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JST Chapter 353: A Gentle Hand in the Darkness
🕑 Added 2025-06-24 15:32:06 +0000 UTCKazuki slowly opened his eyes. But this time, they were not the ordinary, unremarkable three-tomoe Sharingan he usually revealed. Instead—se
Kazuki slowly opened his eyes. But this time, they were not the ordinary, unremarkable three-tomoe Sharingan he usually revealed.
Instead—set against a white sclera, nine crimson tomoe rotated within the iris, radiating the light of the Tenseigan, layered with the golden patterns of the Rinnegan.
This was a Rinnegan unique to Kazuki, formed by fusing the bloodlines of all major branches of the Ōtsutsuki!
'Even if spacetime is bound by strict laws, my dōjutsu seems capable of overcoming them...'
Kazuki could feel the immense power pulsing through his eyes as his gaze fell upon the little turtle in his hand—the artifact capable of traversing time and space.
The treasured tool Karasuki shuddered under Kazuki’s gaze, its whole shell trembling. The turtle gave a nervous, ingratiating smile, as if it were seeing a very familiar figure—its former master, the ascended Ōtsutsuki God.
Yes… he looked just like him.
That same mind capable of manipulating everything…
That same unreasonable, overwhelming talent!
Kazuki absentmindedly stroked the turtle’s shell.
He had asked Karasuki about Shibai before,
But the information he had received… was far too limited.
This little turtle had once been a tool used by Ōtsutsuki Shibai in his early years—no different in status from something like a katana once wielded by Senju Hashirama.
According to Karasuki, even Ōtsutsuki Shibai had discovered that acquiring power from alternate timelines was impossible, and so he had cast it aside into a private dimensional space. It wasn’t until Shibai ascended on the shinobi world’s planet that Karasuki was unexpectedly freed.
No longer wishing to be used by the Ōtsutsuki, the turtle had hidden itself deep in the ocean, only to be discovered by shinobi and eventually fall into the hands of Momoshiki and Urashiki.
“Karasuki, find me a timeline that lies five years into the future compared to this one,” Kazuki said softly. “The faster the time flows in that timeline compared to this one, the better.”
As he spoke, Kazuki poured an immense amount of chakra into Karasuki’s shell and smiled warmly.
“I know it’s difficult, but I believe in you. I know you can do it.”
“Don’t worry—I’ll give you the chakra you need to protect yourself in the temporal maelstrom. Do your best... I promise you this: once we’ve resolved this crisis with the Ōtsutsuki Clan, I’ll return your freedom.”
The little turtle could feel the torrent of chakra flooding into its body. For a moment, it forgot its fear and looked at Kazuki with wonder.
This was the first time...
A user had ever willingly infused it with chakra so it could survive the turbulent flow of time.
This man… seemed different.
[It has been detected that Karasuki has developed an intense curiosity towards the host. The target has been bound!]
“I... I understand!” Karasuki activated the temporal energy within its body and began searching, with rare seriousness, through every timeline, just as Kazuki had requested.
A long while passed.
Then Karasuki finally lifted its head, beaming with excitement as it reported back: “I found it! Kazuki-sama, I found the timeline you were looking for!”
“Excellent. I knew you could do it.”
Kazuki offered a faint smile.
“Then take me there.”
At that very moment—
Kaguya, within Kazuki’s body, hesitated to speak. She truly didn’t understand why Kazuki insisted on traveling to an alternate timeline.
It had already been made perfectly clear—
Alternate dimensions were paths the Ōtsutsuki had explored and abandoned—even the Ōtsutsuki God had rejected them.
With so many restrictions in place, energy from alternate timelines held no real harvesting value—and any attempt came with extreme risk.
But Kaguya didn’t dare to persuade him otherwise. All she could do was sigh inwardly.
A traitor, until forgiven, had no right to offer advice to Kazuki.
A surge of deep violet Dragon Vein Chakra erupted within Karasuki, forming a crystalline spacetime teleportation array—
Kazuki stepped forward and entered.
...
Alternate Timeline — Konohagakure, Morning
Naruto woke up inside a messy, cluttered room. Bleary-eyed, he rubbed his face and let out a long sigh.
Once again—
He had been called the Nine-Tails Demon Fox.
He really didn’t understand why people harbored such deep malice toward him…
“Are you alright?”
A warm voice echoed from within Naruto’s body, startling the boy: “W–Who’s talking?!”
And in the next instant—
Naruto found himself drawn into his mental space, where he was met with a sight that left him utterly stunned.
A man—
Was casually seated on the head of a massive, frightened fox. Smiling at him, eyes half-closed with ease…
“Wh-Where… is this?”
Naruto’s eyes were filled with fear.
“Onii-san… who are you? What is that demon fox? And why am I here?!”
As just a child, Naruto was witnessing a scene completely beyond his understanding.
Sitting calmly atop the Nine-Tails’ head was Kazuki.
The terrifying demon fox, whose body radiated an ominous chakra aura, was now crouched low to the ground like a startled cat, trembling with fear.
Its sharp vertical pupils quivered absurdly—as though the young man smiling gently above its head was a monster even more terrifying than it was.
In front of the man and the fox, a massive iron gate—clearly meant to seal something—had collapsed flat on the ground, its original function unknown.
“This is inside your body…”
Kazuki looked at the young Naruto with a relaxed smile, speaking in a calm, gentle tone.
“Or perhaps you could say… this is your heart, your spiritual space, or even the place your soul resides. It depends on how you choose to understand it.”
“This big fox is called the Nine-Tails. It’s a tailed beast sealed within your body.”
“As for me… I’m just a passing traveler who happened to stumble upon this fascinating scene inside you. For now, I’d like to stay a while and witness the beauty of the shinobi world.”
Several glowing orbs of different colors hovered quietly around Kazuki’s hand, casting shimmering light. They looked dazzling.
Naruto stared at the glowing orbs, his heart brimming with curiosity.
These so-called 'light orbs' represented the chakra inside Kazuki—aside from the Nine-Tails.
They were the chakra remnants of Asura, Namikaze Minato, and Kushina.
With a casual wave of his hand, Kazuki caused the orb representing Asura’s chakra to instantly dim and drift silently to the corner, hidden away.
“My apologies for barging in without your permission,” Kazuki said softly, raising a hand and giving little Naruto a friendly wave.
“Would you mind if I discussed a few things with you? Consider it my way of making up for the intrusion.”
Naruto stared blankly at Kazuki, a strange light welling up in his eyes.
For the first time…
This was the very first time someone had spoken to Naruto in such a warm and respectful way—with kindness, gentleness, and sincerity.
Especially someone who was clearly incredibly powerful.
In a world where the villagers all treated him as a demon fox and looked at him with hatred, this was an experience he had never known.
Let alone someone like Kazuki—just this one polite and friendly smile already felt like something completely out of reach.
'This onii-san… really seems so gentle…'
Naruto was thinking all of this quietly in his heart, even as his feet moved instinctively toward Kazuki. Step by step, he cautiously made his way over and stood carefully at Kazuki’s side. With visible hesitation, he finally opened his mouth.
“Onii-san, I’m not actually mad... I was just really surprised there’s such a big fox inside me! As for the whole compensation thing…”
He trailed off, fumbling with his words for a long while but unable to name a single request. His cheeks gradually flushed red. Maybe he was worried that this indecisiveness would leave a bad impression on Kazuki—he was clearly getting more and more flustered.
Then, quietly, a large hand settled on his small shoulder.
Kazuki crouched down so he was at eye level with the little Naruto and spoke gently.
“Is there really nothing you want right now?” he asked with a soft smile. “How about this: I noticed you kept staring at that big fox and the light orbs in my hand…”
“How about I teach you ninjutsu? And how to control the fox inside you, too. Consider it the rent I pay for staying here for a while.”
Kazuki smiled as he saw the look of utter delight on Naruto’s face.
He’s still just a kid… A freshly enrolled student at the Academy—so young, so innocent.
“If there’s anything else you need, you can always ask me later,” Kazuki added, winking.
“Does that sound fair?”
Naruto nodded with all his strength.
That offer was way more than fair!
“Onii-san, you’re amazing! I know you can teach me how to become a powerful ninja!”
Naruto lifted his chin excitedly, full of energy—but then his eyes flicked over to the Nine-Tails, still lying obediently on the ground nearby. The moment he saw the massive beast, he instinctively shrank back a little.
After all, even crouching like that, the Nine-Tails was still the Nine-Tails—a monstrous creature that had made countless shinobi tremble across the entire shinobi world.
But then Naruto looked over at Kazuki’s warm, smiling face—and suddenly, a surge of courage filled his chest. In one swift motion, he darted behind Kazuki and tucked himself securely out of sight. Once he was safely hidden, he peeked out from behind him, stuck his tongue out, and made a ridiculous face at the silent Nine-Tails.
“Blehhh~ Big fox, you’re so rude! Now I finally get why everyone calls me a demon fox—it’s because I’ve got you inside me!”
Naruto huffed indignantly.
“Just look at Onii-san! He’s so gentle and polite—he even asked me what I wanted to make up for suddenly showing up! But you? You’ve been hiding in my body all this time and never said a thing! That’s seriously messed up!”
“It’s your fault the villagers call me a demon fox!”
From the Nine-Tails’ nostrils, two long streams of white mist snorted out.
Damn it… you brat!
Hiding behind that terrifying man like a coward—what do you even think you’re doing?!
'Come at me one-on-one if you’ve got the guts! If you can last three seconds against me, I, the Nine-Tails, will call that damned One-Tail ‘Dad’ tomorrow!'
But of course, that was just wishful thinking…
Having fought—no, been instantly overwhelmed by Kazuki, the Nine-Tails had experienced firsthand the terrifying presence radiating from him. It was a sensation Naruto, still just a child, could never possibly comprehend.
Kazuki’s power had surpassed everything the Nine-Tails knew—beyond even the Sage of Six Paths or the Ten-Tails. He was a being on an entirely different plane of existence.
If not for the fact that Kazuki bore no killing intent, the Nine-Tails was certain it would already be dead.
So, obediently, it lowered its head. But deep inside, it roared in fury: 'Damn brat! Just you wait until that dangerous man leaves—I’ll settle the score with you, down to the last detail!'
Comments
Zero Speed
Looks like this story isn't gonna end for a few months, I'll be back to see if this story gets an actual ending
