Kushina made an astonishing discovery: she could move now, unlike before. However, only her soul could move, not her body. After getting up, she found herself still in the dimly lit corridor, but behind the iron door in front of her, a huge fox was crouching.
The fox is seated, with its left hind leg resting on its rump, its two front paws supporting its body, and its nine tails drooping behind it, giving it an adorable appearance.
" Kushina, close the door immediately and reseal it. Don't come looking for me unless it's absolutely necessary!"
Nine-Tails immediately urged Kushina, who was still in a daze, but its tone had become much gentler, and it no longer had the arrogant demeanor it had before; it seemed to be begging for help.
no way!
The outside world is terrifying!
Nine-Tails felt she needed some time to slowly digest what Araki had just said, and to carefully perceive what might happen in the future. Freedom was utterly insignificant in the face of life.
Chapter 40: Something's Wrong with the Nine-Tails!
"???"
Kushina was still lying on the waterlogged ground, staring blankly at the iron gate in front of her, not understanding what had happened.
How did the Nine-Tails suddenly return?
This situation was completely beyond her expectations.
In fact, when the seal was broken, Kushina had already prepared for the worst and had begun to accept the worst possible outcome.
Except for the moment when Nine-Tails was about to attack Araki, when her consciousness slightly loosened and she sensed something, and then made some changes through her own consciousness, she remained in a deep coma for most of the time and was unaware of what was happening outside.
She was completely unaware of any of the conversation between Nine-Tails and Araki.
After what happened...
Kushina was completely bewildered, having no idea what had happened or how the Nine-Tails had suddenly become so docile. The ferocity that had been emanating from its crimson pupils vanished abruptly, replaced by an indescribable fear.
That's right.
She wasn't mistaken.
The Nine-Tails was frightened.
She didn't know what Nine-Tails was afraid of, but she could sense that Nine-Tails had indeed changed because of something.
"Quickly close the seal!"
Just then, Nine-Tails ' voice rang out from inside the iron gate, its tone filled with a strong urging, as if it was getting impatient.
It has to be said.
This situation left Kushina even more bewildered.
Before Kushina received the Nine-Tails from Mito, they talked for an entire night. During that time, Mito explained almost everything about the Nine-Tails to her and told her to be careful about any possible situations. After all, once the Nine-Tails is sealed, it only has one goal: to break the seal.
Before this, the Nine-Tails had done the same thing, using her as a means to break free from feudal constraints.
But why are you back now?
What happened?
Kushina asked with a puzzled look. She didn't walk straight toward the iron gate immediately because she didn't know if Nine-Tails was here or if there were any other tricks up her sleeve. She wasn't sure if this was Nine-Tails's scheme.
"Stop talking nonsense, seal me away now, we'll talk about the rest later!" Nine-Tails's tone became even more urgent, because now that he was back inside the iron gate, his mind was constantly recalling what had just happened, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. After all, Araki knew far too much, so much that it seemed very abnormal to him, things that a normal ninja in the ninja world should not know.
"All right."
After a moment of silence, Kushina nodded. This contrast made her feel somewhat uncomfortable, because according to common sense, this was not what she had imagined, and it had subverted her understanding to some extent.
Since that's the case.
Let's seal the Nine-Tails first.
After all, the Nine-Tails is still not completely sealed. In this state, Kushina herself doesn't feel very safe. She just didn't realize it at the moment and was silently wondering if there was some kind of conspiracy involved.
Splash splash splash...
After Kushina quickly Hand Seals, iron chains emerged from her back. These chains seemed to possess magic and life of their own, like tentacles that wrapped around the Nine-Tails and quickly sealed Nine-Tails off.
Logically speaking, this process should generally be a tug-of-war, requiring a long period of exhaustion through the sealing power and the Nine-Tails to achieve the current effect. However, the Nine-Tails is not resisting at all, and is simply waiting for her to seal it.
Abnormal.
This is extremely unusual.
Something's wrong with Nine-Tails!
There might be a problem.
But Nine-Tails didn't say anything, she couldn't figure it out either, leaving a big question mark in her mind.
As time passed, Kushina finished breaking all the seals and suddenly felt a strong attraction pulling her consciousness back out of the enclosed space.
Immediately afterwards.
Kushina suddenly opened her eyes.
Suddenly, I saw the outside world.
The first thing she saw was the stark white ceiling, and for a moment, she was unsure of where she was.
"This is..."
Kushina wanted to speak, but her throat felt dry and burning, making it impossible to utter a word. She suddenly realized how thirsty she was.
Just then, a glass of water was handed to her.
After taking the water glass, Kushina noticed that the person who handed it to her was none other than Araki, whom she had been worried about.
" Araki, are you alright?" Kushina's eyes flickered with concern, because sensing Araki's presence in her consciousness meant that Araki had gone after them.
"We just woke up too, thank you for saving us," Araki said calmly, then grinned, seemingly without a hint of lying.
This situation left Kushina completely bewildered.
"What is going on?"
Kushina asked in confusion. She felt her head was full of questions, and her memory was fragmented. The last thing she remembered was being dragged away by the puppets of Sunagakure after being poisoned, then making a deal with Nine-Tails, and then Nine-Tails returning to her body. She didn't know what might have happened in between.
Let me tell you!
At that moment, Jiraiya volunteered to step forward, because in their view, the entire process was deduced by Jiraiya.
Araki did not take credit for it.
In fact, after Araki and Nine-Tails reached an agreement, Nine-Tails returned to Kushina's body, and Kushina's original appearance was restored.
At that moment, Araki sensed that the people inside the house were about to wake up. He then withdrew all the Chakra from the desert, causing the miraculous oasis to suddenly disappear and return to the appearance of a desert. However, the stones beneath the desert ground had become somewhat hardened and were not as loose as before.
After experiencing this, Araki's Wood Clone immediately returned to his main body and disappeared.
at the same time.
Inside the tents at the Konoha camp, everyone gradually woke up.
The first to awaken was Jiraiya, the strongest among them. After waking up Jiraiya found that everyone was still asleep and did not have any suspicions whatsoever.
"Here's what happened..."
Jiraiya took a step forward and walked up to Kushina. His gaze towards Kushina became complicated, filled with a strange and inexplicable emotion.
It was only then that Kushina realized they were in a relatively secluded room, where, apart from Jiraiya, there were only Araki and Minato; there were no other ninjas stationed in Konoha.
In other words, this place provides them with a relatively private space where their conversations will not be heard by others.
Jiraiya seemed to notice Kushina's gaze and understood what she was worried about. He then nodded and said, "What we're about to say isn't known to the others, but I think it's necessary for Araki and Minato to know as well, since we're all comrades."
Hearing this, Kushina nodded, but she felt a strong sense of fatigue and pain, so her nod was relatively small.
Didn't Araki go out with them?
Was it all just an illusion?
But what's wrong with this feeling of mine?
Kushina's mind was still filled with many questions, and she wasn't entirely clear on many issues. However, she didn't voice her doubts but silently waited for Jiraiya-sensei to continue.
"I believe you and we share a common memory: the surprise attack we suffered. The Sunagakure ninjas drugged us all with poison, but their target was you. After capturing you, they ignored us inside the tent!"
Jiraiya began to explain what had happened. His face still showed many memories and lingering fear. As her former teacher, he would be held responsible if anything had happened to Kushina!
This also made him put aside his previous freshman year thoughts, because he felt that the task was not particularly difficult, so he didn't even mention it too strongly.
There are also some preconceived notions that the Sunagakure would not attack the Konoha, because everyone wanted to recuperate after the Second Shinobi World War and did not want any war to break out at this time.
Even under these circumstances, the Sunagakure ninjas still launched an attack, which made Jiraiya realize that their purpose might not be so simple.
"But then a huge commotion broke out. I sensed something but couldn't wake up. When I opened my eyes again and went outside, I found you lying in a deep pit in the desert. All the Sunagakure ninjas were dead. If I'm not mistaken, it was all the work of the Nine-Tails inside you!"
Jiraiya's voice slowly rang out, clearly reaching the ears of the people inside the tent.
In an instant.
Everyone displayed distinctly different expressions.
Kushina's face turned deathly pale in that instant. Even though she had prepared herself mentally, she still found it hard to bear the gazes of her companions when her true identity was revealed.
She immediately lowered her head, not daring to look at anyone else, but this only lasted a few seconds before she suddenly mustered her courage and looked up at Araki.
Their eyes met, and she couldn't find even the slightest hint of discrimination in Araki's eyes.
The pupils in his eyes remained as calm and sincere as ever.
Araki immediately nodded to Kushina, indicating that he knew about this matter and also reminding Kushina that it was not an important thing.
Seeing Araki's reaction, Kushina felt a Taiseki lifted from her heart. She gave Araki a grateful look and then raised her head again. At that moment, she became much more determined. At least she understood that even if the whole world regarded her as a monster, as long as she had Araki's approval, no problem was insurmountable.
Araki remained calm and composed, showing no emotional fluctuation upon hearing this information. This made Jiraiya realize that Araki had known all along that Kushina was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Considering the close relationship between Araki and Kushina, this situation isn't hard to understand, and it's quite reasonable to have known about it beforehand.
Minato's expression was one of great surprise. He had heard about Jinchūriki when he was in the Ninja Academy, but he hadn't paid much attention to it. He thought that such people only existed in legends and that it was very rare to see one. After all, many ninjas never saw Jinchūriki in their entire lives.
However, to his surprise, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was none other than Kushina.
This greatly impacted his understanding of the world.
In an instant.
Minato fell silent.
"Um."