Chapter 14 (Patreon)

Even Killer B, a perfect jinchūriki who had formed a genuine bond with the Eight-Tails, occasionally struggled to control its power.

Kushina, on the other hand, had never truly attempted to wield the Nine-Tails’ chakra before.

As for Naruto, after finally reaching an understanding with the Nine-Tails, he had been able to endure its full power almost immediately. However, Naruto’s circumstances could hardly be treated as the standard. He was the reincarnation of Asura Ōtsutsuki.

Compared to that, the support provided by the Uzumaki clan’s extraordinary vitality was almost secondary.

For that reason, Roy intended to have Kushina loosen the restraints on the Nine-Tails gradually.

By releasing the seal in stages, she would have enough time to grow accustomed to the influence of its chakra on both her body and mind. Once she had built up sufficient resistance, the seal could be completely opened, allowing her to become a true perfect jinchūriki.

Of course, before any of that could happen, they first needed to resolve the Nine-Tails’ hatred toward humanity.

Otherwise, the moment the seal was fully released, Kushina would be the first person to suffer.

While Kushina worked on improving her relationship with the Nine-Tails, Roy was not idle.

Although he still could not repair his Zanpakutō, his injuries had almost completely healed with the help of the Nine-Tails’ chakra.

During the process, Roy discovered that purifying the negative emotions contained within tailed-beast chakra felt remarkably similar to purifying Hollows in Soul Society. Each time he cleansed those emotions, a faint trace of unusual energy flowed back into him.

Thus, whenever Kushina spoke with the Nine-Tails, Roy would sit behind her and quietly draw away a small portion of its chakra.

The Nine-Tails did not care in the slightest.

The amount Roy absorbed was less than what it recovered with a single breath. Moreover, once the negative emotions within that chakra had been purified, even the Nine-Tails itself felt somewhat lighter.

As a result, despite Kushina being its jinchūriki, Roy became the first one to successfully make use of the Nine-Tails’ chakra.

Once his injuries had recovered, Roy began experimenting with Kidō.

The shinobi world was similar to the World of the Living from his original world. Reishi existed here as well, but its concentration was extremely thin.

In fact, the density of Reishi in the shinobi world was even lower than it had been in the World of the Living.

This was likely due to the differences between the two worlds.

When someone died in the shinobi world, their soul immediately departed for the Pure Land. Furthermore, the souls of those born in this world contained a unique form of energy that made them far more stable and cohesive, resulting in very little Reishi leaking into the environment.

In the World of the Living, however, many souls remained behind after death. Only later would they be guided to Soul Society, or gradually lose themselves and become Hollows that needed to be purified by a Shinigami.

With so little Reishi available, Roy could not rely on the environment to cast Kidō.

Instead, he turned his attention toward tailed-beast chakra.

He soon discovered that Kidō powered by the Nine-Tails’ chakra was even stronger than usual, but it required a full incantation.

If he attempted to cast it without an incantation, the spell would consume his own spiritual pressure instead. Recovering his spiritual pressure was extremely troublesome in a world where the surrounding Reishi was so scarce.

Both Kushina and the Nine-Tails were fascinated by this strange technique they had never seen before.

“Do you want to learn?” Roy asked. “I can teach you.”

He had no intention of hiding anything from her. At the same time, he was curious to discover whether Kushina could learn Kidō at all.

Because Kushina could not clearly see the hand positions Roy used while casting, he moved behind her and gently guided her arms into place.

Step by step, he corrected the position of her hands before teaching her the incantation one line at a time.

Feeling the cool touch of Roy’s body against her back, Kushina’s heart began to race.

As a result, she failed to hear much of what he was saying.

When Roy noticed her distracted expression, he released her, stepped back several paces and began the lesson again.

“O ruler, mask of flesh and bone, all creation, flutter of wings, you who bear the name of Man! Scorching heat and strife, surging across the sea to the south, march forward!”

Kushina thrust out her palm.

“Hadō Number Thirty-One: Shakkahō!”

Nothing happened.

There was not even the faintest spark in her palm.

However, Roy had clearly sensed a fluctuation of energy while she recited the incantation.

She had merely failed because she was a beginner and had not yet become familiar with this new method of circulating energy. Kidō operated according to principles entirely different from ninjutsu.

“...Shakkahō!”

Nothing.

“...Shakkahō!”

Again, nothing happened.

Kushina attempted the spell again and again. The crimson light of Shakkahō never appeared, but her own face soon turned bright red from exhaustion and embarrassment.

Seeing her condition, Roy hurried forward and stopped her.

“Roy-kun...” Kushina murmured as she leaned weakly against him. “Am I really that hopeless?”

Kushina, a genius in fūinjutsu, had already begun doubting herself.

“This has nothing to do with your talent,” Roy assured her. “You simply haven’t grown accustomed to the Nine-Tails’ chakra yet.”

Kushina still looked discouraged, so Roy lowered his voice and continued gently.

“For now, focus on memorising the incantation and the correct method of circulating the energy. Once your body adapts to tailed-beast chakra, you’ll definitely be able to use Kidō.”

“Really?”

Kushina did not seem entirely convinced.

She suspected he was only trying to comfort her.

“Of course,” Roy replied. “Even perfect jinchūriki sometimes lose control. You’ve only just begun coming into contact with the Nine-Tails’ chakra. There’s no reason you should be able to control it immediately. Take your time.”

The Nine-Tails lay nearby, watching the two of them.

At last, it could no longer endure the sight.

With an irritated kick, it threw both Roy and Kushina out of the mental space.

“Tch. She’s the one who can’t control it, yet somehow my chakra is to blame.”

Despite its complaint, the Nine-Tails understood the truth better than anyone.

The negative emotions contained within its chakra were immense. Kushina had only just begun trying to use its power. Even its previous jinchūriki, Uzumaki Mito, had been unable to wield the Nine-Tails’ chakra for extended periods.

However, the Nine-Tails had no control over that problem.

As a being composed entirely of chakra, a tailed beast did not need to mould chakra through physical and spiritual energy in the same way a shinobi did. Whenever its chakra was depleted, its body naturally absorbed energy from the surrounding world and replenished itself.

Unfortunately, that process also drew in the hatred, jealousy, greed and countless other negative emotions produced by humanity.

Over time, the chakra that had once been pure became stained by those emotions.

There were even moments when the Nine-Tails itself was influenced by them, becoming impulsive and violently irritable. A fragile human would naturally be affected even more severely.

The fact that Kushina had not immediately been reduced to a mindless creature driven only by bloodlust was proof of her exceptional willpower.

After Roy and Kushina disappeared from the mental space, the bored Nine-Tails remained silent for a while.

Then, without warning, it raised one of its paws.

“...Shakkahō!”

A thunderous explosion erupted.

The entire mental space shook violently beneath the force of the blast.

“Tch. Is that all?”

The Nine-Tails lowered its paw with a dismissive snort.

“It can’t even compare to a Tailed Beast Ball.”

After muttering its complaint, it rested its head upon its front paws once again.

However, the slow, satisfied swaying of its tails betrayed how pleased it truly was.

There were nine tailed beasts in the world, but only the One-Tail could freely use ninjutsu without the cooperation of a jinchūriki.

The other tailed beasts possessed the instinctive ability to form Tailed Beast Balls, along with any unique powers granted by their own bodies or kekkei genkai. However, when it came to conventional ninjutsu, they normally required assistance from their jinchūriki.

The reason was simple.

Only the One-Tail possessed hands suited to forming hand seals.

Kidō, however, did not require hand seals.

As long as one could speak the incantation and control the necessary energy, having paws or claws made no difference.

The Nine-Tails was already tempted to call a meeting of all the tailed beasts, learn Shakkahō properly and blast the technique directly into the One-Tail’s face.

Perhaps then that irritating tanuki would finally stop boasting about being the only tailed beast capable of using ninjutsu.

Back in the outside world, Roy began considering how to help Kushina adapt to the Nine-Tails’ chakra as quickly as possible.

Eventually, he proposed that she undergo intense physical training.

By pushing her body to its limits, they might be able to fully awaken the Uzumaki clan’s immense vitality and use it to resist the corrosive influence of the Nine-Tails’ chakra.