Tsk!
Almost at the same moment he heard the sound, Naruto's sharp hearing also caught a subtle whoosh as something cut through the air.
He instinctively raised his right hand, without even turning his head, and snatched something near his face.
It was a wooden training kunai, its tip blunted, which he held firmly in his grasp.
Naruto turned around and looked in the direction of the sound.
He saw Uchiha Sasuke standing not far away, a slight smile on his face.
Uchiha Shisui stood beside him, his eyes covered with a black cloth. His face was calm, yet he seemed to perceive everything around him, slightly tilting his head to "look" in Naruto's direction.
Sasuke quickly gave Naruto the hand signal taught at the academy, meaning "wait for me," and then turned to whisper a few words to Shisui beside him.
Shisui nodded, clapped Sasuke on the shoulder, and only then did Sasuke jog over to Naruto. The two walked side-by-side toward the school building with great unspoken understanding.
"Good reflexes," Sasuke said with a smile, glancing at the wooden kunai in Naruto's hand. "It seems that experience the other day really made you much stronger?"
He was naturally referring to the attack on the shelter.
Naruto was silent for a moment. Instead of directly answering the question about getting stronger, he suddenly asked, "Sasuke, you actually knew my identity all along, didn't you?"
Hearing this, Sasuke showed no surprise, just nodding: "Mhm, I knew."
Although, given his current age, he shouldn't have known about the existence of the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
But he had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan at such a young age and was being meticulously groomed by the entire Uchiha clan, including Shisui and people like Uchiha Yakumi, as a future clan head.
Naturally, certain vital village secrets would not be concealed from him, and the identity of the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki was one of them.
"If you want to know, I can..." Sasuke started to offer.
"No need." Naruto shook his head, interrupting him. His tone was surprisingly calm. "I already know some of the specific details myself."
"But, aren't you afraid?"
Afraid?
Afraid of what?
Uchiha Sasuke was stunned for a moment. Then, seemingly understanding what Naruto was referring to, he couldn't help but curl his lip, letting out his characteristic arrogant sneer.
But he quickly restrained that expression, replacing it with his usual, formulaic gentle smile.
Of course, this smile wasn't for Naruto, but for the fools who habitually judged a person's goodness by their appearance.
This was the necessary effort required to become the Hokage.
Sasuke swore never to repeat the mistakes the Uchiha clan had made in the past.
However, with Naruto, Sasuke knew he couldn't hide his true nature from him and didn't mind him seeing through his gentle façade to the proud nature beneath.
"It's merely the power of a Tailed Beast. I believe you can control it," Sasuke said with a smile. "After all, you are the rival acknowledged by me, Uchiha Sasuke, aren't you?"
"But, let me state upfront, you're not the only one who has improved. I've also learned a Fire Release Ninjutsu. You're still far from beating me in an actual fight..."
Listening to Sasuke's chatter, Naruto remained silent, but his heart warmed slightly.
It's good that some people are willing to trust him, even if it's only a few.
But the rarer it was, the more precious it became.
Meanwhile, in the sealed space within Naruto's body.
The Nine-Tails, which was lazily sprawled on the beach, suddenly twitched its ears, having overheard Uchiha Sasuke's phrase, "merely a Tailed Beast."
"Hmph!"
It angrily bared its mouth full of white fangs, grumbling: "That stinking Uchiha brat! What big talk!"
"Indeed, the Uchiha clan are all arrogant bastards!"
Pat.
A soft sound. Before the Nine-Tails could complain further, a palm casually landed on the top of its head.
An irresistible force came through, and the Nine-Tails' massive head was pressed directly into the sand beneath it.
"Silence."
Ōtsutsuki Kun'shiki, seated atop its head, slowly withdrew his hand. His tone was flat, yet held an unquestionable authority: "Calm your mind and feel the Chakra I am transmitting to you."
"Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo." The Nine-Tails pulled its head out of the sand, shook it, and spat out the grains. Although visibly annoyed, it still closed its fox eyes.
It began to concentrate, perceiving the stream of cold energy continuously flowing into its body from the center of Kun'shiki's palm atop its head.
In fact, the Nine-Tails' talent was far more than just its enormous Chakra reserve.
In the original story, it had mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu and could even help Naruto draw in natural energy, allowing him to instantly enter Sage Mode.
A moment later, the Nine-Tails suddenly opened its eyes and subconsciously looked at its own hands.
Its claws, which were originally covered in orange fur, were now overlaid with a layer of hard, thick, bone-like exoskeleton, emanating a pale, white sheen!
It scratched its own cheek with a claw, feeling an itch on its face, as if something was stirring beneath the flesh, eager to burst forth.
"This feeling..." the Nine-Tails muttered softly. "Is this the power of those so-called 'Hollows'?"
So that's it. A deeper application of spiritual energy?
No wonder...
It seemed to have figured something out and asked: "Are those 'Hollows' your creations?"
"Yes." Kun'shiki answered cleanly and decisively, with no intention of denying it.
"You really are a dangerous fellow," the Nine-Tails' voice deepened.
"Do you think Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo never did anything similar?" Kun'shiki's tone remained calm. "Wasn't the 'Pure Land' he created the same?"
"It's also interfering with the realm of souls and playing with the boundaries of life and death. He did it to counter his mother's kin."
Kun'shiki slightly lowered his head, looking down at the Nine-Tails: "I simply chose a different path than him, one that goes further."
The Nine-Tails opened its mouth, but found itself unable to refute. It could only ask: "Why are you teaching me to master this power?"
"Because I need you and Naruto to respectively inherit and master the two powers I developed," Kun'shiki stated frankly. "I need you to become a pillar of support for Naruto in the future."
Hearing this, the Nine-Tails' confusion only deepened.
Is this old guy preparing to leave?
"Are you so certain I'll help this brat?"
It probed: "My intervention last time was just because I didn't want to die with this kid. If I could, I'd rather get rid of these damned humans."
It sensed that Kun'shiki seemed to be in a good mood today, so it was a little bolder than usual.
Under normal circumstances, it would never dare to speak like this.
"You have no choice."
Kun'shiki's reply was cold and realistic: "Do you think you could have escaped from the leader of the Akatsuki with the Rinnegan if he had attacked with his full power last time?"
"You understand better than I do what the Rinnegan signifies."
The Nine-Tails' heart sank suddenly.
The Rinnegan—that was the Old Man's eye, a genuine domain of "God."
The emergence of the Rinnegan meant that the Gedō Mazō had already fallen into the hands of the Akatsuki.
In the face of the Gedō Mazō and the Rinnegan, the Tailed Beasts were virtually lambs to the slaughter, with little room for struggle.
"You must have already noticed that the psychic link you share with the other Tailed Beasts has largely been severed or become extremely weak, haven't you?"
Kun'shiki continued: "I can tell you explicitly that the people targeting you are far more than just them."
"The secrets of this world are also far beyond your imagination."
"Out there alone, you will simply die—a death in the true sense of the word."
The Nine-Tails fell into a long silence, its last shred of hope pierced.
It was true; it couldn't sense the presence of that Shukaku fellow anymore.
The Nine-Tails didn't ask what Kun'shiki's goal was. It knew perfectly well that even if it received an answer, it wouldn't necessarily be the truth, or even if it were the truth, it wouldn't dare to believe it.
This ancient, deeply cunning old man, who had lived for an unknown amount of time, absolutely had some ulterior motive.
It chose a more practical question: "What power do you intend for this brat to inherit?"
Kun'shiki didn't answer immediately. He slowly raised a hand and, in front of him, lightly swiped.
Buzz.
In the entire sealed space, the background, which simulated a blue sky and carried a slight, false warmth, gradually vanished with Kun'shiki's casual swipe.
In its place was a vast, boundless night sky.
However, this night sky was not filled with stars and the moon.
Instead, covering the infinite expanse of the curtain, countless delicate ribbons of light slowly flowed and intertwined, filling the entire field of view!
These light ribbons presented two distinct shades of blue: one a deep blue, profound like the ocean, and the other a clear azure, like a bright sky.
The two colors of blue light ribbons were not clearly demarcated but merged with each other, forming a spectacle similar to an aurora. This illuminated the dark beach and the waves with a magnificent and mysterious glow.
"What is this?" The Nine-Tails' huge body suddenly tensed. It felt an aura from the interwoven light ribbons that was both familiar and somewhat strange.
The clear azure streams of light, the Nine-Tails knew, were Naruto's Chakra, presented this way by Kun'shiki.
But what about that other, far larger amount of Chakra...?
"Your 'acquaintance'."
Kun'shiki's flat voice came, clearly uttering the name.
"Asura."
Hearing this, the Nine-Tails' breathing instantly hitched.
Asura?
The Old Man's second son?
This vast, star-sea-like Chakra... is actually Asura's Chakra?!
Why is it here?
"What are you planning to do?" Too many questions flooded his mind, and the Nine-Tails instinctively blurted out.
"Use his Chakra to forge a sword for Naruto."
Kun'shiki said calmly: "A Zanpakutō."
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