A white space stretched out before him.
Haku stared around in confusion.
A white figure stood in the center. He wore a white robe, giving him an otherworldly air. Six black tomoe-like patterns adorned his chest, while a red spiral emblem marked his back. Beneath it were three rows of tomoe, with three in each row. Two horns grew from his head, and a strange mark resembling a Sharingan sat on his forehead. Below that was a pair of Rinnegan.
Haku seemed to see life and death, the past and the future. Yet it also felt as though he had seen nothing at all.
Surrounding him were several tiny "adorable creatures," with Haku among them. Instinct told Haku not to move and to quietly remain at this man's side.
[Today marks the birth of you nine. From now on, maintaining peace and balance in the Shinobi World will depend on you. Don't disappoint me!]
[From this day forth, you shall respectively be One-Tail Shukaku, Two-Tails Matatabi, Three-Tails Isōbu, Four-Tails Sun Wukong, Five-Tails Kokuō, Six-Tails Saiken, Seven-Tails Chōmei, Eight-Tails Gyūki, and Nine-Tails Kurama.]
Haku looked at the companions beside him, then at his own few short tentacles. He understood that he was the Eight-Tails Gyūki mentioned by the man.
[From now on, each of you will represent the pinnacle of one of this world's Chakra attributes. As long as Chakra does not perish, you will possess endless life and the ability to be reborn within Chakra.]
[Shukaku, you will represent the pinnacle of Wind Release in this world.]
Haku followed the voice and looked over. It belonged to a tanuki covered in Cursed Seal patterns.
[Matatabi, you will represent the pinnacle of Fire Release in this world.]
A cat demon covered in blue Chakra flames.
Isōbu was a turtle with three tails, representing Water Release.
Sun Wukong was a gigantic red ape with four tails, representing Earth Release.
Kokuō resembled a dolphin crossed with a horse and possessed both Fire Release and Earth Release.
Saiken resembled Katsuyu and possessed Water Release.
Chōmei was a gigantic beetle with six wings and one tail, possessing both Earth Release and Wind Release.
Gyūki was a Tailed Beast that was half bull and half octopus—in other words, Haku himself—representing Lightning Release.
Kurama was a fox with nine tails, representing Fire Release.
[Each of you also possesses Yin-Yang Release.]
[I hope you can maintain the circulation of this world's energy.]
Before Haku could experience more of the small body's not-so-great yet immensely powerful strength, the man's voice came again.
[All right, go!]
The man waved his hand, and Haku felt an irresistible force carry his body into a forest.
Before Haku could carefully observe his surroundings, he felt his strength weaken. Then his consciousness sank into darkness.
[Haku still hasn't woken up? It's been three days already, hasn't it? Didn't you say there was nothing wrong with his body?]
In a daze, Haku seemed to hear Orochimaru's voice.
[Um... Teacher Orochimaru, is that you?]
Orochimaru stopped scolding the Medical Ninja at the front line and hurried over to examine Haku.
[It's me, Haku. How are you feeling? You've been unconscious for three days.]
[Hm? Three days? I only remember being struck head-on twice in succession, once by a red figure and once by a blue figure. After that, I couldn't feel anything.]
As he spoke, Haku moved his body, adjusting to the stiffness brought on by lying down for several days.
[Hm?]
Suddenly, Haku's body stiffened. He blinked uncertainly a few times before asking Orochimaru in an unsure tone:
[My eye?]
[Sigh... That day, you were first rammed head-on by the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki while he was using the Tailed Beast Cloak. Then, while you were unprepared, you were struck by the Third Raikage's Hell Stab.]
Orochimaru paused. After ordering the others to leave, he continued.
[You were lucky to survive. Anyone else would probably have been shattered into pieces on the spot. Although your life isn't in danger, you opened the Seven Gates and were then attacked by the Raikage. To put it simply, your body is in terrible condition.]
Orochimaru fell silent again, seemingly considering how to explain the matter.
[As for your eye, one of them was injured by the Lightning Release Chakra scattered by the Raikage. It can't be healed. However, based on my recent research, I can replace it with someone else's eye.]
[Those are minor issues. The real problem is that there's something strange about your injuries this time. Killer B's escape was too much of a coincidence. I'll investigate it thoroughly. Until I uncover the secrets behind this, stay in Konoha and focus on recovering.]
Orochimaru did not give Haku a chance to speak. He explained Haku's current condition, the cause of his injuries, and the arrangements for what came next in one breath. Haku had no objections to Orochimaru's arrangements. He truly needed to recuperate in peace for a while.
When he woke up just now, Haku had noticed that something seemed to have changed in the system. He needed to calm down and study it.
Before you continue