Nine-Tails Ball

Cold moonlight pierced through the night mist, shrouding the scarred earth.

The sealing of the Nine-Tails had gone so smoothly that Rikusei, having finished prepping the ingredients, looked up and stared at the ground in a daze.

The massive Nine-Tailed fox that had been howling right here just a moment ago—how had it vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye?

The lively scene around him left no time for deep thought; the flickering flames blurred his vision.

The arms of the Great Buddha scattered about were gathered up by the ninjas after some tidying, the abundant wood completely igniting the ninjas' imaginations.

The new generation of ninjas worked together to arrange uniquely shaped bonfires across the land, which, when viewed from the sky, formed the clan emblems they had taken pride in since childhood.

Finally, under the direction of Tobirama Senju, they piled up a bonfire in the center shaped like the Konoha symbol, the rising sparks scattering into the night sky to dispel the darkness.

The orange-yellow glow illuminated the earth, and various dazzling patterns bloomed with their own light, driving away the gloom.

The top of the Wood Golem Form was the best vantage point.

Hashirama, shrouded in the night, kept his head bowed; darkness crept along the long hair on his shoulders and up his face, making his expression impossible to read.

"Hashirama, shall we go down and have another round?" Madara, knowing his best friend's heart all too well, drifted toward the man with his back turned, his voice blending softly into the Summer Wind.

"Mm!"

A slightly strange sound reached Madara's ears; he knew full well that under the cover of darkness, Hashirama's sincere eyes were brimming with hot, scalding tears.

"Wipe them away." A white bandage entered his vision along with the words. Hashirama turned his head and said, "The Hot Pot was just too spicy."

Madara did not refute him. He stood quietly by his side, looking down, his deep eyes reflecting the burning Flame Gunbai as he said, "This thing was invented by Rikusei, you know."

"No wonder the broth-based dishes were so delicious." Hashirama scratched his head and spoke his thoughts candidly, "Why don't you let me have Rikusei?"

"If you want a disciple, go find one yourself." A hint of a smile ignited on Madara's Stern Face as the flames grew more vigorous. "He is at the Ninja Academy; you could be his instructor, just like Tobirama."

"You know how it is—the Hokage is simply too busy to manage that!"

Madara turned a deaf ear to the protest behind him, brushed the dust off his armor, and left behind the proud, solitary silhouette of a man carrying a gunbai, vanishing from the spot in an instant.

Hashirama, his spirits restored, stood up briskly. Gazing at the darkening world, a proud smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he vanished from the top of the Wood Golem Form along with the Summer Wind.

Tobirama had miscalculated; the massive Hot Pot had not captivated the ninja students the way his Five Element Jutsu did.

Though they possessed adorable faces, these youngsters were doing something quite detestable: they had actually gone off to grill meat.

He had fallen in love with this other delicacy at first bite and expressed his admiration for the inventor; using a Yin-Yang style to separate the flavors was a stroke of genius. He simply couldn't understand what was so good about barbecue that it had lured them all away.

The shameless Rikusei accepted Tobirama's praise with a clear conscience; since the first Yin-Yang Hot Pot in the ninja world had passed through his hands, that was proof enough that he had invented it.

Dodai fit perfectly with the black pot, the distinct broths bubbling with heat and reflecting the figures seated around them.

A mere handful of people enjoying the delicious food allowed Rikusei to wave his arms and feast to his heart's content, fully satisfying his appetite.

The stable waves within the pot were completely disrupted by the arrival of two unwelcome guests.

Tobirama narrowed his eyes at his Elder Brother, who was attempting to mask his awkwardness with laughter. After a moment of staring, he sighed and set out bowls and chopsticks for them; after all, they were the main force this time, so a little private meal was understandable.

The stable battlefield suddenly turned treacherous with the addition of new members.

Rikusei ignored the "mouth-jutsu" Tobirama used—asking questions about his shortcomings at the Ninja Academy in an attempt to make him stop his chopsticks.

Truly insidious. Rikusei chewed his food, cheeks puffed out. When his gaze shifted to the purple-haired girl beside him, his chopsticks slipped from his hand in shock.

It's the Sharingan.

How had he not thought of that? He let his gaze pierce through the curling smoke and rich broth, clearly seeing the succulent, juicy meat.

Rikusei activating the Sharingan triggered a chain reaction. The scene by the Hot Pot descended into total chaos; the Senju brothers shamelessly used Shadow Clone and Wood Golem Form, while Madara, unbothered, accelerated his movements, determined to win through sheer speed.

At this rate, the ingredients in the Hot Pot would not be nearly enough.

Tobirama's crimson eyes were dyed orange by the firelight, flickering with the flames of confidence as he replied briskly, "I left a Flying Thunder God marker in the deep forest earlier. I'll be right back."

The speed of the Flying Thunder God was indeed fast, just like everything else he did. In an instant, he returned to his seat with ingredients he had processed at lightning speed.

The reignited war was on the verge of breaking out, and the contest between them had only just begun.

Rikusei consciously left his seat and walked silently toward the bonfire marked with the Uzumaki Clan emblem.

Kaimi was in charge of guarding the Wooden Box. Rikusei sat down beside him with practiced familiarity, and together they gazed at the ninjas holding hands and singing and dancing around the bonfire.

"That's a song from the Land of Whirlpools, isn't it?" The ethereal, lingering melody sounded like the endless crashing of waves echoing between heaven and earth. Rikusei closed his eyes and asked softly.

The firelight illuminated Kaimi's face, his voice tinged with nostalgia: "People who live by the sea grow up with this song. When they encounter storms while fishing on the ocean, the melody becomes high-pitched and fearless, facing the sea's fury head-on."

"Fearless in the face of a storm, just like refusing to back down even an inch when facing the Nine-Tails. You are truly a man raised by the sea."

The sudden praise made Kaimi hurriedly wave his hands in refusal; he had only been stabilizing the chakra needed to hold the chains steady against the Nine-Tails.

"But I saw quite a few people take a step back when the Nine-Tails roared." Rikusei shook his head, indicating he was merely stating what he had seen.

The two, with a significant age gap, chatted happily around the bonfire. Rikusei listened with a smile as Kaimi recounted the various pressures he faced under the halo of his father's fame.

Having poured out the bitterness he had held in his heart for years, Kaimi felt much lighter. He looked at the boy beside him with an apologetic smile, stroked the box at his side, and suggested, "Do you want to see the sealed Nine-Tails?"

"That wouldn't be right; it's against the rules." Rikusei suppressed the smile at the corner of his mouth and refused with a firm expression.

"Trust in the sealing arts of the Uzumaki Clan, and besides, Lord Hokage and Lord Madara are both here." Kaimi briskly took the black Tea Kettle from the Wooden Box and placed it in Rikusei's palm, leaving him no room to refuse.

The round and rolling Tea Kettle spun in Rikusei's hands, his black eyes reflecting the firelight as he stared at the Sealing Talisman on its surface, just about to say something when he was interrupted by an exasperated voice from within the kettle.

"Damnable humans, to think you've split me into twenty pieces! And stuffed me into broken Wooden Boxes—this is an extreme sign of disrespect toward me!"

As if receiving a signal, the Wooden Boxes beside Kaimi began to clamor in unison, their cacophonous voices comparable to the sound of Kikaichū vibrating their wings.

Held in Rikusei's hands, the Nine-Tails cursed viciously in his heart; these humans were too detestable, holding a Bonfire Party on his territory, eating Hot Pot and singing songs, all while taking advantage of his slumber to carve him into twenty pieces.

Feeling somewhat frazzled by the noise, Rikusei decided to defeat him using the same power, raising the Nine-Tails Ball high as he shouted, "Taiichi, come over here for a second!"