Kurama, Swallow Him!

"Human?"

Hatred flashed in the Nine-Tails' eyes. A violent killing intent exploded in the dark, damp dungeon, and red chakra surged towards the outside of the bars like mist.

Unfortunately, no matter how fast the red chakra moved, it could only fall back within the red bars in vain.

The gaps in the red bars were like an invisible iron curtain, separating the inside and outside into two worlds, creating a death trap.

"Yes, human." Naruto no longer looked at the fake Sakura in the puddle. He turned and smiled at the enraged Nine-Tails.

"So what can you do? Come out and hit me?"

"Roar!!!"

A furious roar echoed, and the entire space trembled violently. Water leaked faster and faster from above, and wastewater poured down with a splash.

However, nothing changed. Naruto remained standing there, smiling provocatively.

At that very moment, the person behind him had already gotten back up and rushed towards Naruto with a kunai!

The kunai aimed for the back of Naruto's neck, but Naruto stood there as if he hadn't noticed the attack from behind.

Boom!

Just as the fake Sakura was about to succeed, a red tentacle surged from the ground with a bang and struck the attacker.

The person dodged the red tentacle, which grazed their nose, with a nimble backward lean. Seeing the wooden tentacle, whose color was identical to the red bars, the fake Sakura's back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.

Impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

This place doesn't exist; it's just genjutsu!

But in the next second, more red tentacles grew from the ground, charging towards the person with precision as if they had a mind of their own.

Bang, bang, bang! The red tentacles attacked relentlessly, and the ground split apart. Numerous potholes appeared where the fake Sakura was dodging.

The speed of the tentacles increased, becoming almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

Splat!

A tentacle pierced the person's muscle. The fake Sakura let out a scream, and the other red tentacles seized this momentary opening and descended.

The fake Sakura's limbs were brutally pinned to the ground, flesh and skin torn. A tentacle was also impaled in their abdomen, the wound looking gruesome.

Blood splattered, forming a bloody silhouette of a fox's head on the ground.

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

The agonizing pain instantly consumed the person's mind. The Transformation Jutsu could no longer be maintained, and with a bang, their true form was revealed.

It was a ninja wearing a mask, and blood was seeping from beneath it.

He never expected that the genin brat would possess such power. Any genin facing a life-or-death situation should be fighting with fear.

But Naruto was different. He had grown through his battle with Zabuza. Being on the brink of death didn't make him afraid; it made him excited.

He understood a principle: the outcome of life and death in battle is not determined by the enemy's strength, but by the intensity of one's own will to fight.

In other words, any enemy should be killed with all their might and by any cruel means necessary!

Screams echoed throughout the dungeon space. The Nine-Tails, watching everything unfold from across the red bars, showed a flicker of apprehension in its eyes.

It could feel the pressure from those red tentacles, which had the same aura as the red bars that confined it. If the brat in front of it could control those tentacles, then he could surely control the red bars as well.

But what the Nine-Tails didn't expect was that Naruto, who had been staring at it without ever turning his back, had already noticed the apprehension in its eyes and revealed a smile.

"How was it?"

"How was what?" The Nine-Tails bared its teeth at Naruto, its red eyes glaring. "Human, you deserve to die!"

"I'm asking how the performance was?" Naruto ignored the Nine-Tails' trash talk.

"Performance?" The Nine-Tails glanced at Naruto disdainfully. "You humans just love to kill each other; it's been like this for thousands of years."

"Seems like it," Naruto tilted his head, his neck making a crisp cracking sound. "Ouch! That hurts, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!"

If only I hadn't shown off. Showing off never ends well.

"Cough, cough." Naruto coughed awkwardly and waved his hand under the Nine-Tails' contemptuous gaze.

The ninja, pinned to the ground and whose affiliation with Anbu or Root was currently undetermined, was immediately pulled underground by the red tentacles. A moment later, they reappeared on the inner side of the red bars.

The person was still conscious and, under the effect of adrenaline, looked at the giant red fox, whose body was comparable to a mountain, with terror.

"What do you want to do? Human."

Naruto lowered his head, his eyes hidden in shadow. The Nine-Tails could only see the corner of the brat's mouth curve into an arc.

"Devour him."

"What!" The Nine-Tails was enraged. What angered it was that this human dared to command it! And to make it devour a filthy human.

What did he think it was? A dog!

Preposterous!

"Human! You will pay for your words and actions!"

An unprecedented tremor surged through the space, as if the entire dimension were on the verge of collapse. A crimson gale erupted from nowhere.

Naruto, standing there, faced the oncoming crimson wind. For a moment, he swayed like a reed in the autumn breeze before stabilizing.

This time, his voice was cold and clear. He raised his head, staring at the Nine-Tails with a solemn expression. With an irrefutable tone, he commanded loudly:

"Kurama, devour him."

As his name was called out by Naruto, perfectly and without error, the Nine-Tails fell into a momentary daze. Naruto's eyes were filled with a fervent and terrifying emotion.

"Devour him!"

Naruto roared, his voice stern, as if he had become an entirely different person. His eyes held boundless ferocity, his pupils so red they seemed on the verge of burning.

The Nine-Tails had no choice. With its mind blank, it was truly under Naruto's control. It opened its massive maw and snatched the dying ninja.

"No!! No! Help me!"

"Ah!!!"

The sound of crunching echoed, and screams once again reverberated through the space. The Nine-Tails tilted its head back, and the ninja's voice vanished instantly.

Silence. No sound remained in the space, only utter stillness. Only Naruto's heartbeat could be heard, transitioning from rapid to slow, until it returned to normal.

The crimson hue faded from Naruto's pupils, and his expression returned to its natural state.

Everything that had just happened felt like a dream, but the glaring bloodstains on the ground served as a reminder to the Nine-Tails that it had indeed been controlled for a moment.

In that instant, the Nine-Tails felt that the soul of the brat before it was exceptionally vast, and it was like a mere kitten in his presence.

It was as if an ill-tempered master were scolding their pet. Those fierce eyes actually instilled fear in the Nine-Tails, causing it to instinctively obey.

Humiliation. It was utter humiliation! As a Tailed Beast, and the most powerful one at that, to devour a human like a dog.

Recalling the sensation of swallowing in its throat, an unprecedented wave of nausea washed over its mind, nearly making it gag.