"That fight really was satisfying."
Jie had just opened his eyes, but his attention was not on the collapsed Waterfall of Truth in front of him.
He was still replaying the battle with his dark side.
Because of the Waterfall of Truth's limits, the dark version could not copy all of his abilities. Even so, its perfectly mirrored ninjutsu and taijutsu had given Jie the kind of fight he had not enjoyed in a long time.
The fight had also helped him understand his ninjutsu and taijutsu a little better.
It was not a huge breakthrough, but without relying on another transformation, his strength had still taken a small step forward.
Only after calming down did Jie notice that the Waterfall of Truth had broken into pieces.
He frowned slightly.
His strength had probably exceeded what the Waterfall of Truth could handle. The fight had happened inside its mental space, but once that space collapsed, the real waterfall collapsed with it.
Since it could no longer reflect his full strength, there was no point thinking about it.
Besides, defeating his inner darkness had also sharpened his spirit a little. His chakra and eye power had improved slightly as well.
Better than nothing.
Jie returned to the shore and hung Shukaku's teapot back at his waist. After confirming the direction, he headed toward Kurama's location.
He had already spent too many days searching for the tailed beasts.
He needed to capture the Nine-Tails as soon as possible, summon the Gedo Statue, and merge the tailed beasts into the Ten-Tails. After that, he still had to give Madara and Hashirama some final advice on how to build a proper ninja village.
Once those things were done, his plan in this era would be complete.
More importantly, the system had stayed silent despite all the changes he had made. Jie had a feeling it was saving the reward until he returned to his own time.
The bigger the change, the bigger the reward might be.
For that reward, Jie had no reason to slow down.
While Jie rushed toward the Nine-Tails, another meeting had already begun in the tailed beasts' mental space.
"Kurama, run!"
Gyūki's voice was urgent.
"That human's strength is beyond what we imagined. Even if all of us fought together, I'm not sure we could win."
"And most importantly, he really has the Rinnegan."
"With just one look, I completely lost the ability to resist."
Gyūki's voice grew heavier.
"You are the strongest among us, but the Rinnegan suppresses tailed beasts too much."
It had been badly injured because it had blocked Jie's Rasengan directly, but being controlled by a single glance was also real.
When that giant Rasengan had fallen, Gyūki had been one step from death. Without its severed-tail escape, it might have disappeared on the spot.
Kurama, who had been silent for a long time, finally stood up.
"He is only human."
Kurama looked at the eight tailed beasts in front of it.
"I am not the same as the rest of you."
"If he really dares to come, I'll tear him apart."
"Kurama, this is not the time to act stubborn."
Gyūki grew anxious.
"That human has the Rinnegan, and he knows the ancient secrets."
"That is why he is capturing us."
"If even you lose, this world will truly have no hope left."
"Do you want to watch the world the old man left behind be destroyed by that human?"
As soon as Gyūki finished, the other tailed beasts also began persuading Kurama.
With so many of them speaking at once, Kurama finally seemed to waver.
For a moment, it said nothing.
Then it exhaled.
"Fine."
"I'll be careful."
"If I really can't beat him, I'll run."
Fleeing without fighting was not Kurama's style.
This was already the biggest concession it could make.
The other tailed beasts had no better option. They could only hope Kurama would really escape if things went wrong.
Deep in a dense forest, Kurama slowly raised its crimson head.
Nine enormous tails swayed behind it like banners.
"Can a human really reach the old man's level?"
Kurama raised its head for a moment, then slowly lay down again.
Although it was confident in its strength, the other eight tailed beasts had already fallen into that human's hands.
Even Kurama could not completely ignore that.
"The world the old man left behind is far from good."
Kurama's eyes sharpened.
"But it still cannot be handed over to a human like that."
...
Two days passed quickly.
Kurama was resting with its eyes closed when it suddenly raised its head and looked into the distance.
If its senses were right, the human capturing the tailed beasts had arrived.
Kurama's senses were sharp. Even from far away, it could already feel Jie's huge chakra.
It could also feel Shukaku's weakened chakra at Jie's side.
If that human was carrying Shukaku with him, then there was no mistake.
Kurama did not hesitate.
It opened its mouth and prepared to greet Jie with a Tailed Beast Ball.
Kurama's body was enormous, and its crimson fur stood out clearly in the green forest.
Because of that, Jie spotted it from a great distance.
Originally, Jie had thought Kurama would be like the other tailed beasts and at least exchange a few words first.
Ask why he was capturing the tailed beasts.
Threaten him.
Go through the usual routine.
He had not expected Kurama to fire a Tailed Beast Ball without saying anything.
The Nine-Tails really was different from the other tailed beasts.
Before Jie transmigrated, Naruto fans had often joked about how unfairly the Sage of Six Paths must have divided the Ten-Tails' chakra.
One share for the One-Tail, two for the Two-Tails, all the way up to nine shares for the Nine-Tails.
Then, after finishing, the Sage looked down, saw that forty-five shares were still left, and simply gave them all to Kurama.
It was only a joke, but it showed how ridiculous Kurama's chakra was. Even an ordinary Tailed Beast Ball from Kurama was on a different level from the others.
For most ninja, taking one directly meant certain death.
But Jie was not most ninja.
Although he had not expected Kurama to attack so suddenly, a single Tailed Beast Ball was not enough to trouble him.
He raised one hand and absorbed it completely.
The chakra inside Kurama's Tailed Beast Ball was enormous, but compared with Jie's own chakra, it was not enough to pressure him.
From far away, Kurama saw everything clearly.
When it watched Jie erase its Tailed Beast Ball so casually, its eyes narrowed.
If Jie had dodged, knocked it away, or even blocked it head-on, Kurama would not have been too surprised.
It already knew this human was strong.
But Jie had absorbed the attack as if it were nothing.
That was far harder to judge.
This human was more troublesome than Kurama had expected.
Jie lowered his hand.
Being attacked without warning annoyed him.
He had originally planned to show Kurama a little mercy. Different timeline or not, the Nine-Tails had been the source of his first real gain after transmigrating.
Because of that, Jie had intended to leave this era's Kurama with some dignity.
But this Kurama had attacked first.
And it had done so without warning.
Then Jie had no reason to be gentle.
He raised his hand again.
A huge black Rasengan, the same kind that had almost killed Gyūki, appeared above his palm.
"Go."
With a light wave of his hand, the enormous Rasengan descended toward Kurama.
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