"What's that noise?"
"I can feel a massive power hidden in the forest ahead. What is it?"
After finishing what he had come out here to do, Ryūjin was preparing to return to Konoha. Just as he was about to leave, a strange disturbance in the distance caught his attention.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground trembled violently beneath his feet. The repeated impacts sounded heavy and rhythmic, as if some enormous creature was relentlessly slamming its weight into the earth.
Ryūjin narrowed his eyes and looked toward the forest ahead.
Trees were being torn apart by an overwhelming force. Thick trunks snapped one after another, collapsing like fragile twigs. Entire sections of the forest were flattened as something massive rampaged through it.
Crack!
A towering tree suddenly split in half as a gigantic shadow burst out from the forest.
"Is that… Shukaku?"
Ryūjin recognized the creature immediately. The enormous tanuki-like beast with strange markings and a grotesque grin could only be one thing.
"No. More precisely, Shukaku in a berserk state."
He shook his head slightly, feeling faintly puzzled by the situation. Even so, he had no intention of interfering.
After all, this had nothing to do with him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Shukaku's heavy footsteps shook the earth as it continued forward. The moment it emerged from the forest, its massive eyes locked onto Ryūjin.
Then it charged straight toward him.
Shukaku had only recently been resurrected and had already been attacked by Sunagakure ninja. Its temper, already infamous among the Tailed Beasts, had been pushed into full fury.
In this enraged state, it did not care who stood before it. Any ninja within its sight automatically became a target to be crushed.
Just as Ryūjin was about to leave using Kamui, a familiar voice echoed inside his mind.
"Special Check-in Event activated."
"Special Check-in Event: Ichibi Shukaku has appeared. Pin Shukaku in one location for more than thirty minutes to generate a new check-in location, Shukaku's Location."
Ryūjin paused.
A moment of surprise flashed across his face before it quickly turned into excitement.
The special status of the Tailed Beasts in the ninja world hardly needed explanation. Each one possessed terrifying power and enormous chakra reserves.
In the past, Ryūjin had actually considered the possibility of checking in at a Tailed Beast's location. Unfortunately, that idea quickly ran into a problem.
Every Tailed Beast was sealed inside a Jinchūriki.
You could not exactly stand next to a Jinchūriki and expect the system to treat it as a check-in location.
Because of that limitation, Ryūjin had long given up on the idea.
He had never expected the problem to solve itself like this.
"Pin a Tailed Beast down for thirty minutes?"
A faint smile appeared on Ryūjin's face.
Even before obtaining Sage Mode, controlling a Tailed Beast through Genjutsu would not have been particularly difficult for him.
Now things were even easier.
With Sage Mode, he could use sealing techniques such as Sage Art: Gate of the Great God, a technique specifically capable of suppressing Tailed Beasts.
To Ryūjin, creatures that ordinary ninja feared as legendary monsters were no longer that intimidating.
Boom!
In the blink of an eye, Shukaku had already rushed in front of him.
The massive beast raised one of its enormous claws and slammed it down toward Ryūjin with brutal force.
But the claw passed straight through his body.
Shukaku had been fooled.
Because it could not stop its own momentum, the beast stumbled forward and smashed its claw into the ground.
Boom!
The impact blasted open a huge crater.
Realizing its attack had failed, Shukaku became even more furious. It twisted its body around and charged again without hesitation.
Originally, Ryūjin planned to subdue it directly with Genjutsu. However, he changed his mind midway.
Since he had the opportunity, he might as well test Sage Art: Gate of the Great God.
Of course, with Shukaku rampaging around like this, sealing it immediately was unrealistic. He needed to beat the beast down first.
Fortunately, that part was simple.
Ryūjin remained standing calmly, completely unmoved.
He did not dodge.
He did not retreat.
When Shukaku rushed toward him again, Ryūjin's Dōjutsu activated.
In an instant, the towering Susanoo manifested around him.
The enormous chakra warrior moved with terrifying speed. Before Shukaku could react, the Susanoo casually lifted its leg and kicked the raging beast away.
Boom!
Shukaku was sent flying like a massive projectile.
"Roar!"
The One-Tail roared in fury.
Unlike Gamabunta, who might have struggled to get back up after such a kick, Shukaku's durability was far greater. The beast rolled across the ground several times before jumping back up.
Its massive mouth opened wide.
An enormous amount of chakra gathered rapidly inside.
Within seconds, a terrifying sphere of condensed energy formed.
Tailed Beast Ball.
The destructive attack shot forward, aimed directly at the Susanoo.
Naturally, the Susanoo had nothing to fear from Shukaku's Tailed Beast Ball. Even so, Ryūjin had no interest in clashing head on. That would simply waste chakra.
Inside the Susanoo, Ryūjin raised his hand and threw a Kamui Shuriken.
A swirling spatial vortex instantly formed.
The incoming Tailed Beast Ball was dragged into the vortex and vanished into another dimension before it could explode.
Shukaku's most powerful attack had been neutralized effortlessly.
The Susanoo immediately followed up.
The giant chakra warrior stepped forward and struck Shukaku down with a heavy slash. Before the beast could recover, the Susanoo lifted its massive foot and stomped down.
Boom!
Shukaku was pinned beneath the enormous foot like a toy crushed under a boot.
The gigantic beast struggled violently.
It roared, twisted, and thrashed, but the pressure of the Susanoo held it firmly in place. No matter how hard it tried, it could not move even slightly.
Its furious roars gradually weakened.
Within only a few exchanges, Shukaku had already lost the ability to resist effectively.
Among the Tailed Beasts, Shukaku was not considered particularly powerful. Even Gamabunta had once been able to clash with it directly.
Against Ryūjin, the difference was simply too great.
After confirming the beast was subdued, Ryūjin slowly dismissed the Susanoo.
Shukaku collapsed on the ground, temporarily unable to move.
Ryūjin's expression remained calm.
With a single thought, he entered Sage Mode. Natural energy surged through his body as he formed hand seals.
"Sage Art, Gate of the Great God."
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Several massive red torii gates descended from the sky.
Each gate slammed into the ground with tremendous force, firmly pinning Shukaku's enormous body beneath them.
The sealing power instantly suppressed the beast's chakra.
Ryūjin clapped his hands lightly, feeling quite satisfied with the result.
According to the system, as long as Shukaku remained pinned like this for thirty minutes, a new check-in location would be created.
Shukaku's Location.
Tailed Beasts possessed astonishing recovery abilities.
Only twenty minutes later, the One-Tail that had previously been beaten nearly senseless was already regaining its vitality. It struggled fiercely beneath the gates, trying to break free.
Unfortunately for it, the Gate of the Great God was a sealing technique designed specifically to restrain Tailed Beasts.
Its chakra was completely suppressed.
Breaking free was simply impossible.
"Ten more minutes," Ryūjin muttered calmly.
His eyes carried a trace of anticipation.
"Once that time is up, Shukaku's Location will officially appear."
Swish! Swish! Swish!
At that moment, several figures suddenly rushed out of the forest.
It was Rasa, along with several Sunagakure ninja who had been tracking Shukaku's movements.
The moment they saw the scene in front of them, everyone froze.
"What… is going on?"
Their eyes widened in disbelief.
Shukaku had been captured.
And the person responsible was casually sitting nearby as if nothing unusual had happened.
As ninja of Sunagakure, they understood better than anyone how terrifying Shukaku truly was.
Which made the sight even more shocking.
That was the One-Tail.
Yet the man beside it looked completely relaxed.
The contrast felt almost absurd.
Ryūjin glanced at them lazily.
"Oh. The Kazekage."
His tone remained calm.
"That makes things slightly troublesome."
Despite the words, his expression showed absolutely no concern.
"Don't misunderstand," Ryūjin continued casually.
"I have no intention of doing anything to Shukaku."
He gestured toward the pinned Tailed Beast.
"Just wait another ten minutes."
"After that, I'll return Shukaku to you."
Silence fell over the clearing.
The Sunagakure ninja exchanged stunned looks.
Ten minutes.
This stranger had subdued the One-Tail and was now asking the Kazekage to patiently wait.
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