After being swallowed by the fox, the Gold and Silver brothers lasted only a few seconds before their strength failed. The armor they prided themselves on was no match for the Nine-Tails' fangs.
With sickening crunches, they were nearly chewed apart—until, at the final moment, the dormant Beast Cards on their belts flared with light.
A torrent of Tailed Beast chakra surged out, wrapping around their unconscious bodies. Shielded from the crushing teeth, they slipped deeper into the monster's stomach.
The brothers, who had nearly crossed the Sanzu River and waved to their father, were pulled back by a strange murmuring. Reluctantly, they waved goodbye to their waiting parent—they still had unfinished business in this world.
They opened their eyes, finding themselves in a dim crimson space. The sticky, searing ground beneath them and the stench of flesh in the air made them frown.
Following Ginkaku's shout, Kinkaku turned—and his face darkened.
The ground was littered with charred, incomplete corpses. The faintly glowing headbands on their foreheads bore the symbol of Kumogakure.
Ginkaku checked a body, then clenched his jaw.
"This must be… inside the Nine-Tails' stomach."
Kinkaku agreed grimly. The pulsating walls around them made it clear—they had been swallowed alive.
But then… whose voice had they just heard?
"Did you hear something strange before?"
So it wasn't just an illusion.
A drop of stomach acid fell from above, landing on Kinkaku's leg. His trousers dissolved instantly, leaving a smoking hole.
"This isn't the time to talk—we need to escape!"
He felt the air thinning. Without a way out, they'd suffocate before being digested.
Searching frantically, they found two small openings—one above, one below—but they were far too narrow to squeeze through.
Then that voice came again.
"Hmph… foolish humans."
Suddenly their minds were dragged into a pitch-black room. From the shadows emerged two massive figures—Matatabi and Gyūki.
"You… what do you want?"
The brothers tensed, ready to fight.
"If not for us, you'd have been chewed to bits. We dragged you inside instead," rumbled Gyūki.
"Save us? You expect us to believe that?"
Ginkaku sneered. Matatabi had nearly ruined him before—there was no way he trusted its sudden kindness.
But both beasts looked at them with a strange glimmer of respect.
"You actually cut off the Nine-Tails'… pride. Hmph. Not bad."
Kinkaku wasn't fooled. Glancing at his belt, he smirked.
"If we die here, trapped in its stomach, then you'll stay sealed forever too. Or worse… go on a thrilling 'rectal journey.'"
The two beasts roared. That was their nightmare. If expelled that way, they'd be laughed at by every other Tailed Beast for eternity.
"…Do you want out or not?"
Gyūki changed the subject grimly.
Kinkaku's eyes lit up.
"If you don't want to be crapped out, then eat."
The brothers blinked. "Huh?"
"Eat the walls. Devour the flesh. That's the only way."
Still dazed, the brothers returned to reality, stomachs growling. They looked at each other, then pressed their palms together and bowed toward the writhing walls.
Outside, the Nine-Tails suddenly clutched its belly.
"What's happening to me?!"
At first it thought it had indigestion from overeating roasted Cloud ninja. But as days passed, the cramps only worsened. It writhed in agony, flattening forests in its thrashing.
"Impossible… there's something inside me!"
Scanning itself with chakra, it sensed two malignant presences within its belly. Then it remembered—those two brothers it had swallowed alive.
"They're… eating me alive?!"
It clawed its stomach in rage.
Inside, the brothers were indeed gorging themselves on wriggling flesh.
"Big brother… I can't eat anymore…"
For two weeks they had done nothing but devour, urged on by the voices of Gyūki and Matatabi. Their bodies had swollen grotesquely, layers of fat folding over their frames.
"Eat! If you don't, you'll die!"
The beasts shouted. They knew the brothers weren't just eating flesh—they were absorbing the Nine-Tails' chakra, raw and pure. If refined, it would grant them fragments of its power.
"You idiots," Gyūki scolded. "Your very cells are filling with its chakra. Keep gorging without refining, and you'll explode."
Finally realizing the truth, the brothers sat cross-legged, focusing. Steam burst from their bodies as they refined the burning energy. Their grotesque fat melted away, restoring their powerful builds.
They hugged each other in relief.
"Good. Now keep eating!"
The beasts barked again.
But suddenly the stomach convulsed violently. A suction force pulled them upward.
"Get out of me! Urghhh!"
Outside, the Nine-Tails gagged, shoving claws down its throat. With painful heaves, it vomited them out.
The brothers landed on the ground, covered in slime but alive.
They wept with joy, kissing the dirt.
The Nine-Tails, however, bared its fangs, furious.
"So it was you gnawing at me… This time I'll chew you to bits first!"
"Not yet. Our mission isn't done."
Kinkaku pulled out his belt, eyes blazing. Ginkaku silently did the same.
The Nine-Tails' pupils shrank. It unconsciously clenched its thighs—only to feel the empty ache of what it had lost. Its hatred flared hotter.
"If I ever find out who made these cursed devices, I'll rip their pride off too…"
"Kurama! Give back my disciples' lives!"
A booming shout interrupted. Lightning split the sky, and a black figure dropped like thunder.
The brothers cried out in unison. Their savior—the Second Raikage—landed before them, his body sparking with killing intent.
He had been told they were dead, chewed to pieces by the Nine-Tails. For two weeks he had scoured the land, burning with grief and rage. And now, to see them alive—tears blurred his stern gaze.
"You two… never let me rest easy!"
He slammed their heads with his fists, then pulled them into a crushing embrace.
Though they winced in pain, warmth filled their hearts.
The Nine-Tails, meanwhile, growled. A new foe, strong and dangerous. Its injuries still throbbed. Its stomach was shredded, its pride gone forever.
It considered fleeing—until the Second Raikage taunted it, declaring it would be slain. That insult made its blood boil.
But then another bolt of lightning struck. From above descended a huge figure in sandals and robe.
The First Raikage himself stomped down, cracking the Nine-Tails across the rump.
The fox howled, collapsing. It spat a barrage of Tailed Beast Bombs to cover its retreat, then limped away, fleeing toward the Land of Fire.
"No," the First Raikage said, stopping Kinkaku. "It's out of our territory now."
Kinkaku clenched his fists. His dream of proving himself and claiming leadership had slipped away.
"You're no longer Raikage?" he asked, noticing the robes on the Second.
"That's right," the First chuckled. "From now on, he is."
The brothers deflated like punctured balloons. Their chance was gone.
But then both Raikages laughed, promising:
"You're still successors. Maybe not the Second, but Third Raikage? That's yours if you earn it."
The brothers' eyes lit up again, hope rekindled.
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, the Nine-Tails collapsed, clutching its scarred body. Its belly would heal—but between its legs, the wound remained.
"No matter how I try… it won't return."
It recalled the Three-Tails' blinded eye—permanent even after rebirth. The truth hit like a hammer.
Its manhood was gone. Forever.
Tears welled in its furious eyes.
"The hatred of losing my manhood cannot coexist… You humans will pay!!!"
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