Matatabi: "Fire Release: Rat Tail Fireballs!"
Isobu: "Water Release: Giant Waterfall!"
Kokuo: "Boil Release: Steam Smash!" (original)
Saiken: "Lava Release: Mist Trap!"
Chomei: "Secret Art: Poison Scale Dust!" (original)
Kurama: "..."
"Damn it! Old Sage, you're playing favorites!" Kurama cursed out loud. Faced with a wave of massive attacks from all directions, he roared, "Don't think I don't know any Ninjutsu!"
"Secret Art: Defensive Drop!"
Right after shouting, Kurama grabbed the just-recovering Son and, without a second thought, used him as a shield.
Poor Son had just started building up his fire again, and his Ninjutsu was still charging. But in the very next second, the combined attacks of five Tailed Beasts slammed into him. The force was so strong it almost tore his Reanimation body apart.
The earth was done. It didn't even want to comment anymore. If these guys were having fun, that was enough.
As the Ninjutsu faded, Son's figure appeared through the thick steam. His huge body wasn't burned—after all, he played with fire—but his fur was half-melted, some weird purple liquid was dripping off him, and his face looked completely dazed after being hit by Water Release.
Kurama tossed him aside and looked at the guy lying there motionless. Even a Tailed Beast would struggle after taking that many direct hits from such powerful techniques.
And this time, it was all from fellow Tailed Beasts too.
Just as Kurama was about to say, "Good thing I'm better than all of you," Gyuki suddenly dropped from the sky.
Kurama was caught off guard. In that moment, Gyuki sprayed a huge blob of black goo right onto his face.
"Damn it!" Kurama only had time to shut his eyes before the black goop splattered all over.
Then, two small figures with the same chakra as him rushed in from both sides, each holding a Tailed Beast Ball almost as big as Kurama's head. Taking advantage of his blinded state, they blasted him straight on.
Even small ones were still Tailed Beast Balls. Kurama staggered back two steps, trying to wipe the black gunk off his face, and then—
A massive chakra pressure hit his senses.
Far in the distance, five fully-formed Tailed Beasts were working together, fusing their powers into one enormous Tailed Beast Ball. By the time Kurama was done getting pushed back, the ball had grown bigger than any Tailed Beast.
When Kurama wiped the ink off his face and opened his eyes, all he saw was a giant Tailed Beast Bomb dropping right onto him. In the very last second, he managed to raise his middle finger and yell, "Just you wait!"
Boom—
A flash of light streaked across the land. The sound hadn't even hit yet, but the pressure was already surging forward.
The power of the Tailed Beast Bomb exploded across the Land of Iron with nothing held back. At the very least, half of the entire country was turned into scorched earth. And in the center, a massive crater appeared—so big it might be larger than all five great ninja villages combined.
It wasn't until a full minute later, after the fire and smoke faded, that the shattered ground finally appeared in front of them.
A giant crater. Cracked earth. But no sign of Kurama.
Sun got up from the ground, struggling a bit, and walked to the edge of the crater with the others. They looked down—nothing.
Confusion flashed across their faces.
The next second, someone with sharp danger sense—Shino—suddenly looked up at the sky. Everyone else instinctively followed his gaze, and there it was: under the clear blue sky, a massive black ball of chakra hovered in the air.
A white glow circled around the black orb, spinning like a comet. And just below the giant ball, which looked even bigger than Kurama himself, Kurama grinned. "You guys didn't really think I didn't know any ninjutsu, did you?"
In Sage of Six Paths Mode, most of Kurama's body had turned white. His nine tails floated behind him like Hagoromo's cloak. The Truth-Seeking Orbs hovered silently, and black tomoe patterns were marked on his body.
At that moment, Kurama looked like a god… looking down on all living beings.
"Sage Art: Big Spiraling Tailed Beast Barrage…" Kurama's voice was calm, and as he waved his right hand, the comet above started falling—straight at the nine of them.
"Fall into a pit no one will ever climb out of."
It felt slow… at least in their eyes, it looked like the attack was moving slowly. But in truth… it was so fast their minds couldn't keep up.
It felt like a god watching mortals, and those mortals yearning for the god's gaze. Under the light and pressure of that attack, the people and tailed beasts who had been controlled suddenly regained their awareness. They just stood there, staring blankly at the sky… watching—
That falling comet.
...
Deep in their minds, the nine huge tailed beasts stood in the light. It felt like they were back to being small kids again, gathered around the Sage of Six Paths.
But now, the center was empty, and they were no longer the tiny beings they once were.
Sun looked up at Kurama, grinning through his teeth. "You hit too hard, man. I think I'm about to reincarnate."
"This guy's probably secretly hoping we all die, so the Ten Tails can't come back," Shukaku crossed his arms, clearly feeling he had the right to complain.
Kurama rolled his eyes. "I already went easy. If I hadn't, that attack would've landed right on your heads instead of the ground. Honestly, there's no tailed beast more loving than me."
"Is that so?" Gyuki gave Kurama a side glance and snorted. "Matatabi, Kurama's picking a fight."
Matatabi just shook her head. Then, as if something came to mind, she smiled. "It's been a long time since we've all been together like this. If only it weren't just in our inner world."
"There are enemies… outside," Chomei flapped his wings and said in a deep voice.
"It's dangerous," Isobu nodded in agreement.
"You two… can't you show a little backbone? You're tailed beasts!" Kokuo shook his head at the two, clearly disappointed.
Saiken looked at the two and suddenly spoke up, "Looking at Kurama, then thinking about what Kokuo just said… I think maybe Chomei and Isobu aren't wrong."
Kokuo fell silent.
Sun plopped down on the ground and asked Kurama, "Hey Kurama, just how strong are you now?"
"Strong enough that even if all eight of you teamed up, you still couldn't take one hit from me," Kurama shrugged.
"I totally believe that," Saiken nodded seriously.
Gyuki opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but suddenly fell silent. He stared at his own tail, a strange look in his eyes.
Chomei noticed something was off and gently asked, "Gyuki, what's wrong?"
All the tailed beasts turned to look at Gyuki. He gave a bitter smile and shook his head slightly. "I just remembered a talk I had with Kurama three years ago... Back then, I told him he should have some pride as a tailed beast."
"What's wrong with that?" Son Goku asked, confused.
"It's a big problem," Shukaku said with a mocking grin. "Each of us clings to our pride as tailed beasts, thinking we're stronger than humans and that humans are just tiny ants."
"But is that really the case?"
His mockery wasn't aimed at the others—it was aimed at himself. "To humans, we're natural disasters… but to those who are truly terrifying, we're not even pets. How should I put it…"
"Livestock," Kurama said with his eyes closed.
All the tailed beasts froze for a moment and frowned at Kurama. Only Shukaku smiled.
"Yeah. Livestock. That's the right word."
"Slaughtered, controlled, treated however they want. That's livestock, isn't it?" After speaking, Shukaku looked at the others. "What's with those faces? Think Kurama's words were too harsh? But isn't that the truth?"
Kokuo frowned, his tone carrying a hint of anger. "But we're tailed beasts. Each of us has great power. How could we be—"
"Then why were you controlled?" Shukaku cut in, staring straight at him. "Why were you sealed away? Why were you captured? Played with like toys and couldn't do anything about it?"
Kokuo fell silent.
Shukaku shrugged and said helplessly, "I don't like admitting it, but right now, aside from Kurama, who among us can still be called a 'natural disaster' or a 'monster'?"
"Was it you guys who got taken away?" Shukaku asked. "Or was it me, who didn't get captured but was pushed so hard by just three humans that I almost killed myself?"
Shukaku sighed. "It's time to wake up. We're no longer natural disasters. Kurama shows up and people don't even dare appear. He walks around in the open and no one dares lay a hand on him. That's what a real disaster looks like."
"As for us? We're livestock."
Silence fell. All the tailed beasts went quiet. Some looked lost, others were deep in thought. Only Kurama opened his eyes and looked at them.
After a long moment, Kurama finally spoke slowly. "I don't want to be a disaster. I just want to play games, watch anime, and live a quiet life. But some people won't let me live that simple life… so I had no choice but to kill them all."
"Power is the only thing that matters in this world. Friends, the times have changed."
All the tailed beasts stared at Kurama, unsure how to express what they were feeling.
They wanted to speak, but didn't know what to say.
Kurama felt like his speech had gone on long enough. Just as he was about to wrap it up, a small figure—tiny compared to the tailed beasts—suddenly appeared in their midst, standing right where the Sage of Six Paths used to be.
Naruto walked in without even looking at the situation and immediately shouted, "Kurama, what the hell did you do?! Land of Iron is gone! The whole Land of Iron just blew up into the sky!"
Kurama's face turned dark purple like pig's liver.
All the tailed beasts were stunned. Wait… Kurama, is this how you act as a tailed beast? Getting yelled at by your own Jinchuriki?
Wow. I almost believed all that tough talk earlier.
Shukaku cheerfully waved at Naruto. "Yo, Naruto, you here to hang out?"
"Shukaku, you too…" Naruto froze. Only then did he realize the tailed beasts had all gathered around him in a circle, staring at him like they were judging him.
Naruto felt like he could curl his toes hard enough to dig out a five-room apartment and crawl into it. Unfortunately, he couldn't. So instead, he forced out a sheepish smile.
"Uhh… hi, everyone."
...
So, in the end, this battle ended with:
The Land of Iron getting blasted into the sky.
Everything else? All good.
---
You can read 10 Chapters ahead on my
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