"The Ten-Tails is said to be the most powerful of all tailed beasts—far beyond the Nine-Tails in strength. If it were to be revived, could it possess its own intelligence?" Chiyo of the Sand asked solemnly.
Her question struck at the heart of the matter. If the Ten-Tails was anything like the other Tailed Beasts, then upon its revival, their first concern shouldn't be sealing it—but how to survive.
"Don't worry," Black Zetsu replied in his usual calm tone. "Though the Ten-Tails possesses immense power, it lacks sentience. It's more of a force of nature than a creature. Its soul was fractured to create the Nine Tailed Beasts. What remains is pure instinct—no rational thought."
The gathered leaders exchanged glances, uncertain whether to believe him.
Ōnoki of the Stone Village narrowed his eyes but remained silent.
Chiyo, sensing hesitation, stepped forward and addressed Black Zetsu directly.
"Lord Zetsu, even if the Ten-Tails has no rationality, the sheer magnitude of its power could destroy us all if it goes on a rampage. And even if it remains dormant, none of us possess the means to contain it in a Jinchūriki—not without preparation. I propose we have the sealing squads inscribe barrier and containment formulas on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path before the Ten-Tails is revived."
Black Zetsu paused, feigning silence. He didn't object—nor did he agree.
In truth, this was part of his manipulation. If he were too cooperative, the others would grow suspicious. But silence allowed them to reach their own conclusions—a far more effective form of control.
And just as expected, the silence was interpreted as hesitance.
Ōnoki furrowed his brow and finally spoke.
"Zetsu, we're not fools. We know the connection between the Rinnegan and the Ten-Tails, even if you won't explain it. But none of us will surrender our Tailed Beasts without guarantees. If you want our cooperation, you must agree to our conditions. Either we place the sealing formulas—together—or we refuse to participate. You and Nagato can try to take the beasts by force if you think you can."
Tensions were escalating. The time for diplomacy had passed.
Then, from the far side of the clearing, a new voice interjected.
"I agree to the sealing," said Nagato, Rinnegan gleaming as he approached.
Black Zetsu stiffened. If the term "useless teammate" meant anything to him, he'd assign it to Nagato right now. His hesitation had been a calculated move—to keep the group divided and guessing. But Nagato's blunt agreement shattered the delicate balance.
Now, everyone would think Nagato had nothing to fear from their sealing techniques. Worse, they might think they had a fighting chance.
As Nagato gave his approval, the leaders of the Allied Shinobi Forces signaled their sealing squads into action.
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path—already infused with the chakra of the Seven-Tails and the Four-Tails—radiated a chilling pressure. The sealing squad members, upon approaching it, realized they stood before a living husk—a vessel on the brink of reawakening.
Initially, when they'd heard rumors that the Ten-Tails could rival even Kawaki of Konoha—a boy now feared as a demon by some—they thought it was just strategic exaggeration by their village elders.
But seeing the statue in person, feeling its malevolence, changed everything.
This… this was real.
Hope—faint and dangerous—crept into their hearts. Not just hope to stop Kawaki, but hope that their village might rise again in power.
As the sealing began, teams from every village worked quickly, inscribing powerful formulae onto the statue's massive surface. Though coordinated in appearance, many squads subtly worked to prioritize their own village's methods.
In particular, the teams from Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure made sure to etch their seals around those of the Konoha Root faction.
Some did it subtly.
Others? Openly.
Shimura Danzō, watching his Root operatives being encircled by the other villages' seals, scowled. But deep down, he had expected this.
Though branded a missing-nin, the sealing techniques used by his men still bore the mark of Konoha's superior heritage—descended from none other than Uzumaki Mito, wife of the First Hokage.
While Mito was perhaps wasteful with her clan's power, she had passed down her knowledge to an entire generation of Konoha's sealing experts.
The other villages had only scraps—what they'd stolen when the Uzumaki Clan was destroyed. Their knowledge was incomplete, flawed.
And they knew it.
That's why they united to undermine the Konoha seals.
'Fools,' Danzō thought darkly. 'You think sealing is something you can master just by copying it? Pathetic.'
He remained outwardly calm, watching as the others played their little games.
His earlier anger had nothing to do with the sabotage.
It was the insult to his pride.
Danzo was confident in his command of sealing techniques—his entire foundation rested on that assurance.
But in the arena, there stood someone even more self-assured: Nagato.
With indifferent Rinnegan eyes, Nagato observed the sealing squad as they bustled around the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, carefully inscribing countless intricate sealing formulae.
To the average eye, these seals were formidable. Even a seasoned Jonin would find them difficult to contend with. Combined, they formed a vast sealing array whose full complexity even Nagato found difficult to comprehend.
Had those seals been placed on him directly, Nagato wasn't certain he could break free—at least not without significant cost.
But on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, it was a different story.
That statue—actually the Gedō Mazō—was the empty husk of the Ten-Tails (Jūbi), left behind after the Sage of Six Paths divided its chakra into the Nine Tailed Beasts. It was not the Ten-Tails itself, but something close. The true resurrection of the Ten-Tails required all nine of those chakra fragments.
Nagato recalled the image of an overwhelming figure from the shadows of history—Uchiha Madara.
That was a mountain too great for him to climb. No matter how powerful he became, he, Yahiko, and Konan remained powerless before such an existence. Even his strongest technique—Chibaku Tensei—would likely be useless against Madara.
And Madara had once declared that the Ten-Tails' power rivaled even his own.
If that was true, how could mere sealing techniques hope to restrain it?
Finally, the last of the sealing formulae was etched onto the Demonic Statue. Its vast body was covered—no inch spared, every possible area marked, whether for actual containment or redundancy.
Nagato stepped forward.
"The seals are ready. It's time to begin the resurrection of the Ten-Tails. I've already sealed the Four-Tails and the Seven-Tails. Next, I propose sealing the Five-Tails or the Six-Tails."
He continued calmly, "After that, the Three-Tails, Two-Tails, One-Tail, Eight-Tails, and finally…the Nine-Tails. This order minimizes the time needed for chakra stabilization between extractions."
Some of the others initially doubted the sequence, but the logic behind saving time silenced any objections. Time was their most precious commodity—none of them knew when Konoha's reinforcements, or worse, Kawaki Aoba, would arrive.
Kirigakure was the first to act. Their Six-Tails Jinchūriki, Utakata, had been captured, restrained, and now forcibly separated from his beast. Using the power of the Rinnegan, Nagato sealed the Six-Tails into the Demonic Statue.
But no one noticed the faint pulse of unfamiliar chakra that flowed into the statue along with the Tailed Beast.
It was denser. Purer. Alien.
High above, hidden from mortal sight, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya hovered silently.
"So they're finally resurrecting the Ten-Tails," she thought coldly. "These insects waste too much time…"
Though she was irritable, Kaguya couldn't act—not yet. The clone body she occupied was too impure. It lacked the strength to even awaken the Byakugan's higher forms. She had no choice but to bide her time and gradually suffuse the Demonic Statue with her chakra.
As her essence infiltrated the statue, she began to understand its structure. The information that Black Zetsu had fed her was accurate—the husk contained only the shell of the God Tree's soul. Its chakra core had been divided into the Nine Tailed Beasts.
To truly resurrect the Ten-Tails, all nine needed to be recombined.
But even then, something was off.
Even with all nine, the Ten-Tails would not be complete. Its origin had been fractured beyond full restoration.
"Was it…Hamura?" Kaguya pondered. "Did he ensure that the beasts would retain some independence to resist being reabsorbed?"
It would be just like her other son.
Kaguya investigated the Demonic Statue thoroughly, searching for any residual traps. But she found nothing hidden—no signs of betrayal from Black Zetsu or treachery from Hagoromo.
"Perhaps I'm just being paranoid," she thought. "Maybe the God Tree really has remained hidden all these years, even from Isshiki…"
She began to withdraw her chakra. But just then, another Tailed Beast was sealed into the statue.
It was the Three-Tails.
Again, the chakra pulse—foreign, pure, and disturbing—tingled at the edge of her senses.
When the statue contained only three beasts, she felt nothing. But once the fourth was added, she finally noticed the anomaly.
What was it?
She didn't know yet. But she stopped withdrawing her chakra and instead chose to wait patiently.
The Two-Tails… then the One-Tail… and finally, the Eight-Tails.
Night had fallen.
Before the Eight-Tails could be fully sealed, Kaguya abruptly retracted her chakra.
Her eyes narrowed.
She had identified the problem.
It wasn't the Demonic Statue that was tampered with.
It was the Nine Tailed Beasts themselves.
Hagoromo… that cunning man.
He had embedded a failsafe within their chakra—not to harm them, not to weaken them—but to prevent the Ten-Tails from ever being fully restored.
Each of the nine bore a unique "signature" that subtly repelled total fusion.
This safeguard had no effect on the beasts as individuals. But when combined inside the Demonic Statue, it would destabilize the Ten-Tails' form and essence.
Kaguya clenched her fists.
She should have known. Hagoromo had always feared her return.
But this time, she would not be stopped.
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