The moment Utakata saw Kitazawa and Tsunade, a flicker of relief crossed his face.
They weren't Hidden Mist ANBU.
That relief vanished an instant later.
His gaze dropped to the Konoha forehead protector on Kitazawa, and his brows knit together.
'Konoha and Hidden Mist are allies…'
If Konoha knew who he truly was, there was every chance they would notify Kirigakure.
"Who are you?"
Utakata asked calmly, his voice steady despite the unease stirring beneath it.
Although both figures were famous throughout the Ninja World, he had never seen them in person—and didn't recognize them at first glance.
As the Six-Tails' Jinchūriki, Utakata had long believed that only a handful of people alive could truly threaten him. That confidence had kept him alive this long.
"Tsunade," the blonde woman replied evenly.
Utakata's heart skipped.
He had thought her face looked familiar—but he hadn't dared assume.
'The Fifth Hokage…?'
Tsunade rarely left Konoha.
If she was here, there was only one reason.
They had come for him.
"Kitazawa," the man beside her added.
"——?!"
Utakata's pupils shrank violently.
This was no longer a bad feeling—it was despair.
Tsunade and Kitazawa together meant death.
He was powerful, yes—but even as the Six-Tails' Jinchūriki, he knew his limits. He had never surpassed Yagura Karatachi, the former Mizukage and Three-Tails' host.
And Yagura had been defeated by these two.
Worse still—Kitazawa now wielded the legendary Wood Release.
"What business do you have with me?" Utakata asked, tightening his grip around the pipe in his hand.
The straw pipe was his weapon—through it, he controlled his bubble-based water release techniques, perfectly synchronized with Saiken's power.
The Six-Tails' abilities mirrored Katsuyu's in some ways: acidic liquids, corrosive gas, overwhelming endurance.
"Meeting like this must be fate," Kitazawa said lightly, smiling.
"We'd like to invite you to Konoha as our guest."
Utakata scoffed.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"No," Kitazawa replied without hesitation.
"So we'll let our strength convince you."
"I'm a missing-nin from Hidden Mist," Utakata said coldly.
"Mist ANBU are nearby. If you try to capture me, that violates the alliance."
"Konoha and Hidden Mist are allies," Kitazawa replied calmly, shaking his head.
"So it doesn't."
"Tch—enough talk!" Tsunade moved.
Her Chakra detonated outward as she leapt forward, fist drawn back.
The pressure alone tore through the valley like a storm.
Utakata's expression changed instantly.
He called upon Saiken's power.
A massive tail erupted behind him, curling forward just in time.
BOOM!
Tsunade's punch smashed into the tail.
The impact blasted outward in a violent shockwave.
Utakata was flung backward, skidding across the ground before crashing to a halt.
He staggered to his feet, jaw clenched.
His tail buzzed with numbness.
"So this is the Hokage's strength…" he muttered grimly.
Dark red chakra surged from his body.
Tailed Beast Chakra cloaked him like armor—his human form remained, but six massive tails unfurled behind him, writhing with power.
From the ridge above—
"What is that?!" Sasuke exclaimed, eyes wide.
He didn't need sensory techniques to feel it.
This amount of Chakra was absurd.
"No human should have that much!"
"That's Tailed Beast power!" Naruto said immediately.
"Kitazawa-sensei said Jinchūriki can borrow their beast's chakra!"
Sasuke's mind flashed to Yagura Karatachi.
"…Partial Tailed Beast Transformation."
Naruto nodded eagerly.
"There's also Full Transformation! Sensei beat Yagura when he used that!"
Sasuke turned sharply.
"Why didn't I know any of this?! Why did he only tell you?"
Naruto froze.
"I—uh—"
He scratched his head awkwardly.
Kitazawa had warned him not to tell anyone about being the Nine-Tails' host.
What Naruto did know was limited:
The closer your bond with your Tailed Beast, the more power you could draw.
Three stages.
Borrowed Chakra.
Partial Transformation.
Full Transformation.
(Though Naruto himself had… other stages.)
A sudden whoosh cut through the air.
Both boys snapped their attention back to the battlefield.
Utakata's six tails lashed forward simultaneously—whipping toward Tsunade and Kitazawa in a devastating assault.
The real battle had begun.
Tsunade didn't hesitate—she punched straight through.
The shockwave roared outward. All six of Utakata's tails were blasted aside as if struck by a hurricane.
At the same instant, Utakata opened his mouth and spewed a stream of murky gray liquid.
Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!
Kitazawa clapped his hands together. An arched wooden barrier erupted from the ground in front of Tsunade.
The gray liquid splashed against the wood and began to hiss violently.
Corrosion spread in seconds.
Moments later, the wall was eaten through, the liquid dripping onto the earth below and melting it into pits.
Tsunade wasn't surprised.
She understood Saiken's abilities well enough.
Yang Release Chakra Mode!
Hand seals snapped together.
An overwhelming surge of chakra burst from Tsunade's body, her golden hair whipping wildly as the air itself trembled.
"What—?!"
Utakata's expression twisted in disbelief.
Her chakra skyrocketed in an instant—nearly rivaling his partial tailed beast transformation.
In all his memories, no such technique existed.
His understanding of ninjutsu shattered.
"This is incredible," Tsunade said with a wide, exhilarated grin, clenching her fists.
Utakata couldn't smile at all.
"Granny Tsunade is insane!" Naruto shouted, eyes shining.
Sasuke nodded stiffly.
The sheer volume of Chakra stunned him.
For a moment, he almost thought she was a Jinchūriki herself.
Then another thought struck him.
Could I learn this?
His greatest weakness against Naruto was Chakra reserves.
Utakata snarled and lashed out again.
Tsunade didn't dodge.
She grabbed two of his tails barehanded.
With a roar, she hoisted him overhead and slammed him into the ground.
BOOM!
The earth collapsed inward, forming a massive crater.
Tsunade moved to grab him again—then froze.
Acid sizzled where her fingers had just been.
She reacted instantly.
Her leg snapped up.
The kick shattered the ground beneath Utakata, sending stone fragments raining down onto him.
Utakata roared and spewed a flood of acid in retaliation.
Tsunade leapt back without hesitation.
Utakata seized the moment, retreating to gain distance.
From the sidelines, Kitazawa rubbed his chin.
She can handle this alone.
Utakata still couldn't achieve Full Tailed Beast Transformation.
In the original timeline, even against Pain, he'd fallen while only partially transformed.
Only Perfect Jinchūriki, Killer B, Yagura—could fully unleash their beasts.
There was another method.
Letting the Jinchūriki lose consciousness and allowing the beast to rampage.
Gaara had done it once.
But that wasn't true control—and rampaging beasts destroyed allies as readily as enemies.
Utakata suddenly accelerated, his body flowing forward like a serpent.
He closed the distance in a blink.
Tsunade's punch cut him off mid-attack.
Utakata was blasted backward—but a cloud of corrosive acid gas billowed where he'd been.
Tsunade sprang upward, narrowly clearing the poisonous fog.
Utakata spat out dozens of bubbles.
Midair, Tsunade flicked her wrists.
Six kunai pierced through the bubbles.
They burst instantly, mixing with the acid gas and spreading thick black poison across the battlefield.
Tsunade frowned.
No foothold. No safe landing.
Even as the greatest medical ninja alive, she wouldn't charge blindly into Saiken's poison.
Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!
Kitazawa formed seals calmly.
A seed struck the earth—and exploded upward.
A massive Wood Dragon surged beneath Tsunade.
She twisted gracefully and landed atop it.
The dragon surged forward through the poison.
Its surface blackened, corroded—
—and regenerated instantly.
Destruction and rebirth repeated in rapid cycles.
The Wood Dragon emerged untouched.
Utakata stared, stunned.
It felt unreal—like a Genjutsu.
He'd heard legends of Wood Release, but seeing his poison rendered meaningless shook him to the core.
Tsunade clenched her fist and leapt from the dragon, plummeting like a meteor.
Utakata lashed out with all six tails.
BOOM!
They were knocked aside again.
His body flickered—vanishing.
Tsunade landed, the ground caving in beneath her feet.
Cracks spiderwebbed outward.
She snorted coldly, locked onto him, and gave chase.
Acid sprayed.
She accelerated, sidestepped, and kicked.
Utakata was launched across the battlefield, slamming into the earth and carving out another crater.
Tsunade followed relentlessly.
Her fist descended.
The impact threw dust skyward like a volcanic eruption.
"Granny Tsunade is terrifying…"
Naruto breathed.
She hadn't used fancy jutsu—only raw strength.
Crude. Absolute. Overwhelming.
And her opponent was the Six-Tails Jinchūriki.
"She's on another level," Sasuke muttered.
One punch like that would end him.
Fire Release. Lightning. Swordsmanship.
All meaningless in front of true power.
Longing flickered in his eyes.
One day…
A thunderous roar erupted.
Utakata's Chakra surged again—denser, darker.
The air screamed.
Tsunade felt the pressure and retreated instantly.
Utakata reared back, six tails thrashing.
The gathered Chakra compressed—turning pitch black.
"What… is that?"
Karin whispered, face drained of color.
"A Tailed Beast Ball," Naruto said grimly.
"The strongest technique of a Jinchūriki."
"My dad created the Rasengan by studying that," Naruto added quietly.
"Don't panic," Sasuke said, steadying Karin.
"With Sensei and the Hokage here, we're safe."
"Tsunade-sensei!"
Kitazawa called, already forming seals.
Tsunade didn't argue—she body flickered behind him instantly.
Even with Yang Release chakra mode, she was still human.
A tailed beast ball wasn't something she'd tank head-on.
Yang Release Chakra Mode!
Wood Release: Hobi!
Kitazawa clapped his hands.
A massive wooden shield shaped like a snarling demon face erupted before them, towering over Sasuke and the others.
Utakata unleashed the black sphere.
The Tailed Beast Ball slammed into the shield—and the world exploded.
A deafening roar tore through the valley.
Everything nearby was pulverized, swallowed by the shockwave.
Violent air currents howled outward, sweeping up dust, shattered rock, and debris, forming a towering mushroom cloud that blotted out the sky.
Inside the wooden shield, Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin instinctively huddled together.
They were standing at the very heart of a tailed beast ball's explosion.
The ground trembled.
The wooden shield groaned under the pressure, as if it might shatter at any moment.
Despite their absolute trust in Kitazawa, an instinctive sense of dread crept into their hearts.
Kitazawa activated his Byakugan at once.
His first concern was not the blast—but Utakata.
'Don't tell me he escaped…'
Fortunately, he hadn't.
After releasing the Tailed Beast Ball, Utakata lay collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath, his body barely moving.
Kitazawa understood immediately.
Using a Tailed Beast Ball while only in Partial Tailed Beast Transformation placed an enormous burden on the Jinchūriki.
Time passed.
The roaring winds died down.
The dust slowly settled.
Naruto and the others finally exhaled, realizing they were still alive.
Kitazawa formed hand seals and released Hobi.
The massive wooden shield opened, revealing the outside world.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin froze.
The valley… was gone.
Flattened.
Erased.
No trees. No grass. No flowers.
Nothing remained but scorched, ravaged earth stretching as far as the eye could see.
They had heard legends of the Tailed Beast Ball.
But witnessing it firsthand drove the truth home.
'This really could destroy the world.'
And yet—
"That was blocked…?"
Naruto whispered.
By Kitazawa alone.
Tsunade, however, showed no surprise.
She had once seen Senju Hashirama's Wood Release with her own eyes.
Snapping back to the present, she blurred forward and appeared before Utakata.
Her fist clenched.
Utakata had just expended everything he had.
Instinctively, he raised his six tails in defense.
It didn't matter.
The punch shattered through the tails and struck his body head-on.
The earth collapsed inward once more.
At point-blank range, Utakata felt as if a mountain had fallen on him.
His consciousness went dark.
"Done."
Tsunade clapped her hands together, satisfied.
After so long buried under paperwork, this fight had been… cathartic.
"Tsunade-sensei," Kitazawa said with a smile, "with your current strength, aside from the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails, no Jinchūriki can really threaten you."
Jinchūriki were terrifying—far beyond ordinary ninja.
But they weren't invincible.
Especially those who couldn't fully transform.
Throughout history, the Kage of the Five Great Villages had suppressed rampaging Tailed Beasts more than once.
The Nine-Tails was the exception.
Without Wood Release, Mangekyō Sharingan, or powerful sealing techniques, there was no real answer to it.
Fortunately—
Konoha now possessed all three.
"It's thanks to Yang Release Chakra Mode," Tsunade said, dispersing the mode.
Last time, facing Yagura without it had been far harder.
Today, Kitazawa had barely needed to intervene at all.
Aside from shielding them from the Tailed Beast Ball, the fight had been hers.
If she were alone, she wouldn't block a Tailed Beast Ball—but she could dodge it.
In other words—
She truly could defeat Utakata on her own.
"Granny Tsunade! Kitazawa-sensei! You're amazing!"
Naruto ran up excitedly, peering at the unconscious Utakata.
The crimson cloak of tailed beast chakra had vanished, leaving him looking like an ordinary ninja.
"You can do this too," Tsunade said, smiling as she placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"Partial tailed beast transformation. When we get back, have Kitazawa teach you."
"R-Really?!"
Naruto's eyes lit up.
Even though Utakata had been completely overpowered, the sheer boost in strength was undeniable.
Sasuke, who had just walked over, froze mid-step.
"…Naruto can do that?"
Karin turned pale.
"Wait—Naruto is a Jinchūriki?!"
"…Yeah."
Naruto glanced at Kitazawa, then nodded honestly.
"There's no point hiding it now."
Sasuke's mind went blank.
He finally understood what a Jinchūriki truly was.
He already struggled to beat Naruto without a transformation.
If Naruto gained a partial tailed beast transformation…
A chill ran through him.
'Will I ever catch up?'
[Current Mission: Help Uzumaki Naruto achieve Partial Tailed Beast Transformation.]
[Mission Reward: Increase chakra limit by 1/10th of Hashirama's.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa's eyes gleamed.
Nice.
Simple. Direct. Generous.
Though the trigger was… odd.
He'd already accepted the mission to make Naruto a perfect Jinchūriki.
Apparently, the system didn't mind handing out bonuses along the way.
"Of course it's true," Tsunade said reassuringly.
Jinchūriki weren't born knowing how to wield their beasts.
Kushina had learned from Mito.
Naruto should have learned from Jiraiya—but Jiraiya was rarely around.
Kitazawa, with wood release and sealing mastery, was the perfect teacher.
And the Nine-Tails rampaging under his watch?
Not a concern.
Sasuke clenched his fists.
A powerful sense of crisis surged within him.
Unknowingly, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated, spinning slowly, radiating dense Yin Chakra.
Tsunade glanced at him sharply.
'That spike in Yin Release…?'
Kitazawa blinked.
He could guess why.
Whether it was the pull of Indra and Ashura—or simply the protagonist's fate tightening—
He was about to speak—
When his brows twitched.
A group of masked Hidden Mist ANBU silently emerged from the shadows.
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