At that moment, Minato's spectral figure stood at the edge of the altar.
The cracks of the Edo Tensei covered his body, making him resemble a porcelain statue on the verge of shattering.
He raised a hand, intending to do something, only to discover that he could do nothing at all.
The body created from an ordinary shinobi sacrifice could not withstand the power he had possessed while alive. All he could do was watch helplessly as the Nine-Tails' chakra was stripped from him.
His expression grew grave. He stared intently at Teizawa, his voice hoarse and heavy.
"I never expected... After sealing you away for so long, you still managed to escape."
He could say no more.
His body had already begun to disintegrate.
The cracks grew wider and denser, spreading across him like a spiderweb.
He cast one last glance at the Nine-Tails taking shape, then looked at Teizawa.
His lips moved as though he wanted to say something, but the words never came.
His body shattered into countless tiny fragments, scattering through the air like ashes carried away by the wind.
The Nine-Tails' chakra had torn his entire body apart from within.
Although the Edo Tensei would eventually restore him, pieces of his body were currently scattered everywhere.
Orochimaru stood below the altar, his golden serpentine eyes narrowing slightly.
Even his expression had become unusually grave.
He could feel the Nine-Tails' chakra pouring out of Minato, condensing and expanding at an astonishing rate.
It felt like an ancient beast that had been imprisoned for far too long.
Even though this was only half of the Nine-Tails, its power far surpassed his expectations.
Orochimaru instinctively raised his newly restored hands.
He clenched them, then relaxed his fingers.
The chakra gathering at his fingertips seemed to remind him of one simple fact.
As he was now, he was no match for this Tailed Beast.
"That Kazekage..."
Orochimaru muttered with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
"If he doesn't have another trick prepared, we should get ready to retreat."
He was already calculating an escape route.
Kabuto stood behind him and adjusted his glasses.
His gaze shifted from Teizawa to the Nine-Tails, then back again, as though weighing something.
For a moment, everyone's attention focused on that young figure.
Temari had already retreated several hundred meters and now stood alongside Sunagakure's ANBU.
She gripped her Three-Star Fan so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.
She had personally witnessed Teizawa beat the One-Tail, Shukaku, into submission.
That battle had been dangerous, but he had still managed to handle it.
The oppressive presence radiating from the Nine-Tails, however, was clearly on an entirely different level.
The mere aura of its crimson chakra made her chest feel tight.
She tried to remain calm, but her heart still clenched uncontrollably.
"Will Kazekage-sama win?"
One of the ANBU spoke in a trembling whisper.
Another remained silent for a moment before answering, seemingly trying to reassure himself.
"When has Kazekage-sama... ever lost?"
There was just as little confidence in his voice.
Temari said nothing.
She merely stared at the distant figure in dark gold, as if trying to carve his silhouette into her eyes.
Teizawa stood at the center of the altar, looking up at the colossal creature that was finally completing its transformation.
The Nine-Tails had fully materialized.
Its nine tails swayed slowly behind it, each sweep stirring up a powerful gale.
Its eyes were bloodred, filled with brutality and hatred.
Lowering its head, it stared at the tiny human beneath it and opened its jaws.
"Insignificant human... You released me, yet you still intend to seal me away?"
Its deep, hoarse voice was filled with mockery and disdain.
"Do you think you're Hashirama? Or Madara?"
Teizawa did not answer.
He merely sighed inwardly.
As expected of the strongest Tailed Beast.
Even at only half its full strength, the pressure it radiated was far more terrifying than that of the Four-Tails, Two-Tails, and One-Tail combined.
Yet Teizawa was not afraid.
If anything, he felt a flicker of excitement.
His mind raced through the options currently available to him.
The first was Wood Release.
He possessed a complete Wood Release body. In theory, he could perform the Wood Dragon Jutsu and Wood Golem Jutsu.
Either would be enough to suppress the Nine-Tails head-on.
However, the moment he used Wood Release, he would expose one of his greatest hidden cards.
Everyone would learn that he possessed the power of the First Hokage.
That would disrupt his future plans, making the cost far greater than the benefit.
His second option was the Rinnegan.
After his great battle with Nagato, Teizawa had successfully obtained a complete pair of Rinnegan.
The Rinnegan was the ultimate evolution of the Mangekyō Sharingan, so naturally, it could also wield the Mangekyō's power.
The Mangekyō Sharingan was the natural enemy of the Tailed Beasts.
His third option was the one he knew best.
The Iron Sand Mecha.
Just as he was weighing the advantages and disadvantages, a familiar mechanical voice suddenly sounded inside his head.
[Ding! The legendary Nine-Tails has been detected. Host, please make your choice...]
The voice remained as cold and emotionless as ever, but this time it carried an urgency that brooked no refusal.
[Option One: Control the Nine-Tails using Wood Release or the Rinnegan. Reward: The perfect method for becoming the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.]
[Option Two: Use the Iron Sand Mecha and suppress the Nine-Tails head-on like a real man. Reward: The Power of All Creation.]
Teizawa's eyes lit up.
Become the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki?
What kind of joke was that?
He was the mighty Kazekage of Sunagakure. Why would he reduce himself to becoming a jinchūriki?
That was a role meant for a hot-blooded idiot like Naruto.
A real man should chain the Nine-Tails outside his front door and use it as a guard dog.
As for the Power of All Creation...
That was the true ultimate power of the Rinnegan.
It would allow him to create Truth-Seeking Balls and wield Yin-Yang Release, granting him abilities nearly comparable to a portion of the Sage of Six Paths' power.
In theory, anyone who possessed the Rinnegan should be able to awaken the Power of All Creation.
Perhaps his Rinnegan had come from an improper source.
Or perhaps he was missing some crucial opportunity.
Whatever the reason, he had never truly managed to touch that power.
This opportunity was something he absolutely could not afford to miss.
He barely hesitated.
His lips slowly curved into a wildly arrogant grin.
"Then let me show you, you beast... what a mecha really is!"
Teizawa raised one hand and clenched it sharply.
"BOOM!"
The ground beneath his feet suddenly split apart.
Countless streams of pitch-black Iron Sand erupted from the fissures and surged toward him like living creatures.
One piece, two pieces, ten pieces, a hundred...
In the blink of an eye, a pitch-black steel giant several hundred meters tall rose from the earth.
Its massive body was covered in sharp, angular contours.
Every plate of armor was as thick and imposing as a fortress wall.
Dark blue lines of energy were embedded around its joints, spreading across the metal surface like veins.
Its head resembled the savage skull of a monster.
Blazing white light burned within its eyes, making it look like an ancient beast that had clawed its way out from beneath the earth.
The Nine-Tails' pupils contracted slightly.
It lowered its gaze toward the steel giant, and for the first time, a trace of vigilance appeared in its eyes.
That thing was not a puppet.
It was not a summoned beast either.
It was a creation unlike anything the Nine-Tails had ever seen before.
There were no chakra fluctuations emanating from it, only the cold, unyielding presence of pure metal.
"ROAAAAAR!"
The Nine-Tails unleashed a deafening roar.
Crimson chakra ignited across its body, forming a scorching cloak.
That chakra gathered into a black Tailed Beast Bomb, which hovered and spun before it like a bloodthirsty moth preparing to strike.
(End of Chapter)
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