Naruto: Just Want To Be A Death God

Jiraiya took a deep breath.

Even though it wasn't winter, the air he inhaled felt so cold and piercing that it chilled him to the bone.

He raised his hand and rubbed his eyes.

If what he saw wasn't an illusion, then that was definitely the Nine-Tails.

But this Tailed Beast...

Wasn't it sealed inside Naruto?

Just earlier in the day, under his supervision, Naruto had fully gained control over its power.

So how could it suddenly appear outside the town?

And without any warning?

Jiraiya's mind was in a whirl.

All he'd done was sneak out at night for a little "entertainment," and now something so unbelievable had happened?

Even though Naruto had undone one layer of the "Four Symbols Seal," there was still another layer remaining.

Could this be a scheme by the Akatsuki?

In a flash, he rushed back to the inn.

Leaping through the window of Naruto's room, he found it completely empty. The blond-haired boy was gone.

Jiraiya's face darkened. He walked to the bed and touched the bedding—it was still slightly warm.

The room's occupant had just recently left, and judging from the lack of any signs of a struggle, it had been voluntary.

And with Naruto's current strength, there were likely no shinobi in the world capable of silently capturing him.

So...

Did he leave town voluntarily and release the Nine-Tails himself?

Jiraiya didn't alert Karin and immediately made his way back outside the town.

In the forest.

Naruto, sitting on the shoulder of the Nine-Tails, looked up. "Jiraiya-sensei is here."

The Nine-Tails flicked its tail. "Just him, huh?"

"Then I'm not going back yet."

Naruto smiled and patted its ear. "Jiraiya-sensei, come on out. It's safe here."

A white figure flickered and appeared.

Jiraiya stood cautiously at a safe distance, his tone serious: "Naruto, what's going on here?"

"How is the Nine-Tails...?"

He couldn't make sense of it.

"This is the effect of a special jutsu," Naruto replied. "It temporarily releases the Nine-Tails from my body without harming me."

Jiraiya let out a breath of relief. "You scared me—I thought it had escaped on its own."

"It won't hurt your body? That's good to hear."

"But…"

He looked over the Nine-Tails.

Even as it lay down, it was still nearly ten meters tall—an imposing figure in the forest.

The Nine-Tails turned its head. Just that small movement stirred up a fierce wind.

Jiraiya steadied himself with chakra, planting his feet firmly on the ground to avoid being blown away. The strong gust made his expression turn grave.

No wonder the shinobi of old referred to the Nine-Tails as a "natural disaster." It wasn't just empty words.

Its massive body and sheer power—just moving slightly produced shockwaves akin to high-level jutsu that most ninja couldn't withstand.

"You're right, Naruto," the Nine-Tails said, narrowing its eyes. "There are too many like me. Maybe I should consider shrinking my form."

In reality, this wasn't difficult.

Tailed Beasts had sentient minds, but their essence was still masses of chakra.

By reducing the amount of chakra it leaked from the seal, it could control its body size.

After a few attempts—

The Nine-Tails had shrunk to even smaller than an ordinary fox. Its nine fluffy tails were nearly the same size as its entire body.

It perched neatly on Naruto's shoulder. "So this is what the world looks like from this size?"

"How interesting."

It curiously peered around.

Jiraiya found it equally fascinating. This was the first time he had seen a Tailed Beast outside its host's body, interacting so peacefully.

Naruto and the Nine-Tails continued testing the jutsu.

It was their first time using it, and they didn't yet know the full extent of its effects.

The cursed rope connecting them could be hidden—completely invisible to the eye and undetectable in the real world.

They also confirmed the Nine-Tails' movement range.

This range depended on the amount of chakra the Nine-Tails exerted: the greater the output, the farther it could move from Naruto; the smaller the output, the closer it had to stay.

In its tiny fox form, it could only roam within about ten meters of Naruto.

Any further, and the Four Symbols Seal would immediately begin drawing its power back in.

Still, the Nine-Tails wasn't too disappointed.

Being able to leave the seal, even in part, meant it was beginning to taste freedom.

And staying close to Naruto—

That wasn't a bad thing.

Life at his side was far more interesting than being stuck alone in some deep mountain forest.

By the time everything was tested and confirmed, it was already early morning.

Jiraiya lay on a tree branch nearby, yawning.

Back in Konoha, the village had already begun to stir.

At the Uchiha clan's ruins, Sasuke had just finished his morning training.

Haruno Sakura suddenly landed beside him. "Sasuke, we have a new mission."

Sasuke's face remained calm. "A mission? What is it this time?"

"Accompanying Team 8 to escort a noble from the Capital of the Land of Fire back to Konoha. It's ranked as a B-class mission," Sakura replied.

For the past six months, this had become their routine.

Kakashi was too busy with Hokage duties to lead Team 7 anymore. They barely saw him, let alone received training.

If they wanted to do missions alone, they were limited to D-class tasks within the village.

Higher-ranked missions had to be done jointly with complete squads.

"The capital isn't far from Konoha, and it's just guarding a noble," Sasuke said coldly, hands in his pockets. "This mission is meaningless."

"Reject it."

Sasuke didn't want to take on missions.

He preferred to use the time for training. With no guidance from a teacher, he had to find his own path to power—every second counted.

Missions only distracted him from becoming stronger.

"We might run into Naruto," Sakura said gently, cautiously bringing up his name.

"Naruto?" Sasuke lowered his head, voice deep. "Why bring him up?"

"I heard something about him from Kakashi-sensei," Sakura explained.

A reliable source.

"Jiraiya-sama sent word—Naruto can now fully control the power of the Nine-Tails."

Sasuke clenched his fists. "Naruto's gotten stronger again."

"He's been gone for a year and a half," Sakura said softly, with a touch of nostalgia and hope. "Sasuke, don't reject this mission."

"We might see Naruto. It's been so long."

She was trying to persuade him.

Sasuke hadn't taken a mission in four months.

The village was starting to gossip.

Of course Sakura didn't join in the criticism, but Sasuke's behavior made her uneasy.

It felt like he was growing more distant from the village.

"I understand," Sasuke said, turning and heading toward the Hokage's office.

Sakura brightened. "Sasuke, you're accepting it?"

Sasuke simply waved his hand.

Inside the Hokage's office—

Kakashi opened his tired eyes and resumed handling the mountain of village paperwork. Life as Hokage was dull and exhausting.

Not long after, there was a knock at the door.

Before he could respond, the door swung open.

Someone stepped in.

"Sasuke." Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "What brings you here?"

"Planning to reject another mission?"

Sasuke stepped forward, voice firm. "Kakashi-sensei, I've mastered chakra shape transformation. Please teach me more jutsu."

Kakashi was silent for a long moment before finally speaking.

"Sasuke, you're already an excellent shinobi."

"You have the strength of a jonin."

"But your biggest issue is the low number of missions you've completed."

"Do a few more B-rank missions. I'll recommend you for Special Jonin. Once you're in the Jonin Corps, I can request permission to teach you more jutsu."

Sasuke lowered his head. "Like when I became a Chunin?"

A year ago, he passed the internal Chunin Exams in the village and was promoted. He thought it would grant him access to more jutsu.

But Kakashi only taught him two things—

The B-rank jutsu Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet, and chakra shape transformation.

Over the year, Sasuke had repeatedly asked Kakashi for more.

Taijutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu—anything to become stronger.

But those requests were never fulfilled.

Kakashi turned his head slightly and remained silent.

He wanted to teach Sasuke more jutsu.

But... the village elders refused.

A year ago, they only allowed him to teach Sasuke Fire Style. The shape transformation was something Kakashi taught out of compassion, which drew backlash from the elders.

With the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki gone,

The last remaining Uchiha bloodline had to be tightly controlled.

If they granted his requests too easily, how could they maintain control?

Especially since the Uchiha's contribution to the village had been minimal lately. Despite having jonin-level strength, he refused missions.

How could they possibly approve giving him more powerful jutsu?

One thing that reassured Kakashi was that Danzo, one of the elders, seemed to be terrified of Naruto and hadn't tried to claim Sasuke for his own use.

That slightly reduced the pressure on Kakashi.

"I understand, Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke said, and turned to leave the office.

Kakashi called after him. "Will you accept the mission request?"

Sasuke looked back, face cold. "I will."

Kakashi stared blankly at Sasuke.

After four months, he was finally taking on village missions again—he should be glad.

But why...

Why did he feel uneasy?

As Sasuke departed, an Anbu agent appeared.

"Hokage-sama, new intel from Jiraiya-sama," he reported.

Kakashi pushed aside his thoughts about Sasuke and returned to the heavy burdens of his Hokage duties.

That afternoon—

Under the leadership of Kurenai Yuhi, Team 8 and Team 7 set out together on their joint mission to the capital of the Land of Fire.

(End of Chapter)