Chapter 176: Snowy: "Smelly Fox, I Heard You Want to Make Me Pay?"

Kushina had always wanted to cuddle Snowy, but no matter how hard she tried, Snowy simply ignored her. The only person allowed to touch Snowy was Takuya, and anyone else who tried ended up with a quick swipe of Snowy's claws.

"A fox?"

"Nine tails?"

"Smells good and is better-looking than me?"

Kurama's enormous head was filled with questions. For a moment, he wanted to dig up the Sage of Six Paths just to ask: when the Sage divided up the tailed beasts, did he hide away some chakra to create a second Nine-Tails?

This whole thing was getting ridiculous.

It took a while for Kurama to calm down, and even then, he coughed awkwardly, his expression a little uneasy.

"Hey, brat—uh, I mean, Kushina, do you think I could... meet this little fox?"

"I can't make any promises," Kushina replied, a smirk tugging at her lips. "I can put in a good word for you, but what will you give me in return?"

Kurama flared up in anger. "I already agreed to lend you my chakra! Isn't that enough?"

How much more did she want? Kurama was furious. Were all human women this complicated? Where was Uzumaki Mito when you needed her?

Despite how Mito had tormented him in the past, she had never dangled favors over his head like this, and she certainly never strung him along just to get something out of him.

"Lending me your chakra was part of our last deal," Kushina said, raising an eyebrow. "But now you want my help, and you expect me to do it for free? Come on."

She quickly realized how her words sounded and blushed. "Wait, no, that didn't come out right."

Kushina's face reddened even more as she corrected herself, "Anyway, I told you about Snowy, but if you want me to help you meet him, you'll need to sweeten the deal."

She paused, before adding, "Oh, and by the way, Snowy said you smell. Like, really bad."

Hold on—did I just say something I shouldn't have? Kushina's brain caught up a little too late, and she instantly regretted the words that had just left her mouth.

She shot Kurama an awkward smile, hoping he wouldn't overreact.

Kurama stood completely still, like a statue. The words replayed in his mind on an endless loop: "Snowy said you smell. Like, really bad."

"ROAAAR!!" Kurama suddenly exploded with rage. "KUSHINA! Get out! I'll lend you my chakra, but you need to take down that white fox! Take it down!"

Kurama, humiliated and furious, couldn't believe he was being called smelly. He was a tailed beast, for crying out loud!

"I'm not doing that," Kushina said, shaking her head. "I can't beat Takuya, and I can't beat Snowy either. So... yeah. Good luck with that. Bye!"

Sensing she was in over her head, Kushina quickly made her escape.

"GET BACK HERE, BRAT!" Kurama roared in frustration.

Coming out of the sealed space, Kushina let out a long sigh of relief and flashed Takuya an embarrassed smile.

"Takuya... I think I messed up."

"What did you do this time?" Takuya asked, looking up as he continued playing with Snowy's fluffy tail.

Kushina quickly explained what had happened in the sealed space, and by the end of it, Takuya couldn't stop himself from laughing.

Meanwhile, Snowy gave Kushina a look of pure disbelief.

Seriously? You dragged me into this mess to tease that smelly fox?

Whatever. I won't hold it against you. After all, Kurama does stink.

Unlike him, Snowy thought, I smell amazing.

"So, what now?" Kushina asked, her tone a bit nervous.

"We press the advantage," Takuya said with a sly grin. He picked up Snowy, giving the fox a little hug. "Snowy, I want you to go back in there with Kushina and mess with Kurama a little more. Keep pushing him until he willingly accepts Kushina. If we can get him to help, it'll be a huge step toward her becoming a perfect jinchuriki."

"No problem," Snowy answered, blinking its eyes cutely, always willing to do whatever Takuya asked.

Kushina, on the other hand, was feeling her bones turn to jelly at the sound of Snowy's sweet, lilting voice. As a girl herself, she couldn't help but be completely entranced by Snowy.

Ugh, I wish I could steal Snowy away! Why couldn't we trade Kurama for Snowy instead? I don't want the big fox—I want the cute one!

At that moment, Kurama was still seething with anger. Takuya figured that if Snowy pushed him just a little more, he might actually crack and agree to fully cooperate with Kushina.

Snowy hopped onto Kushina's shoulder, and the two of them entered the sealed space together.

As soon as they arrived, they were greeted by the sound of Kurama's heavy breathing, a clear sign he was still fuming.

Seeing Kushina again, Kurama huffed loudly in irritation. Seriously, how many times is she going to come in here?

"Wait a second!"

Kurama's eyes locked onto Snowy, perched on Kushina's shoulder. For a moment, he froze.

That... is a beautiful fox.

And that scent!

"Big Fox, I brought Snowy to meet you," Kushina said sweetly.

Snowy jumped off Kushina's shoulder and trotted up to Kurama, sniffing the air with her cute little nose. She wrinkled it in distaste.

"You really do smell," Snowy said bluntly. "It's embarrassing for a tailed beast to be this stinky. How long has it been since you had a bath?"

Kurama didn't know what to do. He was completely captivated by Snowy's appearance, her voice, and... that wonderful scent.

Kurama, who had lived for centuries and was practically an ancient being, found his heart racing. Any insult Snowy had thrown his way? Completely ignored.

No way. Seriously? Kushina couldn't believe what she was seeing. Kurama, the terrifying Nine-Tails, looked like he had just fallen head-over-heels in love at first sight.

This... this is like watching some weird animal version of a romance show! What's going on?

Didn't Takuya say tailed beasts don't have genders?

How could Kurama possibly have fallen for Snowy like this? Just a minute ago, he was threatening her life, and now... now he's completely entranced.

"Idiot," Snowy huffed, flicking her tail in annoyance as she took a few steps back. She lifted her chin and asked, "I heard you said you wanted to 'make me pay'?"

Kurama immediately shook his head, as if the very thought of harming Snowy was unthinkable.

Hopeless. Absolutely hopeless, Kushina thought, shaking her head. Kurama had lost all his dignity.

*****

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