"Human?"
Hatred burned in the Nine-Tails' eyes, killing intent exploding in the damp, shadowy prison. Crimson chakra billowed like a storm, crashing against the cage as though desperate to break free.
But no matter how fiercely it raged, it could never pass through the red bars.The invisible barrier between the gaps was like an iron curtain, dividing two separate worlds—a cage that allowed no escape.
"Yes. Human."Naruto didn't even glance back at the fake Sakura writhing in the puddle. He turned instead, smiling at the furious beast before him."So what? You gonna come out here and hit me?"
"ROOOAAAR!!!"
The Nine-Tails' roar shook the space itself. Water poured down harder, spilling like a flood. But nothing changed. Naruto still stood there, grinning.
And in that instant, the fake Sakura lunged again, kunai slicing toward Naruto's neck.
Naruto didn't move—Boom!
A crimson tendril burst from the ground, smashing toward the attacker. The fake Sakura bent backward, narrowly dodging. The tendril passed so close it nearly grazed her nose.
Her breath caught.Impossible.
This was only an illusion. This place didn't exist.And yet—
More tendrils erupted, striking with eerie precision.Bam! Bam! Bam!The ground split apart, leaving craters wherever she fled. The strikes grew so fast they blurred beyond human sight.
Squelch!One pierced her flesh. She screamed. Others followed, slamming her down, pinning arms and legs to the ground. A tendril speared through her stomach, blood splattering into the shape of a fox's head.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
The pain tore her transformation apart. With a crack, her disguise collapsed, revealing a masked shinobi, blood leaking beneath the mask.
He never imagined that brat of a genin could do this. Any other genin, faced with life and death, would fight in fear.But Naruto was different.
His fight against Zabuza had changed him. Death no longer terrified him—it exhilarated him. He understood something vital:A battle's outcome wasn't decided by the strength of the enemy, but by the ferocity of one's will to kill.
In other words—if it's an enemy, then hold nothing back. Kill them by any means necessary.
The screams echoed through the prison. The Nine-Tails' eyes narrowed, a flicker of caution in their depths.Those crimson tendrils… their aura was the same as the cage itself. If that brat could command them, then perhaps—he could also control the bars.
And Naruto saw it. He saw that flicker of fear. He smiled.
"Well?"
"Well what?" the Nine-Tails snarled, baring its fangs. "Human, you dare mock me? You deserve death!"
"I'm asking—how was the performance?" Naruto ignored the venom.
"Performance?" The beast scoffed, eyes dripping contempt. "You humans have always loved slaughtering each other. It's been that way for a thousand years."
"Sounds about right." Naruto tilted his head, neck cracking loudly. "Ow ow ow—ah, that hurts! Damn, I'm dying here!"
Yeah. Pretending to act cool never ended well.
"Ahem." He coughed awkwardly, waving it off under the fox's disdainful glare.
The tendrils dragged the pinned shinobi beneath the ground——and a moment later, his broken body surfaced inside the cage itself.
He still clung to life, adrenaline forcing his eyes wide open as he stared at the colossal fox looming above him.
"What… what are you planning? Human?"
Naruto lowered his head, face hidden in shadow. Only the curve of his mouth was visible."Devour him."
"…What?" The Nine-Tails froze. Then fury erupted. A human dared to command him? To treat him like some mangy dog, to make him swallow filth?
Unforgivable!
"You insolent brat! You'll pay for this!"
The space shook violently, red gales whipping into a storm. The entire cage world threatened to collapse.
Naruto stood firm, swaying for a moment in the storm like a reed in the wind—then steadying again.
This time, his voice was cold, cutting. He raised his head, eyes hard as steel, and roared with authority:
"Kurama—devour him."
The beast froze.The moment its true name passed Naruto's lips, its mind went blank.
Naruto's eyes burned with savage intensity, pupils blazing crimson like flames."Devour him!!!"
The command crashed like thunder. For the first time, the Nine-Tails obeyed. Against its will, it opened its massive jaws and seized the dying shinobi.
"NO! Don't—don't!! Save me!!""AAAHHHHHH!!!"
Crunch! Crunch!Bones shattered between fangs. Screams ripped through the space before cutting off in an instant.
Silence.Only silence remained.
Naruto's heartbeat slowed, the crimson fading from his eyes until he was calm again.
But the bloodstains on the ground remained, proof it had not been a dream.
The Nine-Tails stared. For a fleeting moment, when it obeyed, Naruto's soul had towered like a giant. In his presence, the mightiest of tailed beasts felt like nothing more than a housecat.
It was like being scolded by a cruel master. That glare had made even the Nine-Tails tremble—forcing obedience.
Humiliation.Utter humiliation.
The strongest of all tailed beasts, forced to swallow a human like a dog.The memory of the flesh sliding down its throat churned its stomach. Disgust welled so strong it nearly gagged.