I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 549 Your attitude towards others is very likely determined by a third party.

"Tatsuma, this is wartime. If something happens to Kurama, I don't doubt that you have a way to stop Kurama from going berserk, but the village doesn't have much more time to wait for Kurama to recover."

Before Kushina could speak, Jiraiya, who was covering his nose with an ice pack, suddenly spoke very seriously. Tsunade nodded in agreement, while Minato frowned, pondering Tatsuma's intentions.

Only Orochimaru and Shikaku showed excitement in their eyes again. Perhaps Tatsuma hadn't learned Dust Release, or perhaps he was hiding something. After all, it was practically something they forced Tatsuma to fight Onoki.

However, Tatsuma's request to find Kurama at this time is not the case. In other words, Tatsuma is very likely looking for Kurama with a specific purpose in mind, hoping to obtain some ability from Kurama, which should be an ability he urgently needs.

This should serve as further evidence to prove that Tatsuma does indeed possess such a special ability.

Kushina turned around and looked at Tatsuma with displeasure. Tatsuma, on the other hand, let Kushina scrutinize him without any ill will. Even if Kushina used the Nine-Tails' malice to sense him, it was fine.

"What do you want with the Nine-Tails?"

After staring at it for a while, Kushina suddenly asked, and Tatsuma replied, "Ask it for some tips."

"Nine-Tailed Fox says it will not teach."

Upon hearing Kushina's answer, Jiraiya almost burst out laughing, but when he touched the wound Tsunade had inflicted, his expression instantly twisted. Tatsuma also paused for a moment before saying:

"I said I was asking for advice in order to be polite. If they don't want to be polite, then I'll have to force them to be polite."

"So you still want to hurt Nine-Tails?"

Kushina frowned, her anger making it seem as if Tatsuma wanted to hurt herself, not Kurama.

"I didn't say that."

Tatsuma spread his hands and continued, "The Nine-Tails is an important asset of the village. How could I do something that would harm our own assets?"

"Assets. Ha, if the Nine-Tails is an asset, then what am I?"

Tatsuma didn't answer, and Kushina grew increasingly angry, saying, "I won't agree!"

Upon hearing this, Tatsuma pursed his lips and frowned. Everyone else in the command room stood up. Tsunade moved closer to Tatsuma, while Minato took Kushina's hand. Jiraiya had no choice but to put down the ice pack and stand between the two sides.

Although Tatsuma hasn't said anything yet, everyone understands his personality, and if Tatsuma and Kushina were to have a direct conflict, the village would be the one to suffer.

After all, one is the future Fourth Hokage, and the other is the village's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. If there is a conflict between the two, it will be extremely detrimental to the village.

Minato looked at Tatsuma apologetically, but his chakra was gradually spreading. He couldn't let the two of them really clash, and he didn't want to become either side's "henchman." Therefore, if something bad really happened, he could only take Kushina away.

Tsunade spoke up at this moment, saying, "Alright, Tatsuma, stop looking so sour. Kushina is a hero of the village. Is this how you treat a hero? Anyone who didn't know better would think you were facing an enemy."

Kushina, please be patient. Tatsuma has a mission he must carry. As Konoha ninjas, we should cooperate where we can and support him as much as we can.

Although she didn't directly mention the future Hokage and Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Tsunade brought this up in every sentence. Tatsuma nodded and said, "Let's have a conversation between Konoha ninjas, Kushina."

"Hmph, what kind of conversation is this between Konoha ninjas? In the end, doesn't it all boil down to advising me to prioritize the village's interests? Or perhaps your own, Sakamoto Tatsuma's, interests?"

"Xiaojiu!"

Minato lowered his voice and said seriously, "Tatsuma isn't that kind of person. He's already trying his best to take care of every comrade. We're able to come out on missions together thanks to Tatsuma."

Kurama's hatred towards Tatsuma is Kurama's business; you shouldn't hate Tatsuma. You and Kurama are now a unified entity, helping and supporting each other. But don't forget, your will is not his will, and his opinion shouldn't become your opinion.

There should never have been a tense situation between Kushina and Tatsuma, because the two have never had any real conflict or interest. However, Kushina is an emotional person who is easily influenced by Kurama.

There was still some imbalance between Kushina and Kurama. Tatsuma's presence did eliminate the resistance between Kushina and Kurama, but it also gradually made Kushina influenced by Kurama.

Minato had realized this beforehand, but since it hadn't caused any problems, he didn't remind Kushina. After all, Tatsuma had indeed rapidly increased the synergy between Kushina and Kurama, allowing Kushina to grow faster.

But today he had to remind Kushina that the perfect state between a Jinchuriki and a Tailed Beast should be one of balance. Mito's one-sided suppression of Kurama, or the erosion of the Jinchuriki by other Tailed Beasts, is not perfect.

Minato recalled Killer Bee, whom Tatsuma called the perfect Jinchūriki. The partnership between Killer Bee and the Tailed Beast was a balance; Killer Bee wouldn't force the Eight-Tails to do anything, and the Eight-Tails wouldn't force Killer Bee to do anything either.

But within their own capabilities, they should help each other to the greatest extent possible. This is the healthy way for Jinchuriki and Tailed Beasts to coexist. Kushina still has a long way to go to reach Killer Bee's level.

Reminded by Minato's stern voice, Kushina was first stunned, then felt aggrieved, and finally realized that, as Minato said, her hostility towards Tatsuma had now transformed into the Nine-Tails' hostility towards Tatsuma.

As for the misunderstanding between her and Tatsuma, it had actually been resolved long ago, and she had even thought about thanking Tatsuma properly.

After taking several deep breaths to calm herself down, Kushina still couldn't let go of her pride and asked in a stiff tone, "What do you want to talk about?"

"I want to learn how Kurama shares chakra. Just as you said, you don't have to do anything for me, but you will do your best to help every comrade. I am doing this for the same purpose."

You can imagine how many comrades I could save once my chakra could be shared with others. The power my chakra could exert would be unparalleled, even by the Nine-Tails' chakra.

As Tatsuma spoke, Kushina bypassed the barrier between Jiraiya and Tsunade, staring at Tatsuma and ignoring Kurama's shouts that Tatsuma had a conspiracy. She used Kurama's ability to sense malice in a "plundering" manner.

Finally, she was certain that Tatsuma's words were sincere, at least without any malice. Trying to block out Kurama's voice, she asked, "How do you plan to get Kurama to teach you?"

"This is something I should consider, not something you should consider, but I can promise that I will not allow the Nine-Tails' power to diminish."

As Tatsuma spoke, he gestured to Tsunade and Jiraiya with his eyes. The two exchanged a glance and stepped aside. Tatsuma then strode towards Kushina, raised his fist, and said:

"I could spout a bunch of empty rhetoric, but I think you'd rather not waste your time on it."

Kushina hesitated, and Minato slightly tightened his grip on her hand, then gave her a tender look. Kushina looked away, then raised her fist and exchanged blows with Tatsuma.

Kushina didn't know what method Tatsuma used, but she could clearly sense that Tatsuma's chakra had invaded her mental world.

She wanted to enter her own mental world to see how Tatsuma negotiated with Kurama, but she discovered...

Her own mental world—Kyuu-Tails and Tatsuma could enter it, but she herself couldn't.

It's like this: you organized the dinner party yourself, but after everyone arrived, the person you were invited to say to you, "Okay, that's all for you, you can leave now."

It's infuriating, infuriating, yet you feel powerless.

Within Kushina's mental world, the Nine-Tails, which roared repeatedly but was ignored by Kushina, stood on the water's surface, panting heavily.

Of course, it doesn't actually need to breathe; it's just a physical expression of anger.

At this moment, Tatsuma also appeared, standing on the water. The ripples on the water caused by the Nine-Tailed Fox would be eliminated when they reached Tatsuma, and the water beneath his feet was always calm.

Tatsuma raised his head and said, "Nine-Tails, it's been a long time."

"snort!"

Kurama only let out a heavy nasal sound. Tatsuma wasn't annoyed, but continued to ask, "Actually, I've been wondering for a long time why all the tailed beasts, including you, see me as a monster?"

Kurama remained silent in the face of Tatsuma's question. Tatsuma, however, did not care and instead strode toward Kurama. Although he was walking on the water, the surface remained stable without any ripples.

"Actually, I've figured it out now. You're actually afraid."

"ridiculous!"

"You are afraid."

Tatsuma repeated his words firmly, then continued, "You are afraid. I will become your ally, no, your nemesis."

Upon hearing this, Kurama's eyes widened, its expression turning ferocious, and its fangs were fully revealed. Tatsuma looked at Kurama, who was finally willing to look him in the eye, and calmly said, "Ten-Tails."

"Bang bang bang~"

Nine-Tailed Fox slapped its tail against the water's surface, clearly agitated. It lowered its body slightly, fully assuming a battle stance.

"Looks like I guessed right. You're afraid I'll become the Ten-Tails, or maybe you think I am the Ten-Tails?"

"Damn it! Where did you get this information about the Ten-Tails?!"

Kurama finally responded with a complete sentence, and Tatsuma smiled, saying, "Are you curious? I still prefer your feigned indifference just now."

Answer me!

"How about a bet? If you win, I'll tell you everything you want to know, things that I already know. How about it?"

After Tatsuma finished speaking, Kurama was about to speak when Tatsuma raised his hand to interrupt him. Then Tatsuma continued, "There's no need to say no, because I know you're incredibly curious, curious about what else I know."

"Am I willing to give you this opportunity and a way out, or do you prefer to rely on your own strength to pry information out of the enemy?"

Nine-Tails felt extremely aggrieved. It wanted to confidently say that it didn't care at all what Tatsuma knew, but in fact, it did want to know.

Even it was quite curious about those secrets that spanned thousands of years. If it could, it would prefer to use its powerful strength to force Tatsuma to tell it everything it knew, just as Tatsuma had said.

The reality is that it is imprisoned, and its power is also restricted. If it cannot be freed, or if the Jinchūriki cannot fully bear its power, it cannot defeat Tatsuma under its current conditions.

The nine-tailed fox made a harsh grinding sound, and after a while, it said fiercely, "What are we betting on?!"

(End of this chapter)