Chapter 163: Subduing with Strength, Miracles Through Might
In truth, aside from the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, the other Tailed Beasts had absolutely no idea that Uchiha Dali had done such a thing.
No wonder they were so utterly shocked.
To create land atop the ocean and connect the Land of Water and the Land of Fire, which had long been separated by sea?
Such a feat had never even crossed their minds—not even in their wildest dreams.
And yet, Uchiha Dali had actually gone and done it. More than just attempting it—he had accomplished it.
"You're sure you're not lying?"
The Nine-Tails eyed Kokuō with deep suspicion.
"Hmph! You think I'd lie just to speak up for some human brat? Don't insult me."
The Five-Tails, Kokuō, sounded more than a little annoyed.
Hearing this, the Nine-Tails stopped doubting.
At the same time, the surrounding shinobi were all beginning to see Uchiha Dali in a new light.
They had only just heard this news themselves.
Although everyone knew that Dali intended to create land to link the Land of Fire and the Land of Water, no one had expected it to happen so soon—so suddenly.
"Enough with the chatter. So what's your answer, Nine-Tails?"
"My ambition is to shelter you all beneath my power, to thwart the Akatsuki's hidden agenda, and to personally bring about peace in the ninja world."
"I've laid everything bare. Now it's your turn to show where you stand."
With that, Uchiha Dali gazed calmly at the Nine-Tails.
The Nine-Tails fell silent.
It didn't respond, but stared intently at the human before it.
Truth be told, there was no way it could win against this group.
Not only was this Uchiha Dali the apparent leader, and likely immensely powerful, even that other one—Uchiha Shisui—was more than it could handle.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be locked up here in the first place.
But to just bow its head to a mere human—it couldn't accept that.
It was torn.
The beast was clearly hesitating.
But Uchiha Dali had no intention of wasting any more time.
He had far too much to do—he couldn't afford to waste it all on just one Tailed Beast.
"You still haven't decided?"
"Fine, then I'll decide for you."
"You're going to stay in Konoha and go nowhere. If the Akatsuki can so much as lay a finger on you, they deserve the credit for pulling it off."
Uchiha Dali locked eyes with the Nine-Tails as he spoke.
Hearing this, the Nine-Tails gave a cold snort.
"You sure talk big, kid."
"But why should I believe you?"
Dali instantly understood what to do.
He nodded. "So you're saying you want a beating."
The Nine-Tails was momentarily stunned.
That wasn't what it meant at all.
It simply didn't want to submit to a human so easily.
But Uchiha Dali had already lost patience.
Without hesitation, he rolled up his sleeves and barked an order to the Anbu controlling the Four Violet Flames Formation surrounding the Nine-Tails.
"Open the barrier."
"But, Lord Fourth—if we release it…"
"Stop wasting time. He's the Fourth Hokage. With him here, the Nine-Tails won't be able to do a damn thing!"
"Understood!"
At once, the Anbu stationed at the four cardinal points swiftly withdrew their chakra.
In an instant, the Four Violet Flames Formation vanished.
The Nine-Tails was free once more. But it didn't run—it stood its ground and stared hard at Dali.
It wanted to see what this brat was going to try.
"You don't respect me? You want to see if I've got the real strength to back it up? Fine. I'll give you exactly what you want."
With those words, Uchiha Dali threw a punch straight at the Nine-Tails.
From an outsider's perspective, it looked as if he were punching the air.
But as confusion spread among the onlookers, his arm and fist suddenly became enveloped in a black energy.
The very air exploded.
BOOM!
A deafening roar erupted—like the world itself was splitting apart.
And then the truly astonishing scene unfolded.
Dali's punch seemed to compress the very air, forming an enormous, tangible fist in midair.
The shockwave had a visible path—and in the blink of an eye, it collided with the Nine-Tails' mountainous body.
What looked like a normal punch sent the colossal beast hurtling backward with no resistance at all.
FWOOSH—
The Nine-Tails was launched into the distance.
The air screamed as it was torn apart by sheer velocity.
Less than three seconds later, an earth-shaking crash echoed from four to five kilometers away.
The Nine-Tails had slammed into a mountain.
A pillar of smoke rose into the sky from the distant forest, with some even spotting a mushroom cloud of dust climbing skyward.
Even more shockingly, from where the Nine-Tails had been standing to where it now lay, the entire path—trees, rocks, everything—had been utterly obliterated.
Only a wide, straight scar remained on the landscape, like a gouge in the crust of the earth.
"S-So powerful…"
The surrounding Anbu were completely stunned.
To strike the Nine-Tails with a single blow—and remain completely unscathed—was beyond anything they could have imagined.
They had thought they were protecting the Hokage.
Now they wondered if it wasn't the other way around.
"Is it really us protecting Lord Fourth… or is he the one protecting us?"
The Anbu who directly served Uchiha Dali found themselves doubting everything.
And it wasn't just them who were shocked.
Hiashi Hyūga, Hizashi Hyūga, Fugaku Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, Hiruzen Sarutobi—elite shinobi and clan leaders alike—were all dumbfounded by Dali's overwhelming power.
They had known he was extraordinary.
They had known he was powerful.
But no one had expected this level of dominance.
"To fight a Tailed Beast with just his body—and still hold the absolute upper hand—that's insane!"
"There probably aren't even a handful of ninja in the whole world who could pull that off!"
"Others talk their way into submission… Our Fourth Hokage forces it through sheer strength…"
Voices buzzed in the background.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Dali dropped his battle stance.
Far off in the distance, the Nine-Tails was seeing stars, its huge body half-buried in the mountainside, unable to move.
There was no need for the fight to continue.
"So I'm this strong now…"
He stared at his own fist and muttered quietly to himself.
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