novelraw Chapter 508 Naruto and the Tsundere Nine-Tails
Chapter 508 Naruto and the Tsundere Nine-Tails
Chapter 508 Naruto and the Tsundere Kurama
Naruto's consciousness slowly rose from the chaotic darkness.
He opened his eyes groggily, and before him was a cold, damp space resembling a sewer, with a faint smell of rust.
He was lying on a shallow patch of water, the water level just covering the back of his hand, but he couldn't feel the water's true texture, only a cool sensation flowing over his skin.
"here it is----"
Naruto propped himself up and sat up, looking around.
He recognized him immediately.
This is the sealed space within his body.
That place where the big fox is kept.
When he was training with the perverted sage Jiraiya, he came in a few times, and each time he would argue and quarrel with that grumpy big fox.
The fox always glared at him with that condescending, hateful look, calling him "brat" and "jinchūriki."
'
Saying things like "Go to hell" is offensive.
Naruto stood up, and ripples spread across the water.
He looked down at himself; he was still wearing that orange tracksuit. It wasn't a dream; his consciousness had been pulled in.
"Hey, kid!"
A low, rumbling sound, filled with barely suppressed anger, rang out behind Naruto.
Naruto turned around.
The tall, heavy iron gate that sealed the Bagua still stood at the end of the space, with huge talismans pasted on it, and chains hanging down from all sides of the door frame and submerged in the water.
Behind the iron gate, in that even deeper darkness, a pair of scarlet vertical pupils were staring intently at him through the gaps in the iron gate's bars.
It's a nine-tailed fox.
The large, orange-red fox that was locked inside was currently crouching deep within the cell.
But when Naruto looked closely, he almost burst out laughing.
The Nine-Tails' once majestic fox face now had a bruised and swollen left eye, a swollen right cheek, and a trace of dark red chakra residue at the corner of its mouth.
The funniest thing is that one of its iconic long ears has a small bald patch at the tip, with a lot of the hair pulled out, revealing the bare skin underneath.
He looked like he had just been ganged up on.
"Pfft—Hahahaha!"
Naruto couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter, clutching his stomach. His laughter echoed through the empty sealed space, creating a series of reverberations.
"You brat! What's so funny!"
Provoked by the laughter, the Nine-Tailed Fox suddenly stood up, its massive body slamming into the inside of the iron gate with a loud clang.
The chains rattled and shook, creating even larger ripples on the water's surface.
Its scarlet vertical pupils narrowed angrily into thin lines as it glared intently at Naruto, who was laughing hysterically outside the door.
But this movement seemed to aggravate his injuries.
Nine-Tailed Fox grinned, gasped, and carefully touched its swollen cheek with its paw, baring its teeth again.
As the strongest of the nine tailed beasts, and having lived for over a thousand years, Kurama has never experienced such intense humiliation.
Decades ago, although Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were able to suppress and seal it, they were at least human. Although he always said he was not convinced, it was still a fair fight. If you can't beat someone, you can't beat them.
But that ten-tailed monster outside just now—
That was a one-sided beating!
The dark red ten-tailed fox treated it like a toy, kneading and squeezing it.
They pounced on it, held it down, rubbed its fur with their paws, and finally even pushed its head into the seawater to choke it.
What's even more infuriating is that the guy's chakra seems to have some kind of corrosive quality, and the external wounds left on his body cannot be healed quickly using the tailed beast's regenerative power.
That's why I ended up in this sorry state, with a bruised and swollen face.
"Hey, big fox!" Naruto laughed until he was done, wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, sat cross-legged on the water outside the iron gate, rested his hands on his knees, tilted his head to look at the Nine-Tails in the cell, his azure eyes still carrying the lingering smile.
"Didn't you always brag about how powerful you were? Saying things like 'I'm the strongest tailed beast,' and 'you mere human'—how come you've been beaten up like this by Menma-san's—uh, summoning beast?"
He tried hard to recall what Menma had called the large, dark red fox.
Is her name "Xiao Jiu"?
But with that size and that strength, how is it "small"?!
"What do you know!" The Nine-Tailed Fox was so angry that all nine of its tails stood up and danced wildly in the narrow cell, lashing against the rock wall with dull "slap slap" sounds.
It lowered its head, bringing its comically swollen face close to the iron gate fence, its scarlet vertical pupils burning with anger, humiliation, and a hint of barely perceptible lingering fear.
"You brat, you have no idea what a terrifying being that guy is!" Nine-Tails' voice deepened, carrying a solemnity never seen before in a thousand years.
"That thing—it absolutely shouldn't exist in this world!"
It recalled the moment a thousand years ago when the old man, the Sage of Six Paths, divided the chakra of the Ten-Tails to create the nine tailed beasts.
Logically speaking, the Ten-Tails should already be "dead".
But that dark red ten-tailed fox from just now—
That feeling of chakra, that oppressive aura that seemed to come infinitely close to the source—
"Shouldn't it exist?" Naruto blinked, somewhat puzzled.
Just as Kurama was deep in thought, and Naruto wanted to ask something else...
despair.
despair.
despair.
A series of clear footsteps came from the dark passage leading to the sealed space.
Unhurried and unhurried, with a leisurely and unhurried demeanor.
The footsteps sounded particularly abrupt in this space where only the sound of water and the heavy breathing of the Nine-Tailed Fox could be heard.
Naruto and Kurama both turned their heads at the same time, looking in the direction from which the sound came.
Naruto's face lit up with surprise: "Menma-san!"
The Nine-Tails' crimson vertical pupils instantly became even sharper, its muscles tensed, and a low, wary whimper escaped its throat.
Despite being separated by the sealed prison door, its instinctive vigilance and fear compelled it to assume a fighting stance.
Mianma's figure slowly emerged from the shadows of the passage.
He was still wearing that black tracksuit, his hands in his pockets, his short black hair seemingly messed up by the wind, but he had a faint, calm smile on his face.
With each step he took, tiny ripples spread across the water's surface.
When Menma reached Naruto's side, he stopped and looked up at the Nine-Tails behind the cell door, which looked as if it were facing a formidable enemy.
"I said," Menma's voice was calm, even with a hint of a smile.
"Don't be so nervous, Kurama."
The air seemed to freeze in that instant.
Naruto clearly saw that the Nine-Tails behind the cell door suddenly froze.
The scarlet vertical pupils that had been glaring fiercely suddenly contracted the moment they heard the words "Nine Lamas"!
Those eyes were filled with disbelief and horror.
"No—impossible—" For the first time, Kurama's voice trembled, no longer an angry roar, but a murmur that sounded almost like a lost soul.
"Why do you know this name?"
It has lived for over a thousand years.
Created by the Sage of Six Paths and assigned to the central forest of the continent, they were feared, worshipped, sealed away, and exploited by humankind.
But no human has ever known its real name!
Even Hashirama Senju, the man who used Wood Release to grab it like a toy; even Madara Uchiha, the madman who controlled it with his Sharingan as if it were his own arm; even Mito Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki, the two Uzumaki clan women who sealed it within their bodies—
No one knew the name "Nine Lamas".
This is the name given to it by the old man; it is a true name that exists only in the depths of its memory, and even the other tailed beast brothers rarely call each other by it.
But now————
This boy, who looks no more than twelve or thirteen years old, this guy who harbors that monster within him, actually called out that name in such a casual tone?!
Naruto was also stunned. He turned his head to look at Menma's calm profile, then looked back at the Nine-Tails behind the cell door, which was in a state of great shock. His azure eyes blinked.
"Nine—Lama?" Naruto tentatively repeated the name, his pronunciation a little hesitant, but clear.
He looked at Kurama, a bright smile spreading across his face: "Wait, is that your name? Kurama? It's quite a nice name!"
Kurama ignored Naruto's words.
Its entire attention was focused on Mianma.
Its massive body leaned slightly forward, its two front paws pressed against the bars on the inside of the cell door, its sharp claws scraping against the iron door, making a grating "creak, creak" sound.
It lowered its head, bringing the swollen face even closer, its scarlet vertical pupils fixed on the numb face. Its voice was extremely low, each word seemingly squeezed out from between its teeth: "Kid—who exactly are you?"
Mianma did not give a direct answer.
He met Kurama's oppressive gaze with a calm smile.
"I know far more than you think, Kurama." He raised his right hand and gently tapped his temple with his index and middle fingers together.
"I know how the nine tailed beasts were born."
"We also know the truth about that war a thousand years ago."
Menma paused, his gaze fixed on Kurama's pupils, and slowly uttered the second half of his sentence: "If you don't want to be absorbed and devoured by the reassembled Ten-Tails someday in the future, turning back into that chaotic aggregate without self-awareness—"
"I advise you to be a good boy and listen to me."
boom!
Nine-Tails felt as if something had exploded violently inside his brain!
Every word Mianma uttered was a key that unlocked fragments of his memory that had been sealed away by time.
Those secrets it thought only the tailed beasts knew.
But how could this human boy know so much?!
And—the reassembled Ten-Tails?
The old man clearly already—
Nine-Tailed Fox trembled, a chill running from its tailbone straight to the top of its head.
If the Ten-Tails were to truly reunite, the fate of its nine tailed beasts would inevitably be to be absorbed again, reverting them to being monsters that only knew how to devour chakra and had no self-awareness.
A thousand years of independent existence, a thousand years of joys and sorrows, a thousand years of memories and emotions —
They will all disappear.
It reverts to being part of the "Ten-Tails".
"You—" Nine-Tails' voice was dry, as if something was blocking his throat.
Its face looked numb, and its eyes held an incredibly complex expression.
There was wariness, fear, and even more so, deep shock.
Mianma didn't wait for it to finish speaking.
Everything that needed to be said has been said, and everything that needed to be pointed out has been pointed out.
The rest is up to this proud tailed beast to digest and weigh on its own.
"Help my brother well, and let him adapt to your power."
Mianma turned around, his back to the cell door, leaving only his back view.
"If you don't want to be swallowed up."
After saying that, he lifted his foot and walked back towards the dark passage he had come from.
despair.
despair.
despair.
Footsteps sounded again, fading into the distance.
It eventually disappeared completely at the end of the passage, leaving only a deathly silence in the sealed space and ripples slowly calming on the water's surface.
Nine-Tailed Fox stood stiffly in place, its front paws still pressed against the fence, maintaining that posture of leaning down and staring.
But in those scarlet vertical pupils, the initial anger and ferocity were gone, replaced only by deep shock and bewilderment.
It stared through the crack in the iron gate at the direction where the figure had disappeared, remaining motionless for a long time.
Don't want to be swallowed up — Listen carefully — Adaptability —
These words echoed repeatedly in its mind, and with each collision, the scales in its heart tilted subtly.
Being threatened is certainly not a pleasant feeling.
When has the Nine Lama ever suffered such humiliation?
However—the strength this boy displayed, the secrets he possessed, and the ten-tailed fox that could completely overwhelm him—all made it clearly realize that the other party was not bluffing.
This young man is even more unfathomable than Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha from decades ago!
Nine-Tailed Fox instinctively touched its swollen and painful cheek with its claws, and then grimaced again.
The gap in strength is too large.
It was so large that even the thought of resistance seemed ridiculous to it.
for a long time.
The Nine-Tails slowly exhaled a scorching breath, carrying a rich aura of chakra.
It retracted its front paws, moved its massive body backward, and lay down again deep inside the cell, resting its head on its front paws.
Those scarlet vertical pupils, peering through the gaps in the fence, landed on Naruto, who was still standing outside the door, looking at it curiously with his azure eyes.
This blond brat.
His name seems to be Naruto Uzumaki, and he's Kushina's child.
Nine-Tailed Fox remembers this name.
Since it was sealed into this little devil's body twelve years ago, it has occasionally been able to observe the outside world and the human child that carries it through the loosening gaps in the seal.
He watched as the villagers ostracized, insulted, and isolated him.
Watching him grin foolishly every day, using pranks to attract attention.
Watching him clumsily practice, falling down and getting up again and again.
Seeing him make friends, his eyes began to light up.
To be honest, in the long life of the Nine-Tails, it has seen countless humans.
Many powerful human ninjas coveted its power, or tried to control it, or tried to deceive it.
There are also Jinchūriki like Mito Uzumaki, who are strong and composed, and Jinchūriki like Kushina Uzumaki, who are irritable yet resilient.
But someone like Naruto—
Despite enduring such malice, she could still smile so brightly, her eyes still retaining that almost foolish innocence and kindness—
Rare.
No, it's the only one.
Kurama always thought this kid was stupid and annoying, always talking nonsense like "I want to become Hokage" and "I will gain everyone's recognition".
But now.
After witnessing the power of that dark red ten-tailed fox firsthand—
After Menma's words, and facing the crisis of the Ten-Tails' resurrection.
Kurama looked at Naruto, and his mindset underwent a subtle change.
Perhaps—cooperating temporarily might not be unacceptable?
In any case, for tailed beasts with infinite life, human lifespan is only a few decades.
Be patient and wait for this brat to die of old age; perhaps then it will regain its freedom.
It's better than being devoured by the Ten-Tails and disappearing completely.
As Kurama (the Nine-Tails) convinced himself in this way.
Naruto, who was standing outside the door, moved.
He took two steps forward, came to the iron gate, grabbed the cold bars with both hands, pressed his face against the gap, and stared straight at the Nine-Tailed Fox deep inside the cell with his azure eyes.
There was no fear, no hatred, and not even the mockery of before in those eyes.
There was only a clean, straightforward curiosity, and a hint of seriousness.
"Your name is Nine-Ra, right?"
Naruto's voice was exceptionally clear in this silent space.
The Nine-Tails' ears twitched, but it didn't respond. It just stared at him quietly with its scarlet vertical pupils.
Naruto didn't care. He released his grip on the fence, took a half step back, raised his right hand, made a fist, and stretched it to his chest.
"Let me introduce myself!" Naruto flashed a bright, almost dazzling smile, revealing a set of white teeth.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki! My dream is—well, to become a powerful ninja like my dad and brother! To protect those I love and change this ninja world!"
He paused, his smile fading slightly, but his eyes became even more serious.
"Although you used to have a terrible temper, always scolding me, and always trying to break free of the seal and cause trouble—"
"However, Menma-san said I need your power. And you, it seems, also need—my help? At least you don't want to be swallowed by that Ten-Tails, right?"
Naruto looked at Kurama very seriously.
"so----"
He took a deep breath, stretched his right hand, which was clenched into a fist, forward, through the gap in the iron gate, and into the cell, hanging in front of Nine-Tails.
His fists weren't big, and there were thin calluses on his knuckles from practicing with shuriken.
But this posture, this movement—
"Please take care of me from now on, Kurama."
Naruto said with a smile, his azure eyes reflecting the enormous and somewhat comical swollen face of Kurama.
Let's become stronger together!
'
""
Kurama fell silent; it could sense Naruto's sincere, harmless demeanor.
It looked down at the human fist that was outstretched in front of it.
Very small.
It's so small that one of its paws can completely cover it.
It's fragile.
It's so fragile that it can be crushed into minced meat with the slightest pressure.
But this small, fragile fist now carried a weight that it could hardly comprehend.
This blond brat is serious.
He was not mocking, testing, deceiving, or giving alms.
He really is reaching out his "hand" to it.
Invitation in an attitude of equality.
Many images flashed through Nine-Tails' mind.
It was Hashirama Senju's eyes, which were both tolerant and distant.
It was Madara Uchiha's Sharingan, filled with a desire for control and madness.
Mito Uzumaki's treatment was gentle yet distant.
It was Kushina Uzumaki's volatile yet resilient resistance.
And outside, there's that unfathomable warning and threat.
But this Naruto in front of me—
Different.
Completely different.
""
The nine-tailed fox slowly raised one of its front paws.
A huge claw covered in orange-red fur hovered in front of Naruto's small fist.
It looked into Naruto's expectant blue eyes.
for a long time.
It gave a soft hum, its voice low and carrying a hint of impatient arrogance.
"Ugh, you brat!"
It reached out and gently touched Naruto's fist.
One large and one small, one beast and one human.
One was inside the prison gate, and the other was outside.
A fist and a claw tip, a light touch.
"You better not disappoint me."
Nine-Lama turned his head away and muttered something.
But the claw that had touched Naruto's fist was carefully withdrawn and hidden under his body.
Naruto smiled.
Her eyes curved into crescent moons as she laughed.
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