"Since you beg me so earnestly…"
"Then, for the sake of another version of myself, I suppose I can reluctantly grant your request, little brat."
Kurama flicked his head in classic tsundere fashion and turned away from Yuki Seisui.
Tsundere mode activated, sir!
Seisui didn't call him out—such a tsundere little fox seemed… not bad?
"Alright, then, let's begin!"
Seisui clapped his hands, holding the pose for a while before suddenly extending his right hand. In his palm appeared a summoning contract.
In the outside world, he could have used his own blood to instantly seal the contract. But here, he was only a spirit—so he had to rely on traditional summoning seals.
A summoning contract like this binds the two parties together, and it could also be done with sealing techniques.
In the ninja world, sealing techniques were the ultimate versatile tool—anything could be meddled with.
Seisui didn't know much about sealing techniques, nor had he studied them deeply, but lately, Uzumaki Kushina had been nagging in his ear, giving him more knowledge.
Even so, a one-on-one summoning contract could still be completed—just a bit slower.
Kurama had already agreed, so time wasn't an issue.
Seeing the seal in Seisui's hand, Kurama instinctively narrowed his eyes.
The last time someone reached out their hand with a seal in their palm, it had been Hashirama.
He would never forget it: "Your power is too great; it must be restrained." And then the next moment, a massive wooden hand bearing a seal patted him on the head.
Could humans really do that?
But this time was different. At least Seisui carried no malice.
"Hmph. Let me repeat—it's only for another version of myself that I agreed to this, little brat!"
Kurama said tsundere-like, pressing his paw against Seisui's palm.
The moment they touched, he felt a strange, fleeting power—the sensation that Seisui could summon him out.
This feeling was unprecedented.
When Uchiha Madara had sealed him, it had been through the Sharingan's manipulation; Kurama had felt nothing of the sort.
In a sense, Seisui had taken his first experience.
Like Kurama, Seisui also sensed that he could summon Kurama at will—unbound by space, though seals would still prevent passage.
But Seisui remained unflustered.
Where was he?
The duel arena!
Though he had entered as a spirit, this was effectively his duel arena—a separate dimension.
Kurama wasn't in his body but had entered the Red Space in combat mode through his own body.
A seal?
Nonexistent.
Although Seisui had a seal near his lower abdomen, it only maintained Kurama within the Red Space.
In other words, Seisui could summon Kurama anytime, anywhere, as long as some Nine-Tails chakra maintained the seal in this space.
Once the summoning contract was complete, Little Nine jumped back onto Seisui's head.
Seeing Seisui uninjured but Kurama enormous, she smugly thought, "Seisui really likes me—he even got hurt for me."
She hadn't forgotten the blood on Seisui's hand from when he had sealed her.
One contract requires injury, the other doesn't. Clear difference.
The pair stood for a while. Kurama finally glanced at Seisui.
"Little brat, what are you doing here?"
"If I'm not here, then where should I be?" Seisui asked, completely baffled.
"The contract is complete. You can leave my house now. Don't summon me without reason!"
With that, Kurama flopped down and went to sleep.
Seisui blinked.
The audacity! This is my duel arena, when did it become his house?
Still, he realized Kurama wasn't wrong—he did want to stay here.
Shaking his head at the napping Kurama, Seisui lifted Little Nine from his head.
"Want to go out and play?"
Little Nine's face lit up, but she swallowed, clenching her tiny fists.
"I'm going to sleep. I want to grow up quickly!"
"So I can protect Seisui!"
She leapt onto Kurama's head, tangling his fur, and flopped down.
Seisui shook his head in resignation.
Silly kid. Growing up on your own will take centuries—or until I summon a template infused with Nine-Tails chakra.
From observation, Little Nine had barely changed in size. Well, maybe a tiny bit, barely noticeable.
Relying on her own growth, she'd take hundreds of years.
But if Seisui summoned a template infused with Nine-Tails chakra, Little Nine could fuse with it, and her potential would exceed Kurama's.
Kurama was one; many characters could carry Nine-Tails chakra—Naruto (Nine-Tails), Naruto (Kurama-linked), Naruto (One-Tail), Naruto (Four-Tails)…
Fusion with any of them would give Little Nine far higher potential than Kurama.
Watching the big and small fox napping together, Seisui sighed and faded from the Red Space.
==========
Bamboo Forest, Panda Clan.
Seisui slowly opened his eyes in the rocking chair, the world clearer than ever. He pushed up his glasses.
"From this moment, I shall stand above all."
Before he could finish, the Panda Sage appeared with a dark expression.
"You said you weren't hiding anything?!"
Seisui: "…"
"Farewell, old Panda. I'm leaving!"
With a clap of his hands, Seisui vanished in smoke, leaving only a rocking chair behind.
"Damn brat!" the Panda Sage cursed.
==========
Returning to the sand ninja forces, Seisui immediately sensed a crowd of ninjas around him.
They were intelligence-gathering ninja from various villages, big and small.
When they saw Seisui, they froze, retreating in terror.
Yet a few Konoha ninja brightened at the sight.
"Seisui-sama!"
Seisui nodded.
"What brings you here?"
He understood other villages' intelligence work, but Konoha ninjas too? That puzzled him.
"Elder Danzo sent us," one starry-eyed ninja said. "Although your intel has already been delivered, protocol must be observed. That's why we were sent."
"Danzo?" Seisui paused, then smiled. "Is the investigation done?"
"We just arrived," the ninja replied.
Nearby, other village ninjas retreated.
"Is that the Ghost of the Konoha?"
"Looks like just a kid," one muttered while leaving.
"You don't know anything. Do you judge a ninja by appearance?"
"The Iwagakure Tsuchikage looks like he could be killed with one punch."
"Dare you try?"
"Uh… no."
"Then retreat quickly!"
"That Ghost of the Konoha killed the so-called strongest Kazekage. You think he's a kid? He could kill you like a dog!"
"If he wanted, we'd all be dead!" one muttered as they fled.
"Impossible, right?" another objected. "Just over this?"
"Shut up!" his companion yelled, noticing Seisui watching them.
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100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
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