allendalepharm Chapter 42 Targeting the Nine-Tails
Chapter 42 Targeting the Nine-Tails
Upon hearing Zeref's words, both Mavis and Minato's eyes lit up simultaneously; clearly, Zeref meant he agreed.
Mavis looked intently at Zeref and said softly, "It's so good that you agreed, Zeref."
Jelf turned around, his eyelashes, hidden beneath his wispy hair, fluttering slightly.
As Zeref agreed to cooperate in restarting the time rift, the battle between Madara Uchiha and Acnologia intensified once again.
Even though Susanoo was shattered by Acnologia, it did not affect Madara Uchiha's fighting spirit in the slightest. On the contrary, he quickly condensed a blue chakra giant again and charged towards Acnologia without hesitation.
With its jet-black wings slicing across the sky, Acnologia's massive body charged straight toward the Susanoo that had reappeared.
The immense impact caused the blue chakra giant to stagger back several steps. After Susanoo steadied itself, it raised its fist and attacked the black dragon's body.
Susanoo's fist slammed heavily onto the black dragon's head. The immense force caused Acnologia's head to tilt to the side. Just as Susanoo was about to throw another punch, its movement abruptly stopped.
A jet-black dragon claw pierced through the chest of the blue giant, causing Susanoo to pause abruptly. At that moment, blue-white energy once again condensed in Acnologia's mouth.
Recalling the immense power of the black dragon's roar, Madara Uchiha frowned and quickly jumped out of Susanoo.
It can only be said that he is indeed a battle-hardened ninja with very accurate judgment.
The moment Madara Uchiha left the Susanoo, the blue chakra giant was completely annihilated in a dazzling white beam of light.
Aside from Hashirama Senju's Wood Release, this was the first time Madara Uchiha's Susanoo had been so powerless when facing an enemy.
Even though Madara Uchiha's Susanoo wasn't fully realized due to limitations in his strength, the fact that he was killed by the Black Dragon's attack was enough to shock the entire ninja world.
After dodging the flying sand and stones that were hurtling around, Madara Uchiha's expression also turned ugly.
He has always brought despair to his enemies with the overwhelming power of Susanoo, but now the situation has been reversed!
The onlookers were all solemn; Acnologia's power had once again exceeded their expectations.
"Spiritual communication!"
A giant toad with a pipe in its mouth appeared in the swirling dust, and Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya stood on the giant toad's head.
Gamabunta, the toad summoned from the giant pipe in his mouth, exhaled a puff of smoke.
The giant toad's eyes looked up, and Gamabunta said impatiently, "What is it, Jiraiya? I was just summoned by that brat Naruto, and I haven't had enough rest yet."
"Well, please continue to work hard, Bunta, after all, the situation is quite bad right now..." Jiraiya said in a deep voice, his long white hair swaying slightly in the wind.
The dust that had obscured his vision gradually settled to the ground. Gamabunta narrowed his eyes, took another drag of his pipe, and said, "Hmph, even better than fighting a monster like the One-Tailed Beast with swords..."
The words he was about to say were cut off the moment his vision cleared.
The dust obscuring his vision completely disappeared, and in the sky, the figure of a huge black dragon with dark wings clearly appeared in Gamabunta's eyes.
Gamabunta:......
First, he was summoned by that brat Naruto to clash with Shukaku's air cannon, and now he's been summoned by Jiraiya to fight this guy in front of him who looks intimidating and has black wings that can fly.
Even Gamabunta felt an instant urge to return to Mount Myōboku to calm down.
Hearing Gamabunta stop mid-sentence, Jiraiya, guessing what Gamabunta was thinking, broke out in a cold sweat and chuckled awkwardly, "Gamabunta, thank you for your trouble, hahaha..."
Taking a deep drag on his pipe, Gamabunta suppressed the fleeting, less-than-loyal thought that had crossed his mind and asked in a low voice, "Where did you pick up this guy from, Jiraiya? I'm not good with flying creatures!"
"Well, it's a long story. Bunta, let's test the waters first!" Jiraiya leaned down slightly, assuming a fighting stance.
"I understand. Let me see what this guy is capable of!" Gamabunta said as he drew his sword, then leaped towards Acnologia in mid-air with a toad-like leap.
The massive scalpel slashed toward Acnologia's back, and the moment the scalpel made contact with the black scales, it produced a sound as if metal were rubbing against metal.
"Those scales are really hard!" Gamabunta's eyes narrowed slightly.
The price for the sword striking Acnologia was that Gamabunta almost got a claw hit.
After dodging and landing, Gamabunta looked at the unharmed Acnologia with an extremely solemn expression.
It swung its sword, feeling the recoil from it, and said in a deep voice, "Jiraiya, this guy's scales are much harder than Manda's."
"Yes, so let's all come at once, Bunta!"
Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi also launched a ninjutsu attack on Acnologia at this moment.
Just as Minato Namikaze was anxiously observing the battle, Orochimaru casually walked up to him.
Orochimaru's arrival instantly put Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura on edge, as the events that occurred in the Forest of Death still haunted them.
Minato Namikaze stepped forward, shielding Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura behind him.
Orochimaru's smile deepened slightly upon seeing Minato Namikaze's actions.
His gaze fell on Jelf and Mebius standing together, his eyes flickering slightly as he keenly sensed that the atmosphere between the two seemed to have eased somewhat.
"Lord Zeref, aren't you going to join this battle? If I remember correctly, your relationship with that Acnologia isn't very friendly, is it?" Orochimaru asked Zeref.
Zeref watched the group constantly battling Acnologia and concluded indifferently, "That is a power that is absolutely superior to that of humans. No human can defeat Acnologia, and neither can I."
Orochimaru also turned to look at the black dragon, who remained calm and composed despite the attacks from the crowd. He narrowed his eyes, licked his lips, and agreed, "Power, speed, defense—all are impeccable. It's truly a perfect and powerful form."
“However,” Orochimaru suddenly changed the subject, smiling at Zeref, “our world also has powers and forms that transcend humanity.”
Upon hearing this, alarm bells rang in Minato's mind. He immediately turned around and reached out to grab Naruto, but it was too late.
While Kakashi's team was completely unaware, a pair of hands suddenly reached out from under Naruto and instantly pulled him into the ground.
When Kakashi's hand appeared from underground, he immediately tried to grab Naruto, but Orochimaru, who seized the moment when Minato turned around, stopped him.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Orochimaru's actions were swift and decisive, indicating that he had planned this all along, with his clones already lying in ambush underground.
At this moment, Orochimaru's true form quickly retreated, took Naruto from the hands of the clone that emerged from the ground, and stood at a distance, grabbing Naruto's neck.
Naruto struggled desperately, but he couldn't budge Orochimaru's hand from around his neck.
Minato Namikaze was filled with regret and worry as he watched his son being kidnapped by Orochimaru. Using the Flying Thunder God seal he had previously placed on Naruto's clothes, Minato Namikaze instantly appeared beside Naruto.
Just as he was about to touch Naruto, he stopped because Orochimaru was about to stab Naruto in the neck with a kunai.
"Naruto!"
Mavis, Sakura, and Sasuke all exclaimed in surprise at the same time.
When Mavis saw Naruto being taken away, she wanted to rush forward to help, but she also stopped because of Orochimaru's threat.
Orochimaru's kunai had already pierced Naruto's neck, and a clear line of blood was slowly flowing down Naruto's neck.
Minato Namikaze's face turned ashen, and he couldn't help but shout, "Stop right now, Orochimaru!"
Orochimaru, having distanced himself from Minato Namikaze again, laughed at Minato's grim expression: "Oh dear, that was close! As expected of the Yellow Flash, the Flying Thunder God Technique is still as cheating as ever."
"But unfortunately, knowing this, I've been keeping a close eye on the Flying Thunder God Technique..." Orochimaru smirked with pleasure.
At that moment, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha also suddenly arrived nearby.
Madara Uchiha glanced at Naruto, who was being held hostage by Orochimaru, his brow twitching slightly. He looked at Orochimaru with a hint of contempt and displeasure: "I didn't expect to think the same way as someone like you."
"Then I am truly honored, hehehe—" Orochimaru remained unperturbed by Madara Uchiha's disdainful attitude and continued, "Please make your move, Lord Madara Uchiha—"
Orochimaru has always been quite flexible when it comes to the so-called dignity of ninjas.
Moreover, if the other party is Madara Uchiha, then he certainly has the power and confidence to look down on anyone except Hashirama Senju.
As Hashirama Senju watched Madara Uchiha and Orochimaru exchanging cryptic remarks, a sense of foreboding rose within him, and he couldn't help but frown and ask, "Madara, what are you trying to do?"
Before Hashirama Senju could finish his question, he was met with a flying kick from Madara Uchiha, forcing him to raise his hand to defend himself and take a few steps back.
When Hashirama Senju lowered his hand and looked closely, he saw that Madara Uchiha had already placed his hand on Naruto's stomach, his crimson Sharingan meeting Naruto's eyes.
The moment Naruto faced Madara Uchiha's powerful eye, everyone saw his eyes instantly become blank.
"Naruto!"
The gasps of surprise from the crowd gradually faded from Naruto's ears.
......
Before Naruto could even process what was happening, he found himself in a place that was both strange and familiar.
Inside the Nine-Tails' sealed space, darkness reigned as always, and a massive iron cage appeared before Naruto in a very familiar way.
"This is..." Naruto stared at the iron cage, startled.
A pair of enormous beastly eyes suddenly opened in the darkness, and Naruto involuntarily took a step back, subconsciously swallowing.
Upon meeting the enormous beastly eyes, Naruto finally realized that this was the Nine-Tailed Fox inside him!
How did he suddenly appear here? Naruto was a little puzzled.
Before Naruto could react, the Nine-Tails' pupils suddenly contracted, and its orange-red fox body arched backward in the cage, baring its sharp fangs in a strange posture that seemed both intimidating and defensive.
Naruto was taken aback by the strange behavior of the large fox, somewhat bewildered, when he heard Kurama unleash a deafening roar: "Uchiha Madara!!!"
Along with the roar, footsteps came from behind Naruto.
Strangely, the Nine-Tails' roar was extremely loud. Normally, the sound of footsteps should have been completely drowned out by the Nine-Tails' roar, but the footsteps seemed to be extremely penetrating and clearly reached Naruto's ears.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
The footsteps grew closer, and Naruto instinctively turned around, finally recognizing the owner of the footsteps—it was none other than Madara Uchiha, the owner of the crimson Sharingan that Naruto had seen before his consciousness entered the Nine-Tails' sealing space!
How could he be here? Naruto's eyes widened.
Madara Uchiha slowly walked forward, ignoring Naruto's wary gaze. Looking at Kurama's bristling fur, he chuckled, "How pathetic, Kurama, trapped inside a human you despise."
"Uchiha Madara! You bastard!!"
Although he vaguely understood the origin of Madara Uchiha's appearance from Naruto's body, he realized that the Madara Uchiha in front of him was just a magical creation that existed only temporarily.
However, when she actually saw Madara Uchiha appear in the sealed space, Kurama's heart still skipped a beat.
Realizing this, Kurama, somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, roared again: "What are you doing here, Uchiha Madara? I will never be controlled by you again!"
Although it said that, Nine-Tailed Fox was still a little uneasy. It secretly glanced at the sealing diagram pasted on the cage. The seal that it had always hated and loathed and that imprisoned it suddenly seemed a little more pleasing to the eye.
Although I really hate to admit it, Kurama might, perhaps, probably... well, it does have a bit of Madara Uchiha PTSD.
Back in the day, it was a free and unrestrained fox, able to go wherever it wanted in the ninja world—though it always listened to the Sage of Six Paths and tried to stay away from humans.
With immense power and the freedom to do as he pleases, Kurama (the Nine-Tails) basks in the sun during the day and gazes at the stars at night. Aside from occasionally missing the wrinkled yet kind face of the old man of the Six Paths, Kurama lives a carefree and comfortable life.
This idyllic life could have continued forever—if only I hadn't met Uchiha Madara!!!