At this moment, in the sealed spaces within Naruto, Karin and Nohara Rin's lower abdomen, a fierce battle is taking place. The combatants are the Tailed Beasts they've sealed—and the Nine Tails.
In Karin's sealed space, Uzumaki Raiden leaned against the fence at the edge of the seal, watching as the Nine Tails and Six Tails clashed fiercely. In Nohara Rin's sealed space, Uzumaki Raiden stood on an enormous lake, observing as the Three Tails and the Nine Tails battled atop the water.
Raiden had led Naruto, Karin, and Rin to their respective sealed spaces and asked them to communicate with the Tailed Beasts inside them. The results were the same across the board: even after being sealed for so many years, none of the Tailed Beasts had any intention of submitting to humans.
Meanwhile, Raiden, watching from the sidelines, became a common target for all three Tailed Beasts—after all, he was the one who had sealed them back then.
The Nine-Tails, Kurama, inevitably became a "traitor" in the eyes of the other Tailed Beasts. But how could the hot-tempered Kurama tolerate such insults? He divided his chakra three ways and launched attacks in each sealed space simultaneously.
Although the battles occurred within sealed spaces, the power of the Tailed Beasts was in no way suppressed. Their strength was fully displayed in this moment.
Naruto, Karin, and Nohara Rin, who had previously only experienced a trickle of chakra leaking through the seals, were shocked by the sheer force of the full-powered Tailed Beasts. Silently and solemnly, they watched the clashes unfolding inside the seals.
"As expected of Kurama. Even when splitting chakra three ways, he still gains the upper hand."
"I don't believe the Sage of Six Paths wasn't biased when he divided the Ten Tails' chakra back then."
Raiden observed the three battlefields simultaneously. Seeing the Nine Tails gradually overwhelm his opponents, he couldn't help but mutter inwardly.
"Boom!!"
"Roar!!!"
In Naruto's sealed space, Kurama landed a heavy claw strike on Chomei's chest, sending him crashing into the seal's fence. A terrifying burst of chakra exploded outward.
Naruto raised his hands to shield his face, and as the storm faded, he lowered them and looked ahead.
In the blink of an eye, Kurama had closed the distance and slammed Chomei against the sealing wall, pressing his head into Chomei's chest.
"Chomei, how about it? Do you recognize your uncle's strength now?"
"Cooperate with Naruto. It's the only way you'll ever truly be free."
"That kid Raiden promised me—once the threat is fully eliminated—he'll find a way to free the Tailed Beasts."
"You've seen his strength. He won't lie about that."
Pinned to the sealing wall, Chomei continued to struggle, his wings coiling rapidly around Kurama. He wasn't in the mood for talk. He was furious—at both Kurama and Naruto.
"Bastard!!!"
"As Chomei's Jinchūriki, I still have to rely on this stinking fox's power?!"
"Uzumaki Naruto, I'll never acknowledge you!"
Chomei tried to flap his wings, but before they could strike Kurama, Kurama's tail pinned him firmly against the wall again.
"Hmph! So noisy."
"Behave."
Kurama subdued Chomei, chuckling lowly. He turned to look at Raiden, who instantly understood Kurama's intent: now that Chomei was under control, they could draw a large amount of chakra for Naruto, helping him understand and control Chomei's immense power.
A golden chain flew from Raiden's body, aiming for Chomei.
Just as the chain was about to pierce Chomei, Naruto silently grabbed Raiden's clothes.
"Hm?" Raiden turned to him.
"Uncle, I'll do it myself."
Naruto leapt past him, determination burning in his eyes. Kurama and Raiden exchanged glances, and Raiden gave a slight nod.
Kurama understood, and leapt behind Raiden, curling up and resting his front paws, watching Naruto's back quietly.
"Raiden, can that kid handle it?"
Kurama's deep voice rumbled as he watched. He was familiar with Naruto—after all, Naruto had spent much of his life in Raiden's home. In Kurama's opinion, Naruto wasn't yet ready to face Chomei.
"Watch. Naruto's progressed well over the years, but it's time he learned some things can't be solved with passion alone."
"Even if he fails, that's okay. We can shift his training to Sage Mode."
Raiden leaned back against Kurama's face, nearly enveloped in his fur.
"Your fur's surprisingly smooth, Nine Tails. Even after all these years without a bath."
He smirked, stroking Kurama's face.
"Tch." Kurama scoffed and focused on Naruto.
Freed from restraint, Chomei didn't attack immediately. His insect-like eyes watched Naruto steadily approach with unwavering steps.
"You wanna fight me, boy?!"
As Chomei spoke, his chakra turned into a hurricane—but Naruto walked forward undeterred.
"I'll earn your acknowledgment with my own strength!"
Naruto formed hand signs, and with a puff of white smoke, hundreds of shadow clones burst forth, charging at Chomei.
"Rasengan!" Naruto roared, forming one himself while the clones mirrored him.
"You've got a long way to go!"
Chomei released a burst of blinding phosphorus powder from his wings, engulfing the area.
Boom boom boom boom!
Explosions rocked the space, wiping out the clones in an instant.
"Kurama, seems like Chomei went easy on you before. Unlike you, this bug can use ninjutsu."
Watching the blazing explosions, Raiden narrowed his eyes and commented.
"Tch. Attacks like that might work on a brat like Naruto, but not on me."
"Not even enough for a massage."
Kurama replied disdainfully, though Raiden picked up a faint trace of bitterness.
"Really? I thought you looked a little rattled."
"Come to think of it, aren't you the only one of your siblings who can't use ninjutsu?"
"Shukaku can use Magnet Release, Matatabi has Fire Release, Isobu uses Ice and Coral techniques, and the Four Tails has his own style too."
"They all use unique Bloodline Limit jutsu. Only you and Gyūki seem to lack special techniques."
"Oh wait, Gyūki can at least spit ink. You can't even do that."
Raiden mocked, still stroking Kurama's fur.
"What good are fancy tricks?"
"They only need that stuff because they have less chakra. Their Tailed Beast Bombs are weak."
"I don't need any of that!"
Kurama raised his head proudly, eyes gleaming with confidence.
Raiden chuckled, patting him before turning back to the battlefield.
After the phosphorus powder cleared, Naruto's clones were all gone. This kind of wide-range ninjutsu was clearly a bad match for Naruto, who currently had no defense against it.
Naruto burst through the fire, holding a basketball-sized Rasengan and charging straight at Chomei. He struck Chomei's toes directly—but the Rasengan vanished upon impact.
"Heh, that's it? You think that can beat me?"
Chomei sneered, flicking Naruto into the air. Naruto tried to turn his head to look back, smiling strangely.
"What's that smile for?" Chomei noticed, looking down—but nothing was there.
Meanwhile, Raiden stroked his chin in surprise. "What jutsu is that? Did my sister teach him?"
Moments later, black water gushed from Chomei's toes, expanding rapidly beneath him.
Chomei's instincts screamed—this water contained sealing power.
"A seal?!"
Panicked, Chomei took to the air—but immediately sensed chakra above him.
"Big Ball Rasengan!"
An orange-red blur dropped from above. A massive four-meter Rasengan smashed into Chomei's head.
"When?!"
Chomei tried to dodge, but the black water below held him like glue, keeping him in place.
Boom!
The Rasengan exploded, blasting Chomei down into the black water.
His wings and body stuck completely, like a fly trapped on flypaper—just a much bigger fly.
The orange figure vanished into white mist, while Naruto's real body, flung by Chomei earlier, crash-landed on the ground.
Unharmed, Naruto quickly rolled to his feet and formed a seal.
"Black Spring Seal!"
As his hands met, the black water pulled harder. Chomei struggled desperately, his limbs sinking deeper.
"Ninja Art: Lion's Mane Technique!"
Uzumaki Naruto saw Chomei struggling violently and quickly formed hand seals. His short blond hair began to grow rapidly, stretching over ten meters and wrapping tightly around Chomei's body.
It was only at this point that Uzumaki Raiden truly realized the ninjutsu Naruto had used earlier likely wasn't something he learned from Sakura Haruno.
"This sealing technique—an alternative similar to Earth Style: Yellow Springs Marsh—and this jutsu with such a high hair volume... Could it be from senior brother Jiraiya?!"
Raiden was surprised. Then, a faint smile appeared on his face. He stood up from the ground, gripping Kurama's fur with one hand.
"How about that, Chomei? This is the result of my training!"
"Even you can't break free!"
Naruto successfully restrained Chomei, exhaled a breath of relief, and then smiled with satisfaction.
"What a joke!"
"You think a brat like you can trap me?!"
Chomei let out a sharp screech as two-colored chakra condensed in his mouth, aimed straight at Uzumaki Naruto.
Though bound by Naruto, Chomei still retained the ability to use a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Die, kid!"
Chomei roared, launching the Tailed Beast Bomb directly at Naruto. Clearly, Naruto hadn't expected Chomei to retaliate in such a state. Confronted with the sudden attack, his mind went blank.
"Am I... going to die?" Staring at the incoming Tailed Beast Bomb, Naruto remained frozen, making no move to dodge as he awaited its arrival.
"Chomei, that's taking it too far."
Just as the Tailed Beast Bomb was about to hit, a hoarse voice echoed in Naruto's ear. At some point, Uzumaki Raiden had appeared at his side. Calmly facing the oncoming bomb, Raiden simply raised one hand.
Golden chakra surged from his body, forming a massive fox claw in front of him. The claw caught the dark Tailed Beast Bomb midair, then stretched forward—carrying the sphere directly to Chomei's body.
"Return to sender."
Raiden said quietly as the golden claw smashed the Tailed Beast Bomb into Chomei's abdomen.
Boom!
BOOM!!!!!
With a muffled explosion, a blinding light filled the entire sealed space.
(End of this chapter)