The Nine-Tails had known agony.
When it was sealed inside Uzumaki Mito and later Uzumaki Kushina, its entire body had been pinned beneath searing, molten pillars of chakra—each one etched with chains that burned hotter than magma. Compared to that, this "iron cage" inside Naruto Uzumaki's mind was practically a guest suite.
No wonder the beast had never gone berserk under Mito or Kushina. Forget the strength of their seals—their Adamantine Chains alone were enough to suppress even a creature born of hatred. When Kushina had been dying, her half-formed chains had still immobilized the Nine-Tails. If it hadn't been forcibly extracted, it would never have escaped her at all.
Yoruha had always wanted to learn that technique—the Adamantine Sealing Chains—but it was a bloodline art of the Uzumaki. Even Kakashi didn't know it.
So when Yoruha stepped into Naruto's inner world—the vast, dim chamber where the Nine-Tails was confined—he did so calmly, calculating every breath.
The giant iron doors creaked open.
Inside, darkness stirred.
A pair of blood-red eyes snapped open, glowing like coals in the void. The beast shifted, its tails scraping against the bars.
"Huh? Not that brat again?"
Its voice rumbled like thunder.
When Yoruha stepped fully through the gate, the Nine-Tails' expression twisted in fury.
"You're not Naruto!"
It rose to its full height and roared. The force of that sound slammed outward like a hurricane—Yoruha felt it ripple through his bones. Had the roar been unleashed in the real world, it would have flattened a forest. At minimum, it held the power of an A-rank wide-area jutsu.
So this was the true form of the Kyuubi no Yoko. Raw. Ancient. Terrifying.
He had heard legends, but standing before it was something else entirely. The beast wasn't merely strong—it was primordial.
Still, so long as the Eight Trigrams Seal held, the Nine-Tails couldn't escape.
If it ever did… even Yoruha wasn't certain he could win.
"As expected of the Nine-Tailed Fox,"Yoruha murmured. "Just as the legends say."
The fox's pupils narrowed.
"Hmph. You're not afraid? Interesting."
"Who are you, little human? Why are you here?"
Yoruha paused.
"You're the Nine-Tails, aren't you?"
The fox didn't answer. It watched.
"You're powerful,"Yoruha continued. "Too powerful. Which is exactly why we can't let you out. If you escaped now, there's no one left who could seal you again."
The words hit like cold iron.
"You dare—!"
The beast bellowed again, a blast of chakra pressure that forced Yoruha back several steps. Even this faint leakage of power was horrifying—a mere echo of its true strength.
If the Nine-Tails broke free now, Konoha wouldn't survive. Even the Third Hokage couldn't restrain it without first gaining control. And there was no one left alive who could wield the Adamantine Chains.
Minato had only managed the Reaper Death Seal because Kushina had immobilized the beast first. Without her, it would have been suicide.
If the seal broke now—
Naruto would die instantly.
Even Kushina, with Uzumaki vitality, had only survived a short time after extraction. A normal jinchūriki would die in seconds.
That was why Yoruha couldn't afford a single mistake. If he failed, both the boy and the village were doomed.
The Nine-Tails howled again, its massive chakra slamming against the gate. The iron bars trembled, groaning under the strain.
But Yoruha could tell—the Eight Trigrams Seal still held. For now.
It wouldn't last forever.
Every time Naruto used the fox's chakra, the seal weakened.
And telling Naruto not to use it was impossible. The boy's anger, pain, and loneliness all led inevitably to the fox.
Yoruha waited with steady patience as the beast raged itself hoarse.
When the roars finally faded, he spoke, voice quiet and sure.
"That's enough. You can scream all you like, but you should know by now—your tantrums can't hurt me."
The fox's golden eyes narrowed.
"Who are you really, boy? Why can you enter this place?"
Yoruha slipped his hands into his pockets.
"I'm Naruto's friend. I came to see the legendary Nine-Tails with my own eyes."
"And now that I've seen you…" His eyes sharpened. "I can't help but wonder how powerful the man who sealed you must have been."
"You've been tempting Naruto to use your chakra, haven't you? Trying to chip away at the Fourth Hokage's seal."
"That won't do. If you break free now, no one can stop you. That's why I'm here—to reinforce Minato-sama's sealing formula."
The Nine-Tails froze—then burst into a deep, mocking laugh.
"You? Reinforce his seal? You don't even look old enough to shave!"
"Do you even know what sealing jutsu is, brat? The Fourth used the Eight Trigrams Seal—a technique of the Uzumaki bloodline. Even I, who've been bound by three of them, know how impossible it is for anyone else to tamper with it."
Yoruha didn't bother replying.
The fox's pride was infinite.
"Believe what you want," he said calmly. "But you're staying put. Don't even think about escaping."
He clapped his hands, forming a rapid string of seals.
Then—
Golden chakra erupted from his body.
Not the warm orange of Naruto's cloak.
Pure gold—radiant, divine, heavy with power.
The Nine-Tails stopped laughing.
Its pupils constricted.
"That chakra…"
Its fur bristled.
"Why does it feel… familiar?"
Yoruha ignored it, studying the seal, mapping every swirl of Minato's formula.
But the fox wasn't watching the seal anymore.
It was staring at him.
Because the chakra pouring off Yoruha wasn't ordinary.
It was Sage Chakra—infused with the same vitality, the same boundless natural energy that had once radiated from Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage.
The same presence.
The same life force that could quell even the wildest tailed beast.
For a heartbeat—
the Nine-Tails felt something it had not felt in decades.
Fear.
"That power… it's not possible…"
Its voice quivered.
"This chakra… it's the same as that man's…"
Memories surged—deep forests, living wood, and the calm, unyielding gaze of the man who had bested it without hatred.
"Senju Hashirama…"
The beast's rumble lowered into a trembling whisper.
"You… boy… Are you his descendant?"
Yoruha opened his eyes.
The golden aura faded gradually, like sunlight slipping behind clouds.
He smiled—faint, unreadable.
"Does it matter?"
The Nine-Tails fell silent.
A silence louder than any roar.
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