The earth trembled. Trees were uprooted. The partially transformed Kushina, like a crimson demon, had nine massive Chakra Tails whipping wildly behind her, tearing the air with sharp shrieks.
"Roar!" The Nine-Tails was enraged, its crimson eyes burning with madness. It threw its head back and swung its arm, now a claw wreathed in massive amounts of chakra.
Each swing released five crimson Chakra Blades, gouging deep trenches into the ground.
Setsuna's figure flickered, effortlessly dodging the attacks. He then delivered a whip-like kick to the Nine-Tails' abdomen. The Nine-Tails, standing on two feet, slid back but managed to stay upright.
"It held its ground!" Minato's expression was grave. He had personally witnessed the Five-Tails' Jinchuriki, renowned for his strength, fail to withstand a single punch from Setsuna.
Yet the Nine-Tails, famous for its Chakra, seemed to possess physical strength surpassing even the Five-Tails.
As the Nine-Tails steadied itself, preparing to counterattack furiously, it looked up only to be blasted away by a blue-white energy beam, crashing into a small hill thousands of meters away.
The next moment, a crimson figure shot out from the rubble of rocks and stones. Its speed was so immense it left afterimages, covering the thousands of meters in an instant. Its nine tails stabbed towards vital points all over Setsuna's body like spears.
"So tough." Setsuna expressed admiration. Taking a direct hit from his Kamehameha hadn't weakened its aura in the slightest.
While impressed, Setsuna met the charge with the most ferocious posture.
A series of dull thuds echoed through the air as Setsuna's fists and the Nine-Tails' tail-spears collided hundreds of times in mere moments.
Within seconds, a large swath of the once dense forest was cleared. Just the residual waves of their battle churned the earth.
"Choosing to fight the Nine-Tails in close combat?!" Tsunade, having just climbed out of the rubble, witnessed this shocking scene, unsure how to even process it.
Her 'Monstrous Strength' was considered the monster-like by the world, but compared to Setsuna, her power felt perfectly normal.
"He's... suppressing the Nine-Tails with pure Taijutsu alone?!" Hiruzen clutched his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Even the First Hokage, hailed as the God of Ninja, had needed Wood Release to suppress the Nine-Tails.
"Die!" A bestial roar erupted from the Nine-Tails' throat. During the clash, it abruptly grabbed Setsuna's hands with its own. A black sphere coalesced in its mouth, clearly intending to obliterate Setsuna with a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Good idea. But the strength of a partial transformation isn't enough to restrain me." Setsuna's voice was calm to the point of being jarring. He was currently under the dual amplification of Sage Mode and the Fifth Gate, his strength and speed vastly increased.
Setsuna pushed off explosively with his feet, the ground shattering beneath him. A whip-kick, like a battle axe, swept horizontally towards the Nine-Tails' flank.
The Nine-Tails staggered from the kick, the Tailed Beast Boom shooting off diagonally into the sky.
Then, Setsuna grabbed the Nine-Tails' arms and began slamming it left and right against the ground.
With each slam, the watching Anbu's members in the distance couldn't help but flinch.
That was the legendary, most ferocious Tailed Beast, the Nine-Tails, being manhandled like that.
"Damnable human!" The voice from the Nine-Tails' mouth grew clearer, evidently having completely suppressed Kushina's will.
"Kill… Kill you-" The Nine-Tails roared again. Its nine tails suddenly converged, transforming into a massive crimson greatsword that came chopping down directly onto Setsuna.
Where the sword's edge passed, the air was torn, emitting sharp sonic booms.
"Your tails are quite versatile." Setsuna chuckled lightly. A blue-white energy sphere coalesced in his palm.
Soon, a brilliant beam shot from his palm, colliding precisely with the tip of the crimson greatsword.
There was no explosion, no shockwave. The tip of the Chakra Greatsword was pierced clean through by the energy ball. The Chakra Greatsword then shattered like broken glass.
For the first time, a trace of bewilderment appeared in the Nine-Tails' beast-like pupils, 'Is this a dream?'
Seizing the moment of the Nine-Tails' distraction, Setsuna closed the distance, pressing one hand against its head and hammering it into the ground.
The Nine-Tails quickly regained its senses. Its nine tails abruptly constricted, coiling around Setsuna's limbs and torso like giant pythons strangling their prey. The high temperature of the chakra cloak scorched his skin, sizzling sounds.
"Got… you!"
It squeezed out a distorted human voice from its throat, its claws stabbing straight towards Setsuna's heart.
Crack!
Setsuna's arms erupted with power, his muscles tensing like steel, forcibly prying open a gap in the constricting tails.
His right leg shot up swiftly and fiercely, crashing heavily into the Nine-Tails' jaw.
The Nine-Tails' head snapped backward, sent floating upward by the kick.
Setsuna seized the chance to break free, his hands moving like lightning to grip its wrists. He then executed a powerful shoulder throw, slamming it viciously into the ground.
Boom!
The earth shook. Dust plumed into the sky. The entire forest trembled from the aftershocks of the impact.
The Nine-Tails spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with chakra. The ferocity in its eyes was briefly replaced by confusion.
But soon, the Nine-Tails' will regained dominance.
The crimson Chakra around Kushina began to boil violently. The Chakra Cloak writhed like a living thing, continuously oozing more blood-red substance from its surface.
"This is bad! Kushina is undergoing full transformation!" Hiruzen's heart constricted violently. Although Setsuna had held the upper hand until now, the difference between partial and full transformation was like night and day.
The change came faster than anyone anticipated. Kushina's body rapidly expanded, transforming in an instant into the complete form of the Nine-Tails. A single, casual sweep of its tail leveled the entire forest like wheat under a scythe.
"Is this the real Nine-Tails? What an astonishing amount of Chakra." Tsunade looked at Setsuna with concern, 'Given the strength he had displayed so far, could he truly suppress the fully transformed Nine-Tails?'
The Nine-Tails' golden pupils fixed on Setsuna, filled with murderous intent. It swayed its head from side to side, as if gathering strength.
'Is it about to fire consecutive Tailed Beast Bombs?' Setsuna's body tensed. The Tailed Beast Bomb was what he feared most. A direct hit would seriously injure even him.
And the Nine-Tails' consecutive Tailed Beast Bombs made it nearly impossible for him to counter them with his own energy blasts.
The Nine-Tails' consciousness grew clearer. True to form, it fired multiple Tailed Beast Bombs in rapid succession.
Setsuna attempted to open the Sixth Gate, pushing his speed to the absolute limit, continuously dodging in mid-air.
However, just as Setsuna dodged the final Tailed Beast Bomb, it detonated directly beside him.
A terrifying torrent of energy instantly swallowed Setsuna. Minato and the others' faces turned pale.
As the light in the sky faded, Setsuna was revealed, covered in blood, his right arm hanging limply, white bone clearly visible. It seemed he had used his right arm to block the impact at the most critical moment.
'To think it can remotely detonate Tailed Beast Bombs... I was truly careless.' Setsuna sighed, chastising himself. He must never assume an opponent lacked a capability just because it wasn't shown in the original work.
While the Nine-Tails wasn't as self-taught as the One-Tail, it had the most Chakra. Its mastery over the Tailed Beast Bomb likely surpassed that of any other Tailed Beast.
'It seems I'll need to eat a massive amount again after this.' Setsuna activated [Food Honor]. The energy stored within his body rapidly began repairing the damage.
Under the Nine-Tails' stunned gaze, Setsuna's body visibly regenerated.
"Whatever monster you are, just die!" The Nine-Tails showed no consciousness of conserving Chakra, using Tailed Beast Bombs more frequently than a Great Fireball Technique.
Learning from his mistake, Setsuna didn't dare dodge close to the Tailed Beast Bombs. The result was being forced back by the barrage, finding it difficult to even get close to the Nine-Tails.
Don Slime laughed heartily inside Setsuna. "Haha! Looks like you can't handle it! Hurry up and hand your body over to me!"
Setsuna cracked his neck. "Fine. I'll play at being a Jinchuriki for a bit too."