Goodbye Nine-Tails

The next day, the morning sun spilled across the earth.

Before the gates of Sunagakure.

"Naruto, the primary rule for us ninja is patience! Do you understand?" Kakashi said with a solemn expression.

"Heh..." A cold sneer curled the corners of Naruto's mouth.

Seeing this, Kakashi felt his heart tighten.

He hurriedly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his pupils trembling as the scenes of yesterday flashed through his mind like a movie.

Back then, no sooner had Naruto departed than those ignorant fools in Sunagakure attempted to provoke him.

Had it not been for Baki and himself intervening in time, Sunagakure would likely have been reduced to a desolate desert by now.

Thinking of this, Kakashi stroked his chest, secretly feeling fortunate.

Thank goodness he was still that fast man...

Sakura looked up at the sky, her face full of confusion: "Kakashi-sensei, are the people of Sunagakure not coming with us?"

"They will be here in a moment!" Kakashi replied upon hearing her.

Not long after.

"We're here!" Temari leaped down from a high building with several Suna ninja.

Seeing this, Kakashi immediately adjusted his forehead protector and said in a clear voice: "Very well, let us depart at once to rescue the Kazekage!"

Immediately following.

Kakashi took a map from behind his back, pointed his finger at a specific location, and spoke solemnly: "According to Pakkun's reconnaissance, Gaara is at this very spot right now."

"Understood!" Temari nodded heavily, a flicker of firm resolve shining in her eyes.

Just as the group was about to set off.

At that moment.

"Whoosh—" Baki suddenly appeared before the group. His face wore a look of helplessness as he looked at Temari and said in a low voice: "Temari, you cannot go. The village elders have other plans."

"What?!" Temari was shocked, then roared with uncontrollable anger: "That is the Kazekage! Should we Suna ninja not go to save him? He is my younger brother!"

"The elders are worried that if you leave, the news of the Kazekage's disappearance will spread, and the enemy might attack the village then," Baki explained, his face showing his dilemma.

"But..." Temari still wanted to argue.

Just then.

"The Sunagakure elders?" Naruto, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, revealing an evil grin: "Temari, in my opinion, your elders are just a bunch of rotten, useless fools. Do you need me to step in and teach them a lesson for you?"

"It's free of charge, you know..."

"Lord Naruto, absolutely not, there is no need to trouble yourself..." Baki's body trembled violently, and he hurriedly waved his hands to signal against it.

Just then, an aged voice drifted down from above the group.

"Let this old one go..."

Hearing the sound, everyone hurriedly looked up.

Only then did they realize that Chiyo had been standing atop the high building for who knows how long.

Immediately after, before anyone could recover.

"Whoosh—" Chiyo suddenly leaped down from the building, arriving instantly before Kakashi and the others.

"But, Chiyo-sama, are you really... okay?" Seeing this, Temari felt a bit uneasy and couldn't help but ask.

It was no wonder Temari would ask such a question.

Chiyo was truly advanced in years, old and frail...

She gave the impression of being so weak that a mere breeze could knock her over, after which she would wail and demand compensation...

"This old one is in the prime of her life!" Chiyo snorted at the remark, a hint of nostalgia appearing on her face: "Besides, I would like to take this opportunity to properly discipline my little grandson!"

In the end, Team 7 and Chiyo set out on the journey to rescue Gaara.

Land of Wind, border forest.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—" Kakashi and the other three moved like four bolts of lightning, speeding through the forest and kicking up a rustling sound from the leaves.

Sakura couldn't help but cast her gaze toward Naruto and asked softly: "Naruto, when did the Akatsuki start targeting you?"

"Three years ago," Naruto said indifferently.

"Then why did they wait so long to act? Why did they go after Gaara first?!" Sakura was full of confusion.

"Actually, I'm looking forward to them coming for me now..." Upon hearing this, a playful glint flashed through Naruto's blue eyes.

Kakashi, meanwhile, fell into deep thought: "It must be because Jiraiya-sama protected Naruto personally for three years. After all, he is one of the Sannin; those people naturally wouldn't dare to act rashly."

As he finished speaking, Kakashi glanced at Naruto, silently mourning for the members of the Akatsuki in his heart.

The Naruto of the past was indeed weak and in need of protection...

But look at the situation now—that is the perfect combination of the Fourth Hokage and the Sannin Jiraiya!

They could absolutely beat the living daylights out of any Akatsuki members who come to capture the Nine-Tails...

Just as Kakashi was thinking this, Chiyo suddenly raised her voice in denial, "Wrong, that is not the case. According to intelligence, they are only holding back because their preparations for extracting the Tailed Beast are not yet complete!"

"Tailed Beast?! What is that?" Sakura asked, looking blankly at her.

"Hm? As a disciple of Tsunade, you don't even know this?" Chiyo's face showed surprise.

"Well, in our Konoha, the Tailed Beast is an absolute secret..." Kakashi hurriedly stepped in to explain.

"I see..." Chiyo realized, nodding slightly, "The Tailed Beast is..."

Soon, Chiyo finished explaining the general situation regarding the Tailed Beasts.

Only then did Sakura understand why Naruto was called a demon fox; it was because the Nine-Tails was sealed within his body!

At the same time, she noticed that Naruto's expression seemed to have turned gloomy.

Sakura's expression instantly became incredibly solemn, and she spoke with deep concern: "Naruto, are you alright?"

However, Naruto acted as if he hadn't heard her and did not respond.

Because, at this moment, The majority of Naruto's consciousness had already arrived within his inner world.

Because of Chiyo's mention, Naruto suddenly remembered that he still had the Nine-Tails inside him!

Over these past three years, Naruto had occasionally considered whether he should try to awaken the Nine-Tails.

But every time he thought about how his body might once again become useless if the Nine-Tails were to wake up, The consequences were too unthinkable, so Naruto had naturally dismissed the idea.

However, now that the three-year period had passed, Naruto's strength gave him enough confidence that awakening the Nine-Tails was finally a feasible goal!

Following that, "Tap, tap, tap—" Naruto walked slowly toward the deepest part of his inner world.

The closer he got, the more severe the thick, oppressive feeling became.

There lay a bottomless abyss of darkness.

It was also the manifestation of the Nine-Tails' extreme resentment accumulated over thousands of years!

Finally, Naruto arrived before the seal gate that seemed to reach from the heavens to the earth.

He stared at the seal gate before him, resting his chin in his hand, and muttered to himself, "How do I wake the Nine-Tails up? Should I use chakra? Or break the seal?"

"Oh well... I'll just try one thing at a time!"

As he finished speaking, Naruto swung his right hand violently.

The next moment, "Swish, swish, swish—" Countless amounts of chakra surged out from his body, rushing wildly toward his right hand and gradually condensing into a blue chakra chain.

As soon as the chakra chain appeared, Naruto threw it forcefully into the seal gate.

"Whoosh—" The chain shot out like lightning, cutting through the air with a piercing whistle as it drove deeper and deeper into the seal gate.

Suddenly, The chain's forward momentum came to an abrupt halt, as if it had struck an impenetrable obstacle.

"Gotcha!" Seeing this, Naruto was overjoyed; he knew he had made contact with the Nine-Tails.

Subsequently, Naruto flicked his wrist, and an even greater surge of chakra poured continuously into the chain.

In an instant, "Clatter, clatter, clatter—" The end of the chain split into countless branches. Like dragons emerging from the sea, they spread out violently, seemingly grabbing onto a massive creature and binding it tightly in several places.

Seeing this, Naruto gave a sharp tug.

That terrifying power was fully awakened in this moment, revealed without reservation.

Boom—

The chain, like a ferocious giant python, dragged the unknown creature directly toward the gate at high speed.

Soon, it came to a steady stop right in front of the gate.

Naruto looked at the massive creature still slumbering before him, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, "Nine-Tails, you seem to be sleeping quite comfortably, don't you..."