A 井 (hash-mark vein) popped out on the Nine-Tails' forehead. The massive beast slowly rose to its feet, its gigantic body looming over Kushina. Then, with a thunderous boom, it slammed a claw against the bars of its cage.
"Little girl," it growled, "why don't you try saying that again?"
Kushina swallowed hard. The sheer oppressive aura radiating from the Nine-Tails made her instinctively tense — even someone as wild and fearless as her couldn't help but feel the weight of that monstrous chakra.
But Kushina was still Kushina. Even scared, she refused to back down. Instead of continuing to argue with the beast, she turned away with a huff.
"Fine then! If that's your attitude, I'll just tell Hoshiyomi-sensei that the great Nine-Tails doesn't want to negotiate!"
The Nine-Tails froze mid-roar. Its overwhelming aura faltered for a moment.
But its pride wouldn't let it lower its head to Kushina, so it stood there awkwardly, unsure what to do.
Kushina couldn't help but laugh at the sight.
"You know," she said teasingly, "you're actually kind of cute sometimes, big fox."
The Nine-Tails' expression turned blank with disbelief. Cute? Me?
A few seconds later, its face contorted in rage. It let out a furious roar and thrust its enormous snout forward until it nearly brushed against her body.
"Did you just call me cute?! You must have a death wish!"
But before the fox could finish its rant, it froze again — Kushina had placed her hand right on its nose.
"Even though you're way bigger than a normal fox," she said with a smirk, "your nose still feels the same."
For a heartbeat, the Nine-Tails just stared at her, stunned. Then its face twisted into pure indignation. This little girl had touched him!
If this went on, where would his great name as the mighty Nine-Tails go?
Just as he was about to lash out, a calm voice echoed through the chamber.
"Stop trying to scare her," said the voice. "It's useless."
The fox blinked. That voice — Hoshiyomi's.
He'd actually come in here?
Without a Sharingan, no less. Even with Kushina having voluntarily opened the seal, most people wouldn't be able to step into a jinchūriki's spiritual world so easily.
For Hoshiyomi to do so meant his strength — both physical and spiritual — was terrifying.
The Nine-Tails focused its senses, probing Hoshiyomi's chakra carefully.
Indeed, there was no trace of Indra or Asura's chakra in him.
That meant this man had reached such power purely through his own abilities — no divine lineage, no reincarnation.
For a human, that was nothing short of miraculous.
Hoshiyomi himself wasn't particularly surprised that he'd been able to enter Kushina's mind. After all, his Sword Heart System enhanced him in every conceivable way.
He was destined to be a all-roundwarrior — perfectly balanced in every attribute.
When he'd stepped into the realm of the Grandmaster, every part of his being had evolved to the super-Kage level — even his spiritual power.
With that level of spiritual power, entering Kushina's spiritual world, especially after she'd opened the seal herself, was hardly impossible.
The Nine-Tails was astonished, but it didn't show it. It just let out a cold snort and said:
"Since you're here, we might as well get this negotiation started.
Let's hear the terms you didn't finish explaining last time.
You said you'd 'set me free'? I'd like to see what kind of trick you're planning to pull.
You've spent a long time with Mito too, so you should know this: once a Tailed Beast leaves its Jinchūriki's body, the Jinchūriki dies."
Even someone as powerful as Mito could only delay that death for a short while.
"But now," the Nine-Tails said with a sly grin, "you're talking about setting me free.
Tell me then — do you plan to sacrifice this little girl in exchange for my protection over Konoha?"
As it spoke, the Nine-Tails looked meaningfully at Kushina, its expression much like a fox eyeing grapes, making Kushina break out in goosebumps.
Considering that she might die if the Nine-Tails was released, even Kushina felt nervous for a moment. Although she knew Hoshiyomi-sensei treated her very well, she was genuinely afraid he might say something like that.
Fortunately, that didn't happen.
Hoshiyomi smiled gently at her and said:
"Don't worry. How could I possibly sacrifice you? You're my disciple.
Besides, if I did that, Minato would probably come after me with his life on the line."
Hearing that, Kushina let out a huge sigh of relief.
A wide grin spread across her face as she stuck out her tongue at the Nine-Tails.
"Hmph! Guess your little scheme failed, stinky fox. My relationship with Hoshiyomi-sensei is great — he'd never listen to you!"
The Nine-Tails' expression hardened. It now turned its sharp gaze on Hoshiyomi.
"If you're not going to sacrifice Kushina," it said, frowning, "then how exactly do you plan to set me free?
Don't tell me you're trying to fool me."
Hoshiyomi lightly shook his head.
"Why would I lie to you? I really do have a way — one that can free you without killing Kushina.
And if I'm not mistaken, you as a tailed beast should already know this method."
At those words, something flickered across the Nine-Tails' face — a realization. Its expression grew complicated.
Before it could speak, Hoshiyomi continued:
"Have you heard of the Shadow Clone Technique?
My method is something like that.
If Kushina can completely control your power — truly master and accept your chakra — then the final bond between you two can be lifted.
When that happens, using Kushina as the medium to channel your chakra and create a clone of yourself shouldn't be difficult, right?"
That's right — this was Hoshiyomi's plan all along.
Everyone knew that the nine tailed beasts were originally parts of the Ten-Tails' chakra — pure chakra that could be transmitted and even divided.
In the original story, the Eight-Tails' "severed tail clone technique" and Naruto distributing tailed-beast chakra among the Allied Shinobi Forces during the Fourth Great Ninja War were perfect examples of this.
Since tailed beasts were entirely composed of chakra, it was only natural that they could split portions of themselves — creating something akin to a shadow clone.
By the same logic, if Kushina were to become a perfect jinchūriki before Naruto ever did, she could use herself as a medium to channel out a portion of the Nine-Tails' chakra and reform it into a smaller Nine-Tails.
This idea even had precedent in the original story — when Minato used the Reaper Death Seal to forcibly split the Nine-Tails in two.
The difference was that, in the canon, the Nine-Tails was divided passively — while Hoshiyomi's plan aimed to make that division voluntary.
That way, Kushina could live, and the Nine-Tails could still be free.
...
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