Nine-Tails

Without bloodline limits or the legacy of a powerful clan, no matter how hard an ordinary person worked, their ceiling would be someone like Might Guy.

A lifetime of effort would earn them the strength to shatter one enemy with a single kick, only to die of exhaustion afterward.

But Naruto could not.

He was different from other transmigrators.

He had not transmigrated into some random nobody. He had become Naruto Uzumaki.

The Child of Prophecy of this world, Ashura's reincarnation, the chosen wage slave destined to face Six Paths-level enemies head-on in the future.

Kaguya, Six Paths Madara, Ten-Tails Obito, Rinnegan Nagato, the Edo Tensei army, and so on...

Any one of those names was a world-ending disaster.

Others could lie flat. He could not.

If he lay flat, no one in this world would be able to stand.

Moreover, Naruto had a very clear understanding of himself: he could not talk-no-jutsu.

Anime Naruto's strongest weapon was neither the Rasengan nor Nine-Tails Mode, but that mouth of his that could turn villains into teammates.

Naruto had talked Nagato to death. Even someone on the level of Six Paths Obito could be talked into questioning his entire life.

But he was not the Naruto from the anime. He did not possess that naturally infectious personality or those experiences.

He was an adult soul who had transmigrated at the age of thirty. He could not sincerely and purely move his opponents the way a teenage boy could.

Since talk-no-jutsu was not an option, he could only take another path: absolute suppression through strength.

And the source of that strength was within him.

The Nine-Tails, the strongest tailed beast in the ninja world. If he became its perfect jinchuriki, he could perhaps contend with Six Paths-level powerhouses—though only perhaps.

The chakra imprints left behind by Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. Though they were merely two masses of chakra, they contained all the combat knowledge and experience of the Fourth Hokage and the former Nine-Tails jinchuriki.

There was also the chakra of Ashura's reincarnation. That one was rather uncertain, but in theory, it existed within him as well.

The previous Naruto had no way to actively reach these powers. He could only passively wait for them to erupt under external stimulation.

But now, with the Absolute Control Ability, everything was different.

Naruto could actively explore the inside of his body, find these powers, and take control of them one by one for his own use.

Naruto made a priority list in his mind. First priority: meet Minato Namikaze and Kushina to learn core ninjutsu such as the Rasengan and Flying Raijin.

This was the fastest path to improving his actual combat ability.

Second priority: further master the Nine-Tails' power, at least to the point where he could freely use and adapt to Nine-Tails chakra.

Third priority: try to come into contact with Ashura's chakra. This was more of a long-term goal and might not produce immediate results, but if it succeeded, the gains would be transformative.

Having sorted it all out, Naruto sank his attention completely into his body.

The Absolute Control Ability activated.

The sensation was extremely strange.

The moment he activated the ability, his consciousness seemed to turn into a pair of all-seeing eyes, allowing him to clearly observe every detail within his body.

The flow of chakra through his meridians, every contraction and expansion of his heart, the sound of blood rushing through his veins, every slight tremor of his muscle fibers.

Everything appeared within his perception, down to the finest detail.

And within this vast universe of his body, several places emitted an unusual glow.

Some were warm and bright, like golden morning light.

Others were gloomy and dark red, like magma imprisoned deep underground by chains.

Naruto first locked onto the glow that radiated oppression and evil.

Its source lay in the deepest part of his body.

Naruto took a deep breath, and his consciousness suddenly plunged downward.

The darkness before his eyes rapidly receded, replaced by a huge, dim, damp sewer.

This was the projection of the Nine-Tails' seal within his spiritual world: a seemingly endless corridor, with a shallow layer of water pooled across the floor. Every step sent cold ripples spreading beneath his feet.

The air was damp and frigid, filled with the mixed scent of rust and something unique to a massive beast.

At the end of the corridor stood an absurdly enormous cage.

Crimson metal bars ran from the floor straight to the ceiling, each one thick enough for an adult to wrap both arms around.

A huge sealing talisman was pasted between the bars. Dense curse markings across its surface flickered with uncertain golden light, like some sleeping living thing breathing.

Behind the cage crouched a massive dark-red presence so immense it was suffocating.

It curled up in the shadows, its nine thick tails slowly swaying behind it like nine winding giant serpents. Each movement stirred a gust that rumbled like muffled thunder.

The instant Naruto's consciousness appeared in the sewer, the Nine-Tails' tightly shut eyes snapped open.

There was no reason in them, no mercy—only hatred and fury accumulated over decades, so thick they could not be dissolved.

"How is this possible?"

The Nine-Tails' voice was low and earth-shaking, like a hundred great drums being struck at once. The entire sewer trembled faintly from the sound.

It raised its head, bringing its enormous fox face close to the cage bars. Its slit pupils locked firmly onto the tiny golden figure at the entrance.

"How could you come here on your own?"

In the Nine-Tails' understanding, the spiritual world between a jinchuriki and a tailed beast was not somewhere either could enter at will.

Normally, their mental spaces would only connect passively when the seal loosened or the jinchuriki's emotions collapsed to the extreme.

In all the long years since the Nine-Tails had been sealed, it had never seen a jinchuriki consciously enter the sealing space on their own like this.

Naruto did not answer its question.

He stood before the cage, the tips of his feet in the icy water, and glanced up at the Nine-Tails.

Just one glance. There was neither fear nor provocation in his eyes, only an indifference as though he were looking at a painting on a hallway wall.

Then he closed his eyes.

"Brat, I'm asking you..."

The Nine-Tails spoke again, its voice even deeper this time, carrying a dangerous pressure, like a savage beast testing its prey with a growl from deep in its throat.

"What did you do to my chakra when you used it outside earlier?"

"Why was my power so obedient in your body?"

The Nine-Tails' slit pupils narrowed slightly.

It clearly remembered everything that had happened in the Magic Mirror Formation.

The chakra it had deliberately released should, according to its plan, have carried its hateful will and completely swallowed the blond brat's rationality, allowing it to take the opportunity to assault the seal.

But the result had completely exceeded its expectations.

The instant that chakra touched the brat, something had seized it tightly. Like a wild cat grabbed by the scruff of the neck, it struggled a few times before quietly settling down.

That left the Nine-Tails with an intensely unpleasant sense of unease.

Naruto still ignored the Nine-Tails.

With his eyes closed, his consciousness spread out like a rapidly unfurling net, sweeping over every corner of the sealing space as he sensed the distribution of the Nine-Tails' chakra and the seal's nodes.

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