The moment my Susanoo rose behind me, the entire valley dimmed under its shadow.
But it wasn't Susanoo that made Chōmei freeze.
It was my right eye.
Rinnegan.
Seven-Tails' whole body trembled like someone had jammed an ice pick down its spine.
"Th… that eye…!"
Its voice shook, wings flexing instinctively.
"Human! Why are you invading my territory?!"
For the first time, the beast didn't charge.
It hesitated.
Tailed Beasts don't fear humans.
They fear that eye — the eye of the Sage of Six Paths, the one who created them.
I kept my voice calm, almost businesslike.
"Seven-Tails. Your chakra is too dangerous to roam freely. So I'm taking responsibility."
I lifted my hand.
"Surrender. Let me control your power."
Seven-Tails' wings snapped open.
"You dare covet a Tailed Beast's power?! Unforgivable, human!"
And then it screamed — a high-pitched, drilling roar — and hurled itself at me like a living meteor.
Violence Wins Arguments
"…Yeah, talking was never going to work."
I sighed and shifted my stance.
Susanoo moved with me, its enormous arms drawing back.
A blade of scarlet chakra ignited — flames of Amaterasu threading along its edge like black lightning.
If a Tailed Beast won't listen, there's only one proven method.
Beat it until it reconsiders its life choices.
"Come, then."
Susanoo swung.
The valley split open with the impact.
A wave of chakra erupted outward, flattening cliffs and blasting trees to splinters.
Chōmei didn't even try to block it — the beast veered aside, moving with speed that didn't match its size. The ground cracked beneath it as it bounded across the arena.
I clicked my tongue.
Fast.
But not faster than me.
Chōmei dove beneath a collapsing ridge and re-emerged behind Susanoo, claws screeching through stone as it lunged straight for my forehead.
Its timing was good.
My counter was better.
The Amaterasu blade cut through the falling rubble — then pivoted mid-swing and cleaved upward to meet the beast.
Two massive chakra forces collided.
White light swallowed the valley.
BOOM.
A shockwave rolled through earth and sky.
Anbu watching from afar had to brace themselves against the blast.
Chōmei was the one who broke first.
The beast slammed into the canyon wall, plowing a trench across the ground before stopping. Its claws were cracked, shaking.
"This… power…"
Seven-Tails stared at its damaged limb, genuinely stunned.
I stepped forward, Susanoo towering behind me like a crimson war-god.
"Is that all? If so… surrender."
Seven-Tails snarled, wings thrumming with fury.
"Do not mock me, human!"
Its chakra surged — wilder, denser — thick enough to distort the air.
Time Is Running Out
I watched the energy flare and let out a quiet huff.
"…Cute, but this needs to end soon."
The fight was shaking half the mountain.
If ninjas in the nearby town sensed this and wandered in, the entire Jinchūriki project could implode.
Capture the beast quietly.
Or don't capture it at all.
"Fine," I muttered. "Let's speedrun this boss fight."
I extended one hand toward the beast.
"Universal Pull."
Gravity warped.
Chōmei's eyes widened as its massive body lurched toward me helplessly.
"You—!"
It thrashed wildly, but the force dragging it in was overwhelming.
While being yanked across the valley, it did the one thing every Tailed Beast does when cornered:
It opened its mouth.
Chakra surged.
Condensed.
Compressed.
A black-and-violet sphere formed between the beast's jaws — spinning, crackling, devouring the air around it.
A Tailed Beast Bomb.
"So you're pulling out your strongest move already, huh?"
The pressure hit like a tidal wave.
Even the cliff walls shook.
If this thing detonated at point-blank range…
Yeah.
That would be bad.
Chōmei glared at me, hatred blazing through its compound eyes.
"Die, human!"
The Tailed Beast Bomb shrank, tightened, and—
—began to fire.
And the gravitational pull dragging the Seven-Tails toward me only brought the attack closer.
Perfectly.
Directly.
Inescapably.
I exhaled once.
"Alright then…"
Susanoo raised its sword.
"…let's finish this."
...
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