Back at their quarters.
Karin cast a barrier to prevent eavesdropping.
She turned around in surprise, examining the two foxes. "You really have powers like Naruto now, even wielding that... Zanpakutō? But where are your swords?"
Naruto was curious too.
He had searched thoroughly under the waterfall, worried that the sword might've fallen into the water, even diving in to look for it.
But he found nothing.
"I don't know," said the Yang Nine-Tails, blinking and shaking its head. "I only heard the name, but I never received the sword."
"I clearly used it against that ugly guy," it added.
"But for some reason, I couldn't bring it out."
The two foxes chimed in and recounted everything.
Especially when they said, "Naruto, you're wrong. That guy isn't the dark side of me." They wagged their tails gleefully, feeling proud.
However, when they mentioned the "Zanpakutō," they became a bit more restrained.
Naruto thought for a moment and offered a theory: "Under the waterfall, we meditated and entered our inner world."
"Since you've already grasped that kind of power, you could use it smoothly there."
"But in the real world, you don't have an Asauchi."
"So you don't have a sword."
The Yang Nine-Tails was annoyed. "Still need an Asauchi?"
"I remember, Naruto, you once got one, didn't you?"
"How do you have two swords?"
Naruto took off Kyūbi and explained: "This one was formed using your power."
"The one named Asura is the one born from an Asauchi."
The Yin Nine-Tails pondered. "During the battle, that's indeed how it was. We drew power from our body and condensed it into our own sword."
The Yang Nine-Tails also seemed deep in thought, staring at the Yin Nine-Tails.
"What are you looking at?" the Yin Nine-Tails said, wary, backing away and bumping into Karin.
Though it asked, it knew exactly what its counterpart was thinking—after all, they were the same fox.
It looked back, saw who it was, and after a moment, reluctantly shoved its tail into her hand.
At the moment, staying beside Karin was clearly safer than being near the other version of itself.
"I just wanted to try… what if you could become my Zanpakutō?" the Yang Nine-Tails muttered.
The Yin Nine-Tails bared its teeth. "Why don't you try it yourself?"
The Yang Nine-Tails replied confidently, "I understand Shinigami powers better than you do, so of course it should be me."
The Yin Nine-Tails snorted.
The Yang Nine-Tails pounced.
The two foxes wrestled, while Karin quickly dodged. In no time, one of the beds was completely torn apart.
"No good," the Yang Nine-Tails said, grabbing the other's tail and shaking its head in disappointment. "You can't become a sword."
"Looks like… we really do need an Asauchi."
Naruto nodded and looked at Karin.
As expected, the bond between him and the Nine-Tails was a special case.
Usually, a Shinigami needed a Zanpakutō to achieve Shikai. Even someone as powerful as the Nine-Tails wasn't an exception.
So, if he wanted Karin to become a Shinigami, he first had to get her a Zanpakutō.
But…
He couldn't bring things from the Soul Society back here.
The Nine-Tails was fine—because of the seal, they could travel together to the Soul Society.
But Karin?
He couldn't seal her into his body too, right?
He had to understand what an "Asauchi" truly was.
Naruto suddenly recalled that Asauchi were forged. But in the Seireitei, there didn't seem to be a place responsible for that. Squad 12 didn't do it, and neither did Squad 1.
He realized he had overlooked something important this whole time.
Where do Asauchi come from?
He needed to return to the Soul Society to investigate.
"Oh right, Nine-Tails, what's the ability of your Zanpakutō?" Naruto turned to the still-unwilling-to-give-up Yang Nine-Tails.
At this, the fox raised its head proudly. "My sword is called Kokuzōkyō—hmm… by Shinigami terms, it should be considered a Kidō-type Zanpakutō."
"Any attack used against me gets absorbed by Kokuzōkyō."
"Of course…"
"The amount of chakra or spiritual pressure the opponent uses, I must match in cost."
"Also, the energy stored in the blade can't exceed my own energy limit."
"But it won't decay over time. It can be stored indefinitely."
"Once enough energy is accumulated, or when it reaches full capacity, I can compress it and release it all at once from the blade."
Naruto nodded, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Sounds like a really powerful sword."
Under perfect conditions, it could even unleash a full-powered Nine-Tails attack in one strike.
"Of course. It's my power—how could it be weak?" Both foxes lifted their heads proudly and swished their tails. "I'm quite fond of its ability."
"Just not sure… whether it can absorb genjutsu."
In its mind, the first thing that appeared was the Sharingan.
Then came the calm face of Aizen Sōsuke.
"Even without a Zanpakutō," Naruto encouraged, "since you can already use Shikai, why not try for Bankai?"
"You still remember the training process, right?"
Both Nine-Tails nodded.
They jumped onto the remaining intact bed and started meditating seriously.
Karin looked on with envy and pulled out a scroll to read.
Even foxes could do it...
What right did she have to slack off?
Study!
She refused to believe she couldn't learn it.
Although the training had ended, Naruto and the others stayed on the island for a while longer.
Karin would occasionally visit the waterfall again.
But... that kind of training only helped reinforce one's resolve for ordinary shinobi. It didn't offer much in terms of power increase.
So Karin focused more on studying "jutsu formulas."
And didn't miss a single character!
A week later—
Naruto left Turtle Island, taking a boat back to the Land of Lightning.
He declined the feasts offered by the daimyo and the Raikage and left Kumogakure with Karin directly.
In a cave deep in the mountains, the group temporarily set up camp.
A fire flickered and swayed.
A few wild bears trembled in their den. They had been sleeping soundly, when this group suddenly barged in—
Saying they wanted to spend the night.
But whether it was those two humans or the two seemingly small foxes, they all exuded an intense, terrifying aura!
The Nine-Tails' Bankai training was not going well.
After a week, there was no progress—just like Naruto in the past.
"This might be because I don't have a sword," Naruto consoled him. "Once we get you one, it should be fine."
The Yang Nine-Tails shook its head. "I'm afraid it has nothing to do with the sword."
Naruto looked at it, unsure why it would say that.
"I can't train Bankai with Kyūbi because it's not truly my sword. It's a power I loaned to you," the fox said, flicking its tail and analyzing further. "And back then in the inner world, the reason I couldn't use Shikai…"
"Wasn't because I was resisting my inner self."
"It was because the two of us weren't united. Our soul wasn't complete."
Naruto nodded.
The Nine-Tails had said this before.
"Isn't Bankai just the evolution of Shikai?" the Yang Nine-Tails mused. "Then… doesn't that mean Bankai requires true completeness?"
"All this time, I never told you something."
"But now, I think it's time you knew, so you can maybe give me some insight."
Naruto tilted his head at it.
"I am incomplete," the Yang Nine-Tails said seriously.
Naruto looked at it, then glanced at the Yin Nine-Tails.
"Of course. You're just half," Karin chimed in, saying what Naruto was thinking.
The Nine-Tails shook its head. "No, not that kind of incomplete."
It paused. "Naruto, have you ever wondered—among so many powerful creatures in the world, why are there only nine Tailed Beasts?"
"And why do we all look and behave differently, yet are still categorized together?"
Naruto shook his head. He had never heard the history of the Tailed Beasts. "Is it related to the Sage of Six Paths?"
The Yang Nine-Tails paused. "How did you guess?"
"All chakra mysteries trace back to him," Naruto replied softly.
The Nine-Tails lowered its head. "Remember what the Great Toad Sage said about the God Tree?"
Naruto nodded.
"That tree is the origin of all chakra. It's also the source of the Tailed Beasts," the Yang Nine-Tails continued slowly. "The God Tree... was once given a name by the Sage of Six Paths—he called it the Ten-Tails."
"We Tailed Beasts…"
"Were born when the Sage split the Ten-Tails' power into nine parts."
"So… even if Yin and Yang are united, I'm still incomplete—just one-ninth of a whole."
Naruto seemed to understand, his eyes curious. "Nine-Tails, do you still have memories from when you were the Ten-Tails?"
The Yang Nine-Tails shook its head. "Of course not."
It paused. "Whatever you want to know about that… I don't know either."
Naruto nodded, not disappointed. "Since you don't have those memories…"
"That proves that even if your power came from it, you are now your own being—not a part of it."
"Why are you telling me this now?"
The Nine-Tails tilted its head. "It just suddenly came to mind. I think you've done well lately. Think of this as a reward for listening to my advice and releasing the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails."
"Also—"
"If Uchiha Madara is really linked to the Akatsuki…"
"Then maybe their goal in collecting the Tailed Beasts is to resurrect the Ten-Tails."
Naruto fell into thought.
Uchiha Madara, huh?
"Nine-Tails, don't give up on your Bankai training," he said after a moment. "You've already grasped your own Shikai—there's no way you don't have hope for a true Bankai."
"Didn't Captain Kuchiki say? It takes decades to master Bankai."
"Just in case, let's also search for the other Tailed Beasts."
"If we can borrow some chakra from them, maybe it'll help?"
The two Nine-Tails froze, then nodded vigorously and coughed awkwardly. "Yes, yes, that's exactly what I was thinking too."
Karin rolled her eyes.
Really?
(End of Chapter)