Return the Four-Tails

His consciousness sank into his mindscape.

That ancient, mysterious Stone Gate stood silently in the depths of his sea of consciousness.

Deep blue and dark gold runes flowed across its surface.

A line of text flickered faintly on the panel.

[Consume 300,000 Energy Crystals to open the Stone Gate and obtain greater power? Yes/No]

Seisen did not hesitate. His will pressed heavily upon "Yes."

Three hundred thousand Energy Crystals vanished instantly.

A deafening roar erupted within his sea of consciousness.

With a teeth-grinding screech of friction, the tightly shut ancient Stone Gate finally burst open.

A Reishi storm, vast beyond description and transcending the dimensions of the Ninja World, surged wildly from the crack in the gate.

In an instant, Seisen's consciousness was completely swallowed.

He felt himself falling into a boundless sea of stars.

Endless darkness and dazzling stars surrounded him.

At the end of that starry sea.

A familiar towering, majestic phantom shrouded in infinite light gazed silently at him.

Those eyes held the cold indifference of one who saw through all things, along with supreme authority.

Under that pressure, Seisen's consciousness gradually sank into deep silence.

Outside.

Inside the secret chamber.

Seisen's cross-legged body underwent a bizarre change.

The temperature of his body plummeted. His skin lost all color and turned pale as paper.

The rise and fall of his chest grew weaker and weaker.

In the end, it stopped completely.

His heart stopped beating, and his breathing ceased.

Within mere seconds, his vital signs dropped to freezing point, making him seem like a dead corpse.

Within the deathly silent chamber, even the passage of time seemed to slow.

Inside the sealing space.

The Nine-Tails, which had been cursing moments ago, abruptly fell silent.

Its enormous fox eyes contracted sharply as it stared fixedly beyond the seal.