Naruto: Just Want To Be A Death God

Naruto's expression was firm.

He couldn't learn the truth about the Pure Land from someone who had been there.

And the one who governed the Pure Land—or rather, that force—had no intention of communicating with him.

Then he would just drag it out himself.

He preemptively made his move.

The Adamantine Sealing Chains struck with perfect accuracy, pinning down the invisible force.

Four soul orbs were suspended in mid-air.

"Come out," Naruto called out. "It's no good always hiding like this. Let's meet face to face."

But… no voice responded.

That invisible force continued to retreat underground, tugging against Naruto with immense power.

It was like a game of tug-of-war—the two sides locked in a stalemate.

Naruto continued, "I'm very curious about the Pure Land."

"I have no malicious intent—"

Before he could finish, he suddenly felt a sharp, spine-chilling sense of danger.

A surge of tremendous threat exploded from beneath him.

A small, seemingly ordinary black orb erupted from the ground.

It sped straight toward the Adamantine Sealing Chains.

Naruto raised his hand, foregoing any incantation.

"Binding Spell No. 39: Enclosing Shield."

A spinning orange chakra shield formed in front of the golden chains to protect them.

But… the normally reliable binding spell failed to work this time.

The moment it touched the black orb, the chakra sustaining the spell instantly vanished. What remained of the Enclosing Shield was shattered effortlessly, and the black orb continued onward unimpeded, crashing into the Adamantine Chains and dissolving them as well.

The "Pure Land Overseer" wasn't targeting Naruto.

After destroying the barrier preventing it from reclaiming the souls, it vanished.

"What… was that power?" Naruto stared in shock.

Kurama leapt onto Naruto's shoulder, its tone heavy. "That's a Truth-Seeking Ball."

Naruto looked at him.

"That's a power of the Sage of Six Paths," Kurama explained. "A force that transcends all ninjutsu and kekkei genkai."

A power that transcended all ninjutsu and kekkei genkai?

He had never heard of such a thing before.

But it was indeed terrifying.

What interested Naruto even more was its effect.

Chakra was completely obliterated upon contact, but the "soul energy" within it managed to resist slightly—though not effectively.

It could transcend ninjutsu…

But… only chakra?

"So, the master of the Pure Land really might be the Sage of Six Paths." Naruto buried that thought in his heart and bowed his head slightly as he spoke.

Around the shrine, a group of Konoha shinobi had gathered.

The Fifth Hokage, Hatake Kakashi, was among them.

They remained cautious, but dared not approach.

The burst of power from Naruto's clash with the invisible enemy was so overwhelming that even veteran jōnin could barely withstand the shockwaves.

"Naruto," Kakashi greeted gently, "you're back in Konoha?"

"Who were you just fighting?"

"Do you need our help?"

Naruto shook his head. "No need. Just a small matter."

He flash-stepped to Karin's side.

"I have something else to take care of. I'll be leaving now."

A flash of golden and red light—and in front of all the stunned shinobi, he vanished.

Leaving behind only a corpse.

Kakashi looked disappointed. He hadn't even managed to get his second sentence out.

An ANBU went to check and quickly returned to report.

"Hokage-sama, it's a missing-nin from Takigakure. He's dead," the ANBU said. "But there are no signs of a fight."

"It seems…"

"It seems to be the same method of death as the Third Hokage."

Kakashi frowned.

So this missing-nin died from the Reaper Death Seal?

Did Naruto seal him in and fight the Shinigami?

That, at least, was somewhat reassuring.

There was no enemy infiltration into the village.

And matters involving the "Shinigami" were far beyond what ordinary ninja could handle.

Still…

He looked up at the sky.

Was his teacher's son now standing at such a height?

Naruto, with Karin, had left Konoha and arrived in the remote mountains the Second Hokage had mentioned.

He wasn't in a rush to find the lab that stored Uchiha Madara's body.

He had Karin stay alert for threats.

He sat cross-legged and entered his inner world.

Two identical foxes sat side by side—but it was easy to tell them apart.

The Yin Nine-Tails gave off a colder aura.

The Yang Nine-Tails felt warmer.

"The other me has already told me everything," the Yin Nine-Tails said, looking Naruto over. "Minato really did have a good son."

"But all this talk about Soul Society…"

"It's truly mind-blowing."

Naruto studied him. "I thought once you gained the half from Dad's body, you'd immediately merge."

The Yin Nine-Tails bared its fangs. "Minato didn't just split the chakra—he split our consciousness too."

"I used to wonder if we'd feel awkward seeing each other again after being separated for so long."

"But Naruto, you're even better than Minato was."

"If Kushina had been a bit more like you, that would've been great."

Naruto scratched his head and laughed. "There's no mom like her child."

"So, you can't merge back into one now?"

The Yang Nine-Tails shook its head. "It's not that we can't."

"Just a little troublesome."

Naruto leaned forward, curious.

"Naruto, you know our existence as Tailed Beasts is purely chakra," the Yin Nine-Tails said, lying down. "Even if we lose power, it'll regenerate over time."

"Like back when…"

In the perfect version!

"When the Hidden Cloud was newly founded, they sent descendants of the Sage of Six Paths—those Gold and Silver Brothers—to capture me."

"They got swallowed by me but survived by devouring my chakra."

"The chakra they stole regenerated in less than a month."

The Yang Nine-Tails continued, "Though losing half our power is a big deal to us…"

"Tailed Beasts only take a few years to fully recover."

"Our decade-long separation allowed us to fully replenish the chakra we'd lost."

"Now, we're two separate entities with the same origin."

The Yin Nine-Tails scoffed, "And how do you know how long it takes for us to revive?"

"I don't recall us ever dying."

The Yang Nine-Tails replied, "I asked Isobu back when Naruto visited the Mist."

"So you're not planning to fuse?" Naruto nodded.

He didn't mind—this setup worked fine too.

But…

The Yang Nine-Tails had its own sword. Would the Yin Nine-Tails have one too?

That'd be three blades—maybe he should consider Kenpachi Zaraki's suggestion and get six swords.

The two Kuramas spoke in unison: "Of course not! Two bodies are too weird."

"If you merge, will your power double?" Naruto pondered, staring at their equal-sized forms.

The Yang Nine-Tails shook its head. "Probably not."

"But it will restore the part of our power that's missing."

Restore?

Naruto blinked.

"Tailed Beast chakra is set from the moment we're born," the Yin Nine-Tails explained. "Even if we're whole again, our chakra won't increase."

"But…"

"Yin and Yang completing each other—that's our true power."

"You must've felt the vibrant life force from the other me, right?"

Naruto nodded.

"That's the Yang power," the Yin Nine-Tails grinned. "In ninja terms, that's Yang Release."

"And I represent Yin Release."

The Yang Nine-Tails tapped its tail toward its other self. "This is the real challenge of merging."

"Combining Yin and Yang."

"It takes time."

"But time… for us, that's the easiest hurdle."

Naruto chuckled, "That's great!"

"The other Kurama can come out to play too. Being sealed in that death god's stomach must've been dull."

The Yin Nine-Tails shook its head. "Minato was an interesting guy."

"He told me all kinds of fun stuff—it wasn't too boring."

It paused, glancing at its counterpart. "There's something he cares about."

"The name."

Naruto's expression turned serious.

He'd always wanted to know the Nine-Tails' true name.

The Yin Nine-Tails continued, "Though I've learned a lot about you from the other me, it was all secondhand."

"It's hard for me to decide to share my name just based on that."

"Once we're one again and I fully understand you, the complete me will decide."

"But…"

It dragged the word out. "The other me does want to tell you."

"It's just that you haven't asked lately."

"And he thinks telling you outright would be embarrassing."

The Yang Nine-Tails' ears twitched, and it looked aghast. "What are you saying!?"

"You're me too!"

"Don't you feel embarrassed saying that!?"

What the heck?

I got betrayed by myself?

The Yin Nine-Tails snorted, "We're two separate entities now—you're the only one who should be embarrassed!"

"We're both Kurama!" the Yang side shouted, flailing its claws. "If I'm embarrassed, then so are you!"

The Yin Nine-Tails shot back, "No way! Only you are!"

The two beasts started brawling inside Naruto's mind—clawing and swiping, making quite a scene.

Naruto watched with a smile, not interfering.

He noticed that, with every exchange, both their consciousness and chakra began to intermingle.

This too… was a form of fusion.

(End of Chapter)