Chapter 47 (Patreon)

Eight blood-red chains shot upward and collided with A as he descended from the sky.

Although they failed to pierce the defence of his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, the tremendous force behind them sent him crashing into the sea.

Whether the lightning surrounding his body would short-circuit in the water was another matter entirely.

The remaining eight golden chains split apart and wrapped themselves around Yugito Nii and Killer B.

To anyone watching from the outside, the chains appeared to be restraining only their bodies.

However, Yugito and B knew better.

The golden chains had extended into their inner worlds as well, binding Matatabi and Gyūki along with them.

Even with Kushina’s Uzumaki bloodline and her mastery of the Adamantine Sealing Chains, suppressing two tailed beasts simultaneously should have been extremely difficult.

Then Matatabi and Gyūki saw the fox tail emerging alongside the golden chains.

“Kurama, you bastard!” Gyūki roared. “Since when did you start resorting to underhanded tricks?”

The moment the words left his mouth, the fox tail before him began to twist and change shape.

A fox’s head gradually formed at its tip.

“Underhanded?” Kurama scoffed. “The two of you attacked one opponent together, and I haven’t even used twenty percent of my strength. Don’t blame the trap just because you were foolish enough to step into it.”

Kurama continued boasting without pause, leaving Matatabi and Gyūki in sullen silence.

As irritating as his attitude was, they could tell he was not lying about holding back.

Even if he had used more power than he claimed, it was certainly nowhere near half of his full strength.

Combined with the surprise attack and the Adamantine Sealing Chains—a sealing ability that was particularly effective against tailed beasts—the outcome had already been decided.

It would not have mattered which two tailed beasts had been caught in their place. Under the same circumstances, the result would have been no different.

More importantly, both Matatabi and Gyūki realised that Kurama had changed.

Although the tailed beasts were scattered across the shinobi world, they were still capable of meeting one another within a deeper spiritual plane.

It was a place their jinchūriki knew nothing about.

Whenever the tailed beasts gathered there, Kurama would occasionally exchange insults with Shukaku, but he remained cold and distant toward everyone else.

Today, however, he would not stop talking.

Worse still, every word was delivered in such a smug and mocking tone that both of them felt an overwhelming urge to strike him.

Outside, A burst from the sea almost immediately.

However, the instant he saw Yugito and Killer B suspended in mid-air by the golden chains, he stopped.

No matter how furious he was, he did not dare make another reckless move.

“Adamantine Sealing Chains…”

A stared at Kushina with a grim expression.

“You’re an Uzumaki.”

There was no longer any reason for Kushina to maintain her disguise.

Her transformed appearance faded, revealing her true face.

A’s eyes widened.

“Uzumaki Kushina… Konoha’s Nine-Tails jinchūriki. It was you!”

The revelation shook him.

He could not understand how her Transformation Jutsu had managed to deceive his senses so completely.

Even if the transformation itself had been achieved through some unusual technique, how had she concealed Kurama’s chakra?

Neither Matatabi nor Gyūki had ever mentioned that the Nine-Tails possessed such an ability.

More importantly, were Konoha’s jinchūriki truly this powerful?

In less than ten seconds, Kushina had fought two jinchūriki simultaneously and subdued them both with ease.

How were the other great shinobi villages supposed to contend with something like that?

In the past, A would already have charged forward to rescue them.

However, the ease with which Kushina had sent him flying into the sea proved that she still had strength to spare.

She was fully capable of stopping him while delivering a fatal blow to Yugito or Killer B.

The fact that she had refrained from harming them and had instead waited for him to return meant that she intended to negotiate.

After experiencing the Third Shinobi World War, the young A had matured considerably.

Now that he had become Raikage, he could no longer act solely according to his temper. Every decision he made affected the whole of Kumogakure.

“I underestimated Konoha.”

A slowly unclenched his fists.

“State your conditions. What will it take for you to release them?”

“First, Kumogakure will withdraw its forces and compensate Konoha with two billion ryō for the damages caused by this invasion.”

Kushina raised one finger.

“Second, Kumogakure will provide one S-rank Lightning Release technique, five A-rank techniques, ten B-rank techniques, and twenty C-rank techniques.”

A second finger rose.

“Third, you will hand over the training method for the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.”

A’s expression darkened with each condition.

“Fourth—”

“Enough!” he snapped. “Do not push your luck.”

Kushina ignored him and continued stating the terms Roy had given her.

“Fourth, of the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails, Kumogakure may take only one back. The other jinchūriki will remain in Konoha as a hostage for three years.”

Her eyes became cold.

“If Kumogakure invades Konoha again during that period, Konoha will have the right to execute the hostage and dispose of the tailed beast as it sees fit.”

A’s chakra surged violently around him, but Kushina continued without pause.

“Fifth, Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning must permit Konoha’s trade caravans to enter and leave freely. You will also guarantee their safety while they remain within the Land of Lightning.”

She lowered her hand.

“Those are our conditions for now.”

Even Kushina herself did not believe Kumogakure would accept such demands.

However, Roy had instructed her to present them exactly as he had stated.

With two jinchūriki in her hands, Konoha controlled the negotiations. They could always reduce the demands later if necessary.

“Impossible,” A said through gritted teeth. “Kumogakure will not accept a single one of those conditions.”

“There is no need to decide now.”

Kushina remained completely composed.

“Negotiations should be handled by people who specialise in them. I doubt the Raikage has much experience in diplomacy.”

A’s brow twitched.

“Return to your camp and discuss the matter with your advisers. Tomorrow morning, representatives from both sides will formally negotiate the ceasefire and reparations.”

Kushina turned away from him.

“Once an agreement has been reached, you may take your people back.”

Without waiting for A’s response, she began walking toward Konoha’s defensive line, dragging the two bound jinchūriki behind her.

A stared at her unguarded back, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles creaked.

In the end, however, he could not bring himself to attack.

Judging by Kushina’s performance, even if she had not completely mastered Kurama’s power, she was already close to becoming a perfect jinchūriki.

Furthermore, a tailed beast’s senses were often sharper than those of an ordinary sensor-type shinobi.

Kushina might have appeared defenceless, but Kurama was undoubtedly watching his every movement.

He also had to admit that the Adamantine Sealing Chains were far from her only troublesome ability.

The other techniques she had displayed were equally strange and dangerous.

If A had believed a surprise attack would succeed, he would not have been knocked into the sea earlier, nor would he have allowed both Yugito and Killer B to be captured.

“Damn it!”

A waited until Kushina disappeared from sight before finally releasing his frustration.

“How did none of the other villages know that Konoha’s jinchūriki had become this powerful?”

He struck the beach repeatedly, blasting several enormous craters into the sand.

Only after venting his anger did he return to Kumogakure’s camp with a cold expression.

At the defensive line, the Konoha and Kumogakure shinobi were still locked in battle.

The moment they saw Kushina returning with two jinchūriki suspended from her chains, the noise of the battlefield abruptly faded.

“That’s…”

A Kumogakure shinobi stared in disbelief.

“Lady Yugito and Lord Killer B!”

Seeing their opponents distracted, several Konoha shinobi prepared to take advantage of the opening and strike them down.

Kushina immediately stopped them.

“The Raikage has agreed to begin ceasefire negotiations. All Konoha forces are to withdraw behind the defensive line immediately.”

She then turned her gaze toward the Kumogakure shinobi.

“As for all of you, retreat. Unless you wish to watch your jinchūriki die.”

Dodai stared deeply at Kushina.

He wanted to ask what had happened to the Raikage.

The three of them had left together, yet only Yugito and Killer B had returned—and both were now prisoners.

However, Kushina had said that A had agreed to negotiations.

That meant the Raikage was most likely still alive.

“Withdraw for now.”

Dodai exchanged glances with the jōnin beside him before issuing the order.

The Kumogakure forces began retreating from the battlefield.

“Lady Kushina, are you injured?”

Flame appeared beside her with several ANBU, his eyes filled with equal parts concern and astonishment.

“I’m fine.”

Kushina glanced at the two captives.

“Place them in secure confinement. We’ll decide what to do with them after seeing the results of tomorrow’s negotiations.”

By the time they returned to the defensive stronghold, the chakra of both Yugito and Killer B had been completely sealed.

They were now only slightly stronger and more agile than ordinary civilians.

If they still managed to escape under those circumstances, then Konoha was truly beyond saving.