Chapter 50
Chapter 50
As usual, a sort of shadow rift gushed from my left eye and engulfed the both of us, freezing the time outside.
When we appeared in the dimension I ruled, we were now facing each other without anything around, an empty area where he could attack me if I allowed it.
But he didn't since he could now sense his brethren's reproduced chakra sealed inside of me.
"So it's you, the human capable of reproducing our chakra... I did sense you before but never saw your appearance, and I couldn't sense the chakra until now." he explained with a surprisingly calm tone that didn't get unnoticed by himself
"Yo- how is that possible? Why am I not feeling any negative emotions within me?" he asked disoriented
"Well... This place is a reality which I control so, to make it easier for our talk, I completely removed such emotions from you. Oh! In case you want them back for some reason, just tell me." I explained as I sat down cross-legged
I then looked at him who was still dumbfounded and said "Kurama right? Nice to meet you, I'm Yuichi Senju." with a smile as I raised my hand at him
"Tch, why did Matatabi tell you my name." he said as he still didn't greet me, crossed his arms, and looked away
I sighed at his Tsundere response but it was at least a good start since he wasn't hostile without the negative emotions.
"I truly need to talk with you, what I want is to have a conversation between two intelligent living beings and one that also includes your welfare." I explained as he opened an eye to look at me
"...I still don't trust humans." he said but still sat down
I then got an idea and suggested "Then if I looked kind of like you, would that be fine?"
He raised an eyebrow and replied "Uh? How could yo-" but got interrupted when he felt a hundred percent of his chakra burst from me
"When I am done generating the same amount of chakra as one of you siblings..." I first announced as my body started to be hidden behind the red chakra
"I get access to all of your power..." I added as my voice started resonating while the chakra started to give me a larger shape
"And I can also become like you." I added when the chakra hiding me was now revealing a nine-tailed fox with the same look and size as Kurama, but the eyes were my Tenseigan and the fur was white
[Here]
As I was now looking over this new body that felt weird to me since I always stayed human, I noticed the shocked look of Kurama, who had his mouth wide open, to the point I didn't know it was possible.
He stayed stunned for a while so, with a smirk, I said "Just for your information, I'm a male and also not into that kind of stuff." as I was hugging myself and acting embarrassed
He came back to his senses and replied "Uh?! It's nothing like that! I was just surprised by your, hum, transformation." as he nodded to himself
I chuckled at his answer which gave him tick marks, and he surely wanted to punch or claw me but a rule I set was the inability for both of us to even think of it.
"Alright... I will at least listen to what you have to say." he said as both of us faced each other cross-legged.
I then got serious before saying "As you know, I did come here to extract and then seal you within someone else." to which he furrowed his brows since he didn't like this
"I know that being sealed like you are here is not something you want to occur again, that's why I won't build the same space in your future host." I added as he listened attentively
"You are aware that, by staying outside, you will only be sought by most humans who simply see you and your brethren as mindless monsters or tools." I continued as he didn't refute my words
"But I know that you aren't like that, if you were then we wouldn't even be talking right now. You will be sealed, not in a jail like where you are stuck right now, but in a place that would have everything you like, be it mountains, forests, plains, volcanoes, rivers... Anything you want will be prepared by me." I finished explaining as I smiled in my fox form
"What's the catch?" he shortly asked to which I replied "Not something you should dislike. You see, your host will be a young girl, named Kushina, that I consider as my daughter for years now... She may get scared the first time she sees you since you are imposing and so powerful that your strength is leaking from your body."
He had a proud expression when I talked about his strength, but ignoring this, I added "I want both of you to live in harmony... You will be able to take over her, with her permission, discuss as much as you want or see everything she sees, while you will teach her how to use your power."
"How can I know that you aren't lying? That you won't seal me the same as your predecessor did?" he asked as he couldn't trust me just like that
I smiled and suggested "Try to lie to me, this will be my answer."
He tilted his head but talked nonetheless "I like your idea." but when those words left his mouth, it surprised him
"Pft, you wanted to say that you didn't like my proposition uh?" I said to which he was embarrassed but tried to quickly hide it
"When I began the technique, I set two rules: We cannot harm or lie to each other." I explained as he realized that it was surely the case
"But still-" he tried to say but I interrupted him by saying "What would be the point for me to lie to you and have us talk like this when I could erase your mind and make you loyal to me forever?"
"Would you be capable of doing that?" he asked as he didn't expect himself to lose his free will forever
"Erasing the negative emotions from you isn't enough? They may not have been within you since you were born, but they did shape your current thinking." I explained to the overly cautious fox
"And when I end the technique, you will still be freed from them, since whatever happens here becomes reality as well." I lastly explained
He looked at me, closed his eyes, and said "Your technique is terrifying, far more than that Uchiha bastard..." but then opened them back to add "Now that I think about it, what is your relationship with that Uchiha guy, Madara?"
"I learned that he was my father, not the best one you could get but I didn't choose him." I declared which made him laugh hysterically
'I guess he lost it' I thought
"So, what you said to Matatabi was true? That to revive someone, you need to get our chakra to bring back the Ten-Tails? And everything will be to protect the planet from even more dangerous people?" he asked openly since he knew that I couldn't lie
"Nothing was a lie. I know that reviving the Ten-Tails seems to be a bad idea, but that depends on who does it and why. There is already someone that seeks each of you to bring it back, while I can do it alone with just a speck of your chakra. I do not intend to use it for selfishness, but to make sure that the place my wife, and future children, live in will be safe." I confessed with a completely honest answer
"You truly are a weird human... Alright, I will accept your proposal." he first said which made me happy before adding "But if I see that you somehow lied to us, don't think that I will not be able to take care of you." with a more violent expression
"Then you will accept my handshake this time, right? Or more like a 'pawshake' since both of us are foxes right now." I said as I raised one of my arms to him
He looked at my paw and also brought his own to finally shake mine.
"It was a pleasure talking to you, Kurama." I said as I was still looking like him
"Hmpf." he muttered as an answer which made me smile before I began to stop the technique
This brought us back in the sewer-like jail with him still having his fist on the gate, and I was back to being human.
Even though I told him already, he was surprised to not feel a hint of negative emotions within himself.
"I will need you to stay put please, to make things easier." I asked to which he started laying down and closed his eyes
"Thanks." I said with a smile before nearing the door to remove the tag
He still didn't move at all even though he could attack me, so I approached him more and confessed "Since I will use a new seal I made myself, I need to inscribe it on you. And don't worry, it won't be visible when it's over."
He opened one eye only to close it a second later, acknowledging me.
I then bit my thumb to make it bleed and started painting a seal on his forehead by controlling my blood, allowing me to paint a much smaller version of how the seal should be since my precision was on point, without making it any weaker.
When I took off my hand of his head, the seal was still visible but looked as if it was halved vertically.
"Thanks for trusting me like that, Kurama. I need to inscribe the same on Kushina and it will be over." I said as I vanished from this place and opened my eyes back in the 'Sealing Chamber', taking my hand off Mito's seal
Nothing happened to her as long as I do not inscribe the other half of the seal on Kushina and start the ritual.
I neared Kushina who was now peacefully sleeping and couldn't help but smile as I caressed the side of her face with my hand.
I did my best to not have her suffer when she becomes Kurama's Jinchūriki, and by being acknowledged by him, she would be able to protect herself if I somehow cannot.
We may not be related by blood, but I would never stop considering her as my own daughter.
I stopped being doting, bit my thumb, and started painting the other half of the seal on her forehead.
When it was over, I moved to the center of the chamber, sat cross-legged, and started doing hand signs as I stayed extremely concentrated.
It took me less than a second to do a hundred hand signs which produced two special wood hands from my back that started moving toward both Mito and Kushina.
The first hand put its palm on Mito's belly and Kurama's chakra started to be absorbed by it at a decent rate, considering the amount, before slowly traveling to my back and moving to the other hand which palm was set on Kushina's forehead, and started injecting the chakra into her seal which was shining during the process.
Sweat was falling from my head as what I was doing needed extreme precision to bring every drop of chakra from Kurama to Kushina, but also to make sure that none of the two feels even but a small amount of discomfort.
After what was hours of process, nothing was left from Kurama within Mito, and when the chakra finished being absorbed by Kushina, her seal gained the other half before vanishing as if there wasn't anything inscribed on her forehead.
I exhaled while getting up before looking toward Mito who died peacefully at the end of the ritual, a smile still adorning her face.
I put a veil on her face followed by a tag that would prevent her body from decaying, before encasing her inside a wood coffin until her funeral.
I then moved back toward Kushina who will continue to sleep for a while and said "I hope you like your new home Kurama... And since you are not taking over right now, it means that you are keeping your part of the promise, thank you."
I smiled as I continued to talk "You will see, she's headstrong, impulsive, stubborn, and enjoys talking a lot... But she can still get nervous or anxious, which I hope you won't amplify.
"And because you will be the first person she sees... If I discover that she is scared of you because of your attitude when she wakes up, you will wish that I was as gentle as Hashirama when you fought against him." I lastly said as my smile became more dangerous but was refraining killing intent from leaking
Unknowingly to me, Kurama had a shiver running through his whole body.
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*A few days later*
'Why does it rain every single time there are funerals?' I thought as I was looking at the sky that was completely covered in dark clouds
I could get rid of them but I am not sure of the reaction everyone would have if this suddenly became a beautiful day.
Like always, everyone was wearing black clothes and many carried an umbrella to avoid getting wet.
Every shinobi who died during the war was already buried in the graveyard that was behind me, while both Mito's and Hiruzen's coffins were displayed in front of me.
On the other side, there was everyone who came for the funerals, with the family, friends, and students of Hiruzen at the front.
Kushina was also standing here since she was related to Mito, along with the entire Uzumaki Clan that I saved at Uzushiogakure back then.
And it was me, as the Hokage, that had to make all the speeches.
I already did the one for every shinobi who died in the war which already lowered the mood, but I had yet to make my eulogy for both Mito and Hiruzen.
"Today, along with the countless losses we suffered in this war, two people, known by everyone in our village, left us as well." I said to start my eulogy
"Mito Uzumaki had her last breath, with me at her side some days ago, leaving us after living for 79 years and finally joining her husband we all know and respect, Hashirama Senju, 23 years after his death." I declared, which made everyone remember their beloved First Hokage
"Her departure is heartbreaking, but everyone close to her knows that she waited for this day to happen since she was separated from her husband." I continued which made every elderly who lost their other-half acknowledge such thinking
"She always was someone calm and composed, and she also chose to become the first Jinchūriki to ever exist, protecting Konoha from the unknown of the past." I added, making only a few wonder about the true meaning of this sentence while Kushina clearly understood it
"She was not someone that was seen by everyone since she was quite discrete but believe me, without her, Konoha would have been drastically different, and for the worse." I said as my expression got grave
"Now... As someone who took care of me during my childhood, I can affirm to all of you that she was a lovely grandmother, always supporting her grandchildren no matter what, without even losing her smile once." I confessed about Mito as I looked towards Tsunade
"She will be missed by all of us." I finally announced, making everyone look down in silence under the rain
After a while, it was time for me to talk about Hiruzen, something I didn't want to do and where many things I will say would simply be lies.
As such, I used my ability as an actor to its full potential so everything I say would be like it was my honest feelings.
"As everyone knows, we also lost our admired Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, in an important battle at the frontline against Iwa." I started speaking, which made Biwako, his wife, shed tears as she was supported by her first son Konoyomi, and accompanied by a young Asuma crying as well
"He has been skillfully leading Konoha for the last 15 years, making the village flourish and keep its stance within the five great shinobi villages." I asserted, even if I didn't believe any of it
"And he did as every Hokage should do for his village, sacrificing himself for the welfare of the younger generation." I announced while I knew the truth about his death
"He fought to the death against the Second Tsuchikage, a tough opponent whose chakra is impossible to locate even for our village's renowned Dōjutsu." I explained as everyone started to despise Iwa even more
"I had a way to locate him that helped Hiruzen during the battle, but no one except him could face Mū." I said so everyone could pay attention to how the battle unfolded
"I saw everything that happened during this fierce battle." I said which successfully captivated everyone's attention
"The astonishing talent that our beloved Third Hokage had in Ninjutsu, capable of repelling Mū's assaults, his ability to fight with his Adamantine Staff couldn't be compared with anyone, his wise thinking every time his enemy was preparing something allowed him to immediately find a way to counter it." I said by embellishing his abilities
"But the Second Tsuchikage was capable of using an extremely cunning technique that we didn't anticipate." I said as a hint of disgust could be discerned by everyone
"We knew about his well-known Kekkei Tōta, the Dust Release, that could erase from the map an entire area." I declared, giving everyone a feeling of nervousness
"But he was also capable of duplicating himself into two, neither of them being clone and when one of them was defeated by Hiruzen, the other tried to eradicate our army by using a long-range technique." I once again said with disgust
"Hiruzen made the only choice we all expected from someone who loves his village like him." I declared as my expression saddened
"He was capable of deviating the technique saving thousands of us, not without getting annihilated along with the other half of the Second Tsuchikage." I added with the same painful expression
"Never, in his lifetime, someone else deserved the title of 'God of Shinobi' more than him." I proudly asserted
"Now, as someone who shared the same teacher, we ended up becoming friends at the time where he was simply the Genin team leader of the now famous Sannin." I said getting filled with melancholia
"He was someone who always did his best to teach the newer generations, and although he will never know how far his students improved, it is without a doubt that he was one of the greatest teachers to exist." I once again proudly asserted as I looked toward both Tsunade and Orochimaru who both looked miserable
"As his chosen successor, I will do my best to prove my worth and maintain his legacy to protect everyone from Konoha, as the First and Second did before him as well." I proclaimed as I had a tone full of conviction
"May his soul rest in peace and his volition be remembered." I finally said as only the sound of the raindrops hitting the ground could be heard
I inwardly sighed as I thought 'Finally done with all the speeches' since the funerals were quite long and I was not really good at this
It was ultimately time to put an end to this sorrowful day.