On the other side, Uzumaki Mito's seal was still unstable. The half-extracted tailed beast had yet to be suppressed, and the chakra of the Seven-Tails was beginning to stir restlessly.
Ryoma frowned. He released the True Several Thousand Hands above, mainly because its chakra consumption was far too great.
It demanded nearly a hundred times more chakra than the Wood Human Technique. Every second drained him heavily. Only someone with the bottomless reserves of Hashirama Senju could endure it for long.
Slowly descending while holding Kushina in his arms, Ryoma whispered, "Wait for me."
Kushina nodded firmly. "Ryoma, I know sealing techniques too!"
"Leave it to me. It'll be fine."
Ryoma didn't completely trust Kushina's ability. After all, she was still a novice in fūinjutsu, unlike him—he had inherited the knowledge of Uzumaki Ashina himself.
"Ryoma, you don't understand sealing techniques!" Kushina protested anxiously.
"No one knows the Uzumaki clan's sealing arts better than I do," Ryoma said with a smile.
Before Kushina could reply, his figure blurred. In the next instant, he appeared before Uzumaki Mito.
Mito was struggling to suppress the Nine-Tails and shouted breathlessly, "Ryoma, quickly—bring Kushina over and help me reinforce the seal!"
Inside Mito's spiritual world, the Nine-Tails roared furiously.
"Let me out!"
Now, the beast regretted its earlier arrogance. Why had it provoked him just now?
If it hadn't acted up, it might already be free. Even if this man was as troublesome as the one from four years ago, it could have fled. Escape was always possible—if only it hadn't picked a fight.
The fox could only seethe, wishing it could punch its own chest in frustration.
Seeing Ryoma ignore her warning, Mito cried out anxiously, "Ryoma, hurry! It's too late!"
The Nine-Tails' voice rumbled directly from her body. "Let me out!"
"Stay put in there obediently," Ryoma said coldly.
He raised his right hand, and chakra of five different elements flared from each of his fingers.
Uzumaki Mito's eyes widened instantly. "That's… the Five-Elements Seal!?"
When had Ryoma mastered such a technique with such ease?
"No… wait. That's not a Five-Elements Seal…"
Under Mito's shocked gaze, Ryoma pressed his palm against the seal.
"It's over! Reinforcement using only a Five-Elements Seal won't work!"
Ryoma froze for a moment at her words, then gave her a strange look. "You… understand sealing techniques?"
These were the teachings of Uzumaki Ashina, the clan's strongest patriarch. To truly reinforce a jinchūriki's seal, one had to combine the Five-Elements Seal with the Four Symbols Seal.
Mito didn't realize it.
His other hand flared with sealing formulae as he overlaid the Four Symbols Seal on top of the existing barrier.
The Nine-Tails' eyes widened in brief excitement. It thought Ryoma was breaking the seal for it. But within a second, its joy turned to despair.
Countless golden chains burst forth, binding the beast and dragging it into the abyss of Mito's consciousness.
The great iron gates slammed shut again—this time locked not once, but threefold.
The original seal.
The new Five-Elements Seal.
And the Four Symbols Seal.
Uzumaki Mito gasped as the immense pressure lifted from her body, and she reverted to her normal form.
"…It worked?"
She was dumbfounded. This was far beyond her understanding of sealing techniques.
Kushina rushed forward, relieved. "Grandma Mito, are you okay?"
Mito checked her body, then shook her head slowly. "It seems… I'm fine?"
But even she wasn't entirely sure. The layers Ryoma added were unlike anything she had ever studied. Where had he learned such mastery?
In truth, it was no surprise she didn't understand. Uzumaki Ashina's true sealing techniques had never been passed down fully. He taught them only to those with the right aptitude—and no suitable heir had ever appeared. Until now.
Compared to Ashina's legacy, Uzumaki Mito had only learned the surface.
"Grandma Mito," Ryoma said, "the seal is reinforced now. But in the future, the amount of Nine-Tails chakra you can draw on will be reduced."
Mito nodded firmly. "That's fine."
The Two-Tails, who had been struggling nearby, saw the Nine-Tails nearly break free only to be suppressed instantly. Terrified, it spun around to flee.
"This human is terrifying! He can use Mokuton… and seals… He's not human at all!"
Matatabi swore never to set foot in the Land of Fire again.
But before it could escape, Kushina shouted angrily, "Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
Not wanting to remain idle any longer, she unleashed her clan's fabled technique. Multiple chains of chakra burst from her back, binding the Two-Tails tightly.
"Release me, human!" the beast roared.
Ryoma sighed. "Do these beasts only know how to repeat the same few lines?"
"Who are you calling stupid!?" Matatabi howled, thrashing violently. The sudden struggle caused Kushina's face to pale as she strained to hold on.
Ryoma's expression hardened. With a blur, he appeared in front of the struggling Two-Tails and delivered a crushing kick.
Rumble!
The massive, mountain-sized form of the Two-Tails was lifted clean off the ground by Ryoma's kick. For an instant it hung in the air before crashing down with a deafening boom.
Bang!
"I asked you—what's your problem?"
Bang!
"Still not convinced, huh?"
Bang!
"If you're a beast, then act like one!"
Ryoma pinned the giant cat's head under his hand and slammed it into the earth three times in a row, the ground splitting beneath each impact. Dust and stone shot into the air, filling the battlefield with tremors.
Matatabi—once so arrogant—now cowered, its head buried deep into the ground. It didn't dare lift it up again.
With a muffled, trembling voice it whimpered, "I-I was wrong, big brother… I'm a cat, not a dog…"
"Cat or dog, it doesn't matter," Ryoma said coldly. "You'll obey me all the same."
The faces of everyone watching twisted with disbelief.
This was the Two-Tails—Matatabi, a tailed beast whose raw power was enough to reduce Konoha to rubble. And yet… Ryoma had subdued it with just a few punches.
Minato Namikaze cast a glance at Sakumo Hatake. But Sakumo only shook his head, still dazed.
"Don't look at me," Sakumo muttered. "My specialty is assassination. What Ryoma just showed is pure overwhelming power. I can't match that."
He was painfully aware: if he encountered Matatabi, he could flee, but defeating it head-on with his fists? Impossible.
Minato's heart burned with frustration. His fists… are that strong?
In his mind flashed the image of the Third Mizukage's corpse. Ryoma's strength was simply too overwhelming, appearing suddenly like a storm.
Meanwhile, Danzo and Homura Mitokado exchanged nervous glances. As Ryoma's attention remained fixed elsewhere, they quietly began edging away.
Even Koharu Utatane, normally so loud and overbearing, had lost her voice. Panic-stricken, she tried to crawl away unnoticed.
Where did this Ryoma come from? she thought frantically. He can enter Sage Mode… and even use the First Hokage's forbidden techniques…
Now she regretted everything. If she had known Ryoma was this strong, she would never have opposed him. But now, she felt her very life was dangling by a thread.
As she crawled, Koharu suddenly bumped into something. Looking up, her blood ran cold.
Ryoma was crouched in front of her, his piercing gaze fixed on her trembling form.
"What was it you just said?" he asked softly, his tone sharper than any blade.
...
TN:
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