The seal was meant to restrain the Nine-Tails. That was how every jinchūriki of the beast had lived—bound by the immense power of sealing techniques. Until now, no one had ever reached true resonance with the Nine-Tails.
Naruto was the first.
He was born of the Uzumaki clan, inheritors of sealing arts and monstrous reserves of chakra. For generations, only they had been capable of containing Kurama. But that legacy came with tragedy. Every Nine-Tails host before Naruto had been an Uzumaki woman—sacrificed young, often losing their lives in childbirth as the beast was sealed within their children.
By the time of Naruto's birth, the Uzumaki clan was scattered, their strength broken. He bore only half their blood. By the old standards, he was not fit to be Kurama's vessel. His control had always been shaky, his burden heavy. But with Kaede's guidance, the boy had begun to transcend those limits.
Even now, he was only half-transformed into a tailed-beast state—and Sasuke was already being driven back.
Blood filled Sasuke's mouth as he staggered, planting his blade into the ground to keep upright. His chest rose and fell sharply, but the fire in his eyes refused to dim. Slowly, his pupils shifted, darkened, and strange markings began to creep across his skin.
Kaede's eyes narrowed. From the stands, he felt a ripple of dread.
The curse seal.
His plan had always been to draw both Sasuke and Itachi back into the Nation of Gods. To break their chains, to free them from the cycle of hatred. But some fates were heavier than his will. That inevitable battle between brothers loomed, no matter how he tried to divert the path.
When the system had first warned him, he hadn't believed it. He thought he could rewrite everything—save them both. He had even claimed Orochimaru early, bound him to the God Tree. If the Snake Sannin was under his control, then Sasuke should never have become a vessel. By all logic, the curse mark should never have appeared.
And yet, here it was.
Twisting black power across Sasuke's skin, whispering promises of strength.
Kaede clenched his fists. Some things, it seemed, could not be erased. Remove one thread of destiny, and another, darker thread would rise in its place.
He was the one caught in that whirlpool, the storm dragging all of them forward.
But even as despair tugged at him, he sharpened his resolve. If fate was a whirlpool, then he would be the one to turn its tides. Step by step, with his own hands, he would bend it to his will.
Still, one question burned inside him as he watched Sasuke's body writhe under the seal's mark.
If not Orochimaru… then whose power was this?
Could it be Kabuto? No. Kaede had already seen the system's record of him. Kabuto was nothing more than a minor player in this world.
Then who? Who had the strength to lay this brand upon Sasuke… and for what purpose?
(End of Chapter)
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