Chapter 536: Failed Talk Jutsu
Non-kin are bound to have different hearts.
When Haruno Sakura was young in her previous life, she used to be an idealist, feeling that if humans could discard differences in skin color, ethnicity, nation, and culture, reduce internal friction, and establish a great harmony society where everyone is equal, that would undoubtedly be the ultimate ideal of humanity.
So she felt that words deliberately creating rifts between groups of people were simply maliciously intentioned, and the heart behind them deserved to be condemned.
After being slapped in the face by reality too many times, and changing from an idealist to a pragmatist, she gradually felt... these words actually made a lot of sense. Reality is both true and cruel.
You treat others kindly as your own people, but others completely look down on you, and even wish you were dead.
Including certain ethnic groups that boast a very high level of civilization... hehe.
So after arriving in the Naruto world, her concepts didn't change much.
—Of course, judging by the average moral level of ninja, Haruno Sakura could already be considered very gentle and kind.
Discrimination is soft violence. Ninja and ninja villages, having fought three Ninja World Wars in sixty years, don't popularize this; their attitude towards ninja not from their own village is more hostile, or even naked violent slaughter.
And discrimination happens more often to Jinchuriki: because of ignorance or fear, Jinchuriki always receive weird looks or even eye-rolls in the village.
It wasn't that Haruno Sakura discriminated against Naruto.
But she was full of prejudice against the Nine-Tails.
In the history of Konoha, not a single good thing was associated with the Nine-Tails; what the Nine-Tails brought was disaster full of destruction and slaughter.
Haruno Sakura had now personally come into contact with the Nine-Tails. From the texture of its chakra and its words, Sakura couldn't see the slightest goodwill from the Nine-Tails.
But when Naruto proposed making friends with the Nine-Tails, Haruno Sakura didn't stop him.
At this age, she herself was also a chunibyo youth full of naive ideas, always thinking about things too ideally and too simply.
The girl said nothing, waiting to see how the untamed and unruly Nine-Tails would respond.
—The Nine-Tails' vicious words were completely within her expectations.
"Give up, Naruto!" Haruno Sakura sighed and said, "This is an intelligent beast that has nothing left but hatred for humans!"
Naruto shook his head.
What greatly surprised Haruno Sakura was that, despite his goodwill being so trampled by the Nine-Tails, Naruto still looked steady, his eyes firm.
Being able to accept setbacks so calmly, Naruto's growth truly astonished her.
"Because I'm a Jinchuriki, I was also once a 'freak' in the village." Naruto spread his hands and said slowly, "Actually, in the eyes of many people, I am the Nine-Tails. I grew up in this kind of environment where people rolled their eyes at me or even showed hostility."
"So I can understand your feelings very well, Nine-Tails."
The orange-haired boy pursed his lips and gave a bitter smile.
Haruno Sakura frowned slightly, reached out and patted Naruto's shoulder, but had nothing to say.
She knew Naruto didn't need sympathy or pity; what he needed was acknowledgment.
"To be honest... at that time, I also had thoughts of taking revenge on the village, thinking about killing everyone, slaughtering the whole village." Naruto looked solemn, speaking in a deep voice, also pouring out the secret at the bottom of his heart.
There was no need to hide it; even Naruto, who always seemed to have a sunny face, had generated many dark thoughts in the depths of his heart.
After all... he grew up in that kind of environment.
"Pretty much the same as your thoughts, Nine-Tails?" He smiled self-deprecatingly.
The demon fox glared with murky yellow beast eyes, looking coldly at Naruto.
"Hmph." To Naruto's question, it merely snorted coldly and didn't respond.
"I learned about your history, Nine-Tails, from Uncle Jiraiya and Sakura... You attacked Konoha twice, causing many deaths. But that wasn't your original intention; you were manipulated by others." Naruto didn't mind, his voice steady as he continued.
"So the Nine-Tails is actually also a victim, a victim indiscriminately treated as a perpetrator." Naruto said this sentence to Haruno Sakura.
He saw Sakura's subconscious hostility towards the Nine-Tails.
The girl pursed her lips, noncommittal to Naruto's conclusion.
At first hearing, it seemed the heinous Nine-Tails was whitewashed, but thinking about it carefully, Naruto's statement actually wasn't unreasonable.
In the two incidents of the Nine-Tails attacking the village, the true culprits were Madara Uchiha and another mysterious person secretly manipulating the Nine-Tails. The Nine-Tails was merely an accomplice, or even more accurately, a tool without self-consciousness.
But, if this could wash the Nine-Tails completely clean, emotionally Haruno Sakura completely couldn't accept it.
She suppressed the urge to interrupt Naruto's conversation and argue with him, quietly continuing to listen to him speak.
"I was also misunderstood." Naruto turned his head, facing the Nine-Tails, and said, "You can see it all in my stomach... You and I both understand how uncomfortable that feeling of being abandoned by the world is."
Naruto was more pitiful than the Nine-Tails.
The Nine-Tails at least practically caused harm to Konoha. Naruto was reasonably the hero who sealed the Nine-Tails with his own body, or at least the son of a hero, yet ended up being treated like this.
The Nine-Tails still didn't say a word, its eyes remaining gloomy.
"I am luckier than you, Nine-Tails."
"Because I met people who understand and acknowledge me." Speaking up to here, Naruto smiled faintly, turning his head to glance at Haruno Sakura and Sasuke standing not far away.
The latter returned a simple smile.
Naruto continued to recall, there was also Iruka, Kakashi, Shikamaru, Choji, the Third Hokage... many, many people.
It was exactly the existence of these people that warmed Naruto's heart, making him not only not fall into the abyss of hatred, but instead generate the thought of wanting to be acknowledged by everyone and becoming Hokage.
Perhaps this was going from one extreme to another.
The gentle smile on Naruto's face seemed to sting the Nine-Tails. It let out a low growl, saying impatiently: "What does that have to do with me!"
It glared fiercely at Naruto, the vertical pupils full of evil aura looking extremely dangerous.
Naruto was unmoved, just looking back calmly.
"No one has ever been willing to understand the Nine-Tails' thoughts, right..."
"I want to be the first person to do so."
He said sincerely.
If the ones saying this were the two boys and girls with the Sharingan beside him, the Nine-Tails would definitely scoff.
People of the Uchiha clan, not even their punctuation marks could be trusted.
But, maybe silly people usually find it easier to appear very sincere. At least the Nine-Tails couldn't see any fake elements in Naruto's eyes.
—He truly thought so, and was also a person who intended to do so!
From the boy's azure eyes, the Nine-Tails saw its own reflection.
No one had ever—not even once, been willing to understand its feelings and thoughts from the Nine-Tails' perspective.
The Nine-Tails also always believed that even if imprisoned by humans in the form of a Jinchuriki, unable to gain freedom, it was still the proudest and strongest Tailed Beast, and didn't need to gain others' understanding and acknowledgment.
For a moment, the Nine-Tails was indeed shaken.
At that moment, its eyes softened.
Then the Nine-Tails' expression changed, and it became furious.
Angry at its own weakness, angry that Naruto's words actually touched its heart!
It roared angrily, its claw fiercely scratching at the sealing formula, instantly beaten skin and flesh torn, dripping with blood by the automatic counterattack power of the seal!
"Do you think saying a few nice words can deceive me?!" The Nine-Tails completely ignored the wound on its hand, casually flicked its hand, and shouted loudly.
"No matter how nice you sound, you just want to get my power!"
It glared fiercely at Naruto, shouting sharply in anger.
Imprisoned by Konoha for sixty years, controlled twice by the Sharingan, the deep-seated hatred of becoming a plaything for others, how could Naruto wipe it off the slate with just a few empty words?
Its anger, its hatred, how could they be dissolved so simply?
Talk jutsu is not omnipotent.
"You just wait and see... Naruto," it smiled ferociously, killing intent overflowing nakedly, "Sooner or later, I will take advantage of when you're careless to carry out a complete Tailed Beast transformation and completely swallow your body!"
Haruno Sakura frowned deeply upon hearing this.
The Nine-Tails she had just brutally beaten, on what grounds did it dare to threaten Naruto in front of her?
"Healed the scar and forgot the pain, Nine-Tails?" She took two steps forward, said with a cold little face, "You are forcing me to use Kotoamatsukami—"
Midway through her words, Naruto interrupted her.
"Forget it, Sakura." He waved his hand and said, "Let me solve the Nine-Tails' matter."
Using Kotoamatsukami to forcefully make the Nine-Tails bow its head, such a method of forcefully pressing an ox's head to drink water was simple and crude enough, and might quickly produce obvious effects at the time, but would leave endless future troubles.
"At least let me put an insurance on it!" Haruno Sakura frowned even tighter, saying in a deep voice, "Let me use Kotoamatsukami to erase its killing intent towards you."
This was her bottom line—at least to ensure Naruto's life safety.
Naruto still shook his head.
"The bond between friends doesn't need Kotoamatsukami to maintain." He explained simply.
"The Nine-Tails hasn't treated you as a friend!" The girl raised her delicate eyebrows, feeling Naruto's insistence was truly both annoying and funny.
"If you use Kotoamatsukami on it, then it will never acknowledge humans again." Naruto said firmly, "Besides, it's not that easy for the Nine-Tails to enter complete Tailed Beast transformation, kill me, and revive from me..."
"Because, I have you two companions helping me!"
This was indeed an important reason: if it really didn't work out, she could use Kotoamatsukami to save the desperate situation.
But...
Haruno Sakura bit her lip, wanting to say something more, when the ground suddenly shook.
Naruto's body was about to wake up.
Haruno Sakura knew it was time to leave.
The girl looked at Naruto, then at the ferocious-looking Nine-Tails, and ultimately said nothing.
Just as Naruto said, this was a matter between him and the Nine-Tails. As an outsider, it wasn't good for her to intervene.
Although in fact she had already deeply intervened long ago.
Having been severely dealt with by Haruno Sakura, and knowing she possessed such a powerful genjutsu as Kotoamatsukami, whatever that fox wanted to do to Naruto, it had to consider Haruno Sakura's existence.
It was time to leave.
Haruno Sakura finally cast her gaze to a hidden corner of the sealing space.
If I remember correctly, there was a slight chakra fluctuation here just now... someone left his chakra here!
But looking again, no abnormality could be detected at all.
Who is it?
The sealing space shook violently again.
After a good while of earth-shaking, then, the three people's vision lit up, having already broken away from the sealing space in Naruto's body, appearing in the sunny real world.
"We're back..."
"Let's rest for a bit." Haruno Sakura looked at the two who were slightly panting and not in high spirits, and suggested, "After resting well in a while, let's do simulation drills on cooperation methods during combat..."
Team 7's training proceeded normally afterwards.
A few days later, Tsunade received an urgent letter dispatched from the Mist Ninja.