Chương 182: Chapter 182: Nine-Tails Chakra Mode!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As they spoke, several of Yin Kurama's tails whipped out, and a Tailed Beast Bomb quickly began to form in his mouth.
Clang!
The Fire Nether Chains emerged from the ground in response to Shūichi's will, wrapping tightly around Yin Kurama's limbs, torso, and every tail.
Then, in a flash, Shūichi appeared above the Nine-Tails' head, his entire body surrounded by crackling lightning—he had activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Boom!
With a powerful punch, he smashed Kurama's head into the ground, dispersing the Tailed Beast Bomb entirely.
By this point, Shūichi's three shadow clones had completed their jutsu:
Scorch Release: Rasenshuriken!
Lava Release: Rasenshuriken!
Magnet Release: Rasenshuriken!
"What…?"
Yin Kurama looked on in shock.
"Kurama, did I forget to mention? Although I'm a student of Minato-sensei, I was the one who developed the Rasenshuriken technique!"
With that, Shūichi disappeared from the top of the Nine-Tails' head.
The next moment, the Magnet Release: Rasenshuriken whirled toward Kurama, striking him and unleashing magnetic energy that paralyzed him entirely.
Following this, the Lava Release and Scorch Release Rasenshurikens hit him, shattering his defenses and causing his chakra to pour out.
Seizing the opportunity, Shūichi pulled hard, draining Kurama's chakra.
Seeing this, Shukaku huffed, "This guy's gotten even stronger!"
"But damn, the fox is really having it rough!"
---
"Damn it…"
Kurama was furious, watching as Shūichi easily siphoned away his chakra. He had clearly underestimated him.
"But don't think you can just take my power that easily!"
Kurama sneered, and a wave of malice surged through his chakra toward Shūichi.
Yet, he quickly realized that his malice had no effect on Shūichi at all.
"How… is this possible?"
Kurama was stunned.
Seeing Kurama's reaction, the Four-Tails, recalling his own previous experience with Shūichi, felt somewhat consoled and remarked, "Kurama, don't waste your energy. This guy has a mind like no other."
"He's unusually clear-headed and can face the entirety of himself, good and bad."
"If we're talking about malice, this guy has plenty of it buried in his heart—no less than us."
Shukaku roared with laughter, taunting, "Stupid fox, you're pathetic! You couldn't even last thirty seconds, and you call yourself the strongest tailed beast."
Kurama's anger surged. "You two idiots! Shouldn't we be working together to take this guy down?"
Still lying there lazily, Shukaku replied, "I have no interest in teaming up with an arrogant blowhard like you."
"Besides, taking him down just means someone else will seal us in their gut. If we become part of the Ten-Tails, we're in real trouble. This place isn't so bad."
The Four-Tails added, "You'll get used to it, Kurama."
"If what this guy says is true, you'll understand—it's safer here."
"There's no way we can resist the power of the Sharingan and the Rinnegan!"
Kurama fumed in frustration. These two had no fighting spirit!
At this point, the effects of the Rasenshurikens had worn off, and the Nine-Tails, now regaining control, immediately stopped leaking his chakra.
Even so, he had grown visibly thinner.
Observing this, Shūichi couldn't help but be impressed. "As expected of the strongest tailed beast. Even with just half of him, his chakra is greater than the entirety of the Eight-Tails'."
When he had extracted chakra from Shukaku, it had shrunk him, while Kurama had only slimmed down.
Furthermore, this chakra he had just stolen was far greater than what Shukaku and the Four-Tails had in their complete forms.
It was clear just how massive the chakra reserves of the full Nine-Tails would be.
Of course, this was raw power—chakra alone.
It didn't guarantee absolute strength, though in terms of battle, Kurama was indeed likely the strongest among the tailed beasts.
And from Kurama's power, Shūichi could gauge how absurdly strong Hashirama Senju must have been.
"It's pretty clear now that, as a whole, the Nine-Tails' power surpasses the combined power of all other eight tailed beasts."
Shūichi reflected, "Right now, I'm about on par with Shukaku. If I keep training, I'll probably be on the same level as the Four-Tails once I reach adulthood."
"But there's still a long way to go to catch up to Kurama. I need to keep improving my physique!"
"With a few more boosts, I could reach the Nine-Tails' level in no time."
"Plus, consuming the flesh of tailed beasts could also strengthen my body…"
With his body compatibility trait and the [Devourer] tag, Shūichi had opened up a world of new possibilities.
He re-sealed Yin Kurama without further comment and disappeared.
---
In the Sealed Chamber, Shūichi Opened His Eyes.
In the next instant, a golden Nine-Tails Chakra cloak enveloped his body.
Nine-Tails Chakra Mode!
Shūichi rose to his feet, examining himself.
Around his collar were six tomoe markings, while a black curse seal extended from his torso down to each hand and shoulder.
Further down, a spiral pattern resembling an inverted bell adorned his abdomen, symbolizing the Eight Trigrams Seal.
This was where the Nine-Tails' chakra flowed from, and the black seal lines represented the chakra pathways.
It was identical to the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode he remembered Naruto using.
"Truly impressive!"
After inspecting himself, Shūichi focused on feeling the power of this form.
"It's on par with Sage Mode, yet different from other tailed beast forms."
"The Nine-Tails' chakra really is distinct from the other tailed beasts."
Shūichi began to contemplate.
He typically had two ways to use Shukaku, Four-Tails, and Eight-Tails' chakra.
First, he could convert it into his own stamina via the Eight Trigrams Seal, replenishing his chakra.
Second, he could use it directly to perform jutsu, with tailed beast chakra functioning as such.
But the Nine-Tails' chakra was different!
"The Nine-Tails chakra I absorbed has seamlessly integrated with my own chakra, making it as easy to control as if it were mine, yet retaining the quality of Nine-Tails' chakra."
"My chakra quality is already high, but it's still not at Nine-Tails' level; that difference enhances all aspects of my abilities."
"The strength of the tailed beasts lies not only in their immense chakra but in the unique quality of that chakra!"
Shūichi's understanding deepened further. "From One-Tail to Nine-Tails, the more tails, the closer they get to Ten-Tails' power."
"And the Ten-Tails' power originates from natural energy."
"That's why Nine-Tails Chakra Mode is comparable to Sage Mode; the former harmonizes with my chakra, while the latter fuses natural energy with my physical and spiritual power. Different paths, similar results."
With a solemn expression, Shūichi reflected, "So, natural energy is truly the ultimate path."
"The way of the Sage… the Sage himself!"
"The path of the Sage could even reach, or surpass, the Ten-Tails."
"But even to become someone like Gamamaru or the Snake Sage, relying solely on Sage Mode isn't enough."
Though no clear path lay before him, Shūichi had two potential directions.
The first was to leverage his physical compatibility, strengthening his body toward that of a tailed beast by consuming tailed beast flesh and gaining the ability to absorb natural energy directly to recover stamina.
Previously, he had relied on transformation jutsu to take on a tailed beast form for this.
The second was Sage Transformation!
That is, directly absorbing natural energy into his cells, rather than merely refining it into Senjutsu chakra.
However, just by its nature, Sage Mode couldn't extend lifespan.
At this thought, Shūichi considered, "Maybe I should meet Gamamaru…"
But he quickly dismissed the idea. "No rush. No need to hurry."
"Though Jūgo—he should be born around this time, right?"
---
After much contemplation, Shūichi deactivated the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
He differed from Naruto; when Naruto used the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, Kurama would absorb his chakra whenever he wasn't actively using his own chakra.
But Shūichi had the Fire Nether Chains restraining Kurama even more tightly, sealing Yin Kurama's very mind and consciousness, so there was no chance for him to absorb Shūichi's chakra.
This completely avoided the one weakness of Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
Such was the strength of advanced sealing jutsu!
Naturally, this didn't interfere with Shūichi's use of Sage Mode, let alone his Bijuu Mark.
"My current strength," he mused, "should fall somewhere between Naruto's Sage of the Six Paths Mode and Nine-Tails Chakra Mode."
"As for actual combat power… hard to say."
Battle strength isn't simply a matter of chakra reserves; otherwise, he, Minato-sensei, and Kushina wouldn't have struggled against the Nine-Tails.
Exiting the chamber, Shūichi entered a specialized lab for cultivating tailed beast cells, took out the Nine-Tails' severed tail from a scroll, and began the process.
First, he sliced a portion for cell cultivation.
Then plucked some fur.
And finally, ate it raw!
Crunch! Crunch!
Hm, it's quite chewy.
With three quick bites, he swallowed it all, feeling his entire body ignite like a furnace.
Shūichi returned to the sealed chamber, and soon, boom! the Nine-Tails chakra burst from within him, covering him in a shroud of crimson chakra as waves of malice washed over him.
Unperturbed, Shūichi calmly observed as his body adapted, bit by bit, to the Nine-Tails' power, gradually merging with it.
In other words, he was harmonizing with the Nine-Tails' genes!
The process took far longer than when he had consumed the flesh of the Eight-Tails or the Four-Tails.
By the time he completed the fusion, night had fallen outside.
As the merging concluded, the tailed beast chakra surrounding Shūichi shifted, and the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode re-emerged.
"Body compatibility is truly a blessing!"
Shūichi felt immense satisfaction.
It was a wholly different experience from Kinkaku and Ginkaku; they too had consumed the Nine-Tails' flesh, yet they had failed to achieve the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
Meanwhile, in the seal, Yin Kurama sensed Shūichi's transformation, shocked beyond words. "This guy… how?"
"He actually managed to fully integrate and adapt to my power."
The Four-Tails, by now unsurprised, commented, "Don't be too shocked. His constitution is like no other; he's already mastered the powers of me and the Eight-Tails using the same method."
"If it weren't for Shukaku's sand body, he'd have managed that, too."
"So, when he said he preferred power he could control freely, he meant it."
Yin Kurama fell silent, reluctantly acknowledging that Shūichi was unlike any ninja he'd ever known.
---
Deactivating Nine-Tails Chakra Mode once more, Shūichi stretched his body: "My physical strength has improved again, and this boost is even greater than when I consumed the flesh of the Eight-Tails or the Four-Tails."
"This is practically more astonishing than a 100% boost to my physique!"
Shūichi was both surprised and delighted.
To match the Nine-Tails, even surpass it—seemed only a matter of time!
Filled with excitement, he left the chamber, and in the hallway, he spotted Tsunade stretching, her graceful curves a sight to behold.
Sensing his gaze, Tsunade turned. "Oh, you're here too?"
Shūichi stepped forward. "Running some experiments with the Nine-Tails."
"The Nine-Tails!"
Tsunade's eyes sharpened. "Has it been split already?"
Shūichi grinned. "Yes, everything went smoothly."
"We can now study the cells of the Nine-Tails. Its vitality rivals that of the First Hokage!"
Intrigued, Tsunade decided to drop by and take a look after dinner.
The two left the lab, walking under the starlight to the bustling streets of Konoha.
Shūichi invited her, "How about dinner at my place? I'll call for Shizune."
Tsunade firmly shook her head. "Too impolite without prior notice."
"Besides, Shizune has probably eaten by now."
Shūichi thought for a moment. "Next time, then!"
Tsunade hesitated slightly, knowing that Nonō Yakushi and Asuka's cooking was truly superb.
But…she glanced at Shūichi, gave a faint huff, then waved her hand and entered a nearby place to eat.
"We'll see about next time!"
Failure!
Shūichi chuckled and instantly teleported home.
The smell of delicious food filled the air, and the dining table was set with an array of dishes.
"Nothing beats the feeling of being home…"
Shūichi felt genuinely happy.
At that moment, Asuka peeked her head out of the kitchen, smiling. "Shūichi, wash up and get ready for dinner! There's just one last soup left!"
"At your command!"
Shūichi laughed, went to wash his hands, and by the time he returned, Asuka and Nonō had finished preparing the final soup.
The bountiful, heartwarming dinner began.
---
Meanwhile, in the Land of Rain.
Inside a cave, White Zetsu (Tobi) emerged from the ground, turning to Black Zetsu and White Zetsu with a grin. "The time has come. Danzo from Konoha is currently negotiating with Hanzo. It seems Hanzo has been swayed by Danzo and intends to eliminate the Akatsuki."
The White Zetsu controlling Uchiha Obito chuckled. "This will make things a lot easier for us."
The other half, Black Zetsu, cautioned, "Don't be too complacent. Shūichi has been keeping a close eye on this place."
White Zetsu Tobi rubbed his chin. "Is he planning to snatch the Rinnegan?"
"If so, and he disregards the lives of others, stopping him may be quite difficult!"
"That Flying Thunder God Technique of his is truly a headache."
Black Zetsu was confident. "This is the difference between a ninja and us."
"Besides, Shūichi might not even be after the Rinnegan—his target could be Danzo."
"Of course, we should still prepare for all possibilities."
White Zetsu Tobi chuckled, "In that case, how about I head to Konoha and snatch someone close to him?"
White Zetsu nodded, "You could try, but be careful. Don't let Shūichi leave a Flying Thunder God mark on you. Not even Izanagi can erase that."
White Zetsu Tobi nodded, full of confidence. "Don't worry, I'll use a clone or my spore technique. He won't even notice!"
Black Zetsu added, "Then let's split up."
"If things go south, we'll join forces to stall Shūichi. We cannot allow him to interfere here."
(End of Chapter)
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