The Nine-Tails Awakens, Uchiha Itachi Appears!

The colossal entity before Naruto.

Was none other than the Nine-Tails, Kurama!

The fluffy, orange fox fur covering its body seemed to dance like flames in the wind, constantly rippling.

However, compared to its usual ferocious and menacing appearance.

The Nine-Tails was currently fast asleep, eyes tightly shut, its chest rising and falling in a rhythm that looked incredibly peaceful and harmonious.

Anyone unaware might have mistaken it for some well-behaved pet from the Senju clan...

Naruto flicked his wrist, and the chakra chains instantly dissipated into phantoms.

Following this, Naruto reached his palm through the gap in the sealing gate and gently rested it upon the Nine-Tails' forehead.

"Hm?! The texture is actually quite nice!" Naruto couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.

As soon as he spoke, the next moment.

"Scritch, scratch—" Naruto couldn't wait to place both hands on the Nine-Tails' forehead, moving them around to indulge in the thrill of petting the fur.

He could finally understand why so many people in his past life loved petting cats and dogs; the texture was as smooth as silk, making it impossible to stop!

Moreover, the Nine-Tails was still in a deep slumber, so there was no fear of it suddenly jumping up to bite him!

After petting to his heart's content, Naruto's expression turned serious, and he suddenly exerted force with both arms!

In an instant.

BOOM—

A terrifying surge of chakra erupted from within Naruto's body, illuminating the entire inner space before gathering frantically at his palms.

He slammed it down toward the center of the Nine-Tails' brow.

Naruto wanted to test whether he could use this vast, abyssal external chakra to pierce directly into the Nine-Tails' consciousness and wake it up.

However, things did not go as planned.

"Hoo..." The Nine-Tails remained sprawled in place, its heavy breathing sounding like muffled thunder, showing no signs of stirring.

"Is chakra not enough?!" Naruto rested his chin on his hand, brow furrowed in thought, "The Nine-Tails is known as the embodiment of hatred and killing intent. Perhaps blending killing intent with chakra will do the trick?!"

No sooner said than done, Naruto's azure eyes sharpened like lightning.

In a flash.

"Hiss—" An extreme killing intent surged forth, flooding the entire inner space until the surrounding environment became dreamlike and surreal.

And just as this killing intent emerged, the Nine-Tails' massive, arched eyebrows twitched ever so slightly.

The movement was almost imperceptible, but Naruto caught it all.

He immediately beamed: "As expected, besides stopping killing with killing, one can also awaken killing with killing!"

As the words fell, Naruto did not hesitate in the slightest.

BOOM—!

The terrifying killing intent and chakra soared like two dragons, merging together to unleash an earth-shattering momentum before rushing into the Nine-Tails' body all at once.

The next instant.

The Nine-Tails' body shuddered violently, its fur standing on end like steel needles, and a chilling, overwhelming sense of resentment and hatred rapidly permeated the entire space.

Following that.

"Hiss—" A bizarre, scarlet hue, like a blood moon hanging in the sky, suddenly bloomed.

That was the color of the Nine-Tails' pupils; it had awakened!

"This old man, what is..." The Nine-Tails, having just woken up, was still somewhat dazed, looking around in confusion.

Clearly, the sudden slumber of three years ago had left it feeling quite bewildered.

Naruto pulled his hands back, stopping the leakage of killing intent and chakra, and looked at the Nine-Tails with a smile on his face, "Hey, big fox, did you sleep well these past few years?!"

"Hm?!" The Nine-Tails froze for a moment, then its gaze shot downward, finally noticing Naruto standing before the sealing gate, but then it was even more confused, "You, who are you?!"

Isn't this the inner space of that little potato, Uzumaki Naruto?

How did this handsome black-haired youth get in here?!

"Fox, you're still as silly as ever!" Naruto chuckled.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Kurama paused, then sensed Naruto's aura.

In an instant, it understood!

The black-haired youth before it was actually that brat, Uzumaki Naruto.

Immediately after, memories of the past flooded its mind.

It remembered that three years ago, it had been affected by a sudden surge of power from Naruto, which had plunged it into a long, deep sleep!

A sky-high rage and killing intent instantly drowned the Nine-Tails' heart; its face twisted hideously, and those vertical pupils flashed with a cold light of total destruction as it stared fixedly at Naruto.

Then, it suddenly opened its blood-red maw and let out a deafening roar.

"Damnable human, how dare you play tricks on me! I shall tear you limb from limb and devour you alive!"

As the words fell.

BOOM--!

The Nine-Tails' chakra erupted in its entirety. It raised its right paw high, slamming it down toward Naruto with a force capable of crushing everything in its path!

Against the backdrop of that gargantuan body and those razor-sharp claws.

This strike seemed to possess the power to destroy the heavens and extinguish the earth, enough to blast any existence below the Kage level into dust!

Unfortunately, no matter how great its power, it could not overcome the seal of the Yondaime...

The next instant, the beast's paw collided with the great gate with a deafening crash.

"CLANG--" Accompanied by a harsh, metallic screech, the Nine-Tails' paw was clamped tight in the gap of the gate as if held by iron pincers, unable to move even a fraction of an inch!

No matter how long those claws were, they could not reach Naruto.

"Nine-Tails... you look just like a clown right now!" Naruto watched the scene before him and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"ROAR! How dare you mock me! I will make sure you die without a burial place!" Hearing this, the Nine-Tails was instantly incensed, roaring at the top of its lungs.

A terrifying pressure exploded from its body, and its crimson chakra burned like a raging inferno, dyeing the entire space a strange and evil red!

Seeing this, Naruto felt not a shred of fear; instead, he stared back at the Nine-Tails with keen interest.

"What is happening?!" The Nine-Tails suddenly felt a chill in its heart.

Before it could recover its senses.

"Heh..." Naruto let out a cold sneer and clenched his fists. "Naughty Nine-Tails, it seems you will only behave once you've been disciplined a few times!"

Naruto was not like the original host, who liked to win people over with words.

He only knew one thing: to win people over with virtue!

And as it happened, his fists represented... virtue!

As the words fell.

Naruto walked straight toward the gate and raised his right hand, reaching toward the seal talisman on the gate.

"What is going on? What is this brat trying to do?!" The Nine-Tails watched the scene, feeling somewhat puzzled.

Because it could tell.

Naruto intended to tear off the talisman and release it, but that shouldn't be possible!

Furthermore, why was a strong sense of crisis welling up from the depths of its heart?!

At this moment.

"Nine-Tails, let me discipline you properly now." Naruto's azure eyes flickered as he prepared to peel off the talisman.

Suddenly, his hand froze in mid-air, and he whispered.

"Oh? The brother of the tsundere Second Pillar is here?!"

Following that, Naruto pulled his hand back and congratulated the Nine-Tails.

"Fox, you're in luck! Once I finish dealing with the matters outside, I'll come back to properly apply some virtue to you!"

As the words fell, Naruto's consciousness instantly dissipated from the spot.

"Hm?!" The Nine-Tails was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage. "Brat, stop playing these ghost games! If you really dared to peel it off, I would have sent you to the yellow springs immediately!"

However, although the Nine-Tails was putting on a brave front, deep down.

For some reason, it felt much more at ease...

In the real world.

"Interesting..." As soon as Naruto's consciousness returned to his body, his azure eyes revealed a playful look, watching the front like a cat toying with a mouse.

Kakashi and the others beside him were facing a formidable enemy, their faces grave as they held their weapons at the ready.

"Be careful, his genjutsu is extremely powerful!" Kakashi shouted loudly at this moment.

And in front of the group, a figure stood silently.

The man's long, jet-black hair fluttered in the wind, his face was incredibly handsome, and the two distinct tear troughs beneath his eyes added a touch of mysterious charm.

But what was most eye-catching were his crimson eyes, where three black tomoe were constantly spinning, causing the surrounding atmosphere to grow increasingly heavy.

Coupled with that black cloak with red clouds.

The answer was self-evident!

This person was none other than...

The Vermilion Bird of Akatsuki, Uchiha Itachi!!!