Natsuhiko truly had no idea what would happen if he tried merging the Three-Tails' chakra into the little Nine-Tails.
Although he had always been interested in creating the Ten-Tails eventually, the version he envisioned was one centered around the little Nine-Tails' personality and consciousness.
The little fox had already stayed by his side for two or three years.
Even if the little guy spent most of his time sleeping nonstop, Natsuhiko had still grown accustomed to his presence—and honestly, he quite liked having him around.
Because of that, he absolutely didn't want anything bad to happen.
Even if his relationship with the little Nine-Tails wasn't as deep as Naruto and Kurama's bond in the original story, that didn't mean he was willing to lose him.
After all, just imagining Naruto losing Kurama was enough to understand how painful that would be.
Forget the issue of strength for a moment.
Simply losing a companion that close would be devastating.
Over the years, the little Nine-Tails had helped Natsuhiko countless times.
At one point, he had even been one of Natsuhiko's strongest trump cards.
That was something Natsuhiko would never forget.
So naturally, he didn't want the little fox to disappear because of some unexpected accident.
If something like that really happened, even he wouldn't be able to accept it.
Faced with Natsuhiko's concern, the little Nine-Tails first froze for a moment before lowering his head in thought.
After remaining silent for quite a while, he finally spoke slowly.
"To be honest... I'm not completely sure either. But I have a feeling that if you merge Isobu's power into me, nothing bad will happen."
"Oh?" Natsuhiko raised an eyebrow slightly at that answer.
The little Nine-Tails' instincts were honestly a very mysterious thing.
Natsuhiko wasn't entirely sure whether he should trust that feeling or not.
Still, it was difficult to believe the fox would joke about something this serious.
And more importantly, the little Nine-Tails had come directly from the system.
Maybe his instincts themselves were influenced by the system in some way.
Of course, all of that was merely speculation on Natsuhiko's part. He had no way of confirming the truth.
That uncertainty was exactly why he felt so conflicted.
After all, if something went wrong, the result might very well be the little Nine-Tails disappearing entirely and becoming someone—or something—else.
"Yes, I really do feel that way," the little fox said softly, tilting his head slightly. "Don't forget, I can absorb other chakra to strengthen myself too."
"You mean you want to devour the Three-Tails' power?" Natsuhiko's mouth twitched faintly. "If that happens, then I won't be able to use the Three-Tails' abilities anymore."
The Three-Tails' chakra was actually a crucial part of his plans.
The identities and disguises he intended to create in the future relied heavily on using different tailed beast powers to deceive—or intimidate—others.
Natsuhiko didn't mind strengthening the little Nine-Tails.
But if it ruined all his preparations, that would genuinely be a disaster.
"Of course not." The little fox shook his head. Standing on Natsuhiko's shoulder, his tiny orange face looked oddly exhausted as he muttered, "I may spend most of my time sleeping, but that doesn't mean I don't know what you're planning."
"The Three-Tails' chakra isn't something I'd absorb directly. I still haven't fully digested all that Ryūmyaku power yet, so why would I greedily try taking in even more?"
As he spoke, his voice became slightly more serious.
"What I mean is this: if you merge Isobu's chakra into me, then I probably won't be overwhelmed by his will. At the same time, I should still be able to gain access to the Three-Tails' abilities."
"In that case, you'd effectively be able to draw both powers from me at the same time."
The little fox paused briefly before adding,
"According to human terminology, you'd have both the powers of the Three-Tails and the Nine-Tails."
"You're certain you can actually do that?"
Natsuhiko had to admit—
He was tempted.
If he could access both the Three-Tails' and Nine-Tails' abilities through a single tailed beast, it would save him an enormous amount of trouble.
Natsuhiko's intermediate goal had always been the Ten-Tails—and preferably, a Ten-Tails that still preserved the little Nine-Tails' will as its core consciousness.
If the little fox could truly achieve everything he had just described, then it would be an incredible development. It might even resolve many of the future complications and disputes he would otherwise have to face.
Thinking of this, Natsuhiko realized he really needed to carefully consider the possibility, because the potential benefits were simply too great.
"Let's try it," the little Nine-Tails suddenly said. "If anything feels wrong, I'll immediately tell you to stop. Don't worry—I'm not going to joke with my own life."
"That's best," Natsuhiko replied with a slight nod. The fox's caution actually eased some of his concerns. "I don't want anything unfortunate happening here either."
He truly didn't want a tragedy unfolding under his watch. With the little fox's assurance, he still couldn't be completely at ease, but at least he had a clearer expectation of the risks involved.
This was something worth attempting.
More than that—it was something he needed to attempt.
With that thought, Natsuhiko no longer hesitated. He slowly took out the chakra fruit containing the Three-Tails' power.
Closing his eyes slightly, he placed it directly into his mouth.
The familiar bitterness once again surged across his taste buds violently. No matter how many times he had experienced it, the sensation never became any easier to endure.
He didn't know what Sora or Renge had felt when they went through this, but for him, it was nothing short of unbearable—yet at the same time, strangely anticipatory.
As the Three-Tails' power fully integrated into his body, Natsuhiko immediately sensed a new consciousness beginning to form within it.
He had experienced this before when he first nurtured the Nine-Tails' chakra, so he wasn't particularly surprised.
But just as he was preparing to guide this newly formed chakra directly into the little Nine-Tails' body, the energy suddenly broke free from his control.
It surged on its own—rushing straight toward the Nine-Tails' direction.
In an instant, the chakra of the Three-Tails and Nine-Tails began to intertwine violently, and the fox head resting on Natsuhiko's shoulder vanished without a trace.
Natsuhiko could clearly sense that the little Nine-Tails himself hadn't even had time to react before being overwhelmed by the sudden influx of power—and was now actively engaging with it.
"Fusion?"
He immediately realized that something was different this time.
Instead of clashing or rejecting each other, the two forces were actually resonating, as if they shared some underlying connection. That connection was driving them to merge continuously.
"However… this fusion doesn't seem entirely smooth."
Natsuhiko observed carefully. While the two energies were indeed compatible in some way, something was clearly missing—an element preventing them from fully integrating.
"Could it be because not all of the tailed beasts are gathered yet, causing some form of imbalance?"
He silently considered the possibility.
Meanwhile, the situation on the little Nine-Tails' side was stabilizing rapidly. The chakra fluctuations gradually smoothed out, becoming increasingly steady and refined.
Before long, all abnormal movements ceased completely.
The little fox slowly opened his eyes again.
"…So that's how it is," Natsuhiko murmured, watching him quietly as he nodded slightly.
Once everything had settled, he immediately asked for clarification.
Although he already had some guesses in mind, he preferred hearing the explanation directly from the little fox himself—it would be clearer and more objective that way.
Fortunately, what he saw put him at ease.
The little Nine-Tails was still the same little Nine-Tails.
His personality, cognition, and sense of self had not changed at all.
The only difference lay in his chakra.
At this moment, his energy had become noticeably chaotic—but it was also divided into two distinct parts.
One was the familiar Nine-Tails chakra Natsuhiko knew so well.
The other, however, was unmistakably the chakra of the Three-Tails.
The little Nine-Tails carefully explained his condition in detail, allowing Natsuhiko to finally understand what was happening inside him.
In simple terms, both the Nine-Tails' chakra and the newly cultivated Three-Tails chakra were fundamentally powers born from Natsuhiko himself.
They were indeed tailed beast chakra—but at the same time, they were deeply rooted in Natsuhiko's own energy.
And because Natsuhiko's chakra acted as a binding medium, the powers of the Nine-Tails and the Three-Tails could now merge together without much resistance at all.
"I never thought my power had this kind of function…" Natsuhiko muttered, his mouth twitching slightly.
It was honestly the first time he realized his own chakra could be used in such a way.
Of course, that was only part of the explanation.
His chakra provided the foundation for the fusion between the Three-Tails' and Nine-Tails' chakra—but it wasn't the only factor.
The reason these two forces could merge at all came down to something deeper: compatibility.
To put it simply, that compatibility stemmed from the Ten-Tails itself.
Both the Three-Tails and the Nine-Tails originated from the Ten-Tails. They had simply been separated thousands of years ago by Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.
That separation did not change the fundamental nature of their power.
As long as there was a proper link connecting them again, fusion was not impossible.
In the original timeline, that link was the body of the Ten-Tails itself.
But now, Natsuhiko did not possess such a thing.
Instead, he had something even more unusual.
The tailed beasts he created were born through the system using chakra itself. Structurally, they were no different from the original beasts. If anything, the only true difference was Natsuhiko's own chakra.
His chakra, embedded within these tailed beasts, was now acting in a very subtle and peculiar way.
It had effectively replaced the role of the Nine-Tails' original vessel, forming a bridge that connected all of them together.
In other words—it had created the prerequisite for fusion.
"However, just the Three-Tails and I alone aren't enough to fully complete the fusion," the little Nine-Tails said slowly from within Natsuhiko's body. "The continuity between their chakras isn't perfect."
That statement stuck firmly in Natsuhiko's mind.
Continuity likely referred to some kind of sequence or structural order.
One tail to nine tails—there had to be an inherent order and connection between them.
Even if Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo had once simply "split one portion into one tail and another into nine tails," the chakra inside the Nine-Tails still wouldn't naturally align with the Three-Tails perfectly.
That sequence mattered.
And because that sequence was incomplete, full fusion was naturally impossible at this stage.
"That's roughly how it is," the little fox muttered as he wriggled slightly within Natsuhiko's body, still clearly adjusting to his new state. "It just feels like… I'm not entirely me anymore. There's something else inside me now."
"Don't phrase it so strangely," Natsuhiko replied, though his mouth twitched again. "Well… not that you're wrong."
He shook his head.
"Forget it. You wouldn't really understand even if I explained it. Just assume your current form isn't exactly the same as before."
"How does that sound even more confusing than what I said?" the little Nine-Tails shot back, giving Natsuhiko a strange look. "I feel like your way of talking is more questionable than mine."
But Natsuhiko clearly had no intention of continuing that conversation.
Whatever had been inserted into the little fox's body—or whatever strange transformation had occurred—didn't matter right now.
At the very least, the little guy was still the same little guy.
That hadn't changed.
What mattered more to Natsuhiko now was another question entirely.
How much control did the little Nine-Tails actually have over these combined powers?
And more importantly—would his growth affect only the original Nine-Tails chakra, or would it also extend to the newly integrated Three-Tails chakra?
"These are the things I need to figure out," Natsuhiko thought.
Then he asked directly, "By the way, how does the Three-Tails' power develop? And can I use a Three-Tails chakra mode?"
"The growth of the Three-Tails' chakra is indeed influenced by my own," the little Nine-Tails answered without hesitation.
"I can clearly feel it now… it has already started absorbing my power."
"As for Three-Tails Chakra Mode, I think it should be fine. These are all my powers. I can control them."
Hearing the little fox's words, Natsuhiko finally let out a quiet breath of relief.
What he had been most worried about was exactly this—if the little guy couldn't properly control his own power, then Natsuhiko would be forced to rely solely on the Nine-Tails chakra mode. That would be a rather awkward outcome.
As for what a Three-Tails chakra mode actually looked like, Natsuhiko genuinely had no idea. He had never seen it, nor experienced it before.
Even in the original story, the Mizukage had never demonstrated such an ability. At most, he seemed to have developed only a tailed-beast cloak before stopping there.
Still, Natsuhiko had no intention of experimenting with it right now. There would be plenty of time for that later.
What he cared about more at the moment was his system interface—specifically, what changes had occurred.
With that thought, he quickly opened his status panel, and his data immediately unfolded before his vision.
...
Name: Senju Natsuhiko
Gender: Male
Birthday: Konoha Calendar Year 34, March 24
Level: Semi-Kage (System evaluation without using any abilities) (Massive chakra reserves) (Partially sealed Ryūmyaku chakra)
Dojutsu: Jōgan (Initial Stage) (Development: 52%)
Bloodline Development: Intermediate (Senju Secret Techniques, Basic Yang Release Techniques) , Kekkei Tota (Unnamed), Basic Yin Release Techniques, Yin–Yang Release (Fusion Progress: 1%)
Jinchūriki: Nine-Tails (Three-Tails) (Intermediate, can grow by consuming large amounts of special chakra, plant advanced Nine-Tails fruits to further growth) (Excessive chakra intake, continuously increasing)
Seeds: Sharingan Origin Seed (3%)
Fruits: Intermediate Fire Release Fruit (1), Intermediate Water Release Fruit (1), Intermediate Earth Release Fruit (1), Basic Three-Tails Chakra Fruit, Intermediate Wood Release Fruit
Mission: Become the true final boss of the Ninja world (Unique) (Progress 45%),
Ten-Tails Jinchūriki (Optional) (Possesses Nine-Tails and Three-Tails; fusion progress not yet activated)
...
Natsuhiko stared at the panel in silence for a moment, slightly stunned.
He genuinely hadn't expected that his system would suddenly trigger a new mission.
One of the most peculiar traits of his system was that it never issued forced quests.
There were no time limits, no life-or-death penalties, no "complete it or die" kind of nonsense.
It simply gave him a long-term objective and left everything up to him—do it if he wanted, ignore it if he didn't. Purely optional.
Frankly, Natsuhiko had always liked that arrangement.
But the problem was that there had only ever been a single mission from the very beginning, which left him somewhat unsure what to make of the system itself.
Now, however, this extremely "lazy" system had unexpectedly generated a second mission.
That alone was enough to surprise him.
But this new mission was particularly interesting—it seemed to have been created specifically in response to his current situation.
Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.
It was one of the more straightforward paths toward reaching the so-called Six Paths level.
Of course, "straightforward" only applied when compared to other methods of reaching that realm through personal cultivation.
In reality, relying on bloodline evolution was incredibly difficult. At the very least, in this era—where most ancient pure bloodlines had already been diluted or exhausted—it was nearly impossible.
Natsuhiko remembered a certain someone who went from east to west and back again, only to fall into ruin precisely because his clan's bloodline had run dry.
The current shinobi world wasn't much different.
Take the Hyūga, the Uchiha, and the Senju clans for example—how many of them could truly restore their former glory?
In truth, aside from the Senju clan he himself belonged to, there were almost none.
And even for the Senju…
He was only able to sustain its "revival" through his system.
As for reaching the level of Indra or Asura—
That was something even Natsuhiko himself only treated as a distant possibility.
Bloodline alone was already unreliable enough. But trying to go even further by fusing different chakra powers and evolving into an Ōtsutsuki-style "Kekkei Mōra" being was practically impossible.
At least with normal bloodline evolution, there was still a faint chance of success. But chakra fusion was different—it was essentially a dead end. Even in the original story, no one had ever truly succeeded on that path.
In the entire ninja world, the closest example was Dust Release used by Ōnoki, which fused three different chakra natures into a single technique. Beyond that, most people could only combine two chakra natures at most.
Compared to those two approaches, becoming a Ten-Tails Jinchūriki actually looked like the "simpler" option on paper.
But that "simplicity" was only relative—because the requirements were brutally high.
First of all, thanks to Senju Hashirama, all the tailed beasts were now scattered across the major ninja villages. If you wanted to collect them, the first step was simple in theory but absurd in practice: attack the villages, locate the jinchūriki, and escape alive with them.
As for how successful that would be… Natsuhiko honestly believed very few people in the world could pull it off.
And even if you somehow succeeded, there was a second requirement—you needed a cheat-level ability like his own, something that allowed tailed beasts to be reassembled and fused without relying on the Ten-Tails' physical shell.
Without that, the only alternative was to possess the Rinnegan and summon the Ten-Tails' body directly from the Moon.
And even if you managed to do all of that—survive the inevitable ninja alliance that would come hunting you, successfully summon the Ten-Tails, and withstand everything thrown at you—you would still face the final obstacle.
The will of the Ten-Tails itself.
In a sense, the Ten-Tails was essentially the Divine Tree. For a mere human to attempt to control such a being was nothing short of a joke.
It would never willingly allow itself to be controlled, dominated, or enslaved by a mortal.
Natsuhiko felt that without an extremely strong will, there was no way anyone could truly suppress that monster.
Unless someone was like Obito—driven to madness by obsession, so consumed by a single desire that even the Ten-Tails could not shake him.
"So in the end…" Natsuhiko's lips twitched slightly as he thought it through. "All of these paths are basically playgrounds for high-level monsters. Ordinary people don't even have a choice."
The ninja world, after all, was still a world that revolved around bloodlines.
With strong bloodlines came strength. And with strength came the freedom to do whatever irrational thing you wanted.
Thinking about this, Natsuhiko lost interest in dwelling on it further.
Because in his case, he had already been walking all three paths simultaneously.
The bloodline evolution route was something his system had already prepared for him from the start—essentially a straight shortcut to the end.
The chakra fusion route was something he had been actively exploring on his own, and he had already made significant progress. Not only had he created a form of Kekkei Tota, but he had also begun experimenting with Yin–Yang Release fusion.
In other words, he was steadily advancing down that path as well.
And now, the third path had also opened.
The fusion of the Three-Tails and Nine-Tails had triggered a new optional system mission, and that alone gave Natsuhiko a glimpse of possibility.
Even if the mission didn't yet show a complete fusion progress bar—he suspected that might only appear after collecting all the tailed beasts—it still meant one thing.
There was a path forward now.
He could see the possibility of success.
And while pursuing all three paths at once might not be the most rational decision, from another perspective… having multiple routes simply meant more room for error correction.
"Besides," Natsuhiko thought as he stretched lightly, his mood noticeably improving, "even without this mission, haven't I already been walking all three paths anyway?"
He let out a small breath.
At least now, the system had officially acknowledged it.
And that alone was enough to confirm that his direction—and his methods—were not wrong.
"Looks like the war between Konoha and Kumogakure is bound to break out after all."
Natsuhiko slowly walked up to the window, gazing at the scenery outside as the thought quietly surfaced in his mind.
Kumogakure controlled two tailed beasts—something he had never forgotten. In fact, he had originally planned to obtain the chakra of those two beasts himself.
Now it seemed that this was no longer just an option. It had become a necessity.
Not only did he have to act, but he had to do it well—because Natsuhiko knew this was undoubtedly one of the greatest opportunities he would ever have.
A chance not only to gain enormous benefits, but also to firmly establish himself on the grand stage of the shinobi world.
An opportunity like this… he absolutely could not miss.
...
Inside Iwagakure, Ōnoki was quietly focused on handling paperwork.
The atmosphere in the ninja world had already begun to feel tense, almost like the scent of gunpowder in the air. Kumogakure's movements had not gone unnoticed by Konoha alone—on the contrary, even the slightest ripple in the shinobi world was enough to draw attention from every major village.
After analyzing the situation and weighing the current balance of power, everyone quickly understood exactly what Kumogakure intended to do.
Unlike Konoha, Kumogakure had not signed a non-aggression treaty with anyone, meaning anything it did would not damage its diplomatic credibility in the eyes of the world.
More importantly, everyone knew that among all the participants of the Third Great Ninja War, Kumogakure had suffered the least losses. Its military strength remained intact, more than enough to support another large-scale conflict.
"It seems the future of the shinobi world won't be so peaceful," Ōnoki chuckled to himself.
Whether the world was peaceful or not had no real meaning to him personally.
Even if he wanted to take advantage of the situation and bite into Konoha's flesh, he couldn't.
Iwagakure and Konoha were bound by a ceasefire agreement, and for the sake of their village's reputation, they could not break it easily.
As a result, in the coming conflict, he would likely be nothing more than an observer—unable to intervene.
Ironically, Ōnoki never even seriously considered another possibility.
Why couldn't he attack Kumogakure instead?
Kumogakure and Iwagakure were also mortal enemies. But in truth, weren't all the great villages enemies in one way or another?
The only difference lay in the balance of interests.
Konoha, however, stood in a completely different position.
It occupied the richest and most fertile land in the entire shinobi world, with ideal geographical conditions and the ability to grow a wide variety of crops. The Land of Fire enjoyed a highly developed agricultural economy, allowing its citizens not only to live comfortably but also to export massive amounts of produce.
On top of that, Konoha sat at the very center of the shinobi world, serving as a natural transportation hub. It could collect tolls from countless merchant caravans passing through, earning a fortune without lifting a finger.
And as if that weren't enough, the Daimyō of the Land of Fire was absurdly wealthy and consistently invested enormous sums into the village, further strengthening Konoha's position.
One could easily imagine it: a village blessed with ideal climate and agricultural conditions, fully self-sufficient, even exporting goods to drain wealth from other nations; a village that controlled the main trade routes and could cut off your entire economy the moment you angered it.
Under such circumstances, who wouldn't resent it?
In truth, apart from Konoha itself, every other village was born with inherent disadvantages.
Back when the villages were first established, no one dared speak up—after all, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama were simply too powerful.
But now, things were different. Konoha had weakened. Its strongest figures had largely fallen.
So who wouldn't want a bite out of it?
Everyone's attention was focused on Konoha, and as a result, they naturally overlooked the other villages.
After all, the shinobi villages were the true governing power of each nation. As Kage, what they cared about most was interest—not hatred.
"Lord Tsuchikage."
Just as Ōnoki was thinking about how far the war between Konoha and Kumogakure would escalate, a knock suddenly came at the office door.
"Come in," Ōnoki replied, pulling his thoughts back to reality.
The door opened, and an Iwa ninja slowly walked in, holding a newspaper in his hands.
"What is it?" Ōnoki asked curiously, only now noticing him as he turned around.
In truth, Ōnoki's temper was far from good—but recently, his mood had been unusually pleasant thanks to the situation between Konoha and Kumogakure.
Those two villages were about to go to war. Even if Iwagakure couldn't directly profit from it, there was still plenty of room to expand its influence in the aftermath.
During wartime, those two great villages would be unable to accept missions as usual, and the resulting workload would naturally shift toward neutral countries like theirs.
Thinking of this, Ōnoki couldn't help but feel a bit more cheerful.
"Lord Tsuchikage, there's something I need you to see."
The Iwa ninja remained cautious as he handed over the newspaper.
"We found this during an inspection of a merchant caravan. The contents inside are somewhat…"
"Somewhat what?" Ōnoki blinked, then casually took the newspaper.
To him, newspapers were still something rather unfamiliar. Looking at the densely packed text printed across the page, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
His eyesight wasn't what it used to be. Reading such small print already felt a bit straining.
Still, it wasn't a major issue. He unfolded the paper and immediately turned to the first page.
And just one glance made him freeze.
"Cloud Village troop movements? Intelligence report? No, that's not right… why is there suddenly information about Konoha here? And why are there records of ANBU missions and past operations?"
The more Ōnoki read, the more confused he became. His expression grew increasingly bewildered as he struggled to make sense of what he was seeing.
Why did this thing contain intelligence reports, and at the same time include completely unrelated information?
He even saw details about the Land of Earth—such as complaints from towns about low wages.
It was a strange mix of intelligence, gossip, and random public commentary that left him completely unable to categorize it.
After a long moment, he finally looked up.
"You said you got this from a merchant caravan?"
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage," the Iwa ninja quickly nodded. "It belonged to a caravan traveling from the Land of Grass into the Land of Earth. We found it during a routine inspection."
"And what did they say this is?"
Ōnoki waved the newspaper slightly, still frowning.
"They called it a newspaper, Lord Tsuchikage," the ninja explained immediately. "It's said to be published in the Land of Fire. It contains all kinds of secrets and interesting stories—something meant for public reading."
"The Land of Fire… for public reading?"
Ōnoki's brows furrowed deeply. He couldn't immediately figure out what to make of it.
Something like this… was really meant for civilians and ordinary shinobi?
Wasn't there a risk of leaking sensitive information and letting other villages get their hands on it?
"Could this thing have nothing to do with Konoha?" he muttered to himself.
But almost immediately, he dismissed that idea.
With so much intelligence mixed in, there was no way this could have been produced without Konoha's involvement.
So why would Konoha do something like this?
Ōnoki truly couldn't understand.
Then suddenly, he seemed to recall something his intelligence division had once mentioned—Konoha had apparently been developing something called a "newspaper."
Realizing this, Ōnoki made a decision on the spot. He looked up at the ninja.
"Go gather information. Track down previous editions of this newspaper and bring them back to me. Understood?"
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage!"