Watching the majestic Nine-Tails towering before them, the young wolf pups of White Wolf Ridge all flattened themselves against the ground, trembling like leaves in a storm.
Not just the pups—even most of the adult Ninja Wolves bowed their proud heads under the crushing pressure of the greatest of all Tailed Beasts.
Among them, only a handful—Lobo, Garuru, and a few other elite wolves—were able to keep their composure in the presence of that overwhelming aura.
The dominance of the strongest Tailed Beast was no joke.
Seeing their reactions, the tsundere fox Kurama couldn't help but feel a flicker of smug satisfaction.
Their fear and reverence were like sweet music to his ego.
Now came the next step—forming his own clone.
With that thought, the Nine-Tails suddenly rose up on his hind legs and raised his two forepaws into a seal-like position.
Everyone watching widened their eyes in anticipation.
They couldn't wait to witness the birth of the Nine-Tails' clone.
But… time passed.
And nothing happened.
Kurama stood there motionless for quite a while, yet the air remained still.
The onlookers began to grow restless, and finally, Kushina—still sealed within his body—couldn't help but speak up:
"Hey, Kurama, you've been standing there forever! Why isn't anything happening?"
At that, the Nine-Tails discreetly opened one eye, glancing down at the sea of wolves and the two humans below.
Then he hurriedly shut his eyes again.
After a long pause, his voice echoed sheepishly in Kushina's mindscape:
"Ahem… well, it seems human techniques aren't quite as simple as I thought.
I might… uh… need your help."
His voice grew quieter and quieter—by the end, it was barely a whisper, like the buzz of a mosquito.
But Kushina heard it loud and clear.
She burst out laughing so hard her sides hurt.
"Pfft—BAHAHAHA! You're really going to be the death of me! I was wondering what you were brewing over there for so long. So, after all that, you simply don't know how to use the Shadow Clone Technique?"
Hearing Kushina's mockery, the Nine-Tails clearly felt some regret, but there was no turning back now. It couldn't just give up its freedom and shrink back into Kushina's body, could it?
He really wanted to experience the outside world again.
And besides, being laughed at by one girl was far better than being laughed at by an entire crowd outside.
Watching Kushina laugh so hard she could barely stand, the veins on Kurama's forehead bulged into a tic-tac-toe pattern.
He gritted his teeth and growled:
"Just help me already!
Otherwise, I'll stop lending you my power from now on!"
Hearing the edge in Kurama's tone, Kushina knew she'd pushed him to his limit.
If she kept teasing him any longer, he might actually lose his temper—and that wouldn't end well for anyone.
So she took a deep breath, rubbed her aching stomach, and said:
"Alright, alright. Send me a strand of your chakra, and pay close attention to how I do it."
Kurama funneled a small portion of his chakra back into her.
With his power reinforcing her, Kushina's form in the spiritual world instantly entered Nine-Tails Mode.
She raised her hands and quickly wove the seals for the Shadow Clone Technique.
With a puff! of smoke, another identical Kushina appeared beside her—then vanished again at her command.
"Got it now?"
Her tone was casual, but as soon as Kurama wasn't looking, she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Truth be told, her current body still couldn't perfectly harmonize her own chakra with the Nine-Tails'.
She hadn't fully mastered Kurama's chakra yet—and the fact that the technique had worked on the first try was mostly sheer luck.
Still, with Kushina's little demonstration, the Nine-Tails seemed to understand a great deal more.
Without another word, he focused his mind outward once again and began attempting the Shadow Clone Technique for himself.
This time, things were definitely not as calm as before.
Because Kurama still couldn't properly control the flow of his chakra, the energy inside him began to surge out of control.
Even just the chakra leaking from his body formed a violent chakra storm around him.
The weaker Ninja Wolves were blown straight off their paws, sent tumbling through the air with terrified yelps.
For a while, the whole of White Wolf Ridge was filled with chaos and howling.
But Lobo, Garuru, and the other elder wolves didn't even glance their way—
their attention was locked on the swirling streams of chakra drifting through the air.
Those wisps of chakra were treasures.
Ordinary humans couldn't possibly absorb such energy, but for powerful beasts like them, it was different.
They could absorb and store a little of it in their bodies, strengthening themselves in the process.
After exchanging a brief look with Hoshiyomi, and hearing him say it was fine to take some,
Lobo didn't hesitate—he and his most gifted descendants discreetly began absorbing as much of Kurama's chakra as they could.
Meanwhile, after considerable effort, the Nine-Tails finally succeeded in creating his Shadow Clone!
A thunderous boom echoed as a thick wave of smoke exploded outward, shrouding the entire White Wolf Ridge in mist.
For a long while, no one could see a thing.
Then, as the smoke slowly cleared…
Two Nine-Tails stood there—
one large, and one very small.
For a moment, everyone—Hoshiyomi, Minato, the wolves, even Kurama himself—was struck dumb.
What was everyone's first thought when they heard the words Nine-Tails?
Things like: terrifying, mighty, ferocious, colossal.
But this "Nine-Tails" in front of them…
had absolutely none of those qualities.
Because—
it was tiny!
No one knew whether Kurama hadn't put enough chakra into it, or if he'd messed up the jutsu somehow,
but his clone's body was nowhere near the size of his true form.
Normally, the mighty Kurama always looked down upon humans from above;
even lying flat on his belly, he could easily tower over Hoshiyomi.
Yet now, his little clone had to look up at Hoshiyomi—
while Hoshiyomi, dumbfounded, was looking down.
The miniature Nine-Tails wasn't even as big as Lobo or Garuru.
In fact, its size was roughly the same as a wolf pup only two or three months old.
In other words… it was about the size of a Corgi.
And not just the size—
even the legs were the same: short and stubby.
Even hard-boiled men like Hoshiyomi and Minato couldn't help but feel their hearts soften.
The same thoughts flashed through both their minds:
"So small."
"Kind of cute."
"I want to pet it."
The little Nine-Tails, however, clearly inherited Kurama's tsundere personality.
Seeing the way everyone was looking at him—with amusement instead of fear—
he felt utterly insulted.
In a flash, he dropped to all fours,
his nine short tails swishing furiously despite there being no wind.
He bared his sharp little fangs and crouched low, glaring at the insolent creatures around him,
then let out an enraged roar:
"Raaawr!"
The tiny Nine-Tails used Growl!
It was super effective!
Trainer Gekko Hoshiyomi fainted on the spot—critical hit!
...
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