Chapter 206: Take Your Hands Off Me
Kushina was running barefoot on the rooftops of Konoha.
She hadn't felt the sun and the wind in a very, very long time.
The streets around her were mostly rebuilt after the "Night of the Purple Moon," familiar yet strange.
"Hey, kid! Get a hold of yourself!" the Nine-Tails growled from within her.
She came back to her senses. It was not yet time to relax.
"Stop!"
A number of ninja were chasing her. Some of them had seen her escape from the ground, others had been drawn by her strange attire.
She had no interest in turning back. All she could think about was escaping.
A volley of kunai shot at her from behind, aimed at her back.
She was about to turn and block, but she heard the Nine-Tails say, "Just keep going. Leave it to me."
Three chakra fox tails appeared from behind her and, with a gentle sweep, deflected the kunai.
She felt a burning sensation on her back and frowned slightly, but in the end, she entrusted her back to the Nine-Tails.
In the past year, while breaking through her own restraints, she had, with the help of the Uzumaki clan's sealing jutsu, slightly altered the Eight Trigrams Seal within her, allowing the Nine-Tails to control a portion of its power.
But whether it was the tailed beast cloak or the current situation, whenever she used the Nine-Tails' power, it would burn her. The more she used, the more it burned. It was not an external injury, but a drain on her life force. She didn't know the reason, and the Nine-Tails had never explained it.
A shadow shot out from nowhere, trying to connect with hers. The fox tails slammed down, destroying the building behind her and blocking the shadow's advance.
More and more pursuers were coming, but most of them were just trying to stop her, not to kill her. For one, this was the village, and they couldn't just go all out. For another, most of them still didn't understand what was happening and were just acting on their instinct to protect the village.
A short while later, she saw the high wooden walls at the edge of the village.
Just as she was about to rejoice, a figure in a white Hokage robe appeared in front of her, blocking her path.
Sakumo Hatake stared at the red-haired girl, a sigh and a hint of regret in his heart.
Though he had had almost no involvement with the Jinchuriki since he had become Hokage, he still recognized her. He had been there the day the Nine-Tails was transferred.
And seeing the lab-rat-like clothes on her body, and the shackles on her limbs, he knew what had happened.
"Stop," he said. "Come back with me."
She glared at him with her red Sharingan, silent.
From her actions and her route, it was not difficult to tell that she was trying to escape.
No matter what he was thinking at that moment, he could not let her leave.
"Defection is an unforgivable crime," he said, his voice grim. "But if you stay, I will help you."
"The unforgivable ones," she snarled, as if provoked, "are you people!"
He was not a man of words, and at that moment, he felt that words were powerless. He drew the short sword from his back and began to think of a way to subdue her.
He looked at the three swaying fox tails behind her. "A tailed beast cloak?" he mused. "It feels a little different."
Compared to the Cloud's Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, her current form seemed to be a combination of her human form and the tailed beast cloak.
I have to be careful, but it shouldn't be a problem.
The next moment, in her eyes, even with the excellent dynamic vision of her three-tomoe Sharingan, his figure was a blur. Her eyes had reacted, but her body and her mind had not.
In the Academy, her grades had been good. But after graduation, due to her special status, she had not had much opportunity to learn anything other than sealing jutsu. And she had had no chance to gain experience on missions. And the year she had spent imprisoned in the underground... she was extremely lacking in combat experience.
In an instant, he was on her, his blade reversed, the back of it aimed at her neck.
She did not react, but the fox tails behind her did, lashing out to block.
The tails and the sword collided with a violent force. But he changed his attack from a slash to a kick, sending her flying, and then frowned slightly.
Do I have to deal with those tails first?
With the powerful regenerative ability of a Jinchuriki, she managed to stand up.
"Kid," the Nine-Tails' voice echoed in her mind, "this guy is tricky! With just three tails, I can't stop him."
The next moment, his figure appeared again, but this time, it was not the back of his blade.
The three fox tails whipped wildly, trying to push him back. But the silver-white blade was like a slithering snake, weaving between them, and then, with a flash of white light, one of the tails was severed, the chakra-formed entity dissipating.
"This guy!" the Nine-Tails said, surprised. "He cut... my chakra?"
The white blade flashed again and again, and the second and third tails were also severed.
The Nine-Tails tried to form another tail, but she was hit on the back of the neck by the back of his blade.
Though he had controlled his strength, the pain was excruciating, and her consciousness began to fade.
She stumbled and fell to the rooftop.
Just then, a green figure appeared. Might Duy, with the Adamantine Staff in his hand, arrived and, seeing her, froze for a moment. "Lord Hokage," he said, "are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Sakumo said, seeing him. "Thank you for coming."
Might Duy's performance in the "Night of the Purple Moon" had been there for all to see. Since then, his status in the village had changed completely. He was no longer the laughingstock, the perennial Genin, but one of the village's recognized high-level combatants, and he had even been given the summoning contract of the monkey clan by the Third Hokage before his death.
He nodded. With the Hokage here, he had nothing to worry about.
Kushina's eyelids grew heavy, and her head began to droop.
I tried so hard to escape, she thought, but in the end, it was all for nothing.
"Kushina!"
I'm so tired. I've been so tired ever since I left the Land of Whirlpools. So many years.
"Hey! Kushina!"
I should just give up. The more I struggle, the more it hurts.
"Hey! Brat!"
The Nine-Tails' roar brought her back to her senses.
"You can't beat them. The only way now is to give me your body!"
She did not reply. The Nine-Tails thought she was still hesitating.
"Do you have any other choice? Don't worry, you can trust m—"
But her tearful voice interrupted him.
"Nine-Tails... save me."
He froze.
Tears streamed down her face. She used the last of her consciousness to slam her palm on her own flat stomach.
The power of the seal was being released.
In her inner world, the Nine-Tails bared its fangs. "Ah," it snarled, "leave it to me!"
Outside.
More and more Konoha ninja had gathered. But seeing the Hokage's robe, they all relaxed.
Sakumo, seeing that she was completely still, sighed and sheathed his short sword. He reached out to pick her up.
But just as his fingertips were about to touch her, a deep, raspy voice came from her body.
"Take your hands off me, you mongrel!"
The red chakra flames erupted again.
More violent, more massive, more terrifying.