Deep within the Shikkotsu Forest, Mito Uzumaki stood at the center of a towering woodland expanse while others surrounded her from hundreds of meters away.
Everything had already been prepared. Next, Mito Uzumaki was preparing to break the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style and unleash the Nine-Tails.
Haseo also got himself ready for the Nine-Tails' arrival. His body radiated that iconic and unique Lightning Release aura. With both hands spread wide, he gripped either end of Samehada's enormous hilt, holding the monstrous weapon horizontally in front of him.
However, Haseo thought his preparations were probably overkill. After all, with Mito Uzumaki and the Third Hokage present, this upcoming battle against the Nine-Tails would only require him to hang around on the periphery, playing a minor role—obviously, he wasn't meant to be a main damage dealer. First, since there were experts here, there was no need for Haseo to show off; secondly, even if he wanted to stand out, such a fight wouldn't allow him any opportunity.
If the Nine-Tails knew what was good for it, the first thing it should do upon release was turn tail and run. Not that it'd get far, of course.
Although none of those present possessed Hashirama Senju's absolute dominance over the Nine-Tails, with Mito Uzumaki here, how bad could things really get?
Haseo cracked his knuckles slightly, then tightened his grip on the weapon once more. The leader of the Uzumaki clan had retreated to an even farther and sufficiently safe position—he was not someone required to jump into combat right at the start. The Third Hokage began forming hand seals, activating the Summoning Jutsu and calling forth his summoned beast, Enma. Then the monkey transformed using Transformation Jutsu into an extremely long and thick staff.
Finally, Mito Uzumaki at the center began forming seals, placing one palm flat against her abdomen.
In an instant, as though a violent tropical cyclone had swept through the forest, Haseo felt an irresistible surge of malevolent energy and overwhelming force wash over his body. He staggered back instinctively, feet planted shoulder-width apart to brace himself against the overwhelming pressure.
Squinting, he saw an abrupt orange "wall" stretching high into the sky appear before him. A rough estimate suggested the creature's body alone was at least sixty meters in length.
The Nine-Tails — Kurama — its furious roar echoed through the long-silent depths of the Shikkotsu Forest.
Haseo had encountered other Tailed Beasts before, but the aura exhibited by the Nine-Tails was different—it uniquely stood out among the nine creatures. When the Sage of Six Paths divided the Ten-Tails' chakra, he may have taken inspiration from various creatures, yet one fact remained certain: he particularly favored fox spirits.
Although Katsuyu's body was significantly larger than that of the Nine-Tails, size alone didn't convey the same oppressive chakra presence now radiating from the fox.
Even Samehada in Haseo's grip trembled violently, sticking its tongue out like a dog panting on a scorching July afternoon.
For Mito Uzumaki, the jinchuriki of Kurama, suddenly having such a massive amount of chakra extracted caused her life force to start draining away… in reality, from this moment onward, she had already begun her countdown to death. So the moment the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style was broken, even Mito would briefly weaken.
This was the most vulnerable moment—one where Kurama could easily take advantage.
Thus, the instant Kurama appeared, the Third Hokage immediately rushed toward it.
However, Kurama showed no hostility toward its longtime jinchuriki who had sealed it all these years—it seemed preoccupied with something far more urgent. Just as Haseo was admiring the fox spirit's graceful figure, the enormous chakra entity charged straight at him.
Kurama was the Nine-Tails, and the Nine-Tails was Kurama, but Kurama was not just a tailed beast—it had a will of its own. So while Haseo admired it, the moment Kurama lunged at him, he reacted instantly.
No thrill—just a pounding heart and rising panic.
Crap! Could Kurama really hold grudges like this? As the one who proposed the "sealing plan," did it remember Haseo specifically?
Or perhaps his title "Beast Reaper" had already spread far and wide?
The Nine-Tails' gigantic body quickly closed the several-hundred-meter distance between them, appearing in Haseo's eyes as if an erupting volcano were crashing straight toward him.
Haseo was startled for just a moment—after all, with his experience fighting tailed beasts, he quickly regained his composure. Kurama's narrow, elongated face rapidly filled his field of vision, and once within striking range, it began swinging its front limbs.
The fox's razor-sharp claws effortlessly sliced through the thousand-year-old trees of Shikkotsu Forest, and its next target was Haseo himself—aimed directly at his waist.
But by then, Haseo had already completed the hand seals. A shadow clone appeared above his body—and in the same instant, they switched places.
Under Kurama's razor-sharp claws, the clone vanished the moment it was touched. Even if it had struck his real body instead, the result wouldn't have changed—the odds of surviving such an attack were nonexistent… against even a simple physical strike from Kurama, a ninja's body was as fragile as paper.
Screw you! I've already died once—who says I'm an easy target?
That was indeed true. Among the ninja in Shikkotsu Forest, wasn't Haseo basically the pushover?
As the sensation of near-death transferred back from the destroyed clone, Haseo became furious. In midair, he fiercely swung his giant 'wolf-toothed club' with both hands, crashing it heavily onto Kurama's side face.
[Eighty!]
"Boom!"
The immense impact forced Kurama's huge head sideways, though such a blow wasn't nearly enough to topple its entire body. Rather, this very strike perfectly turned one of Kurama's glaring, hate-filled eyes directly toward Haseo.
What the hell are you staring at?
In midair, Haseo's leaping figure continued to descend. He raised Samehada high over his head once again, preparing to bring it down in a slash aimed directly at Nine-Tails' forehead.
But just then, mountains collapsed and seas erupted. The forest to Nine-Tails' right exploded violently, as milky-white "peaks" suddenly surged upward, quickly rising far above Nine-Tails' body. Then they crashed down like a hundred-meter tidal wave, slamming into Nine-Tails' flank with crushing force.
The little fox was immediately flipped onto its back, and the sensation of being smacked senseless was eerily familiar... Years ago, a man piloting a Gundam-like war machine had smacked it with exactly the same move.
The master of Shikkotsu Forest extended its "hand," slamming Nine-Tails to the ground with one blow. Then it "clenched its fist," using its massive body to pin Nine-Tails firmly to the earth.
So Haseo never completed his second downward slash. He touched down lightly on Nine-Tails' face, took a step forward, and stared into the beast's eyes as he spoke, "Nine-Tails, this is Shikkotsu Forest, and here, you're nothing more than just a little fox."
For the first time in many years, Katsuyu had truly extended her massive form. Then the land, the mountains—even the very sky—began to warp and shift.
...
Note: Manga artists rarely pay strict attention to scale and proportion. Nine-Tails' height estimates range from 17 meters to 170 meters, while the Ten-Tails and [Thousand Hands Manipulation Force: Thrust] vary from several hundred meters up to 3,000 meters. This version adopts a relatively common middle-ground setting.
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