Chapter 323: Fainted from "Bonds"
Naruto and the Nine-Tails had, over these past few days, finally reached the last step of reconciliation, Naruto had learned the tailed beast's name.
The main reason for this was that Killer Bee and the Eight-Tails had been meddling… assisting from the sidelines.
Especially when the Eight-Tails noticed that Naruto and the Nine-Tails were already getting along quite well, yet the Nine-Tails was stubbornly refusing to tell Naruto its name for no clear reason.
To avoid exposing its intentions, the Nine-Tails simply went along with it and told Naruto.
But even after revealing its name, the Nine-Tails' goal remained the same, to avoid Naruto, Killer Bee, and especially the Eight-Tails Gyūki from noticing anything unusual. It still had to be cautious, making sure its relationship with Naruto didn't undergo any drastic change.
So now that Naruto was asking for its power, the Nine-Tails would, of course, give it.
The Nine-Tails understood that if it didn't, and Sasuke ended up killing Sai because of Naruto, that would leave a crack between them.
That would not do.
The Nine-Tails had to ensure that there were no obstacles in their relationship, so that its own "innocence" would remain intact.
But giving the power also came with problems.
The Nine-Tails had watched Naruto grow up. It knew him better than Naruto's own parents did.
If it lent Naruto its power, could Naruto actually achieve what he wanted?
Hard to say.
With Naruto's level of intelligence, it was really hard to say.
Even that fake-smiling Sai's actions seemed more reliable than Naruto's.
Naruto had only managed not to completely ruin the situation so far because of sheer luck.
Who knew if he might suddenly get a "bright idea" next?
Naruto didn't understand the Uchiha at all. If he had even one-tenth of Shiromo's ability, Sasuke would already have become his…
Anyway, the Nine-Tails did not trust Naruto's judgment.
[I can lend you my power, but I'll be the one controlling things.]
"Fine, anything, just hurry!!"
Naruto wasn't afraid of the Nine-Tails taking over his body anymore. They had already reconciled.
[Good!]
In an instant, Naruto was enveloped in golden chakra, and his eyes turned into the Nine-Tails' vertical pupils.
Controlling Naruto's body, the Nine-Tails moved at incredible speed and appeared right in front of Sasuke.
"So fast! Even faster than Sage Mode, this is…"
Sasuke's pupils shrank. He hadn't expected Naruto to have grown even stronger.
The reason he paused mid-sentence wasn't because he didn't recognize the power.
In fact, he was about to say, "Is this the power of a tailed beast?"
But Naruto was simply too fast.
And the Nine-Tails acted far too decisively.
It directly shut Sasuke's mouth.
"Mm?!"
Sasuke's eyes widened. His raised left hand, and the Kirin he was about to summon with lightning, both froze.
One couldn't blame Sasuke.
His mind had gone completely blank.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What am I doing?
Inside the mental space, Naruto, who shared the same sensations as his body outside, was also stunned.
"Kurama, Kurama, what are you doing?!"
Naruto freaked out.
The worst part was that the contact outside was still ongoing, and the sensations kept feeding back into his consciousness. No matter how much he rolled around in panic, it didn't help.
Heh.
The Nine-Tails watched Naruto struggle on the ground, completely unmoved.
It was time for a jinchūriki to experience this kind of helplessness.
[Sorry, Naruto. It's my first time controlling a human body, I'm not used to it yet. I'm sure you can understand, didn't it take you a long time to control tailed beast power too?]
The Nine-Tails casually made up an excuse.
After all, fooling Naruto didn't require airtight logic.
"I-Is that so? Then give my body back, I'll…"
[No. I'm just getting used to it now. Don't rush.]
"How can I not rush!!!"
[Anyway, it's not your first time with Sasuke.]
"..."
Outside.
Sasuke tried to break free, but in Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, "Naruto" restrained him firmly with golden chakra arms.
"Mm, mmgh, ahhh!!! Naruto, what are you doing?!"
After snapping back to his senses, Sasuke began struggling. A purple Susanoo skeleton formed, and its skeletal arms helped him break free.
"Anyway, it's not like your first time with Sasuke."
"Naruto" grinned and stepped forward again.
"AHHH!!"
Sasuke swung the Susanoo's arms to block.
Truthfully, Sasuke didn't have much psychological resistance to this kind of close contact.
Just as the Nine-Tails said, this wasn't the first time.
If he had truly cared that much, he would've already awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan the first time it happened.
That time had even been in front of the whole class, people he knew.
But clearly, Sasuke didn't care that much.
Now, being watched by a bunch of strangers during a second encounter, so what?
What really bothered Sasuke was that Naruto wasn't stopping, he had already entered "phase two."
If this continued, it would escalate even further.
But compared to Sasuke, the one in greater despair was Sarada.
Before, it was only hinted through words that Sasuke and Naruto had an unusual relationship.
Now she had witnessed it with her own eyes.
And it was even "not the first time."
"Naruto…"
A low, magnetic voice made Sarada's body tremble. She turned her head.
It was Gaara, staring at the scene below in a daze.
"I… I think I heard that the Kazekage and the Seventh, Uzumaki Naruto, have a good relationship."
Sarada stiffly turned to Shiromo, seeking confirmation.
"That's right. Gaara feels a bit troubled right now. Naruto is his only one, but he himself is not Naruto's only one… not even the first."
Shiromo nodded.
After hearing that, Sarada immediately looked at Gaara.
"..."
Gaara lowered his head in silence.
That was as good as confirmation.
"Ah, wait."
Just as Sarada was about to cry out in despair, she suddenly thought of something and turned to Shikamaru.
"You also seem pretty close to Naruto, right?"
"…Not like Sasuke, but I did promise Naruto that if he becomes Hokage, I'll stand by his side and fully support him, be his 'virtuous partner.'"
Shikamaru started to explain, but halfway through, he remembered Shiromo's earlier advice.
One of his life goals was to marry a woman who was neither too pretty nor too plain, so he needed to avoid getting entangled with attractive girls as much as possible.
Sarada was actually quite cute.
So he had to avoid risk.
How?
Same old method, act like there's "bonding."
So as he spoke, he "accidentally" revealed some ambiguous connection with Naruto.
"..."
Sarada was on the verge of fainting from this world full of "bonds."
"I'm also close with Naruto. I'm his teammate."
Sakura, seeing Sarada had asked everyone else, added in as well.
Who asked you?
Sarada glanced at Sakura with lifeless eyes, the person who would no longer be her mother in the future.
Dizzy.
This time, Sarada really fainted.
(End of this chapter)