Intimidation

Far from Konoha, in the desolate wilderness, the smoke from the fierce battle had not yet completely dissipated, and the air was filled with the unique smell of burning flames.

The enormous Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was like a bound mountain, with eight Adamantine Sealing Chains digging deep into its orange-red fur, pinning it firmly to the ground.

Minato, Jiraiya, and Utatane Koharu gathered slightly behind Taiichi. Hiruzen Sarutobi had rushed back to the village to take charge of the situation, organizing rescue and reconstruction efforts, while Orochimaru, Fugaku, and others accompanied him to handle the aftermath.

At this moment, only the four of them and the world-destroying beast, which was firmly imprisoned, remained on this scorched battlefield.

"Phew—" Jiraiya let out a long breath, wiping the sweat and dust from his face, breaking the brief silence. He looked at the Nine-Tails that had been subdued before him, his eyes filled with complex emotions. "Finally—it's under control for now. What's next?"

His problem was everyone's problem. Everyone's eyes were focused on the Nine-Tails.

How to deal with this powerful yet extremely dangerous Tailed Beast became the most pressing problem hanging over Konoha.

Utatane Koharu straightened her disheveled robes. As an elder, she spoke first, "The most urgent task is to stabilize the Nine-Tails and prevent it from going out of control again. Since Kushina— "

She paused, seemingly choosing her words carefully, "Since the Jinchuriki is temporarily unharmed, could we consider resealing the Nine-Tails back into her body? This is the safest and most familiar solution."

Her suggestion was reasonable. Kushina was the most experienced Jinchūriki in Konoha, and had spent the most time "spending" with the Nine-Tails, making her theoretically the best Perfect Jinchuriki.

However, Taiichi immediately shook his head, his tone resolute. "No. The Yin -Yohei of Sister Kushina's body has just been stabilized by my Dyad Seal Technique, and it is extremely fragile."

Resealing the Nine-Tails at this point would be tantamount to stabbing a wound that was just beginning to heal, with unimaginable consequences.

The balance would be shattered in an instant, and her life would end immediately.

Taiichi's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over her Utatane Koharu silent. It wasn't that she was unreasonable; she was just habitually seeking the most "conventional" solution.

Taiichi's assessment of Kushina's physical condition is undoubtedly the most authoritative.

"Then—" A resolute glint flashed in Minato's azure eyes. He stepped forward, his voice steady and firm, "I will become the new Jinchuriki. I am the Hokage, and it is my duty to protect the village."

Moreover, I possess the Flying Thunder God Technique; even if the Nine-Tails goes out of control, I can quickly move it to an uninhabited area, minimizing the damage.

"Nonsense!" Jiraiya shouted almost immediately, his face full of anxiety and worry. "Minato! What do you think the Nine-Tails is? Ordinary Chakra that can be contained in any container?"

Kushina was able to withstand it because she possessed the formidable physique and vitality of the Uzumaki Clan! Although you are powerful, your physique is ultimately that of an ordinary human! Forcibly absorbing the Nine-Tails would instantly tear your body and spirit apart!

Utatane Koharu, unusually agreeing with Jiraiya, nodded solemnly. "Fourth Hokage, you bear the heavy responsibility of leading Konoha's reconstruction. You absolutely cannot take such a risk! Konoha cannot afford to lose both its Hokage and its Jinchuriki at the same time!"

Taiichi also looked at Minato, his eyes solemn. "Senior Disciple Brother Minato, Jiraiya, Amanto, and the elders are right. The power of the Nine-Tails is far beyond that of other Tailed Beast. Its Chakra itself contains extreme malice and destructive power."

Without a sufficiently strong physique, forcibly sealing it is like a mortal trying to embrace the Sun Barrier —it will instantly turn to ashes. Unless—

Taiichi glanced at the tightly bound Nine-Tails on the ground, his gaze seemingly casual, and said with a hint of deeper meaning, "Unless the Nine-Tails is willing to cooperate and voluntarily restrain its power to reduce its influence on its host."

"Roar!"

Taiichi's overly obvious gaze instantly stung Nine-Tails's sensitive pride.

Its enormous fox eyes widened suddenly, and a low growl of suppressed rage escaped its throat. Its massive body, bound by chains, writhed violently, trying to break free from this humiliating situation.

The chains creaked and rattled, and the ground trembled slightly.

"Tsk, be quiet." Taiichi frowned slightly, and with a thought, the Adamantine Sealing Chains wrapped around the Nine-Tails instantly burst forth with an even stronger golden light, tightening sharply inward!

The chains dug deep into the fur, bringing not only physical pain but also a soul-deep, sealing and suppressing force.

"Ugh----" The Nine-Tails' massive body stiffened abruptly, letting out a muffled groan of pain. Its violent struggles were forcibly stopped, leaving only heavy breathing and an even more venomous gaze.

Minato, watching this scene, already understood Taiichi's intentions.

His face remained expressionless, as if he hadn't noticed the Nine-Tails' unusual movement. He simply followed Taiichi's words, saying in a slightly helpless tone, "Special constitution— Uzumaki Bloodline Konoha, there are only—"

He paused, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping towards the village where his newborn son Naruto was, but he immediately looked away, his tone becoming resolute.

"No! My child is too young; I absolutely cannot let him take such a risk! Besides, Konoha is not what it used to be. We have enough strength to protect our home; we don't necessarily have to rely on the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

He changed the subject, seemingly having thought of a "safe" solution. "Since there is no suitable candidate, I think it would be better to completely seal away the Nine-Tails."

Just like how Sunagakure dealt with the One-Tail Shukaku, they sealed it in a specially made Sealing Urn, isolating it from everything and suppressing it forever. This is also the safest way for the village.

Taiichi immediately gave Minato a very subtle yet appreciative look, as if to say, "Senior Disciple Brother, you cooperated well."

i

He immediately chimed in, his tone tinged with regret and helplessness. "Well, it's a last resort."

Only----"

He deliberately drew out his words, his gaze returning to the Nine-Tails on the ground, his voice clearly reaching its enormous ears, "But in that case, some guys will have a really tough time."

Imagine being locked in a dark, Sealing Urn, without a ray of light, without hearing any sound, without feeling the passage of time—an eternal prison, an eternal loneliness.

Not even a fly can get in, let alone Sun Barrier, feel the breeze, or experience the changing seasons.

Compared to being inside Jinchuriki, at least one could occasionally glimpse the outside world and breathe the air of freedom through the Jinchuriki's senses—tsk tsk, just thinking about life in this Sealing Urn is enough to make one—no, make a beast despair.

Minato also added at the opportune moment, "Indeed, the reason why the One-Tail of Sunagakure is so neurotic is said to be because it was locked up in that kind of environment for too long."

But thinking about it, it makes sense; that was true—absolute darkness.

The two of them spoke back and forth, their tone calm, but the content was like a cold, poisonous needle, precisely piercing the deepest, most fearful corner of the Nine-Tails' heart.

Jiraiya, who had been somewhat worried, now fully realized what was happening.

He looked at the giant fox on the ground, bound like a dumpling, its eyes beginning to reveal a barely perceptible fear, and then at Taiichi and Minato's "serious" discussion about the Sealing Urn, and almost couldn't help but laugh.

He suppressed a laugh and joined in the "finishing blow," stroking his chin and saying in a deliberately profound tone, "Hmm, the Sealing Urn is indeed an option."

However, I've heard that thing is extremely expensive to make, and requires regular maintenance of the seal, which is quite a burden. But for the safety of the village, this investment is still worthwhile."

Although Utatane Koharu, found their conversation a bit strange, she nodded slightly out of consideration for "safety first": "As long as we can ensure absolute safety, any amount of investment is necessary."

Their words, especially the "Sealing Urn Hell Scene" described by Taiichi and Minato, were like demonic whispers, constantly assaulting Nine-Tails's nerves.

"Hooooooooo!!!"

Visibly, the orange-red fur on Nine-Tails' body stood on end as if struck by a strong static electricity!

Each hair stood upright, instantly making its already massive body appear even larger, resembling a giant cat with its fur standing on end!

This violent reaction was even more exaggerated than when Taiichi burned him with White Flame earlier!

The enormous fox eyes were wide open, but the pupils had shrunk to pinpoints, filled with extreme fear and resistance to the described dark future.

The chained body writhed wildly once more, emitting unintelligible whimpers and growls filled with intense emotions.

Taiichi and Minato exchanged a glance, a knowing smile flashing in each other's eyes, as if they had planned everything perfectly.

It's done!

Taiichi feigned surprise as he looked at Nine-Tails, his tone brimming with utter innocence and bewilderment. "Huh? Nine-Tails, what's wrong with you? Why are you reacting so strongly all of a sudden? Are you flustered? Are you feeling unwell, or is there something you want to say?"

He shrugged, looking like he was saying, "I'm very reasonable." "If you want to say something, just say it! How am I supposed to know what you want to say if you don't?"

Look at you, struggling and bristling, making it seem like I'm abusing you or preventing you from speaking.

Honestly, I deeply respect animal rights!

He kept rambling on and on, looking like he was "feeling very wronged".

The Nine-Tails was so angry at his "tea-like words" that it almost fainted. It made a "hoarse" sound in its throat, and its mouth, which was bound by chains, tried to open and close, but could only let out muffled whimpers.

Jiraiya finally couldn't stand it anymore. He suppressed the urge to burst out laughing, cleared his throat, and pretended to be very serious as he reminded him, "Ahem, Taiichi, look how tightly your Adamantine Sealing Chains is binding its mouth. It can't speak even if it wants to. Why don't you loosen it a little?"

Taiichi slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing, "Oh dear! What a forgetful me! I was so focused on calming it down that I forgot about this! I'm so sorry, Nine-Tails, I'm really sorry!"

As he spoke, he quickly tried to control himself with his mind.

With a soft rustling sound, the golden chains binding and restraining the Nine-Tails fox's ferocious maw loosened slightly. Although they still limited its biting ability, they at least allowed it to make a clearer sound.

The moment its mouth was partially freed, the Nine-Tails let out a deafening roar, filled with rage, humiliation, and—

A barely perceptible urgency ran through him. "Roar! Cunning humans! Despicable tricks!"

The roar echoed across the wasteland, but Taiichi others simply watched it calmly, without rebuttal or further provocation.

Nine-Tails's massive chest heaved violently, its scarlet beast eyes fixed on Taiichi, its gaze seeming to want to devour him alive.

But in the end, that overwhelming rage dissipated like a punctured balloon when it met Taiichi's calm and profound gaze, and felt the cold and powerful binding force of the Adamantine Sealing Chains on its body, leaving only deep exhaustion and—a hint of compromise after struggle.

It was silent for a few seconds, its massive head lowered slightly, and its voice became low and hoarse, carrying a resigned dejection, as it asked with difficulty, "----The condition you---- mentioned earlier----to let the old man----enjoy freedom----is it true?"

It seemed to have used all its strength to ask that question. As the proud leader of the Nine Tailed Beasts, bowing down and bargaining with humans was a great humiliation in itself.

But compared to that soul-chilling "Sealing Urn," this humiliation seemed bearable.

Moreover, the "reasoning" that Taiichi had shown before and the "methods" he was using now made it vaguely realize that this human might actually be able to give it a different path.

A glint of light flashed in Taiichi; he knew the most crucial moment had arrived.

He abandoned his previous joking demeanor, his expression becoming extremely serious, and answered decisively, "Of course it's true! I, Taichi Matsushita, always keep my word! As long as you're willing to cooperate, I can do it!"

He immediately elaborated on his idea. "My plan is to use Sealing Jutsu to cut and separate your Chakra, and safely seal most of your power into a suitable container, such as Senior Disciple Brother Minato's body."

At the same time, I will use Sealing Jutsu technique to separate your core consciousness and a small portion of your Chakra. Because you are a pure Chakra life form, your consciousness can be freely transferred.

In this way, most of your power is safely sealed, while your core consciousness can reside in this separated small Chakra aggregate, allowing it to move relatively freely in the outside world!

This bold and novel proposal left Minato, Jiraiya, and Utatane Koharu all looking astonished.

A flicker of interest crossed Minato's eyes. If he could obtain the Nine-Tails 'Nine-Tails power, especially with its cooperation, the boost to his personal strength and his deterrent effect on the Ninja World would be unparalleled! Moreover, Taiichi's plan sounded highly feasible.

Utatane Koharu frowned, her voice filled with worry. "Splitting Tailed Beast? This—is unheard of! The risk is too great! And, allowing a part of the Nine-Tails' consciousness to operate in the outside world?"

Taiichi, are you sure you can control it? It just brought such a huge disaster to the village! How can we quell the fear and hatred of the people? How can we trust the promises of a Tailed Beast?"

Her concerns were not unfounded. Building trust, especially after a devastating catastrophe, is incredibly difficult.

Taiichi appeared confident. "I understand the elder's concerns. But please rest assured, I am confident in the technical aspects."

My Dyad Seal Technique has unique advantages in Yohei and Chakra manipulation; dividing Chakra and stabilizing its core consciousness is a feasible solution. As for risks and control—"

He pointed to the ruffled Nine-Tails on the ground and gestured. "The Chakra Quantity in this separated part will be strictly controlled, and its size will be compressed to an extremely small size. I estimate it will be about the size of a small Ninja Dog."

In this form, the Nine-Tails's consciousness has limited combat power and its threat level is greatly reduced.

More importantly, who could connect a small, even somewhat—well, somewhat cute—fox with the world-destroying Nine-Tailed Demon Fox? This alone would greatly alleviate the public's fear.

He looked at Nine-Tails, his tone slightly conciliatory. "Right? Nine-Tails? You don't want to be carrying around a mountain-sized body Tenten, being treated like a monster and hunted down wherever you go, do you?"

"Becoming smaller, integrating into life, basking in the Sun Barrier, taking a nap, and enjoying a little freedom—isn't that better than getting moldy in the seal?"