"Your Tailed Beast Ball is nothing special."
Kawakaze stood firm, unscathed, his sword in hand. His golden pupils remained locked on Chōmei, the Seven-Tails.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible," the Seven-Tails roared in disbelief. His Tailed Beast Ball had been cleaved in two—a feat that shattered his understanding of weapons.
Undeterred, a massive amount of chakra began gathering in his mouth once more. It seemed that apart from this attack, there was no effective way to fight back. Yet Kawakaze wouldn't give him another chance.
Sheathing the Eight-Sided Han Sword, Kawakaze formed a hand seal with both hands.
"Sage Art, Gate of the Great God!"
Chōmei, who was mid-preparation and unable to fly, was rendered defenseless. The Red Torii Gates crashed down from the sky, pinning him to the ground. Even the Tailed Beast Ball forming in his mouth began to dissipate.
"Oww."
Chōmei tried to resist, thrashing his tail—the only part of his body still able to move—against the Red Torii Gates. But with the final gate trapping his tail, the Seven-Tails was utterly immobilized.
The whole process resembled fighting an Ibuse: quick and decisive. It only reinforced how effective the technique Hashirama had developed to suppress Tailed Beasts truly was.
That said, the Seven-Tails was undoubtedly weak. While it possessed an enormous amount of chakra, its combat abilities were unimpressive. It was probably better suited as a power source or aerial transport.
"Heavenly Foot of Pain!"
Before Kawakaze could even ask Tsunade for praise—or perhaps a hug—she charged forward with a yell. Leaping high into the air, she landed a thunderous stomp onto Chōmei's head, sending up a cloud of dust.
To Chōmei's astonishment, the impact bent his massive body into a perfect arc. Though his chakra was sealed, the blow left him dazed. If not for having already been defeated, it might have fainted outright.
Meanwhile, the two younger ones—watched their sister-in-law (and teacher's wife) unleash her wrath on the poor creature. Not wanting to be left out, they each hurled two kunai at the subdued Seven-Tails.
The kunai clanged loudly, and Chōmei, completely helpless, slumped further to the side.
"Ow."
For the Seven-Tails, this was nothing short of a great humiliation. Being stabbed with kunai by the two young ones had set an unforgivable precedent. While he didn't feel any physical pain, the psychological trauma was unbearable.
"Okay, okay, I feel sorry for him."
Kawakaze covered his forehead, exasperated. What kind of person are you? Do you actually want to get along with the Seven-Tails peacefully?
"Is that all?"
Nawaki stared at Chōmei, who was still growling on the ground, stunned. He stood frozen, unwilling to get any closer.
"What else? Do you want your brother-in-law to beat it to death—or just kill it?"
Tsunade glared at him angrily, turning her head with a sharp look. If they weren't standing so far apart, she would've punched him on the spot.
Nawaki shivered under her glare, his mouth opening as if to respond, but he thought better of it and stayed silent.
"Haha~"
Minato couldn't help but laugh at Nawaki's submissive expression. The simple moments of happiness shared between them felt refreshing.
"Don't waste any more time. Let's get started," Kawakaze said, urging Tsunade to begin the sealing.
"Okay."
Tsunade's expression grew serious; sealing a Tailed Beast was no small matter.
The Seven-Tails finally realized what they were planning. It had resigned himself to taking a beating, but this? This was on a completely different level.
But I've only just been released... it's only been a day!
"Why is my luck so bad?"
"You're not done yet."
"Can we negotiate?"
"Can you let me off the hook?"
...
The subjugated Seven-Tails's chatterbox nature began to shine through.
"Stop screaming. If you keep this up, I'll cut off your wings," Kawakaze warned, glaring fiercely at the Seven-Tails. He was starting to tire of the endless noise.
The once-proud beast, who had been so arrogant when first released from his seal, now seemed completely deflated. It looked more like an honest, overly talkative individual than a raging Tailed Beast. Had it not been locked away for so long, it might never have gone berserk.
"Don't worry, I'll get along with you just fine," Tsunade said, offering a kind smile.
She bit her finger, smearing the blood across her palm. Quickly forming a hand seal, she curled her fingers, ensuring there was enough chakra for what was to come. Activating the Strength of a Hundred Technique, the cursed seal immediately appeared on her cheek.
"Eight Trigrams Seal!"
"Noooooooooooooooo!"
Kawakaze watched as Tsunade dispersed the Strength of a Hundred Technique. The sheer amount of chakra now coursing through her was far more powerful than before. It was clear that, with the help of the Eight Trigrams Seal, she had absorbed the Seven-Tails's leaking chakra, making it her own.
"Okay, this guy's pretty honest," Kawakaze remarked.
"He's already accepted his fate; he just talks too much," Tsunade replied, her brows furrowing. It was clear the Seven-Tails was still chattering away inside her.
"You two get along well," Kawakaze quipped.
"Once we're done here, we should rejoin the rest of the group."
Unable to stop the Seven-Tails's incessant chatter, Kawakaze decided to go with the flow. Together with Tsunade, he turned and walked toward the two boys.
"Sensei, I've got an idea for the technique you were talking about."
"It's like condensing the Tailed Beast Balls. I'll develop it as soon as I can."
Minato reported his idea to Kawakaze, his face glowing with excitement. He hadn't expected to stumble upon inspiration while watching the capture of the Tailed Beast.
"Really? That's great."
"Sensei is looking forward to good news from you." Kawakaze smiled and patted Minato on the head.
"You have to work hard too. Don't let Minato get too far ahead of you," Tsunade said, rolling her eyes as she glanced at Nawaki, who was grinning foolishly.
Nawaki's female friend has a boyfriend now, and he already has a solid plan for developing new Ninjutsu. And you? You're just happy-go-lucky, with nothing to show for it, Tsunade thought, feeling a little frustrated.
"I know, sister. I'm studying our grandfather's Ninjutsu," Nawaki replied, his expression falling. He couldn't help but feel his sister was growing stricter with him, far from the leniency she used to show.
Still, Nawaki consoled himself with the progress he had made. His chakra reserves were growing rapidly, and he had inherited his grandmother's Water Release Ninjutsu collection from Tobirama. Even without mastering the elusive Yin Release, learning Tobirama's techniques would undoubtedly result in a significant leap in his strength.
"You do have some brains."
Tsunade poked Nawaki lightly on the forehead, her gaze softening with affection. After all, he was her younger brother, and no matter how strict she seemed, blood was thicker than water.
"Let's go," Kawakaze said, taking the lead.
The group set off toward the Land of Grass. This route would bring them to the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain much faster.
Tsunade walked at Kawakaze's side, while Minato and Nawaki followed closely behind. There wasn't much conversation along the way—Kawakaze knew that Tsunade likely needed time to adjust to communicating with the Seven-Tails.
After half a day, Kawakaze noticed chakra suddenly gathering behind Tsunade. He stopped and turned just in time to see a pair of butterfly wings emerge from her back as she began to float into the air.
"So soon, and you can already fly?"
"I didn't expect it to be so easygoing," Kawakaze remarked.
"Apart from talking too much, it does seem pretty agreeable," Tsunade replied, equally surprised. She had only expressed curiosity about the Seven-Tails's abilities, and Chōmei had willingly granted her wings.
"You look good like this," Kawakaze said, his gaze heating up as an unmistakably mischievous gleam crossed his eyes. His mind was already full of inappropriate thoughts.
"Don't even think about it—I'm not growing wings at night," Tsunade snapped, shooting him a sharp look. Her cheeks flushed as she flapped her wings and flew ahead.
Perhaps she wasn't skilled enough yet—or maybe she was distracted—but she nearly crashed into a tree.
"Slow down," Kawakaze called after her, watching her back. His index finger twitched with excitement. This was even more thrilling than cosplay.
"Wow, my sister has wings!" Nawaki exclaimed, slapping Minato's shoulder.
"I saw that. It must be the Seven-Tails' power," Minato replied, much calmer. Too bad Kushina probably won't get the chance to grow wings. That's a real shame.