— Second Parallel Universe —Land of Wind · Rōran
"There are still traces of a transfer seal here."
The red-haired woman stood with her eyes closed, hands forming seals in front of her chest.
From beneath Uzumaki Kushina's feet, slender golden chains spread outward in all directions, extending dozens of meters like living serpents made of light, weaving across the ruined ground.
This was a sealing technique unique to the Uzumaki clan—
Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Whether in combat, suppression, binding, detection, or sealing, it was an all-purpose technique of terrifying versatility—and the most iconic symbol of the Uzumaki bloodline.
"It's definitely an Uzumaki sealing formula,"
Kushina said as she opened her eyes, her gray-brown pupils clear and bright, filled with confidence.
"Can it be repaired?"
Sakura asked eagerly from the side, unable to hide her anxiety.
"Of course it can."
Kushina smiled reassuringly at the pink-haired girl.
When it came to fuinjutsu, she had absolute confidence.
"If that's the case, then we'll leave it to you, Kushina,"
Minato said calmly, his shoulders finally relaxing.
"Give me twenty minutes,"
Kushina replied without hesitation.
"I'll restore the Dragon Vein's activation and trace Hinata's trajectory."
— First Parallel Universe —
"Peaceful days really are nice…"
Setsuna lay back in a rocking chair on the balcony, gazing at the star-filled sky outside, letting out a quiet sigh.
He reached lazily toward the fruit plate beside him, grabbed a grape, and tossed it into his mouth—no peeling, no spitting seeds, just swallowed it whole.
"Don't you think so, Little Nine?"
With nothing better to do, he casually struck up a conversation with the great fox sealed inside him.
"Hmph. Just an illusion of peace."
"Short-lived. Hypocritical."
The Nine-Tails' deep voice echoed within Setsuna's mind.
"Konoha's so-called peace is built on mountains of corpses and rivers of blood."
"To maintain this false peace, Konoha must crush every surrounding nation."
"They claim it's for protection, but in truth, they use violence to erase all opposition."
"This apparent prosperity is watered with the blood of countless others."
"But they still aren't strong enough to wipe out every enemy completely."
"So once those enemies are beaten into submission, they'll inevitably return—blades pointed straight at this fertile land."
"Then the battlefield will be soaked in blood once more."
"Again and again, endlessly… until the day Konoha finally collapses under the weight."
Setsuna hadn't expected his casual comment to trigger such a long speech.
Instead of refuting it, he grew interested.
"Didn't expect you to have such a deep understanding, Little Nine."
"So then—do you think there's a way to solve all of this?"
Inside the sealing space, the Nine-Tails revealed a cruel smile.
"Of course there is."
"Kill all humans."
"Then this world will know eternal peace."
"This shinobi world has never produced a creature that massacres its own kind as enthusiastically as humans do."
"You call us tailed beasts the embodiment of evil."
"And yet, you humans are the most wicked beings in existence."
"Wipe out humanity, and not only will peace be eternal—every other species oppressed by humans will flourish."
…Did Little Nine grow a brain?
Setsuna was genuinely surprised.
Normally, whenever he spoke to the fox, it was all snarling hostility and threats of being eaten alive.
Today, though, the Nine-Tails spoke calmly—and disturbingly reasonably.
"You're not wrong, Little Nine."
Setsuna's agreement stunned the fox.
"You… agree with me?"
Last time, this brat had lectured him about restraint, rules, and controlling desire.
And now he was endorsing this idea?
"Yeah," Setsuna nodded casually.
"You actually make a solid point."
Then he smoothly changed the topic.
"But have you ever considered this?"
"Human infighting might look like a flimsy excuse for 'peace'—"
"But what if it's actually a form of evolution?"
"Evolution?"
The Nine-Tails was confused.
Since when did self-slaughter count as evolution?
The fox wasn't stupid—having lived for over a thousand years, he often saw truths more clearly than humans did.
"Yes."
"Little Nine, have you noticed this?"
"Ever since the founding of the villages—excluding freaks like Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha—"
"The average strength of shinobi has continuously increased."
The Nine-Tails fell into deep thought.
It was true.
The clearest example was the tailed beasts themselves—once regarded as natural disasters, now reduced to weapons wielded by humans.
Sure, Hashirama had distributed the beasts, but there was also the shared spiritual space where the tailed beasts could communicate.
Through it, they exchanged information.
And the most obvious change was this:
Jinchūriki had gone from barely suppressing tailed beasts…
to gradually mastering their power.
Especially the hosts of the Three-Tails, Four-Tails, Five-Tails, and Eight-Tails.
They were already capable of partial synchronization.
"War undeniably kills humans in massive numbers,"
Setsuna continued calmly.
"But paradoxically, human reproduction more than compensates for it."
"And more importantly—war constantly refines human strength."
"If we call those who die in war victims of slaughter—"
"Then looked at another way…"
"Isn't this just survival of the fittest?"
Setsuna's light words struck the Nine-Tails like a hammer.
The fox's pupils trembled.
He wanted to refute it.
But the words wouldn't come.
Old man…
Can the world you dreamed of—where humans truly understand one another—really exist?
The Nine-Tails couldn't help but think of his creator.
Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki.
Humans…
Perhaps they truly were born evil.
Old man… you were wrong.
"Hm?"
"Why'd you go quiet, Little Nine?"
Setsuna chuckled.
"I was just talking nonsense—don't tell me you actually believed it?"
The Nine-Tails ignored the teasing and asked instead:
"If one day, you're sent to the battlefield… what will you do?"
"Me?"
Setsuna thought for a moment.
"I'd probably do my best to help my own people."
"After all—"
"They're my companions."
"…Uzumaki Setsuna."
"You claim to follow rules and order,"
the Nine-Tails murmured.
"But in truth…"
"You're the most rebellious human of them all."
"Heh… who knows—"
Setsuna's words were cut off by a sudden shout.
"Wait—what the hell?!"
The Nine-Tails sensed something wrong and followed Setsuna's gaze.
Before them, countless purple motes of light gathered in midair, forming the outline of a human figure.
That figure was—
Uzumaki Kushina?!
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