That night, Naruto lay on the roof, looking somewhat dejectedly up at the starry sky.
"A guy... What a strange person."
He raised his hand and looked at the injuries covering it after a full day of hard work. Confusion surfaced in Naruto's eyes.
"Was this jutsu created by the Fourth Hokage to protect his wife?"
"It's so powerful... But even a ninja that strong couldn't protect his wife?"
"Sakura said I'm a lot like the Fourth Hokage, who protected the village... Is that true?"
"..."
Naruto muttered to himself on the roof.
Sasuke sat below, resting with his eyes closed.
He still held a water balloon in his hand.
Sakura, meanwhile, had written down everything she'd learned from a full day of training in her notebook.
She thought it over as she practiced.
She was only making the chakra flow through her arms, not releasing it outside her body, so it didn't take much chakra.
Cangwu sat nearby, still wearing his trademark smile.
Tazuna poured him a cup of tea and said,
"Construction will officially begin tomorrow."
"Before we left, I never thought things would go this smoothly."
Nearby, Inari kept his head down and said nothing.
Ever since he heard the two ninjas had been defeated, he hadn't said a word.
"Are you sure we don't need to worry about Gato causing trouble?" Tsunami sat down with some tea and snacks.
"If Mr. Cangwu says so, then it's sure to be true, right?" Tazuna said with a smile.
"There may be some things I'll need your help with later, Mr. Tazuna." Cangwu gave a slight nod.
"Don't worry. Just ask if there's anything I can do!"
"You're the heroes of the Land of Waves!"
Hearing Cangwu say that, Tazuna's last bit of worry vanished.
He thumped his chest and spoke with a solemn expression.
But he hit himself too hard.
As soon as he finished speaking, he began coughing.
The next day, Naruto was once again the first to finish his training.
The price was that he'd nearly used up all his chakra.
As soon as his chakra ran out, Cangwu whisked him away.
Sasuke and Sakura hadn't noticed anything yet.
But Cangwu immediately sensed something was wrong.
By the time they reached the forest several kilometers away,
a small amount of red chakra had already appeared around Naruto's body.
The six whisker marks on his cheeks bristled.
His pupils were slit-like, and a dark, unsettling aura emanated from him.
"Teacher Cangwu... I finished the second stage of training... When do we start the third?"
Naruto forced a smile that looked worse than crying.
He even flashed Cangwu a peace sign.
Cangwu sighed and gently tapped his forehead.
Only then did Naruto slowly close his eyes and fall asleep.
"You're the only one who can do that."
"An ordinary person wouldn't dare use Shadow Clones like that, even with as much chakra as you have."
"Not even your naive, sweet mother could do it."
"Strong spirit or not... Nobody can withstand the relentless impact of all those memories."
As he spoke, Cangwu's eyes turned crimson.
"Close enough. They're not Mangekyō yet... But with my eyes like this, I can take a look at the little fox."
Cangwu pressed his index and middle fingers against Naruto's forehead.
He lifted Naruto's eyelids and stared into his eyes for a moment.
Buzz—
The world spun around him.
When Cangwu could see again,
everything around him was pitch-black.
Drip—
Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he followed the sound of water dripping into a pool.
Clang—
A loud crash rang out in the darkness.
Cangwu narrowed his eyes slightly.
When he saw what was in front of him, he froze for a moment.
A sharp claw was planted right before him.
A faint chill clung to it.
As he got a better look at the claw,
his vision cleared as well.
The darkness around him receded like a tide.
Dim light crept in.
Following the claw upward, he saw a furry, almost humanlike arm.
A fierce fox's face came into view.
"Who are you, exactly?"
"Why do you have those eyes I hate so much?!"
The giant fox opened its cavernous maw.
It glared at Cangwu, its voice seeming to pierce straight into his soul and explode in his mind.
"Who am I?"
"Aren't I Naruto's teacher?"
Knowing it was just one of the Nine-Tails' tricks, Cangwu's lips curled into a faint smile.
"Head of the Tailed Beasts—the Nine-Tails."
"This vast, sinister chakra of yours... It's quite a sight."
"Hmph!" The Nine-Tails snorted.
Though being called the Head of the Tailed Beasts had softened its attitude toward Cangwu a little,
those eyes still disgusted it.
"I didn't think you'd be able to get in... You're not from the Uchiha clan, so why do you have those eyes?"
The Nine-Tails narrowed its eyes slightly.
Then it pulled back its claws.
Both paws sank into the water.
In an instant, countless red bubbles appeared.
A moment later,
Cangwu looked at the miniature Nine-Tails in front of him.
It was just like when Uchiha Sasuke first entered the sealed space and saw the Nine-Tails in the original story.
Cangwu smiled and raised a hand, gently resting it against the Nine-Tails' nose through the red chakra bubbles.
"Nine-Tails, your power is too great."
"I'm sorry, but I can't just let you run free."
Buzz—
The Nine-Tails' eyes widened, its pupils shrinking to pinpricks.
Even now, it couldn't forget those words.
Pop—
The next instant, Cangwu tightened his grip.
The clone the Nine-Tails had formed out of red chakra bubbles burst apart.
At the same time,
the signs of Naruto's transformation under the Nine-Tails' chakra vanished.
Behind the Four Symbols Seal's gate, the Nine-Tails stared blankly at Cangwu.
It couldn't understand why Cangwu had said those words.
"The Nine-Tails, huh... I could force you into a summoning contract with just one glance."
"Why not secretly train your spirit? Next time you run into the Mangekyō Sharingan, maybe you'll last a few seconds longer."
As soon as Cangwu finished speaking,
the Nine-Tails' fur bristled.
"You... Damn you!"
"Damn you, Cangwu!!!"
Being forced into a summoning contract by Madara Uchiha was something it never wanted to remember.
Yet this human had just brought up both times it had been manhandled.
Buzz—
The next moment,
the Nine-Tails opened its mouth wide.
It stayed frozen for more than ten seconds before shaking its head and coming to its senses.
"The Sharingan's ocular power really isn't enough."
"The Mangekyō would make it easy."
The Nine-Tails gritted its teeth. In its mind, Cangwu was already suffering terribly.
Still, it could tell that Cangwu hadn't been hostile from the start.
Most importantly, Cangwu had just mentioned the two people who'd treated it like a pet, stirring up its fear of them.
And then some measly Sharingan had controlled it for a few seconds.
So it simply closed its eyes, lay down behind the seal gate, and turned its back to Cangwu.
"What did you come in here for?"
For some reason, the Nine-Tails suddenly had a strange feeling.
At that moment, it felt just like Naruto facing Cangwu—a mischievous student standing before his teacher.
It felt powerless.
This damned human better not be lumping me in with those three foolish brats too.
Ridiculous!
I am the mighty Head of the Tailed Beasts, the Nine-Tails!
It lifted its eyes slightly, only to see Cangwu's Sharingan start spinning again.
The Nine-Tails' body immediately tensed.
"What are you going to do?!"
It panicked. It really panicked.
"Easy, Kurama. You're actually very strong. Your fighting style is just a little too limited."
"How about this: call me teacher, and I'll teach you how to comb your—"
"What did you just call me?!"
The Nine-Tails stared at him in disbelief, no trace of its earlier ferocity remaining.
"How do you know my name?!"
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