The warmth of the sunset still flowed through Konoha, but inside Ryo's living room, an unspoken understanding had already settled.
The blush on Tsunade's face had not fully faded. Mikoto quietly gathered the teacups, while Kushina stared at Ryo with bright, expectant eyes.
"We can begin," Ryo said, breaking the silence. His gaze rested on Kushina, steady and unquestionable.
Tsunade straightened at once, her eyes sharp. "Are you sure. The risk…"
"Confidence?" Ryo smiled lightly, as if he were talking about the weather. "It is only the Nine Tails. It has lived in Kushina's body for so many years. It is time to pay some rent. Living for free and eating for free is not that easy."
Kushina nodded hard. "Right."
"First step." Ryo turned to Tsunade and Kushina. "Leave a shadow clone at home. Kushina, this is especially important."
Tsunade understood immediately.
As the Nine Tails jinchuriki, if Kushina were discovered leaving Konoha, the consequences would be disastrous.
Fortunately, ever since Ryo gained the title of Konoha's Asura, especially after his hard line against the Uchiha clan, Hiruzen had already withdrawn the ANBU monitoring Kushina, fearing to provoke Ryo.
That gave them an opening.
"Understood." Tsunade and Kushina formed seals at the same time.
With two soft puffs, two shadow clones identical to them appeared in the living room.
Ryo also casually created a shadow clone of his own.
"The shadow clones will handle things at home," Ryo said. "Then we depart."
He extended both hands and clasped theirs.
In the next instant, space rippled like water. The three figures vanished, leaving only the three shadow clones behind to maintain the illusion of normal life.
A salty sea breeze rushed toward them.
Rough sand crunched beneath their feet. Ahead were jagged reefs and dense jungle filled with a primitive sense of desolation.
This was a truly uninhabited island, far from the continental shelf and any known sea routes.
The sound of waves crashing against the shore was the only noise.
"We are here," Ryo said as he released their hands.
This place was one of the contingencies he had prepared years ago. His shadow clones had traveled across the shinobi world, quietly leaving Flying Thunder God markers everywhere, all for moments like this.
As long as he used Flying Thunder God, Konoha's barrier could not detect Kushina leaving.
Tsunade scanned the surroundings and confirmed there was no danger.
Kushina took a deep breath and stood in the center of the beach. "Now?"
"Yes." Ryo nodded and stepped back a little, signaling Tsunade to do the same. "Kushina, release your power and show me how much you can control right now."
Kushina closed her eyes and focused.
Crimson chakra burst out of her body like boiling flames.
The chakra was violent and viscous, instantly forming a scarlet cloak around her, like burning blood.
One tail, two tails. Crimson chakra tails rapidly condensed and swayed behind her.
"Three, four, five…" Tsunade watched closely, her palms damp with sweat.
She could clearly feel how violent that power was.
In the end, more than a dozen tails formed purely from chakra, almost tangible, dancing behind Kushina.
The oppressive pressure made the air heavy. The sand beneath their feet stirred without wind.
Kushina opened her eyes. Her pupils had turned red like a cat's. She looked at Ryo. "Seven tails. Once I reach the eighth, I cannot control it anymore. That is my limit."
"That is enough," Ryo said calmly, as if the world destroying power were nothing special. "Now try to control the power of the eighth tail."
Kushina did not hesitate. She gathered her chakra again.
The crimson chakra surged even more violently. The shadow of an eighth tail began to form with great difficulty.
But the power was like a flood breaking through a dam, far beyond what she could endure.
Her body trembled violently. Pain twisted her expression. The eighth tail could not stabilize, and her consciousness felt like a small boat battered by massive waves, on the verge of capsizing.
The Nine Tails' hatred filled will crashed against her mental defenses like icy tides.
"Ryo." Kushina cried out, her voice tearing with pain.
"Release the seal," Ryo said firmly, without the slightest hesitation. "Let it out. Hand over control of your body to it. Leave the rest to me."
"No. That is too dangerous." Tsunade shouted. She knew the terror of the Nine Tails too well.
Kushina looked at Ryo.
There was no fear in his eyes, only complete trust.
That trust overwhelmed her fear of the Nine Tails.
She stopped resisting the violent will and instead released the last restraint on the seal.
"Roar."
A sky shattering roar filled with endless hatred and joy tore apart the island's silence.
The crimson chakra cloak around Kushina instantly expanded and exploded.
In its place stood a colossal orange red figure that blotted out the sky. The Nine Tails.
Its massive body towered over the beach. Its mere presence made it hard to breathe.
Sharp claws sank deep into the sand. The fire red fur covered its body, nine tails swaying behind it. Its form was majestic and feral, its eyes filled with arrogance and wildness.
The humiliation of being imprisoned and enslaved turned into overwhelming rage at that moment.
"Freedom. I am finally free." The Nine Tails roared, its voice carrying physical shockwaves that churned the sea and toppled trees.
It reveled in the long lost sensation of an unsealed body. The power drove it into madness.
"Damn you Senju Hashirama. Damn you Uzumaki Mito. Humans. World. Feel pain." It wanted to pour decades of resentment onto the world.
Its first target was the insignificant human before it.
Yet that insignificant human, Ryo, stood right in front of its massive foot, small as dust, with no fear on his face at all.
"Hey, big fox. Let us talk," Ryo said. His voice was not loud, but it clearly pierced through the Nine Tails' roar, casual and matter of fact. "Since you are out, should you not hand over your chakra for Kushina to use properly. You lived in her body for so long. It is time to pay rent."
"Rent." The Nine Tails felt as if it had heard the most absurd joke imaginable. Its huge head lowered, violent golden eyes locking onto Ryo. Fangs bared, saliva dripping.
"Ignorant human. You dare say that to me. You sealed me inside that woman and you dare mention rent. I will tear you apart. You will be the first."
It recognized Ryo. This was the one who had encouraged Kushina to release it. A fool.
"Sealed?" Ryo snorted, his eyes filled with amusement. "That was not to harm you. The outside world is dangerous. Sealing you inside Kushina was for your own good."
The Nine Tails exploded in rage. This was the ultimate humiliation.
It did not waste words anymore.
Its massive claw tore through the air with a shrill scream, slamming down toward Ryo like a falling mountain, intent on crushing this ant into pulp.
Sand and stones flew everywhere.
Just as the claw was about to land, Ryo vanished.
Not vanished, but moved so fast it surpassed visual perception.
In the next instant, Ryo appeared at the joint of the Nine Tails' swinging forelimb.
His right arm was instantly coated in a deep black sheen like obsidian. Armament Haki.
There was no explosive burst of chakra, only pure physical power fused with Haki.
Bang.
A deep, terrifying impact echoed.
"Roar." The Nine Tails howled in agony.
This was not ordinary pain. Armament Haki did not just increase power. It carried a penetrating agony that struck straight at the soul, a punch from the world of pirates that could not be defended against.
This was Ryo's plan. He was going to persuade the Nine Tails with physical reasoning.
One beating was not enough. Then he would beat it more times.
He would beat the Nine Tails until it willingly handed its chakra over to Kushina.
The Nine Tails felt as if its bones had been smashed by red hot iron. Its entire forelimb went numb.
Its massive body even staggered from the sudden pain and impact.
"Too slow," Ryo said coldly. His figure was already at the Nine Tails' flank.
Bang. Another Haki coated punch.
The Nine Tails roared in madness and twisted violently. Another claw swept out. Its tails lashed like gigantic whips.
Yet Ryo moved like a phantom, weaving through the gaps in its attacks.
The Nine Tails' overwhelming strength and massive size became clumsy weaknesses against Ryo's absolute speed.
Dull impacts echoed like war drums.
Ryo's figure circled the Nine Tails at high speed. Each flash of movement came with a Haki covered blow, precisely striking joints, waist, and back, areas with weaker defense and heightened pain.
The Nine Tails' chakra was indeed nearly infinite. Its endurance was top tier even in the shinobi world.
Ordinary Kage level fighters would be exhausted to death just trying to wear it down.
But Ryo was different.
His speed came from a terrifyingly honed body and the highest level combat arts inherited from Shanks.
As for endurance.
In the pirate world, fighting at extreme intensity for days on end was routine.
The result was a shameless situation. The Nine Tails could not even touch the edge of Ryo's clothes and could only endure the beating.
What made it even more infuriating was that Ryo was clearly holding back, deliberately avoiding vital areas to avoid harming Kushina's body. Yet every punch carried penetrating pain that made it suffer unbearably.
"Damn insect." The Nine Tails went completely mad.
Since it could not hit him, it would use wide area attacks.
It opened its massive jaws. Violent yin yang chakra condensed and compressed rapidly, forming a pitch black sphere of destruction. A Tailed Beast Ball.
But forming a Tailed Beast Ball required time.
The moment the destructive sphere finished forming, Ryo appeared beside the Nine Tails' huge head.
"Fireworks?" Ryo mocked coldly.
His Haki coated fist flew without flourish, tearing through the air and smashing into the Nine Tails' lower jaw where the Tailed Beast Ball was forming.
Boom.
The half formed Tailed Beast Ball instantly destabilized and dissipated. The shock sent the Nine Tails' head snapping violently to the side. Its massive body staggered again, a pained whimper escaping its mouth.
"Roar. Damn it." The Nine Tails tried to gather chakra again, but Ryo stayed glued to it.
Each time the destructive chakra began to gather, Ryo's fist precisely interrupted the motion. Every interruption came with searing pain and collapsing power.
Time slowly passed.
For the Nine Tails, these few hours were like being trapped in hell.
Bang. Thud. Roar.
The dull sounds of flesh on flesh and the Nine Tails' agonized roars became the island's only rhythm.
Its proud defense was largely ineffective against Armament Haki. Its size was meaningless against overwhelming speed.
Its massive body showed no obvious external wounds since Ryo controlled his strength. But beneath the fur, deep within muscle and bone, every struck area throbbed with relentless pain.
It tried to flee, but Ryo was faster and sealed off every direction.
It tried to burrow underground or dive into the sea, but Ryo always forced it back out immediately.
It exhausted every method, yet could not land a single hit on that small nightmare like figure.
Despair.
A despair born from pure physical domination and unbearable pain began to erode the Nine Tails' arrogance.
Finally, after another punch smashed into its snout, sending darkness across its vision and nearly knocking it unconscious, the Nine Tails stopped attacking.
Its huge body slumped, no longer struggling.
It lowered its massive head. In its golden eyes, the raging hatred and fury had vanished, replaced by deep exhaustion and fear.
It panted heavily. Every breath dragged pain through its entire body.
It stared at the red haired youth standing calmly on the sand, his breathing steady as if he had only taken a walk.
The outside world really was dangerous.
That thought burned clearly into its battered consciousness.
If this continued, nothing would change except endless pain.
This human was a monster.
Even more unreasonable than Uchiha Madara or Senju Hashirama.
"Enough," the Nine Tails rasped, its voice hoarse and powerless, completely stripped of its former arrogance.
Its massive body began to shrink rapidly. The destructive chakra receded like a tide.
The orange red giant faded away, leaving Kushina standing at the center of the beach.
Her eyes were closed, her body collapsing forward.
Ryo moved instantly and caught her.
Kushina's face was pale, but her breathing was steady. She had simply exhausted herself and fallen unconscious.
Tsunade rushed over at once, green medical chakra glowing in her hands as she carefully examined Kushina.
"How is she," Ryo asked.
After a moment, Tsunade relaxed. "Chakra exhaustion and mental fatigue, but no physical damage. Unbelievable. After that level of battle."
She looked at Ryo with an extremely complex expression, understanding dawning.
No wonder he had been so confident.
Ryo nodded and looked down at Kushina in his arms. "She will be fine after resting. After this, her control over the Nine Tails' power will take a major step forward. The rent has been collected. At least the first payment."
The sea breeze swept across the deserted island, lifting fine sand.
The fading sunset stretched the shadows of the three of them long across the beach.
The violent Nine Tails chakra had completely settled, leaving only lingering silence.
Tsunade looked at Ryo's calm profile, then at the unharmed Kushina, and finally felt the tension in her heart fully ease.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)