Naruto: The King Behind the Curtain

Two months after that party, at Kushina's house.

"Lay a trap for him. Trust me, don't play that tile!"

"I've listened to you too many times already—no wonder I keep losing!"

Hearing the contemptuous voice, the fox trapped within the sealing space grew anxious. "I've lived over a thousand years! I've seen everything under the sun! Why would I possibly trick you?"

Kushina sighed helplessly. "I'm not saying you're lying to me, but… your skills are just really bad!"

Bad… bad… so bad…

The words echoed in its mind like a taunt, and the fox pouted miserably.

Outside.

Seeing the crimson tendrils suddenly retract from Kushina's body, Minato expressed concern. "Kushina, you aren't scolding the Nine-Tails again, are you? Remember—it's an embodiment of calamity and hatred. What if—"

Suddenly, a red tail shot out from behind Kushina, thrashing wildly in midair. Its tip alternated between pointing at Minato and the Hokage Rock outside, clearly furious.

Minato stared blankly at the tail for a while before awkwardly asking, "Umm… what is it trying to say?"

Kushina wore a strange expression as she translated, "The Nine-Tails says it isn't some cursed manifestation of hate at all. It says humans feared its power, so they simply labeled it with that name. It even went out of its way to avoid human settlements whenever battling other Bijuu!"

She continued, "It also said the worst offenders were the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha. One day it was sleeping peacefully at home when those two showed up. The First dragged it out of nowhere and beat it up, claiming it was 'too dangerous'—clearly based on irrational fear. Then Madara placed a seal on it using some blue chakra rods before fighting the First, which left the Nine-Tails taking another severe beating!"

"And finally there was Lady Mito, who decided that since both the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha were gone, no one remained strong enough to keep the Nine-Tails in check. Afraid it might seek revenge for being mistreated before, she chose to seal it away permanently."

Minato broke into a cold sweat. From this description, the strongest of all Bijuu was treated so unfairly!

Dragged out and beaten without doing anything, used as a mount afterward, then beaten again after that, and finally imprisoned forever?

Even he wouldn't have been able to endure such injustice!

When she finished explaining, Kushina looked a little guilty. She tapped her cheek lightly with her slender finger. "You know what, don't be mad, okay? How about… from now on, I'll listen to you five times out of ten games!"

Suddenly, the chakra flame around the tail flared up intensely. From the tip, it split apart into nine smaller tails, swaying dramatically in the air.

Minato broke into a cold sweat. For a second, he thought the Nine-Tails had broken free in anger!

Kushina shook her head firmly. "Nope, maximum six times."

Upon hearing this, eight of those little tails hesitated slightly, then retracted one. The remaining seven continued waving furiously, showing their firm resistance.

However, this time Kushina didn't back down. Slamming the table, she shouted, "You should remember that it's *my* money you're losing! If you had your own cash, I'd obey you in a heartbeat!"

Hiss!

At that moment, another tail suddenly erupted from behind Kushina, flaring up wildly before forcefully slapping down onto her head.

Minato's pupils constricted. As he prepared to grab Kushina and escape, the tail stilled steadily above her head and began gently swaying.

It almost seemed... flattering and submissive.

"Is this... giving Kushina a fan breeze?"

Minato stared in disbelief. The Bijuu, viewed by the world as more terrifying than natural disasters, actually wagging its tail for some money?

No one would believe such a story if they heard it!

Seeing the drama unfold was fun, but Seiki seized the moment and spoke up, "Sister Kushina, didn't Nine-Tails previously simulate the Tailed Beast Ball to help us complete the Rasengan structure? For my sake, could you kindly increase the number of uses once more?"

The Rasengan, in its original historical course, was inspired by Minato after observing the Tailed Beast Ball.

So, after charming a certain oversized orange fox with warm words and flattery, Seiki unashamedly convinced Nine-Tails to become yet another workhorse.

As Seiki spoke, Kushina reluctantly nodded but muttered discontentedly under her breath, "People usually raise dogs that tear their houses apart; I end up raising a fox that nearly sells mine away."

Of course, that was just a joke—after all, she only held the rights to use this mansion.

Nine-Tails didn't mind Kushina's sarcasm at all, even patting Seiki's shoulder with one of its tails.

"You've really got game, kid!"

Timely stepping in, Seiki asked curiously, "Sister Kushina, could you ask Nine-Tails why they specifically avoid human settlements? Normally speaking, them not attacking humans already counts as pretty friendly behavior, right?"

Kushina paused. Indeed, intentionally avoiding human gatherings did seem unusually considerate!

Could it be that this evil fox is lying to me?

Yet soon, she received an answer from Nine-Tails: "It says they made a promise to some old geezer. But when I asked who this old guy was, it clammed up."

Lowering his eyes, Seiki pondered inwardly, "Does Nine-Tails itself not know about Six Paths Sage's current condition? Or has the Six Paths' chakra completely vanished without a trace during these thousand years?"

He originally hoped that Nine-Tails, with its highly sensitive chakra perception, might have picked up on something strange!

Seeing both Seiki and Minato silent, Kushina couldn't help but defend Nine-Tails slightly, "It wouldn't say who the old guy was, but I don't think it was lying."

Minato gave a slight nod. Truthfully, he hadn't suspected any deception either.

Just like Seiki had told them before, real growth doesn't come from age—it comes from experience.

Sure, Nine-Tails has been around for over a thousand years, but basically all it did was nap and fight… Well, and recently throw in some jail time and beatings too.

In such circumstances, saying that Nine-Tails possessed deep scheming minds wouldn't convince him at all.

Especially after witnessing the Nine-Tails' earlier behavior, a certain guess in his mind became even firmer.

"Actually, the Nine-Tails is just a simple, silly, cute fox!"

Seeing the card game had paused, Kurama, the newly-risen gambling monster, waved its tail in dissatisfaction.

Then Kushina quirked her lips and said, "The Nine-Tails wants you to shuffle the cards faster. Nobody's allowed to leave today, or it will destroy the world!"

Seiki grinned. "So we're playing cards for world peace, huh?"

Minato sighed with concern. With this troublesome fox around, how would he ever get to take Kushina out on a date?

PS: Before you jump down my throat — even though they've made peace, Kushina hasn't removed the seal yet, so she's not exactly a perfect jinchuriki. And even if she was, it's not like that makes her a mind reader. Seiki genuinely means well, thinking of everyone as his wings — of course he wants them all to grow stronger together.

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