The journey had just begun.
A few kilometers outside the main gate of Konoha Village, Naruto and Sasuke walked flanking Jiraiya, the legendary Sannin.
The cool morning air and the distinct scent of the pine forest accompanied their steps.
Naruto, as usual, looked full of energy, occasionally throwing silly questions at Jiraiya, who only responded with grunts or perfunctory answers.
Sasuke, on the other hand, remained silent as a stone, his sharp eyes observing the surroundings with the characteristic vigilance of an Uchiha.
At that moment, as Jiraiya was engrossed in telling one of his 'research' adventures at a hot spring, suddenly Hana, the Kyuubi Neechan within Naruto, spoke in an unusual tone, serious and slightly urgent.
"My prince," Hana's voice sounded clearly in Naruto's mind, cutting off Jiraiya's chatter, which was at its most exciting.
"Stop for a moment. There's something very important I must convey to that Pervy Sage. Something that might change all of your views about this world."
Naruto, who had been laughing at Jiraiya's lewd story, was immediately stunned.
His eyebrows furrowed.
This wasn't Hana's usual playful tone.
Unconsciously, he stopped his steps and stood still in the middle of the path, his expression turning serious.
Jiraiya, who was a few steps ahead, noticed Naruto suddenly stop.
He also stopped and turned around, looking at Naruto with slight surprise and confusion.
Sasuke, walking beside Naruto, also stopped and looked at him with a questioning gaze.
"What's wrong, Naruto? Why did you suddenly stop?"
Jiraiya asked, his mischievous smile fading slightly upon seeing the unusual expression on the blond brat's face.
"Did you see a pretty girl in those bushes over there? Or don't tell me you have a stomach ache from eating too much dango last night?"
A faint yet meaningful smile suddenly appeared on Naruto's face, a strange kind of smile, a mixture of excitement, tension, and a little... mystery?
"It's not that, Ero-sennin," Naruto said, his voice sounding calmer than usual.
"Someone... someone very special wants to meet and talk to you."
"Huh? Meet me?"
Jiraiya furrowed his brow, unconsciously starting to sense his surroundings with his sensory abilities.
There wasn't a single Anbu or other ninja around them.
Where did this person come from? And why was Naruto acting so strangely?
His mind raced, trying to analyze the situation.
Suddenly, a shocking possibility flashed through his mind.
Jiraiya's eyes widened, his previously relaxed body now tensing like a tightly pulled rubber band.
He looked at Naruto with a very serious and sharp gaze.
"Don't tell me... the Nine-Tails...?" he whispered, his voice barely audible, yet full of unconcealable shock.
"Yes, Ero-sennin. That's her," Naruto nodded slowly, his faint smile still present.
Sasuke, standing beside them, although not fully understanding what was happening, could feel the sudden tension that arose between Naruto and Jiraiya.
The Nine-Tails? The fox monster inside Naruto? Why did it want to meet Jiraiya?
"Why... why does she suddenly want to see me now?"
Jiraiya frowned tightly, various bad scenarios starting to play out in his head.
Was the Kyuubi trying to take over Naruto's body?
Or was there some other cunning plan?
"I don't know for sure, Ero-sennin," Naruto shook his head.
"Hana-neechan just said it's very important."
Naruto then turned towards Sasuke.
"Sasuke, I need your help. Hana-neechan said, you have to activate your Sharingan. She will guide us."
Sasuke, though confused, didn't ask many questions.
He had heard from Naruto before that the Bijuu inside him was a woman named Hana and seemed to have a good relationship with Naruto.
With a little hesitation, he activated his two-tomoe Sharingan.
His red eyes with their characteristic pattern looked at Naruto, waiting for further instructions.
"Focus your eyes, Teme, Ero-sennin. Focus your minds. Hana-neechan will pull our consciousness in," Naruto said.
This was the first time for Jiraiya and Sasuke to try entering someone's subconscious.
They both felt a strange, gentle yet strong pull from Naruto's direction.
A few moments later, the scenery around them changed completely.
They were now in a dark, damp place that felt like a giant underground sewer channel, with large pipes crisscrossing the ceiling.
Ankle-deep water pooled beneath their feet.
"What is this place?!"
Jiraiya exclaimed, his eyes looking around with confusion and caution.
"This is... inside Naruto's mind?"
Sasuke also looked surprised, his Sharingan continuously spinning, trying to analyze the strange environment around him.
This was far different from anything he had ever imagined.
Naruto, who was already familiar with this place, led the way.
"Follow me. Hana-neechan is at the end there."
However, after they walked down the dark corridor and finally arrived at a very large room with giant iron bars in the center, something even more surprising awaited them.
Behind those iron bars, sat gracefully an incredibly captivating beautiful woman.
Her long orange hair flowed beautifully, a pair of fox ears of the same color protruded from the top of her head, and nine large orange tails swayed gently behind her.
She wore a light blue kimono that was slightly open at the shoulders, and at that moment, she was exhaling thin white smoke from her lips, which were as red and luscious as ripe cherries, the result of a long smoking pipe tucked between her slender fingers.
"Hey, brat Jiraiya," the fox woman's voice sounded melodious.
She looked at Jiraiya with a faint, unreadable smile.
"Let me think for a moment how I should say this correctly... This is our first 'direct' meeting, right? Ah, and it's nice to meet you too, Sasuke-kun~ You're so cute up close."
She winked at Sasuke.
"Pleased to meet you, my name is Hana."
Sasuke and Jiraiya truly didn't know what to say.
Their mouths were slightly agape from shock.
This... this was the Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox?
The legendary monster that destroyed Konoha?
But... why did it look like this?
A beautiful woman who... smoked?
Jiraiya even felt a sudden warm sensation flowing from his nose.
With a reflex, he immediately wiped his unconsciously bleeding nose.
Damn! Her charm... was too strong!
Even stronger than the women at the hot springs!
Jiraiya quickly tried to compose himself, putting on a serious and professional expression, although his heart was still pounding.
"You... you're really the Nine-Tails?" he asked, still somewhat in disbelief.
Hana turned fully and looked intently at Jiraiya.
"I... need your help."
The great and dignified Nine-Tails, the monster whose power was feared throughout the world, was actually telling an ordinary human that it needed his help?
Jiraiya was truly, incredibly shocked.
What was most important was that Kushina, Minato's lover and Naruto's mother, was the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and she had never once described the Nine-Tails like this.
The Kyuubi Kushina spoke of was a monster full of anger and hatred.
Hana almost rolled her eyes in annoyance upon seeing the disbelieving expression on Jiraiya's face, but fortunately, she still remembered to remain calm and maintain her graceful demeanor.
Humans, always so hard to believe things beyond their comprehension, she thought.
"Some things that will happen in the future are indeed far beyond your limited imagination, Toad Sage. And some of those things will also involve all of us, the tailed beasts. Not just me, but all tailed beasts will eventually understand and may have to get involved."
Jiraiya seemed to begin to understand something from Hana's serious tone.
"You mean... you want to try and reconcile the tailed beasts and humans so that both sides can coexist peacefully in the future?" he asked, a faint hope appearing in his heart.
"None of my business at all," Hana said with a clear tone of disdain, shattering Jiraiya's hope instantly.
Smoke from her pipe curled into a ring.
She paused for a moment, then glanced towards Naruto, who stood silently beside Jiraiya, with an overflowing look of affection, a look that made Naruto immediately blush.
"...I just want to be a little nicer and more patient with you humans because of the presence of this sweet prince of mine~"
"If it's not about peace, then what exactly do you want to tell me? Something so important that you bothered to summon me here?" Jiraiya asked, trying to refocus.
"The Ten-Tails."
Hana crossed her arms in front of her chest, now with no intention of beating around the bush or making small talk anymore. Her tone became very serious.
"Have you ever heard of the legend of the Divine Tree, Shinju? The origin of all chakra in this world?"
Jiraiya's eyes widened, feeling his scalp suddenly tingle with a bad premonition.
"Th-Ten-Tails?! Isn't... isn't it that there have only ever been nine known tailed beasts in the ninja world? Could it be... could there be another tailed beast far stronger and more dangerous sealed somewhere hidden and unknown to anyone?"
"Not entirely accurate, but your general line of thinking is correct,"
Hana took a deep drag from her smoking pipe, then exhaled the smoke slowly.
She continued in a heavier tone,
"Thousands of years ago, before the era of shinobi began, there was a terrifying entity called Juubi, the Ten-Tails. Rikudo Sennin, the legendary Sage of Six Paths, managed to defeat it in a devastating battle. After that, he extracted all the giant chakra power from Juubi and divided it into nine smaller parts, which then formed us, the nine tailed beasts you know now. And Juubi's empty physical body was then sealed by him on the moon, so it could no longer threaten the world. These nine scattered parts of chakra power are what then formed us, the nine tailed beast siblings."
"The origin... of the tailed beasts..."
Jiraiya's face looked very uncertain and filled with shock.
This information was completely beyond his expectations.
"More than that,"
Hana glanced at him briefly, as if testing how far Jiraiya could digest this information.
She continued,
"After that, the same Sage of Six Paths then shared a portion of his own power with humanity, teaching them how to use that energy, which then became known as Ninshu, the forerunner of the Ninja Sect that existed at that time. And now, the power he shared is what you call... Chakra."