Mount Myōboku.
Fukasaku was stunned silent by what the Great Toad Sage had just said. It took him a long moment to respond.
"But Elder… Didn't you once say that after the great upheaval a thousand years ago, the world was no longer suitable for us toads to live in?"
"Mm," the Great Toad Sage murmured thoughtfully.
"Ever since the Sage of Six Paths founded Ninshū, this planet evolved into what is now the shinobi world. From that point on, we've only been able to descend into this world temporarily through summoning contracts with humans."
"Go summon Jiraiya immediately. I still have one final mission for him. And once he departs..."
"Our old friend will be arriving as well."
Fukasaku frowned, his white brows furrowing.
"Old friend?"
The Great Toad Sage closed his eyes.
"Yes... Though their temper isn't the best."
Land of Fire
Whoosh!
Naruto appeared out of thin air in a quiet mountain hollow, carrying the unconscious Five-Tails' jinchūriki, Han, on his back. He gently laid Han down, then set up a simple barrier around them before sitting on a large stone, waiting for word from Kurama.
Inside the seal space, Kurama had his eyes closed, using the innate resonance between tailed beasts to communicate directly with Kokuō.
"Kurama, what's going on between you and this human? I never thought someone as proud as you would bow to a human—like the Eight-Tails did! What, the more tails you have, the more likely you are to kneel to them? And about what you said earlier... is it true that the Ten-Tails has broken free?"
"Kokuō, how could I ever bow to a human? Even that brat Asura had to beg me back in the day before I lent him my power. What I have with Naruto is a true partnership—one of equals."
"'Equals'... heh. And how is that any different from submission? Kurama, you're still the same as you were back when we were young..."
"Shut it, Kokuō. If I weren't worried you'd get swallowed by the Ten-Tails because of your cluelessness, I wouldn't have risked Naruto's life by rushing here from the Land of Fire to save you. Now do what I said earlier—give your chakra to Naruto. Then you'll understand just how dangerous things have become for all of us tailed beasts."
"Fine. If even you say so, Kurama, I'll see what's so special about this kid. It's just a bit of chakra, after all."
Their conversation ended. Back in the seal space, Kurama opened his eyes.
"Naruto, get ready to fist-bump Kokuō. Your seal's still intact, so you'll need to use sealing jutsu to absorb its chakra into your body."
Naruto looked up at him.
"That's easy enough… but why insist on me taking Kokuō's chakra?"
Kurama grinned.
"I told you before—we tailed beasts remember favors. Besides, once you have a portion of Kokuō's chakra, I can contact it directly in the future if the Akatsuki act again. That way, I won't need to bother you to intervene."
Naruto's gaze sharpened.
"Wait… even with all of us sealed in different hosts, you can still communicate across seals?"
Kurama nodded.
"We tailed beasts are the physical embodiment of nature's energy in the shinobi world. We all come from the same source. Even if we're separated by continents, we can always reach each other. Don't worry—our conversations are completely private. Even if someone controls us, no human can hear them."
Naruto believed him. In the original timeline, even when the tailed beasts were sealed within the Ten-Tails during the war, they could still communicate among themselves—and even Naruto couldn't always hear what they said.
Still, Naruto's eyes gleamed with a new idea.
"Kurama, actually... I think now's the perfect chance for Kokuō to gain freedom."
Kurama, however, shook his head.
"I know what you're thinking. Killing its jinchūriki would indeed allow Kokuō to revive after three years, but the damage to its chakra network would be severe."
"And with the Ten-Tails now loose, it would be drawn to any tailed beast roaming free. That kind of attention might be even more dangerous."
Naruto chuckled.
"Kurama, why don't you ask Kokuō how it feels about this? Maybe it wants to be free."
Kurama thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Fine. Once it passes its chakra to you, I'll ask. That'll be safer anyway. Even if it does revive later, I'll still be able to contact it. Now go—Kokuō is ready!"
Naruto exited the seal space and opened his eyes—just in time to see Han, still unconscious, now shrouded in a thin layer of glowing crimson chakra. His body was half-kneeling on the ground, his head limp, one fist nearly touching Naruto's mask.
Naruto stood from the stone platform and stepped back. Forming a rapid hand seal with one hand, he extended the other toward Han's chakra-covered fist and gently placed his own knuckles against it.
Instantly, the chakra on Han's fist surged like a living entity, crawling up Naruto's arm. Within seconds, he too was enveloped in the same semi-transparent crimson chakra.
But then Naruto frowned—he could feel this chakra actively stirring up his inner negative emotions.
[WARNING: Mental realm intrusion detected.]
[Defense system active. Choose to forcibly expel or forcibly capture target.]
Just as the chakra began misbehaving, a system prompt echoed through the Mirror World.
Moments later, the chakra coiling around Naruto settled down—and Kurama's voice came through the seal again.
"Get to it, Naruto. I told it to behave, but it didn't believe me."
Following the cue, Naruto smacked his palm onto his abdomen. From that point, a glowing sealing formula spread across his body like a lattice of chains, pulling the crimson chakra inward like it was meeting its natural predator.
[WARNING: Mental realm intrusion detected.]
[Defense system active. Choose to forcibly expel or forcibly capture target.]
As the last trace of chakra vanished from Naruto's body, the seal space shimmered—and a new presence emerged.
A white beast with the body of a stallion, five tails, and a dolphin-like head with four horns now stood within the seal.
"Kurama, this kid's... interesting."
"Hmph! When have I ever lied?"
Naruto, hearing both tailed beasts, projected his consciousness into the seal. He was surprised—Kokuō was shockingly small compared to Kurama.
At Naruto's current height of around 1.3 meters, Kokuō stood only slightly taller than him, looking more like one of the baby-tailed beasts from the anime.
"Kurama, did you tell it what I suggested earlier?"
Kokuō tilted its head and asked Kurama:
"What suggestion?"
Kurama didn't answer. Instead, he stood and extended his paw toward Naruto. Naruto fist-bumped, then turned silently to look at the small Kokuō.
Feeling awkward under the stare, Kokuō asked:
"Kurama, what did you guys say?"
Kurama flicked an ear lazily.
"Link chakra with Naruto so he can show you the truth about the Ten-Tails."
Kokuō blinked in confusion and raised a hoof toward Naruto.
"And... how do I see it?"
Expressionless, Naruto clenched his fist and tapped it against the hoof.
[WARNING: Mental realm intrusion detected.]
[Defense system active. Choose to forcibly expel or forcibly capture target.]
[Link established. Guest: Kokuō. Welcome to the Mirror World.]
Just like with Kurama earlier, Kokuō was transported into a brand-new space. Though it didn't recognize the system voice, curiosity bloomed.
To Naruto's surprise, Kokuō regained its full size in the Mirror World, now appearing in its true tailed beast form—large, powerful, majestic.
Kokuō looked around.
"Where... is this place?"
Naruto waved his hand, conjuring a massive floating display in front of it.
Moments later, he returned with Kokuō to the seal space.
But this time, the Five-Tails seemed visibly unsettled.
Naruto looked up at Kurama.
"Kokuō knows about the Akatsuki and the Ten-Tails now. I also told it about the proposal."
Kurama nodded solemnly.
"Then all that's left… is its decision."
Elsewhere – Mount Myōboku
Suddenly, an elderly human woman appeared, levitating eerily in front of the Great Toad Sage. Despite her age, she hovered at head height, eyes narrowed and a kiseru (smoking pipe) clamped between her lips.
"Gamamaru… I gotta say, I admire your foresight. No—your hindsight. You've always been steps ahead. Makes me want to gobble you up in one bite!"
The Great Toad Sage opened his heavy eyelids and spoke calmly.
"White Snake… Fate has changed. I now see a path of true cooperation between Ryūchi Cave and Mount Myōboku."
The old woman exhaled smoke.
"Of course I've seen it too. But not nearly as far ahead as you have, you old toad."
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