I looked intently into the giant crimson eye, steeling myself.
"You should stop releasing your chakra so much; people will notice you soon if you don't." The chakra emanating from the inner sanctum was so potent that even a civilian would sense it.
"I'm honestly surprised those three I just took out were the first to notice. I could sense you from miles away." I said my piece, waiting for a response.
"So what if they come? They are just bugs I shall stomp on," the deep voice replied, completely unbothered, even bored.
"I don't think you understand how much any ninja village will throw at you if they learn about your whereabouts. Konoha will undoubtedly want you back, and the others will want you for themselves. I don't want another war to break out." I continued, believing that hiding him was the best option, at least in the short term.
Suddenly, the pressure returned, slamming into me like a train.
"Aren't you also from Konoha, brat? Did you come for my power, too?" The anger in the voice was palpable; I could almost taste it.
"Even if I could seal you, I wouldn't. I may be from Konoha, but that doesn't mean I agree with everything my village has done," I said, trying to act unbothered by the immense pressure trying to squash me.
"The first Hokage should never have captured the Biju in the first place. Giving them away as a bribe only makes things worse, in my opinion." I continued, feeling the pressure on my shoulders lessen again, but it was still present.
"Why even come here? You clearly know what I am. Do you perhaps seek revenge? Is it for your home? Is it for a friend?" The tone was now more curious, but beneath the curiosity lurked deep hatred, not specifically for me, but for the humans who had jailed him for almost a century. I did not falter, still looking directly into the glowing eye.
"I already said what I wanted to. If there is an ulterior motive, it would be knowledge," I said, managing to keep my voice even.
"What happened on that October night? I can't see any possibility of the village just letting you go." I asked as I created a small chair out of my crystals and sat down. I omitted the fact that I believed he was controlled; I may be somewhat reckless, but I'm not suicidal.
"I killed everyone and walked off. Not even that blonde Hokage was enough to seal me. Is it that hard to believe? I am hatred incarnate, after all." I didn't need a lie detector to know he was lying.
The village would never just let him go; they would track him down and pester him until either he killed them all or they managed to seal him again.
"If you truly are hatred incarnate, as you say, you would have just blasted the village to pieces. We both know you didn't do that; your spirit tells a different story than your words." I replied, still sounding calm.
My Haki tells me a lot, and his spirit was indeed not focused on killing anyone, though his chakra remained as oppressive as ever.
"You say you can see my spirit, yet you still ask?" he questioned, slightly confused.
"As much as I wish I were, I'm not omniscient. Your spirit only reveals your character, not your actions in the past. Nor can I see your future," I explained, pausing for a moment.
"It doesn't tell me your name or your history. But it tells me that there is more to you than the myths and stories." As I spoke, a second crimson eye opened, looking at me as if trying to pierce my very being with its gaze. After a silence that felt like eternity, there was a deep sigh.
"Will you leave and never come back if I tell you?" The voice sounded almost resigned, but there was still an edge to it. It was not really a question; if I didn't leave after the tale, I would undoubtedly die.
"I see no problem with your terms," I responded, trying to pay as much attention as possible.
"My last container was pregnant, about to give birth." The tale began, and I listened intently; finally, I would get some answers.
"I tried to escape during the seal's weakest moment, just as the child was born, but that damned blonde bastard kept the seal in place. Shortly after, a man in an orange mask appeared and tore me out of the seal." There was a pause, and for a brief moment, a contemplative look crossed the giant glowing eyes.
"The next thing I remember is standing in the middle of the village, fighting many humans." He clearly rushed through the explanation.
"I remember seeing the Sharingan pattern in your eyes that night. At least now I know I wasn't hallucinating." I muttered silently, still listening intently. At least the events matched my memories for now. His eyes narrowed, clearly indicating that I should drop the subject.
"After the blond teleported me away, my old jailer restrained me. They were trying to seal me again, and in a little brat, no less." He was still angry about being sealed, or even the attempt at it.
"The chains holding me were not strong enough. I broke free and pierced the Hokage and the kid with my claw." He explained it as if it were just another day, no anger, no remorse, just plain fact.
"My old jailer got very angry about it; she sealed me back inside herself and proceeded to die soon after, pulling me to death with her." I stared, realizing the events sounded plausible, Kushina couldn't help Minato block the claw meant for Naruto. A single instant too late, and now the entire world might be doomed.
"Are you not angry? What judgment do you pass on me now, child?" he asked after a short pause.
I answered, "I would probably fight desperately too if I were jailed for so long." I did not lie; being sealed for so long couldn't have been good for his mental health.
I endured almost two years of hell, and Kurama had been sealed and alone for much longer. There was silence; even the crushing weight of Kurama's chakra disappeared, and his eyes widened in surprise yet were still full of suspicion.
"You... you lie," he said, almost in a whisper. That seemed like good progress. If Naruto was truly dead, it was up to me to weaponize Talk no Jutsu.
"You can believe that if you want, but the fact is that I can't blame you for wanting freedom. Everyone wants to be free, but in this world, only the powerful truly can be," I said, looking directly into the still-shocked eyes of the giant fox.
"The cycle of violence is so deeply ingrained in people that it will take another Sage to break it." I reached out with my fist towards Kurama, waiting for him to respond.
"You truly are bold, or maybe it's just human arrogance. Once our chakras merge, I will know for sure if you speak the truth," Kurama warned. Yet my fist remained raised.
"There is only so much sweet-talking I can endure, brat. If you lie, your death is the last thing you should be concerned about." His voice was deeper than before, filled with all the malice Kurama could muster.
My Haki surged to life, cracking the floor below me.
"If it comes to that, I will fight to my last breath. I will-" The pressure returned, stronger than ever, almost forcing me to my knees.
"Fail, you will fail. You are too weak to face me," Kurama growled, insulted by my defiance. But I stared back, channeling both chakra and Haki to stay standing.
"There is no way to win, yes. But I won't make it easy for you either. I will make sure your victory comes at a price." That was pure bluff; I had nothing that would even scratch him. My Haki flowed stronger than ever, pushing back against the ocean of corrosive chakra pressing down on me.
Slowly, Kurama raised his front paw, forming a fist, and touched my outstretched arm. I felt many emotions at that moment, distrust, hate, fear, and anger were the most powerful, but deep down, there was hope and regret, even deeper there was one more emotion, buried so deep it was almost imperceptible, longing. The chakra presence subsided, hopefully for the final time. Then there was a slow sigh.
"My name is Kurama, kid. And for once, I will trust the word of a human. Do not make me regret it." The voice remained deep and almost inhuman, but the threatening, accusatory tone was gone.
"I'm Ryuuzaki; it's nice to meet you." This wasn't necessarily part of the plan, but my Talk no Jutsu was more powerful than I anticipated. Originally, I wanted to get the story of the attack and hopefully leave in peace, but I certainly wasn't complaining.
"I will have to go soon, Kurama," I said as I created another small crystal filled with my spiritual power, connecting it to me. "If you ever want to talk, send your chakra to it. I should feel a tug or something like that and come visit," I said, handing the crystal to Kurama.
"Long-term solitude isn't fun... or healthy for you. Trust me..." I didn't need to finish the sentence. The only response I received was a low grunt, but the crystal was now in Kurama's paw.
I turned my transmitter back on. "I'm all done here, Sensei. There is unfortunately nothing of interest. Should I link up with you now?" After all, it had only been an hour.
"Yes, find us quickly. The jutsu our target stole makes it impossible for me to track him," Aoba's voice came through the transmitter, sounding frustrated.
Our target was weaker than Hana and Izumi, two genin, so what jutsu could he have that made it possible for him to escape from a seasoned Jonin like Aoba? I muted myself again.
"Looks like I have to go. I'll come visit once I have an interesting story to tell you." I smiled slightly at Kurama, who grunted, probably wanting me to leave so he could get back to sleep.
I rushed out, unmuting my transmitter as I searched for my team. They weren't far from my location, and our target was getting away. He was close enough for Hana to smell him easily, but he seemed invisible to them, and even to my Haki, he appeared blurry.
The team was split up, searching, but nobody could pinpoint our target's location. I sped towards him, re-establishing communication.
"I have a lock on him, Hana, Izumi, link up with me. Sensei, he went the opposite direction from you." Not long after, I heard responses from my teammates.
"I'm on my way," Hana's voice chimed in from the transmitter.
"Already here!" Izumi added, linking up with me; she was by far the closest.
"What jutsu is he using?" I asked, bewildered that he had managed to evade them and even make my Haki seem untrained again.
"I have no idea," Izumi replied. "He just vanished into thin air once we got close, then appeared far away. And vanished again when we approached." It didn't sound like any jutsu I had heard of, especially not a water-based one.
"Did you catch the name of that jutsu?" I asked, hoping for more information.
"He called it 'Dustless Bewildering Cover.' I have never heard of such a jutsu," Izumi said. I was surprised; the name rang a bell. It was a stealth jutsu used by the reanimated Second Tsuchikage, Mu, in the War.
I had no idea it was related to water jutsu.But the real question was, how did Takigakure acquire it? And how on earth did this absolute tool manage to learn it?
I sensed him nearby, ahead of us. Suddenly, his signature returned to normal, it looked like he had dropped the jutsu.
"It seems he can't maintain that jutsu for long. Now's your chance, Izumi! Go get him!" I said, racing ahead to cut off his escape.
"If only I could catch the hand seals..." I thought wistfully. It would be a perfect jutsu for infiltration and scouting, especially if paired with Shadow Clones. I stopped on a thick tree branch. Looking down, I saw Izumi had caught up with him and engaged him in combat.
"I'll get him if he tries to run again. Go wild," I instructed through the transmitter.
"Hana, how long until you arrive?" I asked again. Together, they should easily subdue him.
"ETA two minutes, Ryuu." Hana's response came almost immediately. Now I could watch the fight.
To be honest, Izumi could have killed him ten times over in the first minute, but the orders were to capture him alive if possible. That added a challenge, as Izumi couldn't just nail him in the head with a shuriken.
His fighting style was interesting; he used Dustless Bewildering Cover to sneak around and attempt surprise attacks on Izumi. Unfortunately, such a strategy was quite ineffective against Uchiha and their precognition.
On the other hand, he used that jutsu so many times that I was able to memorize the hand seals. I would definitely need to train my water nature transformation to use it, but I should be able to learn it in the future.
Just as Izumi finally caught him in a decent hold, Hana burst out of the treeline, spinning wildly in Izumi's direction.
"Tsuuga!" she yelled as she hit our target square in the back, tearing his clothes to shreds, and majority of his back too.
"Oops, I think I overdid it." Hana said, blushing in embarrassment. To be honest, I too expected a bit more from him.
"Well... he is still alive. If we stop his bleeding soon, he should be fine," I muttered, at least he was out cold. Not long after, Aoba-sensei arrived, looking at the partially mangled body being given first aid, then at Hana, and finally back at our target.
"Was causing such an injury necessary?" he asked, sounding resigned and clearly dreading the thought of transporting the man on his back.
"At least he won't fight back?" Hana responded, still sheepish.
"I can probably seal him into a scroll, but I have no idea how alive he'll come out," I suggested, trying to lighten the mood. Aoba looked at me, not amused.
"Next time it's you who carries the cargo, Ryuuzaki." He said as he picked up the stabilized man, a mischievous grin on his face.
I shrugged, handing Aoba-sensei a small scroll containing a piece of crystal and opened an empty scroll. Our way back would be spent documenting as many details about Dustless Bewildering Cover as possible: the hand seals, chakra movement, appearance, and possible improvements based on what I had observed.
"This is the first technique I've seen that could somewhat shield against Observation Haki. Maybe with some modifications, it could be even better," I thought to myself.
"Full speed travel all the way home, team!" Aoba commanded. Hori was now secured on his back, his chakra sealed away and arms tied. "I want to sleep at home, not in the middle of the woods," he finished, jumping up the tree toward the village.