Tōshirō took a deep breath, trying to suppress his pounding heartbeat. It was easy to talk about releasing the Five-Tails, but actually doing it was a whole different kind of pressure.
Hold steady—he couldn't let the Five-Tails see any sign of weakness.
First impressions were important.
Normally, developing a bond with a tailed beast should be done gradually.
Tōshirō only dared to take this bold, shortcut approach because he had a good understanding of tailed beasts, and because several other factors gave him the confidence to pull it off.
Sure, it was risky—but the payoff could be huge. It would allow them to quickly establish a meaningful connection.
The Five-Tails, seeing that Tōshirō still hadn't moved to break the seal, snorted in disdain and mocked, "What's wrong? Now that it's time to actually release the seal, are you scared?"
"No, I was just trying to figure out how to break the seal," Tōshirō replied, looking up with a confused expression.
The Five-Tails froze for a moment—then realized it had just been played. Its pupils filled with blood as it snapped, "If you don't want to do it, just say so. Don't dance around the issue."
Tōshirō pulled an innocent face, playing the classic game of crushing hope before restoring it. "Who said I was lying? I really don't know how to break the seal.
"Think about it—how long do you think I've even been a jinchūriki? If I already knew how to remove the seal, that would be the real surprise. Besides, I bet this kind of sealing technique wasn't even designed with an unsealing process in mind."
Faced with that kind of retort, the Five-Tails fell silent.
That little brat in front of it… kind of had a point.
Could it be… it had really just misunderstood the kid?
But as a tailed beast with a fierce reputation, it could never lower its proud head to admit a mistake. So it argued instead, "You don't see that big sealing tag on the gate?"
Tōshirō answered confidently, "Of course I see it—I'm not blind. I was just thinking: the gaps between the bars seem pretty wide, right? Couldn't you just use your tail, reach through, and flick the seal off yourself?"
"How could it be that easy?" the Five-Tails snapped. "That kind of tag can only be removed from the outside by someone else." It pounced on the opportunity to mock him: "You didn't even know that?"
Tōshirō puffed out his chest and stood firm. "I'm just a kid—how would I know that? Seems pretty normal, right?"
The Five-Tails snorted in exasperation. It had no comeback for that—after all, he was a kid.
Since he was young and hadn't been a jinchūriki for long, it was understandable that there were things he didn't know.
"Now that you know," the Five-Tails said, "hurry up and rip that tag off."
Hearing that, Tōshirō stayed true to his word—he jumped forward and tore off the sealing tag.
Even though the Five-Tails had mentally prepared itself, seeing Tōshirō rip it off without hesitation still caught it off guard.
Tōshirō looked down at the tag in his hand, tilted his head, and said with confusion, "I already removed the seal tag, but the seal is still there."
Sensing a sudden drop in the sealing power suppressing it, the Five-Tails pawed at the ground with its front limbs. "That's enough. The rest I can handle on my own."
It began gathering strength, preparing to make a sprint and smash through the remaining gate of the seal.
Seeing this, Tōshirō quickly shouted, "Wait—you're not seriously going to try and ram through the seal, are you?"
The Five-Tails replied, "What else am I supposed to do?"
Tōshirō reached out to stop it. "Hold on…"
The Five-Tails narrowed its eyes. "You're backing out now?"
"Not exactly," Tōshirō said. "I'm just wondering… if you burst through the seal like that, won't it cause my chakra in the real world to explode like a geyser?"
The Five-Tails looked confused. "What's the problem with that?"
"Of course it's a problem!" Tōshirō said. "I only just became a jinchūriki. The village has me under 24/7 surveillance. If my chakra suddenly surges out of control, they'll know I let you out on my own."
Then he added, "Do you really think the others would be okay with seeing you like this? You might not care, but if you do that, I'll definitely be dragged into it too."
Want me to keep translating the rest of the chapter?
Tōshirō's explanation wasn't unreasonable, but to the Five-Tails, who harbored a deep hostility toward humans, it all sounded like a trick—just another excuse pretending to be "for your own good," when in reality, he still refused to let it out."Cut the crap. Bottom line—you're still not going to let me out, are you?"
Tōshirō opened his eyes calmly and, seeing how agitated it was, tried to reassure it."What are you so anxious about? Did I ever say I wouldn't let you out? I just figured out a way to release you without destroying the gate."
The Five-Tails had been completely at his mercy, and just as it was about to explode in rage, those words made all its frustration suddenly vanish.
Tōshirō answered with action instead of words. He lifted his shirt, biting down on the hem to reveal the sealing pattern on his stomach. Forming a claw with his hand, five fingers lit up with blue chakra. He pressed down on the seal and gave it a twist.
At the center of the gate, the spiral lock responded with a series of clicks. As soon as the lock released, the Five-Tails lunged forward, slamming the gate open with wild excitement.
"ROAR!"
The deafening roar echoed like thunder. Its massive form charged out with overwhelming force, creating a fierce gust that blew Tōshirō's hair back. In the blink of an eye, his dark eyes reflected the image of the Five-Tails barreling straight toward him.
Tōshirō: ???
Outside the hospital.
In the night sky, a waxing crescent moon hung overhead.
The cold moonlight added a touch of softness to the quiet night. At that moment, light suddenly flickered on and off inside a previously darkened room. From it surged an unbelievably vast chakra.
An ANBU ninja on guard, assigned to monitor the jinchūriki, felt a sudden jolt of alarm. He sensed an intense chakra presence.
What is this...?
Whoosh.
A leaf fluttered to the ground as the ANBU ninja vanished from the treetop. Reappearing instantly inside the room through the window, he locked eyes with a figure hidden in the shadows, eyes alert behind the mask.
Before the ANBU could say a word, the figure in the shadows suddenly shouted:
"Ah! A thief—there's a thief!"
The ANBU froze.
Wasn't this the same guy who just looked like he was about to go full tailed beast rampage?
What's going on now?
But seeing how calm and collected Tōshirō was acting, they figured it probably hadn't been a rampage after all. Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, one of them explained,"We were sent by the Hokage to prevent the tailed beast inside you from going berserk."
"Oh, I see." Tōshirō nodded in understanding, then made a puzzled face."But I'm totally fine—so why are you guys barging in here?"
The ANBU exchanged glances. If he'd actually gone on a rampage, there's no way he'd be this composed. But what about that massive chakra they'd sensed just now? Was it… a mistake?
"You're just standing there in the middle of the night. Why aren't you asleep?" one of them asked.
Tōshirō put on a face like he was getting angry just thinking about it."I just got up to use the bathroom, okay? You guys burst in and scared me so bad I almost peed myself. If something like that really happened, my entire reputation would be ruined!"
ANBU: …
"Well, if you're okay, then that's what matters most."
They were silent types. After tossing out that final line, the ANBU disappeared without another word.
Tōshirō exhaled deeply—that was close.
If they had arrived just a little faster, they might've caught sight of the changes in Tōshirō's eyes—his pupils turning blue, with red markings appearing at the corners.
These were visual traits of the Five-Tails.
If they'd seen that, talking his way out like just now wouldn't have been so easy.
Back in the spiritual world—
Faced with the raging Five-Tails, charging at him like it was going to kill him, Tōshirō remained still, completely composed, not even moving a single leg.
Just as the Five-Tails was about to crash into him—at the very last moment—its massive body came to a sudden stop, inches away, staring into his blue eyes with something like a questioning "Hmm?"
After a long silence, the Five-Tails finally spoke, its tone carrying a hint of approval:"Not bad~."
It hadn't actually planned on killing Tōshirō just now—it only wanted to scare him. But if he had shown fear like those other people had… it wouldn't have held back.
"I don't sense any malice from you."
Tōshirō smiled calmly.
On the outside, he was cool as ice—but on the inside? Full-on panic.
Damn it.
The Five-Tails is way too fast. My body didn't even react…
He hadn't expected the Five-Tails to be so sneaky. After freeing it, the damn beast didn't even say thanks—it just charged him.
But more than its lack of manners, what shocked Tōshirō the most was the speed. How could something that huge have such terrifying explosive power?
At that moment, Tōshirō noticed a steam-like mist erupting from the Five-Tails' body."What's that steam-like stuff coming off you?"
"That's my ability," the Five-Tails replied."Boil Release."
(End of Chapter)
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