Yasuka didn’t pay any mind to Minato’s departure.
He knew the kid would make the correct choice, and he needed to resolve a different issue for Naruko in the meantime.
While Naruko was busy digesting the legacy left to her by Minato, Yasuka turned his gaze toward the Nine-Tails, who had thoroughly enjoyed the drama.
“Nine-Tails.”
“What?”
Although Yasuka’s recent performance had highly satisfied the Nine-Tails, expecting her to help humans?
Keep dreaming!
“Remove your chakra’s negative influence on Naruko, assist her, and become her companion.”
Yasuka spoke calmly.
It wasn’t a request, but a tone that bordered strictly on a command.
“Ha?!” The Nine-Tails laughed out of sheer exasperation.
A mere human, a mere small-fry human, actually dared to address her in such a tone.
“You had best agree to my terms before I take action.
Otherwise, even I am not entirely sure what kind of end awaits you.”
Yasuka reiterated the severity of the situation once more.
In response, the Nine-Tails couldn’t control herself and burst into a massive roar of laughter, her voice shaking the entire sealed space until it trembled.
“Human, what exactly do you think you are?
You dare command me?
The first thing I will do when I get out of here is eat you alive!”
The Nine-Tails’ words didn’t sound like a bluff.
The sheer scale of her colossal form bellowing threats was enough to strike terror into anyone.
Yet, Yasuka had long grown accustomed to such sights.
Instead, he sniffed the air, marveling at the fact that since Tailed Beasts were constructs of pure chakra, she didn’t possess bad breath at all.
“You bast—!
*You’re* the one with bad breath!
Your entire family has bad breath!!!”
The Nine-Tails completely lost her composure.
But the exact moment her profanity left her mouth, she felt as if the scruff of her neck had been violently hoisted upward.
Only then did the Nine-Tails notice Shisui, who had maintained a remarkably low presence until now, staring directly at her with a pair of glowing crimson Mangekyō Sharingan.
A wave of instinctual terror surged straight to her head.
The Nine-Tails no longer dared to hiss; she could only bare her teeth and glare fixedly at Shisui.
She had wondered why Yasuka was so brimming with confidence—as it turned out, he had a Mangekyō at his disposal.
But even so, she would absolutely never submit.
“Humans!
Don’t think you can do whatever you want just because you have the Mangekyō!
Even if I, the Nine-Tails, must die!
Even if I die right here in this cage and dissolve into raw chakra, I will never become a tool for you people!!!”
The Nine-Tails’ tone was filled with tragic indignation.
If anyone understood her, she was originally just a free, wild little fox.
One day, a monster appeared, controlled her, and forced her to fight another monster.
Then, after that other monster won, he claimed the Nine-Tails was too powerful and sealed her away.
From that day forward, the Nine-Tails swore that if she ever broke the seal, she would exact absolute vengeance!
“Oh?
Is that so?”
Yasuka stayed Shisui from casting a genjutsu.
Although they could easily force the Nine-Tails to cooperate with Naruko through that method, it ultimately lacked a certain flavor.
Therefore…
“Aaagh!!!
What—what the hell are you doing?!
You can’t!
You absolutely cannot do this!!!”
The moment Yasuka placed his hand over the seal, the Nine-Tails discovered that her chakra was actively being purified by Yasuka—yes, purified.
The portion that uniquely belonged to her consciousness was being systematically erased, leaving behind only pure, unadulterated chakra for Naruko to absorb.
What an absolute anomaly!
Holy hell, what an anomaly!!!
Who out there actively robs a Tailed Beast of her chakra right to her face?!
Right now, a massive volume of twenty Kakashi-worth of chakra was being purified every single second.
If this continued, she would completely vanish due to total chakra depletion.
She would die.
Even if she was a Tailed Beast, if all her chakra was gone, what difference was there between that and permanent death?
“Can you agree to my terms now?”
Yasuka looked at the Nine-Tails playfully.
The noble horse’s power was just that broken.
It didn’t matter if it was the Nine-Tails or the Ten-Tails; as long as it was inside the body, he could completely dispel it as an “immaterial foreign substance.” As for the chakra…
he figured nobody else was using it anyway!
The Nine-Tails gasped heavily in sheer terror.
This time, she genuinely felt the looming threat of death—a death from which she might never reincarnate.
Facing this human’s incredibly punchable smile, the Nine-Tails desperately wanted to choose death over dishonor, but at the very end, she simply couldn’t maintain her stance.
She didn’t dare gamble her life on the uncertainty of revival.
“Hmph!”
Despite being the party that yielded, the Nine-Tails still maintained an arrogant facial expression.
Yasuka didn’t mind; if she stopped listening in the future, beating her a couple more times would make her behave.
“So, shall we consider the deal struck?”
“Do I even have the choice?” the Nine-Tails retorted sulkily.
This was pure bullying.
These inherently evil humans were simply bullying a fox too much!!!
At this precise moment, the Nine-Tails resembled a giant, aggrieved round ball of red-bean mochi.
“Alright, I’ll stop teasing you.
In exchange, I can have Naruko release a clone of yours outside.
Haven’t you craved the taste of freedom for a very long time now?”
“Are your words genuine?”
Although the Nine-Tails intensely disliked Yasuka, the prospect of freedom held far too much allure for her.
For the sake of freedom, she would temporarily endure this humiliation and bide her time for a future opportunity!
It took Naruko a full three hours to thoroughly digest all the memories, experiencing the profound love Minato and Kushina held for her once again.
When Naruko finally opened her eyes, a trace of moisture lingered at the corners.
“Big Brother Yasuka…”
Naruko threw her arms around Yasuka, her sorrowful emotions rapidly receding.
Although she had lost her parents, she still had Big Brother Yasuka!
The only place she could ever allow herself to cry was right inside Big Brother Yasuka’s embrace.
“Naruko…”
Yasuka gradually shifted from the wicked adult who had just tormented the Nine-Tails back into a gentle older brother, continuously comforting Naruko to help her move past the grief.
Watching this display made the Nine-Tails even angrier, snorting two streams of white vapor from her nose in a desperate attempt to vent her frustration.
“Naruko, let me introduce you.
This is the Nine-Tails.
From this day forward, she is officially your power bank.”
“Power bank?”
Naruko blinked her eyes, unable to grasp the concept of a power bank.
Instead, she curiously observed the massive fox before her.
She had heard Yasuka speak of the Nine-Tails before and understood why she had been sealed.
Coupled with Minato’s memories confirming that the Nine-Tails had merely been manipulated, she didn’t harbor any intense hatred toward the beast.
After all, being locked away in such a dark, sunless place for so long would drive anyone insane.
Why did humans have to treat the Nine-Tails like this?
“Hmph!”
As the unfortunate soul sealed inside the girl’s body, the Nine-Tails shared a certain emotional resonance with Naruko.
Sensing Naruko’s genuine sympathy, she felt a slight tug at her heartstrings, though she refused to show any outward emotion.
“Nine-Tails, please take care of me from now on.”
“Hmph!”
Following Yasuka’s strict discipline, the Nine-Tails finally fell in line and began cooperating with Naruko.
Yasuka stayed true to his word, allowing the Nine-Tails’ chakra to manifest into an external clone.
“Change your fur color.” Observing the pint-sized, chibi version of the crimson Nine-Tails standing before him, Yasuka expressed immediate dissatisfaction.
“Why?” the Nine-Tails asked, thoroughly puzzled.
Yasuka flatly criticized, “Nine tails, and bright red.
Do you want to guess whether the Third Hokage will instantly suspect your identity?”
“…”
The Nine-Tails realized it made perfect sense.
She had no choice but to shift her fur to pure white and conceal eight of her tails, instantly transforming into an adorable pet white fox.
Seconds later, Yasuka scooped her up into his arms and began enthusiastically rubbing his hands through her exceptionally soft, smooth fur.
As expected, white-furred foxes truly were the cutest~
“Hu—Human!
I am not a pet!
You…
you let go of me right now!”