The two continued flying toward the location of the Five-Tails Jinchūriki.
On a red-soiled mountain range, Ōnoki came to a halt, gazing down at a hill below with a complicated expression.
The Five-Tails' jinchūriki, Han, was someone he had practically watched grow up.
He still remembered how honest and sincere Han had been as a child.
Even though in recent years Han had gradually slipped out of his control, he was still one of Iwagakure's top-tier forces.
But now, facing Naruto… Ōnoki could already see the outcome.
As if sensing their approach, a tall figure slowly stepped out from a cave below.
Clad in fire-red samurai-style armor and a straw kasa hat, every part of his body was fully protected—his height over two meters tall, exuding the aura of a battlefield general.
As he stepped out, Han looked up.
When his gaze landed on Ōnoki, he didn't greet him, simply stood there silently.
Naruto sized up Han, the Five-Tails jinchūriki.
In the original work, Han didn't get much screen time.
There wasn't even a scene of the Akatsuki capturing him—
by the time Deidara went after the One-Tail, Han had already been sealed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
One of his only notable showings was when he was reanimated by Kabuto during the Fourth Great Ninja War, where he battled the Allied Shinobi Forces.
The Five-Tails granted him the Boil Release and monstrous physical strength—not bad at all.
Naruto guessed that Han had probably been subdued by Pain himself.
Ōnoki let out a sigh, looking at Han with sorrow.
"Han, I'm sorry. For the sake of Iwagakure… I have no choice."
Were there any other option, he'd never consider sacrificing his own comrade.
But Naruto's overwhelming strength left him no hope.
Han seemed to understand.
"If it's a fight you want, then fight—spare me the excuses."
His deep voice sounded like it came from the Warring States Era.
"Boil Release: Unmatched Strength!"
"Boil Release: Steam Armor!"
In an instant, Han activated two layered buffs.
Unmatched Strength brought his chakra to the boiling point—
enhancing his power and defense.
Steam Armor could be used offensively and defensively.
With these two abilities stacked, Han's strength reached pseudo-Kage level.
Steam hissed behind him as he launched into the sky like a rocket—
a human cannonball flying straight at Naruto.
Pure numbers-based combat.
A stats monster's charge.
But Naruto just calmly raised one hand.
"Shinra Tensei."
BOOM!
A massive repulsive force erupted downward.
Han, sensing it, tried to counter with the Five-Tails' power—
channeling the highest-temperature steam he could muster to push against the force.
But the normally unstoppable steam shattered instantly—
crumbling under the repulsion and blowing apart.
Han himself was sent flying backward at a speed several times faster than his charge.
He crashed to the ground, leaving behind a massive crater.
As the dust settled, the "no-injury-if-there's-smoke" trope failed to apply here.
Han lay flat on his back at the bottom of the crater, bloodied and covered in injuries.
The Five-Tails jinchūriki, known for his monstrous endurance and steam-powered body, had been one-shotted.
Sensing his host was near death, the Five-Tails—Kokuō—attempted to heal him with its chakra.
Crimson chakra bubbled up like foam, enveloping Han's body.
"Banshō Ten'in."
Han's body was yanked into Naruto's hand, grabbed by the throat.
Ōnoki watched in silence, his aged face filled with bitter sorrow.
A jinchūriki—treated like a pet in Naruto's hands.
"Come out."
Naruto's Tenseigan flared with power, forcibly ejecting Kokuō from Han's body.
Already critically wounded, Han's body lost its life the moment the beast left—he stopped breathing.
Kokuō's massive, pale form crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Though it had regained physical form in the real world, the Five-Tails felt no joy in its newfound freedom.
Just a moment ago, Naruto's gaze alone had nearly shattered its body.
As its body stabilized, it locked eyes with Naruto's Tenseigan—
and in that instant, Kokuō felt cold to its core, overwhelmed by fear.
As a tailed beast, its sensory perception was extraordinary.
And in this young man before it, Kokuō sensed the presence of a natural predator.
It couldn't even summon the will to resist.
'What… what kind of environment has the ninja world become?
How did it get this bad?'
Kokuō had been disconnected from the outside world during Han's secluded training.
Naruto reached out again.
Banshō Ten'in.
Kokuō's massive body was yanked forward, completely unable to resist.
Under the weight of Naruto's Tenseigan power, Kokuō found itself unable to use even a drop of chakra.
Despair filled its heart.
Naruto performed the same process again—sacrificing the Five-Tails to the system, leaving behind only a tenth of its core essence, which he sealed into his Sealing Space.
"[Ding!] Congratulations, Host. You have obtained one Six Paths-level draw."
As the reward came in, Kokuō's shrunken form appeared in the Sealing Space—
a vast forest filled with life.
Just like the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, the Five-Tails had also been miniaturized—now just a fraction of its former size.
But when it saw its old companions—Kurama, Gyūki, and Matatabi—Kokuō had never found them so… comforting.
'So it wasn't just me who got screwed, huh.'
"Kurama, Gyūki, Matatabi… Long time no see," Kokuō greeted.
Among the Tailed Beasts, Kokuō was relatively mild-tempered and had decent relationships with the others.
"Where are we?" it asked, looking around curiously.
"Inside that brat's body," Gyūki replied flatly.
"Settle in. Don't even think about fighting back."
Kokuō forced a bitter smile.
"Resist? Even Kurama's…"
Suddenly, it seemed to realize something, eyes narrowing.
"Kurama, we all shrank and weakened… so why are you still this big?!"
Kurama grinned, looking smug.
"Keh keh keh… Now you understand the difference between me and the rest of you.
Having more tails really is better!"
Kurama could already picture when Shukaku finally showed up—
shrunken down and easily bullied.
Just imagining it made Kurama's mouth twitch upward in glee.
"Ignore him," Matatabi scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"He got lucky. He was sealed into Naruto before the brat fully awakened."
"Ah, so that's it," Kokuō said, finally understanding.
Back outside—
Ōnoki watched in silence as the massive Five-Tails was drawn into Naruto's palm, as if absorbed.
He said nothing more.
There was nothing left to say.