Chapter 75: Destiny

Everything froze.

Time itself stopped.

Ren Asakura looked at Nine-Tails and continued speaking.

"I wasn't trying to make you surrender.

I just wanted you to try—

To understand.

To make friends.

To trust them.

So, yeah, I used some underhanded tricks to crack open that thick skull of yours."

Nine-Tails fell silent.

Then—

"Fine. Whatever you say."

Ren Asakura smirked and snapped his fingers.

Time began to flow again.

All the wounds on Nine-Tails and Xia vanished.

Xia slowly woke up, surprised to find itself completely healed.

But it didn't dwell on it.

Instead, the little cat immediately started circling around Nine-Tails, excited beyond words.

"Hero! Hero! I knew you'd come save me!"

Nine-Tails, however, was no longer the same.

No matter how real this world felt—

The pain, the joy, the emotions—

It was all fake.

"Human. Can you send this little one home?"

Ren Asakura smiled. "Of course."

Just then—

A red sports car sped down the road.

As it approached, it screeched to a sudden halt.

A cute girl in a white dress jumped out of the car, her eyes wide in shock.

"Xia!!!"

Before Xia could even react, the girl had already scooped it up into her arms.

"Huh?! My owner?"

"I finally found you! Where have you been these past few days? It's so dirty outside! What if you ate something bad?"

Her voice was filled with love and worry.

Nine-Tails turned away. Ready to leave.

Humans couldn't understand a cat's words.

Xia meowed loudly, twisting in the girl's arms.

"Hero, hero! My owner's here! Look, look!!"

But Nine-Tails was already gone.

Vanished from the world.

The girl carried the struggling Xia back into the car.

The engine roared—

And the red sports car sped off into the distance, leaving only a crimson blur.

The world around them began to blur.

Ren Asakura flipped open the script in his hands.

"Man, who would've thought a cliché novel like this could be so fun? And my imitation of the Infinite Tsukuyomi? Hah—way more entertaining than I expected.

So this… is what it feels like to control someone's fate? This is what it's like to write tragedy?"

Nine-Tails woke up.

For the real world, only an instant had passed.

But to Nine-Tails—

It had felt like an entire lifetime.

Ren Asakura released his grip.

"Let's go, Kurama. Now that you've been through this, maybe—just maybe—you'll finally be able to understand others."

Of course, Nine-Tails' current form wasn't exactly suited to enter the Hidden Leaf Village just like that.

But in the end, Nine-Tails was just chakra.

Without hesitation, Ren Asakura absorbed Nine-Tails into his own body.

—

Konoha Hospital

Thankfully, the village's invasion hadn't destroyed the hospital.

Kushina Uzumaki lay on the hospital bed, her hand held tightly by Minato Namikaze.

Tsunade stood nearby, pouring all her effort into healing.

As expected of the Uzumaki clan—their life force was monstrous.

Minato wasn't too worried.

After all—the group leader was about to arrive.

And sure enough—

In a flash, Ren Asakura appeared inside the hospital room.

The room was relatively empty, save for the family and Tsunade, who was overseeing the treatment.

Tsunade's brow furrowed the moment she saw him.

"Who are you?"

Minato Namikaze quickly introduced him.

"He's a friend of mine. He knows medical ninjutsu."

Tsunade didn't pay much attention. She continued her treatment, not believing anyone in the ninja world could surpass her in medical skills.

Ren Asakura smiled.

"Well, if it isn't Lady Tsunade? Hah—you're even bigger than I imagined."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You've got some nerve, huh?"

"No, no, you misunderstood!"

Ren Asakura waved his hands innocently.

"I was talking about your age! Right, Auntie Tsunade?"

He smiled—as if he were an honest child.

Tsunade gritted her teeth.

If she weren't in the middle of emergency treatment, she would've sent him flying with her monster strength.

—

Meanwhile, Kushina Uzumaki had already fallen unconscious.

Her life force was rapidly fading.

Ren Asakura clapped his hands together.

"Alright—enough small talk. Time to save her."

Tsunade frowned in confusion as Ren placed his hand on Kushina's stomach.

In an instant—

An overwhelming surge of life force poured into Kushina's body.

Her wounds healed.

Every hidden injury vanished.

The damage from losing Nine-Tails disappeared—instantly.

Hell, even the recovery period from childbirth was skipped altogether.

Kushina's eyes fluttered open.

She felt refreshed, as if she had just woken up from the best nap of her life.

The exhaustion from childbirth? Gone.

The life-threatening damage from Nine-Tails' extraction? Gone.

She felt like she was back in her prime.

Tsunade stared in shock.

As the top medical ninja, she knew exactly what should've happened to Kushina.

Losing a Tailed Beast?

For an ordinary person, that was instant death.

Kushina tried to sit up, but Tsunade rushed forward.

"Hold on, hold on! Let me check!"

After a frantic round of examinations—

Tsunade started questioning reality.

Kushina wasn't just fine.

She was so healthy it was ridiculous.

Even old injuries from past wars? Completely gone.

"What the hell kind of medical ninjutsu is this?!"

Tsunade turned to Ren Asakura, demanding answers.

Ren scratched his head.

Was this even a "technique"?

All he did was inject pure life force into her.

But if it had to have a name…

Suddenly, inspiration struck.

"Ultimate Divine Angelic Grace—The Supreme Miracle-Healing Kiss of Absolute Benevolence!"

Now that sounded badass.

Minato Namikaze: "…As expected of the group leader. What a name."

Ren Asakura patted his chest proudly.

"Of course! I'm a genius."

Tsunade sighed. "Honestly? Just calling it 'Ultimate Healing Technique' would be better."

Ren shook his head.

"Nah, nah, that sounds like some low-tier MMO skill. My name? Now that is next-level. Powerful, majestic, awe-inspiring—pure perfection."

Minato: "As expected of the group leader!"

Tsunade, however, was seriously tempted.

As a medical ninja, if she could learn this insanely powerful healing technique, she could save countless lives—both in battle and in daily practice.

So, she let Ren's earlier rudeness slide.

—

Minato suddenly thought of something and asked cautiously—

"Group leader… where's Nine-Tails? You… didn't kill him, did you?"

Ren Asakura gave him an offended look.

"Kill him? Do I look like that kind of person?!

He's your personal cheat code! Why would I destroy your power-up?

Nope—after some gentle persuasion, Nine-Tails agreed to coexist peacefully with you."

Then Ren smirked.

"But Minato—if you really want to win Nine-Tails over completely, you'll need time and patience.

Think back to when you chased after Kushina—

She has red hair. You love red hair.

Nine-Tails also has red hair.

I know you'll grow to love him, too."

Minato's mouth twitched.

Kushina stared at him with the weirdest look.

°°°

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