same goes with Ino. Sarada, Sasuke's twin, is a bit iffy depending on how edgy and extreme she is, but she will undoubtedly be beautiful. You already practically bagged Hinata somehow since she does blush around you in private and public. Tenten is a nice bonus if we get out of the friend zone.

Anko is definitely sex on legs, and you already have gotten to know her. As for Kurenai, well, fuck Asuma. She is too gorgeous despite her lackluster abilities as a Jonin. Hanabi, Hinata's little sister, could satisfy any grooming fantasy you may have. Tsunade would be great if you figure out how to regain her youth.

Let's not forget any other pretty girl that could catch your eye in Konoha that would otherwise be a background character."

True, all true, but I'd rather have this in the back of my head than hear it out loud. I nodded along as I let the doppelganger say his piece.

" Now, let's move on to the outside of Konoha. Temari, while not your type, isn't a bad choice. Then there is Karen, who definitely deserves better than that idiotic lesser village of the Hidden Grass that killed her mother through abuse of her healing abilities. Fu the Seven Tails Jinchūriki would definitely be fun, and you would be her first sex friend if the filler arc is anything to go by.

The only girl worth noting in Iwa is Kurotsuchi, but again, not your type like with Temari. Mei Terumī would probably be easy as she is a bit desperate, and it's just sad to leave a woman like her single. Now with Kumo, Samui, smash, period. Yugito the Two Tails Jinchūriki might be interesting. However, the hardest girl to get would probably be Konan, at least so long as we're part of Konoha.

Let's not forget all the fox girls you have gotten to know. Now that is a dream come true."

I sighed and asked, feeling emotionally drained from having my deepest and most private thoughts being aired out.

" Are you done now?"

" Hmm, yep."

My doppelganger replies casually, and I feel relief at finally finishing off this trial and becoming the Summoner of the Fox Clan. The inverted me extended his arms out, and I knew what he wanted. I retorted with exasperation.

" I am not essentially hugging myself."

" Yeah, yeah, I know. Anyway, bye and good luck. You're going to need it."

My doppelganger disappeared as he faded away anticlimacticly. Well, this was uneventful.