Naruto held Kurotsuchi firmly to the ground, pinning her in place. Feeling his strength and realizing resistance was futile, Kurotsuchi finally calmed down.
She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "You... let me go. I won't cause any more trouble," she said begrudgingly.
Naruto studied her for a moment before deciding to loosen his grip.
Kurotsuchi got to her feet, stretched her arms to ease the soreness, and shot him a glare before rushing out the door.
Naruto let her go. After all, she had promised not to make trouble.
However, Setsu, who had been watching the entire exchange, spoke up with concern, "Naruto-kun, she still has ill intentions toward us."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. Without a moment's hesitation, his figure disappeared in a flash of light.
A second later, Kurotsuchi found herself restrained once again. Before she could even react, she muttered, "Wait, I'll go back and ask the old man to teach you a lesson!"
Naruto's eyes gleamed with understanding. That one sentence had revealed her identity.
The mention of an "old man" in Iwagakure could only mean one person—Ohnoki, the Third Tsuchikage.
"So, you're Kurotsuchi, huh?" Naruto mused, his lips curling slightly.
Kurotsuchi, realizing she had slipped up, tried to feign ignorance, but Naruto cut her off with a knowing glance.
"If you're here to ruin our peaceful life, then I have no choice but to—" Naruto trailed off as a trace of killing intent flickered in his eyes.
Before he could act, Setsu quickly intervened. "Naruto, don't do anything reckless!" she urged. "We're in the Land of Earth. If she's from Iwagakure and she goes missing, we'll be in serious trouble."
Naruto frowned at the predicament. "Then what should we do?" Killing her would draw too much attention, but letting her go wasn't an option either.
Setsu thought for a moment before suggesting, "We can kidnap her for now. Once we leave, we can release her."
Naruto nodded. "Alright, we'll go with that plan."
Hearing their conversation, Kurotsuchi's face turned pale. Before she could protest, Naruto delivered a swift punch to the back of her neck, knocking her unconscious.
The Next Morning
When Kurotsuchi regained consciousness, sunlight streamed through the cracks in the window.
She immediately felt relieved—her hands and legs weren't tied.
A smirk crept onto her face. "Ha! These guys are amateurs. They don't even know how to restrain a captive properly," she thought.
However, the moment she tried to move her chakra, a searing pain shot through her abdomen.
"Hiss—!" She gasped in pain.
Alarmed, she quickly lifted her shirt and saw a complex sealing formula etched onto her smooth, flat stomach.
She tried gathering chakra again, but her energy refused to obey her commands.
A wave of panic surged through her. "What kind of seal is this?!"
Determined to break free, she sat cross-legged and attempted to disrupt the seal.
Just then, the door to the next room creaked open.
Setsu walked out, rubbing her eyes and yawning. When she noticed Kurotsuchi, her expression turned cold.
"Don't waste your energy," Setsu said. "That's Naruto-kun's seal. Even a tailed beast wouldn't be able to break free, let alone you."
Kurotsuchi scoffed. "You expect me to believe that?" she sneered. "Do you even know what a tailed beast is?"
"This seal is nothing special. Just give me some time, and I'll undo it myself!" She smirked confidently. "It's not that I'm underestimating Naruto-kun, but claiming that this seal can restrain a tailed beast is ridiculous—"
Before she could finish her sentence, a thunderous explosion erupted outside.
BOOM!
The ground trembled beneath them.
Kurotsuchi and Setsu exchanged glances before rushing outside.
The sight that greeted them left Kurotsuchi in complete shock.
Towering over them was Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox.
"H-How is this possible?!" she stammered.
But that wasn't all.
Before their eyes, another slightly smaller Nine Tails appeared.
Just as the second Nine Tails materialized, massive red torii gates descended from the sky, slamming into the ground and trapping the beast.
"Wood Style: Myojin Gate!"
Kurotsuchi's jaw dropped. "T-This is... Wood Style?!"
As she tried to comprehend what was happening, the enormous Nine Tails spoke.
"Naruto, are you sure this is a good idea?" Kurama growled. "Aren't you afraid that I'll absorb their power and turn against you?"
Naruto floated midair, his golden cloak radiating power. "Trust is a two-way street, Kurama. If I doubted you, I wouldn't have let you do this in the first place."
Kurama let out a loud, rumbling laugh. "Fair enough!"
Without hesitation, he pounced onto the restrained Nine Tails and sank his fangs into its neck.
The captured Nine Tails roared in shock and fury. "Who are you?! Why are you absorbing my power?!"
But neither Naruto nor Kurama responded. They were too accustomed to the cries of anger from the Nine Tails.
Kurama's body pulsed as he drained the chakra from his counterpart. The immense energy transfer caused the sky to darken momentarily.
In a matter of minutes, the second Nine Tails had been reduced to a mere fraction of its former self.
Now, instead of a towering beast, it had shrunk to the size of a small fox, no more than thirty centimeters tall.
Kurama, on the other hand, had grown even larger. His new size was equivalent to 3.5 Nine Tails, making him comparable to Godzilla.
Naruto, who was floating close by, inspected Kurama's new form. "You've gotten huge," he commented.
A normal person would probably faint from the sheer presence of the beast, while even the bravest ninja might feel overwhelmed by macrophobia—the fear of massive creatures.
Kurama, now brimming with power, dissolved into red chakra and returned to Naruto's sealed space.
As soon as he was back inside, Kurama's voice echoed in Naruto's mind.
"Naruto, you need to expand this place. It's too small for me now."
Naruto chuckled. "I'll figure it out, but I don't know how yet. Give me some time to research it."
His attention then shifted to the miniature Nine Tails that had been left behind.
The once-mighty beast now looked utterly pitiful.
Naruto grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, lifting it effortlessly.
The tiny Nine Tails squirmed in anger. "Are you deaf?! Let me go, you insolent human!"
Naruto ignored its protests and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport back to Setsu and Kurotsuchi.
Setsu, who had been intimidated by Kurama's massive form earlier, now looked at the mini Nine Tails with fascination.
Seeing her eager expression, Naruto smirked. "Want a pet, Setsu?"
Her eyes lit up. "Really? You mean it, Naruto-kun?"
"When have I ever lied to you?" he said, sealing the little fox's chakra and clipping its claws.
He handed the tiny creature to Setsu, who eagerly hugged it.
The miniature Nine Tails wiggled furiously in her grasp. "Who are you?! Release me at once!"
Naruto flicked its forehead. "No biting people, or I'll give you to someone else."
He didn't say who.
But the little Nine Tails understood.
It immediately froze, then let out a reluctant whimper.
Seeing the fear in its eyes, Setsu burst into laughter.
Meanwhile, Kurotsuchi stood there, utterly dumbfounded.
A tailed beast, one of the strongest creatures in existence, had just been turned into a pet?!
Her entire worldview had been shattered.
-..-------------------------------------
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