"With my strength, I'll eventually become the number one in the entire ninja world, leaving everyone else far, far behind!"
"My fist is my power!"
Seisui raised his fist proudly. "As long as my strength becomes limitless, so too will my authority!"
As he spoke, he turned toward the Nine-Tails and gave a faint smile.
"Tell me, Nine-Tails—do you desire freedom?"
"Freedom?" The Nine-Tails froze for a moment, staring at Seisui with eyes burning brighter with ferocity.
Though its body was still small, its aura was immense—especially in this blood-red space where its presence felt even more suffocating.
"Are you mocking me?!"
The Nine-Tails knew all too well that if it were released, the one who sealed it would die.
And now this jinchuriki was talking about giving it freedom?
Wasn't that just ridicule?
"I'm not mocking you," Seisui said calmly, glancing at the massive chakra chains stretching toward the heavens.
"You're a being made entirely of chakra, aren't you?"
"If you can split your chakra and create another self… then how about this—let's form a summoning contract. As long as you don't cause chaos, I'll let your split body roam free. How about it?"
"You think I'd fall for that, brat?!"
The Nine-Tails roared, voice echoing like thunder. It hadn't forgotten that cursed Uchiha Madara—who once used the Sharingan to control it, and even signed a summoning contract.
These damned humans—none of them could be trusted!
"What a shame," Seisui pouted dramatically. "I really wanted to try Susanoo cloaked around the Nine-Tails… what was it called again? Armored Kurama, right?"
Just imagining it made him grin. Susanoo-wrapped Kurama, Sage Mode active, Mangekyo Sharingan blazing—then going to pick a fight with old man Madara…
What kind of face would he make?
The thought alone made Seisui chuckle aloud.
"See! I knew it!" the Nine-Tails bellowed. "You really are toying with me, you evil little brat! I'll tear you apart!"
Its furious roars reverberated endlessly throughout the Red Space.
As the embodiment of negative emotions, it could sense good and evil—and from the very start, it had been reading Seisui.
Sure enough, no matter how well he hid it, a faint trace of malice still slipped through.
"Damn humans… always full of lies!"
He honestly didn't mean any harm toward this stupid fox.
In fact, he thought of it as an unlimited chakra battery pack—an infinite energy source!
Keeping it sealed up like this felt like a waste.
Wouldn't it be better to reform the tailed beasts and make them work for him instead?
Imagine having infinite energy—enough to develop chakra-based technology! How amazing would that be?
Meanwhile, those sci-fi worlds had to go galaxy-hopping just to look for new resources.
But Seisui knew this wasn't something that could be done in one day.
The Nine-Tails' wariness was too deeply ROOTed.
He'd have to wear it down slowly, little by little.
After a long silence, Seisui finally said softly, "Whatever makes you happy."
"Still… Nine-Tails, try learning to coexist peacefully with people."
"Oh, and by the way—you do have a name, right?"
"I mean, you can't seriously be called 'Nine-Tails' just because you have nine tails, can you?"
He folded his arms, eyeing the fox—now far larger than he was, its body tightly bound by his three chakra chains.
The Nine-Tails froze for a moment.
It was the first time a human had ever asked for its name.
To the world, it was nothing but a monster—a demon fox.
Even the so-called "God of Shinobi," Hashirama Senju, and his wife, Uzumaki Mito—the first jinchuriki—had never asked.
When it didn't answer, Seisui asked again.
"I have no name!" the Nine-Tails finally snarled, its voice still harsh and wild—but Seisui could tell that its hostility had softened ever so slightly.
Just a little, though.
He had no doubt that if given the chance, the fox would still kill him in an instant.
At that moment, the chakra lines stretching from the heavens vanished, and the Nine-Tails' body swelled into its complete form—massive, oppressive, terrifying.
The true Nine-Tails.
Feeling the sealing process complete, Seisui paused, then let out a sigh.
"Well then, Nine-Tails, until next time."
"If you really don't have a name, I'll give you one next time we meet. What do you think of… Erha?"
The Nine-Tails didn't know what "Erha" meant, but it could clearly sense Seisui's mischievous intent.
"Get out!" it bellowed.
"The world's a beautiful place," Seisui grinned. "You should try smiling more."
"Anyway, see you soon… Kurama."
As he spoke the fox's true name, Seisui waved—and his figure faded away.
"Kurama?" The Nine-Tails' pupils shrank. How does he know that?!
It had never told anyone its name.
Only the Sage of Six Paths and the other eight tailed beasts knew.
"Don't tell me that mutt Shukaku blabbed…"
Kurama grumbled, its massive face wrinkling up as the Adamantine Sealing Chains suspended it midair.
Every now and then, it flicked its tails, swaying gently—almost leisurely, if one ignored the restraints.
Meanwhile, in the real world—
Seisui opened his eyes, and the first thing he felt was overflowing energy.
Even though most of the Nine-Tails' chakra was sealed away, a small portion remained—and that tiny bit alone made him feel more powerful than ever before.
His chakra reserves had increased dozens of times over.
Dozens of times stronger than the average jonin.
So this is what it feels like to be the First Hokage, huh?
Endless chakra—no shortage, no restraint.
In truth, hand seals were only created to help control chakra efficiently.
The earliest ninja didn't even need them—they cast jutsu freely.
Hand signs were merely a tool for those who lacked control or wanted to conserve energy.
In other words, if your chakra was vast enough and you understood the nature and flow of a technique… you could simply clap your hands and will it into existence.
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