"Could it possibly be… Habara? How is this possible!"
Kakashi found it somewhat difficult to believe. Although the fox before him differed slightly from his impression of the Nine-Tails' image, the Nine-Tails was still the Nine-Tails. But if it was the Nine-Tails, why did its tone of voice, its manner of speaking, and even the look in its eyes seem so incredibly familiar?
"Who else could it be?" Habara replied. He could understand Kakashi's shock at this moment.
"But I heard you went missing in the Land of Rivers after battling an unknown powerhouse. Why are you now inside Naruto's Eight Trigrams Seal? And in this form? The appearance of the Nine-Tails can't be faked, can it?"
Even if the Nine-Tails had suddenly developed acute albinism, that would at most increase the value of its pelt; it wouldn't transform it into Habara.
Habara sighed helplessly. "I didn't go missing; I was killed. My corpse has probably been dragged back and used for planting flowers by now. As for why I came back to life… long story short, I had already left a considerable amount of chakra here. After my main body died, the rest of my chakra also converged back here. Under those circumstances, in order to continue living, I had to take emergency evasive action and slightly borrow the Nine-Tails' body."
"But you don't need to worry; the real Nine-Tails is still around. I said I borrowed it. I still understand the concept of 'If you don't love it, please don't harm it'."
As he spoke, Habara extended a paw and nudged the tiny Nine-Tails closer.
Seeing the rather pitiful-looking miniature Nine-Tails also present within the seal, Kakashi, for some reason, began to believe that this giant white fox truly was Habara.
The explanation sounded simple, but was the Nine-Tails really that benevolent? Lending its chakra just like that? Lending its body just like that? One could easily imagine that, not long ago, the Nine-Tails must have suffered a horrifically inhumane experience of being "volunteered." Locked in a cage with a cunning hunter, its cries to heaven and earth must have gone completely unanswered.
Kakashi thought for a moment, then asked, "Then the question is, how do you prove you are really Habara, and not the Nine-Tails impersonating you?"
"How to prove 'I am me' is a very serious philosophical question. However, I have quite a few ways to prove my identity. After all, I am privy to some of Konoha's high-level secrets. Cross-verification should make the truth self-evident. But that's somewhat troublesome. I have a simpler, more direct method of proof… Look up."
Kakashi subconsciously tilted his head upwards, only to find nothing but the false, dark space of the seal.
"No, what I mean is… Look up. Watch."
The next instant, Kakashi's consciousness was forcibly ejected from the seal space. When he looked up again this time, he found both himself and Naruto completely encased in thick iron sand. A giant, hemispherical dome of black iron pressed down upon the small training ground, its inner surface lined with dense spikes suggesting that if it were to contract, Kakashi and Naruto would likely be skewered like candied haws on a stick.
People could lie, but chakra could not. To accomplish such a feat so silently… in all of Konoha, only Habara could do it.
Just then, the dome dispersed, reforming into several meter-wide cubes stacked neatly to one side of the training ground.
This sudden, large-scale anomaly naturally alerted those nearby immediately. By the time Kakashi and Naruto's figures were revealed again, Sarutobi Biwako had already rushed over.
"Kakashi, what happened? What was all that just now?"
"Lady Biwako, rest assured, there's no danger. But the situation is somewhat urgent. I must inform Lady Kushina and Lady Tsunade immediately." Saying this, Kakashi pushed Naruto towards Sarutobi Biwako. Without taking time for further explanation, he immediately dashed towards Number 10, Shadow Leaf Street.
During such tense times, the sudden appearance of a black sphere within the city had nearly prompted the Hokage to declare a state of emergency. Fortunately, Kakashi arrived just in time.
Currently, Tsunade and Kushina Uzumaki were together, which saved Kakashi the time of searching for them individually.
"Kakashi, what happened over there?" Tsunade asked immediately upon seeing him. She hadn't known Kakashi was teaching in that area today, but she could tell he had just arrived from the direction of the incident.
The sphere itself wasn't the important part now. Kakashi caught his breath, then reported urgently, "Lady Tsunade, Lady Kushina, I have vital intelligence to report… We've found Habara."
These words made the two women temporarily forget the strange phenomenon from moments ago. A simultaneous sigh of relief escaped them, followed by a wave of inexplicable exhaustion.
"How is Habara now? Who brought back the information, Tenzo or Jiraiya?" Kushina pressed eagerly.
"His condition… is probably considered very good?" Kakashi was unsure how to describe Habara's current state—having died once and then revived—but judging by his mental state, Habara seemed fine.
"It has nothing to do with Lord Jiraiya or Tenzo. I discovered the information about Habara," he added.
"You?" Kushina paused, stunned, then immediately understood. "Could the commotion in the city just now have been Habara's doing?"
Kakashi nodded. "Yes."
"Where is he now? Tell him to come here immediately," Tsunade ordered, frowning. Why hadn't he shown himself right away upon returning to the village? Didn't he know how anxious they were due to his disappearance?
"Uh, he definitely can't come over right now… Habara is currently inside Naruto. To be precise, inside the Eight Trigrams Seal on Naruto. Habara is locked up together with the Nine-Tails. No, wait, should I say Habara is the Nine-Tails?"
Kakashi had never felt his ability to express himself so utterly inadequate. The situation was truly difficult to describe.
"Things are a bit bizarre, and I'm not describing it well. In short, if you two come with me to check on Naruto's condition, you'll understand the specifics… I'll bring Naruto right over."
Kakashi was actually somewhat flustered himself. He realized he should have brought Naruto along directly from the start; then everything could have been explained immediately. But his thinking hadn't been clear, and now he had wasted time backtracking.
"No need. We'll go with you."
Upon hearing that Naruto was involved, Kushina couldn't possibly wait for Kakashi to act. She grabbed Tsunade's arm and followed closely behind Kakashi.
The three quickly arrived at the kindergarten. They found Naruto, took him to a separate room, and then, utilizing Kushina's chakra and her control over the Eight Trigrams Seal, the consciousnesses of all three swiftly submerged into the seal space.
Although all this was happening to Naruto, throughout the process, no one asked for the opinion of the person concerned. What could Naruto do? He could only obediently serve as a plaything for the adults. Couldn't be helped; each of these three women was bustier than the last.
"Lady Hokage, Lady Kushina."
When the three appeared before the bars, Habara greeted them naturally.
Tsunade and Kushina were instantly rendered speechless. Although a giant fox stood before them, their sharp intuition told them both that this person… this fox… was Habara.
"Habara?" Kushina found reality hard to believe.
"It's me," Habara confirmed, contemplating whether a formal self-introduction was necessary.
A long silence followed.
After an unknown amount of time, Tsunade finally spoke, "Explain. What exactly happened here."
This time, Habara couldn't bluff the Hokage the way he might have with Kakashi. He had to recount in detail the story of how he had fought and died, how his chakra had returned, and the process by which he had cleverly seized control of the Nine-Tails' body.
That Habara had lost a fight was difficult enough to believe. Even more incredible was the fact that Habara had somehow revived as the Nine-Tails.
This…
Could this possibly mean that the long-standing problems troubling Konoha regarding Nine-Tails control and the practical application of its chakra had finally been resolved?
While narrating his miraculous resurrection, Habara intentionally included certain classified information known only to Konoha's highest leadership, serving as further evidence to prove "I am me."
After listening to his account, Tsunade and Kushina no longer harbored any doubts that some strange entity was impersonating Habara. This had to be Habara himself. Setting aside the Konoha intelligence he revealed, the progression of events he described had no major flaws. In a word… Outrageous, yet plausible.
Habara finished his story. Seeing Tsunade and the others remain silent for a long time, he asked cautiously, "Lady Tsunade, are you perhaps considering the issue of serious loss of village-owned assets incurred during an unauthorized, illegal, and violent privatization process?"
Ahem. This truly was just Habara expressing his concern for Konoha. The Nine-Tails, after all, was a village-owned asset of Konoha, classified as a strategic weapon. But now Habara, without obtaining permission from anyone, had suddenly privatized it, turning a village asset into a personal one. This was, admittedly, highly problematic.
It involved a question of ownership transfer. One could potentially describe it as Habara becoming Konoha's property, but Habara himself would certainly not accept such a description. He would rather bear the charge of illegally seizing village assets; besides, it wasn't as if Konoha could actually do anything to him now.
The words Habara used were rather peculiar, but after careful consideration, Tsunade found she actually understood what he was saying… Wasn't it simply about the ownership rights to the Nine-Tails, or more directly, the Nine-Tails' chakra? Tsunade waved her hand dismissively, indicating she wasn't concerned about that at all. The meat was still cooking inside the steamer basket; who cared which specific layer it was on? "Don't overthink it. You are a Konoha ninja, after all. Besides, this effectively neutralizes the Nine-Tails. From this point forward, the Nine-Tails' chakra can truly be considered to be in service of the village."
How could this be considered an "asset loss"? A Konoha ninja mastering the Nine-Tails' chakra—what was there to quibble about? Taking ten thousand steps back, even if this particular Nine-Tails was privatized, didn't Konoha still possess other Nine-Tails? Naruto still had some remnants left inside him, and Kushina Uzumaki possessed the Yin half.
Tsunade, as Hokage, was undeniably open-minded; her leadership style demonstrated great magnanimity. If those two former advisors were still alive, the current matter would undoubtedly be debated endlessly. They would certainly question Habara's loyalty, agonize over 'what if he defects?', and consequently conclude that control over Habara needed to be strengthened—ideally by sealing him within a Jinchuriki just like a Tailed Beast, ensuring Habara could safely and securely contribute to Konoha… Honestly, if faced with them, Habara would likely have been forced to defect even if he hadn't wanted to.
Regardless, Habara being alive was, ultimately, a good thing. There were still many questions that needed answers from Habara, but there was no longer an immediate rush.
Tsunade couldn't help but pinch the bridge of her nose. What kind of mess is this? she thought. She turned her head towards Kushina and said, "Whatever the case, let's get him out of there first."
"Understood, Lady Tsunade," Kushina nodded.
Since it was confirmed that the "Nine-Tails" before them was indeed Habara, they certainly couldn't continue keeping him locked up like this.
The next day, Naruto was brought to the secret area located behind Shadow Leaf Mountain. Undoing the Eight Trigrams Seal might cause a significant disturbance; to avoid unnecessary trouble, it was more appropriate to conduct such matters hidden within the secret grounds.
The secret area itself was currently quite vibrant with life. Besides Gamabunta, a large number of cat and dog summoning animals were being raised here. Although they weren't combat summons, they made outstanding contributions to Konoha's special delivery services.
In addition to Naruto, Kushina Uzumaki, Kakashi Hatake, and Daigo—controlling the Third Kazekage puppet—were also present. Taking into account Konoha's village regulations and Hokage security protocols, and to ensure the Hokage's absolute safety by avoiding even small-probability dangerous incidents, it was best to prevent Tsunade from meeting the Nine-Tails face-to-face… regardless of what kind of Nine-Tails this one was.
Merely opening the Eight Trigrams Seal wasn't a difficult task for Kushina, who held the key. In fact, it could be considered quite simple. The slightly more troublesome aspect was preventing the real Nine-Tails from breaking free and escaping the containment barrier during the process.
"Prepare yourselves. We're beginning."
Naruto stood bare-chested in a clearing. He looked down, somewhat confused, and saw the complex seal pattern materialize on his abdomen.
"Uh…"
Before his young mind could process anything, Kushina had already undone the Eight Trigrams Seal. Immediately following, accompanied by a large dispersion of chakra, a giant white fox burst out.
And just as the other, smaller fox attempted to hitch a ride out, seven silver chakra chains bound it firmly in place.
Kushina Uzumaki walked back to Naruto's side and re-closed the Eight Trigrams Seal. The Nine-Tails' sentence was not yet complete; it had to continue serving its time.
The white fox stretched its body, then looked down condescendingly at Kakashi. "Kakashi-senpai, in the near future, which ninjutsu do you think I will achieve the highest proficiency in?"
"Hmm?" Kakashi pondered for a moment, then ventured a guess, "The Tail… Tailed Beast Ball?"
The fox shook its head. "Wrong. The Transformation Technique."
Fortunately, the Nine-Tails' claws could substitute for the function of a ninja's hands, meaning Habara could currently form hand seals and perform techniques.
He had already experimented earlier. He found he couldn't use his original mimicry technique to reverse the process and transform himself back into human form. The reason was simple, and he grasped it quickly: the Nine-Tails was a true, complete chakra lifeform. Its level of existence was a tier higher than Daigo's state—which lacked a specific form and couldn't self-generate chakra. That being the case, how could one species simply become another? Entities like Daigo were essentially amorphous, and Habara's previous transformations had been limited in a similar way. But the Nine-Tails was different; it was a species with extremely stable characteristics and physical form.
Although the Nine-Tails could eat, it couldn't actually starve to death. Although it breathed, it couldn't suffocate. Although it possessed a heart, that heart seemed to beat merely for the sake of beating.
The Nine-Tails couldn't easily change its form. Correspondingly, perhaps it was precisely because of this "stability" that it would completely revive in its current form even after death. This was likely a characteristic of a complete chakra lifeform.
Theoretically, this state should be the "evolutionary" direction for Daigo.
Habara couldn't temporarily reverse the process back to his original human form. What could he do? For now, he had to make do.
If a Creator truly existed, they would surely scoff at Habara's desire. What? Revert back to being human? Why would a higher lifeform want to devolve into a lower one? Look at the current version, my friend! Isn't being immortal good enough? Why fixate on the human form…
That line of reasoning wasn't wrong. It seemed Habara had inadvertently achieved the ultimate pursuit of many: immortality.
However, he had never once entertained the thought of "rejecting his humanity!" Compared to being a fox, being human was still better.
"Move aside, Kakashi-senpai. I need to make a mold."
Saying this, Habara performed the Transformation Technique, assuming his original appearance.
Kakashi handed Habara a prepared yukata. He had known Habara would regain human form after being released from the seal, but he hadn't anticipated this particular method of recovery.
"Since you transformed, why didn't you just transform clothes for yourself as well?"
"Nonsense! A fox can run around naked. After transforming into a human, must I also run around naked? Where is the heavenly principle in that? Where is the morality?"
Well… that… wasn't wrong. Transformed clothes weren't real clothes, so wearing them was arguably another form of nakedness.
The activity of releasing Habara proceeded very smoothly. However, despite this, there was still one person on site whose worldview had been utterly shattered.
The world still far exceeded Naruto's comprehension. His single-celled brain couldn't process the events unfolding before him… A fox burst out of his body, and then that fox turned into Habara-sensei?
Naruto raised his arm, repeatedly confirming that the appendage at the end was indeed a hand, not a claw.
Naruto couldn't figure it out. So, his brain naturally transitioned to another matter—See! I knew I wasn't seeing things! There really was one big fox and one small fox, right? And they weren't somewhere else; they were inside me! Therefore, that night's "mistake" wasn't my fault! It was the heavens conspiring against me! When a natural disaster opens the floodgates, it's beyond human control!
In any case, everyone was glad Habara was alive. Kakashi and Kushina might find Habara becoming the "Nine-Tails" created some psychological hurdles for them, but for Daigo, Habara simply being alive was good enough, regardless of his form.
After the event concluded, the group walked along the path leading away from the secret area. Habara walked beside Kushina Uzumaki and said, "Lady Kushina, I took the majority of the Nine-Tails. This might seem somewhat unfair to Naruto…"
Without the bulk of the Nine-Tails' chakra, the upper limit of Naruto's potential strength could very possibly be lowered as a result.
Unexpectedly, Kushina simply smiled. "Regarding Naruto becoming a Jinchuriki… it was a necessary measure taken out of helplessness. At that time, after having the Nine-Tails extracted, and following the battle, my body was already too weak to bear the burden of the complete Nine-Tails. Minato, in order to lessen my strain, split the Nine-Tails in two, letting Naruto share the responsibility of being a Jinchuriki…"
"Perhaps Minato held hopes then that Naruto would control the Nine-Tails' power and become a legendary ninja. But please believe me, no mother would ever willingly seal a monster inside her own child."
If both Minato and Kushina had perished, then Naruto would have had to become the Jinchuriki. But with Kushina still alive, she naturally didn't want Naruto to bear that burden… She knew all too well what Jinchuriki faced.
"Removing most of its power before the Nine-Tails could harm Naruto… this is a good thing. The monster is still present, but it's no longer a fearsome threat. The small Nine-Tails sealed within Naruto now is obviously much easier to control. We could even widen the gap in the Eight Trigrams Seal a bit more."
"Regardless of the village's or the Hokage's views on you controlling the Nine-Tails… Habara, speaking for myself, purely from a mother's personal standpoint, I am happy to see this change."
For Naruto, he was already a Jinchuriki. Completely removing the Nine-Tails at this point would mean his death. However, leaving a small portion of the Nine-Tails within him… Kushina felt this was beneficial.
It meant Naruto could access the Nine-Tails' power more easily, while no longer being endangered by that power. Naruto wasn't raising a monster anymore; he was raising a pet.
"As for what you mentioned earlier… Naruto's value and accomplishments as a ninja will not be diminished one bit by lacking a portion of the Nine-Tails' chakra. If it did, it would only mean he wasn't destined to be a ninja capable of great achievements in the first place. I personally believe this with utmost conviction."
Habara found this irrefutable. Conversely, if Naruto's strength were indeed diminished by the lack of Nine-Tails power, it would only prove that his strength had relied on the Nine-Tails—that the Nine-Tails wasn't merely a supplement to his power, but its very pillar.
With the Nine-Tails' power within the Eight Trigrams Seal weakened, Naruto could gain control over that power much more quickly. He might even be able to bypass idealistic approaches like empathy and Talk-no-Jutsu entirely. His potential ceiling might be lowered, but in exchange, his personal abilities could rapidly mature. Once developed, how far could Naruto travel down this path?
And in the worst-case scenario, his own mother still possessed the entire Yin half of the Nine-Tails.
Taking ten thousand steps back, even if Naruto could no longer command as much Nine-Tails chakra… he was still an Uzumaki.
The missing Nine-Tails chakra could be fully compensated for by relying on his ancestry. This was just one of the strange (or perhaps warped) aspects of the ninja world.