Jiraiya took a deep breath.
Though it wasn't yet winter, the air he inhaled felt chillingly cold, penetrating his entire body with a frosty sensation.
He raised his hand to rub his eyes.
Once again, he confirmed that what he was seeing was no illusion—it was indeed the Nine-Tails.
But wasn't this Tailed Beast supposed to be inside Naruto?
Just during the day, under his watchful eye, Naruto had fully mastered its power.
So why was it now appearing outside the town?
And with no warning at all?
Jiraiya's mind was a jumble of confusion.
He had only sneaked out in the evening to indulge in some nightlife, yet suddenly found himself dealing with this inexplicable situation.
The seal within Naruto, even with one layer of the "Four Symbols Seal" removed, still had another layer left.
Could this possibly be a plot by the "Akatsuki" organization?
He dashed towards the inn.
Entering Naruto's room through the window, he found it empty; the blonde figure was gone.
Jiraiya's face darkened as he approached the bed and touched the covers; they retained a hint of warmth.
The room's occupant had just left not long ago, seemingly of his own accord, as there were no signs of a struggle.
Moreover, given Naruto's current strength, there was no one in the ninja world who could silently whisk him away.
Thus, had he voluntarily left the town and released the Nine-Tails?
Without disturbing Karin, Jiraiya hurried out of town.
In the forest, sitting on the shoulder of the Nine-Tails, Naruto looked up. "Jiraiya-sensei is here."
The Nine-Tails swished its tails. "He's alone."
"Then I won't go back just yet."
Naruto chuckled, patting its ear. "Jiraiya-sensei, come on out. It's safe here."
A white silhouette appeared instantly.
Jiraiya cautiously stood at a safe distance, his tone serious: "Naruto, what's going on here?"
"What is the Nine-Tails...?"
He seemed a bit puzzled.
"This is the effect of a new technique," Naruto replied, "It allows the Nine-Tails to be temporarily released from my body without harming me."
Jiraiya breathed a slight sigh of relief: "That scared me. I thought the Nine-Tails had broken free."
"It won't harm your body? That's great news."
"However..."
He scrutinized the Nine-Tails.
Despite its crouched position, it still towered nearly ten meters high, making it exceptionally conspicuous in the forest.
The Nine-Tails turned its head, a slight motion creating a massive gust of wind.
Jiraiya slightly bent his knees, anchoring himself with chakra to prevent being blown off balance. Feeling the fierce wind made his expression grave.
It's no wonder past ninjas called the Nine-Tails a "natural disaster"; there's some truth to it.
Its size and power are immense. Even the smallest movement generates a force akin to a "high-level ninja technique" that ordinary ninjas find hard to withstand.
"You're right, Naruto. There are far too many similar creatures," the Nine-Tails said, curling its lip, "I really should consider how to shrink myself."
In reality, it was not difficult.
Tailed Beasts have consciousness, but their essence is still a mass of gathered chakra.
By reducing the amount of chakra leaked from the seal, they can control their size.
After a few attempts, the Nine-Tails became slightly smaller than a normal fox, its nine tails fluffy and almost as big as its body.
It perched on Naruto's shoulder, sitting obediently: "Is this how the world looks from a smaller perspective?"
"How novel."
It peeked curiously around.
Jiraiya found it equally fascinating; it was his first time seeing a Tailed Beast so amicably separate from its Jinchuriki.
Naruto and the Nine-Tails continued their experiments.
This was their first time using this technique, so the extent of its effects was still unknown.
The cursed rope binding them could be concealed from the naked eye, without affecting the physical world.
They confirmed the Nine-Tails' range of activity.
The reach of the Nine-Tails' power is proportional to its output: the greater the output, the farther it can move away from Naruto, and the lesser the power, the closer it needs to stay.
Currently, in this little fox form, it can only wander within a ten-meter radius around Naruto.
Venture slightly beyond this range, and the Four Symbols Seal will immediately draw the Nine-Tails' power back.
Yet even so, the Nine-Tails wasn't disheartened.
Being able to emerge from the seal, even with only a fraction of its strength, means it's starting to embrace freedom.
As for having to stay constantly by Naruto's side?
That's not a bad thing at all.
Life by his side is far more interesting than surviving alone in the secluded mountains.
Once everything was confirmed, it was already dawn.
Jiraiya lay on a nearby tree branch, yawning incessantly.
In Konoha Village, the hustle and bustle had already begun.
At the Uchiha Clan's ruins, Sasuke just finished his morning training.
"Sasuke, we've got a new mission," Sakura Haruno suddenly appeared beside him.
Sasuke remained expressionless. "A mission? What is it this time?"
"We're to join Team 8 in escorting a noble from the land of fire's capital back to Konoha. It's classified as a B-rank mission," Sakura replied.
This has been their routine for the past six months.
With Kakashi busy with his duties as Hokage, he had no time to lead Team 7, let alone provide guidance. Meetings became scarce as well.
For high-level missions, collaboration with other complete ninja squads was necessary.
"The capital isn't far from Konoha, and it's just an escort mission for a noble," Sasuke remarked, hands in his pockets, tone cold. "This mission is pointless."
"Let's just refuse it," he stated.
Sasuke didn't want to take on missions.
He preferred dedicating all his time to training, having lost his mentor's guidance, and now relied solely on himself to forge a path to become stronger.
Every second was invaluable.
These missions only hindered his progress.
"We might run into Naruto," Sakura cautiously suggested, mentioning a certain name.
"Naruto?" Sasuke lowered his head, his voice deepening. "Why bring him up all of a sudden?"
"I heard some news about him from Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said.
"Jiraiya-sama sent back information that Naruto has now fully mastered the Nine-Tails' power," she added.
Sasuke clenched his fists. "Naruto has grown stronger again," he remarked.
"He's been away for a year and a half," Sakura Haruno spoke with a mix of nostalgia and anticipation. "Sasuke, please don't refuse this mission."
"We might even run into Naruto. It's been so long since we last saw him." She tried to persuade him.
Sasuke hadn't taken on any missions for four months, causing quite a stir in the village.
While Sakura didn't join in the accusations against Sasuke, his behavior left her with a sense of unease. It felt as if Sasuke was growing more distant from the village.
"Alright," Sasuke agreed, turning towards the Hokage's office.
Sakura exclaimed with delight, "Sasuke, you're accepting?"
Sasuke simply waved a hand in response.
Having arrived at the Hokage's office, Kakashi opened his eyes wearily, attending to village matters. Life as Hokage was exceptionally tedious.
Before long, a "knock knock" resounded at the door, which swung open before he could respond.
Sasuke walked in.
"Sasuke," Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Why are you here to see me? Planning to refuse another mission?"
Sasuke approached with a resolute tone, "Kakashi-sensei, I've already mastered nature transformation. Teach me more ninjutsu."
Kakashi remained silent for a while before speaking, "Sasuke, you are already an outstanding ninja."
"You possess the strength of a Jonin."
"But the main issue is that you haven't been taking enough missions lately."
"Take on a few more B-rank missions. I'll recommend you to the village as a special Jonin, and once you're in the Jonin team, I'll be able to get permission to teach you some new jutsu."
Sasuke lowered his head. "Is it like when I was a Chunin?"
A year ago, he had successfully passed the village's Chunin exams and thought he would finally learn more jutsu. However, Kakashi only taught him two things.
One was the B-rank jutsu "Fire Style: Flame Bullet", and the other was chakra nature transformation.
A year had passed, and during this time, Sasuke had repeatedly asked Kakashi to teach him more skills, be it taijutsu, genjutsu, or ninjutsu. Whatever it took to become stronger, he was willing to learn it.
Unfortunately, none of these requests were fulfilled.
Kakashi turned his head, remaining silent.
He wanted to teach Sasuke more ninjutsu, but the attitude of the upper-level advisors was one of refusal.
A year ago, it was initially decided that only "Fire Style" would be taught to Sasuke, and the shape manipulation technique Kakashi had prepared for Sasuke out of sympathy had already caused dissatisfaction among the advisors.
Now that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had left, the sole remaining bloodline of the Uchiha Clan had to be firmly kept in hand.
How could they maintain control if they easily granted his requests?
Especially since this Uchiha had contributed little to the village recently, despite having the strength of a Jonin, he seldom took on missions.
How could they possibly teach him more ninjutsu?
What relieved Kakashi was that among the high-ranking advisors, the guy named Danzo seemed to be frightened by Naruto and hadn't spoken up to demand Sasuke yet, reducing some of his pressure.
"I understand, Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke said, walking out of the office.
Kakashi called after him, "Will you accept that mission assignment?"
Sasuke turned back to look at him, his expression cold, "I will."
Kakashi watched Sasuke blankly.
After four months, Sasuke was taking on missions from the village again, something he should be happy about.
Yet, why was there a sense of unease?
As Sasuke left, an Anbu member appeared instantly.
"Lord Hokage, reports from Jiraiya-sama," he began his report.
Kakashi had no time to ponder over Sasuke's matters, as he was once again drawn back into the heavy tasks of the Hokage.
That afternoon, Kurenai Yuhi led Team 8 to join Team 7 for a joint mission, departing the village and heading towards the capital of the Land of Fire.
(End of Chapter)