"You are!"
From beneath the white ceremonial robe, the scarlet beastly eyes of the Nine-Tails, trapped behind the cage, glared in shock. Today was truly an unbelievable day.
It had lived for over a thousand years but had never been as confused as it is today. How could it be encountering people who had already died?
The five prominent characters spelling "Fourth Hokage" on the white ceremonial robe brought Naruto back to his senses. He stared, stunned, at the scene unfolding inside his own body.
It seed like his inner world was a bit crowded today.
"This is...!"
"The Nine-Tails!"
The two figures—Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki—looked in shock at the opposing cage, where another Nine-Tails was also imprisoned.
The two of them could sense that this was no illusion but a real, tangible presence.
Another Nine-Tails!
"What is going on here?!"
Two cages holding the Nine-Tails. And also... two Kushina Uzumakis.
"When the seal on the Nine-Tails is about to be broken, the consciousnesses sealed within the Eight Trigrams Seal will erge. This is a chanism embedded within the sealing technique—what a sophisticated sealing thod."
As the voice of admiration echoed through the Nine-Tails' space, Minato Namikaze, who had just appeared, turned his gaze toward the person wielding the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"A foreign Mangekyō! Not the person from that day. This is troubleso."
Minato furrowed his brows, his heart filled with anxiety. Judging by Naruto's appearance, only about over 15 years had passed since his ti, yet the world seed so unfamiliar.
Not only were there two versions of the Nine-Tails, but the Uchiha Clan had also produced another Mangekyō Sharingan wielder. And judging by the situation, they were hostile.
In the tailed beast's inner space, the two normally arrogant and domineering Nine-Tails had both subdued their usual airs, staring intently at each other and the scene before them.
Shirou stood with his arm around a younger Kushina Uzumaki, while on the other side appeared the Fourth Hokage and Kushina from another world.
As the four of them locked eyes, Minato and Kushina were visibly shaken.
"Damned... all of you!"
The young Kushina Uzumaki in Shirou's arms radiated a killing intent never seen before, glaring furiously at the two figures on the opposite side, as if she wanted to obliterate them right then and there.
"This... what the hell is going on?!"
Naruto, regaining his ability to move, looked around at the many people now in his tailed beast's sealed space, utterly shocked. Yet as the red-haired woman beside him trembled, tears glistening in her eyes, and prepared to act, an overwhelming aura suddenly erupted from the other side.
In an instant, the younger Kushina Uzumaki roared with a chilling murderous intent, and countless golden chains surged from her back.
The Nine-Tails imprisoned behind her let out a pained roar as its chakra was forcefully drained by its Jinchūriki.
"Kushina!"
Shirou, standing nearby, tightly held her hand to calm her. His pair of Mangekyō Sharingan turned to the three people on the other side, and he shook his head, saying:
"It seems we need to keep this brief. That blond kid over there, he's the Naruto Uzumaki from another world. Sohow, he's ended up in ours. I gave him a chance to stay out of our world's affairs, yet he didn't listen."
The oppressive force of the Mangekyō Sharingan, combined with the terrifying aura radiating from Kushina, left the Fourth Hokage and his wife deeply unsettled.
When they heard Shirou's explanation, they were even more shocked, their eyes wide. Another world? A parallel universe?
Naruto, however, had yet to grasp the situation fully. Instead, he angrily pointed at Shirou and shouted:
"Damn it! It's you guys! Don't believe a word he says! These people are ambitious—they want to overthrow the Third Hokage and destroy Konoha Village! We can't let their plans succeed!"
But as Naruto continued to ramble on, Minato and Kushina exchanged worried glances, their foreheads drenched in cold sweat.
"This is trouble. Naruto's opponents this ti are far too dangerous, and we don't have much chakra left."
Minato's anxiety wasn't about this world's developnts or even Naruto's claims about overthrowing the Third Hokage. That was an issue for this world.
The real problem was that the opponents were stronger. One wielded the Mangekyō Sharingan, and the other was a Jinchūriki Kushina who surpassed Naruto. There was no chance of victory.
"Enough, Naruto!"
Minato, rarely stern, scolded Naruto, instantly silencing him. Although Naruto didn't understand everything, he felt a sense of authority in Minato's presence.
That strange bloodline connection left Naruto flustered, and he begrudgingly closed his mouth.
"Now, can we have a proper discussion? Or must we resort to violence?"
Shirou looked at Minato with a smile.
anwhile, the two Kushinas stared each other down. The younger Kushina's eyes burned with hatred as she faced the version of herself from another world.
"No, Shirou. This ti, let handle it."
For the first ti, the younger Kushina defied Shirou's decision. Her determined gaze left him montarily stunned, but he eventually smiled and loosened his grip on her hand.
"Kushina, I trust you. But please stay calm. Rember, you are the only version of you that truly matters in this world."
At his reassurance, the younger Kushina gave a trembling smile, tears welling in her eyes.
"Shirou, believe —I will never betray you!"
With that, she turned to face her other self, her eyes filled with loathing.
"Shirou can talk with that Minato. That's his business. But I have the power to destroy all of you, so we need to have a conversation as well!"
At this mont, the battle lines were drawn. It wasn't enough for Shirou and Minato to co to an agreent. The two Kushinas also had to reach their understanding.
"Fine."
For the sake of their son, Minato and Kushina exchanged a resigned glance before reluctantly agreeing. They seed to understand what kind of price this situation would demand.
"Damn it, what are you planning to do?!"
Naruto yelled and struggled, but the four adults ignored him. As his shouting intensified, a golden chain appeared and bound him, reducing his protests to muffled noises.
With the space falling silent, Minato offered an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry. We failed to properly look after Naruto, and I apologize for the trouble he caused your world. How about we move this discussion elsewhere?"
With a snap of Minato's fingers, the surroundings changed dramatically. The dark sewer-like space transford into a radiant golden realm.
"A consciousness space."
Seeing the new setting, Shirou smiled knowingly and remarked:
"Even as remnants of chakra, your will remains so formidable."
Minato gave a wry smile at Shirou's subtly aningful look and sighed helplessly:
"Now it's just the two of us. Can we discuss how to let Naruto return to his world? I apologize for his earlier actions."
The situation was overwhelmingly disadvantageous. Despite Minato's sunny disposition, if he had the power, he would have acted already.
But against a fully-powered Mangekyō Sharingan wielder and a superior Jinchūriki Kushina, Minato and his wife could barely help Naruto tap into the Nine-Tails' power, and that was it.
"Tell your purpose. If you wanted the Nine-Tails from the start, you wouldn't have given us the chance to talk."
Impressed by Minato's calm analysis, Shirou couldn't help but applaud.
"If it were before, I considered extracting the Nine-Tails. After all, a Tailed Beast from another world, whether for its research value or as hidden power for Kushina, is a huge temptation."
At this mont, Shirou wore an almost perfectly confident smile, looking at the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
"But after discovering your chakra, I thought of an even greater temptation. From what I understand, the 'you' from the other world possesses a more perfected Flying Thunder God Technique than the Second Hokage's. Coincidentally, I also know this forbidden technique. You wouldn't mind, would you?"
Hearing Shirou speak of his greed so calmly, Minato Namikaze frowned slightly. The enemy before him gave him the feeling of an enigma—suprely confident and deeply mysterious.
Even in his pri, Minato feared he'd have to handle this person with extre caution.
"How can I trust you?! And your eyes—I can see your ambition!"
Minato, after so silence, voiced his concern. The enemy's eyes, filled with undisguised ambition, made it clear to him. If this man succeeded in this world, then the village in the other world would be in grave danger.
However, as Minato stared at him, Shirou rely grinned, revealing a sincere smile.
"Do you have a choice?"
A single playful remark revealed the harsh reality. If this chakra incarnation couldn't extract mories through interrogation, why would he waste so much ti talking?
That single question left Minato silent and revealed his helplessness. Even when he had protected the village last ti, he had never felt so powerless.
"I cannot bring disaster to my world because of my selfishness!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Minato's expression turned resolute.
Hearing this, not only did Shirou not seem disappointed, but he instead smiled, applauding with admiration.
"Back then, you sacrificed yourself to protect the village. And now, you're ready to sacrifice your son?"
However, in the very next mont, Shirou's smile turned into dangerous killing intent.
"Too bad you chose the wrong answer!"
In an instant, a terrifying pair of Mangekyō Sharingan reflected in Minato's pupils. As a re chakra incarnation of residual consciousness, how could Minato resist the power of the Mangekyō?
In just a mont, Minato's pupils transford into the shape of the Sharingan, losing all ability to resist.
At this mont, Shirou appeared in front of Minato, sneering coldly:
"As punishnt, I'll take what's inside Naruto Uzumaki's body. And as for the Flying Thunder God Technique, without you, it's just a matter of ti before I fully master it. It doesn't make much of a difference."
Naruto Uzumaki was the true treasure.
Under the spinning Mangekyō, Shirou's overwhelming will shredded Minato's remaining consciousness. As the distorted space around the sewer began to twist, a sudden powerful repelling force surged forth.
...
The Real World—
"Damn!"
Shirou cursed under his breath. As he looked up, he saw Naruto Uzumaki's figure being swallowed by a spatial rift.
As expected of Minato Namikaze. Even after having his consciousness forcibly erased, he had left behind a contingency—a spatial ninjutsu technique that randomly teleported Naruto away.
"Shirou!"
At this mont, Kushina opened her eyes. Although the Nine-Tails' chakra had been reclaid into her body, her pupils remained the blood-red eyes of a beast.
"Hehe, Shirou, I successfully erased her!"
Kushina flashed an excited smile as if she had returned to her lively forr self.
"Shirou, one day, we must go to the other world and erase that mistaken world! Only the world where Shirou exists is the real world! Any world without Shirou is an illusion—it's fake!"
Seeing Kushina's exhilarated state and the mad gleam in her eyes, Shirou was montarily speechless. He had been worried—but it turned out, this was her reaction!
For Kushina, it seed as though she had found her future direction, giving her a goal to strive toward in her training.
At this mont, a puppet soldier flew in from the distance, causing Kushina's eyes to burn with rage. How dare they disturb her ti alone with Shirou?
With a single wave of her hand, an enormous and terrifying tail swept forth, unleashing a devastating attack.
The tall spire-like buildings around them instantly collapsed in a massive wave of destruction.
"I'll use these three hostages—I don't believe that brat won't co!"
With an enraged roar, Kushina gazed coldly at the three severely injured individuals amidst the ruins.
…
Roran.
Hidden in the deepest part of the city, Mukade roared furiously.
"Damn the Five Great Nations! How is this possible? I possess unlimited energy—how could this happen?!"
He had beco so powerful, yet in the face of the terrifying attacks from the Jinchūriki, his body had been continuously destroyed.
The Dragon Vein's gift of infinite energy and ultra-speed regeneration allowed him to dominate weaker opponents or those of a similar level.
But when faced with power that far exceeded a certain threshold, for the first ti since gaining the Dragon Vein's strength, he felt fear.
It was like the androids in Dragon Ball—though they had unlimited energy when faced with an opponent vastly stronger than themselves, they were nothing but punching bags.
"This won't do! This world is too dangerous. Mangekyō Sharingan, the terrifying Nine-Tails Jinchūriki of Konoha… The original world is much safer. At least Konoha's Jinchūriki there isn't this strong."
Mukade, now panicking, realized how unusual this world was. Both were Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, so why was Naruto Uzumaki from this world so much weaker?
And the completely different historical progression confird one thing:
This world was far more dangerous than his original one.
"I have to go back!"
As Mukade made up his mind to return to his original world, in Roran City, at the highest point of a cathedral-like building, three hostages—Yamato, Sai, and Sakura—were hanging outside.
Inside the cathedral, Kushina seed relieved. Once again, she wore the mischievous and playful smile of her younger days.
Despite her lively smile, her words spoke of sothing extrely cruel. Her determined gaze only reinforced her conviction.
"Shirou! Promise you'll beco Hokage! Beco the god of the ninja world! Together, we'll conquer the other world!"
"Mistaken worlds shouldn't exist! Kushina will help you conquer the other world and erase all the mistakes that shouldn't exist…"
Seeing the excited Kushina, Shirou gently ruffled her red hair with a helpless smile and said softly:
"Alright, let's go to the end of the Dragon Vein together."
With a stronger resolve, Kushina's determination grew unshakable. It gave her a clear goal for her training—no longer relying solely on her talent and the Nine-Tails.
In the ninja world, a resolute will is the true catalyst for chakra.
PS: Damn, the plot is freaking crazy.
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