When everyone saw Arata moving toward the Nine-Tails, a wave of fear rippled through the crowd. After all, that was the Nine-Tails Fox. Even though it was bound by Lightning Release, not a single refugee dared to approach the slumbering beast.
At this moment, Uzumaki Yūki finally realized that within this strange space there were not only the hundreds of thousands of refugees Arata had rescued, but also that colossal Nine-Tails Fox.
And now, after a period of unconsciousness, the Nine-Tails had fully regained awareness.
It was struggling—subtly at first, then more deliberately—clearly trying to break free from Arata's lightning restraints.
Looking closely, Yūki discovered that Arata was continuously subjecting the Nine-Tails to terrifying lightning strikes, using sustained damage to prevent it from recovering its mobility.
What shocked him even more was the lightning itself—its form and toughness were astonishing. It was hard to even think of this lightning as the same unruly Lightning Release chakra that most shinobi struggled to control.
Otherwise, with the Nine-Tails' sheer physical power, even the peak of the shinobi world in taijutsu—the Third Raikage—would have struggled to match it in raw strength.
Yet here it was, completely suppressed by Arata's lightning, unable to move even an inch—reduced to nothing but futile struggle.
Seeing this, Uzumaki Yūki couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"Arata-sama truly is extraordinary. To think that even the Nine-Tails can be subdued so thoroughly. I'd only ever heard that Wood Style could control the Nine-Tails—who would have imagined Lightning Release could do the same?"
This wasn't flattery. It was genuine awe. Such mastery over Lightning Release was something he had never seen in his life—nor even read about in any historical records of the shinobi world.
Arata waved his hand dismissively.
"Enough of that. Are you confident you can seal the Nine-Tails? Kushina should be suitable—she shouldn't have any problems becoming its jinchūriki."
By now, the Nine-Tails was fully conscious. The moment Arata approached, it recognized him immediately.
If Uchiha Madara had been its lifelong nightmare, then Arata had become its newest one.
The relentless lightning bombardment earlier had nearly roasted it alive. If it hadn't desperately refined chakra to heal itself, it would have lost half its life in that short span alone.
Because of this, the Nine-Tails already harbored deep hatred toward Arata.
And during the earlier battle, Arata had shown absolutely no mercy. His third-gear Lightning Armor had slashed the Nine-Tails multiple times, even severing several of its tails. If it hadn't regenerated them with chakra, it would have ended up like Gyūki—missing body parts for no clear reason.
Seeing Arata again now, its rage boiled over.
"Arata! You bastard! Come here—let me kill you!"
Yūki considered himself well-versed in tailed beasts, but this was the first time he had ever seen one speak human language so clearly while fully manifested and conscious.
Historically, tailed beasts despised humans from the depths of their hearts, often to the point of refusing to speak their language at all.
They had their own means of communication, so to human ears, the Nine-Tails had always been nothing more than incoherent, monstrous roars. Who had ever heard it speak like this?
In this era, the number of people who knew the Nine-Tails could speak was likely limited to Uzumaki Mito, Senju Hashirama, and Uchiha Madara.
The Nine-Tails' presence was overwhelming. Even under Arata's control, the murderous intent it released in that instant made Yūki tremble.
That sinister, overwhelming chakra overflowed violently, forcing Yūki to stagger back several steps, terrified that a single mistake might get him killed on the spot.
Only Arata showed no fear whatsoever in the face of the Nine-Tails' threat. Instead, a faint smile tugged at his lips.
"Looks like you've already forgotten your lesson from just now. Want me to discipline you again?"
Kurama was already enraged, and hearing this only made it roar even louder, its defiance unmistakable.
At the same time, the lightning filaments restraining it began to show signs of weakening. After all, Lightning Release wasn't a true sealing technique—there were limits to what it could do.
At the Nine-Tails' furious roar, Yūki struggled to remain calm. He trusted that Arata would intervene if needed, but he was still so shaken he could barely speak.
The refugees farther away fared even worse. At that single roar, many dropped to the ground and covered their ears, afraid they'd be deafened outright.
Seeing Kurama's arrogance, even after everything it had been through, Arata couldn't help but feel a trace of admiration.
After being electrocuted repeatedly, then drained dry under Madara's control and battered by Arata until not a shred of chakra remained—it still dared to resist.
The Nine-Tails' strength might only be at the super-Kage level, but its pride was undeniably formidable.
But Arata had no intention of indulging it.
He raised his right hand and pointed straight at the Nine-Tails.
"If you lie down right now, I'll pretend none of this ever happened."
The moment Arata pointed at it, the Nine-Tails instinctively shrank its neck back, as if recalling something deeply unpleasant.
And who could blame it? Earlier, after being wrapped in lightning threads, Arata had unleashed a point-blank discharge in exactly that same posture.
That strike had taught the Nine-Tails what true agony meant. Lightning couldn't destroy its physical body outright, so it was forced into an endless cycle of injury and regeneration—again and again—until its consciousness finally collapsed.
That pain was far worse than being struck by lightning as a human. A human would lose consciousness almost instantly; the pain would last only a moment.
For the Nine-Tails, it never stopped.
Seeing its reaction, Arata chuckled softly. So the Nine-Tails could feel fear after all.
Still, he could tell it was close to breaking free of the lightning restraints.
With a flick of his hand, a lifelike lightning dragon shot forth. This one was smaller than before, its head only about ten meters wide—but the moment it appeared, it wrapped tightly around the Nine-Tails.
This was one of Arata's highest-tier techniques, far tougher and more destructive than the lightning filaments alone.
With this in place, even if the Nine-Tails didn't die, it would lose at least half its strength—while remaining under continuous control and constant electrocution.
Sure enough, a moment later, a miserable howl rang out.
Though it was still a beast's roar, the agony in it was unmistakable.
Even the civilians couldn't help feeling pity. They never imagined that the Nine-Tails Fox—once a terror that shook the entire shinobi world—could be reduced to something like a helpless fox cub, bullied so thoroughly by Arata.
Turning back, Arata asked Uzumaki Yūki once more,
"Well? Are you confident you can seal it?"
Still stunned by what he had just witnessed, Yūki nodded almost reflexively.
"If it can be restrained this firmly… then yes. I should be able to seal the Nine-Tails."
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