"No! Don't come near me!"
Isobu, terrified by just a glance from Uchiha Gin, was so shaken he couldn't speak for a long while. Staring at the man slowly walking toward him, he looked like a wide-eyed fool caught cheating.
Gin didn't bother replying. With a single slash of the black wooden blade in his hand, Isobu's thick tail parted like soft tofu—half of it falling cleanly away.
"Ahhh!!!"
The pain made Isobu roar. It was a soul-cutting agony he had only felt once—at his birth. He had never imagined he'd taste it again after a thousand years.
Ugh… this is worse than the little black room…
Even severed, the tail still twitched on the ground, writhing as if it were alive. Gin's curiosity sparked. Activating his heightened perception, he examined it closely—only for his eyes to flash in surprise.
The Sage's Heart Sword could not only cut a tailed beast's chakra, but also retain part of its soul—similar to the Uzumaki clan's Shiki Fūjin effect.
On a whim, Gin picked up the still-moving tail and tossed it into the Amber Purification Bottle.
"Huh? How can you seal it without calling its name?"
Isobu, rolling on the ground in pain, was momentarily distracted by shock. He'd only ever seen that trick from the old man himself—how could this seemingly ordinary human also do it?
"I never said I had to call your name."
Gin smirked, patting the blade in his hand before turning back toward the stunned turtle.
"Aminosu!"
Isobu: mentally broken.
"All right, this big turtle's done."
Ignoring the beast's rage, Gin signaled the girls.
"Got it."
Uchiha Chiri's Mangekyō flared, and Isobu went completely docile. Gin gave his student an approving smile before turning to the bottle, peering inside at the roaring beasts.
"Your illusions got undone?"
"…Yeah. The moment they went in, my chakra link broke."
Hikari, arms crossed, frowned in mild irritation. Thinking Gin might be disappointed, she offered, "Want me to do it again?"
"No, no. You've fought long enough. Time for tea. I'll handle the rest."
Gin ruffled her hair with a gentle smile, then reassured Chiri as well.
Itama, rummaging through their luggage for snacks, chimed in, "Don't worry, Chiri-nee. This curly-haired baboon never fights unprepared."
Then she froze, glaring. "Hey! Where's my big box of red bean cakes?"
"What red bean cakes? Never heard of 'em. Must've lost them on the road." Gin's face was deadly serious—but the red smear at the corner of his mouth said otherwise.
"That at your mouth—don't tell me that's…!"
Itama: fully enraged.
"How can you slander me without proof?" Gin tried to wipe the evidence away—only for half a cake to tumble from his sleeve.
The group fell silent, staring.
"Gin! Didn't the doctor tell you—" Hikari's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Honestly, Sensei…" Chiri sighed with the exasperation of a doting disciple.
"I'm being framed!" Gin declared dramatically, eyes wet.
"Ha! Like I'd believe—" Itama started, but Gin cut her off.
"Hold that thought—I'll be right back."
With a sudden spring, he dove headfirst into the bottle, leaving only a reassuring gesture behind.
"…Hmph! Good thing I had a backup stash." Itama smugly pulled a scroll from her bag's lining—revealing a hotpot set.
"…Itama, you brought a hotpot?"
"Just answer—are we eating or not?"
"Eat!" x2
…
Inside the bottle, Gin found it surprisingly well-lit and not at all uncomfortable—though there was an odd smell, like pickled vegetables.
Soon, the six sealed beasts appeared—Hachibi at the front, snorting steam. "So even you humans betray your own kind, huh?"
"You all seem… familiar with this place?" Gin asked, already guessing the truth.
"Of course. We're regulars here."
"Feels just like coming home~"
He pieced it together: the jar had probably started as a food container for the Sage's kitchen—later repurposed to store beasts and troublemakers.
"Wait—where's Isobu?"
Following Matatabi's nose, they found the severed tail twitching in a corner.
"Isobu! You died so miserably!" Hachibi wailed.
"Don't worry—he'll respawn eventually," Kokuō reassured.
"But to leave his soul clinging to a tail like this… he must've suffered horribly," Son Gokū sighed.
"Human! Do you know who did this?" Hachibi demanded.
"Uh… I think I did." Gin scratched his head sheepishly.
The others froze—then bared their teeth, surrounding him.
"You? Just you?" Son Gokū scoffed.
"Not just him—that weapon!" Matatabi's eyes went wide at the sight of the black blade. "That's the old man's!"
"Isobu was killed by that thing!" Kokuō trembled.
Even Hachibi looked rattled. The Sage's Amenonuhoko—Heart Sword—couldn't be wielded without its own will approving you. Not even the Sage's sons had managed it.
"Don't look at me like that—it's legally mine."
Gin's eyes bled red as three tomoe spun into existence. A cold, suffocating aura filled the space.
"Even if he has the weapon, his eyes can't—" Hachibi began, but Gin's tomoe spun faster, collapsing into a single point.
"You ready to feel my wrath?"
"Wait—"
"Tsukuyomi."
The world shifted. A shallow lake. A crimson moon rising. The beasts froze in place, unable to move, as Gin approached—blade in hand, wearing a dark smile.
"What are you—no, don't—!"
…
In the outside world, the tailed beasts stood motionless, calm. Inside, they endured seventy-two hours of Gin's "customized" chainsaw massage.
When it ended, they collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
"Too weak…" Gin sighed, disappointed. He'd barely started.
Unaware that they were already mentally battered from Chiri's genjutsu and Hikari's Tsukuyomi earlier, he chalked it up to low resistance.
"Well, time for business."
With swift, practiced slashes, he severed each beast's tail in turn, piling them up neatly. The Heart Sword hummed in satisfaction.
"Not bad." Gin patted it with a grin. "All right—let's get out of here."
A ripple opened above him, sucking him out—straight into the smell of simmering broth.
"You're eating hotpot without me?"
"Red bean cakes are off-limits, now hotpot too?" Itama retorted around a mouthful of tofu.
"…Did it work?" Hikari asked.
"Don't worry—it's all handled." Gin sat down, spotting an empty seat.
"Sensei, please use mine~" Chiri slid her bowl toward him, eyes shining.
"Thanks, Chiri." Gin picked up her used chopsticks without hesitation—
"Curly-haired baboon! Those are my chopsticks!" Itama shrieked.
(End of Chapter)
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