After swiftly crossing the sea surface, Haseo's feet once again touched the continent. At this point, their group had arrived at the opposite side of the Land of Hot Springs.
Then, Haseo instinctively reached up and covered his forehead.
"It's nothing serious," Haseo said. "My clone's gone — the chakra I left behind was used up faster than expected... but there's nothing we can do about it. After all, our opponents are elite Kumo ninja."
Shikou noticed his strange expression and asked, "Lord Haseo, what happened?"
"It was a decent effort. We managed to stall them for half an hour, though we didn't manage to take down any of the Kumo squad," Haseo replied.
Haseo was the type of ninja who had an advantage in speed. Once he decided to avoid direct confrontation while constantly harassing the enemy, he became extremely annoying to deal with. The Cloud ninja had to remain fully vigilant against him — because if they showed even a moment of carelessness, he really would strike.
From Kumo's perspective, the recent engagement had been quite frustrating. Haseo kept hiding and popping up unexpectedly, darting around unpredictably, while Kumo had to devote full attention to protecting the Sealing Team.
At times, Haseo would display unwavering determination to eliminate the Sealing Team at all costs.
Thanks to this constant harassment, Haseo's shadow clone had managed to annoy them nonstop for thirty minutes. If not for the clone's chakra being completely drained, making it impossible to maintain high-speed Lightning Release any longer, the distraction could have lasted even longer.
The only pity was that Haseo never got to see the expressions on the Cloud ninja's faces when they realized their opponent had merely been a clone. He could only imagine how priceless those looks must have been.
"Lord Haseo, gaining half an hour has already been enough," Shikou remarked.
Haseo nodded and said, "I understand. Now let's get everything ready — the Two-Tails will arrive soon. We need to hurry. We're not just being chased by Kumo ninja from behind; soon, samurai from the Land of Iron will come after us too."
Under normal circumstances, ninja weren't allowed to step foot into the Land of Iron. Fortunately, Haseo wasn't exactly a normal person, so he didn't have to worry about ordinary rules.
Earlier, he'd heard rumors that samurai in the Land of Iron were beginning to use chakra. This might mean that the once-isolated nation was undergoing a revival process. If samurai started using chakra en masse, then the distinction between them and ninja would boil down to differences in combat style alone.
Therefore, the Land of Iron also represented a variable factor. Once they detected the tailed beast's intrusion, they certainly wouldn't ignore it.
Shikou nodded and pulled out the scroll, signaling that it was ready for immediate use.
Mokkō stood side by side with Haseo, while the remaining four Uzumaki shinobi unfastened the scrolls from their backs, unfolding the long scrolls and spreading them across the ground.
Hardly had they finished preparing when the silhouette of the Two-Tails appeared above the sea surface. In the blink of an eye, it had arrived before the group.
"Everyone else scatter! Mokkō, get ready!"
As Haseo's words fell, everyone immediately stepped aside, and Mokko gave a nod.
Then, Two-Tails' massive form began to slow down as it emerged onto land step by step.
Standing side by side with Mokko, Haseo watched as Two-Tails approached them closely. It even leaned its giant head slightly toward him...
A tremendous pressure descended upon them.
However, surprisingly, the once ferocious Two-Tails didn't immediately attack—it actually spoke hesitantly: "Why...?"
It clearly addressed Haseo, yet in Haseo's mind, beasts like this shouldn't be able to speak. So he acted first, saying, "Attack!"
In an instant, an immense surge of chakra radiated from Mokko. The special hair dye that had suppressed her natural color faded away, revealing vivid red hair.
Marked by this blood-like crimson hue, for a moment, it seemed as though her chakra could rival that of a tailed beast.
Silvery chains burst forth from behind Mokko, flowing like her own hair made solid. They sliced through rock and earth in rhythmic waves, soaring into the air and diving into the sea, wrapping Two-Tails in an instant.
Previously focused entirely on Haseo, Two-Tails hadn't expected that the young girl beside him would be the real trump card.
"You are... one of the Uzumaki...?"
The Kongo Sealing Chains not only restrained physically but also suppressed tailed beast chakra. At this moment, Two-Tails found itself both immobilized and experiencing disrupted chakra flow.
Tailed beasts used chakra too recklessly; if they could control it as precisely as a trained ninja like Hashirama, each one would be his equal—but they simply couldn't.
One reason why jinchuriki were considered stronger than tailed beasts was exactly this: the jinchuriki acted as a true vessel for the chakra being, while humans overall wielded chakra with greater precision than the beasts themselves.
"Lord Haseo, quickly—it's starting to resist!"
Mokko had restrained Two-Tails, let's face it—she wasn't Mito Uzumaki.
Thankfully, Two-Tails wasn't Nine-Tails either.
The four Uzumaki shinobi didn't wait for Haseo's command—they started forming hand seals immediately. Then, the four open scrolls floated upward like ribbons, glowing with ancient sigils that wrapped around the beast.
Realizing the danger, Two-Tails finally understood this wasn't the time to chat with Haseo—escaping the seal should now be its priority. Although bound, that didn't prevent it from launching a Tailed Beast Ball.
Bound by the Adamantine Sealing Chains, Mokko stood motionless, helpless as the energy ball slowly gathered right before her eyes.
If Mokko came under attack and the Kongo chain binding broke, things would become very complicated afterward.
Haseo took a determined step forward, formed seals, and soon a dark brown chakra cloak flared around him—he had activated the Earth Release Chakra Mode.
Provoked by this chakra, Two-Tails thrashed violently.
But at that moment, Haseo positioned himself directly beneath the beast. Haseo lifted his leg and, channeling maximum strength and chakra, delivered a powerful kick to Two-Tails' front paw, as thick as a pillar.
The brutal impact sent waves of pain through Two-Tails, causing it to let out a furious roar. Under such pressure, the Tailed Beast Ball it had been forming dispersed into nothingness… If tailed beasts could break a bone, Two-Tails just got itself one hell of a fracture.
Its body tilted sideways, its head crashing down toward Haseo's side, though its hind legs still barely supported its weight.
Yet in the next instant, Haseo finished forming the hand seals.
[Ninjutsu: Summoning Jutsu]
Katsuyu's massive form materialized in midair directly above Two-Tails before crashing down with incredible force.
The giant white worm crushed the navy-blue cat straight into the ground. Honestly, the sight was brutal—so much so that it became hard to tell which was the tailed beast and which was the summoned creature.
Even for Katsuyu, being this close to a tailed beast meant exposure to its corrosive chakra—but she wasn't going down without a fight. Her underbelly kept secreting acidic fluid, splashing it all over Two-Tails like some kind of deadly sauce. At this point, it was unclear who was corroding whom.
Wrapped in a Chakra Cloak, Haseo reached out with both hands to hold Two-Tails' head down and shouted, "Shikou, now's your chance!"
Konoha only had one Red and White Ball to work with, but for sealing a divine beast like this? That should be more than enough.
How do we describe this moment?
Through fire or flood, across fields and forests,
underground or up in the clouds—even where no one would dare look—
though it might get seriously crazy out there,
I'll still claim my prize—no matter what!
Pokémon style—catch it if you can!
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