Nine-Tails Chakra Is Good Stuff

Naruto Uzumaki had three things on him that were well worth Yunyan's attention.

The first was the Uzumaki Clan bloodline the boy carried.

Though he had inherited his father's blond hair rather than his mother's red hair, the Uzumaki blood in him was unmistakably genuine.

The most obvious signs were Naruto's naturally massive chakra reserves and powerful vitality, both characteristic traits of the Uzumaki Clan.

Even Yunyan, sitting beside him, could clearly sense that Naruto's chakra reserves were nearly on par with his own!

See? Wasn't the Uzumaki Clan bloodline something to envy?

At just eight or nine years old, probably having only recently enrolled in the Academy and begun training, he already had enough chakra to squander freely.

His vitality was no less impressive. Naruto had endured such a miserable childhood and been put through so much, yet at worst he had ended up malnourished. That alone proved how strong his life force was.

Combined with their exceptional affinity for sealing techniques, the Uzumaki Clan bloodline truly was blessed by heaven.

The second thing that caught Yunyan's attention was the Asura chakra hidden deep within Naruto Uzumaki's body, chakra that had reincarnated an unknown number of times.

Yunyan regarded the repeated chakra reincarnations of the Sage of Six Paths' two sons with caution.

Why was he wary?

It was only chakra reincarnation, not soul reincarnation. Naruto Uzumaki and Asura could not be considered the same person, and Asura's chakra had never displayed anything particularly remarkable in the original story. What was there to fear?

Perhaps it was simply Yunyan's personality. He had always liked to think things through thoroughly and assume the worst.

It was precisely because of this disposition that Yunyan never felt at ease around a hidden boss like the Sage of Six Paths. Naturally, he was equally uneasy about the chakra of his two sons reincarnating all over the place.

Whether it was the father or the two sons, once they were dead, couldn't they just stay peacefully in the Pure Land?

No. The three of them just had to stir up trouble.

There was no need to mention the Sage of Six Paths. Whether he was truly dead or not was still debatable. Even at the end of the original story, he had made a fine display of his presence, playing the role of an old grandpa handing cheat abilities to the protagonist.

His two sons, Asura and Indra, seemed to be thoroughly dead, yet their chakra reincarnated again and again. Every reincarnation inevitably fought the other, and every clash between the two brought a major upheaval to the shinobi world.

In other words, whether the shinobi world was peaceful or chaotic was up to the Ōtsutsuki Clan.

Of course, Black Zetsu's instigation and guidance also played a role in all this, and that could not be ignored.

Given all those reasons, how could Yunyan not remain vigilant toward Asura's reincarnated chakra?

Being alert was one thing, and having ideas was another. Yunyan still did not intend to make any moves.

First, Asura's chakra was hidden far too deeply. Yunyan could not sense it within Naruto's body at all, much less locate it.

Second, even if he found Asura's chakra, Yunyan did not really dare touch it.

Who knew whether the Sage of Six Paths had been watching over his son all along? Yunyan did not dare gamble on it.

Third, Naruto Uzumaki's identity was anything but ordinary. What he represented and the role he played were extremely important. If Yunyan did anything to the boy, Hiruzen Sarutobi would explode on the spot!

The third thing Yunyan paid particular attention to was the Nine-Tails sealed inside Naruto Uzumaki.

Unlike Asura's chakra, this was something Yunyan coveted.

The Nine-Tails—the strongest of all tailed beasts, a monster with an extraordinarily immense amount of chakra.

In the early stages of the original story, the Nine-Tails displayed formidable strength. Its chakra was virtually endless and almost never ran dry. It was undeniably one of the cheats Naruto relied on the longest.

Even in the later stages of the original story, Naruto still depended on the Nine-Tails. By coming to understand each other, he became a perfect jinchūriki, gained the Nine-Tails form, and pushed his strength close to the very peak.

It could be said that while the Nine-Tails was the root cause of Naruto Uzumaki being targeted all these years, without that cheat, Naruto's protagonist's luck would have been cut in half!

Back to the point, Yunyan coveted the Nine-Tails for roughly two reasons.

First, the Nine-Tails was the only thing Yunyan could obtain from Naruto Uzumaki.

As for the other two, Yunyan could not obtain the Uzumaki Clan bloodline, and Asura's reincarnated chakra was not something he could easily covet.

Second, the only weakness Yunyan currently had was his own chakra reserves.

Among experts of the same level, Yunyan's chakra reserves were not small, but they certainly were not large either. They were merely average.

But in Yunyan's eyes, average would not do. Average was a shortcoming! It was a weakness!

Only when he could unleash ninjutsu without restraint, bombarding enemies endlessly like a blanket of firepower while his chakra never ran out or dried up—only then would his chakra reserves be sufficient.

And the only way Yunyan could think of to reach that level of chakra reserves was through tailed beasts.

Do not misunderstand. Yunyan did not want to become a jinchūriki. He had no desire to stuff something foreign into his own body, not even the Ten-Tails.

What he wanted, and the true reason he coveted the Nine-Tails within Naruto Uzumaki, was to obtain the Nine-Tails' core chakra and use it to uncover why these tailed beasts possessed such immense chakra reserves.

Once he understood the cause and principle behind it, Yunyan might be able to develop his own chakra reserves to the level of a tailed beast.

If that happened, Yunyan's weakness would be made up for, and he would truly become a powerful expert without blind spots in any aspect!

That was Yunyan's plan, and the reason he had taken notice of Naruto Uzumaki.

Still, this plan would have to be considered carefully over time.

With his Mangekyō Sharingan, Yunyan did indeed possess the ability to control the Nine-Tails, but he could not act rashly.

Believe it or not, if Yunyan did anything to Naruto Uzumaki in Ichiraku Ramen right now, Kakashi beside them would immediately come out and stop him.

Not only would Kakashi intervene at once, but if word reached Hiruzen Sarutobi, that old man might turn hostile immediately as well.

So this was a matter of great importance. Yunyan could not act recklessly. If he wanted to obtain the Nine-Tails' core chakra, he would have to slowly make plans and find an opportunity in the future.

By then, Yunyan had finally finished drinking the ramen broth from the bowl before him.

Afterward, he set down the empty bowl and let out a long breath, looking thoroughly satisfied.

Only after finishing everything did Yunyan seem to notice Naruto Uzumaki beside him. He turned his head and calmly observed the little blond-haired boy.

The moment Yunyan looked at Naruto Uzumaki, Kakashi, who was hidden outside and keeping watch, felt his heart leap into his throat!

Who was Naruto Uzumaki?

Publicly, he was Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchūriki. Though young, nothing could be allowed to go wrong with him!

Privately, he was the orphaned son of Kakashi's teacher and teacher's wife, one of the people Kakashi cared about most!

Whether publicly or privately, Naruto could not be allowed to suffer any accident! That was practically Kakashi's bottom line!

But what did Kakashi see now?

His surveillance target, Uchiha Yunyan, had come to Ichiraku Ramen for ramen. That was nothing unusual.

But Naruto had also come to Ichiraku Ramen and run into Yunyan!

Kakashi could not even fully gauge Yunyan's strength, and he could tell that Yunyan was lawless by nature. For Naruto to encounter Yunyan, even if they were merely strangers passing by each other, was still far too dangerous!

For a moment, hidden Kakashi's heartbeat quickened. He could not help praying that nothing would happen between them. The two of you must not get involved with each other. It would be best if you did not even speak!

It seemed heaven heard Kakashi's prayer and answered him.

Under Kakashi's watchful gaze, Yunyan merely turned his head and looked at Naruto a few times. He seemed to recognize Naruto's identity as the Nine-Tails jinchūriki and found it rather interesting.

Fortunately, Yunyan's interest went no further than that. After a few glances, he stopped paying attention. He did not even strike up a conversation. The two were completely and utterly strangers passing by.

After no longer paying attention to Naruto Uzumaki and thoroughly scaring Kakashi outside, Yunyan seemed full and satisfied. He called out to Ayame, who was busy behind the counter.

"Thank you for the meal. How much is it?"

Hearing Yunyan ask to pay, Ayame immediately answered enthusiastically.

"Ah, a large tonkotsu shoyu ramen with double chashu. That'll be 1,500 yen, please. Standard shinobi currency, equivalent to Japanese yen."

Yunyan nodded, finding the price reasonable. After all, it was a large bowl with double chashu.

Not lacking money, he immediately took some from his pocket and placed the change on the counter.

Ayame settled the bill with a beaming smile, then watched Yunyan rise from his seat. She respectfully saw the customer out of Ichiraku Ramen.

"Welcome back anytime, sir!"

Pulling open the door, Yunyan had already stepped one foot outside Ichiraku Ramen when he could not help looking back at Ayame. He nodded.

"The ramen was delicious. I will definitely come again!"

Ayame smiled sweetly.

"Thank you."

After casting one final seemingly casual glance at the little blond-haired Naruto, Yunyan completely left Ichiraku Ramen, closed the door behind him, and leisurely departed.