What a Joke!

Kushina watched as her son was swallowed by the Nine-Tails' Chakra, the dark-red Tailed Beast cloak creeping over his entire body like maggots clinging to bone.

A surge of anguish rose in her chest. Even she could not tell whether it was heartache or fury.

What she truly could not stand was that this idiot boy had been dragged into the spiritual world by that Fox so easily.

Kushina knew all too well what it felt like to be tormented by the Nine-Tails year after year. It was no life for a human being.

But she had the backing of the Uzumaki clan. If that Fox dared to act up, she could whip it with Adamantine Sealing Chains whenever she wanted!

Yet this unlucky kid had not even properly learned Sealing Jutsu. He was relying entirely on instinct to tough it out.

The thought made Kushina tremble with rage from head to toe.

She turned her head and shouted at the two people beside her.

"What are you two standing around for?!"

Ye and Obito stood behind her. That shout made their ears ring and even sent a numb tingle across their scalps.

The two exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with undisguised helplessness, before obediently taking a big step forward.

At that moment, in the sewer deep within Naruto's seal, ripples continued spreading across the water's surface.

The Nine-Tails had heard every word Kushina said outside, including the anxiety in her voice.

Ye and Obito?

A trace of contempt flashed through the great Fox's scarlet vertical pupils, as though it had heard the biggest joke in the world.

Back then, Obito was nothing but a worthless disciple who had only just awakened the Three-Tomoe.

As for that fellow named Ye, it had never even heard of him. He was