Torrential rain poured down.
The wooden Breeding House swayed violently in the storm.
The sound of rain drowned out all footsteps.
Just as Riki was less than a hundred meters from the Breeding House, a figure quietly emerged.
Clad in a white traditional Shinobi Sect Garment with sleeves fluttering in the wind, he appeared particularly unreal amidst the curtain of rain.
The garment's patterns were ancient and solemn - it was Shiroishi.
He made no attempt to shield himself from the storm, simply standing quietly in the muddy water while looking up at the approaching figure.
Rainwater slid down his hair, yet his face showed no expression.
In the distance, Black Zetsu hidden in the shadows saw this scene and his eyes suddenly tightened.
"...That attire."
He recognized it - it was the clothing only early disciples of the Shinobi Sect would wear.
"Just who is this guy?"
Riki also noticed the man, her guard rising as she continued walking.
"Who are you?"
Her voice was cold, Chakra already beginning to flow through her feet.
Shiroishi didn't answer, instead softly uttering a name.
"Matatabi."
In that instant, Riki's body shuddered violently.
The Two-Tails Chakra within her surged wildly through her meridians as if startled.
[Run!]
It was Matatabi's voice, carrying unprecedented fear.
Riki froze.
"What are you saying?"
[Get away from here! This person... is extremely dangerous!]
Riki's heart sank.
Having coexisted with the Tailed Beast for so long, she had never heard Matatabi speak with such panic.
Then Shiroishi made his move.
The trajectory of the rain suddenly changed.
Falling droplets paused mid-air, then one, two, countless bubbles appeared, shimmering with an eerie glow.
The next moment!
BOOM!!
The bubbles simultaneously exploded in the air, transforming into towering waves of water that swept in from all directions!
"Ninja combat primarily involves intelligence gathering. As a Jinchuriki, coming here alone shows excessive arrogance."
Riki instinctively channeled Chakra, immediately covering herself in a Tailed Beast Cloak as blue flames rose to form a solid defensive layer.
Gritting her teeth, she prepared to form hand seals to counterattack!
But her fingers trembled.
Chakra... wouldn't flow out?
"Wh-what's happening?!"
Her pupils contracted sharply as the Chakra within her body was wildly drained by an invisible force, being sucked away by the outside world.
Impossible... even the Tailed Beast's power was being sealed?!
Shiroishi slowly approached, each step causing the surrounding water to solidify into geometric bubbles that shattered with his footsteps, as if the world was being redefined beneath him.
"Stop struggling."
"Two-Tails, I've been waiting for you for a long time."
He raised his hand, fingers slightly spread.
Meanwhile, on the periphery, Nagato and Ivysaur had already activated their technique.
The ground split open as massive roots burst from the soil, instantly growing into towering giant trees.
They twisted, entwined, and roared as if the veins of heaven and earth had been awakened.
The entire Rainy Plain was swallowed by the giant trees, their leaf veins transforming into Barrier patterns, completely blurring the boundary between sky and earth.
Black Zetsu hidden behind the rock wall tried to probe the situation inside, only to find even his perception completely blocked.
Damn it, just what is going on with Nagato's power?
In the rain, Shiroishi slightly raised his head, his eyes glowing with a soft pink light.
Round Eyes.
Riki's body instantly stiffened, her pupils losing focus.
She wanted to struggle, to scream, but all movement became a nightmarish paralysis.
Shiroishi softly uttered a sentence: "Matatabi, you are about to begin a new life."
As his words fell, the ground trembled.
From beneath the earth, the World Tree's true form slowly emerged.
It was an indescribably colossal tree, its trunk winding like mountain ranges, its branches and leaves spreading like a sea of clouds.
Every piece of bark was carved with symbols—ancient Sealing Marks originating from the ninja sect, glowing with a sacred yet dangerous light.
Riki was forcibly lifted, her Chakra transforming into light, continuously escaping her body and gathering among the tree roots.
"This... what is this..."
Her voice was faint, almost drowned out by the heavy rain.
Shiroishi paid her no mind, extending his right hand as a faint white light appeared at his fingertips.
"Matatabi, capture."
BOOM!!!
Countless branches turned into sharp blades, erupting from the ground!
Those branches were as sharp as knives yet as flexible as silk, instantly piercing through Riki's body.
Blood and Chakra Light bloomed simultaneously as Matatabi's phantom image frantically struggled behind her, emitting a soul-rending roar.
[What is this power!?Reflected in the depths of Shiroishi's pupils was Matatabi's form, his voice calm to the point of coldness:
"The myths of this world shall be reshaped from today onward.""
Matatabi's consciousness was suppressed.
That raging blue flame gradually dimmed under the World Tree's power, completely absorbed by the roots.
Within moments, the entire Rainy Plain fell into dead silence.
Only the World Tree's branches swayed in the wind, emitting low breathing sounds.
The clouds in the sky were pressed downward, and at the vortex's center, two enormous white eggshells slowly rose, suspended in the air.
Shiroishi slightly moved his fingers, causing the light on his ring to glow.
In the void, three projections materialized!
Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan.
They stood within the storm's light screen, their gazes complex as they observed everything before them.
"Is this your plan?"
Yahiko frowned, "Using Tailed Beasts to protect the nation?"
Shiroishi didn't turn around, still quietly watching the two white eggshells.
"To be precise, creating new Mythical Tailed Beasts to protect the Land of Rain."
"For the future of the Land of Rain, this is a necessary action."
After a moment, Nagato spoke: "I agree with this plan."
Konan: "Me too."
As for Yahiko, he also nodded at this point. After everything that had happened recently, he was no longer naive. After careful consideration, he still found Shiroishi's proposed plan highly feasible.
As the four reached a consensus.
The Special Sealing Technique activated!
Matatabi's Chakra surged like a raging tide, disintegrating within Riki's body, transforming into countless blue rays of light that poured out from her form.
The light rays initially struggled wildly, like torn souls roaring, but were quickly captured by the World Tree's roots.
The roots writhed like living creatures, greedily absorbing the Tailed Beast's power.
Every inch of the branches shimmered with pale blue and silver-white patterns as the Chakra infusion caused deep, low rumbles from within the trunk, echoing through heaven and earth like a heartbeat.
The devoured Matatabi Chakra didn't dissipate but was channeled into the central veins of the tree's structure.
It was a river of light leading to the core, branching out into countless fine streams of energy that ran through the entire World Tree like nerves.
Eventually, this Chakra converged at the heart of the tree.
There, the space glowed with a soft milky-white light, where two white eggs, not yet fully formed, floated in suspension.
They were transparent and fragile, pulsing like newborn hearts.
As the absorption continued unabated, the Two-Tails' Chakra was purified, broken down, and restructured into the purest form of life energy.
A new myth was about to unfold across the Shinobi World.
Two eggs, constructed from the Two-Tails' Chakra, were on the verge of establishing an entirely new system...
In truth, aside from the Two-Tails' Chakra, all the nourishment Shiroishi had gathered using the World Tree during this period had been completely depleted. Only by combining that amount of Chakra with the Two-Tails' energy was he barely able to create new Tailed Beasts.
Would they embody earth and sea?
Or time and space?
Or perhaps life and death?