"Naruto: My Ninja Skills"Chapter 217: The Fruit Platter
Kinkaku and Ginkaku were not perfect jinchūriki—they couldn't achieve true synchronization with the Tailed Beasts within them.
However, the Six Paths bloodline in these two wasn't fabricated. One could even say they possessed a degree of atavism—the positive kind. Therefore, they could control the Tailed Beasts' power to a certain extent.
For instance, at this moment, they were almost completely transformed into Tailed Beasts, yet still maintained their rationality. This was undoubtedly extraordinary talent... The situation resembled how Uzumaki Mito and early-stage Naruto could ignore Kurama's will and forcibly activate Nine-Tails Mode.
However, unlike their usual ability to suppress the Tailed Beasts, the Kinkaku brothers weren't feeling particularly comfortable right now... For unknown reasons, the Tailed Beasts' wills were exceptionally active, struggling with unusual intensity.
"Big brother, the situation's not good. We might have wasted too much time earlier... We need to end this quickly," Ginkaku said.
That was the problem with jinchūriki—while they could utilize the Tailed Beasts' chakra, once they carelessly lost substantial amounts of their own chakra in battle and lost the ability to suppress the beasts, they themselves would be in trouble.
"No, that's not the reason."
Kinkaku seemed more perceptive. After all, in the previous battle, that Third Hokage hadn't brought them much pressure—the Tailed Beasts wouldn't lose control over such a minor issue... The situation was actually the opposite: he felt the usually muddled Tailed Beasts within him had somehow become much clearer.
If the reason wasn't with that Hokage, then it had to be with this newly appeared enemy... Regardless, this man's chakra possessed an extremely powerful presence.
"You there—who are you? State your name!"
Kinkaku, using the Tailed Beast's body and voice, demanded of Yūshin.
These two had terrible attitudes. Yūshin thought: Even if you summoned the Tailed Beasts' wills, they wouldn't dare speak to me like this... No, even the Sage of Six Paths wouldn't be so arrogant when speaking to people.
"Yūshin... Have you heard this name before?"
Regardless of their attitude, Yūshin still chose to be civilized and polite.
"The Flame Shadow... former leader of the Fireflies."
"One who transcended his era, yet submitted to the Senju."
"A spiritual leader of the warring era, achieving nothing in the ninja village period."
"In other words, you're a standard remnant of the old era."
"Without a conqueror's heart, your abilities are predictable."
"Bringing up such credentials now—who do you expect to intimidate?"
The brothers took turns berating Yūshin. Yūshin felt somewhat aggrieved but couldn't refute them—though they were criticizing him, they weren't slandering him. Their criticisms were even reasonable and convincing.
I merely answered your question and stated my name as requested. Do I really deserve such harsh criticism?
Yūshin sighed, ignoring these two unreasonable individuals. He simply gazed at their Tailed Beast forms and said:
"A cat and an octopus... Matatabi and Gyūki. After all these years, you haven't improved at all."
Look at the future version of Kurama—radiating sage-like wisdom. In comparison, these Tailed Beasts were merely wild animals.
Yūshin didn't even need to act. Just these few words caused the Tailed Beast chakra surrounding Kinkaku and Ginkaku to surge violently.
"I don't care who you are—die!"
Unable to restrain himself, Ginkaku charged toward Yūshin in Two-Tails form, while Kinkaku, in Eight-Tails form, retreated some distance.
To them, Yūshin was somewhat sinister. He'd merely spoken a few words, yet somehow those words affected the Tailed Beasts more powerfully than various strong genjutsu.
The giant cat lunged forward, swiping at Yūshin with both paws. After the strike, Ginkaku's heart lurched—he felt no impact with an enemy. Instead, his claws seemed to have scratched against wooden planks.
Retracting his claws, he saw Yūshin standing motionless in place, his body surrounded by a azure chakra skeleton.
"This is... Uchiha's..."
"Perceptive..."
Yūshin was about to praise in his own style, but immediately realized he should speak in Uchiha fashion.
"Hmph, the Uchiha's power amounts to only this much."
Shichimi had never fully mastered her Mangekyō Sharingan's power, but when these eyes were installed in the God Tree-Man's sockets, their ocular power remained at 100% capacity, with all abilities manifesting at maximum intensity.
In an instant, a Complete-Body Susanoo rose from the ground—not only possessing bones and flesh, but also donning great tengu external armor with energy wings sprouting from its back.
"Little brother, dodge!"
Kinkaku called for Ginkaku to evade, but it was already too late.
Yūshin's Complete-Body Susanoo stood twice the height of the Tailed Beast-transformed jinchūriki—approximately sixty meters tall. He controlled Susanoo, grasping an energy greatsword in its left hand, striking swiftly and precisely through the Two-Tails' body from behind.
Ginkaku released a shriek like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Then Susanoo extended its right hand, grasping the cat's neck and lifting it up, before casually hurling it into the distance...
Off you go!
Only then did Yūshin understand why Kinkaku had warned Ginkaku to dodge—this wasn't to avoid Yūshin's attack, but to avoid Kinkaku's own attack!
Kinkaku, in Eight-Tails form, had nearly finished charging a Tailed Beast Ball... No wonder when his brother charged forward, he retreated backward. Tailed Beast Balls required long preparation time, and he had to guard against interruption.
Too cunning—no wonder they could eliminate Tobirama.
Yūshin grabbed another energy greatsword, hurling it like a javelin toward the Eight-Tails. Simultaneously, the Tailed Beast Ball completed its charge, shooting toward Yūshin like a fired cannonball.
The energy sword pierced the Eight-Tails' body, causing unbearable screams, but despite the pain, Kinkaku felt triumphant!
Success! The Tailed Beast Ball hit dead center! Susanoo can't withstand such an attack.
However...
They assumed Yūshin was piloting a "hollow Gundam," but in reality? Yūshin was piloting a "solid Gundam"!
The technique he employed wasn't merely Susanoo, but Armored Susanoo.
A massive, muscular hand seized the speeding Tailed Beast Ball, then Susanoo extended its arm, ramming the orb straight back.
Beneath Susanoo stood a tall, slender wooden avatar.
Only Wood Release with suppressive power over Tailed Beasts—or more precisely, the God Tree—possessed the ability to "catch, redirect, and return" a Tailed Beast Ball. Susanoo alone couldn't accomplish such feats.
"Oh, so this is what catching a Tailed Beast Ball feels like," Yūshin mused.
He controlled Susanoo, charging toward the Eight-Tails. After several steps, he rammed the Tailed Beast Ball directly into it.
Subsequently, brilliant light flooded his vision.
With the violent explosion, Armored Susanoo and the jinchūriki's Tailed Beast forms were all engulfed within the Tailed Beast Ball's blast radius.
Yūshin's Armored Susanoo lost one arm, while the Susanoo armor on half the wooden avatar's body also vanished.
However, the wooden avatar appeared "completely unharmed"—even if blasted apart, it could instantly regenerate, requiring only Yūshin to expend some chakra.
In contrast, the Eight-Tails suffered terribly.
Gyūki was a standard "flesh-wrapped skeleton." After close-range bombardment by the Tailed Beast Ball, it was directly blasted half-crippled, with several tentacles blown away.
The remaining Eight-Tails resembled a deep-sea fish pulled from water—gasping weakly after decompression.
The wooden avatar extended its right hand, grasping the Eight-Tails' remains. Yūshin then severed the wooden avatar's right hand... Somewhat regrettable—he was currently controlling Gyūki rather than Son Gokū. Otherwise, this severed wrist maneuver would have carried greater Zen significance.
After separation, the right hand immediately transformed into a "seed," absorbing both the Eight-Tails' chakra and Kinkaku's chakra while rapidly growing into a towering tree.
Once the Eight-Tails' chakra was extracted, Kinkaku became wrapped by the trunk. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't escape this prison.
Seeing Kinkaku's chakra signature vanish instantly, Ginkaku's mind immediately cleared.
So-called familial bonds and brotherhood didn't mean dying alongside one's elder brother, but rather finding ways to rescue him after he fell... Brute force was inadvisable—one needed intelligence and wisdom.
Of course, the prerequisite was preserving one's useful body.
Thus Ginkaku deactivated his Tailed Beast transformation and immediately began fleeing.
This action even startled Yūshin. Weren't you brothers supposed to be arrogantly defiant? How did it instantly become one crippled, one fleeing?
Yūshin had wanted to stage a 1v1 Gundam versus monster battle with the Two-Tails, but the opponent gave him no opportunity.
No choice—he could only dispel Susanoo and withdraw chakra from the wooden avatar, leaving behind an abstract giant wooden sculpture.
Then a spatial portal appeared. Yūshin's form vanished from his original position, subsequently appearing before Ginkaku.
"I just learned an extremely practical ninjutsu from someone—let me test it on you."
Yūshin didn't even need to clap his hands. He simply extended his arm toward Ginkaku, spreading his five fingers.
Ginkaku instantly bristled with alarm, staring unblinkingly at Yūshin.
"Why are you looking at me? Look above."
A vermillion torii gate plummeted from the sky like divine punishment, its pillars driving into the ground while its crossbeam pinned Ginkaku's shoulders.
"Sage Art: Myōjinmon"
One, two, three—three consecutive torii gates descended from above, firmly restraining Ginkaku.
This already showed considerable respect for Ginkaku—actually, just one Myōjinmon would have prevented his escape.
Yūshin hadn't lied. He'd indeed learned Myōjinmon from the First Hokage. After mastering Sage Chakra, he could employ such techniques... Theoretically, anyone knowing Wood Release and Sage Mode could use Myōjinmon.
At this time, Yūshin couldn't fully enter Sage Mode, but synthesizing small amounts of Sage Chakra posed no problem... "Small amounts" was only relative to his own massive chakra reserves.
"A very convenient technique—worthy of Hashirama."
Yūshin's Myōjinmon was clearly an improved version. Even as he spoke, new sprouts were already emerging from the torii gates... Obviously, this wood was also absorbing Ginkaku's chakra.
After restraining Ginkaku, Yūshin temporarily ignored him and returned to Kinkaku's side.
The tree growing from Kinkaku was becoming increasingly tall, while Kinkaku himself had become emaciated and too weak to speak.
Yūshin controlled the small God Tree to open a fissure, revealing the sealing formula on Kinkaku's body.
"Come out—the jinchūriki has weakened beyond control."
Yūshin didn't even need to study how to break the jinchūriki's seal. Once Kinkaku became sufficiently weak, the Eight-Tails could break free on its own.
After this preliminary test, Yūshin discovered some current limitations—his ocular techniques required alternating use... He couldn't simultaneously employ Sharingan and Byakugan.
It seems I must pursue the fusion route. But how exactly should I fuse them?
The battle had concluded. Hagūgen Aoi and Jiraiya approached Yūshin's side. Their gazes toward Yūshin now resembled those viewing a deity—pure worship.
Compared to the Third Hokage's struggles, Yūshin had clearly been slicing through enemies like vegetables.
"Lord Yūshin..."
Before they could speak, Yūshin instructed:
"Jiraiya, bring those unconscious enemies here; Aoi, several ninja tools fell nearby—supposedly the Sage of Six Paths' implements with decent power. Go retrieve them."
"Yes, Lord Yūshin!"
The pair hurried back and forth to work. At this point, they were eager to follow Yūshin's commands.
After both departed, a massive figure burst from Kinkaku's body.
The Eight-Tails' condition was terrible—missing several tentacles that had already been absorbed by the small God Tree.
"Gan, I can't believe it's truly your chakra. Why are you still alive... What era is this now?"
The Eight-Tails couldn't even concern itself with its injuries—it had too many questions for Yūshin.
Just then, Jiraiya arrived with a string of enemies. He looked at Yūshin, then at the Eight-Tails... Holy crap, so this is a Tailed Beast?
But why does Kumogakure's Tailed Beast look like a nervous elementary student facing the principal when confronting Lord Yūshin?
Yūshin waved dismissively, saying:
"Now isn't the time for answering your questions, nor for granting your freedom... Just consider everything the Sage's arrangement."
Yūshin tossed those Kumogakure ninja beneath the small God Tree, where they immediately became fertilizer... Why save them earlier? Precisely to serve this purpose now.
After losing his Tailed Beast, Kinkaku wouldn't survive much longer—perfect timing for waste utilization.
Yūshin didn't permit the Eight-Tails to speak, so it could only squat there... Theoretically, Yūshin's influence wasn't this substantial. After all, they were merely acquaintances from a thousand years ago. Even with some closeness, the Eight-Tails had no reason to obey Yūshin's commands.
But in reality, Yūshin had just thoroughly beaten it, so it had to listen to Yūshin.
After a while, Hagūgen Aoi returned with several ninja tools.
Yūshin selected the Bashōsen and tossed it to Aoi.
"This one's yours."
Then he chose the Benihisago and Shichiseiken, tossing them to Jiraiya.
"These two are yours."
"The remainder goes to the village."
Five items total—Yūshin keeping three was perfectly reasonable.
At this point, the small God Tree had absorbed all chakra and condensed a red fruit... This thing was merely superficially impressive, bearing no relation to a true Chakra Fruit. However, it was still a rare tonic.
Kinkaku's chakra plus over twenty Kumogakure ninja's chakra, plus several of the Eight-Tails' tentacles—all energy was concentrated within.
Yūshin plucked the fruit, and the small God Tree withered accordingly.
He still followed the principle of "shares for all present," dividing the fruit into thirds: the Eight-Tails received eight-tenths, the two youngsters each received one-tenth.
Yūshin himself certainly didn't want this item—fake Chakra Fruit provided no assistance to him. Its chakra quality was inferior to his own.
"One portion each—fair and reasonable."
The Eight-Tails hadn't expected such fortune. Yūshin threw the largest portion toward it, and it swallowed it in one gulp.
Its severed tentacles regenerated at visible speed. Compared to its previous state, it now even had "modest surplus."
Kinkaku plus over twenty Kumogakure ninja certainly constituted substantial nourishment.
"No flavor..." Hagūgen Aoi pinched her nose while eating her fruit portion. Before her complaints could emerge, she immediately jumped up... What kind of ultimate tonic was this?
Yūshin's methods were peculiar—not only did he refrain from plundering chakra from Tailed Beasts, he even strengthened them. Because he hoped Tailed Beasts would become increasingly powerful... What exactly did this person intend? Truly unimaginable.
"Don't wander from this location, you two. Gyūki... don't let these youngsters come to harm. You understand."
"Understood. Completely understood."
How could the Eight-Tails not understand? It had consumed Yūshin's fruit.
Yūshin departed, returning to Ginkaku's side, then repeated the process, releasing the Two-Tails.
He again used Ginkaku to cultivate fruit, then fed it to the Two-Tails... Don't underestimate these offerings—anyone capable of becoming a jinchūriki possesses exceptional chakra.
When Yūshin returned with the Two-Tails, Hagūgen Aoi was circling the Eight-Tails, examining this and touching that with familiar ease.
"Matatabi, Gyūki, you may depart. Go anywhere you wish—just avoid the Land of Fire... But honestly, regardless of destination, you'll eventually be recaptured by Kumogakure."
"Gan, you..."
"Now isn't the time for restoring your freedom."
"Now? Gan, you mean in the future..."
"Indeed. Someday you'll escape ninja control—I guarantee it. Moreover, relative to Tailed Beasts' extended lifespans, that 'someday' lies in the not-distant future."
Yūshin harbored no malicious intent—he simply wanted to fatten the Tailed Beasts like raising pigs. Don't expect to leave the pen until reaching three hundred jin.
Matatabi and Gyūki exchanged glances, then Gyūki said:
"We understand, Gan."
Subsequently, both departed according to Yūshin's directions.
Relatively speaking, Gyūki was the "good-tempered" one among Tailed Beasts—reasonably rational.
These two Tailed Beasts were filled with confusion. Hadn't the Sage of Six Paths originally allowed them to roam freely? Why, after meeting Yūshin, did everything suddenly feel imbued with purpose and mission?
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