I Want You for Your Body

I know you want my body, and I want yours too, but I'm not saying it.

The Uchiha in the clan compound didn't know Uzumaki Kushina, but that didn't stop them from sizing her up with friendly eyes, looking her over from head to toe.

Mm, she looked like she'd make a good wife and mother.

Some of them even activated their Sharingan to confirm she was a good girl.

Those unabashed stares made Uzumaki Kushina even more embarrassed. She hurried after Uchiha Yuji, sticking so close to him that "glued to his side" wouldn't have been an exaggeration. It was simply an accurate description.

Her little gesture also made the onlookers less brazen.

It gave Uzumaki Kushina the chance to take a closer look at the Uchiha Clan Compound, a place many called forbidden ground.

The surroundings looked a little run-down, but the Uchiha clan members were all quite friendly. They were nothing like the way the village described them, and their respect for Yuji went far beyond appearances.

Thanks to the Nine-Tails' special abilities, Uzumaki Kushina was also quite sensitive to malice.

"We're here. This is my home."

The two of them stopped, and Uzumaki Kushina's eyes lit up. She abruptly turned to look ahead.

The house was utterly ordinary, almost identical to the buildings around it. If not for the Uchiha's attitude earlier, she would have wondered if the Uchiha Clan had sidelined Yuji.

Seeing her puzzled expression, he explained softly, "A home is a home, and a house is a house. One is where the heart belongs; the other is just where the body lives."

"Are your parents home?"

Uzumaki Kushina wound a finger around her crimson hair, her pale index finger turning it over and over with a nervousness that matched the turmoil in her heart.

"In this Shinobi World, war always comes before happiness."

Uchiha Yuji sighed. His birth parents had died early, and as a baby, he had grown up entirely thanks to the Uchiha Clan's support and stipends.

The Uchiha had all sorts of bad habits when dealing with outsiders, but they were remarkably generous to their own. They handed out stipends as if there were no limit.

Sure, they could be a little arrogant and their tone a little haughty, but that was just how the Uchiha were. He'd beaten them up several times himself, and they'd moved on.

Everything was relative. Compared to other shinobi clans, the Uchiha were actually a fairly harmonious clan.

In this world, where tragedy was the prevailing theme, the sorrow caused by war wasn't limited to one household. It was the same throughout the entire Shinobi World.

Uzumaki Kushina was no different. The smile on her face faded.

Uchiha Yuji patted her back to comfort her. "Sorry. I said something rather inappropriate and brought up some bad memories."

Uzumaki Kushina quickly tossed her red hair, the strands fanning out to reveal a hint of the Bloody Habanero.

"I should be the one apologizing. I was the one who asked first."

"You didn't know. It's only natural to ask." Uchiha Yuji scratched his head. "Let's go inside and sit down. I don't think we'll have to wait long for the food."

As the Uchiha Clan's leader, he didn't even have to cook for himself anymore. Now that was a real perk.

Perhaps the clan had noticed Uzumaki Kushina's arrival, because dinner that evening was especially lavish—so lavish that Uchiha Yuji wondered if they were living in peacetime rather than wartime, with supplies so scarce.

Uzumaki Kushina didn't have so many thoughts running through her head. She happily ate the most expensive dishes the Uchiha Clan had to offer.

As she chatted with Uchiha Yuji, Uzumaki Kushina had no idea what was happening to the Nine-Tails inside her.

After witnessing a thousand years of war, hatred, and betrayal, even the Nine-Tails' chakra, which had no special properties to begin with, had inevitably taken on a unique quality. The once-cute little fox had acquired thick black eyeshadow, becoming a collection of pure hatred.

If an ordinary person were consumed by that hatred, they would either die or go mad.

But to Hyper Zetton, the Nine-Tails was like an emperor crab that never ran out. Chunks of crab meat slipped between its teeth, the smooth texture and tender flavor making it impossible for Hyper Zetton to stop.

The [crab meat] was so delicious that Hyper Zetton devoured it in great mouthfuls, drawn ever closer to the Nine-Tails.

Faced with that all-consuming presence, the Nine-Tails drew in its neck. "Hey, hey, hey! Kushina! Get this thing away from me! Don't come closer! Don't come any closer!"

Kushina couldn't hear him.

Hyper Zetton didn't understand.

"Damn it! If it weren't for this seal, I'd take you down for sure! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Pinned to the ground by countless chains, the Nine-Tails nearly let out a mournful howl.

"I don't think your strength alone is enough to deal with my Zetton." A voice suddenly rang out in the silent prison.

The voice had appeared without warning, but the Nine-Tails wasn't caught napping.

Its frantic digging abruptly stopped. Its face twisted into a vicious scowl, and its ferocious eyes locked onto the direction of the voice.

A streamlined, muscular frame, the Uchiha Clan's Red and White Fan crest, and the Kekkei Genkai that truly represented the clan—beautiful, blood-red Mangekyo.

Those eyes! That cold chakra!

"Uchiha! Damn Uchiha! Another damn Uchiha!"

The Nine-Tails' fur bristled with rage. It opened its enormous maw and let loose a deafening roar, its shock wave blowing Uchiha Yuji's cloak out parallel to the ground. But that was all the Nine-Tails could do.

"People are individuals, not a collective. Don't lump us all together. It's like the Tailed Beasts—you wouldn't say Shukaku is exactly like you, would you?"

Uchiha Yuji was deeply troubled that the Nine-Tails had condemned every Uchiha with a single stroke.

"Hmph, that insignificant Shukaku. Uchiha, what are you after? And what is that thing?" The Nine-Tails quickly steered the conversation back to the point before it could go too far off track.

At the Nine-Tails' question, Uchiha Yuji smiled brightly.

"My intentions? What bad intentions could I have toward you? Can't you tell?"

The Nine-Tails furrowed its brow. Its fox instincts told it that the Uchiha before it meant no harm, but something felt strange. It just couldn't tell what was wrong.

Anyway, something felt really strange!

Uchiha Yuji walked over to the Zetton Egg and affectionately stroked it with his right hand.

"As for this, its name is Zetton. It's my best partner."

"Oh, and it can absorb both positive and negative emotions. I'm sure you've felt that for yourself."

The Nine-Tails' eyes widened. It knew what was wrong!

"Kurama! I want you to help me train!"