As the black Nine-Tails appeared, it immediately let out a deafening roar towards the sky.
Its nine tails spread out, wildly thrashing in the air, as a terrifying and malevolent aura began to spread in all directions.
A fierce wind blew, lifting yellow sand into the sky, creating a small sandstorm in an instant.
"Leaf Village ninja! Die!"
The black Nine-Tails suddenly lowered its head, its eyes locking onto Hanekawa with an intense, murderous gaze.
The overwhelming killing intent felt like a mountain pressing down on him.
Hanekawa felt a sense of suffocation.
He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
The Box of Ultimate Bliss not only created a black Nine-Tails but also simulated its personality or memories.
The black Nine-Tails moved, its nine tails slamming down like pillars of heaven towards Hanekawa.
Water Release: Water Wall!
Hanekawa clapped his hands together.
A massive and thick wall of water rose in front of him.
The nine tails struck the wall, and for a moment, the two forces were locked in a stalemate.
Hanekawa thought to himself, 'As expected.'
First, this black Nine-Tails was not as powerful as the original Nine-Tails.
Second, his Water Release had received too many buffs.
- B-grade trait "Rain God": 100% boost.
- B-grade trait "I Am the Mizukage": 100% boost.
- A-grade trait "Turtle": 100% boost.
- A-grade trait "Water Release Elite Jonin": 150% boost.
Under rainy conditions, his Water Release ninjutsu received a total of 450% boost in power.
*Crack!*
The water wall finally shattered.
Facing the onslaught of the nine tails, Hanekawa remained calm and began forming hand seals.
The black Nine-Tails was a manifestation of Satori, so showing any emotional fluctuations would reveal his attack intentions.
Wood Release: Advent of the Tree World!
Roots churned beneath the sand, and trees began to grow at an astonishing rate.
In the blink of an eye, a miracle occurred in the desert—a forest appeared out of nowhere.
Branches and vines stretched out like living creatures, entangling the black Nine-Tails' nine tails.
The black Nine-Tails struggled fiercely.
Its tails thrashed wildly, creating gusts of wind.
But the branches and vines only tightened further.
With a furious roar, the black Nine-Tails opened its mouth and fired a Tailed Beast Bomb.
*Boom!*
The Tailed Beast Bomb landed in the forest, creating a mushroom cloud.
Countless trees were destroyed, and sand mixed with debris flew in all directions.
"It can even use Tailed Beast Bombs?"
Hanekawa stood at the edge of the forest, a look of surprise on his face.
The moment he saw the Tailed Beast Bomb, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape its range.
The black Nine-Tails exhaled a cloud of black smoke.
It looked around, spotting Hanekawa, and charged forward again.
Its massive body, like a mountain, plowed through the sand, heading straight for him.
Wood Release: Tree Wall!
Water Release: Water Wall!
Hanekawa used two ninjutsu in quick succession.
The sand churned as countless vines burst from the ground, intertwining to form a wooden wall.
Right next to it, a water wall of the same size appeared.
*Bang!*
The black Nine-Tails crashed into the two walls.
The force of the impact sent it reeling, its head spinning.
Enraged, the black Nine-Tails gathered all its strength and charged again.
The wooden wall bent inward, cracks beginning to form.
Hanekawa estimated it would take a few seconds for the black Nine-Tails to break through.
Although it wasn't the original Nine-Tails, its strength still surpassed that of most ninja.
On the other hand, this meant his defensive ninjutsu would be difficult for most ninja to break.
Hanekawa nodded in satisfaction and formed another set of hand seals.
Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!
A massive surge of chakra erupted as a tree rapidly grew and took on a humanoid form.
The wooden giant clenched its fists and slammed them into the black Nine-Tails.
The black Nine-Tails, still focused on breaking the walls, was caught off guard and sent flying hundreds of meters through the sand.
It roared in anger, but the wooden giant's fists were already coming down again.
One punch landed squarely on the black Nine-Tails' head.
Boom!
The black Nine-Tails was driven into the sand, creating a massive crater.
The wooden giant didn't let up, delivering another punch.
The black Nine-Tails' massive body was buried deeper into the sand.
Enraged, it lifted its head and fired another Tailed Beast Bomb.
The wooden giant opened its hand, caught the Tailed Beast Bomb, and shoved it back into the black Nine-Tails' mouth.
A terrifying explosion followed.
Beams of light shot out from the black Nine-Tails' mouth.
The chakra shockwave scattered in all directions, and its mouth couldn't withstand the force, leaving a gaping hole.
"It really isn't as strong as the original Nine-Tails," Hanekawa remarked with a sigh.
Hashirama's Wood Release: Wood Human Technique could catch a Tailed Beast Bomb with one hand.
But Hanekawa's Wood Release: Wood Human Technique was still far from that level.
The only explanation was that the black Nine-Tails was much weaker than the original.
Hanekawa estimated it was at most one-tenth as strong, or even less.
The hole in its mouth quickly healed.
The black Nine-Tails' mouth returned to normal in no time.
It lifted its head and fired three Tailed Beast Bombs in quick succession.
The wooden giant caught two with one hand and slammed its fists into the third.
The three Tailed Beast Bombs collided and exploded.
Boom!
Three beams of light spread out in all directions.
The black Nine-Tails and the wooden giant, caught in the center of the explosion, were hit the hardest.
Sand filled the air, and a sandstorm was born.
Hanekawa suddenly raised an eyebrow.
He sensed someone nearby watching him.
He glanced around and spotted an eye in the sky.
A Sand Eye.
In the original story, Gaara had used this technique—an eye made of sand.
But since Gaara had just been born, the one using it now was most likely Rasa.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
The battle between Hanekawa and the black Nine-Tails had caused quite a commotion.
This was the Land of Wind, after all, and even though they were in the desert, it was reasonable that someone as strong as Rasa would notice.
Hanekawa ignored him and turned his attention back to the black Nine-Tails.
It was in a sorry state, its body covered in wounds.
Despite its powerful regenerative abilities, it couldn't heal instantly.
The wooden giant, though damaged, was still fully operational.
Hanekawa focused his thoughts.
The wooden giant raised its hand, and the wooden dragon on its shoulder flew out, wrapping around the black Nine-Tails' neck like a collar.
The black Nine-Tails roared and pounded the ground, the sound waves from its voice creating an ear-splitting noise.
Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!
Hanekawa formed another set of hand seals.
The sand churned as a seed quickly sprouted, its roots transforming into a massive wooden dragon.
The wooden dragon circled twice in the air before wrapping another chain around the black Nine-Tails.
The two wooden dragons exerted an immense restraining force, rendering the black Nine-Tails' struggles futile.
Moreover, the wooden dragons absorbed its chakra.
In the original story, Hashirama had used the Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique to easily suppress the Nine-Tails.
In a way, this was also a form of sealing technique.
"Come out," Hanekawa said, clapping his hands and looking at the eye in the sky.
A moment later, a figure landed in front of him.
It was Rasa, whom he had fought alongside before.
Rasa glanced at the trapped black Nine-Tails, a hint of fear in his eyes.
Such a powerful monster had been easily subdued by Hanekawa—truly terrifying.
"Lord Hanekawa," Rasa quickly said, "I was just passing by. I mean no harm."
In truth, he had been mining for gold in the desert when he noticed the battle between Hanekawa and the black Nine-Tails.
His Magnet Release allowed him to manipulate gold in the sand.
Since the Land of Wind's daimyo had cut funding to the Sand Village, Rasa had resorted to mining gold himself.
"Is that the Nine-Tails?" Rasa couldn't help but ask.
"It's not the Nine-Tails," Hanekawa replied with a smile. "Since you're just passing by, there's no need to waste time here."
Rasa's breath hitched.
Hanekawa's meaning was clear.
He didn't want to explain anything, nor did he want to engage in further conversation. He just wanted Rasa to leave.
Rasa had never encountered a ninja who treated him so dismissively before.
But strength spoke for itself.
"I'll leave now," Rasa said, stepping back and using the Body Flicker Technique to disappear.
Hanekawa pondered for a moment.
He suddenly remembered Mukade/Anrokuzan.
This rogue ninja from the Sand Village had used the power of the Dragon Vein to escape to the past, to the land of Roran.
Hanekawa had been to Roran with Minato Namikaze before and had sealed the Dragon Vein.
But he needed to go back.
Once he returned, he would track down Mukade.
Hanekawa snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the black Nine-Tails.
The two wooden dragons were absorbing its chakra, greatly reducing its regenerative abilities and leaving it increasingly weak.
If this continued, even if it didn't die, it would lose the ability to move.
Hanekawa thought for a moment and formed another set of hand seals.
The reason was that he hadn't obtained a new trait.
This meant the black Nine-Tails hadn't been defeated yet.
Another wooden dragon appeared, wrapping around the black Nine-Tails.
Hanekawa didn't stop, continuing to form seals.
In the end, five wooden dragons tightly bound the black Nine-Tails.
After some time, the black Nine-Tails let out a mournful cry.
Its massive body began to change.
The nine tails disappeared, replaced by a pair of wings.
Its four limbs merged into two, becoming legs.
Its body shrank, turning into a round head with sharp teeth.
This was Satori's true form.
At that moment, Hanekawa's eyes widened as three lines of text appeared before him.
[S-grade Tool Trait: Box of Ultimate Bliss.]
[Activation Condition: Defeat Satori.]
[Effect: Contains a large amount of Yin Release chakra.]
A cracking sound echoed.
Hanekawa instinctively looked up and saw cracks spreading across the surface of the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
A few seconds later, the box shattered into pieces, and Satori disappeared along with it.
Hanekawa took a deep breath, a look of anticipation on his face as he chose to synthesize.
[S-grade Talent Trait: Mangekyō Sharingan.]
[Activation Condition: Synthesize A-grade trait "Genjutsu Elite Jonin" and S-grade trait "Box of Ultimate Bliss."]
[Effect: Evolves the Three Tomoe Sharingan into the Mangekyō Sharingan.]
[Note: Absorbing any pair of Mangekyō Sharingan will upgrade it to the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.]
A flash of crimson light.
Hanekawa's eyes automatically revealed three tomoe.
The three tomoe spun wildly as soon as they appeared.
A cold and immense aura spread out.
The three tomoe eventually connected, forming a branching pattern.
A flood of information entered Hanekawa's mind.
He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Each Mangekyō Sharingan had its own unique ocular techniques.
But he was different. Since he hadn't experienced intense emotional trauma, he couldn't develop a corresponding ocular technique.
However, the trait system didn't deprive him of his ocular techniques. Instead, it offered an alternative.
He could choose any two ocular techniques from the original story as his own.
Hanekawa's first thought was Dual Kamui.
But he hesitated.
The reason was that he already had the Flying Thunder God Technique.
However, Dual Kamui offered more than just spatial teleportation.
Aside from Dual Kamui, Kotoamatsukami or Yata no Kagami were also good options.
Kotoamatsukami, without a doubt, could subtly alter someone's will, allowing him to control them.
The only downside was its long cooldown.
But with Hashirama's cells or Sage Body, the cooldown could be significantly reduced.
Yata no Kagami was the ocular technique of Uchiha Hikari.
Its effect was to connect and control the chakra and minds of others through markings, allowing chakra to be transferred across any distance.
Uchiha Hikari was a character from 'Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections'.
In the trait system's classification, games were also considered part of the original story.
As for Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, and Kagutsuchi, their performance in the original story wasn't as impressive.
After some thought, Hanekawa leaned towards Dual Kamui.
But there was no rush.
The trait system didn't impose a time limit.
In other words, he could choose at any time, even mid-battle.
As Hanekawa pondered, he took out Obito Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan.
How to upgrade it?
He thought for a moment and silently chanted "synthesize."
A surge of ocular power flew out of Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan.
A moment later, the Mangekyō Sharingan lost its luster, becoming an ordinary pair of eyes.
[S-grade trait Mangekyō Sharingan has been upgraded to Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.]
Hanekawa nodded in satisfaction.
He had been foresighted, knowing how the trait system operated—it never wasted anything.
Hanekawa couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. He had finally obtained the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Although choosing an ocular technique was a bit of a headache, it was a good problem to have.
He shook his head and was about to leave when he suddenly paused.
[A-grade Talent Trait: False Fox.]
[Activation Condition: Defeat the Nine-Tails transformed by Satori.]
[Effect: Increases chakra capacity by 100% and enhances self-healing abilities by 100%.]
Hanekawa was slightly surprised.
He had only tried it out, but he hadn't expected to actually gain a new trait.
And the effects were quite impressive.
What Hanekawa lacked the most was chakra. Whether it was Wood Release, Water Release, or the Mangekyō Sharingan, they all consumed massive amounts of chakra.
With the previous A-grade trait "All-Round Elite Jonin," he now had a total of 400% increased chakra capacity.
The enhanced self-healing ability was also useful.
Although Hanekawa rarely got injured, when he did, it was usually serious.
The self-healing ability would come in handy in such situations.
Hanekawa then thought of the original Nine-Tails.
If Kushina Uzumaki hadn't been pregnant, he would have liked to fight her.
But the question was, could she fully transform into the Nine-Tails?
Well, he could think about that later.
Hanekawa used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave the desert of the Land of Wind.
By the afternoon, he had returned to the Leaf Village.
Thanks to the increase in his chakra capacity, the maximum range of his Flying Thunder God Technique had also improved significantly.
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