Chapter 74: The Beginning of the Nine-Tailed's Split
"That's a truly interesting topic..."
Naruto sighed with emotion. He hadn't expected that besides the Chakra contained within the human body, there was so much Chakra floating freely in the outside world, and that most of this Chakra was controlled by the nine Tailed Beasts of the Ninja World.
"You Tailed Beasts are immortal, after all, while my lifespan is only a hundred years." Naruto stated this fact calmly; birth, aging, illness, and death were the natural order of things, nothing special. "After I die, that Chakra will still be yours!"
"Who knows if you'll grow to the same height as the Old Man because of my Chakra!"
Little Nine-Tails muttered to itself internally. Given Naruto's current talent and the fact that he had basically gathered both special Bloodlines—the Sage Eyes and the Sage Body—Naruto had a high probability of growing to the level of the Six Paths Sage in the future.
As long as one breaks through to the Six Paths Level, whether they want to live or die is entirely up to their whim. Even if they chose to seek death, a Six Paths Level consciousness would not dissipate and would still exist in the Ninja World in another form.
"Let me think, let me think..." Little Nine-Tails' mind raced. After replying to Naruto, it immediately went back into consideration, needing to carefully weigh the pros and cons.
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"If—and I'm saying if..." After thinking for a long while, Little Nine-Tails finally made up its mind. "When you stand at the peak of this world and gain infinite life, will you let my power be restored?"
Little Nine-Tails' question left Naruto stunned and a bit confused. What did him standing at the peak of the Ninja World have to do with restoring Little Nine-Tails' strength?
"The me of that time can help you restore your strength?" Asking when you don't understand is a good habit, so Naruto immediately asked about what he didn't comprehend.
"Yes!" Little Nine-Tails answered decisively. "My prediction only has two possibilities: one is that I regain my strength when you die a hundred years later; the other is that after you reach the peak of the Ninja World, you redistribute the power of the nine Tailed Beasts."
"I redistribute it?" Naruto was amused. "By snatching the power of the other Tailed Beasts and giving it to you?"
"It's not snatching... it's just distribution!" Little Nine-Tails' beastly face turned a bit red under its fur. "It's just gathering the Chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts together and then distributing it equally..."
"Distributing it equally? Are you sure?"
"Uh... just with some small changes..."
"For example..."
"For example, giving a portion of the gathered power to Shukaku, and a portion to me; then giving a portion of the gathered power to Matatabi, and then giving another portion to me; then giving a portion of the gathered power to Isobu, and then giving yet another portion to me..."
Little Nine-Tails smiled shyly, looking very much like Naruto when he was putting on an act. "Continuing like this until the end, all the remaining gathered Chakra will be mine."
"I thought I could already be considered a dishonest merchant, but I didn't expect you, old fellow, to be even more ruthless, not even letting your own brothers go!" Naruto laughed as he spoke. "Is this how it actually was when you nine Tailed Beasts were born?"
"The fact... uh... that's not how it was at all!" After thinking for a moment, Little Nine-Tails decided to retort. "It was because the Old Man saw that I was exceptionally talented that he placed high hopes on me!"
"Fine, fine, fine, you've lived long, so you're right!" Naruto didn't continue questioning him on this matter. "I promise you, when the time comes, we'll do as you say, although I'm more inclined towards the first possibility you mentioned..."
"However..." Naruto's tone suddenly shifted. "Who exactly is this 'Old Man' you keep talking about? Can you tell me?"
"This is outside the scope of our deal, and besides, it's better if you don't know for now!"
Little Nine-Tails didn't stumble over its words this time; its refusal of Naruto was decisive and without hesitation. Its expression also instantly became solemn. It was clear that this "Old Man" was not only extraordinary but also had an unusual relationship with the nine Tailed Beasts.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to distribute the Tailed Beasts' power like that without making them harbor resentment, and it wouldn't cause the arrogant Nine-Tailed to show such an expression and use such a tone when mentioning the "Old Man."
"Fine, it is indeed outside the scope of the deal. Then I want to ask you another question: do you know how to strip the Tailed Beast's consciousness attached to the Tailed Beast's Chakra?"
Naruto truly knew nothing about this. Tailed Beasts were very special biological aggregates of Chakra, and the secrets hidden within them were as numerous as the hairs on an ox. With Naruto's current knowledge, being able to deduce the flaws and essence of the Nine-Tails' secret technique was already quite a feat.
If he wanted more, then besides accumulating it over time, the only other option was daydreaming...
"You don't know?!" Little Nine-Tails' beastly pupils widened, and its pointed mouth opened slightly, its face showing a very human-like expression of shock.
"I don't know..." Naruto spread his hands quite smoothly. "This is between you and the Nine-Tailed main body; what does it have to do with me, Naruto?" Naruto shirked all responsibility. "I'm only responsible for controlling your dominant consciousness. As for what means you use to seize the dominant position and separate the other consciousnesses to integrate them into yourself, that's up to you."
"I... you... this Old Man..." Little Nine-Tails' beastly face turned blue and white in succession, showing how turbulent its heart was at this moment. "This Old Man! Will! Fight you! to the death!"
...
After a period of bickering and scuffling, Narutoeventually achieved an overwhelming victory. Little Nine-Tails was subdued once more and clearly became much more well-behaved.
"Do you think doing this is useful or not?"
"Although it's troublesome, it's the only way." Naruto sighed as he lay on the bed. "Who told a certain immortal to be too weak yet so arrogant? He can't beat the powerful ones and looks down on the small ones!"
"You..."
"Alright, I won't tease you anymore. The progress of this method will definitely be very slow at the beginning, but as you devour more and more of the Nine-Tailed consciousness aggregates, your consciousness will become stronger and stronger!" Naruto suddenly snapped his fingers. "When all the free consciousnesses currently suppressed by the Nine-Tailed dominant consciousness are devoured by you, dealing with the dominant consciousness will be a piece of cake!"
Naruto's plan was simple: let Little Nine-Tails act as a device similar to an air purifier. Naruto would keep his own Seal in a loosened state for a long time, allowing the Nine-Tailed Chakra to leak out constantly.
As for Little Nine-Tails, it would strip and devour the Tailed Beast's consciousness from this leaked Nine-Tailed yang-attribute chakra to strengthen itself. The Nine-Tailed yang-attribute chakra, after its consciousness was stripped, would feed back into Naruto himself, allowing him to completely take it for his own use.
"There's only this slow and troublesome way..." The Nine-Tailed's head drooped with a look of reluctance. "This Old Man really doesn't want to stay by your side every moment... your mouth is too poisonous, this Old Man always loses control!"
"Endure it for a few years..." Naruto didn't use his sharp tongue on the Nine-Tailed this time; instead, he rarely spoke words of comfort. "When you have completely devoured all the Nine-Tailedconsciousness sealed within my body or brought it under your leadership, you will be truly free!"
"And I can also guarantee you something." Narutointended to give Little Nine-Tails an empty promise. "Once I have complete control over the Nine-Tailed yang-attribute chakra, I might help you find the other half of your sealed Yin-attribute Chakra!"
"Are you sure?!"
"I'm sure!" Naruto's face suddenly turned grim. "That 'Shinigami' who devoured my father's Soul—sooner or later, I will find out its true nature! And I will personally snatch my father's Soul back and let him go where he belongs!"
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