"Roar!"
Kokuō's thunderous bellow shook the valley, his massive body slamming into the earth as Raizen's Sage Art erupted beneath him. Craters split the soil as the beast thrashed violently.
Raizen felt the raw force of Kokuō's struggle and nimbly dodged. The five tails whipped around him like living wrecking balls, each movement sending torrents of violent Chakra through the air.
Great. So this is what happens when a tail beast throws a tantrum. Classic.
"If you want a quick fight, you'll have to go all in," Raizen muttered. Ordinary attacks wouldn't touch this monster. He needed something bigger—something that screamed "I'm not messing around."
"Sage Art… Lai Ying: Thousand-Hand Kill!"
Golden light flared behind him. A colossal Buddha materialized, thousands of arms extending like the roots of a mountain, fists clenching and unclenching in unison.
"Five-Tails… surrender to the power of the Sage!" Raizen shouted.
The first golden fists slammed down from the sky, colliding with Kokuō before the beast could even react. Roars erupted as punch after punch rained on its massive body. Blood spattered. Rocks shattered. Yet Kokuō endured.
"Damn humans!" the tail beast roared, finally pulling back, shaking its head to clear the daze.
Raizen narrowed his eyes. Time for the real show.
The Buddha's golden arms flared brighter, fusing into a single, titanic fist. With a roar, he hurled it at the Five-Tails like a meteor, crushing the terrain around it in the process.
Kokuō opened his mouth, forming a massive purple-black Tailed Beast Bomb. It barreled toward Raizen, shrinking and condensing into a concentrated sphere of destruction.
"Boom!"
The golden fist collided with the bomb in a blinding explosion of white light. The valley erupted. Trees were uprooted. Stones and debris were hurled like missiles. Smoke and dust choked the air. When it cleared, both Raizen and Kokuō stood, battered but alive. The fist had struck true, sending Kokuō crashing to the ground.
The Buddha statue dissipated slowly behind Raizen as he finally addressed the beast.
"Kokuō… let's talk."
For the first time, Raizen's voice dropped the sarcasm. He knew he couldn't overpower the tail beast—this was just a tactical opening, his greatest strength masked as an offensive. But he needed words as much as fists.
Kokuō glared, nostrils flaring. "You mimic Indra's chakra… but you carry the breath of six old sages. Who are you, kid?"
"I'm Amamiya Raizen, of the Amamiya clan," he said, keeping his tone calm.
"Amamiya…" the Five-Tails pondered, unfamiliar with the name. Curiosity flickered across its eyes before it dismissed the thought. "What do you want with me?"
"I want power," Raizen admitted, unwavering. "I have a purpose—a dream. To achieve it, I must gain strength."
"Humph… for strength?" Kokuō sneered, contempt dripping from every word. "Humans cloak ambition in dreams. You want my power to dominate, to create chaos. You've always wanted to use tail beast energy to realize your so-called dream!"
Raizen's gaze hardened. "I understand your pain. But I want your power not to start wars, but to end them. To bring this fractured world some peace."
"Peace?" Kokuō's eyes narrowed. Yet beneath the scorn, a flicker of recognition stirred. It reminded him of the Sage of Six Paths and the look he once saw in Ashura's eyes.
"And what do you want from me?" the beast asked, voice low but curious.
"Lend me your power."
"Lend? Or seal me inside you?" Kokuō taunted.
Raizen shook his head. "Not to seal. Just… to wield. To bring balance."
The Five-Tails laughed, five massive tails swaying like banners in the wind. "If you want to seal me, there is no deal. I'm leaving."
Raizen's voice followed the retreating beast. "You're not just a tool, Kokuō. You will be the keystone in the balance I'm building. The power of the tail beast will matter. You will play your part."
Kokuō paused, acknowledging his words, then vanished into the distance. Raizen exhaled, letting the tension drain from his shoulders.
He didn't pretend he could end the Warring States era alone. He'd learned from Hashirama Senju's attempts—a fragile peace maintained by a delicate balance. History had shown him that such a world was dangerous, temporary. But if he could craft a system like the one he'd seen in his previous life—super-strong, structured, controlled—he could at least minimize the carnage.
Not perfect. Not eternal. But better than this endless bloodbath.
Raizen's eyes drifted across the valley, smoke and dust swirling around the ruins. A world without war… maybe that's not impossible. Just painfully inconvenient.