"Since you're being so stingy, I'll just ask directly," Kawamine said."That thing can kill people, but I don't care."
Then why don't you use it?
Kawamine could see through the village chief's thoughts. He had only asked out of curiosity.
"I told you it's gone. How could I use it if it's gone?"
The chief was extremely wary—unlike Kawamine.
Besides, you didn't even give me time to react, the chief complained inwardly. You move too fast.
"Alright, alright. I won't ask anymore."
Seeing the chief growing increasingly anxious, Kawamine dropped the subject and focused on obtaining the Seven-Tails as quickly as possible.
From that point on, they lost contact with the outside. The village chief led Kawamine deep into the heart of the village, where the surroundings grew more and more remote.
There were no villagers along the way—only the chief, Kawamine, and the Takigakure ninja following behind them.
After passing through a dense forest, the scenery suddenly opened up. An ancient, unassuming house appeared before Kawamine.
"This is the sealing site of Takigakure,"the chief said, stopping in his tracks and gazing at the building with pride.It was the crystallization of the village's wisdom.
"There's nothing particularly impressive about it," Kawafū said calmly.
He glanced around and faintly sensed violent chakra surging from deep within the building. This seal wouldn't last much longer.
"Go in. Try to stay as far back as possible."
The village chief ignored Kawamine's words and walked straight inside.
The Takigakure ninja all remained outside, waiting.
Kawamine followed him in. The interior was empty, save for scattered sealing talismans on the floor forming a circular array.
At the center of the circle stood a dark-colored container—ordinary in appearance.
Cracks had already formed on its surface. The chief had been telling the truth.
"This seal is specifically designed for tailed beasts,"the chief explained."It has no effect on humans."
Sensing Kawamine's hesitation, the chief stepped into the sealing array himself to demonstrate that it was harmless.
"Better safe than sorry. I apologize for the inconvenience,"Kawamine said with a slight nod as he approached the sealed area.
A far more violent surge of chakra slammed into him, and the container began to tremble.
Nanabi sensed a human approaching. After years of imprisonment, all she wanted was to escape and vent her pent-up fury.
"Take it."
The chief turned his back as he spoke, as though he couldn't bear to watch what came next.
When he could no longer feel the Seven-Tails' violent chakra, he turned around—only to find the room empty.
"…Well, leaving is better than staying."
The chief forced a bitter smile and walked out of the house.
"Chief.""Chief."
...
"The Konoha ninja have all left. We no longer need to worry about the Seven-Tails,"someone said.
"But I worry that Takigakure will only barely survive in the future,"the chief replied, clearly dispirited.
Fortunately, no one in the village had died this time. Tsunade had suffered only minor injuries.
Her punch had been meant mainly as a show of force.
"It's gone. Let that be the end of it. At least Nanabi will no longer threaten the village's safety."
"If Nanabi had broken free on her own, we wouldn't have been able to stop her."
The speaker was clearly someone of high status. Standing near the chief, his words carried weight.
After a moment of silence, the chief nodded.
"Leave."
He had no desire to stay any longer. He touched the scabbed wound on his neck.
No matter how fast you are, Nanabi can fly.He hoped Nanabi would make Kawamine fall.
Perhaps this was his own way of venting his anger.
Kawamine arrived at the lakeside with the container sealing the Seven-Tails. Tsunade and the two children were waiting nearby.
Before Kawamine and Tsunade could speak, the cracks on the container rapidly expanded. Violent chakra burst forth, breaking free of the seal.
The container floated into the air and suddenly exploded, shattering into countless fragments that tore through the air.
A massive sphere of chakra began to gather in midair, taking physical form as immense pressure bore down on Kawamine.
The chakra condensed into a giant insect—six wings, a long tail, and a massive horn protruding from its head.
"Wow, that thing is ugly,"Nawaki complained, joined by his sister, while Minato stood frozen in shock.How can Sensei deal with something like that?
"Ugly or not, do you want to try fighting it?"Tsunade shot her brother a sidelong glance as he continued to tease her.
Nawaki scratched his head."I'm just here to watch the spectacle. I'll leave dangerous stuff like this to you."
The two children chatted near the water gate. With their teacher nearby, they still felt safe.
"Human, you're unlucky to have run into me."
Chōmei opened her eyes and saw Kawafū standing before her. She opened her mouth as massive tailed-beast chakra began to gather.
The chakra spun at high speed, forming a dense energy sphere. Chōmei swallowed it—then spat it straight at Kawamine.
The power of that attack could probably flatten several mountain ranges. No wonder tailed beasts were comparable to nuclear weapons on the battlefield.
How many low-level ninja would die from a single blow like this?
"Well done."
As Kawamine unfolded a spatial barrier, the tailed-beast bomb vanished midair. A moment later, a deafening explosion echoed in the distance.
I know. Sensei said so.
Minato leapt excitedly. He had known nothing about this technique before, but after witnessing the tailed-beast bomb, he finally understood.
Understood what, exactly?
Nawaki remained utterly confused.
"I think I've grasped the technique Sensei wants me to learn,"Minato said, still deeply inspired.The birth of the Rasengan could not be far off.
"You've also learned one of my signature techniques."
Kawamine watched as Chōmei dove toward him, scattering scale powder and clearly intending to impale him with her massive horn.
"Immortal Sage Art.""Swordsmanship—Fire and Thunder God."
Lightning-style chakra enveloped Kawamine's body. Curse markings appeared around his eyes, and his pupils turned golden.
He transformed into a blazing thunder dragon, slipping past Chōmei's diving attack and streaking past the side of her wings.
In Sage Mode, Fire-Thunder God was overwhelmingly powerful.
"Aaagh!!"
Chōmei screamed as she slammed into the ground. One of her wings snapped, and she temporarily lost the ability to fly.
"Human… you've angered me."
A murderous gleam flashed in Chōmei's eyes as she condensed another tailed-beast bomb—no smaller than the previous one—and fired it at Kawamine.
Kawamine's lips curled into a faint, disdainful smile.
The explosion from the last bomb had been nothing special.
The octagonal cold blade gathered vast amounts of senjutsu chakra, shining with blinding brilliance.
"Sword Art—Requiem of Death."
Kawamine neither dodged nor retreated. His entire body became a streak of scorching lightning.
With a sharp hiss, the lightning collided head-on with the tailed-beast bomb.
Tsunade was shocked to see that Kawamine did not use Flying Thunder God this time.
"Kawamine, retreat!"
Even Chōmei's eyes widened in disbelief.How can a human use a sword to intercept a tailed-beast bomb?!
"Boom—!"
A thunderous explosion rocked the earth. The ground where Kawamine met the attack collapsed into a massive half-sphere.
Before the eyes of three humans and one giant insect, Kawamine split the tailed-beast bomb cleanly in two.
One half rose into the sky and dissipated.The other slammed into the ground and exploded.