Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 431 A Lively Mental Space

Naruto was born with a tailed beast, but while sealing it saved his life, it also severed the connection between them. It wasn't until he was twelve years old that he finally met Kurama.

He has been a Jinchūriki for decades, but he has never been someone else's Tailed Beast.

"Was it a success?" The turbulence outside finally stopped, and Naruto, who was residing inside Kurama's tail, curiously poked his head out. He wasn't Naruto's true form, but rather a remnant of his consciousness within his chakra. This was similar to how his parents had left behind some of their chakra so they could see him grow up, but they were in grave danger at the time and didn't have much power left. Kurama, however, fully cooperated with him, managing to carve out half of its chakra from its nine tails for him to store as much as possible.

Of course, all of this was contingent on Kurama being in good condition. They observed him repeatedly for a long time before confirming that this approach would not harm Kurama's physical body.

"This place is really dark." Nine-Lama ignored the guy peeking out from his shoulder and instead remarked on the dark world.

The mental space varies from person to person and is closely related to one's state of mind and chakra attribute. Naruto's Yang attribute is strong, and he is quite cheerful, so his space is generally a warm yellow, resembling both dusk and dawn. He can even occasionally change the appearance of his mental space. Sasuke's world, on the other hand, is more like an evening with a sliver of light remaining, or somewhat like a night sky under a full moon. It's dark, yet the water surface is somewhat bright; it's bright, yet the sky is grayish-black.

Sasuke's current mental state is definitely not good, and the culprit is aware of this.

"It'll get better in a while, just bear with it a little longer." Naruto comforted Kurama, who was used to living with him, but as he spoke, his gaze drifted elsewhere.

"what happened?"

"It seems we're not the only guests here." Naruto's tone slowly turned cold. "Let's go over there; it should be Orochimaru."

Hearing that tone, Kurama knew that Naruto was getting angry, and immediately took off running.

"Should we kill him?"

"I'd like to, but I need to see the person in person to confirm."

"By the way, what do I look like?"

"...What you looked like before you died."

"Phew, that's good."

Orochimaru, who is currently inside Sasuke's body like a quail, has yet to find an opportunity to take over the body, but he is not in a hurry because this child is destined to have a difficult life and will definitely have a time when he fights others to the point of exhaustion.

However, what he didn't expect was that in just a few days, something incredible would be inserted into the boy's body.

Nine-tailed fox.

Unable to see into the outside world, Orochimaru was completely bewildered. He couldn't understand why the Nine-Tails had been transferred to the body of a young Uchiha, nor could he understand why the ferocious beast had remained quietly dormant after entering Sasuke's body, showing no signs of aggression.

In short, he definitely couldn't intentionally try to scam someone out of something dangerous; it was best to stay far away and hide. If he could control Sasuke's body right now, he would definitely have already found a chance to run away.

While the Uchiha bloodline is precious, he shouldn't risk his life for it.

However, Orochimaru's plan was futile; the beast had come looking for him. The massive beast charged, its momentum overwhelming, and Orochimaru, hiding on the surface, couldn't properly conceal himself in the ripples. He was quickly swatted out by a claw. It wasn't that Orochimaru was afraid of the Nine-Tails, but rather that he didn't want to fight it to the death, and instead let that brat who had never called him master get the upper hand.

To build momentum, he immediately unleashed his strongest form, a white giant snake with eight heads. Although it was smaller than the Nine-Tailed Fox, it was at least as imposing as he was.

"Hmph, Lord Kurama, I'm just a pitiful person trapped inside Sasuke's body. There's no need for us to fight, is there?" Why did Orochimaru know Kurama's name? He heard it too many times when he was being beaten.

"'Trapped'? Do you think I'm stupid? You're clearly waiting for an opportunity to possess someone's body." Nine Lama despised such crooked ways. He himself had encountered it before, and as a result, he was disgusted by the memories of that "suicidal" soul for a long time.

Orochimaru sensed impending doom, and immediately and secretly separated a small snake, attempting to escape by hiding in the water amidst the chaos. As for most of his snakes... he had no choice but to abandon them.

As expected, Kurama pounced. Given the close relationship between Naruto and Sasuke, the arrival of this tailed beast most likely wasn't some melodramatic murder-and-treasure plot, but rather an incredibly cooperative move by the tailed beast itself. What does this mean? It means... Naruto Uzumaki is dead! But that kid was perfectly fine just a while ago! How could he die so suddenly?

The tailed beasts' chakra was indeed immense, but their methods of use were extremely crude. Kurama opened its mouth and unleashed a chakra blast, nearly splitting the serpentine behemoth in two. Then, its tail and claws lashed out from both sides, slicing off eight of the snake heads in two swift motions. However, the creature's regenerative abilities were also astonishing; its heads could grow back after being lost. One of the snake heads opened its mouth, and half of Orochimaru's upper body emerged from its tongue.

"Heh, you think you can defeat me with an attack of this level?"

Orochimaru was putting on a show, hiding a part of himself inside the flying snake head. Now, all he needed to do was distract Kurama to get away with it. But just then, an unexpected voice suddenly rang out.

"Got you."

Several golden chains suddenly emerged from the Nine-Tails' three tails, binding him tightly. He recognized the chains; they were one of the Uzumaki clan's bloodlines, a powerful tool used to seal tailed beasts. How could they possibly emerge from a tailed beast's body!

Orochimaru quickly came into contact with a golden figure—yes, a physical golden figure. Naruto was indeed emitting a faint glow, which was particularly striking in the darkness.

"I never expected we'd meet here." This was something Naruto didn't know. The Orochimaru before him didn't seem to be a clone from the Cursed Seal; it was clearly the real Orochimaru. Naruto could see directly into Orochimaru's soul core. Since he could see it, things would be easier. Maybe he should scare him a little first?

"I never expected you to die, Naruto-kun. You were still alive and kicking when you beat me up." Orochimaru, unable to move, felt a chill run down his spine.

"Really? But Orochimaru is still quite willful." Naruto landed in the giant snake's mouth and reached out his hand towards Orochimaru's limp body.

That hand easily pierced through Orochimaru's body and slowly grasped his true fatal weakness.

"Your soul looks smaller than others', is that a side effect of possession? If I were to crush it like this..." Naruto said with a bright smile, "could you be resurrected?"