Natsuro believed that the Nine-Tails should be aware that if it left Naruto's body, then, as a Jinchūriki, Naruto would lose his life.
So, for the Nine-Tails, this choice was essentially a decision between its own freedom and Naruto's life.
The small Nine-Tails seemed to struggle with this choice for a long time.
But in the end, it took a step forward and walked back into the seal through the gate's gap.
Then, as if testing whether it could still escape, the small Nine-Tails tried to walk out of the seal again, but was blocked.
This seal allowed entry but not exit!
The small Nine-Tails pouted. As expected.
At that moment, its chakra began to surge. Soon, the familiar large Nine-Tails reappeared inside the sealed space.
Lying down inside its cage, the Nine-Tails glanced over at Natsuro , who was watching it with an amused smirk.
It snorted coldly, then turned its head away and said,
"I just didn't want to waste my time on something impossible. Besides, even if I did escape, you'd just hunt me down and drag me back. Rather than getting beaten and shoved back in, I might as well not leave."
"Oh? Is that so?" Natsuro nodded, seemingly agreeing with the Nine-Tails' reasoning.
But internally, he was laughing.
He knew full well that the Nine-Tails was just being tsundere. It was simply giving itself an excuse to stay.
If he didn't let it save face, this prideful fox would probably start making a fuss again.
And while that wouldn't affect him, it would definitely make Naruto's life miserable…
So, the matter was settled just like that.
At that moment, Natsuro stroked Umbreon and jokingly scolded,
"You just can't stay still, huh? Running here in the middle of the night?"
Umbreon simply nuzzled against his palm, still not making a sound.
Natsuro frowned slightly. Did I mess up something when I used Yin Release to create it? Maybe I forgot to give it vocal cords?
Umbreon… seemed unable to make any noise at all.
As he pondered this, the Nine-Tails, having snapped out of its own thoughts, glanced at Umbreon, which was being incredibly affectionate with Natsuro.
A strange, inconceivable idea surfaced in its mind.
But… that should be impossible, right?
"Brat, where did you find this little thing?" The Nine-Tails' tone was as unfriendly as ever, completely different from the way it had been playing around with that little thing just moments ago.
Hearing this, Natsuro, who had long grown used to the fox's attitude, smirked.
"First of all, its name is Umbreon, not 'little thing.' Second, I didn't find it, I created it using Yin-Yang Release. Third, you should really fix that attitude of yours. I think the way you were talking to Umbreon earlier was much better."
"Hmph… HAHAHAHAHA—"
The Nine-Tails suddenly burst into laughter, clutching its belly like a person who had just heard the most absurd joke of the century.
Natsuro raised an eyebrow. Alright, I know it sounds unbelievable, but do you really have to react like this?
"You little brat, stop joking around. Do you even understand what it means to 'create life'? You probably haven't even seen a Truth-Seeking Orb before, and you think you can create life?" The Nine-Tails continued mocking him.
Natsuro, unfazed, casually raised his hand, revealing a small, floating black sphere.
The Nine-Tails' pupils contracted sharply.
After a long pause, it finally realized that the sphere in Natsuro's hand was just an empty shell.
It let out a breath of relief before sneering, "Pfft. Just a hollow imitation. I actually thought you had a real Truth-Seeking Orb for a second."
"I only created this to prove that I've seen a Truth-Seeking Orb before. And trust me, Kurama, my actual Truth-Seeking Orbs… you really wouldn't want to experience them firsthand." Natsuro smirked as he glanced around, his voice carrying a hint of warning.
"Hah, what nonsense." The Nine-Tails scoffed, refusing to believe him.
Natsuro simply raised an eyebrow and said,
"You can at least tell this sphere was made using Yin-Yang Release, right?"
As he spoke, seven different chakra natures materialized around him.
The Nine-Tails froze.
A look of astonishment crossed its face. Seven chakra natures…?
But when this kid first arrived, he didn't have this kind of power…
Could he really be capable of creating a True Truth-Seeking Orb?
Natsuro continued, "I originally wanted to create the kind of Truth-Seeking Orb you're thinking of, but I didn't have the ability."
The Nine-Tails exhaled, feeling relieved, until Natsuro's next words made it explode in panic.
"So instead, I tried the opposite approach. I forcibly compressed all seven chakra natures together. Kurama, you should know what happens when all seven natures are forcefully condensed, right?"
As he spoke, he pretended to channel elemental chakra into the black sphere.
"STOP! Do you want to kill us all?!" The Nine-Tails roared in horror.
For a brief moment, it genuinely considered slapping him to death.
This isn't something you just 'experiment' with!
Even without seeing it firsthand, the Nine-Tails could easily imagine the catastrophic explosion that would result.
The blast would obliterate the entire sealed space, and there was no way Naruto would survive an explosion inside his own body.
"So… do you believe me now?" Natsuro smirked, retracting the fake Truth-Seeking Orb.
Of course, he had never intended to actually detonate it.
If things really went south, he could use the Flying Thunder God to escape, but half of Konoha would probably be reduced to ashes in the explosion.
Honestly, he did have one regret.
Back then, he had engraved a Flying Thunder God seal on Hidan's Bloody Triple-Bladed Scythe, but that had long since been destroyed.
He was pretty sure the Akatsuki spent more time removing his seals than trying to figure out how they worked.
Otherwise…
He could've just sent a "Booming Truth-Seeking Orb" straight to them.
Even with the Rinnegan, Nagato wouldn't walk away from that unscathed!
Man… what a wasted opportunity!
He could've wiped them out in one go!
The Nine-Tails fell silent.
It had never met someone this reckless before.
This guy was seriously willing to use such a terrifying power just to prove a point?!
After a long pause, the Nine-Tails grumbled,
"Even if you've seen a Truth-Seeking Orb, so what? I still don't believe you actually created Umbreon. Creating life isn't as simple as you think."
Natsuro nodded. "I know that. But the fact remains, Umbreon was created by me. If you don't believe me, you can ask Slug Sage."
At that, he turned to the Nine-Tails and added, "You know about Slug Sage, right?"
The Nine-Tails' gaze sharpened.
After a long moment of scrutiny, it finally confirmed that Natsuro wasn't lying.
This realization left even the great Nine-Tails shocked.
After all, even the Old Man, the Sage of Six Paths, hadn't truly created the Tailed Beasts.
He had only split them from the Ten-Tails, using its power as a foundation.
If he hadn't had the Ten-Tails' chakra…
Even the Old Man himself might not have been able to create them from scratch.
However, while it might be possible to create some lower-level life forms, Umbreon's ability to teleport through space and ignore the sealed barrier didn't seem like the powers of a mere low-level chakra lifeform.
"Perhaps… this really is a 'miracle.'"
The Nine-Tails glanced at Natsuro and Umbreon in his arms once more. There was no longer any point in doubting it, questioning further would change nothing.
"A miracle, huh? I suppose it is." Natsuro nodded in agreement. The miracle of life.
At that moment, he lifted Umbreon up to eye level, staring into its red eyes.
Umbreon tilted its head in confusion, looking back at Natsuro, so adorably cute.
"From now on, you can come play with the Nine-Tails whenever you want. Just remember, don't teleport it out of the cage." Natsuro said seriously.
Umbreon blinked its red eyes, then nodded.
"Hey! This is my domain too. Shouldn't you ask for my permission first?" The Nine-Tails' displeased voice rang out.
"Well then, Kurama, do you agree?" Natsuro placed Umbreon in front of the Nine-Tails, letting the two stare at each other.
Then, he added, "Actually, when I created Umbreon, I used your chakra as a reference. So, it's more closely connected to you than you might think."
Natsuro's voice carried a hint of regret as he continued,
"It's a shame Umbreon can't talk. Otherwise, I could have it call you 'Big Brother Kurama.'"
The moment he finished speaking, the Nine-Tails' fur bristled.
It stared at Umbreon, who was gazing back with its curious red eyes, completely unafraid of it.
And truthfully, the Nine-Tails believed Natsuro's words.
The familiarity it had sensed from Umbreon earlier… so that's where it came from.
No wonder it had never seen Umbreon before, yet felt an inexplicable sense of recognition.
Moreover, even though Umbreon's exact species was unclear, it did have long ears, four legs, and red eyes…
Sure, its pupils were black with red sclera, while the Nine-Tails' pupils were red with white sclera…
But who's to say Umbreon isn't a fox too?
"Fine, whatever. Let it come if it wants. But next time, I'm not playing with it." The Nine-Tails muttered indifferently.
Natsuro chuckled. As expected of the tsundere fox.
From the moment the Nine-Tails voluntarily walked back into the sealing gate, he had already realized, Kurama had long accepted Naruto.
Now, it was merely waiting for Naruto to tear off the seal himself and defeat it in battle.
Forcing the Nine-Tails to reconcile with Naruto? Impossible.
Naruto had to be the one to take the initiative.
Perhaps… that was also part of what drove Naruto forward.
The Nine-Tails had seen firsthand how hard Naruto worked to defeat it. If it just gave in too easily, wouldn't that make Naruto's efforts meaningless?
"Tsundere fox."
He muttered as he turned to leave with Umbreon.
Behind him, the Nine-Tails roared in protest, "Who are you calling tsundere?!"
But Natsuro was already gone.
Left alone, the Nine-Tails could only huff and lay back down.
Yet, at that moment, a small smile crept onto its face.
Perhaps… accepting Naruto wasn't such a bad choice after all.
At the very least… life was getting a lot more interesting.
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Currently on Chapter 336 - Mirror World?