Akira had only been back for two days when Naruto's team finally dragged themselves home looking like they'd been through a war.
The moment they stepped into the Hokage's office, Naruto looked completely deflated, his head hanging low like a wilted plant. It was obvious their attempt to bring Sasuke back had failed again.
After Yamato reported the mission in full detail, Tsunade let out a sigh and glanced at Naruto. "Looks like Akira called it again. Sasuke didn't waste those three years. His strength has gone through the roof."
"As for you, the Nine-Tails' chakra inside you is still basically a ticking bomb. You can't control it at all."
Naruto bit down hard on his lip, feeling utterly miserable. Even with only a three-tomoe Sharingan, Sasuke had still been able to suppress the leaking power of the Nine-Tails.
Their entire team, with Sai, Sakura, and Yamato included, had still been crushed by Sasuke alone.
Yamato was an elite jonin raised in the ANBU, and Sai and Sakura were no weaklings either. But in front of Sasuke, they had looked like a bunch of academy kids.
That sense of helplessness felt exactly like the first time he had faced Akira.
If anything, Sasuke had been even more ruthless than Akira, with none of the restraint.
The gap between them was simply too big, so big it felt hopeless.
Naruto understood it now. If he didn't fully master the Nine-Tails' power, learn sage jutsu, and complete that unfinished Wind Style super move, then he would never bring Sasuke back in this lifetime.
To be honest, Akira had always thought Sasuke acted like a poser and didn't really deserve the title of genius.
But after looking carefully at Sasuke's track record, he realized the guy really had been dealt a rough hand. Every time, he insisted on fighting enemies above his level.
The difference was that he didn't have a protagonist's plot armor protecting him, so he kept ending up half-dead.
That was what the real ninja world looked like. If you tried to act bigger than your strength, sooner or later lightning would strike.
At this point, Sasuke had absolutely reached the threshold of quasi-Kage level. The only thing really separating him from true Kage class was a Mangekyō Sharingan.
Naruto, by comparison, was still only about jonin level at best, unless he pulled out his cause-and-effect weapon—Talk-no-Jutsu.
Still, Naruto had incredible raw potential. He had insane stamina and absurd durability. If he just learned one or two forbidden jutsus, or mastered sage jutsu, his combat power would skyrocket immediately.
Of course, the fastest shortcut was still the fox in his stomach.
If he could perfectly control the Nine-Tails' chakra, Naruto would shoot straight into Kage-class territory.
And if he ever reached full Tailed Beast transformation, he'd be the kind of monster who could walk sideways even among Kage-level fighters.
Akira closed the book in his hands and slowly walked over behind Naruto, resting one hand lightly on his shoulder.
Before Naruto could even react, the world around them changed.
In an instant, Akira was already standing inside that dark, damp seal space.
The moment it saw an outsider enter, the Nine-Tails bared its fangs and let out a roar so loud it shook the chamber.
A violent storm of chakra kicked up the filthy water on the ground and slammed toward Akira with howling force.
But the second it reached him, a layer of blue lightning flared to life around his body. The terrifying storm hit it like a harmless breeze, not even enough to stir the hem of his clothes.
Akira looked up at the enormous fox head and said with a teasing grin, "Hey, big fox. I heard Naruto lost control again this time?"
Realizing it couldn't scare him at all, the Nine-Tails clicked its tongue in annoyance and flopped back into the shadows.
"What does that have to do with me?" it snorted lazily. "That brat lost control of his emotions and dragged the chakra along with him. Even if I wanted to stop it, I couldn't."
Ever since Akira had forced it into submission last time, the Nine-Tails had become much more cautious. It simply didn't dare get out of line the way it used to.
Akira rubbed his chin and said in a tone that was almost earnest, "You know, you don't have to be this stubborn. Is cooperating with Naruto really that hard? Look at the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails in Kumogakure. They get along with their jinchuriki like actual partners. Could you maybe stop embarrassing Konoha for once?"
At that, the Nine-Tails bristled so hard its whiskers shook. It snapped open its crimson eyes and glared at Akira.
"You want me to become some human's tame pet? Keep dreaming!"
Akira didn't buy into the outrage for even a second. He walked straight through the bars and into the deepest part of the seal, tilting his head back as he looked up at the fox.
"Spare me the drama. Uchiha Madara used to walk you around like a pet. Then the First Hokage kicked you around like a ball. After that you spent decades sealed up. Don't tell me you're still clinging to that pride."
"You need to accept reality. You're not breaking out of this seal. And as long as I'm alive, you're not going to stir up trouble either. So instead of rotting in this black-water prison every day, why not work with Naruto and help make him stronger?"
"If the two of you actually cooperate, I can make the call to loosen this seal a little. I can make things a lot more comfortable in here for you. Hell, maybe one day I'll even give you your freedom back. How does that sound?"
Looking at Akira's completely confident expression, the Nine-Tails instinctively wanted to roar back at him.
But the moment it remembered just how monstrous this human's strength really was, the insults reached its throat and stopped there.
In the end, it simply shut its eyes.
If it couldn't win, then it wasn't going to dignify the conversation.
Unfortunately for it, Akira had no intention of letting the matter drop that easily.
His figure flashed, and in the next second he was sitting directly on the fox's nose.
There he sat, openly and without a hint of concern, patting the Nine-Tails' fur as though he owned the place.
"Nine-Tails, I'm offering you a real deal here, so don't push your luck. If you keep pretending to be dead, I can turn this nice one-bedroom setup of yours into a lava hell in about five minutes. Want to test me?"
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