Konoha, reported by the Fourth Hokage at the start.

Chapter 402 A Tug-of-War of Wills

Nine-Tails, who had never known what the fear of death was, experienced what the fear of death was for the first time through Li Yao.

It was the fear of death that made Kurama compromise.

Faced with Naruto, who seemed to want to devour both his body and soul, Kurama (the Nine-Tails) chose to join forces.

As long as they can escape from Li Yao's clutches together, Kurama (the Nine-Tails) feels there's nothing wrong with helping Naruto.

After all, life is your own; once you die, you have nothing left.

In the face of death, all beings are equal, and the Nine-Tailed Fox is no exception.

outside world.

Naruto, now in his Nine-Tails form, went from the Four-Tails to the Seven-Tails. His terrifying chakra fluctuations could be clearly sensed even from several kilometers away.

The three members of the Cloud Village, standing behind a large rock, witnessed Naruto transform into the Nine-Tails.

The feeling of being torn apart as soon as you get close is too intense.

The black-haired man and woman swallowed hard, staring at the Nine-Tails-transformed Naruto in the distance, their lips trembling, and asked the aloof and elegant woman Samui beside them.

"Should we still go over there?"

"Just watch from here!"

Samui stared intently at Naruto in his Nine-Tails form in the far distance; that terrifying chakra was far too powerful.

With only seven tails, Killer Bee's complete tailed beast form didn't feel as oppressive as Naruto's Seven-Tails form at this moment; in fact, it could be said to be much weaker.

Not only in terms of aura, but also in the quality of their chakra, they are on a completely different level.

The terrifying chakra fluctuations made the air thick and heavy, and the immense pressure pressed down on Samui, making it difficult for her to breathe.

There is only one explanation for the oppressive feeling emanating from this simple chakra.

The Nine-Tails has far more chakra and is much stronger than the Eight-Tails, which is why such a qualitative difference is apparent.

"The Nine-Tails is terrifying. Luckily, it wasn't our village that got one back then," said Omoi, the little black guy, with lingering fear.

The little black woman, Karui, nodded like a chick pecking at rice, saying, "Yes, yes, it's terrifying."

After saying that, the two glanced around. The desolate ground made them instinctively shrink back, trying not to let the Nine-Tails in the distance notice their presence.

The Nine-Tails is terrifying. If this were in their Hidden Cloud Village, only the Third Raikage, who could rival the Eight-Tails, could restrain the rampaging Nine-Tails.

The three members of the Cloud Village were intimidated by the Nine-Tails and dared not go any further. They hid behind a large rock in the distance and observed silently.

"Tsunade, while Naruto is still, hurry up and seal him away, don't let the Nine-Tails escape," Gamashima quickly reminded her, realizing what was happening.

Regardless of what problem Naruto is in now, it's the right thing for Tsunade to seal Naruto's chakra while he's immobilized.

Otherwise, if the fully evolved Nine-Tails were to escape, it would mean that Naruto would be completely devoured by the Nine-Tails and disappear without a trace, as if he were dead.

"right."

Reminded by Gamashima, Tsunade reacted and instantly appeared in front of Naruto in his Nine-Tails form.

Her sealing techniques are not as extensive as Jiraiya's, but that doesn't mean they are weak.

Tsunade took out a scroll, formed hand seals, and gathered chakra at her fingertips. Just as she was about to inscribe a sealing technique to seal chakra on it, she found that she suddenly could not move her body.

"Tsunade..." Gamashima immediately sensed something was wrong.

"Don't rush, wait a little longer." Li Yao's voice suddenly rang out behind Tsunade.

The three looked over at the sound and saw that Li Yao had already come up behind Tsunade. Gamashima instinctively wanted to use a water-style ninjutsu to attack Li Yao.

The moment his hand was raised, Li Yao flicked it away, sending him flying hundreds of meters away.

"Shima-sama!"

Jiraiya quickly ran over to check.

Tsunade stood up and looked at Li Yao, who was staring at Naruto with great interest. The killing intent in her eyes was so real that it turned into sharp blades that pierced Li Yao's body.

Even someone as strong as Li Yao couldn't help but tremble when faced with Tsunade's murderous gaze, prompting him to slap her soft, plump peach-shaped buttocks hard.

Snapped!

"Stop fooling around, wait quietly."

"Um……"

Perhaps her body was too sensitive to Li Yao, because Tsunade couldn't help but blush and let out a soft moan as the waves crashed around her. She didn't see that fleeting, alluring charm, otherwise it would have lingered in her mind.

"A tug-of-war of wills and spirit?"

"interesting!"

Li Yao bent down slightly and stared at the Nine-Tails Naruto sitting cross-legged in front of him. Although he did not enter Naruto's mental space to check, he had already guessed that Naruto was taming the Nine-Tails' chakra and engaging in a tug-of-war of mental will with the Nine-Tails' chakra.

Whoever wins will gain control of the other's power.

The contest of wills and mental strength is dangerous; it's a 50/50 affair until the very last moment.

Even though Naruto is currently at a disadvantage and seems to be being assimilated, as long as he doesn't suddenly turn evil, it means that Naruto's willpower has withstood the most dangerous stage.

The next step is to see if Naruto can find himself again.

Li Yao carefully sensed Naruto's mental state at that moment.

Having just experienced the wonders of willpower with Matthias, Li Yao wouldn't miss another opportunity to experience them.

Therefore, Li Yao still did not make a move against Naruto.

Even though he knew that if Naruto won the battle of wills and mastered the Nine-Tails' chakra, his strength would increase significantly, Li Yao didn't care. Nothing was more important than exploring the mysteries of will.

"What exactly do you want to do?"

Tsunade was puzzled by the strange scene where Li Yao seemed unwilling to attack Naruto, as she couldn't kill him with her eyes and couldn't move him with her hands.

Li Yao ignored Tsunade and focused on Naruto.

Tsunade frowned in thought, recalling the events that followed Li Yao's appearance. Suddenly, she realized a crucial point.

"Li Yao doesn't want to kill me!"

That's right, Li Yao didn't intend to kill her. Tsunade thought back carefully and realized that Li Yao could have killed her several times, so there was no need to keep her alive.

"Could it be... that this guy is...?"

Tsunade's gaze lingered on Li Yao's lower body, her cheeks inexplicably flushing red. She then shook her head, erasing the speculation from her mind.

Although Tsunade didn't spend much time with Li Yao, she was certain that he wasn't the type to be attracted to beautiful women, or rather, even if he were, he wouldn't let Naruto go for her sake.

So the most likely explanation is that Li Yao still has a use for her, at least he won't kill her now.

Thinking of this, Tsunade's expression changed, and after taking a deep breath, her gaze gradually hardened.

"Li Yao, can you spare Naruto and the other survivors of Konoha? If you spare them, I... I'll let you do whatever you want with me from now on."

"Otherwise... I'll kill myself right here!"

Li Yao turned around and saw Tsunade with her neck tilted back, looking as if she were bravely going to her death, once again demonstrating her responsibility as the Fifth Hokage.

She was truly willing to give everything for Konoha, even her life.

It was a pity, but Li Yao glanced at Tsunade and then ignored her. It didn't matter if she died; he could always be resurrected with Edo Tensei. Li Yao didn't care at all.

This left Tsunade stunned.

After Tsunade's face turned pale and then red, she finally abandoned her pride as Hokage, knelt down in front of Li Yao, and decided to use her unparalleled eloquence to subdue him.

(End of this chapter)