Tsunade set down the documents in her hands and studied the boy before her, whose bearing had completely changed.
"How did your training go?"
Jiraiya scratched his head and reported somewhat awkwardly, "His Sage Mode training went fairly smoothly, but this kid's control over nine-tails chakra... is an absolute mess."
At the mention of controlling tailed beasts, Tsunade's eyes flickered, and she looked at Naruto. "Actually, I asked Raito about this before. His method is simple and brutal. Your will just needs to be stronger than the tailed beast's."
Naruto froze, looking utterly shocked. "Granny Hokage, you've seen Raito?"
"Yes, I met him not long ago."
"Raito... is he strong now?" Naruto asked urgently.
The question drew a wry smile from Tsunade, and a trace of wariness appeared in her eyes. "Strong! He's practically a monster!"
"Even without using that terrifying tailed beast power, Raito could easily beat me now with taijutsu and ninjutsu alone."
Those words struck Naruto's heart like a sledgehammer, and his expression grew more solemn than ever.
"Are you serious, Tsunade?" Even Jiraiya was startled.
He knew Raito had been a genius, but wasn't this strength far too absurd?
"Completely serious. Raito's talent is downright frightening. I strongly suspect that when he volunteered to become a Jinchūriki, he wasn't seeking protection at all. He wanted to plunder the tailed beast's power to evolve himself!"
"His goal wasn't to be controlled by the tailed beast, but to completely analyze its nature and develop some kind of forbidden technique!"
Tsunade stood and walked to the window, her voice low. "And as it turns out, he really did develop that terrifying ability."
Even now, recalling that bizarre power that could devour everything sent a chill down Tsunade's spine.
Meanwhile, in the Land of Earth, amid a forest of