Chomei, the Seven-Tails

"Hm? I'm not some counterfeit dealer!" Hashirama was utterly baffled by Tobirama's move. How could someone as straightforward as him carry fakes? What was Tobirama doing?

"It wouldn't hurt to take a look," Byakuren said, following Tobirama's lead.

Seeing this, the Kage Alliance all nodded. They did not think Hashirama would deceive them over something like this, but since someone had raised the issue, there was no harm in checking.

So everyone took out the sealing scrolls they had put away and prepared to undo the seals.

"Wait. Though the Tailed Beasts are sealed, they're still huge. If all seven appear at once, this room might not hold them. Let's do them one at a time." Tobirama swept his gaze around the room.

A nodded and released the Two-Tails first.

The Two-Tails, which took up nearly half the hall, made no movements, nor did its chakra rage out of control. Countless pieces of wood were wrapped around its body—Hashirama's Wood Style.

"A double seal?" Retto, who had some knowledge of sealing techniques, could not help clicking his tongue. He knew Tobirama must have prepared a way to seal the Tailed Beasts again if he was confident enough to release them in person, but he had not expected a double seal.

Tch... Byakuren dismissed it with contempt. He felt he understood Tobirama's intentions now. Wasn't this just a display of Konoha's sealing techniques? Kirigakure did not possess any particularly powerful sealing techniques and could not create a double seal, but they were not so incapable that they could not even seal a Tailed Beast. With that thought, after A finished inspecting the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, Byakuren released the Three-Tails and Six-Tails.

Naturally, there was nothing wrong with the Three-Tails or Six-Tails either. Hashirama's seals were so secure that even the mucus on the Six-Tails' surface could not be secreted.

Next, Ishikawa inspected the seals on the Four-Tails and Five-Tails. They were both genuine Tailed Beasts.

When it was Ruri's turn, he somehow sensed that something was off. When the other Tailed Beasts had been inspected, everyone's attention had been on the scrolls and the beasts. Now, the others were still the same, but Tobirama's gaze seemed to have fallen on him instead.

Tobirama had never had a wife or children in the original story. Only Hashirama had left descendants behind. Could it be...

A chill ran down Ruri's spine. He lightly shook his head, trying to throw that thought out of his mind.

Chomei, the Seven-Tails, resembled a fusion of a beetle and dragonfly. It had two wings on its back and was one of the rare Tailed Beasts capable of flight.

As Hashirama watched Ruri take out the sealing scroll marked with "Seven," he seemed to remember something.

"Not good!" But it was already too late. When Ruri released the Seven-Tails, it was not bound by Wood Style like the previous Tailed Beasts. Its massive chakra fluctuations brazenly proclaimed its strength!

The Seven-Tails had been the last one Hashirama captured. With the Five Kage Summit approaching and no intention of giving the Seven-Tails to one of the five great nations, he had not had time to apply a Wood Style seal. He had simply sealed it into a scroll and brought it to the summit, intending to finish the Five Kage Summit first, then add a Wood Style seal for double sealing before sending it to the Land of Waterfalls as a gesture of goodwill toward the smaller nations.

But who could have known that Ruri would attend the Five Kage Summit as the Takikage and forcefully turn it into the Six Kage Summit? When distributing the Tailed Beasts, Hashirama had only thought that distributing it along with the rest would save trouble and earn him an extra share of money. He had forgotten that the Seven-Tails' seal was incomplete.

"Wood Style..." Hashirama formed hand seals with both hands, about to use Wood Style to restrain the Seven-Tails. A Tailed Beast that had just broken free of its seal was something he could deal with in one move, but Tobirama stopped him from behind.

"Big Brother, doesn't the Takikage know Wood Style too?"

Tobirama's words made Hashirama stop. He still did not understand the source of Wood Style. If Ruri truly knew Wood Style as well, the Seven-Tails that had just escaped its seal would not cause him any trouble. Besides, Ruri had released it himself. As one of the Six Kage, he had his pride. If he could handle it himself, he certainly would not want others to help him.

Ruri saw Tobirama stop Hashirama and understood what was happening. Tobirama was most likely trying to test his Wood Style. After all, Wood Style suppressed Tailed Beasts. Unless there was a better choice, Wood Style should absolutely be used to suppress one.

Damn it, my Wood Style can only build houses! Ruri fell into thought. The Seven-Tails instinctively flew upward. This house had genuinely been made with Wood Style, so it had some suppressive effect on Tailed Beast chakra. For the moment, the Seven-Tails could neither break through the walls nor fly out, but given enough time, it would surely find a weakness. Ruri had to end this quickly.

One Tailed Beast was equivalent to one Kage, but Ruri's only effective means of attacking Tailed Beasts was the Truth-Seeking Orb. Techniques like the Rasengan and Chidori might work against other Kage, but they could not even break a Tailed Beast's defenses. Perhaps the Rasenshuriken could do it, but he could not use that.

The Rasenshuriken severely damaged the user's arm. Ruri did not know Sage Technique, so he could not throw it. He would definitely be injured, and he had already used the Wood Style: Four-Pillar House Technique in front of everyone, making them think he knew Wood Style. If he would rather suffer injury than use Wood Style to suppress a Tailed Beast, they would certainly notice something was wrong.

But the problem was... was Ruri supposed to build another Wood Style house for the Seven-Tails to live in? Damn it, I can't deal any damage at all!

[Congratulations, Host. You have gained the Five Kage's approval and successfully participated in the Six Kage Assembly. Your reward has been issued. Please collect it.]

The system truly deserved to be called a protagonist-tier cheat. This reward had come at just the right time!

Ruri practically wanted to kneel and call the system grandpa. He instantly opened the system space, only to find it completely empty aside from the Truth-Seeking Orb.

Tobirama, who had been observing Ruri all along, keenly noticed the faint spatial fluctuation but could not make sense of it.

Where's my reward????

Damn it, where did the reward meant to save me go?

[The reward has been issued to the Host's mind. Please collect it yourself.]

What? It was not giving him an item this time? Ruri thought about it instinctively, only to discover a sealing technique had appeared in his mind out of nowhere.

[Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals]

What use was this to him? It required at least ten people to cast together, and it needed the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path as a vessel. The sealing technique was powerful, sure, but it had too many restrictions. It was on a completely different level from the Truth-Seeking Orb he had received before, wasn't it?

[Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals is a system-modified version. Any object can be treated as a vessel. Jonin-level chakra is sufficient to seal wild Tailed Beast chakra into a vessel. Even extracting chakra from a Jinchuriki only requires elite Jonin-level strength~]

...There was even such a thing as a modified version? Would he be rewarded with a modified Harem Technique in the future? Just thinking about it was exciting!

Ahem. Back to the point. The Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals was originally a seal designed specifically for Tailed Beasts. After modification, it no longer had a rigid requirement for the number of casters, nor did it have vessel restrictions. It could absolutely rank among the top sealing techniques. Its chakra requirement was also low. In terms of practicality, it was not much worse than a Truth-Seeking Orb. Of course, as Ruri grew stronger, a mere sealing technique would no longer be comparable to a Truth-Seeking Orb.

But in this situation, the Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals was far more useful than a Truth-Seeking Orb. Ruri was facing the Seven-Tails. The Truth-Seeking Orb could kill it, but he still needed to bring it back to his village to strengthen their forces. So if he wanted to restrain and seal the Seven-Tails, one Truth-Seeking Orb truly would not be enough. Besides, his remaining chakra was insufficient to sustain prolonged use of it.

Time waited for no one. The other five Kage all wanted to see Ruri's Wood Style. By their logic, Wood Style suppressed Tailed Beasts. Against a weakened Tailed Beast that had just broken free from a seal, one Wood Style technique should settle it. They could also see what Ruri looked like when he seriously made a move.

Especially Tobirama, who had caused all this. He did not believe someone this powerful could exist in the world. Space-time ninjutsu plus Wood Style—wasn't that practically on par with his big brother? How could someone like that have been unknown before?

There was also something he did not dare say aloud. Wood Style was not obtainable only through Kekkei Genkai. He had conducted quite a bit of research in private and had considered bloodline transplantation and human experimentation. Others might not think that far, but he could. Perhaps this Amamiya Ruri had obtained Hashirama's cells through some means and gained Wood Style after transplanting them.

Everyone had their own thoughts, but Ruri gave them no time to dwell on them. Chakra rapidly gathered as he shouted, "Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals!"