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"You… do you even understand what you're talking about? That's the Nine-Tails! The strongest of the nine tailed beasts!
Sure, you're powerful. Maybe you're not afraid of it.
But if the Nine-Tails really breaks free and you two start fighting, you'll tear the whole of Konoha apart!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was grim as he spoke.
"Then don't let it come out," Akira replied flatly.
He smacked Naruto lightly on the head, closed his eyes, and let his consciousness sink into Naruto's inner world.
"W–What are you doing?! I'm warning you, don't mess around!
I admit you're strong, but sealing techniques are incredibly complicated. If you don't know what you're doing, don't touch it! You could accidentally release the Nine-Tails ahead of time!"
Hiruzen hurriedly tried to stop him.
But Akira wasn't listening. His awareness had already descended into Naruto's mindscape.
The moment he arrived, the system's voice rang in his head.
[Ding… Mission triggered: Slap the Nine-Tails across the face. Reward: +9 sign-in chances!]
Well damn. That's a random trigger if I've ever seen one.
Still… nine sign-ins? That's the biggest reward the system's ever handed out.
Is that because it's got nine tails? So I get nine chances?
If I run into the other tailed beasts, would I get rewards equal to their number of tails too?
Guess I'll have to test that theory someday.
Akira stared at the massive creature sealed within the watery prison, his thoughts wandering.
ROAR!
The Nine-Tails threw its head back and let out a thunderous roar the moment it saw him. Its eyes burned with savage light.
"Where did this brat come from? You dare step into my domain? You've got a death wish!"
It bared rows of razor-sharp fangs and roared again, its fox face twisted into a terrifying snarl, trying to scare Akira stiff.
"Shut your mouth. You're loud," Akira said coldly.
"Heh. Interesting. You're not afraid of me, kid?"
The Nine-Tails eyed him like a cat sizing up a new toy. First time it had seen someone stand in front of it without trembling.
It was about to toy with him a bit more when Akira said casually:
"You're just a beast. What's there to be scared of?"
"Bastard! You're asking to die! I am a noble tailed beast, not some animal!
If you've got the guts, step inside. Let's see if I don't crush you with one swipe!"
And then it watched, dumbfounded, as Akira actually walked in without hesitation.
You've got to be kidding me.
I was just talking trash. Who actually walks in?
Outside the gate, it couldn't touch him. But inside?
Crushing an ant would be effortless.
"You ignorant little insect. Call me a beast again and see what happens. Die!"
With a violent clang of chains, the Nine-Tails raised its massive claw and slammed it down.
In that instant, Akira's Six-Tomoe Rinnegan snapped open. A crushing wave of spiritual pressure flooded the space.
Boom!
The Nine-Tails was forced flat against the ground, pinned so hard it couldn't move.
It stared at Akira's eyes, fox pupils shrinking in shock.
"Th-That's the Rinnegan! The old man's eyes! How do you have those eyes? Who the hell are you?!"
"Who I am doesn't matter," Akira said calmly. "What matters is that you're about to have a bad day, little fox."
He flexed his fingers and swung his hand.
The Nine-Tails scoffed.
That tiny palm? What's it going to do? Scratch an itch?
Then—
SMACK!
The small hand landed on its face with explosive force.
"AAARRRGH!"
The Nine-Tails howled in pain, half its face visibly warped from the blow.
In all its thousands of years of existence, this was the first time a human, with nothing but raw physical strength, had made it feel pain.
[Ding… Mission complete. +9 sign-in chances!]
Between the system notification and the Nine-Tails' miserable howl, Akira felt unbelievably satisfied.
"ROAR! You brat! I'll kill you! If it weren't for this seal, do you really think your pitiful mental power could suppress me?!"
The Nine-Tails refused to accept it.
"I don't know how you got the Rinnegan, but even with those eyes, you're still an ant! If I weren't sealed, crushing you would be effortless!"
"Fine," Akira said, grinning darkly. "I'll undo the seal first. Then I'll beat you into submission properly."
"Big talk! If you can actually defeat me at full power, I wouldn't mind calling you 'big brother' on the spot!"
The Nine-Tails bared its teeth, looking indignant.
But deep in its eyes was a flicker of cunning. If it got free, who would turn down a tailed beast as a subordinate?
"Having a fox as a lackey doesn't sound bad," Akira chuckled. "Hang tight. I'll break the seal for you."
He strolled back out of the water prison.
Hook, line, and sinker, the Nine-Tails sneered inwardly.
One Rinnegan. Not even ten years old.
Did he really think he could defeat it?
It was a fox that had lived for thousands of years. In combat experience and skill alone, this brat didn't stand a chance.
Smack!
Akira slapped Naruto awake.
"W-What is that thing?!"
The moment Naruto opened his eyes, he saw the Nine-Tails looming before him.
The massive body. The suffocating aura.
At only seven years old, he nearly fainted from the shock.
"Tch. So this is my jinchūriki? Pathetic. They really get worse with each generation."
The Nine-Tails snorted in disdain, though inwardly satisfied.
Yes. This was the proper reaction.
"That's the Nine-Tails," Akira explained calmly. "The monster sealed inside you.
To me, though, it's just a little fox."
"So… this is why everyone calls me a demon fox?"
Naruto finally understood.
"Correct. I'm the reason you're hated. Come on. Hate me. Resent me!" the Nine-Tails coaxed instinctively.
"Shut up. Do you still want to get out or not?"
Akira flicked another slap through the air.
Right. The seal's about to break. Why bother manipulating him now?
The Nine-Tails immediately returned to a lofty, aloof expression and stopped looking at Naruto altogether.
But Naruto answered seriously.
"No. I don't hate you. You've been locked up in here all this time. Just like me. No friends. You must be lonely too.
And Akira told me… you attacked the village because someone controlled you. So I don't blame you."
"ROAR! You brat—are you pitying me?! I'm the strongest of the tailed beasts! I don't need pity from some kid!"
It snarled fiercely.
And yet… why does this jinchūriki feel different?
"I'm not pitying you. I just think we're kind of alike."
Naruto looked at it earnestly.
Somehow, he wasn't as scared anymore.
"Comparing me to a coward like you? Ridiculous," the Nine-Tails huffed, clearly annoyed.
"Enough small talk," Akira cut in.
He pointed at the sealing talisman stuck between the two massive iron gates.
"Naruto. I know you don't fully believe what I told you before.
Go tear that seal off the gate. When you do, you'll meet Minato Namikaze. Your father. He'll tell you the truth himself."
It was the failsafe Minato had left behind.
If Naruto ever gave in to the Nine-Tails and tried to break the seal, the chakra Minato had embedded within it would activate, manifesting as his chakra imprint to stop him.
In the original timeline, this was how Naruto met his father for the very first time.
"R-Really?"
Naruto's eyes lit up like someone had struck a match inside them.
He could hardly believe it. His father was dead. And yet… he might actually get to see him? He looked at Akira again, desperate for confirmation.
"If I tear off that seal tag… I can really see my dad?!"
Akira nodded.
Joy flooded Naruto from head to toe. He didn't stop to think about what might happen once the seal came off. He ran straight to the massive iron gates and reached up for the talisman plastered across them.
Then came the awkward part.
It was stuck way too high.
He jumped. Stretched. Missed.
Inside the cage, the Nine-Tails, equally eager to be free, quickly lifted Naruto up with a wisp of leaking chakra.
Heart pounding with anticipation, Naruto grabbed a corner of the seal—
Smack!
A hand shot out of nowhere and caught his wrist.
"You can't tear that off, Naruto."
The man's voice was warm, gentle, carrying a smile.
Minato Namikaze.
But as he looked at the seven-year-old boy in front of him, his own thoughts were in complete disarray.
What is going on?!
He's this young and already triggered the failsafe I left behind? If that's the case, what happens later? Is he destined to be devoured by the Nine-Tails' backlash?
"You… you're my dad!"
Naruto stared at the blond man before him. The resemblance. The warmth. The instinctive pull of blood. He didn't need proof. He knew.
A thunderous roar shook the space.
The Nine-Tails glared at Minato with raw hatred.
"Damn you, Minato Namikaze! Showing up won't change anything! I'm getting out soon! And when I do, I'll slaughter everyone in Konoha! Hahahaha!"
"Bit loud, don't you think? Let's talk somewhere quieter."
Minato frowned lightly. With a flick of his hand, he and Naruto vanished.
"Hey! That annoying Minato's gone! Hurry up and tear that stupid seal off! Let me out so we can settle this one-on-one!"
The Nine-Tails immediately urged Akira to open the gate.
Akira crossed his arms and didn't budge.
"What's the rush? We'll wait until Naruto gets back."
Beating the Nine-Tails senseless without an audience? Where's the fun in that?
"What, backing out now?" the fox sneered. "Afraid I might accidentally crush you to death?"
Akira simply closed his eyes.
"Relax. Since you're the one setting me free, I'll be generous and leave you an intact corpse!"
The Nine-Tails grinned viciously and kept taunting.
No reaction.
Eventually, it fell silent, golden eyes gleaming with malice as it studied him, probably deciding which limb to tear off first.
About ten minutes later, Minato and Naruto returned.
"The Third Hokage… I never thought he'd turn out like this." Minato sighed, anger and helplessness mixing in his voice. "He promised to take good care of Naruto. If Kushina knew… she'd explode."
He had misjudged a man he trusted.
"Thank you for letting Naruto learn the truth," Minato said to Akira, bowing his head slightly. Then he added, more seriously, "But releasing the Nine-Tails… you should reconsider. That's the strongest of the tailed beasts. Its power is beyond what you imagine."
"That won't be necessary, Fourth Hokage."
Akira slowly opened his eyes.
One Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. One Rinnegan.
Minato froze.
"That's… the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. And the legendary Sage's eyes…"
The pressure radiating from those pupils was overwhelming.
He let out a small, wry laugh. "With those eyes, subduing the Nine-Tails shouldn't be difficult. Seems I worried for nothing."
After a pause, Minato made one final request.
"Please… don't harm Naruto. If it's the Nine-Tails you want, you can revive me with the Reanimation Jutsu. I sealed the other half of it inside myself."
It was the last thing he could offer his son.
Akira's expression didn't change.
"Relax. Even if I intended to harm Naruto, you're just a chakra imprint. And even if your real body were here, you still couldn't stop me."
Minato: "…"
Fair enough.
Power like that didn't need reassurance.
"I'm dead. I shouldn't meddle in the affairs of the living."
He sighed, then turned to Naruto, giving him a long, heartfelt lecture. Be strong. Don't hate the village. Keep moving forward.
At last, under Naruto's reluctant, tear-filled gaze, Minato faded away.
"Alright, brat," the Nine-Tails barked impatiently. "Let me out already!"
"So eager to come out and get beaten up?"
With a flick of his finger, Akira knocked the seal tag off the gate. At the same time, a shadow clone whisked Naruto away from the area.
Boom!
The instant the seal fell, the Nine-Tails roared, ripping apart the chains binding it and smashing the iron gates open.
It charged forward on all fours, nine tails streaming behind like a crimson comet. In the blink of an eye, it was in front of Akira.
"Stupid little human! I'll turn you into paste!"
It raised a massive claw and brought it crashing down.
Akira lifted one hand and caught it.
Then he countered with a punch.
Bang!
A shockwave exploded outward. Even with its colossal size, the Nine-Tails was forced back over a dozen meters.
"You—how does a runt like you have that kind of strength?!"
Its fox eyes widened in disbelief.
That tiny body… exploding with power like that?
What is this, a tailed beast in human skin?!
Akira flexed his fingers. After injecting six vials of serum, his raw physical strength was enough to rival a tailed beast.
Still, fighting something that big in a human form wasn't ideal.
In that case—
Perfect Susanoo. Activate.
The Eternal Mangekyō flared.
A towering, winged, purple giant—two hundred meters tall—formed in an instant.
Compared to it, the seventy-meter Nine-Tails barely reached its knees.
"That's… Perfect Susanoo!"
The Nine-Tails' expression froze.
That towering figure dragged up an old terror buried deep in its memory.
Back then, Uchiha Madara had used this very form to capture it like a pet.
"You bastard! You're not Madara! I'm not afraid of you!"
It roared to steady itself and charged anyway.
Its jaws snapped toward the Susanoo's thigh, fangs bared, while its nine tails lashed out to bind the other leg.
Boom!
Akira's strike landed first.
A crushing fist smashed into the fox's head.
"Aaagh!"
Pain exploded through it. Its skull felt like it had caved in.
Before it could recover, the Susanoo's massive hand clamped around its head and slammed it into the ground.
Boom!
The earth cratered, water spraying everywhere.
Then came the barrage.
One hand pinned the Nine-Tails down. The other rained punches onto its skull.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Fists fell like a storm.
"..."
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