'Inside Ichiraku Ramen.
Naruto slurped happily at his noodles, his face glowing with satisfaction. Two free ramen vouchers a month was more than enough to make him content. Better by far than stale bread and expired milk.
"Wow! Thanks, old man!" he said gratefully as Teuchi set another steaming bowl before him.
"Hmm?"
Deep inside, the Nine Tails stirred. It suddenly felt a terrible force approaching, a chakra laced with such malice that its fur bristled.
"This feeling... it's so familiar. It's him!" Fear coiled in the beast's chest, sharp and suffocating. It was like the shadow of a devil crawling back from hell itself.
"No... impossible! He was sealed by Hashirama. He can't be here!"
The more the chakra pressed closer, the more the Nine Tails grew restless.
"Could someone have broken the seal? That's impossible. Only the Five Great Nations knew about it. Konoha would never take such a risk, and the other four would have to be mad to release him."
It tried to convince itself, but the dread would not fade. It knew one thing: if Sato Ryosuke was truly free, the Leaf might survive, but the other four villages would be wiped from the map. Even a beast as cruel as the Nine Tails shivered at the memory of his merciless hand.
"This has to be an illusion. It has to be... he can't be here!"
"Boss, one beef ramen," a voice ordered casually.
The Nine Tails' entire body jolted. That voice. Too familiar.
"Hey, Nine Tails... long time no see."
...
When Ryosuke turned his gaze on Naruto, his eyes glimmered crimson. In an instant, his will slipped into the boy's spirit world, materializing before the fox.
"It really is you!" The Nine Tails' fur bristled, ears twitching upright in shock. To them, this man was no shinobi but the demon of demons.
"How did you escape? Hashirama's seal shouldn't have been broken so easily!" it roared, panic twisting into madness.
Its terror bled through its chakra, pouring into Naruto's body. Crimson cloaked the boy's small frame, and malevolent chakra burst outward over the village.
"What...?"
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi froze mid-briefing. He felt the surge immediately.
A moment ago, the Uchiha guard force had reported a strange man bypassing the gates, injuring two patrol squads near the walls. Now the Nine Tails' host was flaring out of control. Two events this close could not be coincidence.
"ANBU, move! Suppress the Jinchuriki before he loses control!" Hiruzen barked, and in the same breath he leapt from his chair, racing toward the ramen stand.
If the Nine Tails truly emerged again, Konoha would suffer devastation it could not withstand. The Fourth Hokage was no longer there to stop it.
"Relax. Breathe."
Naruto flinched as his body twisted with unease. Then a large hand rested gently on his shoulder, and suddenly the oppressive weight vanished.
"This old man's amazing!" Naruto beamed up at Ryosuke. "Thanks, mister!"
In truth, Ryosuke had simply pressed down on the beast's rage. Chastened by his presence, the Nine Tails fell quiet.
"Kurama, old friend, why are you trembling like that?" Ryosuke grinned.
"Old friend? Don't mock me! The first time we met, you ripped away an entire tail's worth of my chakra. And Shukaku... that idiot nearly got himself erased for taunting you!" the fox snapped inside.
"How did you get out? I warn you, don't touch my chakra again!" Its fangs bared, its growl sharp and raw like a chained hound.
"Relax. Don't glare at me like that. I won't drain you dry. Just a little, all right?" Ryosuke chuckled. Even toying with the beast was oddly entertaining now.
"Never!" the Nine Tails bellowed. Fear kept it from lashing out again, but that did not mean it would yield. The last time he took a tail's worth of chakra, it had taken decades to recover.