"Huh? I'm not that kind of person!"
Hashirama was baffled by Tobirama's move. Someone as straightforward as him would never bring fakes. What was Tobirama doing?
"Taking a look wouldn't hurt."
Byakuren, however, picked up on Tobirama's words.
Seeing this, the other Kage all nodded. Although they didn't believe Hashirama would deceive them about such a thing, since someone had brought it up, there was no harm in looking.
And so, everyone took out the sealed scrolls they had put away and prepared to break the seals.
"Wait. Although the Tailed Beasts are sealed, their physical size is still considerable. If all seven are released at once, this house might not hold them. It's better to do it one by one."
Tobirama glanced around the room and spoke.
A nodded and released the Two-Tails first.
The Two-Tails, occupying nearly half the hall, showed no movement or violent chakra fluctuations upon appearing because its body was entwined with countless wooden bindings—Hashirama's Wood Release.
"A double seal?"
Reto, who had some knowledge of sealing techniques, couldn't help but click his tongue in surprise. He knew that if Tobirama was confident enough to release the Tailed Beasts in front of everyone, he must have prepared for their subsequent sealing. He hadn't expected it to be this kind of double seal.
Tch. Byakuren was disdainful. He felt he understood Tobirama's intention. Wasn't this move just showing off Konoha's sealing techniques?
While Kirigakure didn't possess any powerful sealing techniques and couldn't perform a double seal, they weren't so incompetent that they couldn't seal a Tailed Beast. Thinking this, after A finished inspecting the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, Byakuren released the Three-Tails and Six-Tails.
Naturally, the Three-Tails and Six-Tails also showed no issues. Hashirama's seals were so sturdy that even the Six-Tails' corrosive slime couldn't seep out.
Next, Ishikawa also checked the seals on the Four-Tails and Five-Tails. All were genuine Tailed Beasts.
When it was Ruri's turn, he felt something was amiss. When the other Tailed Beasts were being checked, everyone's attention was on the scrolls and the beasts. Now, while the others were still focused there, Tobirama's gaze seemed to be fixed on him.
In the original story, Tobirama was never shown to have a wife or children; only Hashirama left descendants. Could it be...?
A chill ran down Ruri's spine. He shook his head slightly, trying to dispel the thought.
The Seven-Tails, Chōmei, resembled a fusion of a beetle and a dragonfly, with wings on its back, making it one of the few flying Tailed Beasts.
Watching Ruri take out the seal scroll marked with "Seven," Hashirama seemed to remember something.
"Oh no!"
But it was too late. When Ruri released the Seven-Tails, it wasn't restrained by Wood Release like the previous beasts. Its massive chakra wantonly proclaimed its power!
The Seven-Tails was the last one Hashirama captured. With the Five Kage Summit approaching, and since he never intended to give the Seven-Tails to one of the Five Great Nations, he had sealed it directly into the scroll without the Wood Release binding, planning to add the double seal after the summit before sending it to the Land of Waterfall as a gesture to the smaller nations.
But who could have predicted that Ruri would arrive at the summit as the Takikage and forcefully turn the Five Kage Summit into a Six Kage Summit? During the distribution, Hashirama only thought it would be convenient to distribute it all at once and earn some extra money, forgetting that the Seven-Tails' seal was incomplete.
"Wood Release—"
Hashirama formed hand seals, ready to use Wood Release to restrain the Seven-Tails. He could handle a newly freed Tailed Beast with one move. However, Tobirama stopped him.
"Big Brother, doesn't the Takikage also know Wood Release?"
Tobirama's words made Hashirama stop. He still wasn't entirely clear about the origin of Wood Release. If Ruri truly knew Wood Release, the newly freed Seven-Tails wouldn't pose much trouble for him.
Moreover, Ruri had released it himself. As one of the Six Kage, he had his own dignity. He would certainly prefer to handle it himself rather than accept help.
Ruri saw Tobirama stopping Hashirama. He understood; Tobirama wanted to test his Wood Release.
After all, Wood Release had a suppressive effect on Tailed Beasts. Unless there was a better option, using Wood Release to subdue a Tailed Beast was the obvious choice.
But damn it, my Wood Release can only build houses! Ruri fell into thought. The Seven-Tails was instinctively flying upward. The house was genuinely made by Wood Release and had some suppressive effect on Tailed Beast chakra, so the Seven-Tails couldn't immediately break through the walls and escape. But given time, it would find a weakness. Ruri had to act quickly.
A Tailed Beast was equivalent to a Kage in strength. But Ruri's only effective attack against a Tailed Beast was the Truth-Seeking Ball. Attacks like the Rasengan or Chidori might work on other Kage, but they couldn't even pierce a Tailed Beast's defense. The Rasenshuriken might work, but he couldn't use it.
The Rasenshuriken caused severe damage to the arm. Ruri didn't know Sage Mode and naturally couldn't throw it, so he would definitely get injured.
And since he had used Wood Release: Four-Pillar House Technique in front of everyone, leading them to believe he knew Wood Release, if he chose to get injured now rather than use Wood Release to suppress the Tailed Beast, they would surely become suspicious.
But the problem was, should Ruri use Wood Release to build another house for the Seven-Tails to live in? Damn it, it can't deal any damage!
[Congratulations, Host, on gaining the recognition of the Five Kage and successfully participating in the Six Kage Summit. Reward has been issued. Please check, Host.]
The system lived up to its status as a protagonist-level cheat! The reward came at the perfect time!
Ruri almost felt like kneeling down and calling the system 'lord'. He instantly opened the system space, only to find it empty except for the Truth-Seeking Ball.
Tobirama, who had been observing Ruri closely, detected a faint spatial fluctuation but couldn't discern its nature.
My reward? Where is it????
Dammit, where's the reward to save the scene?
[The reward has been delivered directly to the host's mind. Please check yourself.]
Huh? Not giving an item this time? Ruri instinctively thought about it and found a sealing technique suddenly present in his mind.
[Phantom Dragons Nine Sealing Formation]
What use is this thing to me? It requires at least ten people to use and the Gedo Statue as a vessel. This sealing technique is powerful, but it has too many restrictions. It's on a completely different level from the Truth-Seeking Ball, right?
[The Phantom Dragons Nine Sealing Formation has been modified by the system. Any object can be used as a vessel. Chakra at the Jōnin level is sufficient to seal the chakra of a wild Tailed Beast into a vessel. Even extracting chakra from a Jinchūriki only requires Elite Jōnin level proficiency~]
There's a modified version? Would the system reward a modified version of the Harem Technique in the future? That sounds exciting!
Ahem, back on topic. The Phantom Dragons Nine Sealing Formation was specifically designed for sealing Tailed Beasts. After modification, it no longer had strict requirements on the number of users or a specific vessel, definitely ranking among the top sealing techniques.
Moreover, its chakra requirement wasn't high. In terms of practicality, it really wasn't much worse than a single Truth-Seeking Ball. Of course, as Ruri grew stronger, a mere sealing technique couldn't compare to the Truth-Seeking Ball.
But in the current situation, the modified Phantom Dragons Nine Sealing Formation was much more useful than the Truth-Seeking Ball. Ruri was facing the Seven-Tails. The Truth-Seeking Ball could kill it, but he needed to bring the Seven-Tails back to the village to bolster their military strength.
So, restraining and sealing the Seven-Tails would be very difficult with just one Truth-Seeking Ball. Plus, his remaining chakra wasn't enough to sustain the Truth-Seeking Ball for long.
Time waited for no one. The other five Kage all wanted to see Ruri's Wood Release. According to their logic, Wood Release countered Tailed Beasts. Against a newly freed, weakened Tailed Beast, Wood Release should suffice. It would also let them see what Ruri looked like when he seriously acted.
Especially Tobirama, who had orchestrated this. He didn't believe there could be such a powerful person in the world—mastering Space-Time Ninjutsu and Wood Release? Wasn't that almost on par with his big brother? How could such a person have been so unknown before?
And there was another point he dared not voice: Wood Release wasn't necessarily only obtainable through a Kekkei Genkai. He had conducted considerable private research and had even theorized about bloodline transplantation and human experimentation.
Others might not think of this, but he could. Perhaps this Amemiya Ruri had obtained Hashirama's cells through some means, and acquiring Wood Release ability after transplanting them was a possibility.
Everyone had their own thoughts, but Ruri didn't give them time to ponder. He rapidly gathered chakra. "Phantom Dragons Nine Sealing Formation!"