Night, at Naruto's house.
Inside the Sealed Space.
Kurama opened its eyes and saw Shinji standing in front of it with a smiling expression.
It rolled its eyes and snorted, "Kid, what are you doing here again?"
"Nothing, I just think you're living quite comfortably."
Shinji still had a smiling expression, but his eyes glanced at Gyuki, who was grooming Kurama's tails.
Good heavens, has he finally suppressed this part of Eight-Tails's Chakra?
Gyuki naturally noticed Shinji's gaze, snorted, and continued to groom Kurama's tails.
If it weren't for Shinji, would it be subjected to Kurama's bullying like this?
"Hey, sensei, Kurama is practically lying flat now. He's either sleeping or bullying Gyuki." Naruto, standing nearby, slyly told Shinji.
He knew Kurama was most afraid of his sensei. Lately, he tried to chat with Kurama, but Kurama ignored him, so he had to tattle.
Shinji smiled bitterly. Kurama was trapped in the Sealed Space, what else could he do but lie around?
He patted Naruto's head, then looked at Kurama again and said, "Kurama, I'm bringing you an acquaintance—no, I'm bringing you a Tailed Beast."
Kurama looked bewildered. What did he mean, bringing a Tailed Beast?
Still confused, Kurama's eyes widened the next moment as a sphere wrapped in Yin Chakra appeared in Shinji's hand.
"Chomei?"
Even Gyuki stopped grooming, it's eyes fixed on the Chakra sphere in Shinji's hand.
Shinji ignored the dumbfounded Kurama and Gyuki. He lightly tossed the Chakra sphere into the cage.
Pop—
With the release of the Yin Chakra, the Chakra sphere exploded. The next moment, a Seven Tails, only a third of Kurama's size, appeared in the Sealed Space.
"Oh my god!"
"Huh? Is that a beetle?"
Chomei's appearance made Kurama's already cramped cage even more crowded.
Meanwhile, Naruto outside looked at the so-called Seven-Tails with curiosity. Seeing it was a beetle, he showed a hint of disgust. After all, Seven-Tails did look a bit unsightly.
"Are you trying to kill me, kid?!" Kurama roared at Shinji.
The sudden appearance of Seven-Tails had squeezed him to the side.
Shinji stroked his chin. No wonder Mimi was so heartbroken. It turned out that Seven-Tails had been cut so much.
With Seven-Tails entering, it did look very narrow.
However, Shinji stopped before he could do anything.
Because the Sealed Space in front of him seemed to have grown a little larger. Even Kurama looked around in surprise.
"Huh? Why did the cage suddenly get bigger?"
Naruto looked around in confusion. Even the space had expanded considerably and no longer looked like before. The entire style suddenly gained a touch of brightness and vibrancy.
"Alright, since it's resolved, there's nothing to worry about." Shinji shrugged.
Minato's seal actually had such a function.
Saying that, he led Naruto aside and began to tell him what needed to be done next.
Meanwhile, Kurama glanced at Chomei, and then resumed the process of subduing it to make it it's subordinate.
As for why Shinji brought it in...
This matter had already been discussed when Gyuki was brought in. Kurama's attitude towards it was neither opposition nor approval.
Shinji wasn't interested in knowing what Kurama thought. It was just a tsundere.
Ultimately, it was up to Naruto and the Tailed Beasts themselves to achieve this. Shinji's role was to help Naruto learn to control them beforehand.
Soon, Shinji exited the Sealed Space.
He looked around at everything and nodded.
Naruto's place wasn't messy anymore, at least the room looked well-kept.
"Sensei!"
As soon as Naruto opened his eyes, he called out to Shinji.
"How is it, Naruto? Do you feel any weakening in your Chakra control?"
This time, throwing in Seven-Tails was different from Eight-Tails. Given the amount of Chakra, Shinji had to confirm it.
Naruto raised a finger, concentrated, and sensed for a moment. "No, sensei, it's still the same."
"That's good." Shinji nodded.
As long as it didn't disrupt Naruto's own development, it was fine.
"Alright, it's getting late. Get some rest early."
After giving his instructions, Shinji got up and left.
—
Land of Rivers, inside an underground base.
Pain stood on Gedo Statue's giant finger. The other Akatsuki members stood in various positions, their gazes directed at the two figures slowly materializing.
"Hiruko, Shinno, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki has been taken. Explain."
Shinno, who was questioned, first glanced at the silent Hiruko beside him, then faced Pain, who was watching them, and said, "Leader, the mission to capture the Jinchuriki did encounter trouble, but—"
Saying that, Shinno bowed slightly and suddenly channeled Chakra. Instantly, his projection became distorted, and a dark red Tailed Beast Chakra erupted.
"The mission to acquire Five-Tails's Chakra has actually been completed."
"Wow. He actually absorbed the Tailed Beast's Chakra." The White Zetsu part of Zetsu spoke.
Pain's eyes narrowed. As someone who could control the Gedo Statue, he naturally knew that this Chakra was indeed from Five-Tails.
Hiruko, who had been silent for a long time, spoke in a calm tone, "During this mission, Konoha's Jiraiya and Shinji and Kumogakure and Kirigakure both dispatched their elite forces, clearly aware of our movements."
"Shinno was forced to absorb Five-Tails's core Chakra first, which was the optimal solution under the circumstances."
Pain didn't respond, his gaze returning to Shinno, his meaning clear.
Shinno said with an unchanging expression, "Leader can rest assured, this portion of Chakra can be released, and both of us are on our way back."
This was a decision he and Hiruko had discussed together.
Although losing this portion of Chakra was somewhat painful for Shinno, his Zero-Tails absorption had already reached saturation, and continuing to contain this Chakra wouldn't benefit him much.
It was better to hand it over to Akatsuki, considering it a completed mission, and then he could use this to access other Tailed Beast Chakra later.
"Oh? It seems that people with special containers aren't entirely useless, after all."
Itachi, across from him, heard this and glanced at Obito's figure, but said nothing.
Pain was silent for a moment, his Rinnegan scanning the Chakra fluctuations on Shinno's body.
After a long pause, he said, "What the organization needs is the Tailed Beast Chakra itself. Whether it's feasible depends on whether the Gedo Statue will accept this power."
Saying that, Pain slowly raised his hand, and one of the Gedo Statue's closed eyes seemed to glow faintly.
Seeing this, everyone present knew it was feasible.
"Shinno, Hiruko, return with Five-Tails's Chakra as soon as possible."