Chapter 3: Exodus

Kurama sat, silent in thought. He was sitting up, in sage mode, appearing to burn with a yellow-orange flame, towering above the trees that surrounded him in his small clearing. He did not know when he would next get a chance to gather natural energy like this, but he knew it might not be for a very long time indeed.

Mentally, he went over, just one more time, the decision he was about to make – and whether he might be about to end the world.

In the enormous number of years since the Sage of the Six Paths had created him, and the other tailed beasts, human nations had come, and they had gone, many times. For the great majority of that time period, the tailed beasts, biju like himself, had lived in chains. There were some advantages to being inside a Jinchūriki, like Naruto. Immunity to most attacks, for example. Immunity even to most forms of control, like the damned Sharingan eyes Madara had used to control him, and make him attack Konoha.

However, the advantages were not nearly enough. While Naruto had promised him his freedom, it was only a matter of time until Naruto died. Unlike Kurama, he was most definitely not immortal. He would die, sooner or later. All humans did. Therefore, it was not a good long term plan to rely on Naruto always being there to argue for his freedom. Humans would forget his promises in time, just as they forgot everything, in time.

That left their natural reactions. Normal humans, even ninja, had always been afraid of the tailed beasts. In some cases, their relative lack of power, and their good reputations, as well as that of their host, and host nation, had allowed them to live relatively trouble-free lives. Or at least, it had after the war, when, for a brief period, they were respected far more than usual, both for their efforts to help, and also for their destructive potential if angered.

That, like most human beliefs, was not to last. In time, their role in the war would be forgotten, or consigned to legend, just like some now doubted that the first Hokage had truly created so much with his wood release technique. In time, it would become an accepted truth that the first had had help. That is what humans wanted to believe, and so, over time, in the absence of constant reminders of the truth, that is what they would come to believe.

He had to get away. Far away, before that happened.

If history had taught him anything, it was that if you sense a trap ahead, you do not stumble into it blindly, waiting for it to be sprung. To use a ninja phrase, you do not simply walk into the den of the monster, just because it is in your path. The monster may have placed it there, for exactly that reason.

Where could he go, though? Obviously, anywhere else on this world was out. It would greatly complicate matters if he settled within another land. He would be distancing himself from his ninja supporters, including Naruto, whilst at the same time leaving himself vulnerable to the changing opinions of humans. Worse, relocating to a far-off land might expose him to biju capture techniques developed while he was imprisoned, and with no nearby backup, it was foolish to think nobody would try to seal him again. While the most powerful beast alive roamed the earth, free to do as it pleased, through unfamiliar lands, with no backup.

No, fleeing to another land... would not be enough. He had to leave this world, this entire world, behind. Possibly forever.

He knew it might upset the balance. That the Sage, those years ago, had divided chakra as he did for a reason. But, he found that he did not care. The last few years with Naruto had been good to him, on the whole, but such a thing was fleeting. It could not last. Sooner or later, as perhaps the single most powerful creature alive, and thus, in the minds of many, the greatest threat to world peace, they would come for him. He simply wasn't willing to accept that anymore. As an immortal biju, he could not fathom a future where his destiny was to lay in chains, physical, chakra-based, or within a seal on someone's chest, for most of his existence. It was no way for a man to live, let alone the god of kitsune that he was.

So, he had meditated, and drawn upon the techniques the Sage had taught them. Techniques which, in theory at least, were meant to be used only in the event that the entire world was threatened. Forbidden techniques of the highest order. The first of those – was the art of portal creation.

The biju, for all their time imprisoned, had not been idle over the years. All of them had, at one point or another, created a species of lesser creatures to serve them. Snails. Snakes. Toads. And, in Kurama's case – kitsune. It was a shame almost nobody was willing to sign the Fox Contract.

If they had, if the great foxes that were Kurama's offspring had ever been respected by ninja, even enough to get regular use of summons, the great tricksters would not have been so bored. They might have thought twice about leaving the world of ninja. But, in the end, it was not to be.

Kurama knew portal travel was risky. He knew there was a great multiverse, beyond the world they inhabited. And he knew that many worlds could be deadly, sometimes in surprising ways. That is why he sent lesser kitsune first. First one, then ten, then a hundred. All reported the same thing.

There was a world, much like theirs, with humans, grouped into lands. In this world, there was no ninjitsu. No sharinghan for him to fear. Even better, there was a significant religion in that world dedicated to the worship of kitsune as messengers of the gods. It was not widespread, but it was just the sort of local support that the kitsune needed if they were truly going to move to a new world. Humans, as they were familiar with, but less powerful for their lack of ninjitsu and genjitsu. Some of whom already knew about the existence of, and who had reverence for, his kind.

The question gnawed at him. How, exactly, were the legends so close? Had some kitsune in the past traveled there in secret? The stories of the mythical kitsune were far too close to his reality to be a co-incidence. As Naruto would have said, it was a mystery that required investigation, and none were better to investigate it than he and his clan.

He pondered his decision again. I cannot stay on this world, for if I do, I am certain to end up in chains once again. I must leave, and it would make sense to take my children with me. Of the worlds we have seen through portals, this one looks fairly close to our own, except that humans use technology, rather than ninja arts, and they may already know about, and some even worship, us.

He thought about it awhile longer. There was truly no better option, in the long term. If they found that the new world was not to their liking, they could always use portals of the same kind to simply return. It cost little to make the attempt, and it could, if it worked out, give them all a new world to call home, without insane ninja, crazy villains dedicated to destroying the world, and mere humans having the power to mind control him with their eyes. It was a decision he'd never expected to have to make, but, when he laid out the logic of it, the truth was undeniable. It would be foolish not to explore this new world.

His chakra reserves were full, now. He felt truly alive again. Determined and ready, success or fail to go somewhere where no ninja had ever gone before.

He placed one paw upon the ground, and flooded it with more chakra than he'd used on one ability since the closing days of the war.

"Generational Summoning Jutsu!"

Kurama closed his eyes, as he felt the shock wave of the jutsu expand outwards for over a mile. His enormous ears registered every pop, every displacement, as his kin arrived. He let his eyes stay closed for another minute, letting the smoke start to clear, tens of thousands of tiny vulpine eyes upon him.

Once he was sure everyone could see, and hear him, he spoke.

"My children. Today, I have a proposition for you."