Under the effect of the Wood Release: Kōan's Calming Hands, Kushina instantly calmed down.
The Nine-Tails' chakra was no longer furious. The five tails slowly drooped, eventually resting gently on the ground.
Tsunade thought to herself, Finding Fox was the right decision.
With Fox's Wood Release and sealing jutsu prowess, he can control a rampaging Kushina at any time.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo exchanged a glance. The intelligence stated that Fox possessed a several-hundred-meter-tall Thousand-Handed Vidyārāja like the First Hokage, yet to deal with a five-tailed Kushina, he didn't even need to use his ultimate move.
A Wood Human only the height of two men was enough to suppress a five-tailed Kushina.
In skilled hands, Wood Release is too effective against Tailed Beasts.
A Wood Dragon grew from the body of the Three Worlds Wood Human.
The Wood Dragon crawled onto Kushina's shoulder and absorbed a portion of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
The chakra on Kushina's body decreased sharply, going from five tails to four tails.
"Alright, Kushina, try to control your body, take the initiative."
The moment the Three Worlds Wood Human loosened its grip, a low, bestial growl emerged from Kushina's throat.
Yōkō frowned. Is this Nine-Tails' temper really this bad?
Inside the Nine-Tails' seal space, the Nine-Tails roared incessantly.
"Wood Human Technique! Wood Dragon Technique! Kōan's Calming Hands! It's the legacy of that guy, Senju Hashirama!"
Chakra continuously overflowed from the prison cell as the Nine-Tails searched for an opportunity to run amok.
A figure appeared in front of the prison cell.
Yōkō looked up at the cell.
In the darkness, a single vertical pupil suddenly appeared, staring fixedly at Yōkō.
"It's you! It's you who inherited Senju Hashirama's legacy!"
Yōkō said, "Kurama, the Two-Tails, Matatabi, was just killed by me. You should be grateful you are Konoha's Tailed Beast. If you were another village's Tailed Beast, then I would have to repeat the words spoken by the First Hokage. Your power is too great; I cannot leave you unchecked. Therefore, I would have no choice but to kill you."
Inside the cell, the Nine-Tails' pupil constricted sharply.
A moment later, the Nine-Tails let out a strange, mocking laugh. "A bluffer! Don't think I can't see it. You have, at most, half of Hashirama's power. You? Daring to boast about killing me?"
Yōkō thought, This fox is quite clever. His Thousand-Handed Vidyārāja probably had about half the power of Hashirama's True Several Thousand Hands.
"However..." The Nine-Tails stared at Yōkō. "Anbu with the fox mask, why do you know my name? And why do you know Matatabi's name?"
Yōkō said, "Not only do I know your names, I have also met the Sage of the Six Paths. I won't discuss my conversation with the Sage with you. You just need to know that it's best for you to cooperate and not act recklessly."
Hearing that Yōkō had met the Sage of the Six Paths, the Nine-Tails hesitated.
After a cold snort, the Nine-Tails disappeared into the darkness of the cell, still talking tough: "Bluffer... how could you possibly have met the old man Six Paths..."
The reddish-brown Tailed Beast chakra on Kushina disappeared, the Nine-Tails' chakra reverting to a semi-transparent chakra cloak.
Four semi-transparent chakra tails swayed behind Kushina.
Kushina regained her senses.
The skin on her face, burned by the chakra, healed rapidly.
Borrowing the Nine-Tails' chakra to form a semi-transparent chakra cloak was a method that allowed her to preserve her reason.
"Good, Kushina. Familiarize yourself with this state. Remember this feeling."
Kushina saw the large crater blasted nearby and realized it was her doing.
"My apologies, Lord Fox. I lost my reason before I could even use the Adamantine Sealing Chains. This time, I will perform better."
Adamantine Sealing Chains shot out from Kushina's back. The chains passed through the semi-transparent chakra cloak, as if threading a needle, and finally pierced back into her own body.
After her manipulations, the Nine-Tails' chakra became much more docile.
Kushina began forming hand seals, preparing to spar with Lord Fox using ninjutsu.
"Wait!" Yōkō stopped Kushina. "Princess Kushina, your current advantage is the Nine-Tails' immense chakra reserve. Using ninjutsu in this state is somewhat missing the point. Use the Nine-Tails' chakra intensively, familiarize yourself with this chakra, master this chakra. The Nine-Tails' chakra is limitless. With your current level, you couldn't possibly exhaust it even after using it continuously for days."
Hearing this, Kushina nodded.
She directly manipulated the Nine-Tails' chakra cloak to form claws, swiping at Yōkō again and again.
As Yōkō dodged, he saw that the chakra claws could shatter stone with a single swipe, which satisfied him greatly.
A Tailed Beast Cloak Mode that integrated offense and defense was the direction Kushina should develop.
On the ridge, seeing that the Nine-Tails training was on track, Sarutobi Hiruzen said to Yamanaka Inson, "We will return to the village first. Clan Leader Inson, record the details of the Nine-Tails training well and deliver the report scroll to the Hokage Building tonight."
"Understood, Hokage-sama."
Apart from Tsunade, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, Nara Rokaku, and the others left with their respective assistants.
Having witnessed Fox's strength firsthand, Danzo thought to himself, Fox didn't lie to me. He has the strength to hold off Uchiha Madara. In that case, it might really be possible to seize Tobi's Mangekyō Sharingan.
In the valley, Kushina continuously used the Nine-Tails' chakra to fight.
The Nine-Tails' claws shot out, one swipe after another, clashing with Fox.
Namikaze Minato realized that chakra claws weren't very effective against a ninja like Lord Fox.
Could we develop a powerful ninjutsu suitable for the Nine-Tails Cloak Mode?
He suddenly remembered the scene of the Wood Human grabbing the Tailed Beast Ball and pressing it against Kushina.
For ninja with vast chakra reserves, gathering chakra into a ball and using it to strike the enemy like a Tailed Beast Ball seemed like a good method.
Yōkō also saw that the offensive power of the Nine-Tails' chakra claws was insufficient. He reminded her, "Kushina, you don't just have claws; you also have tails!"
Kushina suddenly had an inspiration. She combined the Nine-Tails' chakra tails with the Adamantine Sealing Chains!
Using the Nine-Tails' chakra tails as the muscle and the Adamantine Sealing Chains as the bones, she elevated the strength of the Nine-Tails' tails by a whole level.
Four Adamantine Sealing Chain tails flew about wildly, continuously lashing against the Three Worlds Wood Human.
Yōkō nodded repeatedly. This innovation was excellent.
After practicing for half an hour, Yōkō called a halt to the training.
"Princess Kushina, from now on, don't waste time on ninjutsu. Controlling the Nine-Tails' chakra is your path. For close combat, you have the Adamantine Sealing Chain fox tails and the chakra fox claws, which are enough for you to deal with enemies. For long range, being able to use the Tailed Beast Ball while maintaining your reason would count as qualified. Master these two sets of tactics, one for close range and one for long range, and you will have, at a minimum, the strength of a Kage-level ninja."
Hearing Lord Fox's assessment, Uzumaki Kushina felt excited.
Could I possibly become a Kage-level ninja?
If my strength increases, the village won't restrict me everywhere.
When returning to the ridge, Yōkō saw Namikaze Minato staring intently at his own palm.
Perhaps Namikaze Minato will soon develop the signature, seal-less ninjutsu for their family of three: the Rasengan.
Yōkō said to Tsunade, "Princess Tsunade, as long as I am in the village, bring Princess Kushina here for special training every three days. Perhaps in three to five years, Princess Kushina might also have hope of becoming a perfect Jinchūriki."
***
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(End of Chapter)