"…"
A brief silence.
Then, a massive shadowy figure emerged from behind the iron bars of the "cell," revealing an orange-red fox with nine tails. It glared at Uchiha Hikari with a fierce expression, its eyes brimming with irritation. "That aura… another naturally wicked Uchiha, huh? What are you doing here? Get lost!"
As the word "lost" echoed, a ferocious aura erupted, transforming into a wave of crimson energy that surged outward.
In the blink of an eye, the mental space was engulfed in a thick, blood-red hue, as if it had become an endless sea of blood.
"…Heh."
"Over a thousand years old, and still so hot-headed, huh, Kurama?"
Uchiha Hikari remarked casually.
To be fair, the Nine-Tails' presence was impressive.
If she had come here right after arriving in the Naruto world and faced this beast, she might've felt a bit intimidated. But now, after being tempered by experiences in other worlds, this display felt like a drop in the ocean. It didn't stir a single ripple in her heart.
Besides…
Despite the Nine-Tails' ferocious act, Hikari, who knew the original storyline, saw it as little more than a giant orange cat or husky—a classic tsundere with a bark worse than its bite.
Compared to the likes of Sukuna, Naraku, or Muzan from other worlds, the Nine-Tails was practically a saintly lotus flower. Given its centuries of being captured and controlled, a bit of craziness was understandable.
On the other side, the Nine-Tails' pupils narrowed. "What… did you just say?"
Kurama?
How does she know that name?!
"Well, I'm a 'naturally wicked' Uchiha. Is it really that surprising I know a few secrets?" Hikari said with a smirk.
"…"
The Nine-Tails squinted but stayed silent.
Just as Hikari recognized it, the Nine-Tails also "knew" her.
After all, before Hikari returned to the Uchiha clan as their "Great-Grandmother," she had lived with Naruto for months. Through the Jinchūriki's perspective, the Nine-Tails could "see" the outside world. So, it was well aware that Hikari possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.
And considering what previous Uchihas with the Mangekyō had done…
A suspicion crept into the Nine-Tails' mind. "Hmph, an Uchiha is an Uchiha."
"Even your tone and looks are infuriating, just like that man from back then…" Its expression grew even more disdainful as it mentioned "that man." "So, you're here to follow in the footsteps of those other Uchihas, huh? Planning to set me loose to wreak havoc on Konoha? I knew it—people like you never settle for peace!"
"But if that's your goal… I wouldn't mind cooperating just this once. I've been itching to tear this wretched village apart!"
"…"
Hikari pursed her lips slightly, looking at the Nine-Tails as if it were a hyperactive husky. "Are you… misunderstanding something?"
"Misunderstanding?" The Nine-Tails' fluffy face twisted into a sneer. "What, are you saying you're different from the other Uchihas?"
"Not exactly."
Hikari scratched her head. "What I mean is, aside from having a ton of chakra and being big, what else do you have going for you? If I wanted to destroy Konoha… I could do it myself. Why would I need you?"
"!"
The Nine-Tails froze, then roared in fury. "Are you saying I'm weak?!"
"Pfft—"
Hikari couldn't help but laugh.
In that moment, her mind flashed to Hashirama Senju's iconic scene.
You know, the "Kurama, you're too strong, so you need to be sealed" head-pat moment.
Strictly speaking, the gap between the Nine-Tails and Hashirama wasn't that wide. Its strength depended entirely on the user. If treated as just a giant beast, even a decent Kage-level ninja could go toe-to-toe with it. But in the hands of a Perfect Jinchūriki, it was a whole different story.
"Alright, let's get to business."
Seeing the Nine-Tails spiraling into a rage, Hikari's smile faded, and she cleared her throat to get to the point. "I don't know how much you know about me, but I'm friends with this kid's father, Minato Namikaze, the one who sealed you. So, I'm here on his behalf to have a little chat.
"If possible, I'd like you to get along with Naruto. At the very least, stop messing with him when he's practicing ninjutsu."
Naruto hadn't brought up any issues with his ninjutsu training during this visit.
But based on Shisui's intel and some snippets from Naruto and Sasuke's bickering, Hikari could tell Naruto was, as expected, the "dead-last" at the Ninja Academy.
In theory, it wasn't a big deal.
After all, compared to "demon fox," "dead-last" was a much kinder nickname.
Still…
Hikari was curious to see what would happen if Naruto took the "genius" route instead.
Of course, the Nine-Tails wasn't going to cooperate easily.
"Hmph, why should I listen to you?"
"Because of these eyes."
Hikari closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again, revealing a fiery, rose-red glow in her Mangekyō Sharingan. "These eyes can see glimpses of the future. Want a look?"
…
Hikari didn't play all 700 episodes of Naruto Shippuden for the Nine-Tails.
Instead, she showed it selected scenes—mostly those involving itself and Naruto.
The Nine-Tails' expression flickered between uncertainty and disbelief.
Well… it's hard to read much beyond "disgust" on that fluffy face.
"…You're saying this masked 'Uchiha Madara' will start a ninja war in a decade or so? And I'll team up with this kid to fight him?"
"Impossible… Absolutely impossible!"
"He's the son of the Fourth and Kushina, the ones who sealed me! I'd rather die than work with him!"
The Nine-Tails' face was full of outrage.
Hikari just watched it with amusement. "You sure about that?"
"…"
"Fine, maybe you think what I showed you was just Sharingan genjutsu.
"But that's okay.
"How about a deal? If you stop interfering with Naruto's training, I'll grant you one not-too-extravagant wish. Sound good?"
This time, the Nine-Tails was intrigued.
"Can you set me free from here?"
"…Do you understand what 'not too extravagant' means?"
Releasing a Tailed Beast from its Jinchūriki means the host's death.
So, naturally, Hikari couldn't do that.
But…
Taking a small part of the Nine-Tails out? That was doable.
In the Naruto world, chakra includes elements of the soul, allowing Asura and Indra to reincarnate through it, and Minato and Kushina to store fragments of their souls in Naruto as chakra. So, taking a piece of the Nine-Tails out to experience the world was, in a roundabout way, close enough to "freeing" it.
—That's how Hikari pitched it to the Nine-Tails.
"…Really?"
The Nine-Tails was a bit dumbfounded by her logic.
But it also knew this was probably the best it could get. After a brief consideration, it nodded and gathered a portion of its chakra, sending it out from the cage.
During the process, Hikari glanced at the sealing formula on the cage.
She could faintly sense two chakra signatures within it—likely Minato and Kushina's. But due to the seal's conditions, this level of loosening wasn't enough to let them break free.
Hikari could forcibly break the seal and pull them out.
But there was no point in that, and it might cause complications—Minato's chakra fragment likely wouldn't recognize her and could mistake her for an ally of the masked man, leading to unnecessary explanations.
So, she let it be.
Soon, the Nine-Tails' separated chakra formed a small, two-to-three-meter-tall mini Nine-Tails outside the cage.
"…It's this chibi?"
Hikari reached out to pat the mini Nine-Tails' head, but it dodged with a look of disgust. "What are you doing?"
"Sealing you up to take you out, obviously."
"…Hurry up."
With the mini Nine-Tails' impatient tone, Hikari activated the Four Symbols Seal, binding it to her soul. She then waved at the main Nine-Tails in the cage and, with a thought, withdrew from Naruto's mental world.
Back in reality, in the living room, Hikari slowly opened her eyes.
She saw Naruto, drenched in sweat, and Esdeath, standing nearby with a wary expression.
"What's with you two…?"
"Just now, this kid suddenly gave off a ferocious aura, like something was about to break out… Was that you? Everything okay?" Esdeath explained, then asked.
"Of course."
Hikari gave a small smile and glanced at her pale hand. There, on her hand, was a fluffy fox head, like an old-school animated sticker, looking adorably chibi. But only she knew it contained the chakra of that mini Nine-Tails.
"By the way…"
Does this mean I'm a "Nine-Tails Jinchūriki" now?