Shukaku didn't fire.
Not yet.
The sphere continued growing.
Black and purple chakra rotated above the tanuki's open mouth.
Slowly.
Violently.
More chakra poured into it with every passing second.
The sphere was already larger than Naruto.
Then twice his size.
Then larger still.
Naruto stared upward.
"...That's still getting bigger."
Sasuke stood several feet behind him.
Barely.
One hand rested against a tree just to keep himself upright.
"Good observation."
Naruto pointed at him without looking.
"Not now."
The air changed.
Wind flowed toward Shukaku.
Branches bent.
Loose stones lifted from the ground.
Even Naruto could feel the pull against his clothes.
The Bijū Bomb was compressing everything inward.
Naruto's eyes narrowed.
He'd seen chakra attacks.
He'd been hit by chakra attacks.
He'd even fired something approaching ridiculous himself about five minutes ago.
This was different.
It wasn't just powerful.
It was dense.
An absurd amount of chakra forced into one increasingly small point.
Naruto watched the sphere.
Then looked behind himself.
The forest.
Beyond that—
Konoha.
Running wasn't enough.
Even if Naruto and Sasuke escaped—
Where would that thing go?
Naruto's jaw tightened.
"Think."
Rail Pierce?
Could punch through it.
Maybe.
Which might also make the gigantic ball of compressed death explode directly in front of him.
Bad.
Cyclone?
Naruto almost laughed.
Tidal Wave?
Even worse.
Clones?
Unless Shukaku was secretly vulnerable to being annoyed to death, useless.
That left Fūinjutsu.
Naruto froze.
His hand slowly entered his pouch.
Barrier tags.
"Naruto."
Sasuke's voice was quieter now.
Naruto glanced back.
Sasuke was staring at Shukaku.
"Whatever you're doing..."
His Sharingan tracked the growing sphere.
"Do it faster."
Naruto nodded.
"Working on it."
He moved.
One tag struck a tree.
Another landed fifty feet away.
A third hit the ground.
Naruto disappeared into the forest.
Sasuke watched him go, frustration mounting as his rival continued to fight on while he remained immobile.
Naruto raced through the surrounding forest.
His mind worked faster than his feet.
A normal barrier would fail.
So don't make a normal barrier.
Containment.
Reinforcement.
Redirection.
Pressure distribution.
Chakra absorption.
Naruto's eyes widened slightly.
Absorption?
He landed.
Dropped another tag.
Moved again.
His Advanced Fūinjutsu assembled possibilities.
He couldn't simply absorb the Bijū Bomb.
The seal would overload instantly.
But maybe it didn't have to absorb everything.
Catch.
Distribute.
Hold.
Then redirect the force.
Naruto skidded across the dirt.
His finger carved a line through the ground.
Four primary anchors.
Eight secondary anchors.
No.
Too weak.
Eight primary anchors.
Sixteen secondary pathways.
Naruto stopped.
"Still too weak."
Another clone appeared.
"How weak?"
Naruto looked at himself.
"Explodes immediately."
The clone considered that.
"Bad."
"Very."
Naruto created six more clones.
"Help."
All seven dropped to the ground.
Tags appeared.
Ink came out.
Lines began spreading.
The seal grew.
What started as a barrier formula became something much larger.
A containment array.
Then something beyond that.
Naruto began connecting formulas he normally would've kept separate.
Containment linked to absorption.
Absorption linked to distribution.
Distribution linked to reinforcement.
Reinforcement fed back into containment.
Naruto stopped.
That could work.
His clone stared at the formula.
"Isn't that a loop?"
"Yep."
"Didn't Jiraiya say not to make chakra loops?"
Naruto kept drawing.
"He said not to make unstable chakra loops."
The clone looked at him.
"Is this stable?"
Naruto paused.
"...Probably."
The clone stared.
Naruto stared back.
"Keep drawing."
"Right."
Shukaku's Bijū Bomb continued growing.
The forest darkened beneath it.
The chakra pressure became suffocating.
Sasuke looked between the monster and the army of Narutos frantically covering the ground in sealing formulas.
He had absolutely no idea what Naruto was doing.
That bothered him.
Several minutes ago Naruto had invented a wind technique capable of blowing holes through a Bijū.
Now he was drawing on the ground.
Sasuke tried to gather chakra to move however, all it did was make his curse mark burn and pour hot fire into his chakra pathways. He could continue no longer.
Naruto placed the final tag.
"Connect!"
Every clone slammed a hand onto the array.
Chakra flowed.
Lines illuminated.
One after another.
The enormous formula awakened.
A translucent barrier flickered.
Expanded.
Then collapsed.
Naruto frowned.
"Again."
More chakra.
The barrier appeared.
Held.
Three seconds.
Five.
Seven.
Then—
CRACK!
Gone.
Naruto stared.
One clone scratched his head.
"That's without the giant death ball."
"I know."
"Which is probably stronger."
"I KNOW."
Naruto looked at the formula.
The structure wasn't wrong.
That was the annoying part.
It worked.
Containment worked.
Distribution worked.
The reinforcement loop worked.
The problem wasn't the seal.
It was the battery.
Naruto opened his System.
The analysis appeared almost immediately.
PING
Improvised High-Density Chakra Containment Array
Structure: Viable
Chakra Supply: Insufficient
Estimated User Chakra Requirement: EXCESSIVE
Naruto frowned.
His new Uzumaki reserves were enormous.
Far larger than before.
The Vital Surge had filled them almost completely.
And apparently—
Still not enough.
Naruto looked at Shukaku.
Then back at the seal.
"How much chakra does that stupid raccoon HAVE?"
Something inside him stirred.
Naruto stopped.
Warm.
Heavy.
Familiar.
The answer was obvious.
Naruto slowly touched his stomach.
Sasuke watched his teammate realize something, the fire of revelation burning in his blue eyes.
He didn't like that.
"What?"
Naruto looked toward him.
"I found a battery."
Sasuke frowned.
"Where?"
Naruto tapped his stomach.
Sasuke's expression changed. Anger clenched his jaw, his sharingan spinning wildly.
"Don't look at me like that...we both have something on us that shouldn't be there."
Naruto looked toward Shukaku.
The Bijū Bomb continued compressing.
They had time.
Not much.
But enough.
Naruto sat.
Crossed his legs.
Closed his eyes.
"Keep working."
His clones nodded.
Naruto breathed.
Then reached inward.
Water touched his sandals.
Naruto opened his eyes.
Darkness surrounded him.
Pipes stretched overhead.
The endless flooded corridor waited.
And at its end—
The cage.
Two enormous red eyes opened.
Naruto walked forward.
"Hey."
The Nine-Tails stared down at him.
"You."
Naruto stopped several yards from the bars.
"Me."
A low growl rolled through the chamber.
"You come willingly."
"Yep."
"You seek my chakra."
Naruto frowned.
"How'd you know?"
The fox stared at him.
Naruto shrugged.
"Fair."
The Nine-Tails lowered its enormous head and snorted.
"You're fighting that miserable tanuki aren't you? I've sensed his presence for the past month."
Naruto's smile grew slightly.
There it was.
"He's pretty strong."
The Nine-Tails' eyes narrowed, a deep guttural laugh rattling his cage.
Naruto kept his face completely serious.
"Really strong, actually."
A claw scraped against the floor. The laugh died and a growl replaced it.
"Careful, brat."
Naruto shoved his hands into his pockets.
"I mean, I blew his shoulder off."
Nothing.
"Then his stomach."
Nothing.
"Then his knee."
The Nine-Tails remained silent.
"They grew back."
The amusement disappeared.
"Then I blew half his head off."
Naruto paused.
"And Gaara's arm."
The Nine-Tails stared.
Naruto shrugged.
"He still got back up."
The fox's tail shifted behind it.
"So?"
Naruto looked away.
"So..."
He scratched his cheek.
"I'm starting to think he's stronger than you."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Naruto waited.
The Nine-Tails' lips pulled back.
"That creature is not worthy of comparison to me."
"I dunno."
Naruto rocked slightly on his heels.
"He's doing pretty good."
A growl shook the water.
"He turned into this giant sand monster."
Another growl.
"Regenerates everything."
Louder.
"And now he's making this huge black ball."
"A Bijū Bomb."
Naruto pointed.
"That."
The Nine-Tails snarled.
"A rudimentary display."
Naruto blinked.
"Really?"
"YES."
Naruto tilted his head.
"Looks pretty powerful."
The cage shook.
Naruto was enjoying this considerably more than he should.
"So I was thinking."
He looked behind the fox.
Nine enormous tails shifted through the darkness.
"He's got one."
The fox stared.
"You've got nine."
Naruto started counting.
"One, two, three—"
"I KNOW HOW MANY TAILS I POSSESS."
Naruto lowered his hand.
"Just checking."
The Nine-Tails' eye twitched.
"So..."
Naruto smiled.
"You're nine times stronger?"
The fox went still.
Naruto waited.
"At minimum."
Naruto's smile widened.
There it was.
"Cool."
Naruto turned around.
The Nine-Tails blinked.
Naruto started walking away.
"Guess I'll figure something else out."
"Stop."
Naruto stopped.
He turned slightly.
"Hm?"
The fox stared.
Naruto could practically feel its pride fighting with its hatred of him.
Beautiful.
"You came seeking my chakra."
Naruto shrugged.
"Yeah."
"And now you leave?"
Naruto scratched his head.
"Well..."
He looked back.
"I need a lot."
The Nine-Tails' eyes narrowed.
"You have no comprehension of the chakra I possess. Whatever paltry amount you're about to ask for I can give it in spades."
Naruto pointed at one of its tails.
"I need that much. Think you can handle it you fluffy bastard?"
The fox stared.
Naruto stared back.
"You believe you can withstand the chakra contained within one of my tails?"
Naruto hesitated.
Before today?
Absolutely not.
Now?
His System had said otherwise.
Unyielding Vessel.
Naruto smiled.
"Only one way to find out."
The Nine-Tails leaned closer.
Its nose nearly reached the bars.
"Arrogant."
Naruto grinned.
"Learned from you."
For several seconds—
Nothing.
Then the fox laughed.
Low.
Dark.
Dangerous.
Naruto's grin disappeared.
Red chakra began leaking through the bars.
Not leaking.
Pouring.
Naruto stepped backward.
The water around his feet exploded into steam.
"Wait."
More came.
"Hold on."
More.
"THAT'S ENOUGH—"
The Nine-Tails smiled.
"Let it be known that I am a generous prisoner. Whether Shukaku or my chakra kills you I care not."
Red chakra slammed into Naruto.
He screamed.
His chakra network ignited.
Every pathway burned.
His skin felt like it was being peeled away.
Then—
His Uzumaki chakra reacted.
Dense.
Stable.
Stubborn.
Instead of collapsing beneath the foreign chakra—
It held it.
Contained it.
Circulated it.
Unyielding Vessel activated.
Naruto's eyes widened.
The pain remained.
But his mind didn't disappear beneath it.
No blind rage.
No instant loss of control.
Just—
Power.
More than he'd ever felt.
Naruto's teeth sharpened.
His whisker marks darkened.
Red chakra crawled over his body.
Then extended behind him.
One tail, then two, a third began to form stopping suddenly as Naruto's seal ached and contained the remainder.
Multiple tails of Biju chakra.
Naruto stared at them, awaking from his meditative state.
His attention turned away from his outward chakra cloak to within his own body.
PING
2.5 tail Biju Chakra Cloak
Strength +150%
Agility +100%
Endurance +200%
Intelligence -35%
Higher reasoning capped at intelligence debuff, Loss of impulse control!
The chakra moved with him.
Still his hand.
Still his thoughts.
Still Naruto.
Naruto roared, the power surging in his body causing a new best to emerge other than the towering sand monster.
Red chakra rolled off the original Naruto, the earth beneath him cracked.
Sasuke's Sharingan widened.
"Naruto..."
Naruto stood.
The chakra felt incredible.
Hot.
Angry.
Heavy.
But contained.
A System window appeared.
BIJŪ CHAKRA DETECTED
Source: Nine-Tails
Approximate Release: 2.5 tail threshold
Unyielding Vessel: ACTIVE
Chakra Network Stability: HOLDING
Naruto smiled.
"Good."
Then he looked at his seal.
The formula still waited. He could no longer make quite sense of it, the seals various lines and intricacies swimming in his vision. He'd have to trust in his abilities.
He placed both hands against it.
Red chakra immediately flooded downward.
Every line turned crimson.
One anchor activated.
Then another.
Then another.
All eight erupted simultaneously.
The reinforcement network expanded.
The ground shook.
Naruto's clones jumped backward.
The seal drank.
And drank.
And kept drinking.
Naruto's eyes widened.
"Holy crap."
One clone stared.
"How much does it need?!"
Naruto gritted his teeth.
"Apparently all of it!"
The Nine-Tails' chakra continued pouring through him.
For the first time—
The seal didn't collapse.
It grew.
A massive translucent wall curved upward.
Then outward.
Then folded back toward itself.
A dome.
Not around Naruto.
Between Shukaku and Konoha.
Layer after layer of sealing formula appeared across its surface.
Containment.
Distribution.
Reinforcement.
Redirection.
The System flickered.
NEW FŪINJUTSU APPLICATION DETECTED
High-Density Chakra Defensive Array
Classification Pending
Naruto stared at the Bijū Bomb.
Then at the barrier.
"Pending?"
The System ignored him.
Shukaku noticed.
Its eyes locked onto Naruto.
Then onto the red chakra surrounding him.
The tanuki's expression changed.
Recognition.
Then rage.
"YOU!"
Naruto blinked.
Shukaku could talk.
That was new.
Its eyes focused on the red tail behind him.
Then its face twisted.
"FOX!"
Naruto slowly smiled.
"Oh."
He rolled his shoulders.
"Yeah."
The Bijū Bomb reached its final density.
The forest went silent.
Naruto planted both feet.
Shukaku roared.
The sphere dropped from its mouth.
Naruto slammed both hands against the seal.
"COME ON!"
Red chakra exploded through the entire array.
The barrier became crimson.
The Bijū Bomb crossed the forest.
Naruto's clones vanished from the pressure alone.
Trees flattened.
The ground split.
Sasuke threw an arm over his face.
Naruto didn't move.
One red tail whipped behind him.
His seal burned beneath his hands.
Shukaku laughed.
Naruto grinned.
"Let's see whose chakra wins."
The Bijū Bomb struck the seal.
And the world disappeared.