I Can Too

Within the void, a massive fireball stood at the very center like a molten sun.

Nine orange-red tails were nailed to the fireball by wooden stakes. Silver chains gleamed as they passed through the tops of the stakes, like headless, tailless serpents. They looped around the Tailed Beast's neck, pierced its chest and limbs, and sealed it atop the fireball.

"Oh, what a spectacular sight."

Guo Wang's spirit left his body and entered Uzumaki Kushina's Sea of Consciousness, where he saw the Nine-Tails' prison, one with virtually no blind spots. With sealing attainments ranked among Konoha's top three, he identified four nearly S-rank seals.

"Adamantine Sealing Chains, Demon-Suppressing Stakes, Lava Prison, and the Four Symbols Seal. As expected of the strongest Tailed Beast."

Facing this unfamiliar visitor, the Nine-Tails abruptly opened its eyes. Dark crimson, as if they had gathered all the world's ferocity and killing intent, those pupils stared fixedly at Guo Wang. Deep-red, violent Chakra continuously gathered within the Sea of Consciousness, forming a massive claw that came crashing down at the old man.

"You went through all that trouble to lure this old man in just to vent the killing intent you've accumulated over the years?"

If it came down to Chakra, or even control over Natural Energy, ten Guo Wangs combined would not be a match for the Nine-Tails.

But within the Sea of Consciousness, victory was decided by spiritual power.

Multicolored radiance streaked through the sky like meteors. The Nine-Tails' malice vanished the instant it touched it, melting away like ice and snow, becoming a Bubble Shadow and disappearing without a trace.

"You... are strange?"

After venting a little and finding Guo Wang somewhat interesting, the hostility faded from the Nine-Tails' demonic eyes. It raised its head and stared at the vague silhouette concealed within the multicolored radiance.

"How tragic. With your power, you could have ruled a region as a Demon King in the Dao Realm. Yet a dragon stranded in shallow waters, trapped within a woman's body."

As he spoke, Guo Wang walked around to the back of the molten fireball, where the silver chains originated.

A red-haired woman slept in the center of the fireball like an angel. Fifteen chains emerged from various parts of her body, passed through the lava, wrapped around the Nine-Tails, and pierced the Demon-Suppressing Stakes.

She was the strongest seal capable of imprisoning the Nine-Tails.

Man and beast stood on opposite sides of the molten fireball, linked by chains, enduring the Tailed Beast's violent aura at every moment.

This was... a Jinchuriki!

"What a tragic life."

Even Guo Wang, whose state of mind had remained calm and undisturbed through years of Qi Refinement, could not help but feel his heart tremble at the sight.

"Stop putting on airs. The darkness wrapped around you is so thick that even I find it surprising."

With its host hypnotized by the Sharingan and sunk into sleep, the Nine-Tails could finally stretch a little. The silver chains creaked, and the fifteen Demon-Suppressing Stakes trembled faintly, as though this terrifying Monster might break free the next instant.

"Could you be a little quieter? Lack of sleep is bad for a young lady's skin."

Three Tomoe appeared in Guo Wang's eyes. After reinforcing his Genjutsu, he returned to stand before the Nine-Tails.

A ball of orange-red flame emerged in his right hand. It was the Chakra the Monster before him had transmitted to him through Kushina.

"I have a few questions. Fellow Tailed Beast, could you answer them for this old man?"

The Nine-Tails experienced a deeply strange sensation. Guo Wang's attitude toward it was unlike anything it had ever encountered. This Old Man before it seemed to be sincerely consulting an accomplished elder. He was not especially reverent, but neither did he possess the fear or deep-seated hatred that shinobi usually held toward it.

He regarded it as an equal!

"Let me out, and I can grant you the power to rule the Shinobi World."

Unable to figure it out, the Nine-Tails stopped trying. It began as usual, attempting to tempt the Old Man before it.

"Rule the world? This old man has long since moved beyond such petty interests. Eternal life and the pursuit of the Great Dao are the ultimate goals of us Cultivators."

The Three Tomoe in Guo Wang's eyes were particularly glaring to the Nine-Tails, and it could not help recalling its darkest and most painful years.

Under Uchiha Madara, it had been reduced to a beast.

"One last offer. Kill that woman, and I can grant any wish you have."

The source of every seal was Uzumaki Kushina's Sage Body. Without her, even if there were four more seals, the Nine-Tails could break them with its own power.

"Though this old man has killed many people, and his hands are stained with the blood of many innocents, there is one principle I have never violated, not even through reincarnation."

"That is... never kill women."

Guo Wang had forgotten when he had imposed this restriction upon himself, but ever since he could remember, his hands had indeed never taken the life of a woman.

"Is that so? Then negotiations have broken down."

The Nine-Tails' dark-red demonic eyes turned savage once more. A terrifying murderous aura, enough to drive any ordinary person mad, rose continuously through the spiritual space and formed three massive tails that swept toward Guo Wang.

"Senjutsu Chakra? So you Tailed Beasts can freely control Natural Energy. I'm beginning to understand the original purpose behind the Jinchuriki."

There was no perfect seal in the world. Even though Uzumaki Kushina possessed a Sage Body and peerless Sealing Techniques, she could not prevent the Nine-Tails' Chakra from eroding her over the years.

Seeing its hope of freedom shatter once again, the Nine-Tails, which had already been forcibly suppressing its killing intent, instantly went berserk. The Chakra and Natural Energy it had accumulated for more than a decade forcibly uprooted three Demon-Suppressing Stakes as it prepared to kill the Old Man before it and vent its rage.

"Oh, so the missing Adamantine Sealing Chains are why the Demon-Suppressing Stakes can no longer hold it down."

If not for the people of the Land of Whirlpools, Danzo's Sealing Techniques would have been considered the finest in Konoha. The instant the Nine-Tails acted, he understood everything.

"I should thank you properly. Kushina has not slept this deeply in a long time. Without her chains continuously sealing me, I can wield one-tenth of my power."

The Nine-Tails could barely remember the last time it had killed someone. Did blood still taste as wonderful as before?

This Old Man's blood was probably a little sour, wasn't it?

The moment that thought crossed its mind, an astonishing scene unfolded.

The Three Tomoe in Guo Wang's right eye spun, and the Mangekyo emerged. He glanced at the silver chains extending from every part of Uzumaki Kushina's body. Then one Four-Diamond Prism tomoe representing "Vacuum Infinite Sword" dimmed before regaining its luster.

"I forgot to tell you. This old man can use Adamantine Sealing Chains too."

As he spoke, golden chains flew from his right palm and pierced the gaps left by the three uprooted Demon-Suppressing Stakes. Then an invisible pressure emerged, combining with the Lava Prison and the Four Symbols Seal Namikaze Minato had previously placed, forming an even more powerful combined Sealing Barrier.

"Impossible! This is a power only the Uzumaki Clan's Sage Bodies can awaken. The Land of Whirlpools could never possibly be combined with the Sharingan."