In front of Naruto Uzumaki stood the only structure in this place. Thick bars like pillars stretched upward and vanished into the darkness above, with no visible end. Behind the bars was an even deeper darkness.
"What is this place?"
Panic showed on Naruto Uzumaki's face, the fear of a child facing the unknown. He took a step back by instinct, and ripples spread across the water. His breathing grew uneven as he tried to stay calm.
At last, gathering what little courage he had, he called out with a trembling voice toward the darkness. "H hey, is anyone there?" His voice echoed weakly and then faded.
What answered him was not a human voice.
"Hoo…"
As if awakened by his call, a long and heavy breath came from the darkness, making every hair on his body stand up. The sound alone felt close and overwhelming.
Two points of red light suddenly lit up in the dark. Huge vertical pupils filled with killing intent locked onto the tiny Naruto Uzumaki like blood-red lanterns from hell. The gaze alone pressed down on him.
"Roar!"
A deafening roar exploded, the shock hitting Naruto Uzumaki in the chest like a solid hammer. His ears rang, and the foul wind carried by the sound made him gasp. Before he could react, something else followed.
A massive claw reached out. The sharp claw was several times larger than Naruto Uzumaki's entire body, gleaming coldly as it thrust straight toward him. Its size blocked out what little light there was.
"M monster…" Naruto Uzumaki's pupils widened in pure terror.
Fear stole all ability to move, gripping his heart and legs until he froze in place. As he watched the approaching claw, his mind went completely blank. Even breathing felt difficult.
Time seemed to stop at the moment the claw tore through the air. The distance between them vanished in an instant. He could not even scream.
Then, just as the claw tip was about to touch Naruto Uzumaki's small body, something changed.
Puchi. Puchi. Puchi.
Several blood-red thorns burst out without warning from the dead darkness behind him. They shot forward at extreme speed, leaving only afterimages.
The thorns wrapped precisely around the giant claw that had reached past the bars. Like red-hot irons, they pierced through the Nine-Tails's defense with ease and stabbed deep inside. A sharp hissing sound followed, like flesh being skewered.
"Roar! My Chakra…"
The roar shifted from pure savagery to shock and rage. Disbelief showed in the red pupils as the voice bellowed, "What is this thing?" The sudden pain clearly exceeded its expectations.
Only then did Naruto Uzumaki finally see what lay beyond the bars. A huge fox head with a vicious face filled his view, fangs crossing like daggers and radiating violent intent. It looked ready to tear everything apart.
Yet this terrifying monster now struggled in pain. Its massive body thrashed as orange fur stood on end, bound by the sudden restraint. The thorns continued to spread upward along its claw and arm.
Ignoring the monster's struggles and bites, the thorns grew thicker as they absorbed its Chakra. More thorny growths burst from its body as if fed by its power. In the blink of an eye, the enormous creature was tightly bound, like a victim nailed to a cross.
"Wood Release? Vajra Sealing? No, what kind of thing is this?"
The Nine-Tails's furious howl was filled with humiliation and rage, but beneath it lurked fear. The thorns carried both Hashirama Senju's Wood Release trait of absorbing Chakra and Uzumaki Mito's Vajra Sealing sealing effect. No matter how it struggled, it could not break free.
The spikes were embedded deep into its body formed of Chakra. Every movement brought sharper pain and greater loss of power. Its struggles only made the cage shake harder.
At last, its gaze moved past the terrified human child standing in the water. The red pupils fixed on the source of the thorns, staring into the dark behind Naruto Uzumaki. Rage burned in its eyes.
"Damn it, who are you?"
The thunderous question jolted Naruto Uzumaki awake. He shuddered hard, his heart racing. The shout snapped him out of his daze.
Who was it?
Driven by fear and curiosity, Naruto Uzumaki stiffly turned his head. Following the Nine-Tails's furious stare and the direction of the blood-red thorns, he looked behind him. Something was emerging from the darkness.
A figure walked out slowly. His steps were calm, as if moving along invisible stairs, and the water parted on its own beneath his feet. Each step carried a steady rhythm.
The first thing that caught the eye was his gaze. His eyes were blue, but not the blue of the sky. They were like pure glaciers, cold and clear, shining with an almost inhuman divinity in the dark.
His skin was pale to the point of translucence, smooth like fine porcelain with no hint of color. He bore the standard features of the Otsutsuki Clan, standing in sharp contrast to the damp and gloomy surroundings. The difference made him seem unreal.
Long silver-gray hair was neatly tied back into a high ponytail, with a few strands falling over his forehead. The look added to his cold presence. He wore refined, ancient-style white clothing, with a gray-white haori over it, from which the blood-red thorns grew.
As he stepped fully into view, it felt like he had walked out of a painting. Cold, noble, mysterious, and profound qualities all seemed to fit him at once. The space itself felt subdued by his presence.
"Roar…"
The Nine-Tails's angry roar stopped short. Its red pupils stared at the newcomer, wary and tense, and a low growl came from its throat. It sensed danger far beyond the thorns.
Naruto Uzumaki was completely stunned. He lifted his small face, wide blue eyes round with amazement. For a moment, he forgot his fear.
Finally, he blurted out without thinking, "B big brother, you look so cool…"
The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them. His small body went rigid, heart pounding wildly. His thoughts were in total chaos.
He did not know where this place was. He did not know what the monster in the cage was. He did not know who this person who saved him was.
What if he had offended someone so strong?
The cold air seemed to freeze into silence and doubt. The clear blue eyes calmly swept over the bound Nine-Tails and then settled on Naruto Uzumaki standing stiffly in the water.
"As a descendant of Otsutsuki Hagoromo, your bloodline is this thin, and you are bullied by humans to this extent," he said. "Is this really what Hagoromo wanted to see?"
At those words, the Nine-Tails's pupils shrank sharply. A human-like look of disbelief appeared on its fox face. Shock overrode even its anger.
How was that possible?
This mysterious figure actually knew the old man's true name. The thought shook it deeply.
Bang.
In agitation, the Nine-Tails slammed its head against the nearby bars. It bared its fangs and glared at the figure, roaring, "Hey, you bastard…" The impact rang through the space.
The man did not even look at it. He simply raised one hand slowly. The gesture was calm and effortless.
The Nine-Tails felt its huge body tighten under the thorns, as if grasped by an unseen hand. Then it was lifted and slammed down.
Boom.
The entire space seemed to shake as it crashed. Water surged into huge waves, and Naruto Uzumaki felt his teeth chatter from the impact. The force left him shaken.
"Roar!"