Chapter 177: Where Did It All Go Wrong?

Snowy: "…"

Kushina: "…"

Kushina couldn't even handle how ridiculous the Nine-Tails was acting. She was beyond words.

Snowy, equally disgusted, shot the Nine-Tails a glare so intense that if she could've, she would've beaten him senseless right there and then.

"???"

Wait... where did they go?

Before the Nine-Tails could fully revel in his trance, he realized Snowy and Kushina had already left.

Just from smelling Snowy's scent, the Nine-Tails had completely lost his senses and acted like a fool.

"What… what have I done?" the Nine-Tails muttered as he slumped to the ground, tapping the floor in frustration with his claws.

"Well, this is humiliating."

"Master, the plan totally failed," Snowy grumbled the moment her consciousness left the sealed space. "That dumb fox was completely obsessed with me!"

Takuya blinked, looking at the fuming Snowy, who was practically ready to tear the Nine-Tails apart.

What on earth had happened in that sealed space to get her this mad?

Even her language was slipping into some of Tsunade's favorite phrases.

Takuya turned to Kushina, who looked just as exasperated.

Seeing Takuya's confused stare, Kushina sighed, "I have no idea what went wrong. Instead of getting agitated, the big fox saw Snowy and just went... well, like one of those love-struck idiots you mentioned."

She went on to explain what had happened.

"…"

Takuya was dumbfounded.

The plan to rile up the Nine-Tails had failed in the most ridiculous way possible. Who knew the fox had this side to him?

Weren't the Tailed Beasts supposed to be genderless? What was going on here?

This was more like some weird wildlife behavior. And it wasn't even mating season—it was nearly winter!

Helping Kushina control the Nine-Tails was going to take a new strategy. Snowy's presence clearly wasn't working out.

Nobody could've predicted that the fiery Nine-Tails would turn into a lovesick puppy.

At this point, Takuya could only shake his head in disbelief. "There's no way... absolutely no way this is happening."

"Takuya, let's just drop the Nine-Tails thing for now. I'm heading home," Kushina said, feeling deeply embarrassed by the fox's behavior.

Takuya had gone out of his way to help her, only for the Nine-Tails to turn the situation upside down. It was so absurd that Kushina couldn't even face him.

"That stupid fox! If I ever get the chance, I'm going to teach him a lesson!" Snowy growled, still seething.

The Nine-Tails had really gotten under Snowy's skin, but since she couldn't physically enter the sealed space, she had no way to confront him directly.

Unless she could somehow get into Kushina's sealed space...

But that would probably cause more harm than good. There's no way the seal could handle both of them.

"Yeah, we'll deal with him next time," Takuya said, trying to calm Snowy down with a small laugh.

What on earth was wrong with the Nine-Tails? He was acting like a total pushover. Could it be that Snowy's scent was that irresistible to him?

Takuya sniffed the air around Snowy. Sure, she smelled nice, but nothing about it seemed that unusual.

So, why was the Nine-Tails acting like a lovesick fool?

It didn't make sense.

Takuya gave up trying to figure it out and decided to just let things play out for now.

Meanwhile, Kushina couldn't bear the thought of facing Takuya after how ridiculous the Nine-Tails had acted.

Just thinking about the fox's behavior made her face burn with embarrassment.

When she got home, she immediately started berating the Nine-Tails.

Usually, the Nine-Tails would've lashed out in anger, but after what had happened, even he seemed ashamed.

When Kushina started yelling at him, the Nine-Tails simply curled up, wrapped his tails around his face, and pretended to be asleep, refusing to engage.

"Ugh, it's all that stupid fox's fault. Now I don't even know how to face Takuya. So annoying," Kushina muttered as she worked at the restaurant, resting her head on the counter in frustration.

Takuya wouldn't hold this against me, would he? He's not that petty… right?

She ran her hands through her red hair, feeling irritated. She looked out toward the street and noticed someone lurking near the door.

As soon as the figure saw her look over, they quickly hid.

"???"

Confused, Kushina recognized the kid as the one she had scolded earlier.

What's he doing, sneaking around like that?

"You can stop hiding. I already saw you. Get in here!" Kushina called out, sounding annoyed.

The figure froze.

It was Aida Sui, and he immediately felt like he was in big trouble.

With the squad on break, he didn't know what to do, so he decided to ask Takuya for some training advice.

But since he didn't know where Takuya lived, he ended up at the restaurant, hoping to run into him.

Unfortunately, the first person he saw was Kushina, and he wasn't exactly eager to face her.

"Why do you look so scared? You think I'm going to hit you?" Kushina asked, arms crossed as she looked at him, noticing the fading dark circles under his eyes.

"You're here to see Takuya, aren't you?"

As Takuya's new student—well, teammate—there was no other reason Aida would be here.

It wasn't like a kid would come to eat hotpot alone, after all.

"I was hoping to get some training advice from the captain, but I don't know where he lives," Aida admitted, looking nervous after the scolding he'd gotten from Kushina last time.

Seeing his timid expression, Kushina couldn't help but laugh.

"He's not home right now. Go to the riverbank on the west side of the village. He's probably training there," she said.

"Thank you, ma'am! I'll head there right away," Aida said, quickly making his exit.

"Really... am I that scary?" Kushina muttered to herself.

She wasn't wrong—Takuya was indeed training by the river, continuing to refine his mastery of the Nine-Tails chakra mode.

Even with an advantage, Takuya was committed to working hard. Liking to relax didn't mean he was lazy.

Liking to chill didn't mean skipping out on the work. He was determined to train harder than anyone else, and having an edge didn't change that.

"Master, that kid Aida is here," Snowy said, sensing his approach.

"Aida? What's he doing here? Shouldn't he be resting since the team's on break?"

Following Kushina's directions, Aida arrived at the riverbank, but before he could get close, Takuya had already sensed him.

"No need to search. I'm right here."

"Huh?" Aida stammered. "Y-Yes!"

Startled by Takuya's voice, Aida straightened up and quickly headed in his direction.

Breaking through the trees, Aida saw Takuya sitting by the riverbank.

Takuya sliced open a watermelon he had brought along, motioning for Aida to sit down.

"Have some watermelon first," Takuya said casually.

"Prices have really gone up lately," Takuya remarked as they ate.

*****

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