Nine-Tails Sealing Space, Meeting Naruto at Night

"I do know a girl with powerful healing abilities, but she belongs to the Uzumaki Clan. The Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques are too strong; the risk of backlash is too great..."

Orochimaru thought of the red-haired little girl he had picked up before. He had arranged for her to recuperate temporarily at one of his southern bases.

The Uzumaki Clan could even seal tailed beasts. Although that little girl had no inheritance now, families that had existed since ancient times always left behind some hidden information.

Besides, that little girl's talent was not suitable for his use...

"When I used to float around Konoha for fun, I often saw a black lump burrowing underground, along with some white humanoid creatures. Their bodies seemed to be made entirely of Wood Release, but I haven't seen them lately. I'll keep an eye out when I go out. If I run into one, I'll catch it and bring it back..."

Thinking of the body Orochimaru had used in the end, A Luo mentioned the existence of White Zetsu.

The vitality inherent to Wood Release meant that once Orochimaru switched to one, he could study it slowly and would no longer need to keep changing bodies one after another.

Moreover, after using White Zetsu as a vessel, Orochimaru's condition had visibly improved. He would no longer always look so gloomy and sinister.

"Don't go floating around carelessly. You might not be able to catch those creatures, and you still don't know how to do anything..."

Naturally, Orochimaru was very interested when he heard about a body made entirely of Wood Release.

But the clues of white humanoid creatures, a black lump, and burrowing underground made him think of someone.

Zetsu!

Akatsuki's Zetsu—black and white, able to burrow underground, like a blade of grass...

He often gathered intelligence, so it was not strange at all for him to appear around Konoha.

If it was that fellow, there was a high chance that A Luo would be captured if he made a move...

Orochimaru did not want the disciple he had just brought back to be snatched away by a blade of grass in the blink of an eye.

"Mm, that black lump is pretty vigilant, but sometimes those white ones move around alone..."

A Luo agreed, but not entirely.

While Orochimaru was worried, he also felt that this little fellow truly cared about him as his teacher.

In high spirits, Orochimaru decided that from now on, he would teach his student more knowledge. For the time being, he would let him study properly and cultivate diligently.

In a few days, he still had to make a trip to Akatsuki. Since he had not withdrawn, there were still certain activities he had to attend.

He just wondered how Itachi Uchiha would react. He really wanted to see that fellow's expression change...

After spending an afternoon studying the details of chakra nature transformations, A Luo was finally allowed to go back and rest after dinner.

Lying on the soft, comfortable bed, A Luo fell asleep. His soul left his body and returned directly to Konoha.

He appeared beside Sasuke, but deliberately concealed himself, so he was not noticed.

At that moment, Sasuke was training taijutsu in the courtyard. His arms and legs were covered in bruises and torn skin from pushing himself too hard.

"Brat, can your brother really keep this up if he works this hard?"

Izuna sat on the roof. Seeing A Luo arrive, he spoke worriedly about Sasuke's condition.

No time to rest during the day, physical conditioning training at night, then soul cultivation after lying down—if this cycle continued endlessly, he would collapse from exhaustion before growing stronger.

"It is pretty troublesome. I'll think of something. Watch my brother and make sure he eats properly later. I'm going to check on Naruto Uzumaki and take a look at the Nine-Tails."

A Luo watched for a while and saw that Sasuke had no intention of stopping. He left for the time being to find Naruto Uzumaki and check on the Nine-Tails while he was at it.

Arriving outside Naruto Uzumaki's window, A Luo circled the ANBU stationed on the roof before entering the room.

For the past two days, Naruto had been going to sleep especially early. Every time he got home and took a bite to eat, he would immediately lie down and sleep.

Today, Naruto lay under the covers, hoping something different would happen. Before he could fall asleep, the next moment, his surroundings blurred and changed.

"A Luo, you really came back! That's great! See? I told you I wouldn't be scared of you!"

Seeing A Luo before him, Naruto ignored the huge cage and the Nine-Tails in the distance. He rushed over and hugged A Luo, who was already nearly as tall as him.

He knew it. As long as he went to bed early every day, a surprise would definitely appear!

"Mm-hm, of course I can come back. And... Naruto Uzumaki, I don't think I ever said I was dead, did I?"

A Luo raised a hand and smacked Naruto on the head. Did this guy really think he was a ghost?

"N-Not dead? A Luo isn't dead? Really? Does Sasuke know you're alive? He's been acting like a lunatic these past two days. He's even giving off cold air during class. Today, Iruka wanted to call him outside, but Sasuke glared at him once and he didn't dare say anything. It was terrifying..."

Hearing A Luo say he was not dead, Naruto happily jumped in place a few times before starting to describe Sasuke's recent behavior.

That low-pressure atmosphere was so scary!

"Even though I'm not dead, you should still treat me as if I am. What if you tell people I'm alive and Konoha gets worried again? It's safer if I'm dead..."

A Luo glanced at the Nine-Tails, which was eavesdropping, then took two steps forward. While chatting casually, he reached out and grabbed a clump of chakra leaking from the cage, directly shaping it into two chairs.

He sat down himself, then pointed to the one beside him, signaling Naruto to sit and chat as well.

"Brat!"

Kurama lay inside the cage. It had originally wanted to hear some gossip about this Uchiha clan brat, but then it saw the boy knead chakra like dough.

That was its chakra, and he actually...

This was too much!

Everyone with red eyes was an asshole—big and small, old and young, every last one of them!

"Shut up. You're too noisy. Believe it or not, if you keep yapping, I'll drag Hashirama Senju out and have him slap you a few more times to loosen up your muscles!"

A Luo turned back and looked at the Nine-Tails, whose face was practically pressed against the cage, telling it to settle down.

Sure enough, at the mention of Hashirama Senju, the Nine-Tails' chakra flew into a chaotic frenzy, but it did quiet down.

Although it was furious, it truly conceded to Hashirama Senju's strength.

"Hashirama Senju? The First Naruto?"

Although Naruto's test scores were poor, he could still remember who Hashirama Senju was.

"Yeah, that black-hearted Senju old man... Forget it, I won't curse him. The one from our Uchiha clan wasn't too bright either!"

A Luo wanted to curse that Senju bastard, but ultimately gave up.

There was no point cursing the dead. He might as well talk to Naruto about cultivation.

He had come to find Naruto so that Naruto could learn the Soul Cultivation Art too.

When Naruto and Sasuke worked hard together, they would remove the wills of Asura and Indra much faster than Sasuke could alone.