"How have you been feeling lately? Is the erosion phenomenon the same as before?"
"Much better. I can barely feel that deep chakra erosion anymore, that feeling like I could lose control at any moment. It means the treatment plan is working, but… maybe it's just my imagination, I feel it's not just the treatment. There might be other influencing factors I can't quite pinpoint."
"What exactly do you mean? Can you elaborate?"
"It's hard to say specifically. It just feels like the deep-seated mental imprint he left in the curse mark suddenly vanished. Because of that, the danger level seems to have dropped several notches."
The two conversing were Kushina Uzumaki and Anko Mitarashi, discussing the Curse Mark issue on Anko's body. Anko was once Orochimaru's disciple, and before leaving Konoha, Orochimaru had left his student a small parting gift—an unfinished, prototype Curse Mark.
One could only say Anko Mitarashi was tough. To become Orochimaru's disciple naturally required exceptional qualities. After enduring a round of agony, she survived the Curse Mark's application, but its intense corrosive nature later brought her immense suffering.
To resolve her problem, Kushina Uzumaki had previously attempted to replace Orochimaru's Curse Seal of Heaven with the Curse Seal of Man—essentially filling the space with something similar while simultaneously stripping away the source of pain. It was like using the Curse Seal of Man as an inactivated vaccine.
This approach was correct and effective. However, because the mental imprint left by Orochimaru's Curse Mark was incredibly deep, Kushina could only proceed cautiously, step by step, advancing the treatment in stages. But for some unknown reason, lately, Orochimaru's Curse Mark had become significantly easier to remove.
Kushina pondered this, then speculated, "Could it be related to Orochimaru having died previously? Although he revived later, he was sealed by the Third Hokage…"
But she immediately dismissed the thought. "No, that's not right. A curse mark infused with such a deep mental imprint is designed precisely to persist even after Orochimaru's death. It even hides some intent related to potential resurrection. Therefore, it cannot lose its effectiveness just because he died; that would contradict its design purpose."
After mulling it over, Kushina could only think of one scenario that best fit the situation, but would Orochimaru really do that? "Unless… Orochimaru voluntarily abandoned this mental imprint…"
Meaning, Orochimaru perhaps decided this particular curse mark experiment held no further value and thus no longer cared about it.
For Anko, who had endured so much torment, this should be a good thing. Yet, Kushina recalled Anko's tendency to be psychologically manipulated by Orochimaru. Might the judgment of being "worthless" and "abandoned" actually be a blow to her?
Anko certainly didn't enjoy being tormented, but she likely dreaded hearing "You're useless now, so the torment isn't necessary" even more. Compared to that, continued suffering might seem preferable, as it implied she still held value… It smacked slightly of Stockholm Syndrome.
"Regardless, this is an excellent opportunity, Anko," Kushina decided, setting aside the 'why'. "You can now completely break free from Orochimaru's control." Her task, after all, was simply to thoroughly remove Orochimaru's Curse Mark.
Orochimaru was far away, not a present concern. Rescuing Anko Mitarashi was the priority now.
Anko nodded, her voice tinged with happiness. "Alright! I can finally get rid of this thing's control!"
Emotional intelligence is crucial. If told Orochimaru had abandoned her, she'd surely be upset. But framing it as her actively severing ties with him posed no problem. It was a matter of who dumped whom; the sequence was vital.
Habara seemingly stood merely beside the sleeping Naruto, but in reality, his consciousness had already plunged into the confines of the Eight Trigrams Seal.
The colossal figure of the Nine-Tails materialized before him, separated only by the "iron bars" of the seal. Its tyrannical aura washed over him, raw and unrestrained.
"Konoha ninja, why do you appear before me?" the Nine-Tails rumbled, its voice low and menacing, gazing at the minuscule figure.
Its initial surge of hatred and hostility seemed to vanish in a flash. In the blink of an eye, it adopted an air of extreme laziness, slumping down with its head resting on its forepaws, resembling nothing more than a harmless zoo animal long domesticated by humans.
Undoubtedly, this fox was exceedingly cunning. It didn't know the intruder's intentions, but it instinctively chose disguise and deception from the outset.
However, its cleverness and cunning were judged by animal standards; compared to humans, they amounted to little. The Nine-Tails was certainly stronger than most humans, but to say it was more malicious than most humans? That point seemed debatable.
Habara chuckled softly. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Habara. We met once before, several years ago, though you might not remember clearly. Your mind wasn't exactly lucid at the time, after all."
This single sentence nearly shattered the Nine-Tails' facade. With its intelligence, it naturally understood Habara was alluding to the recent incident where it was controlled by the Sharingan's genjutsu. It took considerable effort for the beast to restrain its fury.
Though, truthfully, the Nine-Tails had been controlled by the Sharingan so often that if it were considered shameful, it had lost face countless times over already.
Seeing the Nine-Tails remain silent, Habara continued, "As for my purpose here… I was thinking, Nine-Tails, you are also a member of Konoha. Now that the New Konoha is under construction, theoretically, you too should contribute your strength."
Why else would Habara visit the Nine-Tails? It could only be because he had his eyes set on its vast chakra reserves. Currently, Konoha had two chakra-based life forms. Daigo was originally human, a ninja; her thoughts and mindset were human, possessing a complete moral compass and bound by human ethics. Thus, she was controllable and immensely beneficial to Konoha.
The Nine-Tails' situation was the complete opposite of Daigo's. Therefore, why not transfer its chakra to Daigo's side?
He had, of course, already obtained permission. The higher-ups had allowed him to attempt controlling the Nine-Tails; otherwise, he couldn't possibly approach it like this. Remember, the Jinchuriki was Kushina Uzumaki's son. Without permission, how could they let him interfere?
"Konoha needs my chakra?" the Nine-Tails scoffed. "Konoha has always needed my chakra, from beginning to end. But guess why I'm still caged like this?"
Habara had neither the time nor the ability to 'convert' the Nine-Tails. "As I said," he stated firmly, "this isn't a question of willingness, but of obligation."
The Nine-Tails believed itself unbound, unyielding even while sealed. Yet, in reality, it was constrained.
It naturally dismissed Habara's words with contempt. However, the next moment, its gaze sharpened drastically, and it involuntarily lurched to its feet.
Because it saw Habara take something out, holding it aloft in one hand—the key to the Eight Trigrams Seal. The Nine-Tails felt the call of freedom.
"Regardless of your intentions or mine, opening the gate is the first step. Mr. Nine-Tails, could you perhaps back up a bit? You're too close to the entrance; it makes me nervous. You are, after all, exceedingly powerful," Habara said.
Yes, whatever Habara planned, tricking him into opening the gate was paramount. In that instant, the proud Nine-Tails behaved less like a fox and more like an eager mutt, obediently retreating a considerable distance.
This just proves the prey can never outsmart the hunter. Just before the gate opened, Habara suddenly "Gigantamaxed," first transforming into a giant white-scaled serpent, which then sprouted eight heads—the Yamata no Orochi.
But regardless, the seal's gate swung open.
The Nine-Tails couldn't care less what Habara transformed into. The moment the gate opened, it charged forward recklessly. But immediately, excruciating pain shot through its lower limbs, halting its momentum abruptly. It roared in fury, looking back to see several silvery-white chains piercing its legs.
"UZUMAKI!"
Under the Nine-Tails' struggles, the immense force pulled the chakra chains taut, emitting loud creaking sounds. Yet, no matter how it thrashed, it couldn't break them.
If one were to ask the difference between Kushina Uzumaki being alive versus dead, one crucial point would be the integrity of the Eight Trigrams Seal. With the adult Kushina present, the Nine-Tails within Naruto could not rampage uncontrollably.
Kushina Uzumaki had been personally selected by Mito Uzumaki as the second Jinchuriki for the Nine-Tails. As long as she lived, with the passage of time, she would increasingly resemble Mito Uzumaki… the Mito Uzumaki whom the Nine-Tails detested.
So, the Nine-Tails' personal desires were irrelevant. Whether it was willing or not, someone could always utilize its chakra in KCM mode.
Pitch-black scales erupted, covering the eight-headed serpent's body entirely, making it appear even more ferocious.
Habara entered the seal's enclosure, and the great gate swung shut behind him. This was expected; if Habara intended to tamper with the Nine-Tails, Kushina Uzumaki would naturally have made thorough preparations. Otherwise, she wouldn't have remained completely absent; her absence stemmed from her absolute confidence in the preparations here.
The giant serpent advanced towards the Nine-Tails. The next moment, a forty-meter blade erupted from beneath the Nine-Tails like a mountain range, its massive edge instantly piercing the fox's 'shoulder blade.'
The sudden attack elicited a pained roar from the Nine-Tails. By then, Habara had lunged. However, the anticipated earth-shattering battle didn't occur. The situation devolved into something almost comical… Eight heads and nine tails became entangled in a writhing ball, a rather SAN-draining sight.
Habara was here to mug the Nine-Tails for its chakra, not for a proper fight. Aesthetics were irrelevant at this point.
Here, the mini-Orochimaru demonstrated a classic serpentine technique for taking down large prey: constriction. Serpent bodies wrapped around the Nine-Tails, tightening incrementally, second by second.
The Nine-Tails began to suffocate, its tongue lolling out. But such methods couldn't truly finish it off; it was, after all, the strongest of the Tailed Beasts. However, the serpent was infuriatingly persistent. During the prolonged struggle, the Nine-Tails' concentration wavered for an instant. That single lapse led to an irreversible outcome. The next moment, it felt its body loosen; the suffocating constriction and pain vanished.
The seal gate opened and closed again. Looking now, Habara was already outside the enclosure.
But the Nine-Tails felt no joy at being released. It instinctively looked down at one of its tails and discovered that from the midpoint to the tip, the familiar orange fur was gone. Covering it instead were pure white scales.
Where the scales met its fur, rings of silver chakra chains—Adamantine Sealing Chains—coiled like circlets. Beneath these chains lay a Suppression Seal, designed to block chakra flow.
The Nine-Tails could still control the tail, but it felt strangely numb. Moreover, it could sense some parasitic entity gradually eroding and assimilating its chakra from that section.
Undoubtedly, Habara had repeated the reverse-assimilation operation he used when consuming the Dragon Vein. However, unlike the inanimate Dragon Vein, the Nine-Tails struggled and resisted, preventing Habara from succeeding all at once.
He had left his chakra 'parasite' on the Nine-Tails to slowly erode it over time. He couldn't confront the entire Nine-Tails directly, but with Kushina Uzumaki's help and the isolating seal, he didn't need to be greedy. Time was plentiful; he could just take small bites… Within the confines of that isolated half-tail, Habara's chakra surpassed the Nine-Tails'. The rest was simply a matter of the big fish eating the small fish.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" the Nine-Tails questioned Habara with boundless fury.
Habara merely gave the Nine-Tails a thumbs-up. "White-scaled Nine-Tails, shiny silver leg ring, absolute tail territory… Very nice."