[Feeling Sarutobi Hiruzen's fury… +2000 negative energy, Ninjutsu +100…]
[Feeling Sarutobi Hiruzen's fury… +2500 negative energy, Taijutsu +110…]
[Feeling Sarutobi Hiruzen's fury… +3000 negative energy, Genjutsu +120…]
[…]
"Hmph… seems like Uchiha En handled things well."
Feeling the surging wave of negative energy, Byakuya smirked inwardly.
He had only asked Uchiha En to use those injured Anbu as leverage to pressure Sarutobi Hiruzen—yet En had gone above and beyond, reaping a generous harvest of negativity.
Still, Byakuya had more pressing matters.
His gaze drifted to the unconscious woman lying near the bed. Uzumaki Kushina—Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
Byakuya's eyes gleamed.
"Master Byakuya, is… is that really the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki?"
Uchiha Mikoto looked at Kushina in awe.
"To think that something as monstrous as the Nine-Tails could be sealed in such a small frame…"
Byakuya nodded.
"The Uzumaki clan's vitality and sealing techniques are in a league of their own."
But he hadn't brought Kushina here just to admire her clan's abilities. He wanted to confront the beast inside her.
"Mikoto, stand guard. I'm going in."
"Understood, Master Byakuya. Be careful."
As Mikoto stepped outside, Byakuya gently lifted Kushina's shirt to reveal the complex Eight Trigrams Seal etched onto her abdomen—Minato Namikaze's craftsmanship, designed to keep the Nine-Tails restrained.
Byakuya placed his hand on the seal. Channeling his chakra into it, his consciousness slipped into the inner world of the Jinchūriki.
Within the mindscape, the familiar sight of the colossal iron bars stood before him—the gate holding back the Nine-Tails.
Curled within the shadows, the massive beast stirred.
"Who dares…"
Kyuubi's scarlet eyes locked onto Byakuya.
"You again… Uchiha scum!"
The Kyuubi snarled, slamming against the bars with earth-shaking force.
"I'll tear you apart!"
The seal held firm, absorbing the beast's fury.
[Feeling the Nine-Tails' rage… +4000 negative energy, +200 chakra]
[Feeling the Nine-Tails' rage… +5000 negative energy, +210 chakra]
[Feeling the Nine-Tails' rage… +6000 negative energy, +220 chakra]
Byakuya's grin widened.
For some reason, the angry beast reminded him of an overgrown, tail-wagging Samoyed—only much louder and more destructive.
The Kyuubi thrashed.
But eventually, the rampage slowed. The beast panted, glaring daggers at Byakuya.
"What's the matter? Tired already?"
"Come on, don't stop now. That anger—it's useful to me."
With a flicker of his Mangekyō Sharingan, Byakuya summoned a spectral Susanoo arm inside the mindscape—something unorthodox but possible due to his presence within the seal's metaphysical plane.
The giant arm swatted at the Kyuubi's muzzle through the bars.
"You insolent—!"
The Kyuubi's renewed roars echoed through the chamber, another wave of rage flooding Byakuya with power.
But soon, the Kyuubi realized the futility. No matter how loud he roared, the seal kept Byakuya safe.
When Byakuya swatted him again with Susanoo's ethereal arm, the beast simply growled and lay back down—furious but resigned.
"Stop trying to provoke me… You're just feeding on my rage."
"Took you long enough to notice," Byakuya chuckled.
The Kyuubi gritted his fangs.
"You disgusting little parasite…"
"Parasite? Please. I prefer the term 'efficient energy recycler'."
But when the beast refused to roar again, Byakuya tried once more—this time manifesting a Susanoo-arm holding a giant feathered toy, mockingly waving it at the beast like a cat teaser.
The Kyuubi turned his back.
"You're not even fun anymore," Byakuya muttered.
"Well, I've gotten what I came for. I'll visit again soon."
As he began to exit the mental realm, the Kyuubi muttered darkly,
"One day… when that seal weakens… I'll show you what real rage looks like."
Byakuya's consciousness returned to reality.
At that moment, Kushina stirred.
Her eyelids fluttered.
As soon as she opened her eyes, Uzumaki Kushina found herself lying in an unfamiliar room, with a strange man sitting calmly beside her.
"W-Where am I? Who are you!?" she asked sharply, her instincts kicking in.
The man smiled, his expression relaxed and unreadable. "You're finally awake, Kushina..."
Then, with a mischievous glint in his eye, he said something truly outrageous. "It's a boy."
"W-What!?" Kushina gasped, immediately placing her hand over her stomach. "I… I gave birth!?"
Her chakra was still chaotic, and her belly, where the seal that held the Nine-Tails lay, ached from strain. With everything happening so fast, her already impulsive and excitable nature jumped to the wrong conclusion.
[Sensing Uzumaki Kushina's panic... +50 Negative Energy. Gained: Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Arts]
"Uzumaki sealing techniques...?" Byakuya blinked, surprised by the unexpected reward. He had only been teasing her, but somehow, her fear triggered a gain from his system. He now possessed some of the legendary sealing techniques of the Uzumaki clan—arts powerful enough to suppress even a Tailed Beast like the Nine-Tails.
"Looks like that joke turned out better than expected…" he murmured with satisfaction.
Laughing lightly, he waved a hand dismissively. "Relax, Kushina! You didn't give birth to anyone. I was just messing with you."
"Y-You jerk!" Kushina let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness! I'm way too young to be raising kids!"
Then her expression turned puzzled. "Wait… Why am I here? I was just walking through the village, shopping for some ingredients…"
Her memory flickered—flashes of Konoha's streets, and then… red. A massive red fox. Overwhelming malice.
Her eyes widened in realization. "Oh no… The Nine-Tails! It got loose, didn't it!?"
Kushina suddenly remembered: she had lost control. Her consciousness had been seized by the Nine-Tails, and everything after that was a blur.
"Don't worry," Byakuya said calmly. "The Nine-Tails has been handled."
"You… you beat the Nine-Tails?" she asked incredulously. "Are you serious!?"
Kushina knew how dangerous even a partially unleashed Nine-Tails could be. Dozens of elite shinobi, including ANBU, were usually needed just to contain its rage, and even then, it was barely enough.
Byakuya nodded casually. "Of course. A little fox like that? Not worth fearing."
His Mangekyō Sharingan glinted faintly. With his ocular power and access to spatial and illusion techniques, he had confronted the Nine-Tails in the sealed space inside Kushina's subconscious and toyed with it as if it were a disobedient pet.
To others, the Nine-Tails was a catastrophe incarnate. To Byakuya, it was a source of power—and a tool.
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