Beneath the Hokage Building, inside Root's secret base.
Naruto was bound by iron chains around his arms, legs, and neck, suspended in the air with his limbs spread wide.
Dense black Cursed Seal markings, shaped like tadpoles, crawled all over Naruto's body.
They crept slowly across his skin, all converging on the seal around his navel.
Naruto kept losing consciousness from the pain, only to be jolted awake again by the agony wracking his body.
Deep within his consciousness.
"Naruto, don't you resent them? Don't you hate them...?"
"Undo the seal on the gate."
"I'll grant you the power to change everything!"
"Together, we'll destroy those detestable people and this wretched village!"
The Nine-Tails crouched against the great gate of the seal, constantly trying to beguile Naruto with its words.
Naruto struggled against the orange-red Chakra enveloping his body.
He had already lost control of his body, and his consciousness was growing hazy.
But memories of Jiraiya kept surfacing in his mind. They were the only thing sustaining Naruto now.
Outside, Danzo stood not far in front of Naruto. Behind him, the Sealing Squad members controlled their Chakra, manipulating the Cursed Seal markings to break down the seal imprisoning the Nine-Tails inside Naruto.
"Lord Danzo, according to the records in the sealing scroll, the seal on the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is a double seal, formed by layering the Eight Trigrams Seal over the Four Symbols Seal."
"Without the key, there's no way to open it. We can only tear a small opening in the seal and let the Nine-Tails' Chakra leak out."
"But the Jinchuriki's will is too strong. He keeps resisting, so we can't wrest control of the Nine-Tails' Chakra from him."
Danzo's expression darkened as he listened.
"You're all useless! Root has supported you for so long, and even with the sealing formula in hand, you can't break the seal!"
"Get out of my way! Stand back. I'll handle this myself!"
The Root Sealing Squad members scrambled to their feet and hurried out of the sealing room.
Danzo reached up and pulled back the bandages wrapped around his right eye.
He dispelled the sealing Jutsu on his right eye, revealing the Mangekyō Sharingan that had once belonged to Shisui.
He walked up to Naruto, pulled open his eyelid, and stared into Naruto's eye with his own right eye.
The Mangekyō Sharingan's Kotoamatsukami activated!
Though the Kotoamatsukami in his right eye couldn't alter someone's consciousness forever, it could temporarily guide and change Naruto's thoughts.
The Mangekyō Sharingan kept interfering with and guiding Naruto's consciousness.
Naruto felt as if he were sinking into utter darkness. Endless cold engulfed him, and his consciousness gradually faded away.
Using his Mangekyō's power to connect to Naruto's mindscape, Danzo entered it.
When he opened his eyes again, he was standing before the Nine-Tails' sealed gate.
The Nine-Tails lunged at Danzo with its claws, but the sealed iron gate stopped it.
The Nine-Tails glared viciously at Danzo's right eye.
"Damn Mangekyō Sharingan!"
"You detestable Uchiha again!"
Danzo let out a cold laugh.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Nine-Tails. I'm nothing like those loathsome Uchiha."
"Still, judging by your reaction, it seems the Uchiha's Mangekyō really can control Tailed Beasts!"
"Submit to me and become a tool for realizing my ambitions, Nine-Tails!"
The power in his right eye began to pour out rapidly. The Mangekyō Genjutsu took hold, and the pattern in his right eye began to spin.
The Nine-Tails froze in place, its pupils changing to match the Mangekyō pattern in Danzo's right eye.
Danzo left Naruto's mindscape.
Blood tears ran from his right eye, and pain spread through his body.
Danzo grabbed a handful of Military Ration Pills from the table and stuffed them into his mouth, replenishing his Chakra.
The Hashirama Cells in his right arm were healing his body as well.
After a while, the pain subsided. Danzo walked over to Naruto.
He formed Hand Seals to control the Nine-Tails' Chakra as it surged out, while also manipulating Naruto.
An orange-red Tailed Beast Cloak gradually enveloped Naruto. Three Chakra bubbles shaped like Demon Fox tails began to emerge from his tailbone.
Naruto let out unconscious cries of pain. Though he was lost in the darkness, he felt his body being consumed by negative emotions. He began to lose himself, and under Kotoamatsukami's influence, even the memory of Jiraiya grew twisted and hideous.
As the third tail took shape, a fourth Demon Fox tail began to emerge.
The Demon Fox's Chakra lifted the skin from Naruto's body. It floated onto the Tailed Beast Cloak and evaporated into black smoke.
The air filled with the stench of evaporating skin and blood.
More than ten minutes passed. The Nine-Tails' Chakra leakage reached its limit, and Naruto was left in the form of a Demon Fox with seven tails.
Danzo sensed the Chakra emanating from the small Demon Fox before him.
Only then did he realize how powerful the Nine-Tails was.
He threw his head back and roared with laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha! Hiruzen! The Nine-Tails has fallen into my hands after all!"
"With the power of the Nine-Tails and the Mangekyō Sharingan, Uchiha Senya! How can your Susanoo stand against me?"
"Your Mangekyō alone will never be enough to challenge me!"
His laughter cut off abruptly, his eyes filled with ruthlessness and cruelty.
"Medical Squad! Get in here!"
Several masked medical ninja dressed in pale yellow entered the sealing room and came up behind Danzo, bowing their heads.
"Lord Danzo, what are your orders?"
Danzo pointed at Naruto.
"Inject him with Chakra-enhancing drugs and every other drug you have. Anything that can strengthen his Chakra and weaken his will."
"As long as the Jinchuriki doesn't die, the higher the dosage, the better!"
"Yes!"
The medical ninja accepted Danzo's inhumane order without hesitation. They picked up their syringes and needles, plunged them into Naruto's body, which was bound by the sealing chains, and began injecting the drugs.
Another half hour passed. After finishing the injections, the medical ninja went to Danzo.
"Lord Danzo, we've reached the limit of what we can inject. The drugs in the Jinchuriki's body will last for about two hours."
"The drugs will keep damaging the cells in the Jinchuriki's body, while the Nine-Tails' Chakra repairs them and keeps him alive."
"If we inject any more, the damage will outpace the Nine-Tails' Chakra's ability to repair him, and the Jinchuriki will die of exhaustion."
Danzo looked at the small Demon Fox before him. It had grown a seventh tail, and a white skeleton clung to its body. A satisfied smile spread across his face.
He turned and gave his order.
"All Root members, follow me!"
"Mission objective: Wipe out every member of the Uchiha Clan!"
More than thirty Root Jonin and over forty Root Chunin knelt on one knee before Danzo.
"Yes!"
The group leaped across the rooftops toward the Uchiha Clan compound.
As for Naruto—
He remained unconscious, transformed into a seven-tailed Demon Fox and following close behind Danzo.
Danzo led Naruto through a secret passage beneath the Hokage Building and straight out of the village, then raced toward the Uchiha Clan compound.
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