Fugaku has gone mad; he's going to create a new Uchiha clan in Kirigakure.

Chapter 45, Nine Tail, is just a piece of burlap.

Tick-tock~ Tick-tock~

In a dark, damp, and decaying space.

Naruto Uzumaki walked steadily through the puddles, his azure eyes seeming to be deep in thought. He wasn't looking where he was going, but he turned precisely and entered the enormous space.

Clearly, this wasn't his first time here.

"Damn brat! I'm going to kill you!"

Inside the enormous cage, Kurama looked down at Naruto Uzumaki from above, its massive claws slamming against the cage with a deafening roar.

"Quiet, don't you get tired of saying the same thing so many times?"

Naruto didn't even look up, his voice so calm it was impossible to discern any emotion.

"Everyone knows that when a Jinchuriki dies, the Tailed Beast also dies. Admittedly, you won't truly die, but that feeling of emptiness must be unpleasant. You don't dare to kill me, so don't bother me."

Having said that, Naruto ignored Kurama's awkward expression and quietly walked to the cage, staring at the golden chains binding it and the talisman in the center, as if sensing something...

...

I don't know how much time has passed.

Naruto Uzumaki finally moved, raising his head to look at the enormous nine-tailed fox.

"Next, it might hurt a little. My technique is a bit clumsy, so please bear with it."

As he spoke, his hands began to form hand seals rapidly. You could almost hear the whooshing sound of his fingers scraping through the air. Soon, the entire cage began to vibrate, and the chains seemed to resonate with Naruto's hand seals, emitting a low hum.

Under Naruto's control, the golden chains seemed to come alive, moving slowly and steadily, making a "whooshing" metallic friction sound, and then extending and retracting like snakes, reaching into the cage.

"roar--!!!"

The Nine-Tails roared angrily, and its crimson tailed beast chakra spread out like tangible flames, attempting to impact and corrode the chains.

However, the golden chains, when faced with the tailed beast chakra, were like realgar powder encountering a snake. Not only were they not corroded, but their light actually increased slightly, forcing the chakra back in the opposite direction, without a single drop flowing out of the cage.

The chains seemed to have a life of their own, precisely wrapping around the nine-tailed fox's massive body. No matter how much it struggled and bit, it could not break free. In the end, the chains firmly bound the nine-tailed fox, leaving only its tail to sway weakly.

Then, Kurama felt a powerful, irresistible pressure coming from all directions.

Its violent chakra defied its will and was forcibly extracted and guided out through its only movable tail. The scarlet chakra, like viscous blood, flowed along the golden chains and eventually crossed space to transfer to Naruto's outstretched left arm.

Feeling the warm yet violent chakra enveloping his arm, Naruto Uzumaki broke out in a fine sweat.

After his identity was revealed, he reclaimed all the property that belonged to his parents, including various ninjutsu scrolls and notes left by them, such as the sealing formula for the Vajra Chain.

Because he understood one principle very well—the fist is power!

He wanted to fulfill his father's last wish, but only if he was strong enough; without power, it would all be just castles in the air.

The sealing technique left by his mother is easy to understand, but difficult to master.

Because it involves precise and complex chakra manipulation, it's not something you can use in a rapidly changing battle just because you've learned the hand seals. In the blink of an eye, a second of hesitation can be the difference between life and death.

However, he discovered that by using the powerful sealing technique that already existed within him to seal the Nine-Tails, he could "borrow" and "guide" the power of these seals to a certain extent, just like now, using the binding force of the seals to extract the chakra of the tailed beasts.

Slaughter, violence, destruction...

As crimson chakra enveloped Naruto's arm, he clearly felt a variety of negative emotions, like cold, venomous snakes, creeping up his arm along the meridians, trying to burrow into his mind.

He wanted to smash everything in front of him; he wanted to vent all the loneliness, grievances, and anger that had accumulated in his heart over the years, in the most primitive and violent way.

But he knew that this was not his own idea.

He doesn't have such a low-level, direct desire to "vent".

He has a better way and a longer-term goal.

This is simply a form of mental pollution inherent in the tailed beast's chakra, an erosion of the host's will.

It is certain that once the concentration of this chakra reaches a certain level, or if it is used for too long, the host will gradually lose himself and become a puppet controlled by the tailed beast chakra, only knowing how to destroy.

After a long while, Naruto Uzumaki took a deep breath and formed hand seals again.

Through the reverse transmission of the Vajra Chains, he gradually "absorbed" the Tailed Beast Chakra in his arm back and reintroduced it into the sealing space.

The chains slowly receded, loosening their restraints on the Nine-Tails.

Nine-Tailed Fox wanted to roar again to vent the humiliation of being "used" like this, but when it looked at the terrifyingly calm little brat outside the cage, it felt a chill for no reason and swallowed its roar back.

This child reminded it of someone from long ago, Mito Uzumaki.

That's how that woman "used" it back then.

There was no understanding between humans and tailed beasts, no love or tolerance whatsoever.

Mito Uzumaki taught Kushina Uzumaki the same thing: the Nine-Tails is just a piece of burlap.

When needed, just twist it and the water will drip out.

Of course, the price was that she was gradually corrupted by her own chakra, leaving her body and mind riddled with holes. This was the cost of forcibly using the power of the tailed beast.

"Hmph, brat, you're not having a good time, are you?"

Nine-Tails finally couldn't help but speak, though it sounded somewhat fierce but actually weak.

"My power isn't so easily used! The more you use my power, the more your body and soul will be corrupted, until one day you completely lose yourself and become a monster that only knows destruction!"

"Chakra is the product of the perfect fusion of spiritual and physical energy; it's an extension of the soul and will, right?"

Naruto Uzumaki raised his head, a bright smile suddenly blooming on his face as he looked at Kurama (the Nine-Tails).

In that instant, the Nine-Tails looked at the boy whose face was nine-tenths similar to that hateful man, whose smile was cute, whose eyes were so clear that they seemed to see through everything, and who also hid some kind of feeling that it couldn't describe. Its fur almost stood on end.

"I can sense the madness and hatred contained within your chakra."

Naruto continued, his tone suggesting that they were discussing an interesting topic.

"Then let's do an experiment."

---Divider line

dong dong dong.

A knock sounded on the door, and Naruto opened his eyes, his consciousness withdrawing from the dark and damp sealed space.

He sat up and looked down at his left arm.

Sure enough, an irregular, faint dark red mark appeared on the skin of my forearm, as if it had been burned or corroded by something. It was slightly stinging and numb. Clearly, the Nine-Tails' chakra corroded both the body and the soul.

However, compared to the subtle erosion of the soul, this slight corrosion of the body is not a big problem for him, who possesses the Uzumaki clan's strong vitality and vast chakra reserves.

After he "stood up for no reason" that day, his chakra surged. This level of damage could be recovered quickly with rest.

Naruto got up, stretched his stiff arms, and went to open the door.

Uchiha Sasuke was standing outside the door.

"What's wrong? Didn't you sleep well?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto's slightly pale face and the hint of fatigue in his eyes, and casually asked.

I had a dream.

Naruto rubbed his eyes, yawned, and spoke casually.

"In my dream, there was a very big fox, chained up, and I was whipping it and stuff..."

"What a strange dream."

Sasuke shook his head.

"The fifth generation leader needs our help."

...

On the way to the Hokage Building, the streets of Konoha were already bustling with activity in the early morning.

As I passed a street corner, a crowd had gathered in front of a notice board on one side of the street, pointing and commenting on the huge new notice that had been posted there.

Naruto stopped and looked over with great interest.

Of course, the people around him quickly lowered their heads and dispersed, but Naruto didn't mind. He just quietly looked at the notice.

Sasuke glanced at him in the same direction.

The gist of the matter is that, given the series of misfortunes Konoha has suffered since the Fourth Hokage and his wife were murdered on the night of the Nine-Tails, and now even the Daimyo of the Land of Fire has been attacked, creating a critical situation, in order to deal with the threats and ensure the safety of the Land of Fire and Konoha, the Daimyo's Office of the Land of Fire has issued a decree to temporarily pardon the rogue ninja Orochimaru for some of his crimes, allowing him to assist Konoha in dealing with specific threats under strict restrictions as a "special technical advisor." At the same time, the Daimyo's Office will allocate special compensation funds to compensate the villagers and their families who were harmed by Orochimaru's human experiments.

He had seen the announcement yesterday, and only after reading it did he understand what the conversation between Naruto and the Fifth Hokage meant that day.

In short, all of this was orchestrated by the fifth generation.

The injured villagers received tangible compensation, Konoha gained a legitimate reason and real benefits to recall its elite combat force, and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was branded as having "used dangerous rogue ninjas," but in exchange, he secured the "safety" of himself and the capital.

However, when he saw those who had lost loved ones collecting their compensation yesterday, although he was sad, he was mostly happy, even laughing and joking.

This scene touched something deep within him.

It seems that in the face of time, past pain, anger, and even the pursuit of justice become less absolute and less meaningful.

"Let's go, what are you thinking about?"

Naruto's voice pulled him back from his thoughts. Sasuke looked up and found that Naruto had already taken a few steps and was looking back at him with a hint of inquiry in his azure eyes.

"I just feel that time, or even profit, can make many things less important."

"Yeah?"

Upon hearing this, Naruto blinked his bright blue eyes and then patted Sasuke on the shoulder.

"Since you think it's 'meaningless,' then why don't you give it all to me since you inherited the Uchiha clan and I've heard they have a fixed monthly income of several million ryo and various business dividends?"

Sasuke was taken aback, clearly not expecting Naruto to suddenly bring up this topic, and he shrugged indifferently.

"If you want it, you can have it. Anyway, I don't really need the money right now."

"Hiss... I see."

Naruto nodded slightly, stopped, turned around, crossed his arms, and carefully examined Sasuke from head to toe, his eyes like he was evaluating a product. Sasuke felt uncomfortable under his gaze, his ears turned slightly red, and he couldn't help but frown.

"What are you going to do?"

Naruto lowered his arm, looking serious.

"Are you sure you mean 'I don't care about anything' and 'Give me anything useless'? Then let's sign a contract later."

"boring..."

...

Hokage Building, Hokage's Office.

Naruto didn't even bother to knock; he just pushed the door open.

"Old woman, what do you need us for?"

"Whoosh—!"

A white object flew towards us with a whooshing sound.

Naruto's expression didn't change. With a nimble Body Flicker Technique, he slid half a step to the side. At the same time, his right hand seemingly casually scooped, drew, and deflected the flying teacup, which spun around in his palm and came to a steady stop without spilling a few drops of tea.

"Gentle Fist?"

Tsunade, behind her desk, raised an eyebrow; that casual toss just now hadn't been very merciful.

"Oh, this is just child's play. Look at those Hyuga clan members, they can learn it with just a few simple gestures."

Naruto pursed his lips, picked up his teacup, walked to Tsunade's huge desk, and unceremoniously pulled a pen from the pen holder and a blank mission record sheet from the desk.

What are you doing?

Tsunade looked at him suspiciously.

"Sasuke, I'll write him a written agreement. A man's word is his bond, so a fingerprint will suffice."

As he spoke, he wrote a few lines on the paper with a flourish, then folded it in half with a "snap" and handed it to Sasuke.

"You two, we can talk about playing house later!"

Tsunade's forehead creased with a tic-tac-toe sign, and she slammed her hand on the table, making the pen holder jump.

"Let's get down to business!"

Tsunade glared at Naruto Uzumaki with annoyance, cleared her throat, and said seriously.

"The Daimyo family's recuperation and treatment in Konoha has ended. There are still many government affairs to be handled in the capital of the Land of Fire. The Daimyo must return as soon as possible. This time, in addition to Sarutobi Asuma's Daimyo Guard, I will personally lead the escort mission. Not only will we ensure the Daimyo's safe arrival, but we will also take this opportunity to thoroughly clean up any scoundrels that may be lurking inside and outside the capital."

"You, Sasuke, and Naho, you're going too."

"she?"

Naruto immediately put on an exaggerated expression of disgust.

"Old woman, are you afraid she won't die fast enough? These past few days I've been teaching her to refine chakra as you asked. She can refine a little chakra, but that's about it. Her physique is average, and her comprehension is mediocre. If she wants to become a qualified medical ninja, with her talent and foundation, let's talk about it in five years... no, ten years."

I know about her situation.

Tsunade placed her hands on the table, her body slightly leaning forward.

"So I didn't plan to send her to the front line. I had her activate her 'bloodline limit' to gather a group of people within Konoha and form a support team."

"Naho's mission is to be responsible for paying all expenses, supplies, and extra allowances for this group of ninjas. During the mission, these ninjas will form a small support camp in the safe rear area around Naho. At the same time, if you need specific types of support, you can draw suitable people from this camp at any time to temporarily act as the 'third person' of your team and cooperate with you."

"ha?"

Naruto's eyes lit up.

"Interesting! Everyone else has a fixed three-person team, but we can just 'draw' a temporary teammate from the rear based on the enemy and the needs of the mission? And it even comes with a fully-equipped support camp? Old lady, this 'wealth' is a super bloodline limit! Can we choose any ninja?"

"Dream on!"

Tsunade bluntly interrupted his fantasy.

"Right now, aside from the stationed military units that can't be moved, the remaining Konoha ninjas are practically double-dealing. Therefore, genin won't be assigned to you; they're only for students at the Ninja Academy!"

As she spoke, she pulled a thick list from the drawer and slammed it on the table.

"This is the roster and basic information of all students currently enrolled in the Ninja Academy from grades one to six. You can choose any of them, but the total number cannot exceed twenty."

"I see..."

Naruto stroked his chin, his azure eyes darting around, as if he had thought of something...

"Excuse me, but will this squad exist indefinitely?"

"certainly."

Tsunade looked into Naruto's azure eyes and nodded.

---Divider line

The dock outside the Hidden Mist Village in the Land of Water.

The sailboat slowly approached the shore, its hull colliding with the dock with a dull thud.

"Young Master Shuiyue, the boat has docked."

Outside the cabin, the respectful yet weary voices of the Hozuki clan's retainers could be heard.

There was no response from inside the cabin.

"Young master? It's time to disembark."