Naruto: I, who fooled the ninja world, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 146 You Don't Need to Know My Name

In Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, Naruto, who seemed to be sleeping soundly curled up on the bed, was now in a completely different world.

Naruto stood blankly in the icy water, the biting cold seeping through his feet and spreading throughout his body.

Before me was a completely unfamiliar world.

The light barely illuminated the cramped space, and the air was thick with moisture.

Before Naruto stood the only creation existing in this space.

A row of thick, pillar-like railings extends upwards until it disappears completely into the impenetrable darkness overhead, with no visible top, seemingly without end.

Behind the railings lay an even deeper darkness.

"What is this place?"

Naruto looked panicked, facing the unknown fear with the child, and instinctively took a step back, the water beneath his feet rippling.

Finally, summoning his last shred of courage, his voice trembling, he called out into the chilling darkness, "Hey, is anyone there?"

The response he received was not a human voice.

"call……"

Seemingly startled awake by his voice, a long, deep breath suddenly came from the darkness, making the hairs on his body stand on end!

In the darkness, two crimson dots suddenly lit up.

The huge, fierce, and murderous vertical pupils, like two blood lanterns from hell, were locked onto the tiny Naruto Uzumaki!
"Roar!"

A deafening roar exploded, the sound waves like a giant hammer, carrying a foul wind, slamming hard into Naruto's heart, making his ears ring.

But what followed that roar was an enormous claw.

That sharp claw, several times larger than Naruto's entire body, gleamed with a cold light and pierced straight towards him!
“Monster…” Naruto’s pupils dilated with extreme fear.

Fear completely robbed him of his ability to move, like vines tightening around his heart and feet, freezing him in place, his mind blank as he stared at the approaching giant claws.

Time seemed to freeze at the moment the claws tore through the air.

However, just as that claw was about to touch Naruto's tiny body...

puff!puff!puff!

Several scarlet, blood-red thorns appeared without warning, bursting forth from the deathly darkness behind Naruto!

These thorns seemed to be alive, moving so fast that they left only afterimages.

They precisely wrapped themselves around the giant claw that had emerged from the cage, easily piercing the Nine-Tailed Fox's defenses like a red-hot iron, and instantly taking root within it.

A hissing sound, like flesh being pierced, rang out!

"Roar! My chakra..."

The roar abruptly shifted from a ferocious howl to one of shock and rage, disbelief flashing in its crimson vertical pupils as it hissed, "What is this thing?!"

Naruto finally saw what was on the other side of the railing.

The enormous fox head, with its ferocious face and bared fangs like interlocking daggers, exuded a murderous and violent intent to tear everything in its path to shreds!
However, this terrifying monster, which seemed to devour people at will, was now struggling violently due to the excruciating pain and the sudden restraint, its orange fur standing on end.

The thorns continued to spread wildly upwards along the claws and arms like maggots clinging to bones.

Ignoring the giant monster's struggles and bites, it absorbed its chakra and grew stronger as if nourished, with more thorns bursting from its "flesh and skin".

In the blink of an eye, the enormous monster was bound hand and foot by these eerie blood-red thorns, like a victim nailed to a cross!
"Wood Release? Adamantine Sealing Grounds? No, what the hell is this?!"

The Nine-Tailed Fox's earth-shaking roar was filled with humiliation and rage, but deeper within it, a hint of fear and dread was also revealed.

Why do these thorns possess both the chakra-absorbing properties of Hashirama Senju's "Wood Release" and the chakra-sealing properties of Mito Uzumaki's "Diamond Sealing Barrier"?
No matter how frantically it twisted its massive body, each struggle causing the cage to shake violently, it could never break free from the seemingly delicate thorns!
The spikes were deeply embedded in its chakra body beneath its fur and flesh, and each struggle brought double the pain and loss of chakra!

So its gaze passed over the utterly terrified human imp on the ground and fixed itself on the deep darkness behind the source of the thorns!

"Damn it! Who the hell are you?!"

The deafening question, like a thunderclap, jolted the stunned Naruto awake.

who? who is it?

Driven by lingering fear and curiosity, Naruto stiffly turned his head, following Kurama's gaze, which was almost spitting fire, and also following the direction from which the blood-red thorns extended, to look behind him. There, he saw a figure slowly emerging from the deep darkness.

His steps were unhurried, as if he were treading on invisible steps, each step carrying an indescribable rhythm, and the puddles beneath his feet parted on their own.

The first thing that catches the eye is his pair of eyes.

The eyes were blue, but not the blue of the sky; rather, they were like pure glaciers, cold and clear, possessing an almost inhuman divinity, radiating a dazzling light in the darkness.

His skin was so white it was almost transparent, like the finest porcelain, without a trace of blood. He had the typical appearance of an Otsutsuki clan member, which contrasted sharply with the damp and dark environment around him.

His long, silver-gray hair was meticulously tied back into a neat high ponytail, with a few strands falling across his forehead, adding to his cool and aloof demeanor.

He was dressed in an elegant and simple white robe, with a gray-white haori over it. The wide sleeves and hem of the robe moved without wind, and blood-red thorns grew out from under his robe.

He emerged from the darkness, as if stepping out of a painting.

Cold, noble, mysterious, profound...

These words perfectly describe him.

"Roar……"

The Nine-Tailed Fox's furious roar abruptly ceased. Its crimson vertical pupils stared intently at the suddenly appearing being that exuded a terrifying aura, and a low, wary growl escaped its throat like that of a wild beast.

Naruto was completely stunned, his little face tilted up, his big blue eyes wide open.

Finally, he blurted out instinctively, "Big brother, you're so handsome..."

However, he immediately regretted it as soon as he said it.

Her small body froze on the spot, her heart pounding wildly, her mind a complete mess.

He didn't know where he was, what the terrifying monster in the cage was, or who the person who had saved him, seemingly stepping out of a painting, was...

What if, what if I offend this seemingly strong older brother...

A deathly silence and bewilderment hung in the frigid air.

Those clear blue eyes calmly swept over the Nine-Tails bound by thorns, and finally landed on Naruto, who was standing frozen in the water.

"As a descendant of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, yet with such a diluted bloodline, and bullied to this extent by humans, is this what Hagoromo wanted to see?"

His first words caused Nine-Tailed Fox's vertical pupils to shrink abruptly, and a look of human-like disbelief appeared on his fox face.

How can it be?

How could this mysterious fellow, who suddenly appeared, know the old man's real name?!
boom!
In its excitement, the Nine-Tails slammed its head against the nearby cage bars, its eyes fixed on the figure, baring its sharp teeth and demanding, "Hey! You bastard..."

But the man didn't even look at Nine-Tails; he simply slowly raised one hand.

Nine-Tails felt its massive body being tightly bound by those scarlet thorns, as if it were being gripped and lifted up by a hand, and then...

boom! !

The entire space seemed to shake violently as it crashed down, and huge waves surged up on the water's surface, making Naruto feel his teeth chattering!

"Roar!"

Nine-tailed Fox was thrown around and lay sprawled on the ground, dazed and confused, letting out a mournful howl. The figure slowly walked to the cage and their eyes met.

"Fox, it seems that Hagoromo Otsutsuki hasn't even taught you the most basic manners."

He said coldly, "Even if Hagoromo Otsutsuki were here, he wouldn't dare interrupt me like you do."

"you!"

Looking into those eyes that were eye to eye but seemed to look down on him, the Nine-Tailed Fox's fur bristled, and it asked in a deep voice, "Who exactly are you?"

“You don’t need to know my first name,” he said coldly. “You only need to know my last name, the same as the one who created you.”

Upon hearing this, the Nine-Tailed Fox's vertical pupils shrank to a slit.

The same surname as the old man.

The Otsutsuki clan?
(End of this chapter)