Shinigami in the Ninja World

Raikage A raised his head, his facial features contorted into a grimace.

The physical pain had already begun to numb.

But the pain in his heart lingered.

He looked at Naruto.

This was just a boy in his teens!

His gaze shifted past the blond hair toward another battlefield that had yet to settle.

The Eight-Tails was still locked in fierce combat with the Nine-Tails. This tailed beast, which had caused so much suffering for the entire village when it rampaged, was now being beaten down, with four or five of its tails severed. It was barely managing to protect its only remaining "horn," but it didn't seem like it could hold out much longer.

A closed his eyes, his expression becoming even more ferocious.

Why did things turn out like this?

Even within the village, there were those who opposed him mobilizing such a large force.

Both the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails Jinchuriki were deployed, along with a team of nearly fifty people, nearly half of whom were Jonin.

Even an attack on the Five Great Nations wouldn't require such a configuration.

But it was all useless!

The tactics he had carefully planned out were completely ineffective.

There were too many unforeseen circumstances.

Why had the Nine-Tails emerged?

It's well-known that when a tailed beast escapes from its Jinchuriki, the Jinchuriki dies. This has been common knowledge since the concept of Jinchuriki was created.

But somehow, this didn't happen to Uzumaki Naruto.

The Jinchuriki of the Cloud Village couldn't cooperate.

The ninja forces were also useless, without even a trace of them getting involved.

The only thing A could think of was that jutsu that "prevents the weak from taking action."

But even the Jonin couldn't move under the pressure of his "aura."

And beyond that, Uzumaki Naruto's strength far exceeded the level of the "Three Legendary Sannin."

From the moment A learned about the situation on this battlefield to when he was teleported here using the "Heavenly Transfer Technique," it was just a matter of minutes.

But in those few minutes, both Dodai and C had already been killed.

The way they died must have been similar to Darui and the others.

Killed in an instant, without the ability to resist.

How could he be this strong?

This went beyond A's understanding of what a "ninja" could be.

A reopened his eyes and looked at Naruto.

The blond boy was still gazing into the distance, in the direction of the Cloud Village.

In the distance, he could vaguely make out a team of ninjas leaping towards them.

"I understand," A said, his voice heavy. "The Cloud Village has already paid a heavy price for initiating this conflict with you."

"And it has sobered me up."

"Let's end it here. We will make a compensation that will satisfy you."

Naruto raised his hand, and the chains retracted with a swishing sound.

The ground beneath them suddenly gave way.

The Two-Tails, which had been sealed, immediately retreated back into Yugito's body the moment it lost the feeling of restraint.

Naruto lifted A and landed on the ground.

Yugito's expression was dazed; this was the most humiliating defeat she'd ever experienced since becoming a Jinchuriki.

"Aren't you going to stop the fight between the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails?" A looked up.

The octopus was in a pitiful state, while the fox was overjoyed.

It had already broken through the Eight-Tails' defenses multiple times, slashing at its horn. A few more strikes, and it would fall off.

Naruto shook his head. "Their battle is a way of communicating."

"It will end soon."

"Don't worry, the Jinchuriki will be fine."

He turned his head to look elsewhere.

"The battle over there is over too."

In another part of the forest.

Karin pulled a kunai out of a Jonin's throat.

She was in bad shape.

One of her arms was broken, several ribs were fractured, her chakra was in disarray, and her face was covered in blood.

"Thank you, Nine-Tails," she said weakly, sitting down on the ground.

Facing a Jonin alone had proven too difficult for her.

Without the Nine-Tails' help, she would have died here.

"You weren't bad either," the Yin Nine-Tails said, flicking its tail and landing lightly from a tree. Its body was now about the size of a horse, having drawn some power from the seal. "Your will was strong. I thought you would completely give up after being severely injured."

Karin shook her head. "I'll leave the rest to you."

"These injuries can't be healed in a short time."

The Yin Nine-Tails thought for a moment, staring intently at Karin, as if struggling with something.

Karin's face was serious. "What's wrong? I don't sense anyone approaching."

The Yin Nine-Tails sighed, swung its tail, gently wrapping Karin up, and placed her on its back. "Considering you're that brat Naruto's relative and you've pleased me, just this once."

Karin smiled and stroked its fur with her uninjured hand.

So that was what it was hesitating about.

The Nine-Tails really has a strange sense of pride.

"Don't worry about new enemies. The battle over there is already over," the Yin Nine-Tails said. "The Cloud Village has surrendered."

"My other self is still fighting the Eight-Tails."

"He seems to be having a lot of fun."

It carried Karin, quickly heading towards the battlefield.

Raikage A looked puzzled.

The battle over there?

Oh...

'Is that the little girl from the Uzumaki clan? Was the battle with her also difficult for the Cloud?'

While he was contemplating, a deep red figure landed on the ground.

"Naruto, quickly take her down," an impatient voice urged, even before standing firm. "She's quite the tricky one!"

"Are all the Uzumaki clan's hands so untrustworthy?"

Naruto walked over and picked her up, glancing at her to assess her injuries.

"That was a tough battle," Naruto said softly.

Karin grinned, beaming brightly. "I'm pretty awesome, Naruto! A Chunin squad led by a Jonin—I took down all the Chunin myself."

"Although I needed the Nine-Tails' help with the Jonin, I ultimately killed him."

Hope flickered in her eyes.

Naruto raised his hand, placed it on her, and spoke in response to her expectation, "Well done! Karin has become stronger too."

A light, intertwined with green and gold, welled up in his palm, falling like rain as it began to heal her injuries.

Karin hummed and grinned even more brightly.

Yugito and the Raikage, A, were uncontrollably astonished. They looked up towards another battlefield where the Nine-Tails' massive body loomed. Then they looked back at the red figure before them. Though it wasn't as huge, the nine tails and massive chakra left no doubt—it was also the Nine-Tails.

Two Nine-Tails? Can Tailed Beasts reproduce?

Raikage A's mouth twitched. What kind of monster had he provoked? A Jinchuriki of unfathomable depth, along with two Tailed Beasts that could leave his body and fight independently.

This was far beyond the intelligence he had. He did not blame his Anbu. Even Konoha likely didn't have this information. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, who would have believed it?

The conflict on the last battlefield finally subsided. With one slash, the Nine-Tails severed the last horn of the Eight-Tails.

"That's quite a trophy." The Nine-Tails sheathed its blade, grinned broadly, turned its head, and looked at Naruto. "Naruto, quickly put this away. The horn of the Eight-Tails! It's my trophy!"

The Eight-Tails gritted its teeth, the last two of its tails whipping about. Not only had the Nine-Tails grown stronger, but its mouth had also become fouler!

Three days later, in the conference room within the Cloud Village, the Raikage sat in a wheelchair, having lost a leg and an arm. The short few days felt like decades to him, and the passage of this "conceptual" time was etched into his face.

Also present were a few young faces. The Cloud's elite forces had been nearly wiped out in that battle.

"Uzumaki-sama," Raikage A seemed to want to stand up, but after several failed attempts to push himself up, he could only sit in his chair and bow, apologizing to Naruto. "The Cloud Village apologizes for initiating the conflict. And we agree to all your compensation demands."

His voice was far from calm. Since the Cloud Village was established, in wars big and small, whether won or lost, they had never before offered such significant compensation. Not even ten years ago, when the Third Hokage was still alive, and they had attempted to abduct the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan and failed.

The Cloud Village didn't compensate Konoha then, and even drove a member of the Hyuga branch to their death.

"Then please first tell me the location of the Falls of Truth," Naruto's tone was calm.

Raikage A looked up. "Before that, may I ask one question?"

Naruto nodded. "Go ahead."

"If the Cloud Village hadn't initiated the conflict, would you have..." Raikage A began to ask.

But before he could finish, Naruto interrupted him, "I despise meaningless battles. If you hadn't initiated it, I wouldn't have attacked the Cloud Village. I'm just a traveler, searching for something in the Land of Lightning, nothing more."

"If Cloud Village had something I needed... Just as I did with the Mist Village, I'd be willing to trade with the Cloud Village to achieve my goal."

Raikage A nodded heavily.

Naruto looked at the two Jinchuriki seated beside the Raikage. "I also gave you a chance. After subduing the Two-Tails, I only wanted to see a fight between the Nine-Tails and the Eight-Tails. But you still resolutely attacked me. Punishment was inevitable."

He paused slightly, his tone softening. "There's no need to be so saddened. From the perspective of the living, death is the end. But for life, death is merely the start of another journey. I did not destroy their souls. In the Pure Land, you will meet again."

Raikage A looked up. This sounded like a threat... As if he was prepared to send them to the Pure Land at any moment. But Naruto's gaze was sincere, earnest. Did he... truly believe this?

"Why are you interested in the Falls of Truth l?" Killer B asked, his tone heavy, no longer rapping in his usual odd manner. "Your relationship with the Nine-Tails is so harmonious, you should already be a perfect Jinchuriki, right?"

His gaze fell on the two foxes on Naruto's shoulder.

"Do I need to explain?" Naruto smiled at him. "If the Eight-Tails wants to know, then after we finish discussing compensation, I'll talk to it personally."

Killer B fell silent.

Raikage A sighed. "The Falls of Truth is a very ancient legend. I don't know where you heard about it, Uzumaki-sama. Within the Cloud Village, there aren't many who even believe it exists. However, it does exist and is one of the highest secrets of the Cloud Village."

~~~

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