Chapter 215 : Slap Nine Tails
Riku stepped into Naruto’s inner world for the first time.
In front of him stood the massive form of Kurama, the Nine Tails, sealed behind the bars of the Eight Trigrams Seal.
Naruto stirred awake as Kurama’s chakra, previously surging uncontrollably, had been forcefully subdued—pushed back by Riku’s intervention. His eyes widened in confusion as he saw Riku standing beside him.
"Riku? What are you doing here?"
This was Naruto’s mindscape. No one else was supposed to be able to enter.
Riku remained calm, his gaze focused on the towering beast behind the seal.
Kurama narrowed his eyes at Riku. "Human. Why are you here?"
The tailed beast could feel it—an overwhelming chakra emanating from Riku, far beyond anything it had encountered before. Even in its current state, with only half of its original power, Kurama knew: Riku’s chakra was more than seven times its own. If Kurama were whole, Riku’s chakra would still eclipse it by over three times.
This amount of chakra... not even the Sage of Six Paths had possessed such reserves until he became the Ten Tails’ jinchūriki.
And yet, Riku was clearly not a descendant of the Sage of Six Paths. His chakra, inexplicably, surpassed even the ancient founder of ninjutsu before acquiring the Ten Tails.
What kind of monster was this child?
Riku gave Kurama a relaxed glance and said with a faint smile, "So this is the Nine Tails. Looks pretty fierce."
He turned to Naruto, ignoring the growling beast. "You almost lost control just now. Kyubi chakra is a powerful asset, but only if you can wield it. Three years have passed, and you still can’t control even a single tail?"
Naruto rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. " Kyubi chakra isn’t exactly easy to handle... I don’t really know how to control it yet."
He had always wanted to gain control over the Nine Tails’ power, knowing it would make him stronger. But wanting something and knowing how to achieve it were two different things.
Riku stepped closer, his tone matter-of-fact. "Hit him."
Naruto blinked. "Huh?"
"He’s sealed by the Eight Trigrams Seal. He can’t get out. No matter how hard you hit him, it won’t hurt you. Or better yet, force his chakra to respond. What can he possibly do to stop you?"
Naruto stared, dumbfounded.
Kurama, on the other hand, growled in outrage. "You little brat! You wanna die that badly?!"
He slammed his enormous clawed paws against the iron gate of the seal, the bars shuddering under the impact.
"You come in here, and I swear I’ll rip you apart!"
Naruto visibly flinched. Every time he confronted Kurama’s wrath, he instinctively cowered. The idea of actually attacking the Nine Tails was absurd—Naruto knew full well that he didn’t stand a chance in a direct fight.
But Riku frowned at Kurama’s tantrum and turned to glare at the beast.
"You’re being noisy," he said coldly. "You’re just a tailed beast. Don’t tell me you’re planning to throw a tantrum."
As soon as Riku finished speaking, arcs of lightning crackled through the mindscape. Whips of raw lightning burst into existence, snaking around the sealed chamber.
Crack!
"Bastard—!"
The lightning whips lashed across Kurama’s massive body, one after another. Formed from concentrated chakra, the lashes delivered searing pain—not enough to kill, but enough to humiliate.
Kurama howled, writhing under the punishment, furious at being disciplined like a common animal—especially by a ten-year-old boy.
But Riku didn’t stop. The more Kurama screamed, the harder the lashes fell.
Riku casually patted Naruto’s shoulder. "See that? You have to tame him like a beast. Let him feel your dominance. Make sure he understands that if he disobeys you, he’ll be punished. Make it hurt."
Any other jinchūriki who had successfully befriended their tailed beast would’ve been horrified to hear Riku speak like this. Harmony between jinchūriki and tailed beast was achieved through mutual understanding and trust—not force.
But knowing Riku, if he ever had a tailed beast inside him, he really would use this method.
To him, a tailed beast was a weapon—nothing more.
Naruto, however, couldn’t accept that. He quickly stepped in and grabbed Riku’s arm. "Stop it, Riku! I know I haven’t gained Kyubi trust yet, but I want to earn it the right way. I want real approval—true acceptance. Not fear."
Riku chuckled. "I figured you’d say that. Fine, do it your way. But if Kyubi were sealed in me, I’d have tamed him by now."
He turned back to Kurama, and his tone chilled again.
" Kyubi . I don’t care how much you hate humans, but I can’t stand irrational behavior. If I ever see you lose control again—if you endanger Naruto—I’ll come back and beat you senseless."
Kurama opened his mouth to roar but was cut off by another barrage of lightning lashes.
He screamed in pain, glaring at Riku with pure hatred, but the boy didn’t flinch.
Riku didn’t care. He was used to being hated. Whether it was the Five Tails or another, hatred meant nothing to him.
And then, with a final crack of lightning, Riku stepped out of Naruto’s mind.
Outside, only a moment had passed.
The Nine Tails’ chakra cloak that had surrounded Naruto dissipated instantly. The transformation was gone as quickly as it had started.
Though Kurama despised Riku, he didn’t dare act up again. He understood that even if he went on a rampage, he wouldn’t be able to lay a finger on Riku. That boy’s chakra... it wasn’t something even Kurama could rival.
Only a few in history had chakra reserves like that—Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, his brother Hamura, and Senju Hashirama. Not even Uchiha Madara had this much.
Kakashi didn’t know exactly what had happened, but he could tell Riku had stabilized Naruto’s emotions.
Naruto looked at Riku, eyes filled with gratitude.
"Thanks, Riku."
Riku offered a small smile and then turned his attention to the battlefield.
His gaze locked on Deidara, who was perched atop Gaara’s unconscious body.
"Deidara. Iwagakure’s genius explosive-style user. Clay with detonation properties... You’re the disciple of the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki."
Riku’s expression turned thoughtful. "I’m curious. As Ōnoki’s only disciple, you were clearly being groomed to become the next Tsuchikage. Why defect?"
Though strict, Ōnoki undoubtedly wanted Deidara to become stronger. The same could probably be said of the Second Tsuchikage when training Ōnoki himself.
Iwagakure’s Will of Stone bred powerful, uncompromising leaders. Deidara was likely chosen with that exact future in mind.
And yet, he had abandoned it all while still a teenager. Why?
Had he stayed, under Ōnoki’s guidance, his strength could have surpassed what it was now. His talent was exceptional—he wouldn’t have been selected as Ōnoki’s personal disciple otherwise.
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