Power of the Nine-Tails! Second Pillar's Reputation Crumbles

"If I could copy the Child of Destiny and toss it into the Seven-Year Itch, I wonder what would happen..."

"Or, if I fused Sasuke's Child of Destiny with Naruto's Child of Destiny, would I get a Child of the Version?"

"The traits on little Naruto are really tempting, but the chances to get close to him are too few..."

Muttering all the way, he reached the school gate.

A new prompt appeared before Jin's eyes.

[Ten minutes of conversation with Naruto completed. Attempting to copy trait.]

[Copy successful. Congratulations, host, on obtaining the legendary trait: Power of the Nine-Tails (Gold).]

"Oh ho, another gold?!"

Jin's steps suddenly halted, and a strange gleam flashed in his eyes.

Power of the Nine-Tails!

Going by the logic that the One-Tail's power ≈ Shukaku...

He'd already drawn two Shukaku.

He immediately said, "Fuse. Fuse this trait into the Power of the Nine-Tails!"

[Trait fusing in progress.]

[Fusion successful. Congratulations, host, on obtaining the legendary trait: Power of the Nine-Tails (Gold). Allows borrowing the Two-Tails' power of the Nine-Tails, greatly increasing physical strength, reaction speed, etc.]

Power of the Two-Tails.

Just in terms of chakra volume, that was at least twenty Kakashi.

Not to mention the unique corrosive nature of Tailed Beast Chakra.

Pop—

Just then, Jin suddenly noticed the world before him had changed.

Ripples spread like water.

The sound of dripping water reached his ears.

Pop—

Pop—

Deep and lingering, like dew falling into a mountain pool.

"This is..."

Jin blinked. After the initial panic, he quickly realized where he was.

Inside the body.

More precisely, inside the seal space.

"Noticed already? This fox is pretty quick on the uptake."

Jin clicked his tongue and simply stared ahead.

Splash!

Before long, a scarlet lantern silently emerged.

The oval red lantern slowly opened.

Behind it, a massive, slender face was revealed.

The face was full of arrogance and disdain.

Like a noble disturbed from rest, his lofty gaze slowly descended upon the mortal world.

More precisely, it swept toward Jin.

"Ha, brat, how dare you disturb me—"

He was a classic tsundere from the first word.

But before he could finish, Jin smiled and cut him off. "Hello there, Kurama."

Crack.

The Nine-Tails, who had been gathering power, froze mid-motion.

The crimson in his eyes receded by half, clearing for an instant.

Then came overwhelming fury!

"Roooar! You wicked Uchiha brat, what nonsense are you spouting?!"

"I am not Kurama!"

"Damn Uchiha, I knew you were up to no good!"

"Get out! Get out of here right now!"

With a roar, the Nine-Tails' figure dissolved into foam and vanished.

He was even running a bit hastily.

Before Jin could get a second word out, he was directly kicked out.

Outside.

Sasuke was already dragging Naruto along as they headed toward the school grounds.

Only three of the Uchiha F4 remained.

Watching the endless stream of people, Jin hesitated for a moment, then stepped into the school as well.

"Huh? Jin, what are you going in for—" Shisui froze, quickly reaching out to grab him.

But the moment his hand extended, a slender palm caught it.

Itachi narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Jin hasn't graduated yet either."

"Oh, oh, almost forgot."

Shisui rubbed his head and chuckled.

But as he laughed, his expression suddenly stiffened.

So that meant—he'd been beaten by a kid who hadn't even graduated yet?

"Whoa, look at that boy in the blue clothes, he's so handsome!"

"Cool, cool, cool! He looks like he's from the Uchiha clan!"

"Hands in his pockets, ignoring everyone, and from a big family! Wow, I love it, he's exactly the domineering type I like!"

"Who's going to ask him for his contact info..."

At the Ninja Academy, the moment the new class of students saw Sasuke, countless little girls' eyes sparkled with surprise.

Young as they were, their hearts were already blooming with first love.

Some even went straight up to greet him, but Sasuke didn't spare them a glance, rejecting them outright.

His eyes were fixed on only one person now—Naruto.

A Naruto who wouldn't shut up in his ear.

"Uzumaki Naruto, shut up!"

Bang!

With that, he kicked open the classroom door and strode straight in.

That noisy little Yellow Hair brat!

"Tch, tsundere pale-skinned little man."

Naruto curled his lip, unfazed.

After two and a half years of knowing each other, they were already way too familiar.

Inside the classroom.

Some Newborns who had been chatting lively suddenly stopped.

Turning around, they saw the utterly arrogant and flashy Uchiha Sasuke.

The girls' eyes went wide instantly.

A handsome guy!

But without exception, they were met with sheer indifference.

Sasuke's heart had room for only one thing—his brother, not women.

The girls at the Ninja Academy were pretty bummed about that...

Until a man showed up.

"Hey there, classmate. Do you like that little Uchiha kid?"

"Huh? You are..."

"Oh, I'm that kid's brother. Name's Uchiha Itachi."

"Ah, so you're Nisan!" The girl immediately stood up and bowed respectfully. "Can you tell me stories about Sasuke?"

"With pleasure. It was a dark and windy night, and Sasuke was born clutching a golden lock in his hand..."

[Ten minutes of chatting with a passerby. Attempting to copy a Trait.]

[Copy successful. Congratulations, Host has obtained the Common Trait: Nimble.]

"White? Fuse."

Ten minutes later, in front of a pink-haired girl.

"Sasuke? That kid used to be an idiot, always eating sheep droppings, saying they were chocolate beans..."

[Ten minutes of chatting with a passerby, attempting to copy the trait.]

[Copy failed.]

Another ten minutes, in front of a different girl with pink hair.

"Sasuke's fate is a hard one—when he was born, his father dropped him on the ground..."

"Don't let his face fool you into thinking he's cold—that's just a blank expression! That guy's secretly a flirt..."

In the first-year ninja class.

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes from his meditative trance.

He looked up and got a huge shock.

At the door stood a group of girls, pointing at him and whispering!

"These people?"

He was a bit puzzled. Hadn't he ignored every single one of them?

Why were they still clinging on like this?

In his confusion, a girl at the door cautiously poked her head in and said sweetly:

"Sasuke, don't worry, I won't look down on you for being a simpleton."

Another girl behind her, holding a bag, quickly added:

"Sa-Sasuke, these are chocolate beans my father brought back for me. Please... don't eat sheep droppings anymore—that's unhygienic..."

With that, she shoved the bag into Sasuke's hands and ran off.

"Simpleton?"

"Sheep... sheep droppings?"

Sasuke stood frozen in place, watching the rain begin to pour outside the window, and for no reason, a line suddenly came to mind:

Let this heavy rain all fall down...