"Chizan, Kokuō's gone. Only this guy's left in the sea."
"The Jinchūriki of Kokuō."
Gekko Chizan flicked his finger, and in an instant, the surface of the sea froze into a sheet of crystal.
Seeing this, Chōmei immediately threw Han onto the crystal, keeping him from falling back into the water and becoming food for sharks.
Looking at Han, whose entire body was charred black and whose breathing was so faint it was nearly inaudible, Gekko Chizan curled his lip in disdain.
"He suffered excessive damage, couldn't maintain his tailed beast form, and chose to release it in the end?"
"As expected. If you're not a perfect Jinchūriki, there's no way you can truly fight alongside your Tailed Beast."
At present, in the entire shinobi world, the only one who could achieve perfect synchronization with a Tailed Beast was him.
Even Killer B hadn't completely conquered the Eight-Tails Gyūki, and Yugito and Matatabi still lacked proper synchronization.
The harmony between a Jinchūriki and their Tailed Beast was the true key to victory.
[Ding! Host, hearing you say that makes this system a little upset, you know.]
"Haha, don't take it personally, don't take it personally."
Gekko Chizan looked at the unconscious Han lying before him, satisfied with the combined might of himself and Chōmei.
Just one shot of a Tailed Beast Bomb beam was enough to completely suppress the opponent.
To shatter a Tailed Beast Bomb and still inflict such damage—this was proof that he now had a reliable method to face and defeat a Tailed Beast.
"Swish!"
Gekko Chizan drew the Kusanagi Sword, its blade exuding an icy chill.
"Kokuō, I know you can hear me."
"When the Jinchūriki dies, the Tailed Beast doesn't die. I'll be waiting for your resurrection."
"But remember, we're not enemies. We should be allies—after all, we share a common foe."
"For instance… the Ten-Tails."
Kokuō hadn't completely fallen into slumber. Though she had been struck hard and couldn't maintain her beast form, she still existed through her Jinchūriki. When her energy could no longer hold form, she decisively retreated into the seal.
Doing so subjected her host to unimaginable trauma—but whether he lived or died wasn't her concern.
Originally, she had been furious with Gekko Chizan. Yet when she heard him call her by name, she froze for a moment. How many years had it been—how many centuries—since anyone had spoken her name aloud?
But how could this brat possibly know her name?
And the Ten-Tails? That wasn't something a mere human child could know!
Could Chōmei have told him? Impossible. No matter how close they were, none of the nine Tailed Beasts would ever reveal such information.
"Stop overthinking it, Kokuō. Chizan really does know a lot about us."
"Otherwise, why do you think I teamed up with him?"
"And it's not just you. Matatabi's already joined our side."
"Think carefully, Kokuō. Will you join us to face the enemies of the future together—or remain someone's possession in some village?"
Chōmei knew Kokuō's personality well. As one of only two female Tailed Beasts, she was utterly different from Matatabi.
Kokuō admired strength. Only those who could conquer her with power deserved her respect.
That was why she never mocked Shukaku, Gyūki, or Kurama.
Instead, she treated the rest—especially Chōmei—with thinly veiled contempt.
The conversation between man and beast stirred a tempest in Kokuō's heart. But before she could gather her thoughts, Gekko Chizan raised the Kusanagi Sword and, with one clean motion, decapitated Han.
As for the blood—there was none.
The moment the blade struck, Han's body crystallized, then began to shatter into glittering fragments.
When it came to erasing evidence, the Transparent Release was second to none—especially out here on the vast ocean.
The instant the Jinchūriki died, Kokuō felt darkness welling up inside her.
"So sleepy… so dark…"
"Damn that Chōmei and that kid. You win this time. Next time… I'll have my revenge..."
Kokuō's chakra flared briefly, then slowly dissipated over the sea.
Clearly, with the death of her Jinchūriki, she too had fallen into slumber.
When and where she would awaken again—no one could say.
As the battle finally came to an end, Gekko Chizan let out a long breath of relief.
"Chizan, it might take years before Kokuō revives again. You sure you can win her over to our side when that happens?"
Chōmei knew very well what kind of foe lay ahead.
Rinnegan, Mangekyō Sharingan—such terrifying powers couldn't be handled alone. They needed to unite to stand a chance.
"We'll deal with it when the time comes."
"You really think she'll submit?"
Chōmei nodded. Yes—before the battle even began, he had told Chizan about Kokuō's nature.
She respected strength, and would follow the one who bested her.
"Shouldn't be a problem. She's always been like that."
"Alright, then we'll leave it at that."
Gekko Chizan released his tailed beast form, allowing Chōmei to return to his body.
Despite the fierce battle, Chizan felt no exhaustion whatsoever.
Even using the Death Point technique barely left him discomfort—after all, his Vigorous Vitality was no joke.
He had used up a good amount of chakra, but it hadn't been depleted completely.
Activating Flying Thunder God once more, Gekko Chizan vanished and reappeared by the coastline.
...
On the battlefield, with both the Five-Tails and Hanzō the Salamander eliminated, Tsunade led the Konoha forces in an increasingly ferocious assault.
They pushed the Iwagakure ninja back, step by step, all the way to the 38th parallel line.
Standing on the border of the Land of Fire, Tsunade and Jiraiya were both battered and bloodied, but their spirits burned bright.
The surrounding ninja were all wounded as well, yet none faltered.
"That was one hell of a fight. I just hope Minato and that Chizan are okay..."
Jiraiya frowned deeply. Though they had repelled Iwagakure's advance, two of Konoha's brightest young talents had yet to return.
Whether it was Namikaze Minato or Gekko Chizan, both had faced the deadliest foes on the battlefield.
"Stop worrying so much. It's not their first time going up against a Tailed Beast."
"With the Flying Thunder God Technique, even if they can't win, they can always escape."
Tsunade didn't seem the least bit anxious. After all, when it came to fleeing, no one could beat the Flying Thunder God!
If you can't win, you just vanish in an instant—there was no better survival technique than that.
She didn't even realize that, subconsciously, she had begun to equate the Flying Thunder God with running away.
If the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, heard that, he'd climb right out of his coffin in rage.
After all, he hadn't developed that jutsu to flee!
Of course, if Gekko Chizan were here, he'd probably say:
"Second Hokage, if you'd used it as an escape technique like me, you wouldn't have died in Kumogakure back then."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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