Yamanaka Shinno froze for a moment before his entire expression darkened.
Now he truly understood what they meant by "lies aren't scary, but the truth can be devastating."
Damn it!
He was going to copy an trait to increase his chakra reserves as soon as possible!
Seeing Shinno's reaction, Kurama's lips curled slightly. He felt completely refreshed, all his previous irritation swept away.
"Go ahead."
Shinno, looking completely deflated, waved his hand toward Kushina.
Kushina shot him a sympathetic glance before stepping forward. She formed the necessary hand seals and activated the Contract Seal.
A massive surge of chakra gathered, and countless black sealing patterns spread across Kurama's entire body.
For once, the usually mischievous Nine-Tails did not take advantage of the situation to attack its Jinchūriki. Instead, it remained still, allowing the process to unfold.
Those slit-like pupils never wavered as they stared at the humiliated Shinno, the faint smirk on Kurama's face filled with nothing but mockery and amusement.
After all, no matter how much they struggled, it wasn't like he could escape just yet.
Wouldn't it be far more entertaining to watch this arrogant brat suffer a little?
"Next up is the Reanimation Jutsu technique."
Seeing the Contract Seal fully wrap around Kurama, cutting off any possibility of it being summoned through the Summoning Jutsu, Shinno finally felt at ease.
Now, all he needed was to create a technique similar to Chiyo's Reanimation Jutsu—one that could transfer life force.
No matter how much Uchiha Madara schemed, with this technique in place, Kushina's life would be secure.
As for the side effect of consuming the user's lifespan?
Had he learned the Mind Body Switch Technique for nothing?
Was White Zetsu's life energy not an available resource?
[Beep—A major deviation in an important character's fate has altered the worldline. Rewards granted: Trait Duplication x1, Trait Gifts x3, Trait Removal x1, Trait Transfer x1, Trait Downgrade x1.]
The familiar system notification rang in his ears.
Shinno's lips curled into a smile as he pulled up his personal system interface.
...
Host: Yamanaka Shinno
Occupation: Ninja
Activated Entries: Transmigrator (Red), Zero-Frame Startup (Red), Yin Release Master (Purple), Water Release Master (Purple), Spatiotemporal Insight (Purple), Ninja World Scholar (Blue), Handsome (Blue)
Inactive Entries: Persistent Survivor (White), Fragile Yet Tenacious (White), Brother, You Smell Nice (White), Always Smiling (White)
Trait Duplication: 1
Trait Gifts: 3
Trait Transfer: 5
Trait Removal: 2
Trait Downgrade: 2
...
As a gamer who loved hoarding inventories full of resources, just looking at this well-stocked interface filled Shinno with joy.
And with two Trait Removals and two Trait Downgrades available…
If Madara really came looking for trouble, Shinno would make sure he got a taste of what it felt like to be utterly crippled.
Rinnegan? Gone~
Hashirama's cells? Gone~
Top-tier Fire Release? Reduced to a flickering ember~
No matter how powerful Madara was, hitting him where it hurt would still weaken him significantly.
And with the Flying Thunder God at his disposal, as long as he managed his chakra properly, he could attack, retreat, and reposition at will.
Hell, he might even be able to snuff out the Fourth Great Ninja War before it even started.
The more Shinno thought about it, the more promising it seemed.
He quickly combed through his memory palace, searching for the original series' mention of Madara's hideout.
After a while, he realized that the original story only briefly mentioned that Madara had been in the "Mountain Graveyard in the northern part of the Land of Iron" when he was on the verge of death.
That was also where Obito later met with Orochimaru and where Sasuke received Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan.
The Land of Iron wasn't particularly big or small.
Finding that one location in an entire country wouldn't be easy.
Moreover, there was no way Madara had only one hideout.
After all, Obito had been found near Kannabi Bridge.
Kannabi Bridge was a crucial supply line for Iwagakure during the Third Shinobi War, located at the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Earth.
With the kind of injuries Obito had suffered—half his body crushed—there was no way he had been carried all the way to the Land of Iron for treatment without dying on the way.
Which meant Madara had at least one more secret base in either the Land of Grass or the neighboring Land of Rain.
"I wonder if the Intelligence Division has any leads on this."
Shinno made a mental note to visit Konoha's Intelligence Division sometime soon.
At the very least, he needed to confirm the exact location of the Mountain Graveyard.
...
"Kid, what are you grinning about?"
Kurama's eyes narrowed.
He had been watching Shinno's expressions this entire time.
Originally, he had expected the brat to stay bitter for a while after getting humiliated.
But before he could even savor his victory, the kid had started grinning.
Why was he smiling?
What the hell did he have to be happy about?!
"Kurama, you know… you actually look pretty cute when you smile."
Shinno flashed a toothy grin.
"W-What?"
Kurama was briefly stunned by the out-of-nowhere compliment.
"System, transfer the [Always Smiling] trait to Kurama!"
With a gleam of anticipation in his eyes, Shinno gave his command.
A white light, invisible to all but him, shot out and merged into Kurama's body within an instant.
"Brat! Are you messing with me?!"
Kurama felt an unsettling shift in his body.
His expression, once stunned, turned furious as his mind raced.
He was the mighty Nine-Tails!
A living catastrophe!
The fearsome Kurama, the strongest of the tailed beasts!
And yet this brat had just called him… cute?!
Was this a joke?!
This had to be a joke!
That damn brat from the Yamanaka Clan was definitely bad news!
"Uh, hey, stupid fox, could you at least try to lower the corners of your mouth when you say that? It's kinda weird looking at you like this."
Kushina, having just returned to Shinno's side, stared at Kurama with an endless stream of question marks floating above her head.
Was this fox really this easy to flatter?
All Shinno did was call it cute, and now it looked so… happy?
"Kurama, I wish you endless smiles."
With that final remark, Shinno grabbed Kushina's hand and bolted.
"Huh?"
Kurama lifted a paw to touch his own face.
His lips had curled up, his eyes slightly squinted.
His originally ferocious, domineering expression… had turned into something almost silly?
"YAMANAKA SHINNO! YOU LITTLE BASTARD! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!"
"WHAT KIND OF GENJUTSU IS THIS?! WHY CAN'T I CONTROL MY FACE?! GET BACK HERE! GET BACK HERE NOW!"
"ROOOOAR! DAMN YOU, YOU SLY LITTLE BRAT! YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!"
As Kurama's deafening roars echoed through the sealed space, Kushina risked a glance back at the raging beast.
The fox's twisted, grinning face, paired with its furious shouts, was so absurd that she couldn't hold back her laughter.
---------------
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