Naruto: I'm Nine-Tails and My Host is Kushina

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Kushina's Hidden Potential

These days, the Nine-Tails chakra leaking from Kurama through Kushina's body had gradually weakened the seal, loosening it by sixty percent.

Just as it had happened with Uzumaki Mito, the initial release was the most significant, immediately weakening the seal by forty percent. After that, the process slowed down, gradually depleting Kushina's resistance.

So far, the seal had loosened by sixty percent.

Inside her, Kurama was also experiencing an incredible growth in intelligence due to Kushina's abilities. His mind evolved rapidly, adapting to the billion-fold learning potential hidden within his chakra.

The moment he returned to his human-like consciousness, he immediately performed the Clone Jutsu.

A single puff of smoke quickly became a dense fog, filling the entire sealed space with identical clones of himself.

"Good grief," Kurama thought, amused. "This isn't just a simple Clone Jutsu anymore. This has already reached the level of a Forbidden Jutsu—the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu."

Ordinary clones were just illusions, but Kurama had transformed the technique into something far beyond what it was meant to be.

As the Nine-Tails, the last thing he lacked was chakra.

In the original timeline, Naruto had used the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu to create thousands of clones, despite only possessing half of Kurama's chakra—the Yang half.

But Kurama in his full form? That was a completely different level.

The sheer power of the complete Nine-Tails was incomparable to its divided self.

---

Ninja School's Clone Jutsu Test

"What am I going to do? Tomorrow is another basic ninjutsu test!"

Kushina groaned in frustration, staring at the test paper covered in red marks.

She wasn't worried about failing the written exams—she had already accepted that part—but her struggles with basic ninjutsu were another issue entirely.

"Has my Hokage dream sunk before it even set sail?"

She sighed heavily.

If she couldn't even pass the Academy's graduation exam, how could she ever become Hokage?

Her ambitions seemed to be crumbling before they could even begin.

Lost in thought, Kushina eventually drifted into sleep.

---

The next morning at the Ninja Academy, the first test was the Clone Jutsu.

The requirement was simple: create a single clone that could move normally.

If this were the graduation exam, students would need to create at least two functioning clones.

Today, however, one was enough.

First up was the Ino-Shika-Chō trio.

Yamanaka Inoichi, Nara Shikaku, and Akimichi Chōza easily completed the task.

Shikaku sighed, scratching his spiky hair lazily.

"This is such a drag..."

Next was Uchiha Fugaku, who effortlessly created two clones.

After him, Uchiha Mikoto stepped forward, completing the test smoothly. She then turned to Kushina and smiled encouragingly.

"Kushina, you can do it! Don't let those boys look down on you!"

Kushina grinned, her usual confidence flaring up.

"Of course! I got this, Mikoto!"

Without warning, she pulled Mikoto into a tight hug.

Up next was Namikaze Minato.

As expected, he effortlessly created three perfectly identical clones.

Kushina scoffed, crossing her arms as she glanced at Minato with mild annoyance.

"Tch. That girly-looking guy actually has some talent."

Minato's flawless execution shocked even the teachers. His instructor, Moika-sensei, was in awe.

"This boy..." Moika murmured. "He might achieve greatness one day."

Finally, it was Kushina's turn.

She stepped forward confidently, ignoring the whispers around her.

"It's just Clone Jutsu. What's so scary about it?"

She formed the hand seal and focused her chakra.

Poof!

White smoke erupted around her.

When it cleared, the result was... a complete failure.

Her clone lay on the ground, lifeless and twitching.

It rolled its eyes blankly, unable to function.

Moika-sensei sighed and rubbed her temples in frustration.

The way she covered her face with her hands seemed to say:

"I don't know her. She's not my student."

The class erupted into laughter.

"The tail of the class is still the tail of the class!"

"Blood Red Pepper, huh? With that skill, can she even graduate?"

More laughter followed, echoing through the room.

But suddenly—

Kushina's blood-red hair stood on end.

Her sharp gaze swept across the room, and the boys immediately fell silent, avoiding eye contact.

Even Moika-sensei felt an inexplicable shiver run down her spine.

Since her Clone Jutsu failed, the instructors didn't even bother testing her Transformation Jutsu and Substitution Jutsu.

Was she disappointed?

Yes, but only for a moment.

With her fiery spirit, she quickly shook it off and regained her usual energy.

---

A Voice in the Darkness

Later that evening, back at home, Kushina lay on her futon, frowning.

She replayed the test over and over in her mind, trying to understand what went wrong.

She had enough chakra—there was no doubt about that.

Then why couldn't she perform the Clone Jutsu?

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't find an answer.

At that moment, a deep, magnetic voice echoed in her mind.

"Hey, little girl, what are you stressing about?"

Kushina's eyes widened.

That voice…

It had been a long time since she last heard it.

"Nine-Tails…?"

A moment later, she felt her consciousness being pulled away.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself inside a vast, eerie space.

The Sealed Chamber.

Her footsteps echoed as she hurried toward the giant cage.

Beyond the massive iron bars, a colossal fox sat in the shadows.

Its red-orange fur shimmered under the dim light, and its piercing blood-red eyes gleamed with an overwhelming presence.

For the first time, Kushina stood face-to-face with Kurama inside her subconscious.

In the original timeline, Jiraiya had forced Naruto into a near-death situation to unlock his connection with the Nine-Tails.

But for Kushina, the circumstances were different.

Because the seal had loosened by sixty percent, Kurama had dragged her here himself.

---

A Different Kind of Bond

Kushina stared up at the enormous beast.

"Hey, big fox, you called me—what do you want?"

She showed no fear.

She had always known Kurama was inside her, but she had never directly communicated with him until now.

Before her death, Uzumaki Mito had given her one final piece of advice:

"If you want to control the Nine-Tails, do not think of him as a beast. Treat him as an equal. Respect him as a friend."

Kushina had taken those words to heart.

Even though she had never seen Kurama before, she had always believed they could coexist.

Now, standing before the mighty Nine-Tails for the first time, she smiled.

Kurama stared at her for a long moment before chuckling.

"You're an interesting one, brat."

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