"Sage Mode!"
Mu's eyes darkened completely, pitch black filling the sclera in an instant.
At the same time, he created another clone, sending it into hiding to quietly gather natural energy as backup.
Caution was second nature to Mu.
Even with overwhelming odds in his favor, he always prepared contingencies.
If something went wrong, his clone could outlast his main body. Should the original fall, the clone would simply take over as the new body.
"Sage Art: Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
A jet-black cube of Dust Release flared to life, sweeping horizontally.
One of the Nine-Tails' massive tails was sheared off cleanly.
Mu's expression didn't change.
With mechanical efficiency, he sealed the severed tail into a scroll for safekeeping.
Then, slamming his palms together...
"Sage Art: Earth Style: Stone Column Spears!"
A colossal stone platform erupted beneath Kurama, launching the beast off-balance.
The anbu immediately moved to support.
"Earth Release: Planet Splitter!"
"Earth Release: Rising Rock Technique!"
Stone after stone crushed down on the Nine-Tails, only for the fox's malevolent chakra to surge violently, blasting the rock prison apart in a single pulse.
"Sage Art: Earth Release: Golem technique!"
From the shattered earth, a stone giant rose. Unlike Mu's previous constructs, this one bore streaks of black markings across its surface, radiating natural energy.
BOOM! BOOM!
The stone giant clasped its hands around Kurama's neck, forcing the beast down with brutal strength. Its rocky fists hammered down mercilessly.
BANG! BANG!
"Crush him into dust!" Mu's cold voice rang out.
Kurama snarled, jaws charging with condensed chakra.
A compressed Tailed Beast Bomb formed in its mouth, but the stone giant's massive hand seized it mid-formation, gripping the black sphere like a ball.
"Eat it."
Mu's voice was calm, but his killing intent pierced the battlefield.
The giant shoved the unstable orb directly against Kurama's face.
BOOOOOM!!!
The explosion detonated in a blinding flash.
A mushroom cloud bloomed upward, shaking mountains and leveling forests. Hills crumbled, trees were reduced to ash, and thirty elite anbu were flung into the sky by the shockwave.
"Earth Release: Mud Wall!"
From afar, Ōnoki frantically raised a series of walls to shield himself from the searing blast wind.
And high above the chaos, another set of eyes narrowed.
"Oh? So someone else had the same idea about capturing the Nine-Tails…"
A lone figure watched the mushroom cloud rise. His voice was low, his presence oppressive.
"…Good. Saves me the trouble of testing it myself."
It was Madara, newly departed from the village.
He had come seeking the strongest Tailed Beast as the first step in his new path. His original plan was to bend Kurama into becoming his personal summon, wielding its power as his own. With such a force, even Hashirama would not be beyond his reach.
And now, that familiar chakra… yes, he knew who this was.
"Hmph. Let's see who dares fight the Nine-Tails before me."
Madara's Mangekyō gleamed as he vanished in a flicker of speed, racing toward the battlefield.
Back at the heart of the fight, dust and smoke blanketed the valley.
When it finally cleared, the scene revealed two titans locked in primal combat, Mu's colossal earth golem pinning Kurama to the ground. The giant tugged mercilessly at the fox's ears, hammering its fists into Kurama's snout again and again.
BANG! BANG!
"Damn it, at least let me breathe!" the Nine-Tails howled.
But all it got in response was another bone-rattling flurry of blows, each one heavier than the last.
"Heh! Human, we Tailed Beasts rely on our monstrous bodies. Your fists don't even hurt!"
Kurama sneered, mocking Mu even as the earth giant rained blows down on him.
Mu's lips curled into a grin beneath his bandages.
'No pain…? Then that just makes you a practice dummy.'
The stone giant abruptly stopped pounding Kurama's face, and instead swung its massive fists lower, directly toward the fox's underbelly.
"Wait, WAIT! Not there! STOP!!"
Realization flashed across the Nine-Tails' eyes, its confident expression vanishing in a heartbeat.
Too late.
BAM!
The blow landed squarely.
Every hit drew another howl, the beast's pride crumbling with each humiliating strike.
The anbu could only stare, wide-eyed.
"My god… does Lord Mu have some personal grudge against this fox?"
"That… looked painful."
"Is he really torturing a Tailed Beast like this?"
"Confirmed.
Kurama thrashed violently, teeth bared, tails lashing, but the stone colossus pressed him harder into the dirt, fists mercilessly slamming down.
Mu's Sage Mode began to waver; the drain was catching up to him. He barked an order, voice sharp:
"What are you standing around for? MOVE!"
The anbu snapped from their daze, rushing in at once.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Several unrolled scrolls, conjuring massive wooden stakes, crafted long ago from Hashirama's Wood Release. They drove them deep into Kurama's tails and limbs.
At first the fox only scoffed. 'Stakes of wood? Against me?'
But the moment the wood pierced flesh, Kurama's mocking expression twisted in shock. The chakra in the restraints was suffocating, a perfect counter to his chakra. His power faltered, his body sluggish as if smothered under an invisible weight.
With roars of outrage, Kurama struggled, but the combined weight of stone, chains, and sealing tools dragged him down.
Mu exhaled heavily, relief flickering across his hidden face. His Sage Mode was nearly spent, but the beast was bound.
At last, the Nine-Tails was captured.
Ōnoki, eyes alight, rushed forward with unrestrained joy. "Congratulations, sensei! You've subdued the Nine-Tails!"
Mu only gave a faint smile, already focusing on condensing the fox's chakra.
The tension began to ease, until a slow, mocking clap cut through the air.
Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.
"Well, well. Interesting. Very interesting indeed. The insect I once dismissed has grown into something worth watching."
"Bandaged man… you've truly made me look at you in a new light."
The voice was deep, commanding, dripping with arrogance.
A figure materialized on the battlefield. His gaze was sharp, his aura suffocating, Madara Uchiha had arrived.
Mu's eyes snapped up, his face tightening.
'When...? How had I not sensed him?!'
He cursed inwardly, his focus on Kurama had left him blind to Madara's approach.
Ōnoki froze, eyes wide.
That face was unforgettable.
"Madara?! But why is he here? Wasn't he in Konoha?!"
SWISH!
The anbu instantly drew their blades, standing shoulder-to-shoulder.
"Identify yourself!" they shouted, steel pointed directly at him.
Madara's eyes narrowed with disdain.
"Begone."
With a single surge of chakra, his oppressive aura blasted outward like a storm, swatting the anbu aside like insects. Exhausted from the battle with Kurama, they had no chance of resisting.
"Earth Release: Gaint Fist Rock Technique!"
Mu's hands blurred through seals, summoning stone to catch the anbu before they slammed into the earth.
He growled, voice low and urgent.
"Fall back! All of you, leave this place immediately!"
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