Bijūdama (Tailed Beast Bomb), and it still didn't break open the Gate of Justice... this material is really tough."
In front of the massive Gate of Justice, Naruto stood atop Isobu's head, scratching at his temple with a helpless look at the sky-covering giant gate.
He remembered—back in the original story, Luffy passed through the Gate of Justice only because someone helped break it for them.
But this time... he had no such helper.
"Should've left behind a Kage Bunshin..." Naruto sighed lightly.
"You want me to take a shot at it!?"
Barrett clenched his powerful right arm, itching to try, his eyes locked on the massive gate. His goal was to be the strongest—so even when he could see how unshakable the Gate of Justice was, he still had the urge to smash it apart.
"You can give it a try!" Naruto didn't refuse Barrett's offer, though he didn't hold out much hope either.
In the world of pirates, kairoseki (sea–prism stone) was among the hardest substances in existence. Who knew how much kairoseki this gate had been fused with? Even after tanking a full blast from Isobu's Bijūdama, all it left was a huge dent.
"Fine then!" A crazed gleam flashed through Barrett's eyes. His foot slammed the ground, his body launched like a cannonball toward the massive Gate of Justice.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
With a series of deafening bangs, the gate was peppered with fist marks.
But compared to the titanic size of the Gate of Justice, they were practically insignificant.
Barrett landed back onto Isobu's shell, his face dark, saying nothing as he sat down.
Even Crocodile felt a pang of helplessness—if even Barrett couldn't do it, then who could?
Meanwhile, inside the surveillance room, the Marines finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"I thought they'd actually manage to smash open the Gate of Justice... but as expected, it's the Navy's strongest line of defense."
"Even the legendary Barrett failed. Looks like they won't get through."
"What I'm worried about is... what if they don't rely on the sea current at all, but instead force that giant turtle to swim against it, straight to Marineford...?"
"Eh!? That's impossible, right? Even a Sea King couldn't swim against the current..."
"Wait, shut up! Look—Devil's Child, Uzumaki Naruto, he's standing up. What's he trying to do!?"
The words made every Marine turn their eyes back to the monitor feed.
On Isobu's forehead, Naruto let out a soft sigh—then smiled faintly.
"No helping it, huh... Kyūbi, I really don't want to waste more time. Before I let you out, how about we work together this once?"
"What is it you're trying to do!?"
Inside the seal space, the Kyūbi raised its massive frame from its cage, its nine tails lashing behind it. A glimmer of excitement flickered in its bestial eyes.
"I want to taste what it's like to be a Perfect Jinchūriki."
Naruto's gaze fixed on the Gate of Justice. His tongue licked across his lips as he muttered: "Of course I could force it open... but if I can take this chance to experience being a Perfect Jinchūriki, even for a bit, then why not?"
"ROAR!!!"
The Kyūbi's monstrous voice shook the space, its hulking figure rising within the cage. It didn't bother with agreement or refusal—just rumbled in a low growl:
"Then break the seal."
To become a Perfect Jinchūriki, the first step was to release the seal suppressing the Bijū. Only by unsealing the beast—if it chose to remain and cooperate—could one truly reach the state of perfection.
Naruto knew this. And yet, without hesitation, he walked deeper into the seal space.
Standing before the massive wooden gate etched with sealing talismans, he sighed once more.
"I've wanted to tear this off for a long time... but I still wasn't ready to face those two. So I kept it sealed."
Behind him, four golden chakra chains stretched out, spreading across the entire seal space. Hidden within, two separate chakras were forcibly dragged out and sealed a second time by the golden chains.
The Kyūbi's eyes nearly bulged out of its sockets.
"That's... those two bastards' chakra! Don't tell me—yes, it's them! Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato..."
"Those two—after sealing me away, they also left behind their own chakra here..."
"No... not just a little. They left a lot. They meant to reseal me completely..."
Realizing the truth of the two chakras, the Kyūbi bristled like a startled cat, all nine tails flaring wildly, glaring warily at Naruto.
"You humans are too sly—leaving such tricks even in death."
"Is that so?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, reaching out toward the talisman with a grin. "I'd say what they did wasn't wrong. But... they made one mistake. They shouldn't have made me the Kyūbi's Jinchūriki."
With that, he ripped the talisman away.
The crimson-wood cage shattered, its swirling locks breaking, the gates blasting wide open.
A storm of violent red chakra surged out like a tidal sea.
"ROOOAAAR!!!"
The Kyūbi bellowed, nine tails thrashing wildly, its enormous form spilling out of the gate.
From above, it stared down at Naruto, its eyes full of malice, cruelty, and darkness—like the embodiment of all the world's evils.
"Brat... you freed me. You think I'll still listen to you!?"
The Kyūbi's colossal eyes fixed upon the blond youth.
With the seal undone, there was no need to restrain itself—it could easily force Naruto into a berserk rampage.
Naruto cocked a brow and replied: "No need for that. Didn't I say? Won't be long before I give you your freedom."
"Hmph! I don't need your help. I can leave here right now!"
"Then why haven't you?"
Naruto's smirk only deepened as he looked at the Kyūbi.
The fox bristled at his arrogance. "Brat! You dare taunt me—are you asking to be killed!?"
"Such a tsundere..." Naruto chuckled softly.
He knew well enough—if he lowered his head, if he tried talking gently, chances were high this big fox would agree to cooperate.
But instead—
Flames roared to life around his hand. His smile sharpened.
"Rather than that... Kyūbi, how about we fight it out first!?"
The fox froze—then its killing intent erupted, fury twisting its face.
"Brat—you think you can defeat me!?"
It knew Naruto's plan: to grant it freedom, then beat it down until it acknowledged him. That was one path toward becoming a Perfect Jinchūriki—if the host could defeat the Bijū, they could forcefully claim its chakra.
(End of Chapter)
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