Chapter 190: The Five-Tails, Kokuō, Unsealed!
"Nara Keisuke!"
Utatane Koharu was completely triggered, her voice a rough shriek.
Genjutsu: Lacquer Eye!
Keisuke, however, had completely lost any desire to continue conversing with the neurotic old woman. He merely glanced at her. His eyes instantly bled into pitch black, and a surging wave of spiritual energy shot across the room, pouring directly into her eyes and locking her in place.
One second, the elder was screaming; the next, she was frozen like a strangled old hen, all vitality gone from her expression.
This smokeless, silent display of visual genjutsu shocked everyone else in the room. Mitokado Homura, who had also clashed with Keisuke, felt a cold chill creep up his spine. If Koharu was taken down that easily by a single look, he wouldn't have fared any better. Nara Keisuke, the Shadow of Darkness... a genjutsu mastery of this level was rare even among the Uchiha. When had he mastered such a skill?
The only one not completely surprised was Minato, who had personally witnessed Keisuke's genjutsu battle against Uchiha Madara. 'Even so...' he sighed internally. 'Keisuke, she is still a village elder...'
"The only reason I agreed to attend this pointless meeting was to try and communicate with the village through peaceful means," Keisuke said, ignoring the frozen Koharu and the terrified Homura, his gaze fixed on Hiruzen. "But that does not mean I ever thought the ownership of the Five-Tails was up for debate. Lord Third Hokage, my stance is the same as it was that night. I am determined to have the Five-Tails. If anyone wants to ask me for it, I will seal their mouth. If anyone reaches out to take it, I will chop off their hand. The one who does the work gets the reward. It's a simple truth, is it not?"
A ninja with no power who spouts such threats is a fool asking to be put down. But a ninja with overwhelming power who says such things is merely seen as "strong-willed" and "unruly."
Even so, Hiruzen's displeasure grew. As the revered Third Hokage of Konoha, it had been many years since any young ninja had dared to challenge him so openly. But for decades, his public persona had been that of the kind and gentle elder. The "bad cop" role had always been played by Homura, Koharu, and... Shimura Danzō.
Danzō had wanted to attend this meeting, but he was currently holding the line on the Kumo front and couldn't get away. Even so, he had used his own special channels to communicate his opinion on the matter: Five-Tails. Dangerous. Jinchuriki. Kekkei Genkai. Root. Cultivate. Research.
Hiruzen's reply had been: Nara Clan. Contribution. Nara Keisuke. Power.
Danzō's final message was: Hiruzen, you will regret this.
Although Hiruzen had shut Danzō down by reminding him, "I am the Hokage," facing the aggressive and unruly Keisuke now, he couldn't help but miss his old rival. In any case, if only to maintain his long-held public image, he showed no anger. After all, Keisuke had only used a genjutsu to freeze Koharu in place, not resorted to violence. By ninja standards, that was already quite restrained.
Moreover, while the tide of the war had turned, Konoha was still under immense pressure. If rumors of discord spread now—especially a feud between the Hokage and the village's greatest war hero—it would be a catastrophe.
A myriad of thoughts flashed through Hiruzen's mind. The "sunlit" Hokage chose, once again, to back down—no, to consider the bigger picture.
"So," Hiruzen said flatly, "what is your solution for both problems?"
"First, we free the Five-Tails from the Jinchuriki's body," Keisuke said, matching Hiruzen's calm tone now that he had conceded. "Then, you leave the rest to me."
'Leave it to you? Who do you think you are?' Homura's lips moved, but he glanced at the still-frozen Koharu, sighed, and swallowed his words. When did the lazy Nara clan produce such an aggressive madman?
"The moment a Tailed Beast is extracted from its Jinchuriki, the Jinchuriki dies," Hiruzen stated, staring at Keisuke, trying to read his intent. "Are you saying you plan to become the new Jinchuriki? But what about Han's Kekkei Genkai?"
"I have zero interest in becoming a Jinchuriki," Keisuke said, telling the truth. "Since we're at this point, there's no need for me to hide it. I already have an agreement with the Five-Tails. I am going to sign a summoning contract with it. And as for Han's Kekkei Genkai, Boil Release... its source is the Five-Tails itself. Once I have the contract, do you really think researching it will be a problem?"
'A-a summoning contract with the Five-Tails?!' Standing to the side, Nara Shikano nearly ripped his beard out. 'Such a wonderful thing exists?!'
His original thinking had been the same as Hiruzen's—that Keisuke intended to become the new Jinchuriki. But... he wasn't going to seal it inside himself?
The world had only just begun to study the "Tailed Beast-Jinchuriki" system. In the past, only the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara had been able to perfectly control the Tailed Beasts. While Kumogakure's Killer B seemed to have achieved it, that was unconfirmed. It was generally accepted that a normal Jinchuriki was weaker than a wild Tailed Beast, which in turn was weaker than a Perfect Jinchuriki.
But if Keisuke signed a summoning contract, the power he could wield would be far greater than that of a normal Jinchuriki. This solution perfectly met the village's wartime needs. But Shikano's mind went one step further. 'If Keisuke signs a contract... will the Five-Tails one day become a hereditary summon of the Nara clan?!'
Hiruzen had, of course, also reached the same conclusion. But he hesitated, remembering that before Hashirama, Uchiha Madara had also used a summoning contract to forcibly control the Nine-Tails and attack Konoha.
'But why am I comparing Keisuke to Madara?' Hiruzen scoffed at himself. 'They are not the same type of ninja. And the Nara are certainly not the Uchiha.'
He made his decision. He didn't ask Keisuke how confident he was. If he succeeded, Konoha would gain a massive new asset. If he failed and the beast went wild... Konoha could handle one rampaging Tailed Beast. It might even teach the boy a lesson in humility.
"Minato," Hiruzen said, looking at him. "Go and bring the Jinchuriki, Han, and... bring Kushina as well."
Bringing Han was for the extraction; bringing Kushina Uzumaki was to have a firewall in case things went wrong. Who better to suppress a Tailed Beast than an Uzumaki Jinchuriki?
Minato nodded, about to flicker away.
"Minato-san, no need to make two trips. Just go get your girlfriend," Keisuke called out. "I'll be waiting on Mount Kikyo."
Before anyone could react, his figure vanished from the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen's eyes widened. Even he hadn't seen him move. A name flashed in his mind. "The Flying Thunder God Technique?! He actually learned it?! When?!"
He realized Keisuke's plan and looked back at Minato. "Minato!"
"Yes, Lord Third!" Minato vanished and reappeared an instant later. "Keisuke... he's already taken the Five-Tails Jinchuriki."
Keisuke had left a marker on Han long ago. He had marked the Five-Tails for his own! Hiruzen grit his teeth.
Nara Shikano, finally understanding what had happened, stroked his beard with a grin and began to smooth things over. "So sorry, Lord Hokage, and honored advisors... that boy Keisuke just hates trouble..."
Keisuke, unaware of the conversation, was already flying to Mount Kikyo with the Jinchuriki. He used his Shadow Manipulation Technique to connect to Han's body and speak with Kokuō.
"Kokuō, the time has come. I've found the way to unseal you."
Whether it was the [Tailed Beast Unsealing Method] or the [Tailed Beast Sealing Method], he had acquired both during the battle with "Madara."
Kokuō's white form materialized in the mindscape, its sea-blue eyes staring at the human before it. "Nara Keisuke. I have been waiting for this day."
"Then... just wait a few more minutes."
Keisuke landed the Shadow Creature in a secluded forest clearing on the mountain. He laid Han's body flat and located the seal. First, he undid the Four Symbols Seal that Minato had placed. And then... without waiting for Minato or Kushina, he activated the A-rank sealing jutsu he had acquired.
[A-Rank Technique: Tailed Beast Unsealing Method]
[Description: A high-level sealing art developed by the Uzumaki clan specifically to deal with Tailed Beasts!]
[Effect: Forcibly breaks the sealing jutsu within a Jinchuriki's body, causing the Tailed Beast to be expelled.]
[Evaluation: Come forth! My strongest servant!]
He violently shattered the seal Iwagakure had placed on Han. The body lay still for a moment, and then... a massive torrent of pure white chakra erupted from the seal, coalescing in the air.
A beautiful, pure-white demonic beast, with five magnificent horns on its head, a slender and graceful deer-like body, and five long, fluffy white tails waving behind it.
The Five-Tails, Kokuō, was unsealed.
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