"Good," Arthur said. "Then I need to form a summoning contract now."
The Six Tails let out a surprised snort. "Summoning contract? Ya think ya can just call on me whenever, huh?"
"That's right," he confirmed, summoning an empty scroll from his pouch. "With a contract, we can work more efficiently. You'll also be able to lend your power when needed, and I can ensure your safety."
The Six-Tails considered this as its enormous head swayed back and forth. To it, Arthur was indeed a complex character. The idea alone of being readily available seemed slightly strange, almost domestic.
But the promise of safety—of not being used as a weapon—was a lure.
As such, it stretched out one of its long, slimy tentacles toward Arthur. A glowing ooze that was turquoise in colour then began dripping as he placed one open palm beneath the essence.
The sensation felt strange, like tingling electricity. But he gritted his teeth, enduring the momentary discomfort.
With his other hand, he unfurled the scroll and used the Six Tails' essence as a brush to inscribe a summoning sigil onto the surface.
As he finished the final stroke, he then channeled his chakra, performing the hand signs for a basic summoning technique. A faint blue light emanated from the inscription as the whole scroll glowed brightly in response before suddenly curling up and vanishing in a puff of smoke.
Poof!
Performing a summoning contract wasn't at all that difficult. And to be fair, only one shinobi in the Narutoverse had ever summoned a Tailed Beast without being a Jinchūriki. That shinobi was none other than Madara Uchiha.
Now Arthur had become the second.
"I hope ya don't summon me to the desert," the beast laughed.
Arthur ignored it to focus mentally before feeling a tingling sensation that spread through his body. No doubt, this was the formed connection between him and the Tailed Beast.
After the sensation ceased, it was undeniable that he could now summon the creature. Albeit at the cost of an excessive amount of chakra.
The Six-Tails, towering over him once again, rumbled a low, curious sound. It was clearly in need of attention after having just been ignored.
So Arthur addressed it directly in a firm voice. "Before I leave, it's important you understand that this whole island belongs to me."
The creature's massive head whipped around in surprise. Then it turned back to say, in a high-pitched laugh: "Haha! A child owns this whole place? Now that's somethin' I ain't expect!"
Arthur ignored the praise and continued in a serious tone, "I'm telling you this because I don't want you causing any trouble around the Water Country. Understand?"
The beast chuckled, practically causing his cells to vibrate. "Trouble? Me? Nah, Arthur. I ain't here to stir up any dust. Besides, causing trouble ain't exactly my cup of tea anymore. Not after ya freed me from my host."
"That's good to hear... This location," he said, surveying the land, "I picked it specifically for you. So you'll be free to roam anywhere around it as you please." He then pointed at a barren mountain. "Since this place belongs to me, it'll be officially closed off. No travelers, merchants, or solicitors will be allowed entry. And last I checked, slugs find rocky terrains pleasant to dwell in."
"So, ye're givin' me my own private island, huh? Now that ain't half bad. As long as nobody comes botherin' me, I'll be happy as a clam."
Arthur nodded. This specific island was far from the mainland. If the beast abided by the agreement, it wouldn't be disturbed. Neither would the likes of someone like an Akatsuki member be able to find it.
"Good…"
The Tailed Beast let out a low growl, a sound that could be interpreted as either agreement or contentment. Arthur wasn't entirely sure which.
Either way, it seemed joyous with the arrangement.
With a final glance at the hulking slug, he turned and wished the beast well.
"Hope to see ya soon, Arthur!"
Now when he was safely away, he considered a few things.
Something he had not told the Six Tails was that he was planning to go after the rest of its brothers and sisters. With or without it.
Like the Akatsuki, Arthur knew that to truly control the world, one needed a large abundance of chakra—enough that no one could stop. And the only thing that carried enough chakra to fulfill his dreams of destroying this world was the Ten-Tails.
Long ago, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki split the Ten-Tails' chakra into nine entities, the Tailed Beasts, to maintain peace. Unfortunately, men viewed them as monsters and sought to harness their power for themselves.
This ridiculous act led to a cycle of hatred and conflict, something Arthur himself would have never done.
The Tailed Beasts were eventually sealed within different hosts, now known as Jinchūriki. However, like enemy villages, the Akatsuki sought to capture all the Tailed Beasts for their own nefarious purposes.
This led to most of the Jinchūriki's eventual sacrifices within the span of three years from now.
Despite their suffering, the Tailed Beasts eventually found a glimmer of hope in Naruto Uzumaki because the main character treated them with respect and compassion.
Naruto's determination to understand and protect them led to a bond of trust and friendship.
While they were once feared and hated, all the beasts eventually found some form of peace and acceptance after the end of the war.
Some, like the Nine-Tails and the Eight-Tails, chose to stay with their respective Jinchūriki, while others returned to roam the ninja world freely.
It's important to note that the Tailed Beasts were not mindless monsters but rather intelligent beings with their own personalities and emotions. This was evident in seeing how the Six Tails interacted with Arthur.
The list of Tailed Beasts were as follows:
Shukaku, a one-tailed Japanese raccoon dog with sand-based abilities; Matatabi, a two-tailed flaming cat with fire-based abilities; Isobu, a three-tailed giant sea turtle with water-based abilities; Gokū, a four-armed, four-tailed monkey with lava-based abilities; Kokuō, a five-tailed horse with steam-based abilities; Saiken, the six-tailed slug with acidic-based abilities; Chōmei, a seven-winged insect with wind-based abilities; Gyūki, an eight-tailed octopus with ink-based abilities; Kurama, a nine-tailed fox with fire-based abilities; and finally, the Ten-Tails, the original and most powerful of all the Tailed Beasts.
How the Akatsuki were going to conquer the world was that they were going to revive the Ten-Tails by regenerating its form through the Gedo Statue, the husk of the Ten-Tails that remained after its chakra was separated from its body.
Only after several generations from their original creation, when Madara first awakened the Rinnegan, was he able to break the seal and summon the statue down to earth from the moon.
But what did all this have to do with Arthur?
Simply put, he was going to hunt down all the devils for himself.
And his next stop was going to be the Three-Tails.
Unlike the Six-Tails, the Three-Tails was known for its aggressive nature. Arthur wasn't positive if a friendly conversation and a summoning contract would suffice this time. So he would have to prepare for a fight.
✟
After returning to Wizened Town, he spent several days preparing.
What he had managed to create this time around was another charm. It wasn't much to look at—a simple pendant carved from smooth wood, etched with swirls.
Yet within its unassuming form lay the culmination of days of research and experimentation.
This charm held the key to his plan of subduing the Three-Tails. It was infused with a portion of the Six Tails' chakra, extracted, and carefully balanced with Arthur's own.
The first four attempts of making it had gone awry, resulting in either a useless trinket or an explosive mess that had left his hotel room smelling like burnt fish. But the fifth, thankfully, had been a success.
Those failures were a reminder of why he needed a laboratory in the first place.
Now that he had created the charm, he would use it to suppress the will of his most powerful reanimation, Minato Namikaze.
That would allow him to maintain control over Minato's immense power without needing to constantly resort to Sage Mode, significantly lessening the strain on his own chakra reserves.
Now was the time to set off for the Three-Tails.
His prior research had already pinpointed this beast's location: a remote crater lake hidden within a desolate expanse of another island.
It wasn't the only largest lake in the country; in fact, there were two. But unlike its benign counterpart, this lake he was headed to remained eerily deserted since it was a forbidden zone that the country's officials prohibited others from entering.
That alone told Arthur everything he needed to know.
✟
Some time later, Arthur found himself standing on a grassy hilltop close to the lake.
Using his Crimson Gaze, he scanned the area and confirmed the presence of a colossal chakra signature nestled deep within the murky depths. No doubt the Three-Tails slumbering peacefully.
'Summoning jutsu: reanimation…'
Arthur summoned Minato as the coffin emerged from the ground. Wasting no time, he then retrieved the charm and pressed it into the back of the corpse's skull.
A surge of chakra briefly flooded the area before he countered it with a sequence of hand signs, easily suppressing Minato's reawakening consciousness.
Swoosh!
Just like that, the former Kage had become a puppet once more.
The only problem now was that Arthur had little to no chakra left. But that hadn't mattered. Standing next to him was an unlimited supply of chakra. And not just from any ordinary character, but from the main character's very own father!
To display how much dominance he held, Arthur channeled a surge of chakra into Minato. The body stiffened, and then the familiar golden aura of the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode engulfed Minato.
This mode was a powerful transformation accessible to those who had all or part of the Nine-Tails sealed within them. Minato had acquired it after sealing half of the Nine-Tails' chakra within him before his death.
Now he was Arthur's plaything.
And from what he remembered, users in this mode gained increased strength, speed, and durability. The chakra cloak itself also acted as a protective barrier, shielding them from harm.
Additionally, they could manifest chakra arms for enhanced combat versatility, sense negative emotions, and even release a force that promoted growth in plants.
While it seemed cool, using this mode came with risks. For instance, the Nine-Tails might attempt to drain the user's chakra, potentially leading to the user's death.
Arthur didn't need to worry about this happening since Minato had an unlimited supply of chakra. No matter how much the Nine-Tails drained, it would remain in its cage.
Arthur soon caused a wave of the beasts' chakra to erupt from Minato, spreading outwards and disturbing the stillness of the lake. Deep within the waters, a tremour ran through to the surface as the Three-Tails jolted from its slumber.
Arthur stood tall, arms crossed, seeing the beast's massive back almost break the surface.
Slowly, he began drawing in natural energy.
However, as he waited for the behemoth to emerge, a jarring sensation prickled at the edges of his perception. It was coming from Minato's senses, which Arthur could feel.
Curiosity piqued, so he stopped his gathering and focused his Crimson Gaze to probe the source.
He tried to find it, but he couldn't locate any chakra signatures except the Three-Tails'. But through Minato, he felt an emotional type of feeling being picked up by the reanimated body's Nine-Tails-enhanced senses.
It was a feeling of malice, of disbelief—a not-so-friendly emotion.
Arthur stopped trying to scan for chakra signatures and instead used Kekkei Genkai to visually see exactly where Minato's senses led him. As he narrowed his gaze, he finally saw two approaching figures walking side-by-side.
They were Jasper and Alice!