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"Lord Hokage!?" The moment the Nine-Tails' aura appeared, ANBU personnel began rushing towards the Hokage's office, each face betraying a trace of barely concealed panic.
"Where is Nar... the Nine Tails Jinchūriki?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was extremely grim. For such a thing to happen during the conflict with Kumogakure?
"People have already been sent to investigate. However, judging from the location where the aura originated, it's no longer within the village," the ANBU wiped sweat from his forehead. It was unclear whether it was due to nervousness or haste.
"Danzō!?" Hiruzen Sarutobi grit his teeth. In his mind, only one person could possibly do such a thing, and that was Danzō!
"Hiruzen! Why is there the aura of that Nine-Tails Demon Fox?!" Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Danzō directly entered the Hokage's office, roaring at Hiruzen Sarutobi. Utatane Koharu followed behind him. Danzō's actions seemed to declare his innocence in this matter.
"Hmph! Immediately summon all ninja of Chūnin rank and above currently in the village to follow me to the Nine-Tails' location. The remaining Genin-level ninja are responsible for staying in the village to prevent situations requiring civilian evacuation!" Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately issued the order. Fortunately, this incident didn't occur within the village; there was still room for maneuver.
"Yes!" Upon receiving the Hokage's command, several ANBU immediately turned and left the Hokage's office, quickly relaying Hiruzen Sarutobi's orders. After this, Hiruzen Sarutobi himself quickly changed into combat attire, then led Danzō and Utatane Koharu rapidly towards the Nine-Tails' location.
Meanwhile, by the small river, Shinji calmly observed Naruto, who was controlled by the Nine-Tails.
"Kurama, you should have been weakened to your lowest point by my attack back then. Logically, you shouldn't have been able to control Naruto's body yet." Shinji looked at the Nine-Tails before him, somewhat puzzled. Shinji's 'Tendo Bānshō' (Heavenly Body Bursting Star) had previously reduced the Nine-Tails to a small clump of chakra. But how long had it been? The Nine-Tails had actually recovered to this extent? Something seemed abnormal.
"Hehe, I am Kurama!" The Nine-Tails glared fiercely at Shinji, the Nine-Tails chakra around him almost erupting.
"Well then... Power seems to be gradually returning. Not much, but useful," Shinji smiled faintly and glanced at the system.
[Begin Roleplay!]
[Host: Shinji]
[Roleplay Character List: Zhongli!]
[Roleplay Character Progress: 12.3%]
[Today's Roleplay Time: 2/30 minutes]
[Choose to project Zhongli's image?]
[Yes/No]
[No!]
Yes, this time Shinji still didn't project Zhongli's appearance, but used his own. Just when the woman intended to strike earlier, Shinji had already silently begun roleplaying Zhongli's power.
"Roar!!!" Seemingly sensing Shinji's disdain, the Nine-Tails began to get angry. Large amounts of Nine-Tails chakra enveloped Naruto's body, allowing him to stand up.
"Tsk tsk tsk, Kurama, acting like this will harm Naruto's body. Why don't we... go back inside to talk! Stone Stele!" Shinji waved his hand towards the Nine-Tails. Two Geo pillars instantly appeared on either side of the Nine-Tails. The Geo pillars formed connections between each other, and the power of the Geo element forced the Nine-Tails' chakra back.
"Looks like... your power has only recovered a little bit," Shinji smiled faintly. His two Geo pillars were able to suppress the Nine-Tails' power. Looks like... this Nine-Tails had only recovered a small amount of power.
Vwoom!!! Following Shinji's power output, the Nine-Tails' power was directly pushed back into Naruto's body. Outside, Naruto's body once again returned to the large rock. Simultaneously, the surrounding orange Nine-Tails chakra vanished, and the whiskers and fangs also disappeared. Appearing again was the original Naruto.
Shinji took a step forward towards Naruto, placing his hand on Naruto's abdomen. The next instant, Shinji's spiritual power directly entered Naruto's body.
Drip, drip. The sound of cold water dripping in the sewer echoed continuously. A red cage, dim light. Naruto's spiritual body was sleeping soundly on a small platform, while the Nine-Tails roared within the cage, looking at Shinji. But. The Nine-Tails' current form...
"Kurama, looking like this now, you really resemble your childhood... exactly the same," Shinji walked up to the cage, looking at the Nine-Tails. The current form of the Nine-Tails was just like when it was first separated by the Sage of Six Paths. The appearance of the small Nine-Tails even made Shinji find it quite cute.
"Who exactly are you?" The Nine-Tails looked warily at Shinji. His childhood? Remember, not many people had seen him in his childhood. Moreover... the Nine-Tails reviewed its memories, and indeed had no recollection of seeing Shinji.
"Shukaku the One-Tail, Matatabi the Two-Tails, Isobu the Three-Tails, Son Gokū the Four-Tails, Kokuō the Five-Tails, Saiken the Six-Tails, Chōmei the Seven-Tails, Gyūki the Eight-Tails, and... Kurama the Nine-Tails!" Shinji looked into the Nine-Tails' eyes.
"Who exactly are you?!" The Nine-Tails felt somewhat cornered. Not many people knew its name, even fewer were still alive. Moreover, knowing its name and the names of the other Tailed Beasts was basically impossible.
"Who I am isn't important. It's just, Kurama, I want to make a deal with you," Shinji waved his hand grandly. A chair made of Geo element suddenly appeared, and Shinji sat down directly on it.
"A deal? Hehe, have you forgotten what you did to me before? You still want to make a deal with this great me?" A cold sneer appeared at the corner of Kurama's mouth. Yes, in his current state, his strength hadn't recovered much, but weren't you the same?
"What happened before? Kurama, don't tell me you didn't know you were being controlled back then?" Shinji chuckled lightly. The secret of the Nine-Tails attack night. No one knew better than him. After all, Kishimoto drew everything out from all 360 degrees without dead angles.
Kurama didn't speak, but continued to watch Shinji warily.
"The control power of the Mangekyō Sharingan, Kurama, you couldn't possibly not feel it, right?" Shinji looked playfully at the Nine-Tails, a hint of mockery in his eyes. Being controlled multiple times by the Mangekyō Sharingan had made the originally proud Nine-Tails somewhat irritable.
"Madara Uchiha!!!" The Nine-Tails roared towards the sky. The feeling of being controlled before was exactly the same as when Madara Uchiha controlled it back then.
"No, no, no, Kurama. The truth is, the events of that night had nothing to do with Madara Uchiha... Emm... strictly speaking, there is a little connection, but not much. Because at that time, Madara Uchiha was already dead." Shinji reconsidered. After all, it was Obito Uchiha, influenced by Madara Uchiha. Strictly speaking, there was still some connection.
"Who was it? What do you know?" The Nine-Tails' eyes narrowed. Large fluctuations of chakra continuously swirled around it. It seemed Shinji's words had touched upon something. Actually, back then Obito summoned the Nine-Tails from a secret location. Technically, the Nine-Tails and Obito never met, so the Nine-Tails didn't actually know which bastard stabbed him in the back.
"Well, can our deal begin now?" Shinji stood up, walked over to Naruto's side, reached out, and gently stroked his cheek. Still just a child. Seemingly feeling Shinji's touch, some struggling expressions began to appear on Naruto's face, his hands and feet starting to thrash about. But Shinji stopped his hand movements, turned, and walked towards the cage imprisoning the Nine-Tails.
"What deal?" Kurama calmed down, a trace of hatred flashing in its eyes.
"You obediently stay inside Naruto's body, don't cause trouble. This is the basis of the deal," Shinji walked up to the cage. He reached out and tapped the cage. Mmm, looks quite sturdy.
However, just as Shinji tapped the cage, the Nine-Tails' hand... uh... front paw suddenly moved, directly phasing through the cage, intending to pierce Shinji's body. But because the current Nine-Tails was much smaller than its normal size, its front paw wasn't long enough, only managing to stop right in front of Shinji's face. Looking at the small paw before him, Shinji didn't blink, even reaching out to flick the Nine-Tails' small paw.
"Are you kidding! He's the son of Minato Namikaze, the one who sealed me in here! You want me not to influence him!?" The Nine-Tails seemed to shout loudly, as if laughing angrily.
"But he is also Kushina's son. Right, Kurama?" Shinji put down the Nine-Tails' small paw and stared directly into the Nine-Tails' scarlet eyes. Hearing Shinji's words, the Nine-Tails' expression clearly faltered. A trace of unnaturalness flashed across its eyes.
"What does Kushina have to do with this?" The Nine-Tails suddenly turned its face away, not looking at Shinji. Perhaps it didn't realize, the current Nine-Tails seemed somewhat heavy-hearted.
"Kurama, although you hide it well, it's undeniable that you actually have some feelings for Kushina, right?" Shinji looked at the Nine-Tails with a half-smile, his eyes full of teasing. The Nine-Tails was actually just a tsundere little husky. Only Naruto could truly reform him.
"Hmph! I absolutely do not!" The Nine-Tails turned its head away haughtily, completely ignoring Shinji's words.
"Really?" Shinji looked at the Nine-Tails' vertical pupils, a smile suddenly appearing on his face.
"Naturally! How could I possibly think that red chili pepper Kushina is good?" The Nine-Tails turned its head back to look at Shinji, but a trace of loneliness flashed in the depths of its eyes.
"Then... since you have no good feelings for Kushina, then you definitely wouldn't want to see her again, right? What a pity. I was originally planning to let you two meet. Tsk tsk tsk, what a shame."
"You can let me see Kushina? No, Kushina is already dead. You're just trying to trick me," Hearing Shinji's words, the first thing that flashed through the Nine-Tails' mind was disbelief. But it was quickly replaced by distrust. Still trying to trick me like this? Impossible! The Nine-Tails completely disbelieved Shinji's words.
Was he kidding? The scene of Kushina's death played like a movie in its eyes; its claws had directly pierced her body. Of course, that annoying Minato Namikaze was completely absent from the Nine-Tails' memory. It only knew, it killed Kushina. This was an indisputable fact, just like...
"What, Kurama! You don't want to see me?!" Suddenly, just as the Nine-Tails closed its eyes, recalling everything about Kushina, a familiar voice suddenly sounded in its ears. This voice?
"Ku... Kushina?" The Nine-Tails opened its eyes in disbelief. This voice was too familiar. Wasn't it Kushina, who had imprisoned it for many years?
"Impossible! Kushina is already dead! Already dead! You must be fake!" The Nine-Tails suddenly became furious. Kushina's appearance made it feel like Shinji was teasing it. Yes, Kushina was already dead. How could she possibly appear in this place?
This must be that man teasing him! Toying with him! Playing with him! Convinced of this, the Nine-Tails became enraged. Its body suddenly swelled slightly, the sharp claws on its front paws suddenly elongated, seemingly intending to directly pierce Shinji's body.
"Nine-Tails kitty! Are you tired of living! To actually think I'm fake!!!" Veins popped out like crosses on Kushina's forehead. Not only that, Kushina's long blood-red hair floated up without wind. Then, Kushina leaped directly into the Nine-Tails' cage, delivering a fist bump directly onto the Nine-Tails' forehead.
Bang!!! Following a flash of scarlet light, Kushina landed a solid fist bump on the Nine-Tails' head. Immediately, a large bump appeared on the Nine-Tails' head, and this bump was continuously growing larger. This sound even made Shinji swallow. Fortunately, he didn't have to face Kurama. This punch looked very painful.
"Ah!!!" The Nine-Tails continuously held its head with both paws. This iron fist from Kushina made it feel a long-lost pain. And this feeling of pain... even gave it a sense of familiarity. That's right, this feeling. It was Kushina alright!
"Kushina!" After the Nine-Tails reacted, ignoring the pain on its head, it looked at the red-haired girl before it. How could this be? How could Kushina still be here?
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> Check my: p@treon.com/ShixT9 for extra 60 Chapters
> Each 50 Spirit Stones I will release an extra chapter
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