The battle between Tailed Beasts was as simple and unadorned as it could get—just you charging at me, and me smashing you back.
Chōmei and Kokuō were no exception.
The only difference was that Chōmei now couldn't even be injured. His chakra might get scattered, but he could simply condense it again, with hardly any cost at all.
Kokuō, on the other hand, had already begun to show wounds—marks carved into her body by Chōmei's claws.
"Damn it! Why aren't you a flesh body?!"
"Isn't he your Jinchūriki?! What the hell is going on here?!"
The more Kokuō fought, the more frustrated she became. The Chōmei before her was undoubtedly the Chōmei—she couldn't mistake his chakra signature.
But why was Chōmei in a pure chakra form? Fully Tailed Beast–transformed and yet still like this? And that Jinchūriki—why could he still move around?
How was that even possible? Since when could a Jinchūriki and their Tailed Beast act separately like this?!
Even the Nine-Tails couldn't manage that!
If only Gekko Chizan could hear her thoughts, he'd definitely say something like: "Oh, don't worry—actually, the Nine-Tails will be able to pull this off one day too… though the Jinchūriki would have to stay inside his body."
"Hahaha! Why do you care?!"
"Keep fighting! I'm definitely knocking you flat today!"
Chōmei hadn't felt this thrilled in ages. The last time he fought Shukaku, he barely got any time in action—it wasn't satisfying at all.
Besides, Shukaku hadn't been that brutal to him back then. Compared to Kokuō or Son Gokū, that tanuki was practically gentle. After all, Shukaku's attention was always fixated on Kurama.
One tail versus nine tails—of course the rivalry ran deep.
Now, with the ability of Tailed Beast Synchronization, Chōmei could finally vent all his pent-up frustration!
"Damn it! Damn it!"
Steam burst wildly from Kokuō's body, and her power surged once again. Like a furious red bull, she charged straight into Chōmei.
The impact sent Chōmei staggering back. The next second, terrifying chakra gathered once more.
A Tailed Beast Bomb began forming again—but this time, the chakra Kokuō poured in was even more violent.
In her mind, if physical attacks didn't work, then she'd just use a more powerful Tailed Beast Bomb and end it all in one strike!
"Chōmei, fall back!"
"We're joining in too!"
Gekko Chizan wasn't in the mood to drag this out any longer. A mere Five-Tails—he was already tired of the fight.
For a lazy guy like him, getting into a battle like this was already rare enough.
"Got it!"
"Chizan, which one are we using? You wanna smash her with the Tailed Beast Bomb, or blow her up with it?"
Chōmei knew exactly how far Chizan had developed the use of Tailed Beast Bombs. He still couldn't wrap his head around how someone came up with holding one to smash people with.
Why hadn't he ever thought of that himself?
"No need. You just charge it up—I'll handle the rest."
Standing atop Chōmei's head, Gekko Chizan pressed his hands together and began gathering chakra as well.
Man and beast rapidly compressed chakra into a sphere—the Tailed Beast Bomb formed in an instant.
The two massive Tailed Beasts faced each other from afar; their Tailed Beast Bombs collided the moment they fired.
"Who said a Tailed Beast Bomb can only be a sphere?"
"Chōmei, let me show you something new today."
As Gekko Chizan extended his hands forward, Chōmei suddenly felt his chakra body move on its own.
Six wings folded around the Tailed Beast Bomb, and his six claws grasped it tightly.
The chakra inside the Bomb was unbelievably volatile—one wrong move and it could explode. Yet somehow, none of Chōmei's actions triggered it.
Then, as the Tailed Beast Bomb was swallowed into Chōmei's body, the next second his shocked voice rang out:
"What the—! Chizan, what are you doing?! Why can't I move?!"
"Eh? Eh? Eh?!"
"I! #@￥! #￥!"
Gekko Chizan had taken over full control of what came next.
"Tailed Beast Bomb!"
The Tailed Beast Bomb absorbed into Chōmei's body suddenly erupted. A jet-black light burst out from his horns.
That black hue came from chakra compressed to its absolute limit.
A beam of darkness fired forth at blinding speed.
At the same moment, Kokuō launched her own Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Boom!"
The spherical Tailed Beast Bomb collided with the black beam.
But what happened next defied all expectations—
Chizan and Chōmei's beam tore straight through Kokuō's Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Impossible!"
Kokuō froze in disbelief. That was a Tailed Beast Bomb!
Even the Nine-Tails couldn't pierce through another Tailed Beast Bomb of equal power!
"Ah!!!"
"You bastard!"
A moment later, searing pain ripped through Kokuō's body as she screamed.
The black beam struck her directly—and its power was far beyond anything she'd ever experienced.
She'd taken Tailed Beast Bomb hits before, but never had one hurt this much!
"Holy crap!! Chizan, that was awesome!"
"Keep going! Pour it on!"
"Take all of my chakra if you need it!!!"
Chōmei was overjoyed by what he saw. He wanted to lend his chakra to boost the attack, but before he could even do so, his chakra was already moving on its own.
Gekko Chizan said nothing—he just kept firing the beam.
The immense power blasted Kokuō into the ocean below. It wasn't that she didn't want to stay on the surface—
She simply couldn't. The force of that beam was too overwhelming.
"Ahhhh!!!"
Her shriek echoed as she plunged beneath the waves, thrashing like a battered fish—just a particularly miserable one.
"Chōmei, how do you kill a Tailed Beast?"
"Kill the Jinchūriki, that's all."
"Obviously—but where's the Jinchūriki now?"
"No clue. Figure it out yourself."
Gekko Chizan fell silent. He might as well not have asked.
Useless answer.
Still, there was no better plan at the moment—he could only push forward.
When the beam finally ceased, Gekko Chizan hovered above the sea once more, with Chōmei at his back.
"Why hasn't she surfaced yet?"
"How would I know? Why don't you go check?"
He'd said it casually, not expecting Chōmei to actually take it seriously—but the next instant, the beetle dove straight down.
A massive wave nearly swallowed Chizan whole, and he shouted furiously,
"Dammit, Chōmei! A little warning before you move next time!"
"Seriously!"
He grumbled, narrowly dodging another wave.
A moment later, Chōmei burst out from the sea again—his tail hooked around a limp figure.
"Oh?"
"Back to human form already?"
Gekko Chizan's lips curled into a faint grin as he looked at the unconscious Jinchūriki, Han.
Perfect.
That meant the Tailed Beast Bomb had done its job well—forcing Kokuō back into her Jinchūriki's body.
Makes sense, too. Unless one was a perfect Jinchūriki, they couldn't freely and indefinitely wield their Tailed Beast's power.
And clearly, Han was nowhere near perfect.