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"Room."
"Scanning…"
The tiny pebble Wu Liuqi had turned into vanished in an instant and reappeared beside Sam, landing neatly in his palm.
"Huh?!"
The pair of eyes on the stone blinked in disbelief.
Wait… I made it? I actually survived?
"Ah—"
He didn't even have time to finish celebrating before he hit the ground butt-first.
"Ow—"
"President?"
!!! ∑(°Д°ノ)ノ
"Are you going to change back, or what?" Sam rolled his eyes. "You expect me to carry you around forever?"
Wu Liuqi: "Damn. Cold-blooded!"
"I can be cruel too, you know." Sam shot back lazily, then turned toward the humanoid mantis and broke into a grin. "Alright. My turn now!"
The moment Sam stepped in, everyone—Kurama included—visibly perked up.
Excitement!
Finally, no more getting smacked around!
Kurama might've looked like he still had plenty left in the tank, but the truth was his chakra reserves were running low.
Sure, he was known as the strongest Tailed Beast, the one with "limitless chakra," but that wasn't exactly true. He just had an absurdly massive pool and regenerated chakra ridiculously fast during battle. That's what gave people the illusion of infinity.
In the manga, when Naruto fought the real Uchiha Madara, he'd burned through all of Kurama's chakra. The poor fox had to refine more inside the seal while Naruto kept rushing him.
Now, with the spatial rift sealed—
"Your power source is cut off, isn't it?" Sam said cheerfully to the mantis.
Thick, oppressive chakra suddenly erupted from his body, swirling around him like a living storm.
The Demon Fox Cloak.
In a blink, nine chakra tails unfurled behind him, swaying and lashing through the air. One brushed the ground by accident and left a crater in its wake.
"Uh… I've watched Naruto," Wu Liuqi muttered, staring at Sam in confusion. "Was there ever a form like this?"
He couldn't be blamed for being confused.
In the Naruto world, the more tails Naruto unleashed, the more he resembled the Nine-Tails.
But Sam?
Even with all nine tails out, he barely changed. His canines were a little longer, sure, but that was about it. He looked closer to Naruto's one-tail cloak—except without the whisker marks.
"Wisdom King. Activate combat support mode."
"Yes."
Sam stomped the ground.
Boom.
He shot forward like a cannonball.
"???"
Wu Liuqi was blown clean off his feet by the shockwave alone.
Okay, I know I'm only Tier Three and kind of weak… but getting blasted away just from the wind of someone moving? That's excessive!
Clang—
A long, metallic ring echoed through the air.
Ice blades had formed in Sam's hands—condensed from pure frost magic—and now they were locked against the mantis's scythe-like forelegs.
Both weapons were harder than steel. The sound alone made that clear.
"Hey," Wu Liuqi suddenly appeared beside Kurama and Elsa at some point. "Should we just gang up on that ugly bug?"
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Feels like we could sneak it."
Kurama and Elsa: "…"
Ganging up on it? Morally speaking, sure, they didn't care. This wasn't a playground fight—there was no such thing as "playing fair" here.
But sneak it?
With Sam moving like that?
Maybe Kurama could still contribute something. But the rest of them?
They wouldn't even qualify as background extras.
"Let's wait," Elsa said after thinking it over. "If the President can't handle it, we'll jump in."
She paused, then added, "He's immortal, remember?"
"…Oh."
Wu Liuqi and Kurama froze.
Right.
The absurd, game-breaking prize Sam had pulled from the lottery not long ago.
With that kind of cheat-level stuff, they'd basically been worrying for nothing.
Off to the side, Liu Erlong watched Sam fight, her eyes slowly filling with admiration.
Strong. Handsome. Easygoing. Funny.
Absolute top-tier dream guy.
Meanwhile, Sam had no idea what was going on behind him. He was too busy having the time of his life.
As he blocked the mantis's scythe, the nine chakra tails behind him suddenly shot forward, wrapping tightly around the creature's bladed forelegs.
The mantis was over two meters tall, all muscle and menace—but Sam held it in place with nothing but raw strength.
"Big guy, you shouldn't go around swinging dangerous things like that."
The muscles in Sam's arms tensed, veins bulging like coiled dragons. The sheer force contained in them was almost ridiculous.
"So let me help you take them off!"
With that, he brought both ice blades down on the same point—
Crack!
The sound rang out sharp and clean.
With one explosive strike, one of the mantis's forelegs was severed.
A shrill, piercing screech erupted from its mouth, the shockwave rattling Sam's ears. He let go and leapt back—then casually tossed a Tailed Beast Bomb its way.
"Boom!"
Smoke and fire roared skyward.
"Room. Scan."
"....."