Clatter.
Six black chains manifested out of thin air.
No origin.
No trajectory.
They simply appeared.
The dark sheen around them condensed almost into substance. Thick. Oppressive. Heavy.
Drip.
Drip.
Black droplets slid off the chains.
Each drop vanished the moment it fell—
As if swallowed by another dimension.
Kurama's heart skipped.
He instinctively stepped back half a pace.
His once-sleek crimson fur exploded outward.
Fluffed up.
The kitty was puffing.
"Haa—"
"Haa—"
"You! Stop! Stop! Not that! Not the chains!"
For the first time since stepping into the Valley of the End, Kurama sounded genuinely alarmed.
He had felt those chains before.
He had personally witnessed how Matatabi was bound by them.
He knew exactly how terrifying they were.
And now, outside the seal—fully manifested—he felt it even more clearly.
The sealing power carried by those black chains pressed down like an innate law of suppression.
His boiling chakra froze instantly.
Circulation stuttered.
Blocked.
"ROOOAR—!"
His roar this time carried more humiliation than fury.
"WAIT WAIT WAIT! This was supposed to be a spar! Why are you bringing that out?!"
He backed up frantically—
And with a splash—
Fell straight into the lake.
"Pfft—HAHAHAHAHA!"
In the distance, the small blue-black Two-Tails rolled across the ground laughing.
"Even Kurama gets disciplined by the chains!"
She laughed harder than when she had personally fought him.
This was brotherhood.
If one suffers, we all celebrate.
"…Ow."
She twitched.
Still hurt from earlier.
Still remembering what those chains felt like.
Her mismatched eyes glinted.
Then her small feline body slowly shifted—
Blue fur melting away—
Until Yugito Nii's tall, graceful figure stood in its place.
Slender.
Curved.
But her eyes were still Matatabi's.
She glanced down at the body thoughtfully.
"Humans like this kind of figure, right? Slim waist… nice curves…"
"…Maybe…"
Rip.
The already-torn clothing was pulled away entirely.
She adjusted her hair, posing awkwardly—
Deliberate.
Forced.
Trying very hard.
…
Kai rolled his eyes.
He had seen everything clearly.
But he had absolutely zero reaction.
He was barely ten.
Seduction?
Even if he had the will—
He didn't have the hardware.
He had known Matatabi followed them.
He simply hadn't cared.
In the future?
She'd just be another puffed-up kitty.
If she wanted to watch, let her watch.
What mattered was Kurama.
Kai shook his head, suppressing a laugh.
This scene felt like telling Yan Shuangying: "Let's fight—but you're not allowed to use guns."
"Interesting…"
He lowered his gaze toward the black chains still dripping dark chakra.
"Didn't expect the Senra Heart Chains to completely suppress a Tailed Beast like this."
The more he looked—
The more satisfied he became.
Simplified black rods?
Or perhaps…
Mutated ones.
At the same moment Kurama cried for mercy—
A system notification appeared in his mind.
[Defeated: Kurama. Attempting trait copy.]
[Available traits: Hatred Incubation (Black), Immortal Existence (Black), Tsundere Kitty (Black), Infinite Chakra (Gold), Instant Tailed Beast Bomb (Gold), Malice Detection (Purple)…]
[Copy successful. Congratulations, Host has obtained Legendary Trait: Instant Tailed Beast Bomb (Gold).]
[Effect: Instantly condense massive chakra into a Tailed Beast Bomb.]
"…Tailed Beast Bomb?"
Kai blinked.
That one was unexpected.
After all, forming a Tailed Beast Bomb required a 2:8 ratio of Yin and Yang Release chakra.
He only possessed unstable Yin chakra right now.
Whether it even counted as proper Yin Release was debatable.
As for Yang Release?
Wood Release vitality?
He glanced inward at his Wood Release cells—already refined to fifty percent purity.
Perhaps…
That counted as Yang.
His expression grew thoughtful.
"Orochimaru's Edo Tensei…"
"Even if it wasn't perfected yet, it was already capable of controlling corpses."
Otherwise, Hizashi's body wouldn't have been manipulated.
Which meant—
Sooner or later—
Orochimaru would come for the Third Hokage.
Kai stroked his chin.
"Killing one's teacher can't be justified."
"But… didn't Orochimaru cry when he killed him?"
In some twisted way, Orochimaru's invasion might have been a demonstration.
A proof.
His teacher had never acknowledged him.
The Hokage seat was denied to him.
He was expelled from Konoha.
That kind of fall from grace—
For someone like Orochimaru—
Was unbearable.
So he returned.
With imperfect Edo Tensei.
With the First and Second Hokage resurrected.
As if to say—
Look at what the student you cast out has become.
He hadn't expected Hiruzen to immediately use the Reaper Death Seal.
And seal his arms.
"…If that's the case, then the Raikage and Tsuchikage were probably stirred up by him."
"A vanguard force?"
Kai shook his head.
No need to overthink.
If the Third Hokage remained alive—
Orochimaru would come.
Sooner or later.
That was one reason Kai hadn't killed him.
A living Hiruzen had more value than a dead one.
As for schemes?
Kai didn't care.
In the face of absolute power—
Schemes looked pale.
Like leaking Konoha's terrain map.
There was no way the Raikage and Tsuchikage could penetrate this deep with just the Byakugan.
Turning slowly, Kai looked toward the distant village.
"…It's been a while."
"Time to pay you a visit."
"Third Hokage… old man."
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