Shinichi had barely finished speaking.
At the bottom of the valley, the dust shifted. The Nine-Tails planted one paw against the broken ground and pushed itself up.
The blast from earlier had left a blackened mark across its chest, but it did not look at the wound. Its eyes stayed fixed on Shinichi.
"The right...?"
Its claws dug into the stone.
"You ask if you have the right to seal me?"
The valley floor cracked under its paws.
In the next instant, the Nine-Tails shot upward through the smoke and rushed straight toward the Wood Human on the mountain peak.
"I am the Nine-Tails!" it roared, dark red chakra surging around its body. "The strongest of the Tailed Beasts!"
Its gaze locked onto Shinichi.
"And a half-grown human like you dares ask me that?"
The pressure from its swing hit first, but Shinichi did not move. He stood on the Wood Human's head, his black hair blown back by the force.
"Interesting."
The Wood Human raised its hand.
The Nine-Tails' claws crashed into its palm with a heavy crash. The whole golem shook, and even Shinichi felt the tremor under his feet.
Not far away, Gerotora stared at the battlefield, his throat tightening.
The seal was open, and his part was done. Without another word, Gerotora quickly withdrew from the center of the battlefield.
Behind Shinichi, Jiraiya steadied himself on the Wood Human's head. He had already summoned Fukasaku and Shima, and the two sages stood on his shoulders, helping him balance the natural energy gathering around him.
"This much brute strength alone..." Fukasaku narrowed his eyes. "No wonder it is called the strongest."
"What are you staring for?" Shima snapped. She glanced at Jiraiya, whose eyes were shut tight while sweat gathered on his forehead. "Little Jiraiya, hurry up and finish Sage Mode already."
Jiraiya's eyelid twitched, but he could not argue.
"I know, Shima-sama. I'm almost there."
"Then be faster," Shima said, looking back at the fight. "Don't make that boy handle everything by himself."
Jiraiya took a deep breath and shut out the noise around him. Natural energy gathered more steadily as he pushed himself toward the final balance.
Shinichi ignored their conversation. His attention stayed on the Nine-Tails.
For the first time since leaving the village, something had actually pushed back against him.
"As expected of the strongest Tailed Beast," Shinichi said. "Even with only half your chakra, you can still reach this level. No wonder Madara used your power at the Valley of the End."
His gaze swept over the Nine-Tails once.
"Not bad."
The Nine-Tails' face twisted.
That look, that tone, and that Wood Release...
It hated all of it.
From Shinichi, it could feel the shadow of the man who had once suppressed it by force. At the same time, there was also the cold pressure of the Sharingan, like the man who had once stood on its head and treated it as a weapon.
For the Nine-Tails, those two memories were enough.
"Die!"
The Nine-Tails raised its left claw and smashed down toward the Wood Human's head, but Shinichi did not let the golem take the hit directly.
The golem shifted sideways, and the claw struck empty air, tearing open the mountain peak and sending broken stone flying in every direction.
Before the Nine-Tails could attack again, Shinichi brought his hands together.
"I don't have time to play with you."
His hands pressed downward.
"Sage Art: Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The ground split apart as thick vines burst out one after another, rushing toward the Nine-Tails and wrapping around its limbs.
The Nine-Tails recognized it at once.
"Again with this trick!"
Instead of backing away, it charged straight into the growing forest. Its claws and tails tore through the first wave of vines, snapping thick branches apart as it forced its way forward.
That brief opening was all Shinichi needed. The Wood Human stepped in from the Nine-Tails' side, and before the fox could turn, the golem's massive arms locked around its waist.
The Nine-Tails' eyes widened. "What?"
The next moment, the golem lifted it off the ground and threw it down.
The mountain shook as the Nine-Tails crashed into the valley floor, carving out a huge crater and sending dust rolling into the air.
At the same time, the Wood Dragon coiled around the Wood Human shot forward. It dove after the fallen Nine-Tails, wrapped around its body, and bit into the fox's neck.
The moment its chakra began to drain, the Nine-Tails knew what had caught it.
Its mouth opened at once, and dark red chakra gathered into a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Get off me!"
The Tailed Beast Bomb burst out at point-blank range and slammed into the Wood Dragon. The dragon's body broke apart, but the black sphere punched through the shattered wood and flew toward Shinichi and Jiraiya on the Wood Human's head.
Shinichi changed his hand signs.
"Sage Art: Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"
Wood rose from the golem's head and arched over them, forming a thick half-dome shield.
The Tailed Beast Bomb struck a moment later. The shield bent inward with a sharp crack, but Shinichi forced it to hold. Then, with another push of chakra, the wooden wall drove back against the impact and knocked the black sphere off course, sending it into the night sky.
A white explosion spread above the mountain.
The Nine-Tails used that moment to rip itself free from the Wood Human's reach. Dust and broken stone rolled around its body as it pulled back across the valley.
"Now!"
Jiraiya's eyes snapped open.
Dark markings had appeared around his eyes, and toad-like features had surfaced on his face. Sage Mode was finally complete.
As the Wood Locking Wall pulled back, Jiraiya formed the seals and drew in a deep breath.
"Sage Art: Goemon!"
Jiraiya spat out a massive stream of oil.
At the same time, Fukasaku released wind from Jiraiya's left shoulder, while Shima breathed fire from Jiraiya's right shoulder.
Wind and fire mixed with the oil, turning it into a sea of flames that swept down toward the Nine-Tails.
The Nine-Tails had just steadied itself when the sea of flames came down. Its pupils shrank, and it immediately tried to dodge.
Shinichi was already waiting for that moment.
"Sage Art: Wood Release: Hotei Technique!"
The ground around the Nine-Tails burst open. Giant wooden hands rose one after another, grabbing its limbs and tails and holding it in place.
That brief moment was enough.
The sea of flames crashed down and swallowed the Nine-Tails.
The Nine-Tails roared as the flames rolled over its body. Even with its recovery, its chakra was being burned away quickly, and each struggle became more violent than the last.
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