The Little Fox and the Great Buddha's First Meeting

A meteor plummeted from the sky toward the ground. Even the brilliant sunlight could not conceal its orange glow, and red shockwaves suddenly burst from its unwilling streak of light.

The furious Nine-Tails was channeling the chakra within its body, preparing to form palms to grab the ground and land safely instead of being tossed out of the sky like this.

A blue meteor followed close behind. The three-headed, nine-armed Wood Golem controlled by Hashirama beat its wings and swung the long blades in its hands, their cold glints severing every chakra palm.

One man and one fox fell straight toward the earth.

As the Nine-Tails fell, its nine tails involuntarily spread through the air. Yet the chakra seeping from their surfaces bound them tightly together, steadying its body like a jade disk as it continuously fired Tailed Beast Bombs at the Wood Golem in the sky.

Hashirama heard the wind roaring past his ears. Beneath his sunlit forehead protector, he watched the armored Wood Golem below with delight in his eyes, but sensed cold chakra gathering ahead. He raised his gaze toward the Tailed Beast Bombs rolling toward him.

"Madara!"

"Understood."

That brief reply let the two men, whose chakra was intermingling within the Wood Golem, understand each other's intentions. Nine chakra longswords glowing with an eerie blue light instantly lit up among its nine arms.

The Wood Golem soaring through the skies with beating wings seemed to wear a smile on its face.

As the Wood Golem drew closer and closer, it became a nightmare in the Nine-Tails' heart. This never-before-seen Wood Release ninjutsu, coupled with the Sharingan, had driven him into a desperate situation unlike any he had ever faced.

Fear began spreading through his heart. For the first time in nearly a thousand years, he had been suppressed by humans like this.

No.

He was the strongest Tailed Beast—the Nine-Tails!

He used all his strength to block the nine longswords. Fortunately, his true body was formed from condensed chakra; mere blades could never harm his essence.

That was also why he had been able to fight them until now.

The battle continued all the way to the ground. The Nine-Tails' massive body crashed into the earth, leaving behind a deep pit shaped exactly like him.

The Nine-Tails shook his head, scattering the dirt from it. He raised an arm to brace himself against the cracked edge of the pit, panting as he stared fixedly at the nine-armed Wood Golem in the sky.

A huge armored foot came straight at him. A sky-covering shadow filled his red fox eyes, making him feel as though the heavens were collapsing.

He nimbly rolled his body, crawling out of the crater and evading the Wood Golem's stomp.

The heavy earth began to quake violently. Through the smoke billowing into the air, the Nine-Tails clearly saw that the crater had been completely flattened, leaving not a trace of his presence.

The Wood Golem and the Nine-Tails silently faced each other. The red fox eyes narrowed coldly as the Nine-Tails shifted his steps slightly, taking an attacking stance.

"He wants to run." The Sharingan clearly perceived the flow of chakra within the Nine-Tails. It was completely different from when he had attacked before, now surging toward his lower back and hind legs. Noticing something was wrong, Madara spoke up to warn him.

"I won't let him get away." Hashirama replied spiritedly. With the boost of Susanoo, the Wood Golem was now completely different from before. The unfamiliar freshness and sense of ease left him unable to stop.

As the Nine-Tails retreated, a new round of attacks officially began.

The Nine-Tails concentrated chakra around all four paws. Feet as large as small hills shook the ground as he ran madly into the distance. He felt as though he had stepped onto the wind, growing faster and faster, leaving the Wood Golem behind and embracing freedom once more.

The Wood Golem, faintly visible among the clouds, quietly watched the Nine-Tails fleeing into the distance. The blades in its palms transformed into spears, which it hurled in the direction of his flight.

The Nine-Tails' long ears twitched lazily atop his orange head. His keen hearing caught the sound of something tearing through the air, but before he could react, nine spears pinned him firmly to the ground.

The charging Wood Golem grabbed the orange fur with two hands, seized the tails writhing like golden serpents with five arms, and hammered him with its remaining two fists like a storm.

Pained whimpers came from his mouth. With the back of his neck seized, he could not move and could only silently endure it all.

Hashirama's overjoyed expression on the Wood Golem's nose was clearly visible to the watching crowd.

While moving at high speed, they had finally managed to create a new viewing platform with the Uzumaki Clan's combined Earth Style technique. The Wood Golem and the Nine-Tails had run so fast that they had nearly missed the spectacular scene.

Tobirama gave Kaimi, who was lying on the ground and gasping for breath, a thumbs-up in praise, acknowledging his chakra reserves.

The Wood Golem riding atop the fox had achieved a perfect victory. The Nine-Tails lay on the ground, barely alive. The fierce red light in his eyes had grown unfocused as he gazed despairingly at the sky, as though awaiting his final judgment.

This was a trap.

A clever beast would deceive a hunter by pretending to be defeated, but how could such little tricks fool Hashirama and Madara, who had lived through the Warring States Era?

Had they fallen for it?

Feeling the fists stop, the Nine-Tails quietly opened his eyes and looked behind him. He saw the Wood Golem preparing to rise, and just as delight welled up within him—

Muffled Footsteps sounded beside him. An old blue fist slammed heavily into his face, leaving him dizzy and sending his body rolling uncontrollably into the distance.

"Useless Nine-Tails." Hashirama's voice came from atop the charging Wood Golem.

Knowing he could not escape, the Nine-Tails launched a desperate counterattack. A do-or-die aura surged from his body and churned through the air, unexpectedly stirring Hashirama's fighting spirit.

"Good!" Hashirama brought his hands together in a seal. Natural Energy began drawing into his body, and Sage markings instantly appeared on his face.

Madara withdrew his gaze, feeling only a little regret that the kunai blocked his forehead and prevented him from seeing the complete markings. Chakra within his body surged into the Wood Golem like ocean waves.

Naturally, the Nine-Tails sensed all of this. He made all the chakra in his body surge forth, covering his entire body and forming a red chakra cloak around himself.

"Sage Art! Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!"

Blue chakra visibly gathered together, forming waves that surged toward the sky. A trembling sound that made souls shudder arose from the earth. The soil beneath the Wood Golem collectively cracked apart, as though something was about to emerge from deep underground.

The Wood Golem sat quietly cross-legged atop the Great Buddha's head, serving as the Buddha's cranial protuberance. Countless hands behind the Buddha formed a Buddha Halo, and a suffocating shadow spilled over the mortal world like Buddhist light, purifying the beast sprawled upon the earth.

The Nine-Tails' eyes widened in fury, filled with disbelief. How could power like that of a god appear within a human?

Madara distributed the chakra within the Wood Golem to every part of the Great Buddha. In an instant, blue armor completely enveloped the Great Buddha. Gazing at their masterpiece, he asked, "Will we need blades for the sealing?"

Hashirama imagined the Buddha holding countless blades in its innumerable hands. It would truly ruin the sacred atmosphere. He hurriedly controlled the Great Buddha to move toward the Nine-Tails, then his tightly furrowed brow suddenly relaxed as he realized the matter was very simple. "Fists will be enough."

The earth-shaking footsteps seemed to stomp upon the Nine-Tails' heart. The trembling rising from the depths of his soul horrified him. He was only a little fox with nine tails; there was absolutely no need to use such terrifying power.