Strange Tailed Beast Cloak

Orange-red flames soared, their dazzling Kakkō blinding people to look directly at them.

Of course, the Uchiha Clan's Red Eye were fearless. They stared wide-eyed, black Tomoe swirling in their crimson pupils as they observed the situation within the flames.

So, they witnessed it firsthand—

An embodiment of terror and disaster.

Crimson Chakra surged and surged, transforming into a gigantic tail that extinguished the flames. An aura of despair and destruction poured out uncontrollably, and the deep crimson color was deeply reflected in the crimson eyes.

Five deep red tails danced wildly like demons, casting huge shadows at the end of the approach to the main hall of the shrine.

"The Tailed Beast Cloak, what an interesting thing. It's like wearing a suit of armor?"

Katsuki stood with her legs apart. The bluestone beneath her feet had shattered into dust at some point. With a wisp of crimson Chakra, as if in a smoky mist, it was completely cleaned up, leaving only two irregular pits.

His entire body was enveloped in blood-red Chakra, but unlike Jinchuriki who transform into beast-like forms, he stood in place in human form, with five tails swaying behind him. Rather than transforming into a beast, it was more like he was wearing a cloak, a coat that shifted and twisted like smoke.

"Huh? Interesting! Hey, Five-Tails, what's going on? This doesn't seem like the Tailed Beast Transformation I know."

Deep within the soul, in endless darkness, the Five-Tails were tightly bound by hundreds of golden chains.

"Hey, say something! Stop playing dead. This is my territory."

The consciousness avatar of Katsuki walked in the darkness, staring at the enormous creature before him. Even in the realm of consciousness, the Tailed Beast's size was astonishingly large and could not be shrunk.

"I don't know either. I've never seen such a strange human as you. You've sealed off my power with your physical body alone, and you're not afraid of my Chakra's erosion. I've never seen you in this strange state before."

The Five-Tails opened its eyes, its pupils reflecting the image of Katsuki, and spoke in an incredulous tone.

"What? Weird? I told you, are you kidding me? What do you mean, 'Never seen a human as weird as me'? Shouldn't the Sage of Six Paths be even more monstrous? Not to mention something like the Rabbit Goddess, who's immortal and inhuman... Hmm... come to think of it, that kind of thing probably doesn't even qualify as human."

The avatar of consciousness pinched its chin, appearing to be thinking.

The Five-Tails, however, had an expression as if it had been struck by lightning; an extremely strange and distorted expression appeared on its dolphin-like beast face.

"You... you... where did you get this information about the Rabbit Goddess? Such a story should have been lost long ago!"

The Five-Tails beast's magnificent roar echoed in the consciousness space, and the endless darkness churned like waves in a hurricane. The golden chains shook violently, emitting a huge crashing sound.

In this day and age, different versions of the Sage of Six Paths' creation myth circulate in the world. As for the Rabbit Goddess, she should have been completely buried by the dust of history, and even her name should have been erased long ago. Why would a short-lived human know about the Rabbit Goddess?

This is unreasonable.

The Five-Tails was in chaos; for the first time in a thousand years, it had fallen into such a state of confusion.

Is this guy really a short-lived human? I sensed a deep sense of unease from the moment he was sealed away. He has the bloodline of the Six Paths, but at a deeper level, something far more powerful and terrifying than the bloodline of the Six Paths seems to lurk, like... like a 'demon'.

"Hmph, are you surprised? The news about the Rabbit Goddess was indeed wiped clean, leaving not a trace in the documents... However, not all those who knew are dead, so there is still a possibility that the secret will be leaked. Besides, you Tailed Beast can't die even if you want to. One day, you will have to reveal the secret, won't you?"

The avatar of consciousness revealed a bright smile, but instantly suppressed it, touched its chin, and cried out.

"Oops! No, I'm getting off-topic! Do you really not know what's wrong with me right now? Is this okay? Will there be any lasting effects?"

The Five-Tails beast glared angrily at Katsuki, but the golden chains suddenly tightened, forcing it to lower its head helplessly.

Following the Six Paths, Hashirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha, this is yet another human that it has to bow its head to. Here, it has no pride to speak of, and even its endless lifespan, which could have been a source of pride, seems to have lost its meaning.

"How could there be any aftereffects? My power was completely suppressed and controlled by you; there was no way I could have harmed you." The Five-Tails said listlessly, while simultaneously pondering where this human brat had learned about the Rabbit Goddess, and how much he truly understood about that buried history...

Unfortunately, there was no way to forcibly probe his memories. This brat's power was too terrifying, and his mental strength was tempered to an unimaginable degree. His power was insufficient to break through the defense.

Hateful!

This kid is definitely not human!

The avatar of consciousness glanced at the Five-Tails, whose face was twitching uncontrollably, and narrowed its eyes. "That's enough for now. We'll talk again when we have time. I'll keep your power for now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his consciousness dissipated into the endless darkness of the consciousness space.

Outside world.

Katsuki opened her narrowed eyes again, seemingly having spent a long time in her consciousness space. However, in reality, two seconds had passed in the outside world. As if possessing its own consciousness, her tail extinguished the last remaining flame on the ground.

"Um, where were we? Right, I said, seniors, such attacks are completely ineffective against me. They're so weak they wouldn't even scratch me!"

The Tailed Beast Cloak fluttered without wind, shifting like flames, its crimson aura swirling. A smile played on Katsuki's lips; the Tailed Beast Cloak brought him a sense of novelty. Since swallowing the Five-Tails, he hadn't properly used it like this before!

"Tail... Tailed Beast?"

The elders of the Uchiha Clan stared in astonishment.

Many people know that Katsuki became the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, but these elders are not among them.

"Well, seeing how old you all are, I wouldn't be able to bring myself to hit you hard... So I thought I'd give you some small gifts..."

Before the word "gift" was even on her lips, Katsuki transformed into a streak of crimson light, instantly circling the group of elders before returning to her original spot.

"What just happened?"

"No, I didn't see clearly. I still have Futatsudomoe... What about you?"

"I'm at my wit's end. My right eye is still only at the Mitsudomoe, and my left eye is still at the Futatsudomoe level. It's so blurry and it's giving me a headache."

The onlookers, consisting only of a select few who had honed their Sharingan to the Mitsudomoe level, were only able to vaguely discern the trajectory of Katsuki's movements. (To be continued)