"Looking at this, it seems you've been doing quite well."
Looking at the Nine-Tailed's body, which had clearly grown a size larger, Minamikawa Yuu smiled and remarked, "Your size doesn't look like what a young fox should have."
Age-wise, the Nine-Tailed before him was clearly still in its infancy.
However, under the continuous augmentation of the Nine-Tailed Chakra, its body had grown to such a size; although it wasn't yet as massive as the original body, which was like a small mountain, it was already beyond comparison to any ordinary Summoned Beast.
This was all thanks to Minamikawa Yuu's constant feeding.
The Ration Pills made from a combination of the Nine-Tailed's flesh and the first hokages cells were a great supplement for the Nine-Tailed, causing its growth rate to be exceptionally fast.
"Thanks to you, I suppose."
The Nine-Tailed stretched lazily and slowly withdrew from its Sage Mode state.
Over the past two years, he had indeed lived quite well. Not only had he seen many wonderful sights, but under Minamikawa Yuu's suggestion, he had also embarked on a cultivation path unique to Tailed Beasts.
Under normal circumstances, it is difficult for a Tailed Beast to become stronger, or rather, the speed of becoming stronger is very slow.
They are too powerful by nature; the innate Chakra power they possess is so vast that it's unimaginable to ordinary people, which in turn restricts their growth.
But the Sage Art system is clearly different.
The so-called Sage Art focuses on the study of Natural Energy.
And Natural Energy is precisely the foundation of the Ten-Tails' power.
The Ten-Tails' predecessor, the God Tree, relied on absorbing Natural Energy to produce the chakra fruit.
Although the nine Tailed Beasts were separated from the Ten-Tails, they clearly retained that affinity for Natural Energy.
Utilizing this characteristic of the Tailed Beasts, Minamikawa Yuu had specifically developed a set of Sage Arts for the Nine-Tailed, and the results now seemed quite good.
In this regard, Minamikawa Yuu was an expert.
Back in the Land of Ancestors, he had not only collected the Sage Arts of Mount Myōboku through the Toad Sage but had also gathered the entire Sage Art system through human monks and priestesses.
In that era, the supernatural power mastered by humanity was the Sage Art system itself, which yielded brilliant results within that framework.
Minamikawa Yuu brought these results back to this world; he was undoubtedly a grandmaster of Sage Arts, so teaching the Nine-Tailed was a simple matter.
As the Nine-Tailed began its cultivation and formally came into contact with Sage Arts, this clone of his also began to transform rapidly.
In just a short time, it had already grown to a considerable level.
Although its strength was not yet equal to his original Tailed Beast body, it had reached a significant level.
"With just a little more time, while it might be difficult to catch up to my original body, catching up to fellows like Shukaku won't be a problem."
The Nine-Tailed spoke, his tone tinged with regret, "Unfortunately, this is not my original body, just a clone."
Even if he successfully cultivated Sage Arts, what was before him was ultimately just a clone.
His original body was currently still inside Uzumaki Mito, isolated from the outside world, with no possibility of cultivating Sage Arts.
And as just a clone, no matter how powerful it was tempered to be, it held little meaning.
It could only serve as a backup for the original body.
"It still has meaning."
Before him, Minamikawa Yuu said thoughtfully, "I have an idea. If it's feasible, this clone of yours shouldn't go to waste."
"What idea do you have now?"
The Nine-Tailed couldn't help but be curious.
Over these two years, he had already witnessed many of Minamikawa Yuu's ideas.
To put it bluntly, most of those ideas were incredibly imaginative—many of which he wouldn't have even dreamed of in the past.
Minamikawa Yuu not only dared to think of them but also dared to act on them, and most of those endeavors had actually succeeded.
"Ghost Bud Technique."
Minamikawa Yuu spoke, "This body of yours shares the same origin as your original body, possessing the genes and Chakra inheritance of your original self. Theoretically, there should be no rejection reaction."
"If we can use the Ghost Bud Technique to merge this clone into your original body, we can utilize your cultivation from this period so it won't be wasted."
"Using that technique created by your disciple?"
The Nine-Tailed marveled, "Using my original body to swallow my own clone... that idea is... truly as unconventional as ever."
"As long as the method works, it's a good one."
Minamikawa Yuu spoke softly, "At least this idea should indeed be feasible, shouldn't it?"
He thought carefully and suddenly realized that this seemed like an excellent approach.
The Ghost Bud Technique can devour the Bloodline Limit of others, but its flaw is that it easily causes rejection conflicts, leading to physical mutations.
But what if the target being devoured was a clone created from one's own flesh and blood?
Then there likely wouldn't be many rejection issues; after all, it's all oneself, and there's no fundamental difference.
The greatest drawback of the Ghost Bud Technique could thus be avoided.
This was a good line of thought. If combined with the concept of Flesh-and-blood clones, many different operations could be executed.
Of course, even if he wanted to implement this idea, that would be a matter for the future.
As for right now, he still had things to do.
"The war is about to begin."
Minamikawa Yuu spoke, "Nine-Tailed, I need your power."
"My power..."
The Nine-Tailed was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized, "Are you talking about that experiment?"
"The Chakra on your body indeed carries the aura of Senju Hashirama..."
""
He suddenly stared at Minamikawa Yuu, sensing a familiar presence from the aura on his body.
It was the aura that the First Hokage, who once pacified the chaotic era and founded Konoha, used to have.
Minamikawa Yuu didn't speak; he just smiled and then reached out his hand.
Along with the casting of a Ninjutsu, a sapling in front of him rapidly spread and grew into a small tree, appearing as if it had grown naturally, giving off a dreamlike feeling.
"Wood Release..."
Watching this scene, the Nine-Tailed's mind dazed slightly, "If that's the case, perhaps it really is possible to succeed."
"One must always give it a try."
Minamikawa Yuu spoke, "I think the probability of success isn't too small."
After seizing the Wood Release of the First Hokage, he hoped to go even further.
Hashirama cells have already been confirmed to have an effect similar to the Kinkaku Brothers, being able to contain and devour the Chakra of a Tailed Beast.
Since that's the case, after devouring the Hashirama cells and obtaining the power of Wood Release, Minamikawa Yuu should now also possess an ability similar to that of the Kinkaku Brothers.
If the Kinkaku Brothers could swallow this Nine-Tailed Chakra, why couldn't Minamikawa Yuu?
This was also out of the actual need to strengthen Wood Release.
As a fellow practitioner of the Ghost Bud Technique, the Wood Release Minamikawa Yuu seized from the Hashirama cells was indeed much stronger than Hiruko's.
But the overall intensity still fell short of the First Hokage's, with a clear gap.
According to Minamikawa Yuu's estimation, this was likely because he didn't have Chakra as massive as the First Hokage's and because he wasn't the Reincarnation of Ashura's Chakra.
Reincarnation of Ashura's Chakra—that was an identity he was unlikely to have.
But Nine-Tails Jinchuriki—that identity was not out of the question.