"You can close the door now... otherwise I might release the Nine-Tails and let it get away.
The barrier here still seems quite effective.
Unless… you'd like to hear something classified—about the Nine-Tails, the whole Ninjutsu World, and even 'Creation' itself?"
Hearing this from Haseo, Ka-jin and the Uzumaki Shinobi behind him immediately shut the door leading into the Triple Layered Space without saying a word.
What happens from here isn't any of their business. After all, the probability of the Fourth Hokage directly releasing the Nine-Tails was nearly zero. But if they heard something they weren't meant to, death would be guaranteed.
After sealing off the space and stepping into darkness, Haseo continued walking deeper through the passage.
In the end, this most secret location—where safety, interests, and stakes were at their peak and where few ever tread—was actually one of the Kagenami areas he was most familiar with. Most places had changed dramatically over time, but this one had retained its original form—still dangerous and oppressive as ever.
Possibly due to security concerns, the most obvious change here was the significantly increased density and strength of the barriers.
So when Haseo said the Nine-Tails was an old friend, he wasn't entirely joking. In this world, perhaps only the Tailed Beasts could remain largely unchanged across such a long span of time.
"Since they're all Nine-Tails anyway, there probably isn't much difference between them, so I'll just randomly choose one lucky fox."
While thinking like that, Haseo walked toward the nearest stone coffin—even though he spoke of randomness, his selection clearly seemed anything but random.
After being divided, the Nine-Tails' consciousness had split too, yet fundamentally remained unified; after all, they were all part of the same Nine-Tails.
From a physical perspective, however, as these separated consciousnesses gradually developed independently, differences would naturally emerge... until eventually, the day might come when they wouldn't really be the Nine-Tails anymore—they'd become Solar-Fox Kurama, Lunar-Fox Kurama, Leaf-Fox Kurama, or Celestial-Fox Kurama.
If they even lived that long.
Haseo opened the stone coffin and placed his hand against the chest of Elder Shinkō's "Impure World Reincarnation" body who slept eternally inside, then his entire consciousness sank downward—the seal technique for the Nine-Tails lay directly beneath his palm.
"Kurama, we meet again."
Beyond the tangible bars of the Sealing Formula, Kurama's gigantic figure slowly emerged before fixing Haseo with an intense glare from its massive red eyes.
"Since Mito Uzumaki then, right? Judging by your ninja timeframe, was it thirty years ago—or fifty?
Confined in this lightless prison all this time, Haseo, do you have any idea how my hatred has grown?"
"Exponential growth?"
"..."
Of course, Kurama looked at Haseo with full resentment on its face, but for now, it still managed its emotions reasonably well, keeping its tone relatively calm during speech. As for the barely perceptible tremble within its voice that revealed restrained fury—let's just ignore that for now.
"Since you haven't seen me in such a long time, that proves you're not the mischievous one who caused trouble back then… For you, this is good news."
This way, Haseo could cut through the nonsense and get straight to the point. There was also no reason to inflict unnecessary suffering on this particular Nine-Tails.
As long as they didn't come into contact with each other, information wouldn't be shared between individual Nine-Tails. It was somewhat similar to Shadow Clones and the original body. In fact, the situation of that particular Nine-Tails individual — the one Haseo had previously set ablaze and later been troubled by — was actually easy to guess.
It should be inside Kakashi.
But Haseo hadn't really thought about it. The Nine-Tails had already lost its Edo Tensei vessel, though. Naturally, it would need a new home.
"You used to be a punk kid, but now you've become an old man at death's door..."
Hmm, this kind of sentiment seemed slightly off.
The Nine-Tails immediately became alert. "Don't speak in riddles I can't understand, Haseo. This time, I absolutely didn't mistake my sensing. You clearly carry the Six Paths Sage's aura. This presence is so obvious I can't even ignore it… What exactly is going on?!"
Actually, the Nine-Tails sealed within the Edo body was quite pitiful. Unlike a Jinchuriki, the Nine-Tails nailed inside a coffin had absolutely no access to outside information.
Haseo, however, ignored the Nine-Tails' question and continued speaking along its line. "Human lifespan is extremely short. Since I myself am already a dying man, shouldn't our past grudges be settled once and for all?"
"Don't play dumb. Especially not with me…"
"Is that so? But you said it yourself. I've already given you chances."
Haseo immediately interrupted the Nine-Tails, his face full of kindness and smiling expressions instantly switching to an icy cold demeanor.
"…"
"With my current Chakra Reserves Amount, I should roughly match an individual like you. If I activate Sage Art, I will gain a one-and-a-half times advantage over you…"
Haseo only spoke about quantity here. As for quality, he already held the advantage.
"Boasting about your strength? Right now, I only possess one-eighth of my original power…"
"No, no, not boasting at all. Quite the opposite, I feel my strength is still far from sufficient."
The oncoming event has already begun, and I need to prepare thoroughly for the final battle… At the very least, I must further enhance my power. That's why I need your help, Kurama."
These words sounded completely confusing to the Nine-Tails.
So far, Haseo and the Nine-Tails had simply been talking past each other; their words couldn't really be called communication.
But regardless of what Haseo said, there was one thing the Nine-Tails was certain about — there was absolutely no way it would assist Haseo.
"My help? Do you really think such a possibility exists?"
"You seem to have misunderstood something. What I'm saying isn't a request or negotiation — it's merely a notification…
Still don't understand?
Kurama, you're already free —
Though only in consciousness."
As Haseo's words faded, the scene before Nine-Tails—once confined within the Sealed Space—suddenly changed. The narrow, dark Sealed Space abruptly vanished, and soon after, an irresistible feeling of weightlessness overtook its body.
Nine-Tails started plummeting from high above.
Beneath it lay a grand city glowing with lights—an enormous modern metropolis that had never existed in this world.
To deal with the upcoming uncertainties, Haseo decided to further enhance his strength—even if it meant plundering Konoha's public assets.
He decided to 'borrow' Nine-Tails' power. No, more accurately, he intended to take it for himself entirely.
Not through the method of a Jinchuriki, but rather via complete "digestion."
For this purpose, he needed to suppress Nine-Tails' 'consciousness' and 'power' separately.
Even if not directly shaped by the Six Paths Sage, Nine-Tails' consciousness had at least emerged under the influence of Six Paths Power. Now, Haseo chose to separate it—separate it in his own unique way.
As for the Six Paths Body itself, it had always been the vessel for Tailed Beasts.
Now, Haseo's body was the Six Paths Body...
Within the third underground layer of Kagenami's secluded hideout, Haseo's massive consciousness—fully merged with Shinigami—was beginning to rise.
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