Chapter 391

Upon hearing the message from the alert ninja, the Five Kage and Uchiha Sasuke immediately rushed out from where the Jūbi was being held.

Once outside, Naruto quickly locked onto the massive chakra source. Pointing towards the right front direction, he said, "It's over there."

The six of them moved swiftly, and before long, they saw the 'massive chakra source' that the alert ninja had reported.

It was a humanoid creature, but it was clearly not human. From its appearance to the tails behind it, there was nothing remotely human about it. Its skin was like oil, as if it were flowing.

Moreover, the chakra radiating from this humanoid creature was immense—so much so that the Five Kage and Uchiha Sasuke all furrowed their brows.

"Naruto, your focus has dropped significantly. Try sensing this thing properly!"

Naruto suddenly heard Kurama's voice in his mind and quickly responded, "What is it, Kurama? Do you know what this thing is?"

"Enough talk! Just focus and sense it properly!"

Hearing Kurama's urgency, Naruto immediately activated his Sage Mode to enhance his perception. What he sensed shocked him to his core.

"This... this is the Jūbi? No, wait... it's different. It seems to have gained consciousness?"

"That's right, this is the Jūbi. But I don't know what the Ōtsutsuki did to it… Somehow, it has developed its own will."

Kurama spoke with certainty. After all, it had once been part of the Jūbi, even if it wasn't this exact one. Since all power from the Divine Tree originated from the same source, Kurama could clearly sense and resonate with the Jūbi's chakra.

"Everyone, be careful! This thing in front of us is the Jūbi!"

Hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke and the other Kage were in disbelief.

"Naruto, what did you just say? It's the Jūbi?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, Kurama told me. This thing's power is identical to the Jūbi's, but for some reason… it seems to have its own consciousness!"

Darui frowned. "So what do we do now? Should we try communicating with it?"

"We should just seal it. This is the Jūbi we're talking about. It might be something the Kara Organization tampered with!"

Kurotsuchi had a different opinion. The Jūbi was an existence that could easily destroy the ninja world. This kind of creature needed to be sealed as soon as possible!

Naruto's expression was serious as he spoke, "I'll go and probe it. Sasuke, everyone—if it turns out we can't communicate with it, I'll need you all to cover me."

With that, Naruto walked towards the Jūbi, stopping when he was about twenty or thirty meters away.

The Jūbi did not attack.

Naruto took note of this and called out loudly, "Hey, you—"

"Not you. Though you resemble it, you're not what I want to eat… I want Ōtsutsuki."

Before Naruto could finish his sentence, the Jūbi glanced at him and spoke slowly.

"You—"

Naruto was stunned by its gaze. He couldn't describe it properly—it was as if his mind went blank. There was no joy, no sorrow, no worry—only a sense of detachment, like a predator examining its prey. Yet, there was no emotional hunger in its gaze—just an indifferent acknowledgment of all things as food.

"If I must eat an Ōtsutsuki… I have been starving for too long. I'll eat something else first. I'm not picky. A human brain will do!"

Another black head emerged from the Jūbi's shoulder, its massive mouth lined with sharp teeth. The words it spoke made Naruto realize this was no creature he could reason with.

The Jūbi ignored its symbiote's words and continued, "Where is the Ōtsutsuki?"

Naruto clenched his fists slightly and replied, "The Ōtsutsuki? I want to know that even more than you do. But before we find them, how about you cooperate with us for a bit?"

"No Ōtsutsuki? You'll do."

As soon as it finished speaking, the Jūbi lunged at Naruto with incredible speed.

A black blur—like lightning.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock at the sheer speed of the attack.

Swish!

But in the next instant, Naruto suddenly felt his body shift. His vision changed dramatically—where the Jūbi had been right in front of him, it was now far away. Instead, Sasuke was standing in its path.

Chidori!

With a flash, Sasuke swung his blade, the Kusanagi Sword, crackling with lightning as it slashed toward the Jūbi's neck. At the same time, he narrowly dodged the Jūbi's clawed swipe by lowering his stance.

Zzzzt!

Thunder roared as Sasuke's blade struck the Jūbi's neck. However, something felt off—his Chidori-infused slash didn't cut through!

Swish!

The Jūbi swiped at Sasuke again, but a cluster of sand appeared in its palm, followed by a lightning-wrapped water whip that struck it, sending it flying backward.

"Sasuke, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. This thing has some kind of thick protective layer. Taijutsu and normal weapons probably won't work. We need a different approach!"

Sasuke watched as the Jūbi stood up again, seemingly unaffected by the lightning paralysis. He quickly formed a hand seal.

Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!

A massive fireball shot from Sasuke's mouth, rapidly closing in on the Jūbi.

The symbiote on the Jūbi's shoulder reacted immediately, sensing the heat of the fireball. It recoiled and quickly retreated into the Jūbi's body.

Darui and the others noticed this reaction. But the fireball itself had no effect on the Jūbi—it simply waved its hand, snuffing out the flames effortlessly.

Naruto observed, "That black thing on the Jūbi's body seems afraid of fire, Sasuke!"

"I saw it. I'll use more fire-style jutsu when I get the chance."

Seeing that its food was still intact and its evolution remained incomplete, a new emotion flickered on the Jūbi's face—impatience.

"Eat. Eat you all. Eat everything."

Its body began splitting, generating multiple humanoid figures identical to itself.

This was the Jūbi's replication ability, which had already been displayed during the Fourth Shinobi World War.

While the Five Kage and Sasuke were battling the Jūbi, elsewhere, at the Ōtsutsuki shrine, a space-time portal suddenly opened beneath it.

From within, Jigen emerged.

Looking around at the now-empty underground space, where only a few black rods remained, Jigen —who prided himself on composure—found it difficult to remain calm. His face darkened.

"…Damn it. Who did this?"

Before he could finish his thought, he sensed multiple chakra signatures outside.

At the same time, the alert ninja's voice echoed in the minds of the Five Kage and Sasuke.

"Lord Kages, another unknown chakra signature has appeared inside the underground shrine. It emerged suddenly—it's very likely space-time ninjutsu!"

(End of Chapter)

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