The moment the transformation began, Jiraiya's face twisted in shock. He instinctively reached out to grab Naruto, but the instant his hand touched him—
Sssshhhh!
He recoiled, burned by the searing heat of Naruto's wild chakra.
"Damn it! You can't use ninjutsu in here… Naruto! Wake up! Don't get swallowed by it!"
Jiraiya was panicking now. Helpless, all he could do was watch as more tails sprouted from Naruto's back, each one thick with blood-red chakra. The oppressive aura grew heavier with each passing second.
Desperately, the Red Team tried to pull Naruto back.
---
"How is this possible…?"
On the opposite side, Black Team was frozen in disbelief. Uzumaki Karin collapsed to the ground, overwhelmed by what she was sensing.
"This chakra… It's pure malice. Hate. It's like all the darkness in the world was condensed into one beast…"
She was visibly trembling.
Hidan pointed a shaking finger toward Naruto, then turned to Nagato.
"Boss… I thought we couldn't use ninjutsu in this place. What the hell is Konoha doing?!"
Nagato, still calm, glanced down at the card in his hand and replied dryly.
"This isn't ninjutsu… This is a make-up test member making their debut."
"…What?!"
---
"The Nine Tails?!"
Other teams began to murmur as Naruto's transformation became more apparent.
It was no longer just chakra—his form was shifting.
"Jinchūriki," someone muttered. "Every village has them."
But Raikage snorted, arms crossed.
"Tch. Not even a perfect Jinchūriki, and Konoha dares call itself the number one ninja village? What a joke."
Still, his eyes narrowed. He wasn't looking at Naruto anymore—he was watching Nagato now.
If this continued, the Nine-Tails would break loose. Naruto would die.
Surely, the exam space would step in.
…But how?
---
On Team Yellow's side, Gaara watched in silence. For the second time, his icy expression cracked. His inner beast stirred with excitement, pounding against the walls of its own seal.
Shukaku could feel it too.
Gaara stepped forward, adjusting his line of sight. He needed a better look at Naruto Uzumaki.
He had found something.
He had found someone like him.
---
By the time the eighth tail had emerged, Naruto's body was completely scorched. The air smelled like charred flesh.
He was barely conscious. Pain surged through his body—but it was numb now, distant. A muffled voice called his name, over and over again, but it faded into the growing static in his mind.
All that remained inside him was rage.
The more tails appeared, the more fury overtook him.
He wanted to tear everything apart.
Then—
A tremor passed through his consciousness.
And suddenly, he was standing in a familiar dark chamber, ankle-deep in water that rippled with each step.
A massive cage loomed ahead, and behind it… a hulking, snarling, orange-red beast.
The Nine-Tails.
"Heh heh heh… Kid. Do you want power?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"Shut up. Let me ask you something."
The fox blinked. "…Huh?"
"When I let you out, will you help me scare the hell out of them?"
"…Scare?"
Even the Nine-Tails looked confused.
"Yeah. They all say I'm a demon fox. Fine—then I'll be the demon fox. Let's give them what they want."
After a moment of stunned silence, the fox's lips curled into a toothy grin.
"Hehehe… So, you're letting me out?"
Naruto didn't answer. He just stepped forward and grabbed the seal tag on the cage.
"WAIT—!"
SWISH!
A golden blur appeared in front of him—Minato Namikaze.
"Naruto—!"
RIP!
Before the Fourth Hokage could even finish his sentence, Naruto tore the seal paper off the gate.
A red wave of chakra erupted, drowning everything in its path.
"I'M OUT!" the Nine-Tails roared.
---
Outside, a monstrous surge of chakra erupted from Naruto's body, blowing back everyone nearby. The Red Team could barely stand.
By the time the ninth tail emerged, panic spread across the exam space like wildfire.
None of them could use ninjutsu here.
No one could fight the Nine-Tails.
If the exam space didn't act now… it was over.
Then—
[Danger to candidate detected. Initiating emergency protocol...]
[Extracting Nine-Tails… in progress...]
[Extraction complete.]
[Restoring health...]
[Restoration successful.]
"Huh?"
The Nine-Tails froze mid-roar.
The seal was gone. It was free!
It turned its head to obliterate the nearest human—only to realize…
Everyone had grown bigger.
No.
It had gotten smaller.
Now the size of a plush toy, the Nine-Tails blinked in disbelief. It was standing on Naruto's chest, its nine tails twitching furiously.
Before it could react, a blur of lavender and white shot forward—
SMACK!
Hinata Hyūga's palm sent the tiny Nine-Tails flying.
"You stepped on Naruto-kun!"
It bounced twice, landing face-first.
Dazed, it looked up—just in time to see the furious girl grab it by the scruff.
"Naruto-kun! Wake up! Don't leave me, Naruto-kun!!"
"Heh… He's dead now, little girl—"
"Eh?!"
The Nine-Tails choked mid-sentence.
Naruto was sitting up.
"Wha—That's impossible!"
Every tailed beast knew: if a Jinchūriki lost their tailed beast, they died!
Yet Naruto Uzumaki was alive and well.
"This is impossible! This is…"
"Hey, Hinata-chan, have you seen my fox?"
Naruto stretched his arms and looked around.
"I let out this huge fox. Can't let it bite someone now."
Hinata blinked.
"Fox?"
She turned, spotted the dumbfounded miniature Kyuubi, picked it up like a kitten, and handed it to Naruto.
"Is this what you meant?"
Naruto's face lit up. "Oh! Yeah! He's a bit smaller, but… definitely him."
He placed the mini Nine-Tails on his head.
"Stay there and behave. Thanks, Hinata-chan."
---
Gulp.
Everyone in the exam space swallowed hard.
Jiraiya stared at Naruto, mouth agape.
"The Nine-Tails… was released. Naruto didn't die. And now…"
He looked at the tiny fox curling up on Naruto's head.
"...he's keeping it as a pet?"
And the girl who casually slapped it aside?
Hinata Hyūga.
Jiraiya couldn't help but feel uneasy. Maybe Naruto's past… and future… weren't as simple as he thought.
---
"Patriarch, your daughter… she…"
Hyuga Hiashi stood in silence as his clan elders turned to him, equally stunned.
Their once-timid heiress had just smacked the Nine-Tails and carried it around like a toy.
"…Is that really our Hinata?"
No one could answer.
And no one noticed the Nine-Tails muttering under its breath—
"What the hell kind of weirdos did I get sealed into this time…?!"
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