"Ugh... Who am I? Where am I? Why did I end up on the ground? My head hurts so bad..."
After a long while, Kurama slowly and unsteadily got up from the ground. His mind was a jumble—dizzy and foggy—and his skull throbbed painfully.
After staring blankly for some time, Kurama finally pieced everything together. In an instant, he shot Sakura a hateful glare. This little girl looked sweet enough, but who would've guessed she could be this ruthless? Each blow kept replaying in his mind, especially that brutal final strike with the giant wooden hammer. You can never really know what's in someone's heart just by looking at their face.
"Still giving me that look, huh?" Sakura asked cheerfully as she turned her head. "Nine-Tails, do you want to experience [Kuoran Nyūzen Taisu] sealing technique one more time?"
"How do you know my name?" Kurama suddenly asked in surprise.
"Have I not been calling you by your name all along?" Sakura replied, giving him a look like he was an idiot. She had been calling him Nine-Tails since they met, yet this clueless beast hadn't noticed until now.
"Hmph! Back then I was too furious to even notice something like that!" Kurama recalled, realizing it might actually be true. Thinking about it now, she had indeed called him Nine-Tails from the start—he'd just completely overlooked it at the time.
"Whatever, let's skip the names for now," Sakura said. "Nine-Tails, you lost our earlier battle, so now it's time to keep your promise, okay? From now on, you better follow every word Naruto says. You got that?"
"Hmph, absolutely not! Using Wood Release was pure cheating! That technique belongs to Hashirama Senju. Unless you can defeat me without using Wood Release, there's no way I'll acknowledge that bratty blond kid!" Kurama raised his head defiantly, stubbornly choosing denial. He absolutely couldn't admit defeat; otherwise, the strongest of the tailed beasts would lose all dignity forever.
"No Wood Release, huh?" Sakura arched an eyebrow. She had expected Kurama wouldn't give in so easily, but no worries—she had plenty of ways to crush his pride. "Fine. I agree!"
"Then bring it on!" Kurama regained his confidence. As long as it wasn't Wood Release, there was nothing to fear. Throughout the world, aside from Wood Release and the Sharingan, there was hardly anything else that truly frightened him.
"But this time, I won't be the one fighting you."
Sakura sat still without making a move. "Fugaku, Mikoto, Shisui, Itachi, Haruka, it's time to show him what you're made of!"
"No problem!"
With meaningful smiles, the entire Uchiha family stood up and encircled Kurama.
"Heh, members of the Uchiha clan? Let's settle the old score from twelve years ago today!" A flicker of rage passed through Kurama's eyes. Twelve years ago, he had been controlled by the Mangekyō—an unforgivable humiliation. If it had been someone like Madara Uchiha, whose strength surpassed his own, then losing would've been acceptable. But instead, he had been dominated through the Sharingan's suppression effect, manipulated like a mere pawn. That trickery burned bitterly within him.
"**Susano'o!**"
The gathered Uchiha members exchanged glances, smirking slightly. Five Mangekyō Sharingan activated simultaneously, unleashing a torrent of powerful chakra mixed with ocular energy. In the blink of an eye, five Stage Two Susano'os surrounded the Nine-Tails.
Clad in armor and resembling mighty warriors, these Susano'os instantly intimidated the Nine-Tails.
"Damn you, Sharingan! Damn you, Uchiha clan! Damn you, Madara Uchiha! I hate all of you!"
The Nine-Tails looked up at the sky, which seemed to transform into Madara's face right before his eyes. He was sure that trying to fight back would just result in those five giving him a brutal thrashing.
"What do you think? Ready to give up now?"
Sakura taunted with a playful smile. Beside her, Minato Namikaze and Kakashi couldn't help but twitch their lips. The Nine-Tails had once been so arrogant that nearly no one in Konoha could stand against it directly. Now, though, it looked like a kicked puppy, full of bitterness. You really never know how things will turn out.
"If you're going to be serious, then don't use Sharingan or Wood Release! Those two abilities have natural advantages over me. That's not fair!"
The Nine-Tails roared furiously. He wasn't out of breath from exhaustion, but purely from rage. It seemed today was simply an unlucky day for him—constantly running into things naturally effective against him.
"No problem. I'm very reasonable!" Sakura smiled as she signaled the Uchiha members to deactivate their Sharingan. Then she stood up and walked to face the Nine-Tails, maintaining such a calm and collected demeanor that the Nine-Tails felt increasingly uneasy.
"You better not go back on your word! Promise me you won't use Wood Release or Sharingan!"
The Nine-Tails warned suspiciously.
"Don't worry. As I said, I always keep my promises."
Sakura smiled. Before the Nine-Tails could react, she sharply raised her right hand. Instantly, countless thunderbolts and flames rained down from the sky while whirlwinds composed of razor-sharp blades began tearing through the area around the Nine-Tails. On the ground, rocks flew and surging water continuously crashed against him.
[Heaven-Sundering Inferno!]
[Vortex of Death!]
"What is going on here?!"
Looking at this seemingly apocalyptic scene, the Nine-Tails' eyes were filled with terror. This technique closely resembled the Ten-Tails' Heavenly Transformation — Earth-Sundering Impact. Both drew power from nature itself, creating a pressure so immense that resistance seemed completely futile.
"You must've forgotten that you're currently inside my created Inner Space. In other words, I'm the ruler of this realm. Controlling everything here merely requires a thought from me. Fighting me here gives you absolutely no chance of winning!"
Standing calmly amidst what appeared to be the end of the world, Sakura remained completely unaffected by the chaos. Behind her, however, lay serene tranquility, making the space look as if it had been divided into two worlds by her presence—one side stormy and turbulent, the other peaceful and still.
"You're using underhanded tricks! What kind of hero does that make you?! Fight me without controlling the whole world!"
As soon as the Nine-Tails spoke these words, even the other three tailed beasts standing with Naruto couldn't hide their disdain. This guy really knew how to push shamelessness to new limits, actually saying something so absurd out loud.
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