"So what about today? Did the Nine-Tails contact you first, or did you reach out to him?"
"I'd say it was the former. Your mind's probably all on little Naruto right now—you wouldn't give that stinking fox the time of day."
Kazuyama Gekkō, being a Jinchūriki himself, spoke of the Nine-Tails with casual familiarity. Even if he weren't one, his tone would likely have been the same. Truthfully, pick almost any ninja from Konoha and their attitude toward the Nine-Tails wouldn't be much different. The beast had caused far too much devastation.
"He contacted me," Kushina said.
"Even that night, it was he who reached out first."
Hearing this, Minato Namikaze's expression grew grim. The danger the Nine-Tails represented was too great. Even with Kushina's Uzumaki sealing power, if the Nine-Tails broke free, the cost was something he couldn't bear.
"Kushina, you must hold to your true self," Minato said firmly.
"Since becoming the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, you've done an admirable job. Right now, we don't need the Nine-Tails' power at all. Don't let him sway you."
Kushina nodded. She understood better than anyone the destructive might of the Nine-Tails. She had always been cautious, afraid of falling into its tricks.
But Kazuyama Gekkō thought differently. He had a clear idea of why the Nine-Tails had personally reached out to Kushina.
"Wait, wait—both of you, don't get so worked up. Let me think this through."
He cut off their worries with a wave. Their reasoning, from the start, had been clouded by prejudice against the Nine-Tails.
"What if… the Nine-Tails is feeling threatened?"
"Think about it. Back at the Valley of the End, when the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, fought Uchiha Madara, Madara controlled the Nine-Tails with his Sharingan."
"Then, that night, when Madara appeared again—couldn't it be possible the Nine-Tails was shaken at the sight of him?"
"Don't give me that look."
Kushina and Minato both stared at him wide-eyed, as if he'd just spoken nonsense. Still, his words were shocking. Was he really saying…the Nine-Tails was scared?
Inside Kushina, the Nine-Tails was already raging.
"Damn it! That little brat!"
"I am the Nine-Tails! How could I ever be afraid!"
"Damn it! Let me out! I'll rip him apart!"
But no one knew of his fury—not even Kushina. She had only sealed him and paid him no further mind.
Meanwhile, Chōmei, the Seven-Tails, was laughing hysterically. Hearing Kazuyama Gekkō mock the Nine-Tails felt wonderfully satisfying.
"Ahahaha! Kazuyama, you're the best!"
"Exactly! That stinking fox is just scared! Hahaha!"
Chōmei's laughter spurred Kazuyama Gekkō on. If the Nine-Tails could hear him, then he'd let him hear even more.
"Kazuyama, how did you even come up with that idea?" Minato asked.
"Yeah, the Nine-Tails scared? That's impossible..." Kushina added.
Minato struggled to process it. Kushina, meanwhile, had grown up hearing of the Nine-Tails' terror before ever becoming a Jinchūriki, and afterward had felt it firsthand. That world-ending chakra wasn't something humans could oppose. How could such a being know fear?
Kazuyama Gekkō sneered.
"What's so impossible about it?"
"So what if it's the Nine-Tails? It's still part of this world. No matter how strong, it's still just one being in it."
"And if it's part of this world, then it has emotions. Was Hashirama Senju strong? Of course. He was someone who could pin the Nine-Tails to the ground and beat it."
"Can you really say he feared nothing? I don't think so."
Inside the seal, the Nine-Tails went berserk again. Its pride had never been so trampled.
"Damn brat! Was Hashirama even human?!"
"That giant Buddha of his was bigger than me! Not just me—even if the other idiots showed up, they'd all get smashed!"
"Damn it! One was Hashirama, the other Madara Uchiha—and I'll never bow to either!"
Before Kazuyama Gekkō could say more, a system notification cut in.
[Ding! Host's words have struck directly at Kurama's psyche, causing a total breakdown. Now in a state of furious rage. Special reward: Tailed Beast Ball Optimization perfected. Final skill unlocked.]
Oh? There were four Tailed Beast Ball Optimizations, and he had already unlocked three. Now the last one.
[Optimization Skill: Tailed Beast Ball Dragon Star Cluster!]
What?
Star Cluster??? Was it what he was thinking?
[Host, you're absolutely right. It's exactly what you imagined.]
Holy crap—turning the Tailed Beast Ball into a map-wide bombardment? One strike like that could erase a village!
[Host, don't get carried away. The power is still that of a Tailed Beast Ball. The difference is the number—one becomes a hundred. The strength of each ball decreases accordingly.]
Uh… Kazuyama Gekkō admitted he had let his imagination run wild. If it really had been like the Dragon Star Cluster he'd seen in a manga from his past life, he would have been a walking nuclear bomb.
"Kazuyama? Kazuyama? What's wrong?"
"Did something come to mind? Why'd you suddenly stop talking?"
"I'll admit, what you said was a little scary, but keep going."
Minato Namikaze waved a hand in front of Kazuyama Gekkō's face. Since finishing his last words, he hadn't moved a muscle, not even his expression.
"Huh? Oh, nothing, nothing."
"Just thinking about something. Where was I?"
"Oh, right—I was saying the Nine-Tails is afraid."
Minato and Kushina both nodded. As outlandish as it sounded, Minato had thought it over and realized it wasn't entirely impossible.
"I think the Nine-Tails really is afraid."
"But… he's the Nine-Tails. How could he possibly fear anyone?" Kushina asked, baffled. As a Jinchūriki, she knew the Nine-Tails' terror intimately. To imagine him being afraid seemed impossible.
"Pfft, why not?" Kazuyama shot back.
"Minato, we've faced more than one tailed beast, haven't we? Take Killer Bee. He's the Eight-Tails. Do you really think he fears nothing?"