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The rest of the team nodded without hesitation. They stepped up behind their captain, each placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Later, trash~"
The cocky guy grinned at Hiruzen like he was looking at something stuck to the bottom of his shoe.
"Damn it!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi had already started forming a counterattack, planning to use the opening to snatch Uzumaki Kushina back. But the instant his jutsu left his hands, the enemy vanished in a blur.
"Space–time ninjutsu?!"
Danzo was genuinely shaken. For a moment, he even considered ordering a retreat.
As far as he knew, only one person in the world could use space–time techniques like that—his own teacher, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
And as Tobirama's student, he knew better than anyone how terrifying that power truly was.
"Investigate! Send people out now!"
Unlike Danzo, Hiruzen reacted immediately after the enemy disappeared. He didn't give the order out of wounded pride.
They had taken Kushina.
Uzumaki Kushina—the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
Losing the Nine-Tails' vessel would be a catastrophic blow to Konoha.
"Four Kage-level fighters… Where did that many monsters come from all of a sudden?"
A headache pounded behind Hiruzen's eyes. Worse still, what if they came back?
"Using our once-a-day spatial transfer in a situation like that… was that really necessary?"
The arrogant man, Thompson, sounded annoyed. "We could've crushed them."
"Don't underestimate anyone in any world," said the only woman on the team, code-named Dou Erfan. "Have you forgotten what happened last time?"
"Tch. That was because someone wasn't strong enough," Thompson shot back dismissively.
"Enough."
Their captain, Yujiro Hanma, cut in coldly. "Finishing the mission is the priority. If some hidden powerhouse intercepts us, we're all dead."
He paused, eyes narrowing.
"And did you notice? The mission rating dropped from S-class to A+."
That meant interference.
An S-class mission suddenly downgraded… someone had stepped in.
Inside the seal space, Kurama had been observing everything.
When he saw one of them use space–time ninjutsu, even he was startled.
But the moment they mentioned it could only be used once per day, he relaxed—and grinned.
He honestly couldn't understand why these idiots always felt the need to explain their abilities out loud. Did they think their enemies wouldn't use that information against them?
Or had they just never been beaten hard enough?
"Well then… looks like it's my turn."
Kurama's grin stretched wide. On a giant fox face, that expression was less "smile" and more "nightmare fuel."
As for the seal?
Heh.
After completing that mission in the Douluo world, Kurama had immediately bought a specialized seal-breaking item from the Interdimensional Mercenary Guild.
"…"
Thompson shut up when the captain spoke, even if he didn't look pleased about it.
"So what now?" asked Murashita Tamaki, the genjutsu specialist, glancing at Yujiro Hanma.
He didn't care about the earlier argument. He just wanted to finish the mission and go home for a proper rest.
"Next, we—"
Before the captain could finish his sentence, terrifying chakra exploded from Kushina's body.
"Next, you're heading straight to hell!!!"
Kushina's eyes snapped open.
Her pupils had turned into feral, vertical slits. A crooked, almost playful smile tugged at her lips.
Thick, dark whisker marks surfaced on her cheeks. Her canines lengthened. The cloak of demonic fox chakra wrapped around her, dense and solid. Behind her, three tails lashed violently into existence.
It wasn't that Kurama didn't want to release more chakra.
Three tails was simply the limit of what Kushina's current body could endure.
The old Kurama might have taken this perfect opportunity to rip the seal apart and damn the consequences.
But times had changed.
He was still reckless—but now he knew how to plan.
Kushina was useful. He needed her.
After all, she would remain "his" jinchūriki.
Well. Technically, the jinchūriki of his clone.
Kurama was practically buzzing with excitement at the thought of finally walking this world openly.
The mercenary team, however, did not share his enthusiasm.
Their faces turned ugly fast.
And honestly, who could blame them?
The sheer pressure radiating from Kushina was suffocating. The air itself seemed to distort and heat under the weight of her chakra.
"What the hell is this power…?" Thompson's expression finally changed.
He wasn't scared.
But this was no longer something he could brush off.
"This kind of energy…" Yujiro Hanma frowned deeply. "Is this actually a high-risk world?"
Kurama didn't care what they were thinking.
He decided to start things properly.
A Tailed Beast Bomb, right off the bat.
Out of respect.
"....."