"Unlock the Adamantine Sealing Chains?"
This was the Nine-Tails—a Tailed Beast overflowing with hatred.
Kushina opened her mouth to object, but her words faltered when she met Hakken's calm, reassuring gaze.
"Don't worry. It won't act up. If it does, the consequences will be… severe."
Hakken shook his head and stepped forward, stopping right in front of Kurama. His eyes were steady as he looked up at the beast.
"What do you say, Kurama?"
No one liked being restrained—and Tailed Beasts were no exception. That kind of confinement was pure torment.
This brat…
Kurama's massive eyes flickered with uncertainty, as if weighing his options. How did this kid even know his name? There was no trace of the Sage of Six Paths' chakra on him—he clearly wasn't one of his descendants.
And yet… did he really think the moment these chains came off, Kurama wouldn't crush him with a single swipe?
Kushina didn't know what Hakken planned, but for safety's sake, she stepped back and raised her hand.
When the golden chains finally dissolved into the air, the Nine-Tails didn't attack. It simply watched Hakken with sharpened wariness.
From the very beginning, that aura of death surrounding the boy told it everything it needed to know.
This was someone who could truly kill it.
Not just the temporary kind of death where a Tailed Beast re-forms over time—but real, irreversible death.
The fear in Kurama's eyes deepened.
Not even when facing Madara Uchiha had he felt this way.
Against Madara, who had forced control over him, all Kurama had ever felt was fury. But this boy… this was something different. This was instinctual, primal fear.
"Relax. I only want to talk."
Hakken shook his head and walked steadily toward those enormous claws that gleamed like blades.
A jinchūriki could bring others into their sealed space, but what entered wasn't their full body—only a projection of spiritual energy carrying a trace of their soul.
Even if the Nine-Tails lashed out, Hakken wouldn't be physically harmed.
Kurama's pupils narrowed, and for a brief moment, that beastly instinct within him stirred—like a mirror reflecting his own nature back at him. Looking at Hakken, Kurama suddenly felt as though he were facing one of his own kind.
"It seems this way of talking makes you feel a bit more comfortable."
Crossing his arms, Hakken lightly leapt up and landed on the bridge of Kurama's nose, looking him straight in the eyes.
Strange.
Why hadn't he been swatted off yet?
Kurama squinted, his expression full of suspicion. Since parting ways with the Sage of Six Paths, his existence had been one long chain of suffering.
For a fox that had once reveled in freedom, being trapped in a human body was unbearable.
Humans treated him like a weapon, never realizing that Tailed Beasts felt emotions just like they did.
The two pairs of sharp, needle-like pupils met for a long, unbroken minute before Kurama finally spoke.
"Kid, you shouldn't be human."
There was something wild and untamed in Hakken—something that belonged to beasts, not men.
"That's why," Hakken replied calmly, "we can talk as equals."
He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and lightly tapped Kurama's massive head.
It was an odd gesture—one that felt strangely out of place when directed at a creature like this.
If Itachi saw this, he'd probably lose his mind.
What kind of pose was this supposed to be?
Kurama's tail twitched, his eyes filled with confusion.
Human or not, there was something wrong about this whole scene.
I'm not your pet, brat.
Pity? No—it wasn't that.
Hakken had his own reasons for coming to see the Nine-Tails.
Why had Naruto's childhood been filled with so much loneliness and pain?
The Nine-Tails Incident.
That was the true cause.
The villagers had seen Naruto not as himself, but as the very monster that had destroyed their homes.
Yet there was one thing Hakken couldn't understand.
The villagers only knew that Naruto held the Nine-Tails—that he was its jinchūriki.
But as the hero who had saved the village, he never knew he was also the Fourth Hokage's son.
Later, Minato explained that the Third Hokage had wanted to protect Naruto. After all, the "Yellow Flash" of the Third Shinobi World War shone too brightly, and with such fame came countless enemies.
Yet in Hakken's eyes, between being the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki and the Fourth's son, the former was far more striking.
So why release only the fact that Naruto was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, while hiding the truth that he was the hero's child?
Strange.
But there was no need to overanalyze it.
Konoha's leadership would have to be dealt with sooner or later. For now, Hakken's purpose in meeting the Nine-Tails was simple—to eliminate, at the root, any seeds of hatred toward jinchūriki.
He would remove every possible threat.
This village had already changed.
Though Hakken had sworn he wouldn't allow Obito to harm Kushina, proper precautions still had to be taken.
In the original story, the Nine-Tails hadn't been entirely mad at the start. It was only after Minato defeated Obito and broke the genjutsu restraining it that the beast's instincts exploded, and it began its indiscriminate rampage.
That was when disaster struck.
Between a Tailed Beast under control and one fully unleashed, which was more dangerous?
Hakken knew the answer—the latter.
"You don't want to stay trapped like this forever, do you?"
"Not even a moment to breathe fresh air."
Sitting down on Kurama's nose, Hakken patted his waist. He hadn't brought his sake gourd, so he couldn't even offer the fox a drink.
"What do you mean?"
Confusion flickered in the Nine-Tails' eyes.
Freedom? Who wouldn't want it?
It had been sealed away for decades, forced to see only what its jinchūriki saw. That kind of confinement… no creature could like it.
"Trust goes both ways," Hakken said lazily. "I just trusted you once—so now it's your turn to trust me."
He yawned, feeling a touch of boredom.
Of course, he wasn't Naruto. He couldn't win over a Tailed Beast with a few words. And he would never be the type to look into Kurama's eyes and talk about understanding or dissolving hatred.
That sort of "talk-no-jutsu" wasn't his style. Even when reading the original story, he'd found it hard to stomach, much less say it himself.
Practical action—that was what mattered.
"Human, don't think a few words will make this old man trust you."
As expected, Kurama's cold gaze didn't waver. Gaining its trust wouldn't be easy.
"I'll only say this once."
Hakken shook his head. "If something happens—and I mean an accident—stay down. Don't move. If you dare fire a Tailed Beast Ball at this village, I'll smash your head in."
He raised his right hand like a gun, his needle-like pupils returning to normal.
"On the other hand, if you keep your word, I'll make sure you get chances to move around freely later."
Standing up, Hakken jumped down from Kurama's nose.
For someone with his system, it wouldn't be difficult—just a matter of spending a few points on the right item.
And honestly, having Kurama guard the village didn't sound bad at all.
Especially if he could convince the fox to take on its smaller form—it'd make for a surprisingly good companion to pet.
"Oh, and one more thing."
As Hakken turned back toward Kushina, he suddenly glanced over his shoulder at Kurama. A wave of Shinigami-like spiritual pressure burst from his body.
"I may have released your chains, but..."
"Don't you dare lay a finger on my sensei's wife."
...
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