Hearing those words, Senju Itama, whose mind was already elsewhere, didn't even glance over—she simply tossed the jar on her back toward Uchiha Gin and dashed like a runaway colt straight toward the tailed beasts.
"Hey hey hey! Be careful!"
Catching the Amber Purification Bottle, Gin craned his neck and shouted after the wild Itama,
"My turtle! My precious turtle~"
It was obvious she didn't hear a single word he said. The next moment, her little fists clenched, Itama sprinted with incredible speed toward Isobu, who was cowering in a corner of the battlefield, shivering inside his shell.
"Sigh~ this girl's not even that young anymore, but she still acts like a child."
Watching her retreating back, Gin sighed like a worried old father. He then lowered his head toward the Amber Purification Bottle, trying to channel his chakra into it.
But after quite a while, the jar only absorbed—it never responded, happily devouring everything without so much as a burp of acknowledgment.
Feels like I'm getting scammed here. No way—nobody takes advantage of me, not even a ninja tool!
"Tsk~ let's try this instead."
Gin's eyes narrowed, and a different kind of chakra hidden within his body began to flow into the jar. This chakra, a swirl of many colors, was feedback he'd gained from the massage chair he'd gifted to Ōtsutsuki Hamura.
It wasn't much in quantity, but in quality—it was top-tier. The moment the Amber Purification Bottle tasted it, it suddenly became obedient, even sending back a friendly pulse, signaling that Gin could store whatever he wanted inside without worrying about those rules made to fool the Hagoromo clan.
"Ne, Chiri-nee! Can I be the one to subdue the turtle?"
In three quick strides, Itama hopped onto the head of the Nibi Matatabi, who was currently being suppressed by Uchiha Chiri as she also kept the Yonbi and Nanabi in check. Her big black eyes were full of hope.
"Hm? Itama, are you sure you can handle it?"
Chiri, fighting at full power for the first time, had a faint flush on her normally cold face, making her look more alluring than usual. She turned to glance at the eager, red-eyed girl, her voice carrying a hint of concern.
"Daijoubu! Mondai nai!"
Itama puffed out her impressive chest, rolled up her sleeves, and flexed her pale, delicate little biceps with unshakable confidence.
"Fine~ go play, but don't get hurt."
Simultaneously suppressing three tailed beasts with her Mangekyō was no small strain on Chiri. Letting out a slow breath, she gave Itama a fond, almost indulgent smile and nodded.
"Yatta!"
Before her voice had even faded, Itama was gone in a blur.
Chiri turned back and, in the corner of her eye, caught sight of Uchiha Hikari manipulating the Hachibi to batter the Gobi and Rokubi. An odd sense of frustration welled up in her chest.
In her eyes, Hikari hadn't even used Susanoo—just her dōjutsu alone had been enough to defeat the strongest of the tailed beasts, the Hachibi. And now she was controlling it with ease, letting it fight the others while she sat cross-legged nearby, wearing a smug smile like she was watching a beetle fight.
"So this is the 'gap' Gin-sensei was talking about…"
Chiri's hand went to her slightly sore eyes as she remembered Gin's words.
It had been shortly after she'd awakened her Mangekyō. She'd been overusing her eyes in training, and Gin had caught her in the act, delivering a long lecture before giving her a second gift.
"Chiri, wear this pendant—or you'll go blind fast."
"Blind? But I've seen Hikari-senpai use hers plenty and she's fine."
She'd accepted the blue pendant with a smile, but couldn't hide her curiosity.
"You're not the same. To be exact, your eyes aren't the same."
"What, there are ranks between Mangekyō now?"
The moment she put the pendant on, a warm flow had surged through her. Her chakra recovered rapidly, and the ache in her eyes faded.
"Mangekyō do have differences. Hikari's eyes are the Eternal type—no side effects."
Gin had patted her head to stop her from overthinking.
"The tech isn't ready yet, but when the time's right, I'll get you a pair too~"
…
Meanwhile, the battlefield was a mess of acid, tentacles, and insults between the tailed beasts. The stench rising from the Rokubi's secretions made even Hikari wrinkle her nose in disgust.
"Tch, too smelly. I was going to play longer."
She leapt lightly onto the Hachibi's head and ordered it to release its captives. The Gobi and Rokubi, now docile under her gaze, followed her obediently toward Gin.
…
On the other side, Itama landed before Isobu, rapping her knuckles on his hard shell.
Bang bang bang~
"Turtle, are you okay?"
Isobu groaned under the impact. Deciding there was no point resisting when the others had already fallen, he poked his head out.
"Roar! Damn human, kill me if you want!"
He glared, waiting for the inevitable hypnosis—but none came. Instead, the girl kept patting and inspecting his shell with obvious delight.
"…Wait. You're not an Indra descendant?"
Through his senses, he realized she didn't have the red eyes of the Sharingan. A flicker of hope lit in his chest.
"Die, then!"
His massive claw came down like a shadow—but Itama simply looked up, puzzled.
"Eh? That's your way of saying hello?"
With a resounding boom, his paw struck home. Isobu let out a triumphant laugh—only to realize something was moving beneath it.
"You shaking hands with me? So obedient!"
Her cheerful voice drifted up from under his claw.
Impossible! No human could survive that. Yet before he could process it, her small hands gripped his paw—and with terrifying force, she flipped the massive turtle onto his back.
Dust exploded everywhere.
"You're way too enthusiastic, turtle!"
Standing on his belly, covered in dirt but smiling sweetly, she introduced herself.
"I'm Itama. Wanna be friends?"
That familiar, warm aura made Isobu freeze.
"You… you're an Asura descendant!"
Memories of being bullied millennia ago by the deceptively sweet younger son of the Sage of Six Paths hit him all at once. So he'd still fallen into the brothers' hands after all…
…
After she'd flipped him back over, Itama rode him proudly toward Gin, while Hikari muttered under her breath about never sparring with her in taijutsu.
…
"All right, what's next, Gin?" Hikari asked when they'd gathered, seven tailed beasts in tow.
Gin hopped down from the jar lid, smiling. "Remember who gave me this? The Kinkaku brothers—Six Paths treasure, Amber Purification Bottle."
He explained its function briefly.
"You gonna seal them inside?" Chiri asked, frowning.
"Nope, just taking a tiny bit of chakra for research." Gin held up his pinky.
At that, Isobu's eye narrowed. "Hah! If you think you can trap me with that, keep dreaming!"
"Oh? You think I can't?" Gin smirked.
Even when Gin called his name, Isobu clamped his jaw shut, determined not to answer and trigger the jar's sealing.
"Switch—Chiri, bring me the Nibi."
Under Chiri's control, Matatabi was sucked in without resistance. One by one, the others followed—Yonbi, Gobi, Rokubi, Nanabi, and Hachibi—until only Isobu remained.
Gin smiled warmly. "So, will you cut it yourself, or join your friends inside?"
Isobu wilted. "…Fine, I'll give you a piece. No one wants to go into the little black room."
"Good, I'll make it painless."
But when Gin pulled out a sleek black wooden blade, Isobu froze, trembling.
"Calling everything 'six' will only hurt you," Gin said meaningfully, testing the blade's edge in the air before adding casually, "Got this on Pingsisi—free shipping and return insurance."
(End of Chapter)
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