---Third POV---
There was once a pitiful fox.
First, it was bound by a wood dragon, then by chains, and now it was once again restrained, this time by the sand dragons.
The Nine-Tails had nearly forgotten what it felt like to be bound like this.
As it struggled to break free once more, Ryouma quickly formed hand seals, precisely channeling chakra into one sealing technique after another. Dark markings spread across the fox's fur like violet floral patterns, covering every inch of its body.
It had to be said, the Nine-Tails, restrained like this, now looked even more like a true demon fox.
"Again! Again!! Again!!!"
"You humans... are you truly this desperate to obtain my power?!"
It roared in unwilling fury. It could clearly feel the sealing techniques on its body forcefully suppressing its chakra. Its limbs and neck were tightly bound as well.
It was clear, it had once again lost to a human. And this time, it didn't even know how long it would be imprisoned.
All sorts of emotions weaved together, gnawing at its heart like venomous snakes.
Looking at the giant fox that had stopped resisting, seemingly resigned to its fate, Ryouma floated slowly to its head, carried by a cloud of sand.
The sand cloud hovered steadily above the fox's massive body. He flipped off and landed gently on its broad forehead.
He looked down at the fox and said, "Can we talk properly now, Kurama?"
At the sound of that long-forgotten name, the Nine-Tails' ears twitched slightly.
However, it had no intention of responding to Ryouma. The anger in its heart made it choose silence.
It wasn't strange that its name was known, after all, Shukaku and his jinchūriki were in league with these people, and some of its information had likely been leaked.
Seeing Kurama remain unresponsive, Ryouma sighed. "You being so silent makes this really difficult for me..."
Kurama still said nothing, even closing its eyes, giving off an air of "do as you please."
Ryouma exchanged a glance with Shukaku, then sat cross-legged on Kurama's forehead.
"There's something you said earlier that was wrong. I'm not Madara. I have no interest in your power."
Kurama let out a mocking, scornful laugh. "And what's the point of saying that now? If you really mean what you say, then release the seal and let me go."
"Alright, forget I said it."
Ryouma shrugged. He certainly didn't believe that if he generously released the seal, Kurama would suddenly see the light, reflect on itself with a tsundere pout, and happily walk off into the sunset with him.
"Hmph!" Kurama snorted dismissively.
"I know you don't trust me at all," Ryouma said calmly, not at all provoked by its attitude. "But there are some things I have to make clear to you."
"To put it simply, Madara has already awakened the Rinnegan, which connects him to the Sage of Six Paths. Not only has he successfully summoned the shell of the Ten-Tails, but he also plans to capture all nine tailed beasts to resurrect the Ten-Tails."
"As for his purpose after reviving the Ten-Tails... you should know that very well."
Hearing this shocking revelation, Kurama's eyes snapped open, its pupils suddenly contracting.
"He wants to become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki? Didn't you just say… he was already killed by you?"
"He is indeed dead," Ryouma nodded slightly, "but he has an accomplice. That's exactly why I can't let you go."
"You're powerful, but not powerful enough, like a fat sheep wandering alone in the wild. Eventually, you'll just be taken down by hungry wolves."
If it had been the old Ryouma, he probably would have severed the link between Kurama and Kushina and let it go free. But after the bitter lesson in the Land of Grass, he would no longer let Kurama simply walk away.
Seeing that things were getting tense, Shukaku spoke up, perhaps for the sake of tailed-beast camaraderie. "That's right. Don't think we need you or anything. My partner and I just don't want you ending up in the enemy's hands for nothing…"
"Heh. Partner?" Kurama interrupted with a mocking laugh, voice dripping with scorn. "You're nothing more than livestock kept by that human."
"What did you say?!" Shukaku was instantly enraged, its face turning red.
Kurama ignored it and slowly turned its eyes toward Ryouma, filled with suspicion and wariness. "And you... you speak nicely, but what's your real goal?"
Its tone was aggressive.
"I can sense it. There's chakra from multiple tailed beasts sealed within you. Who's to say you and Madara aren't cut from the same cloth? Maybe you're eyeing the power of the Ten-Tails too."
Its expression darkened.
"Ridiculous!" Shukaku burst out angrily. "You damn fox, no wonder you've been locked up this whole time! If my partner really wanted the power of the Ten-Tails, he wouldn't have destroyed a Rinnegan he already had in hand!"
"What? You destroyed a Rinnegan?!" Kurama was shocked, hardly able to believe it. It knew better than anyone just how valuable the Rinnegan was, but hite quickly calmed down again. After all, who knew if they were simply trying to deceive it?
Shukaku still looked like it had more insults to throw, but Ryouma patted it on the head to signal it to calm down. Then, he slowly stood up.
Everything that needed to be said had been made clear. Kurama's distrust of humans was something he could understand. Although it was a bit disappointing that they couldn't come to an agreement, he had already prepared for this outcome.
He snapped his fingers.
A sand cloud floated over and carried him back down to the ground.
By now, the waves that had surged from the earlier explosion had fully receded. He stepped onto the soft beach and drew Lostvayne from his back.
Forming a one-handed seal, he ran chakra along the blade. A wave of flames merged with the sword, creating a brand new 40-meter-long fiery blade.
There was a faint glow in his eyes. What he had to do now was simple.
Long ago, the Sage of Six Paths divided the chakra of the Ten-Tails into nine parts, and used Yin-Yang Release to give each part a unique body and soul.
So Ryouma had made a decision: he would kill the Yin-Yang Release sealing still embedded in Kurama's body, keeping only its soul and a small portion of its chakra.
The rest, the vast majority of Kurama's chakra, would become unbound energy, which he would temporarily absorb into himself. He planned to return it later, once the chaos had subsided… or once Kurama had come to terms with things.
Originally, he hadn't intended to use this approach. But Shukaku's "Tailed Beast Sealing Technique" required the tailed beast's cooperation, and clearly, Kurama wasn't going to cooperate anytime soon.
---
In the distance, Obito saw with his Sharingan that Ryouma had already subdued the Nine-Tails, though he still seemed somewhat unsatisfied.
"It feels like Ryouma is even stronger than the First Hokage now. I heard that even the First Hokage had to rely on Wood Release to suppress the tailed beasts in order to control the Nine-Tails."
This kind of thinking is a common misconception among many of the new generation of Konoha ninjas.
Because back then, Hashirama subdued the Nine-Tails by himself. Even among fellow villagers, very few had ever witnessed him using Wood Release at full strength with their own eyes.
In fact, even within Konoha, there was a rumor that the Third Hokage was the strongest Hokage.
However, those who truly understood Hashirama knew that at his peak, the Nine-Tails was no more threatening than a figurine to him.
As the Nine-Tails finally calmed down, Kushina gently patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Let's go."
"Alright." Obito responded softly. In his eyes, the Mangekyō spun slowly. Kamui's space began to ripple, and the figures of the group were instantly swallowed up.
The next moment, they appeared on a coastline that had been designated as a battlefield.
The once vast beach had been scorched by the high heat from the Tailed Beast Ball, and had been melted into a sea of dazzling, gem-like sand.
Sunlight shone on this gemstone beach, reflecting a rainbow of colors.
"So beautiful!"
Rin crouched down and picked up a smooth, glassy shard, holding it up toward the sun.
Sunlight passed through the transparent shard, radiating a mesmerizing rainbow glow, like a tiny rainbow blooming in her hand.
"It really is beautiful," Kushina couldn't help but softly praise.
Back when they were on the cliff, the two of them had noticed this place. Now that they were up close, it truly struck a chord in their hearts.
"What's so beautiful about it? It's just a bunch of colorful glass," Obito muttered with a hint of confusion.
"You just don't get it."
Kakashi had read extensively.
Ordinary ninja novels could no longer satisfy him, especially the recently released Icha Icha series, which had opened the door to a new world with its rich plot.
When it came to girls, he believed he understood them far better than Obito did.
"Eww… Kakashi, your expression just now was disgusting."
Obito looked at him with disdain, immediately backing away as if avoiding a plague, afraid of catching some weird, dirty habit.
---
The group stepped across the still slightly warm beach and arrived beside Ryouma, just in time to see him using flames to form a long blade.
"Your power is far too great…"
In that moment, he couldn't help but pay tribute to the First Hokage's classic line, though what followed was what he sincerely wanted to say to the Nine-Tails.
"I'm going to separate a large portion of your chakra and temporarily keep it sealed. In the coming days, I hope we can get along."
Since arriving in this world, aside from dealing with enemies, this was the first time he had used overwhelming force to go against someone, or rather, some beast's will.
"Sorry, Kurama."
A giant flaming sword of dark purple fire slashed precisely along a long critical point.
In an instant, the massive, solid body of the Nine-Tails began to fade and become translucent.
This was a sign that its chakra was regressing from the Yin-Yang Release's "creation from nothing" stage.
"My chakra?! What have you done?!"
Kurama roared in fury. It had suffered countless times at the hands of human sealing techniques, but this situation was completely unprecedented.
It could feel something being forcibly stripped from its body, and the hollow, empty sensation made it deeply uneasy.
Ryouma gave a light flick of his wrist, dispersing the flames coiled around his blade, and smoothly sheathed it.
Then, he carefully observed the chakra separation process happening within the Kurama's body.
Time slowly passed under the tense atmosphere. After a few seconds, he seized the opportunity, his hands moved rapidly, forming seals before slamming them onto one of Kurama's now phantom-like tails.
Utilizing the reversed application of the Spirit Transformation Technique, Kurama's chakra was pulled by an invisible force and began to surge into Ryouma's body like a siphon. The immense chakra coursed through him, ultimately converging at the center of his forehead, forming a glowing, rhombus-shaped Yin Seal.
Unlike a traditional jinchūriki who seals a tailed beast within themselves, he had now become something else entirely, a tailed beast in human form, a "tailless tailed beast" in the truest sense.
If one judged purely by chakra alone, it would be impossible to tell Ryouma apart from the Nine-Tails.
And while Ryouma was now bursting with power, on the other side, Kurama...
At the very moment the Yin Seal was completed, with a loud poof, a cloud of smoke exploded, and Kurama rapidly regressed in size. It shrank down to a small fox roughly the same size as Shukaku, but with far better looks.
Kurama sat on the beach, staring in disbelief at its two dainty front paws, unable to accept what it was seeing.
"My chakra?! It's gone!" it shouted at Ryouma, eyes wide in shock. "You brat from Konoha!"
Was it supposed to accuse this pseudo-jinchūriki of playing dirty, clearly capable of sealing, yet choosing to outright steal its chakra instead?
"Stop calling me a brat. My name is Aotsuki Ryouma."
"Hmph!" Kurama huffed and turned its head away.
Its current pitiful appearance made even itself uncomfortable. Falling to the same level as Shukaku? It might have been better off just getting sealed again.
"Don't worry, Kurama," Ryouma said sincerely. "I keep my word. Once everything is settled, I will return your chakra, intact and complete. When that day comes, you may go wherever you like, I won't stop you."
Though most of its chakra had been taken, Kurama's innate ability to sense good and evil remained sharp.
It could clearly feel that the kindness in Ryouma's voice wasn't fake, it was completely genuine. Even in the worst-case scenario, at least these words weren't a lie.
Having calmed down after being overwhelmed with anger earlier, it let its intelligence take the reins again.
There's no way I can win through brute force now, it thought.
Given the circumstances, it would play along for now, wait for Ryouma to drop his guard and return the chakra. Then, it would decide whether to seek revenge or simply flee.
With that plan settled in its mind, it turned to look Ryouma directly in the eyes.
"You better keep your word."
"Of course I will," Ryouma replied without hesitation. "Well then, for the time being… I look forward to working with you, Kurama."