The heat from the Rocket Launcher's explosion,
engulfed Isobu.
Metal fragments from the Rocket Launcher had chipped away at his thick shell, and the barrage gradually cracked his defenses.
Under another barrage, the cracks widened, and the heat seeped through his shell and into his body.
Isobu let out a pained howl. His shell had been battered, and the Tailed Beast Bomb he hadn't managed to fire had exploded inside him.
The resulting shock and tremors had badly injured him internally, too. Pinned in place by the Torii, he no longer had the strength to resist.
That was the moment Uzumaki Shori had been waiting for. The bombardment ended, and smoke filled the air.
Uzumaki Shori walked up to Isobu's head, which protruded from his shell, and met his gaze.
"Isobu, would you be willing to work for me? I can let you out of the seal from time to time so you can stretch your legs."
Isobu knew that the man who had launched the rockets appearing in the sky was the one before him, but now he could only lie weakly on the ground.
He didn't want to look at the man any longer and closed his eyes. Uzumaki Shori stroked Isobu's large nose.
If he could tame him, Isobu would be a great asset to the Land of Whirlpools. It was a shame, but for now, he had to seal him.
But what could he use as a suitable vessel to seal the Three-Tails? He rummaged through the Sealing Scroll and could only pull out a rice cooker.
He scratched his head. For now, he'd have to use this as the vessel.
With the Sealing Jutsu knowledge he'd originally possessed, he couldn't have used a rice cooker to perform a seal.
But he'd received a reward of Sealing Jutsu +1 last time, so with his current abilities, it was worth a try.
He formed hand seals.
"Enhanced Eight Trigrams Seal!"
Two Four Symbols Seals appeared on either side of Isobu, and Sealing Runes gradually covered his entire body.
A massive surge of chakra followed, and Isobu was sealed directly inside the rice cooker. The two Four Symbols Seals joined together, forming a complete Eight Trigrams Seal on its surface.
From a distance, Raiga Kurosuki saw that Isobu had been sealed. He immediately dropped his act of being sick, grabbed an oar, and began rowing with all his might.
Jinin Akebino had been rowing hard when he suddenly noticed the injured Raiga Kurosuki paddling furiously. He stared in confusion.
A few minutes later, the smoke cleared, and Tsunade arrived at the scene. Everyone anxiously scanned their surroundings.
Uzumaki Shori looked at them in confusion. Hadn't Isobu been sealed?
Why were they still searching for something?
Tsunade and the others came over to Uzumaki Shori and hurriedly asked on guard,
"Where is the Three-Tails? Why can't we find him?"
At last, the confusion in their minds was cleared. Uzumaki Shori grinned and pointed to the side.
When Tsunade saw the rice cooker in front of her, she wondered if he was hungry. She sneaked a glance at Uzumaki Shori.
Uzumaki Shori smacked his forehead. He'd forgotten to explain.
"This is the Three-Tails that was causing destruction here just now. I've sealed him inside the rice cooker."
Uzumaki Ashina's expression changed. He'd thought they had driven the Three-Tails back into the deep sea and that they should hurry away by boat.
He hadn't expected his son to be able to seal the Three-Tails.
He carefully examined the seal on the rice cooker. It was clearly an Eight Trigrams Seal.
How could the Eight Trigrams Seal possibly seal the Three-Tails inside a rice cooker?
But when he looked closely, the runes seemed slightly different.
He hadn't expected his son's Sealing Jutsu to be so powerful. The student had surpassed the master.
Tsunade went over to examine it as well, but the rice cooker suddenly started bouncing, startling her.
She stepped back and bumped into Uzumaki Shori. Was the Three-Tails about to break out of the rice cooker's seal?
Uzumaki Ashina was startled, too. He'd just been happy and was about to praise the innovation in the Sealing Jutsu. How had it turned into a scare?
Seeing how frightened everyone was, Uzumaki Shori laughed instead.
The rice cooker's lid suddenly opened, and the head of a miniature Isobu poked out.
He waved at Tsunade beside him, then placed his hand on Isobu's head and gave it a vigorous rub.
"I modified and strengthened the Eight Trigrams Seal. The Tailed Beast can let a little chakra seep out of the vessel, and the amount can be adjusted. The Tailed Beast doesn't have to stay locked up in a prison all the time. Now he can communicate with people, too."
Tsunade reached out to touch the miniature Tailed Beast's head as well. His fur felt soft beneath her palm. There was probably no one else in the entire Ninja World who could pet a Tailed Beast like this.
Isobu stuck his head out of the rice cooker, and his four limbs emerged from the bottom as well.
Feeling the sun shining down on him, he seemed to have forgotten the battle from moments ago and grew drowsy.
But then one person after another came to pet his head. He opened his mouth and tried to bite them.
Watching the miniature Tailed Beast try to bite someone, Tsunade's eyes sparkled with affection. He was just too cute.
Uzumaki Shori turned to his father.
"I'd originally wanted to tame the Three-Tails directly, but even after I defeated him, it didn't work."
"So I had no choice but to seal him properly. I hope that with this improved seal, we'll be able to communicate more effectively."
Uzumaki Ashina thought to himself that if defeating a Tailed Beast were enough to tame it, the First Uzukage would have already tamed all Nine Tailed Beasts. There'd have been no need for Shori to do it.
"Your method is pretty good. If force doesn't work, try a gentler approach. Can we find out where the Three-Tails came from?"
Although he still didn't fully understand, Uzumaki Shori had more or less figured it out. He pointed east.
Uzumaki Ashina looked into the distance but couldn't see very clearly. He spotted only a small boat, which quickly disappeared from view.
Could the people on that boat have released the Three-Tails? He turned to Uzumaki Shori and asked,
"You've already found the culprit. Why didn't you go capture them?"
"We've won against Kirigakure, but we've also suffered considerable losses. Once they return and report what happened, we can demand war reparations from them."
Uzumaki Shori scratched his head. Was he supposed to say they'd already gotten away, and he couldn't catch them out on the sea?
Fortunately, he could come up with something to say to save face.
Uzumaki Ashina pondered for a moment. The Land of Water had a large population, and Kirigakure was one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Perhaps negotiation was the best option.
"There are over two thousand people held captive on the island. If they continue their invasion at all costs, those people will be crucial to us."
"Negotiations are just one option. They can also buy us time. We can upgrade the Land of Whirlpools' equipment in the meantime. Even if they ransom their two thousand people back, we'll still have the strength to stand against them."
Uzumaki Shori clearly pointed out the problems they were facing and answered.
Hearing this, Uzumaki Ashina could only sigh inwardly.
If the Land of Whirlpools were strong enough,
they'd already be sailing warships to the Land of Water to launch an attack.
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