"That's no place for talking!"
The Great Fox's eyes were hostile.
Without thinking, it bared its teeth, face full of ferocity.
"Eternal Belt Sister~!!!"
How could the Great Fox stay calm when it saw the very man who had split it in two?
Minato Namikaze froze.
He stared at the Great Fox, so different from what he'd imagined.
He was honestly stunned.
He rubbed his eyes.
Then… Minato fell silent.
'Is this what the Nine-Tails is like?'
'Is it really?'
'I remember… it wasn't like this, was it?'
Minato began to doubt himself.
He had seen the Nine-Tails before—many times, in fact.
Of course, he wasn't talking about the difference between the Nine-Tails inside Kushina and the one inside Naruto.
Rather…
Minato shook his head.
Honestly, this was the first time he'd ever seen such a delicate-looking fox.
It was a completely different creature from the Nine-Tails in his memory.
Even in the real world during his lifetime, he'd never seen a fox this pretty, this… human—like a little girl.
That sight left everyone dumbfounded.
Don't say it!
But it's true!
No one had noticed anything before.
The moment Minato from the black frame world appeared, the problem became obvious.
When did the Great Fox get this good-looking?
Inside the Sealing Space.
The Nine-Tails was utterly bewildered.
Then came endless silence.
Which exploded in the next instant.
Humiliation!!!
That was itself in the black frame world… Once the Nine-Tails got a clear look, its whole body went limp.
It already knew what kind of secret technique its black-frame self had been researching.
Only it could tell what that cute appearance truly signified.
Even the real one might not notice.
Mm… too similar!
It was cast from the exact same mold as the previous previous Jinchuriki—Uzumaki Mito.
In the finer details, the previous Jinchuriki—Uzumaki Kushina—dominated.
Uchiha Izuna: There's only one explanation… Because we're inside the Jinchuriki's mental space, most of the time we focus on Naruto himself… and Naruto's spiritual power indirectly affects us.
Senju Tobirama: "Mm… and each change was so small that, bit by bit, we never noticed the Nine-Tails' transformation in the black frame world."
Yamanaka Ino: "I've got a bad feeling."
Hearing Ino's voice in the chat room,
Yūgao almost burst out laughing.
Poor Ino.
Hahaha~
Great, now even the fox is trying to steal her man.
But… wasn't the fox the first to begin with?
The black-framed large screen continued:
Thanks to Minato's 'reminder', Naruto also froze.
He turned to look at the Great Fox.
So familiar—utterly, unmistakably familiar.
Yet something felt off.
Hmm?
Wait, why is the Great Fox's appearance slowly changing?
Quickly.
In Naruto's eyes,
the Great Fox's original form began to shift.
Gradually, it became exactly what Minato had seen.
Naruto's breath caught.
This change… was huge?!
Why hadn't he noticed at all?
Everyone: "…"
Uzumaki Mito: "This Fox…"
Uzumaki Kushina: "No way?!"
Indeed, the Great Fox now gave an almost human illusion.
The template leaned more toward Uzumaki Mito, the details more toward Uzumaki Kushina.
After all, the previous Jinchuriki had been women.
It was natural it knew them well.
And because memories were so distant, using Uzumaki Mito as the template with Kushina's details made sense.
Still, Naruto calmed again in the next instant.
This version of the Great Fox really was beautiful.
And it felt inexplicably close.
Naruto's lips curved.
Honestly, the more he looked, the more he liked it.
"Eternal Belt Sister!!!!!!"
Some fox, however, disagreed—was genuinely furious.
Seeing Naruto finally notice its change,
the Great Fox realized that damned Eternal Belt Sister had ruined its grand plan.
It lunged in flustered rage.
"Easy, Great Fox, he's just a lump of conscious Chakra."
"Think of him like a Shadow Clone."
Hearing that, the Great Fox's raised paw paused.
Of course, it couldn't actually hit Minato, and with Naruto speaking, it could only glare.
Bloodshot eyes seemed to send a message:
'One more wrong word and This Fox will make you regret it!'"
Minato blinked.
Things weren't unfolding as he'd expected.
Wasn't the Nine-Tails supposed to tempt Naruto into tearing off the seal… or to siphon its Chakra by releasing the first layer?
And… setting aside whether this outer form was the Nine-Tails,
inside, it still resembled the Nine-Tails he remembered in many ways.
Yet… why could a single sentence from Naruto stop it cold?
At that moment, Minato felt the "few questions… later" line applied to himself.
He hurriedly looked at Naruto.
Definitely his child.
At first glance, almost carved from the same mold as him.
But the face bore six conspicuous whisker marks.
Then Minato noticed:
In the finer points, Naruto resembled Kushina more.
"So, should I call you Fourth Hokage - Minato Namikaze, or…" Naruto drew a deep breath and slowly spoke.
"Naruto… what exactly happened here?"
Minato blurted.
He quickly caught himself.
"It's completely different from what I imagined."
"I thought…"
"Thought what?" Naruto asked calmly.
"That you'd been seduced by the Nine-Tails and were about to rip off the seal… or planning to take its Chakra."
"Hmph!" the Great Fox snorted.
But once it heard Minato's words,
it was the Great Fox's turn to freeze.
Right!!!
What had This Fox set out to do in the first place?!
Wasn't it exactly what that damned Eternal Belt Sister had said?
Yes! Seduce Naruto and twist the brat into whatever shape it wanted?!
How had it suddenly…
Once again, everyone was speechless.
This scene and plot were nothing like they'd pictured.
But… Minato in the black frame world had claimed the Great Fox was tempting Black-Frame Naruto?
"Tempt him?"
"Hahaha~"
The Great Fox suddenly laughed.
But after only a few chuckles it flipped moods.
"Don't be ridiculous!"
It should be this kid tempting This Fox!"
"Damn it!"
Saying so, the Great Fox shot Naruto a resentful glare.
Yes, resentful…
Both Naruto and Minato froze.
Oh no!
The originally genderless Chakra body—Great Fox—
had turned into a grumpy housewife in the blink of an eye!
Naruto quickly changed the subject.
He exhaled—
took a deep breath, steadied himself, and looked at Minato.
Their eyes met; father and son clearly shared the same thought:
Ignore the Great Fox (Nine-Tails) for now—something's off with it (her).
A moment later, Naruto returned to the main issue.
His lips curved slightly, but his gaze turned cold.
"First question."
"You exist."
"So, all these years, have you been aware of the outside world?"