Chapter 19 Concealment

Even though he knew it was dangerous, he couldn't help but put his hand on the seal, which was clearly visible on his wheat-colored abdomen.

He could feel Kurama's chakra, but that chakra gave him a very strange feeling. It was full of malice and pain, as if it was fighting against something, although he didn't know who the opponent was.

He wanted to enter the sealed space, but was bounced back by a powerful force. It was Kurama's chakra, but it was mixed with a hint of fear and protection.

This was the first time in three years that Jiu Lama had turned him away.

Naruto suddenly panicked, realizing the seriousness of the situation.

He tried to enter the sealed space again, and this time, he passed through Kurama's chakra and came to a place that was completely different from before.

The water under his feet was no longer as clear as before, but had become hot and sticky, like mud, bubbling constantly and emitting suffocating black smoke.

Jiu Lama was not far away, struggling in pain, its nine tails flapping wildly in the air, stirring up clouds of smoke.

"Jiulama!" he shouted loudly, trying to drown out the noise around him, and waved his arms to disperse the pungent smoke.

Jiu Lama raised his head, and black mud dripped from his open mouth, staining his pearl-white teeth. It looked shocking, and he blinked in confusion.

Suddenly, it started coughing violently, its body shaking continuously, as if trying to break free from something. It suddenly turned around and spit out a large pool of black mud.

Naruto wanted to go through the cage and help Kurama.

However, he was blocked by an invisible force, and Jiu Lama was too far away from him, so he could not get close at all.

He watched Jiu Lama struggling in pain, but he was powerless to do anything...

Just when he was about to call Kurama's name again, Kurama suddenly raised his head, looked straight at him, and waved his claws.

This time, Naruto felt a familiar force pushing him out of the sealed space. That force was different from before and did not seem to be contaminated.

He returned to his body, and he knew it must be Jiu Lama who sent him back, because he could no longer enter the sealed space.

He began to panic because he didn't know what was going on. Kurama was a tailed beast, it shouldn't be sick, it shouldn't die, and it shouldn't be injured.

So what's going on?

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the problem must be with the chakra, because everything about Kurama came from chakra. He felt that Kurama's chakra seemed to be contaminated by something, causing it to begin to rot and deteriorate.

Chakra is contaminated?

Naruto had no idea what this meant, nor how to solve it.

But he didn't have time to think now, as class would start in twelve minutes. Even if he wanted to skip class, Teacher Iruka would find him, take him back to class, and scold him severely. He didn't want to go through that again.

He had to calm down and find a way to solve the problem.

He couldn't go to class with the contaminated tailed beast chakra. Although the chakra seemed to have stabilized now, he could still feel the burning sensation if he kept his hand on the sealed area for a long time. What's more, it didn't spread, but just stayed where he sealed it.

He took out the first aid kit from the closet, found a Band-Aid that was large enough, put it on the sealed area, and then wrapped his entire abdomen with gauze so that no one could see the abnormality of his seal.

He didn't know if this would really work, but he had no other choice.

It can only be this way.

******

Sasuke began to notice the unusual silence in the class.

This question has been bothering him, and he found himself unable to ignore the strange atmosphere that enveloped the classroom every time Iruka paused to breathe. It had become his instinct. He became extremely sensitive and always paid attention to the changes around him, because he knew that the storm was coming.

Naruto was very quiet today.

He hadn't slept, and as much as Sasuke hated to admit it, he had been secretly watching Naruto.

Naruto has been sleeping in class for three weeks in a row, and that state was completely different from today. Usually he slept very relaxed and peacefully, but today, he was like a sculpture, motionless, and the air around him seemed to be frozen.

The first time this happened was the day after Naruto took off the annoying orange sportswear. He sat there quietly. The black ninja suit looked like mourning clothes on him.

But Sasuke felt that things were not that simple. There was a tense atmosphere in the air, and it was definitely not his illusion.

While Teacher Iruka was leaving the classroom for lunch, Sasuke secretly glanced at Naruto who was sitting in the last row. This glance surprised him.

There were faint dark circles under Naruto's eyes, which showed that he had not had a good rest recently - and it was the kind of fatigue that could not be recovered no matter how long he slept - that was the result of long-term torture.

He lowered his eyes with a tired look, and even his messy blond hair seemed much more obedient than usual, which was very abnormal because he usually had a messy head of hair like a chicken coop.

But today, his hair was unusually smooth, as if he had not slept the whole night but had been fighting with something until dawn, when he collapsed in exhaustion.

Sasuke once saw himself like this in the mirror. It was a shadow that he could not get rid of for a long time after experiencing that nightmare.

Sasuke wasn't the only one who noticed something was wrong with Naruto.

"Do you think he's okay?"

Sasuke turned his head sharply and found Sakura sitting next to him. He felt embarrassed because he was caught by her and was peeking at the last-place student. This was so embarrassing!

"Why should I care about him?" he said angrily.

Sakura blinked and a look of hurt flashed across her face, but she quickly clenched her fists and her eyes became firm. Although it was only for a moment, Sasuke still caught it.

Her eyes were full of determination.

She turned around and walked straight towards Naruto. Sasuke's heart sank and he had a bad feeling.

He was afraid that Sakura would disturb Naruto, because he knew very well that what Naruto needed now was not comfort, but to vent. If Sakura tried to get close to him, she would definitely regret it.

He didn't understand why he was worried about Sakura, and even less how he knew all this.