Jiraiya directly told Naruto to die, which left him completely shocked.
"Huh? You want me to die?" Naruto pointed at himself, his face filled with disbelief.
Jiraiya was very serious and clearly not joking. "Release a surge of chakra through the instinct of survival. Use your own body to experience and find the key. If you don't want to die, figure it out yourself!"
Shindai half-squatted in front of Naruto, smiling brightly. "I think the first two times, you didn't grasp anything at all. Its power is essentially yours, so you have to claim and wield it yourself. Don't wait for the Nine-Tails to grant it to you, or you'll remain passive forever. Alright, if you don't want to get smashed into bits, do your best~
Oh right, if you manage to see it, give my regards. Also, you should remember what I told you before, right? Be sure to communicate with it properly. It acts cold but secretly cares—it can be quite eccentric."
Shindai extended his hand and placed it on Naruto's chest.
The next second, he was instantly repelled and fell straight off the cliff.
"Ah!"
Naruto let out a heartrending scream.
Jiraiya and Shindai stood at the edge of the cliff, watching Naruto plummet.
Jiraiya murmured solemnly, "Now it's time to see whether the power granted to you can truly become yours. Shindai, keep an eye on things."
Shindai nodded. "Don't worry. I just magnetized Naruto. The moment anything goes wrong, I'll stop it."
The rapid freefall and weightlessness almost made Naruto lose control of himself.
If he crashed onto the ground like this, it'd be a miracle if he survived.
Naruto focused his chakra, attempting to cling to the cliffside rocks.
However, the cliff had been worn smooth by years of water flow, leaving the surface extremely slick. Plus, falling at such speed, with Naruto's current chakra control ability, there was absolutely no way he could grip the wall.
Therefore... the only option left was to rely on the Nine-Tails' chakra and try opening that door his own way.
This was Jiraiya's current thought.
Yet what happened next completely shocked both Shindai and Jiraiya.
[Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu]
Naruto used shadow clones to toss his real body upward. Then, once his main body regained balance, another clone appeared beneath his foot for him to jump off, significantly slowing his descent.
If things continued like this, Naruto would land safely.
Jiraiya's mouth slightly opened. "During these past few days of training, he seemed pretty slow on the uptake. How come he suddenly became so smart now?"
Shindai also wore an expression of shock as he said, "Unbelievable! Did this method actually make him smarter?"
Immediately afterward, Jiraiya shouted Shindai's name.
Shindai responded quickly, "I know!"
Shindai formed hand seals and pressed both hands onto the ground. Using his magnetic chakra, he directly interfered with Naruto's magnetized chakra, preventing Naruto from successfully creating Shadow Clones.
Naruto's scream of pain echoed once again.
Looking in terror at the rapidly approaching ground below him, Naruto's heart pounded wildly.
At this rate...he was really going to die!
The word 'death' echoed repeatedly in Naruto's mind.
In a daze, Naruto found himself standing in a sewer.
Confused, Naruto looked around. Shouldn't he still be falling off the cliff?
Suddenly, he heard growling sounds.
Following the growls, Naruto walked deeper into the sewer.
This feeling... is this the Nine-Tails' chakra?
Trusting his instincts, Naruto arrived at the farthest end of the sewer tunnel where an enormous cage door stood before him.
Behind the bars of the cage loomed the terrifying Nine-Tails.
Staring blankly at the Nine-Tails, Naruto's brain completely froze.
The Nine-Tails' voice rumbled out: "Kid, come closer!"
Naruto took a few steps forward when suddenly the Nine-Tails lunged toward him. Fortunately, the cage door blocked its claws.
Still, Naruto was so frightened that he fell backward onto the ground.
"I'd love to eat you right now, but I can't break through this door—the damn Seal!"
Regaining his senses, Naruto stared at the Nine-Tails in disbelief. "So you're...the Nine-Tails?"
"You actually came looking for me by yourself? What do you want?"
Sitting down, Naruto scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Wait, wasn't there something someone told me before? When I met you, they said I should call you... uh... Nine-Horn! That's right—Nine-Horn!"
The Nine-Tails suddenly roared furiously, the sheer force of its roar sending Naruto tumbling backward several times.
"It's Kurama! Not Nine-Horn!"
Rubbing his sore butt as he stood back up, Naruto grumbled angrily, "What's the big deal? It was just a mistake! You're so loud anyway—it's like listening to a horn."
The Nine-Tails glared fiercely at Naruto with a menacing look on its face. "It must've been that man who told you, right? That fool Shindai!"
"Huh? You know Shindai?" Naruto asked, puzzled.
The fox-like beast's expression turned bitter.
Back when it was still free, Shindai had declared to it, "I am the one you Tailed Beasts have been waiting for! I am the Child of the Prophecy!"
Because it hesitated for just a moment too long after hearing those words, it failed to kill Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki before being sealed away.
At that time, Kurama hadn't believed him because Shindai didn't have Blue Eyes.
But Shindai insisted that the term 'Blue Eyes' wasn't literal; it symbolized something deeper—purity of heart, fairness, nobility, and unwavering righteousness.
Ever since being sealed inside Naruto, Kurama had never stopped thinking about those words.
Nine-Tails found it somewhat plausible, since the Sage of Six Paths was known for speaking in riddles. Perhaps Blue Eyes wasn't about eye color at all. Since Shindai claimed to be the Child of the Prophecy, there was a good chance he really was—the tail beasts were the only ones who knew about this matter, and the fact that Shindai, a human, knew it too suggested it might truly be him.
But...why couldn't he bring himself to believe it?!
Words Shindai once said to Naruto now surfaced in his memory.
Naruto coughed and said, "He said I should tell you this if I ever saw you."
Nine-Tails eyed Naruto suspiciously: "What did he say?"
Naruto replied while recalling, "Shindai said that what he previously told you was a lie. The Child of the Prophecy and Blue Eyes weren't about you at all—the real one is right under your nose."
When Nine-Tails heard Naruto's words, he immediately exploded, roaring furiously as he slammed against the cage door, "Kid, open this seal right now! I'm going to kill that bastard!"
Naruto flinched, confused by Nine-Tails' sudden outburst.
Nine-Tails was livid. He had agonized over whether Shindai was truly the Child of the Prophecy, only to find out it was all a lie!
Naruto realized that since he could see Nine-Tails, he must be here in spirit only. His real body was still falling out there somewhere.
Desperately, Naruto shouted, "Hey! You stupid fox, since you're hiding in my body, hand over some chakra already! Call it rent!"
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