Kneeling in the Sealed Space

Evening in Konoha carried the damp, earthy smell of soil.

Beside the drainage ditch in the back street behind the Ninja Academy, six-year-old Naruto Uzumaki lay face down in muddy water. His forehead had been split open, and several black footprints marked his orange jacket.

A few adults stood at the mouth of the alley. None came closer.

The children hid behind them, their eyes filled not with fear, but with the excitement of having the adults' tacit approval.

"Demon Fox!"

A pebble struck Naruto's shoulder.

"Get out of Konoha!"

A second pebble flew toward the back of his head.

Naruto raised a hand to block it, mud caked between his fingers. He had awakened less than seven minutes ago, and memories of the body's original owner from the past few years still lingered in his mind.

A shabby rented room.

Expired milk.

The disgusted looks of roadside shopkeepers.

A pitifully small living allowance every month.

And, on the distant Hokage Rock, the Third Hokage whom everyone revered.

Someone was watching him.

Not just today.

For six years, someone had always been watching.

"Go on, throw them." A middle-aged fish seller set his basket beside his feet, his face twisted with vicious delight. "He won't dare fight back. Lord Hokage said this brat needs to learn patience."

Naruto's fingers slowly dug into the mud.

Patience?

He lowered his head and smiled.

It was not the original owner's ingratiating smile, but one utterly devoid of warmth.

Another stone flew at him.

This time, it stopped three inches in front of his eyes.

Orange-red Chakra seeped from beneath Naruto's skin like a thin, burning mist.

The voices at the mouth of the alley cut off.

Far away in the Hokage Office, the once-clear image on the surface of a crystal ball suddenly warped.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe-holding hand paused.

In the image, Naruto slowly stood up, his eyes turning gold with slit pupils.

The next instant, Naruto's consciousness was dragged into darkness.

The sound of water came from beneath his feet.

An enormous iron gate loomed ahead, a Sealing Tag affixed to the center of its seam. Behind it, two scarlet eyes opened like blood-red lanterns.

The Nine-Tails slammed his claws against the bars, shaking the entire space.

"Brat, who gave you permission to use my Chakra?"

A rank gust swept through the bars and struck Naruto's face.

The original Naruto would already have fallen over in terror.

The current Naruto merely looked up at him.

"You've been locked up for six years, and you still haven't figured out who your real enemy is?"

Ferocity blazed in the Nine-Tails' eyes.

"Are you lecturing me?"

Naruto took a step forward, sending rings of ripples across the water beneath his feet.

Just then, an icy voice sounded in his mind.

[Detected: Host is inside a jinchūriki's Sealing Space.]

[God-Tier Jinchuriki System activated.]

[Starter mission: Subjugate the Nine-Tails.]

[Mission rewards: The Nine-Tails' complete submission, Perfect Jinchuriki Physique, Six Paths-Level Chakra Affinity.]

Behind the iron gate, the Nine-Tails bared his stark white fangs.

"You think you can do that, brat?"

Naruto did not answer.

He raised his hand and pressed it against the Sealing Tag.

Golden lines of flame immediately ignited along the tag's edges. Dense arrays of technique formulas appeared across the walls, floor, and iron gate, wrapping around the Nine-Tails like countless chains.

The Nine-Tails' laughter stopped abruptly.

He jerked backward, but golden chains pierced his limbs, forcibly crushing his massive body toward the ground.

"This is... the Uzumaki Clan's seal? No! This isn't the formula Minato Namikaze left behind!"

The Nine-Tails struggled, his claws gouging deep furrows in the ground.

Naruto stepped into the iron gate.

The gate did not open, yet he passed through it as though it were water.

He stood before the Nine-Tails, his six-year-old body as tiny as a speck of dust, yet there was not a trace of fear in those golden, slit-pupiled eyes.

"Nine-Tails, submit, or I'll refine you into a Chakra core."

A low growl rumbled in the Nine-Tails' throat.

He wanted to crush this brat between his teeth.

But the golden chains tightened again. It was as though a hand belonging to a higher order of power reached out from deep within the seal and pinned his soul in place.

For the first time, the Nine-Tails felt death.

Not sealing.

Not being controlled.

Having his consciousness truly erased, leaving nothing but a mass of power.

His forelegs bent, and his enormous head slowly lowered beside Naruto's feet.

"Brat."

His voice squeezed out through clenched teeth.

"I... will fight for you."

[Mission complete.]

[The Nine-Tails has fully submitted.]

[Perfect Jinchuriki Physique integration in progress.]

[Six Paths-Level Chakra Affinity unlocked.]

Back in the real-world alley, Naruto opened his eyes.

Orange-red Chakra flowed close against his body, no longer raging, no longer leaking out, like an obedient suit of battle armor.

The fish seller's face had gone deathly pale, and the fish in his basket spilled all over the ground.

Naruto lifted his gaze toward the Hokage Building.

At that same instant, the crystal ball in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi exploded, its fragments slicing open the back of his hand.

Blood dripped onto the desk.

Outside the door, an ANBU landed with the Body Flicker Technique.

"Third Hokage, the Nine-Tails Chakra readings... have gone out of control."