Chapter 98: His Own Cheat System
"Is this... the Nine-Tails' chakra?!"
The crimson, blood-red chakra, violent as molten lava, swept outward like a miniature storm. The resulting shockwaves made Uchiha Itachi's robes flutter violently, forcing her to lower her stance slightly to steady her swaying figure.
"Did I go too far?!" Itachi's expression suddenly turned grim. "Not good! Satsuki!"
She immediately realized the worst possibility—if the Nine-Tails truly went berserk, the jinchuriki would transform into a pure weapon of destruction, indiscriminate in its rampage!
And at this moment, the unconscious Satsuki lay mere meters away from Naruto. With the power of a tailed beast, even an unconscious movement would be enough to easily claim Satsuki's life.
'That Kurama... saying the harshest words while acting so honestly... really not straightforward at all.'
Naruto's consciousness was crystal clear. He could sense that big fox in the seal space stubbornly turning its head away. "I haven't fully acknowledged you yet! For now, you only get this much chakra! Take it or leave it!"
This power was indeed willingly—one could even say proactively—lent by the Nine-Tails, without the corrosive madness and resentment that came with it.
Although Naruto wasn't certain whether his body could fully withstand the burden of more tails, the power of four tails was already sufficient for now.
With a thought, the crimson chakra cloak wrapping his body immediately transformed. A massive red claw made entirely of solidified chakra extended from his side. This claw carefully avoided all sharp edges, gently enveloping and protecting the unconscious Satsuki nearby.
Under the gentle infusion of Nine-Tails chakra, Satsuki's face—pale as paper from extreme fear, pain, and chakra exhaustion—visibly regained a healthy flush, and her previously weak breathing became much steadier and deeper.
After ensuring Satsuki was temporarily safe, the chakra claw maintained its protective posture, isolating her from any potential conflicts with the outside world.
At this moment, Naruto's tailed beast transformation was complete.
Wrapped in chakra that burned like liquid blood, the original blonde boy's form had completely disappeared.
What appeared before Uchiha Itachi was unmistakably a miniature tailed beast—though not as massive as the complete form, it already possessed the Nine-Tails' menacing outline! Four tails made entirely of chakra danced wildly behind it.
However, what made Uchiha Itachi feel most uncertain was that this small Nine-Tails emanating overwhelming ferocity had beast-like pupils made of pure chakra that showed no chaos or madness, but instead flickered with a cold, lucid light.
Then, a voice with obvious bestial echoes yet unusually clear and calm rang out.
"Don't you dare take another step closer!"
Whooom—!
The miniature Nine-Tails suddenly opened its mouth wide. The crimson chakra permeating the surrounding air rushed toward its mouth like being drawn by a black hole, compressing and condensing at an alarming rate!
A crimson energy sphere formed at incredible speed.
The next moment—BOOM!!!
A massive torrent of crimson energy composed of tailed beast chakra erupted violently from Naruto's mouth!
The earth was torn apart like fragile paper, melted, evaporated, and surged toward Uchiha Itachi with destructive force!
---
"W-what is that thing?!"
"Is it an enemy attack?! Where did that attack come from?!"
At the same time, throughout Konoha village, even areas far from the explosion's epicenter were shaken by this sudden terrifying roar and the crimson light shooting skyward in the distance!
Ordinary villagers ran out of their homes in terror, looking toward the distance with faces full of fear and confusion.
Ninja who were patrolling or had just finished missions were even more alarmed, leaping to high vantage points and staring in disbelief at those destructive energy waves.
Some ninja particularly sensitive to chakra could clearly feel that terrible pressure filled with violence and destruction emanating from afar, even at such distance, causing them to involuntarily shudder with fear.
However, in the shadowy corner of a dim alley, two cloaked figures stood quietly, completely out of place with the surrounding panic.
One of them merely tilted his head slightly, the holes of his fox mask gazing indifferently toward the direction from which the shocking explosion waves and crimson light column emanated.
The figure beside him, though showing concern and tension in his posture, displayed more worry for his companion rather than pure fear of that power.
It was Menma and Shisui.
Menma didn't focus solely on the distant explosion like the others. At this moment, beside him, his Stand—invisible to ordinary people—Gold Experience, knelt on one knee with its palm gently pressed against the ground.
The Stand's perception spread like countless tiny roots through soil and rock, extending infinitely toward the underground depths of Konoha, exploring.
Originally, Menma had planned to go directly to the Hokage's office to "inquire" about the specific location of the Root organization's base from the Third Hokage. But just now, he had a flash of inspiration, realizing he might have a more direct method.
And indeed!
Through Gold Experience's ability to sense the life force fluctuations of all living things, he clearly detected—in a specific area deep underground beneath Konoha village, there were massive concentrations of abnormally intense life force fluctuations.
Those fluctuations were definitely not something that could be created by insects or moles naturally living underground.
Completely ignoring the panicked crowds running and shouting on the surrounding streets, Menma and Shisui quickly arrived at a patch of unusually quiet open ground in a secluded corner.
This place was far from the main roads, surrounded only by scattered shrubs.
Menma quickly formed hand seals.
"Doton: Doryuu Taiga."
The next moment, the ground ahead instantly lost its solid form, emitting a deep rumbling sound!
The earth writhed violently like a living creature, softening as hard soil and rock dissolved at visible speed, transforming into a surging, turbulent mudflow that rolled to both sides.
Within mere moments, a massive crater over five meters in diameter and more than ten meters deep appeared before them.
At the bottom of the crater, instead of damp soil, was an obviously man-made, cold metal platform and a passage entrance leading downward.
"This is..."
Shisui stared at the entrance below, a flash of understanding in his eyes. As a former ANBU member, he had heard of this place but had never been allowed to truly enter it.
The dwelling place of Konoha's deepest shadows.
"Found it—Konoha's long-rotted 'Root,'" Menma spoke. "An organization whose original ideal was to protect Konoha from the darkness, but has long since transformed into someone's private army and tumor for satisfying personal desires and eliminating dissidents."
Before his words finished, Menma's hand seals changed again, carrying the unique spatial fluctuations of a summoning contract.
Bang!
With a soft sound, his figure leaped into the crater, landing precisely on the metal platform below.
And just as he descended—
Hum!
Nine massive characters appeared—Azure, White, Vermillion, Black, Void, South, North, Three, Jade.
Immediately after, nine beasts followed their master's will, diving silently down one after another, following Menma's form into the entrance leading to the Root organization's base.
Shisui stood at the crater's edge, taking one last look back at the commotion still faintly audible from the village center in the distance.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, his figure also leaped down, entering that place representing Konoha's darkest depths.