The sight of the fully transformed Gyūki made Qianyu's blood sing. This… this was his specialty!
Qianyu clapped his hands. Chains of chakra erupted from his body, instantly thickening to the width of an arm. Before the Eight-Tails' bewildered eyes, they wove into a sky-binding net, coiling tightly around its massive form.
"This is…?!"
The Eight-Tails stared at the chains, suspicion and alarm flashing in its eyes.
"Graaaahhh!"
It flexed its corded, muscular arms, struggling with all its might. Yet its monstrous strength, usually unstoppable, couldn't budge the seemingly slender chains.
The Adamantine Sealing Chains were just insanely powerful. In the original story, even a severely weakened Kushina had used them to pin down the Nine-Tails. Now, under the chains' suppression, Gyūki's movements grew sluggish. Even gathering its chakra became a laborious effort.
"Whoa, look at those muscles. I really want to carve off a big chunk and take it home."
Qianyu stared at the bound, tentacled beast—no, cough—he stared at the Eight-Tails struggling desperately, his eyes sparkling. He was practically drooling.
"Hey, Gyūki! Be my partner!"
To avoid a sudden Tailed Beast Bomb to the face, Qianyu manipulated the chains and dashed behind the beast. He shouted, channeling his inner Monkey D. Luffy.
"Don't even dream of it, you damned brat! You were just insulting me!"
Gyūki planted its eight tails firmly into the ground, resisting the chains' pull. It barely managed to turn its head and roar at Qianyu.
Saying it was inferior to the Nine-Tails was one thing. Saying it wasn't even fit to polish the One-Tail's sandals… What tailed beast could endure such humiliation? Bastard!
"I was just trying to provoke you out! Seriously!"
He offered a quick excuse and started painting a rosy picture. "If you submit to me, I'll treat you right! I'll let you out for walks often! We'll join forces, strong together. The entire shinobi world will be our playground!"
"Sneaky brat, you think I'd ever—"
"Wind Style: Rasengan Shuriken!"
While Gyūki was roaring, Qianyu had already leaped into the air. In his hand, a shuriken of violently rotating wind shrieked with a piercing noise. He aimed straight for the beast's neck.
The beast faced him head-on, likely charging a Tailed Beast Bomb. He had to strike first!
This technique…!!
Gyūki's eyes widened. As the Rasenshuriken closed in, a primal sense of danger screamed in its mind.
If that hit landed, it could actually get hurt. Maybe even crippled.
And then, it would truly have no strength left to resist these damn chains.
A choice has to be made!
To survive extreme situations, Gyūki possessed a unique ability: severing its tails to escape. Using the severed tails to transfer its consciousness was an instinct even the Adamantine Chains couldn't lock down.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
With a series of muffled explosions, all eight of Gyūki's tails burst apart.
As its body shrank drastically and the chains' grip loosened, the severed tentacles sprayed mucus from their suckers. Using the recoil, they slipped slickly out of the chains and shot off in different directions.
"Shit! Lock them down!"
Qianyu abandoned the Rasenshuriken, halting his charge. He frantically manipulated the nearest chains, twisting and coiling to block the scattering tentacles.
Clatter—
With reflexes honed by years of singlehood, Qianyu successfully snagged three fleeing tentacles.
The other five got away.
He could only watch, dumbfounded, as they sprouted little legs and hopped away into the distance.
"This ox-octopus… is one sly bastard."
Qianyu glanced back at the "Gyūki" still struggling in his chains.
He knew it wasn't the real deal. Just a tentacle. It would revert soon enough. He'd seen this plot. Team Taka went through all that trouble "beachcombing" and only got a piece of octopus. The Akatsuki probably laughed about it for two and a half years.
"Dammit. Even knowing it was coming, I couldn't stop it."
Qianyu felt a wave of exhaustion.
Adamantine Sealing Chains were bullshit. Why hadn't anyone developed an Adamantine Net? Just scoop the tailed beast up!
Even the Mangekyō Sharingan couldn't see through Gyūki's "clone technique." So Qianyu had no idea if the real consciousness was in the three caught tentacles or the five that escaped.
In that moment of hesitation, the five runaways vanished from sight.
Qianyu estimated the caught portion held nearly half of Gyūki's total chakra. He still had to focus to keep the chains tight, unsure if the struggles were just "instinct" or something more.
Now he had two choices.
Cut his losses and take what he had. Or chase the five scattered tentacles. Either way, he might let the real Gyūki slip away.
"Ah, whatever. Getting half the Eight-Tails' chakra isn't bad."
Qianyu sighed, finally choosing the meat already in his mouth. Deep down, he knew the real Gyūki was probably in one of the escapees.
Swoosh.
Time passed. The "Gyūki's" struggles grew weaker and weaker. Pulled by the chains, it finally condensed into a dense ball of chakra and flowed into Qianyu's body.
"Yeah, definitely not the main body."
Qianyu shook his head. Using his understanding of the Four Symbols Seal from last time, he created his own "Qianyu Edition" inside himself, a space to house this massive influx of Eight-Tails chakra.
"Let's see…"
Qianyu focused inward, into his mental seal space. Floating there quietly were four octopus tentacles.
In terms of raw chakra volume, it was indeed about half of the Eight-Tails' total.
Because they possessed a certain "Eight-Tails structure," this chakra would also regenerate when used.
But being incomplete, the recovery speed would be painfully slow. Probably less than a tenth of the original.
"Screw it, at least I got half its chakra. As a backup battery, these four tentacles are more than enough," Qianyu consoled himself.
With his Senju-Uchiha heritage, his chakra reserves grew daily. Now, with half the Eight-Tails added, he'd probably never experience Kakashi's blue-bar blues in this lifetime.
"Hmm. This trip wasn't a total waste. This thing is way better than some stupid Dark Release, right?"
The thought cheered him up considerably.
"If I meet a tailed beast, I'll just… pluck a few tails off it. If I keep doing that, I probably won't be weaker than any real Jinchūriki. Not even the Nine-Tails'!"
(Shukaku: Thanks, I feel attacked.)
Of course, that required his own strength to grow enough to suppress all that gathered chakra.
"Also… if I mix chakra from all the tailed beasts inside me… would a mini Ten-Tails form? Would I become… the Ten-Tails Pseudo-Jinchūriki?!"
Food had to be eaten bite by bite. Though his imagination was running wild, for now, he was just a small-time "Pseudo-Jinchūriki."
"Enough daydreaming. Gotta meet up with Nawaki and the others before they worry themselves sick."
Qianyu unleashed a barrage of random jutsu on the battlefield to cover the traces of his fight with the Eight-Tails. Then, he activated his Dance of the Shikigami again, transforming into a streak of white light. He shot back towards base at a speed far greater than when he came.
What could he say? Having tons of chakra meant he could do whatever he wanted.
"Still need to figure out how to mask this sudden chakra surge inside me. Or some perceptive sensor-nin might notice."
Qianyu fell into thought. On the way back, he'd have to do some research. Maybe he could build a better seal using the Four Symbols as a base. If not, just layer more seals. Quantity could force a quality change.
He had the chakra to spare. No big deal.
…
After flying for a while, Qianyu first linked up with the six-man squad waiting at the rally point. On the way back to the outpost, they gradually met up with Nawaki and the others.
"Qianyu! Are you okay?!"
The moment he saw Qianyu, Nawaki lunged forward, his face full of worry. He started patting Qianyu down, checking for injuries.
Only after confirming Qianyu was fine did Nawaki exhale in relief. "The messenger monkey said you found Kyōfū. Where is he? And… you took care of the enemies?"
"Kyōfū… didn't make it. I brought his body back."
Qianyu took out a scroll from his cloak with a sigh. "It was Kumo Anbu. I killed three. One slippery bastard got away."
Qianyu was actually lamenting the escaped Eight-Tails.
But Nawaki and the others thought he was grieving for his fallen comrade. They stepped forward, patting his shoulder with solemn understanding. Qianyu was confused.
Wait… you all know I let the Eight-Tails get away?!
"What a shame. After reading his file, I really admired the guy." Nawaki shook his head, then looked at Qianyu with equal regret. "And what a shame for you too, Qianyu. I'll remember you as a good brother."
Qianyu: "???"
"The hell? What are you talking about?" Qianyu scowled. "Nawaki, what's that supposed to mean? Sounds like you think I'm dead too!"
"Close enough," Nawaki said with a sidelong glance. "Let me ask you… where's the necklace my sis gave you?"
(òwó?)! Oh shit?!
Qianyu's breath hitched. He remembered the necklace, crushed in his hand when Gyūki broke free. His voice trembled. "I-It got broken during the fight with the Kumo Anbu. C-Can't blame me for that, right?"
Nawaki patted his shoulder again, his eyes full of pity. "That's not for me to say. You can explain it to my sis yourself when we get back. See if she forgives you."
"It was left by the First Hokage. She treasures that thing. And you broke it. Tsk tsk!"
Even knowing Nawaki was messing with him, Qianyu felt genuine panic rising.
Nonō watched from the side, glancing between Nawaki and Qianyu. She remained silent, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"Alright, alright, I'm joking. My sis has such a good temper. She definitely won't do anything to you." Nawaki burst out laughing. "Besides, even if she tries, I've got your back, brother! Let's go. Mission's done. Back to Konoha~"
"Wait. Where's Elder Kosuke?"
"Uh… forgot about him. Well… want to send someone to tell him?"
"Obviously!"
…
Meanwhile, at a bounty station in the southern Land of Waterfalls.
A tall figure emerged from the building. Looking at the latest bounty list in his hand, a rare ripple of emotion passed through his usually calm, jade-green eyes.
"The Land of Fire seems to have many valuable targets lately. A trip there might be necessary," the figure murmured to himself.
He tucked the list into his cloak, glanced at a map, and began walking towards the Land of Fire.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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