Chapter 278: Stealing The Ten-tails, Chūin Loses It
In Isshiki Otsutsuki’s exclusive another dimension, under the eternally unchanging dark purple sky, that ancient altar inscribed with countless imprints of Otsutsuki clan members stood quietly.
At the center of the altar, beneath that bottomless void, the Ten-Tails, bound by several thick Chakra Chains and Black Rods, was emitting dull and painful gasps.
A black-red vortex portal opened in the air above the altar.
Jigen’s figure staggered out from it. The white robe on his body was even more tattered than before, with dried blood at the corner of his mouth, and fine cracks appearing on the horns on his forehead. Clearly, he had consumed a huge amount in the previous battle and was seriously injured.
His appearance immediately triggered a violent reaction from the Ten-Tails below.
This tailed beast, imprisoned for an unknown number of years, suddenly raised its head, opened that Rinnegan containing six tomoe, filled with rampage and madness, and opened its massive mouth full of fangs, letting out a deafening roar full of anger and unwillingness!
“Roar!!!”
Its massive body twisted crazily, trying to break free from those Black Rods and Chains binding it, causing the entire altar to tremble slightly, with the chains clattering.
Jigen hovered in mid-air, coldly overlooking the struggling Ten-Tails below, as if looking at a tool about to be used.
He slowly raised his palm covered in black patterns, pointing at the Ten-Tails, his tone carrying a kind of condescending, insincere apology:
“Sorry, little pet. I wanted to let you accumulate a bit more power… but the enemies outside are more troublesome than expected.” He paused, a glint of greed and ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.
“But don’t worry, I’ll soon catch that arrogant little bug and send it to you as pastries… Now, obediently offer up your Chakra!”
As his words fell, the black wedge-shaped engraving in his palm lit up with a deep glow again! Powerful suction instantly generated!
“Roar——!!!”
The Ten-Tails let out an even more painful and violent screech. On its massive body, the dark red tailed beast Chakra, dense enough to be almost substantial, was forcibly stripped away by an invisible force, turning into surging energy torrents that madly surged toward Jigen’s palm!
The black patterns on Jigen’s body greedily devoured this power, emitting even deeper ghostly light. His injuries began to heal at an accelerated rate, and even his appearance started to subtly change toward features closer to Isshiki Otsutsuki’s main body, with his aura steadily rising.
However, at this critical moment of power transmission—
Hum!
An extremely abrupt intrusion sensation pierced into Jigen’s perception like a needle!
Almost in the same instant he sensed the anomaly, less than two meters beside him, space showed no distortion, but Menma’s figure appeared out of thin air, without any warning!
He didn’t even give Jigen any time to react. His right leg, covered in dark red Chakra, like a battle axe poised for a long time, with a screech tearing through space, delivered a ruthless flying kick, precisely landing on Jigen’s side waist!
Bang——!!!
A heavy muffled sound accompanied by the faint crack of bones!
Jigen had no time to defend or dodge, his whole body like a kite with its string cut, viciously kicked flying by this immense force.
Like a cannonball, he smashed heavily into the wall at the edge of the altar covered in Otsutsuki engravings!
“Urgh!” Jigen let out a painful grunt, spitting out blood again.
What enraged him even more was that this sudden heavy blow forcibly interrupted his absorption of the Ten-Tails’ Chakra!
The power that had been continuously surging into his body abruptly stopped, and the backlash made his internal organs churn like a stormy sea.
Jigen crashed heavily against the wall, slowly sliding down, kneeling on one knee in embarrassment, suddenly raising his head, his eyes filled with incredulous horror and fury!
Only to see Menma’s figure proudly standing directly above the void sealing the Ten-Tails.
And under his feet was that Dark Nine-Tails emanating an aura of void and rampage!
The Dark Nine-Tails’ nine flame-like tails danced wildly in the air, its scarlet eyes locked deadly on the Ten-Tails below, emitting a low roar full of provocation and greed.
Menma looked down from above at the disheveled Jigen. In his left hand, that heart-palpitating “Small Spiraling Ring” internally surging with dark Chakra had already instantly formed.
He aimed this ominous energy ball at the altar plaza below.
The key structure sealing the Ten-Tails!
“You bastard!” Jigen let out a roar of extreme anger!
He had no time to think about how the opponent had broken through the barrier of his another dimension and precisely located here!
Now, he had to stop the opponent from destroying the seal!
Enduring the sharp pain, he slammed both hands on the wall behind him covered in engravings, madly injecting his remaining Chakra into it!
Hum——!!!
Those ancient and mysterious engravings on the wall suddenly lit up!
Especially the imprints of core Otsutsuki like Isshiki at the top, Kaguya, as well as Momoshiki, Kinshiki, Urashiki, etc., glowed the most fiercely!
The next moment, several semi-transparent Otsutsuki clan member phantoms composed of pure energy rapidly condensed above the altar plaza!
Momoshiki’s phantom opened a Rinnegan in its palm, Kinshiki’s phantom wielded a giant axe-like weapon, Urashiki’s phantom swung a fishing rod, and even Kaguya Otsutsuki’s phantom expressionlessly raised her hand…
Though these phantoms possessed not even one-ten-thousandth of the originals’ strength, united they emitted a pressure not to be underestimated, all aimed at Menma in the air, poised to attack!
However, Menma’s action was faster than the condensation of these phantoms!
“Too slow.”
His icy voice rang out, and his left hand swung down fiercely!
That dark purple “Small Spiraling Ring” like a falling death star, carrying an aura of annihilating everything, ignored those just-formed phantoms, and precisely struck the center of the altar plaza.
The top of the void sealing the Ten-Tails like a pot lid!
Boom!!
A deafening explosion swept through the entire another dimension!
The dark purple dark Chakra spread like a small nuclear bomb!
The indestructible altar plaza, under the impact of that otherworldly power, instantly cracked like fragile glass with spiderweb fissures, then shattered and collapsed with a boom!
Large amounts of gravel fell toward the void below.
And those just-condensed Otsutsuki phantoms, without even launching a proper attack, flickered violently like candles in the wind under the violent energy impact and structural destruction, then completely dissipated.
The seal was forcibly broken!
“Roar——!!!”
Feeling the power binding it suddenly weaken, the Ten-Tails below let out a heaven-shaking roar interwoven with ecstasy and rampage!
It struggled crazily. Though its tails were still nailed by Black Rods, its upper body had gained much more room to move.
“Little Nine! You’re up!” Menma barked lowly at the Dark Nine-Tails under his feet.
“Awoo——!!!” The Dark Nine-Tails was already impatient, letting out an excited roar. Its massive body leaped down from the edge of the shattered plaza like a hungry tiger pouncing on prey, charging straight toward the struggling Ten-Tails in the void below!
The two colossal beasts instantly twisted together in this confined space!
Relying on its more agile movements and power from another world, the Dark Nine-Tails kept leaping and biting on the Ten-Tails’ massive body. Dark red Chakra tentacles wrapped around like blood-sucking leeches, madly draining the Ten-Tails’ vast sea-like Chakra!
For the Dark Nine-Tails, which had absorbed the other eight tailed beasts in the “Limited Tsukuyomi World,” absorbing other tailed beasts’ Chakra was as simple as eating.
While the “absorbed” Ten-Tails roared in pain and anger.
It opened its giant mouth, trying to condense a Tailed Beast Bomb or bite with its fangs, but with its tails firmly nailed, its movements restricted, and the Dark Nine-Tails’ positioning extremely slippery, its counterattacks repeatedly missed, forcing it to passively endure the Dark Nine-Tails’ devouring and attacks in fury!
As one waned and the other waxed, the Dark Nine-Tails’ aura grew visibly more terrifying, while the Ten-Tails’ struggles gradually showed a trace of weakness.
“You damn thing! Your target… is actually the Ten-Tails?!” Jigen finally fully understood Menma’s intent, trembling with rage, eyes nearly splitting!
He grabbed a Chakra Black Rod, his figure exploding forward with sky-high killing intent, charging straight at Menma standing at the edge of the shattered plaza!
“How do you know?! How could you possibly know of its existence?! Even that bitch Kaguya doesn’t know!!!” Jigen’s roar was filled with incomprehensible bewilderment and ultimate anger.
Menma fearlessly met him, also condensing a Black Rod in his hand.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two once again engaged in an intensely fierce close-quarters battle in the air!
Sparks flew from the clashing Black Rods, their speed leaving only two blurry figures.
Jigen was like a madman, his offense like a storm, every strike containing intent to tear the other apart.
While Menma remained steady and calm, his defense watertight, with occasional sharp counterattacks forcing Jigen to respond carefully.
The more they fought, the more horrified Jigen became.
The opponent seemed to know everything about him intimately—not only was his strength unlike that of this planet’s native, but he completely countered his space combination techniques, and even possessed an unheard-of tailed beast from another world!
Who exactly was he?
Where did he come from?
Why did he know so much about him and the Otsutsuki Clan?!
Countless questions nearly exploded Jigen’s brain.
In this heated battle, Jigen keenly noticed that the faint green glow from Menma’s right eye Byakugan seemed dimmer, and the opponent’s movements were faintly slower than at his earlier peak!
‘That’s right! This another dimension is isolated from the outside world; the unknown power supply linked to that Byakugan can’t keep up!’ This thought flashed in Jigen’s mind like a ray of dawn in darkness!
Jigen, who had been completely suppressed by Menma earlier, now gradually turned the tide, the two fighting back and forth in the air, locked in a stalemate of equal power!
The clashing sounds of Black Rods continued endlessly, energy shockwaves constantly shaking the already unstable space.
But Jigen felt no joy in his heart.
He knew clearly that if this dragged on, once the Ten-Tails was completely drained by that eerie Dark Nine-Tails, losing his most important Chakra source, this already battered vessel of his would reach its end, without even a chance for forced rebirth!
His face darkened to the extreme, a glint of resolve and madness in his eyes.
‘No choice… I have to prematurely trigger the full thaw of the “wedge” and perform rebirth! Though this vessel is far from perfect, post-rebirth it might only last a few days… but only by fully restoring my main body’s power can I thoroughly crush this damn guy and reclaim the Ten-Tails!’
Just as Jigen made this do-or-die decision in his heart, his offense slowing slightly as he prepared to retreat and gather power for rebirth, the ever-calm Menma observing the battle opposite seemed to keenly detect that fleeting suicidal intent.
‘Wants to rebirth prematurely? Hmph, full-powered Isshiki, I have no confidence dealing with him now…’
Even premature rebirth, Isshiki’s strength was top-tier among the Otsutsuki clan members. Among known Otsutsuki, only the ascended Otsutsuki Shibai and Kaguya Otsutsuki after eating the God Tree fruit were stronger.
In a flash, Menma quickly decided.
Can’t clash head-on with Isshiki!
He deliberately exposed a flaw. When Jigen swept a powerful low kick, instead of blocking, he borrowed the force, his figure floating backward like willow fluff, heading straight toward the black hole below where the two tailed beasts were fiercely battling!
His figure lightly landed on the messy head of the Ten-Tails, which was being madly drained of Chakra by the Dark Nine-Tails.
The Ten-Tails let out an angry yet powerless roar, but couldn’t shake him off.
Menma quickly formed a seal with both hands, then slammed his right palm onto the wrinkled head of the Ten-Tails!
“Flying Thunder God Technique!”
Hum——!!!
Powerful space-time fluctuations instantly enveloped the vast area centered on him!
Not only himself, but the Ten-Tails under his feet and the Dark Nine-Tails feasting on it were all firmly locked by an invisible spatial force!
“You bastard!!!”
Jigen, who had just steadied himself and was preparing to initiate the rebirth ritual, saw this and let out a heart-wrenching roar filled with despair and rampage!
He rushed forward crazily, trying to stop it, but it was too late!
The next moment, under Jigen’s gaze almost spewing fire, the figures of the Ten-Tails, Dark Nine-Tails, and Menma on its head vanished completely from this another dimension as if erased by an eraser!
Only leaving the altar destroyed beyond recognition, the empty, pitch-black sealing void, scattered gravel everywhere, and the Chakra Chains still swaying slightly…
And Jigen, hovering in mid-air, trembling violently from extreme anger, unwillingness, and the complete collapse of his plan, finally unable to maintain that deity posture.
At this moment, Jigen roared like an injured beast, filled with endless resentment and defeat, echoing through the entire another dimension.
“Ah——!!”
This roar seemed to traverse time and space, resonating desperately with that night a thousand years ago when he was betrayed by Kaguya.
………………
In the Land of Wind, the boundless desert.
The scorching sun hung high, baking the golden sand sea into rolling heat waves.
A massive merchant caravan of over a hundred camels snaked forward between sand dunes like a slow-moving ant colony.
Camel bells tinkled, mixed with the shouts of caravan members and the camels’ heavy panting, forming the only melody of life in this sea of death.
In the middle of this caravan, Tsunade and Shizune each rode an exceptionally sturdy Bactrian camel.
Tsunade still wore her tea-green haori, the prominent “gamble” character on her back swaying slightly with the camel’s steps.
She held a brownish-red wine gourd in her hand, occasionally tilting her head for a gulp, the spicy liquid seemingly dispelling a bit of the desert’s dryness and the slight irritation in her heart from Jiraiya’s parting and the unknowns of the Land of Stars.
Shizune hugged her pinkish-white little pig Tonton, positioned behind Tsunade, her vigilant gaze occasionally sweeping the surroundings.
A few days ago, after parting with Jiraiya in the Land of Grass, they had set off for the Land of Stars.
They first arrived at the capital city of the Land of Wind, trying to find a caravan going directly to the Land of Stars, but found all public caravans evasive, only willing to mention heading to areas near the Land of Stars’ border.
Eventually, they joined this large caravan led by a middle-aged merchant named Shara.
Shara had the dark skin typical of desert folk, with two meticulously trimmed mustaches above his lips, and shrewd, cautious eyes.
Initially, Shara was wary of these two female ninjas of unknown identity, but after encountering several waves of fierce desert bandits during the desert crossing, and Shizune easily dispatching all attackers with her skilled hidden weapons and ninjutsu, Shara’s attitude immediately became extremely enthusiastic and respectful.
He not only arranged comfortable mounts for them but generously provided the caravan’s best wine and food.
At this moment, Shara was riding his lead white camel alongside Tsunade, his face piled with a fawning smile.
“Lady Tsunade, half a day’s ride ahead and we’ll see the border marker of the Land of Stars.” Shara pointed to the endless sand sea ahead and said: “The situation over there is completely different from this side of the Land of Wind.”
Tsunade shook her wine gourd, casually asking: “Oh? I heard that a few years ago, the Land of Stars killed off all the old nobles and the Daimyo, making it a country without nobles? You merchants going there aren’t afraid of being slaughtered as fat sheep?”
Shara waved his hands hastily upon hearing this, lowering his voice: “Lady, you’ve been listening to outside rumors! The Land of Stars… the rules are indeed different from here, but it’s not lawless. They have a very strict commercial code; as long as you pay taxes according to regulations and operate legally, it’s not only safe but the profits are much higher than here in the Land of Wind!”
He paused, a trace of emotion on his face: “To be honest, who wasn’t afraid at first? But after a few trips, you realize there’s no bullying nobles’ sons on the market, no layer-upon-layer exploitative tax officials—everything by the rules. Though the tax rate looks high on paper, without those under-the-table kickbacks and extortions, we actually earn more and feel more at ease.”
Shizune, holding Tonton, couldn’t help interjecting: “Mr. Shara, since this trip is actually to the capital city of the Land of Stars, why didn’t any caravan admit it when inquiring in the Land of Wind capital’s market?”
Shara’s shrewd smile faded a bit. He glanced around, voice even lower, with a hint of helplessness: “Miss Shizune, you wouldn’t know. The Daimyo’s Mansion in the Land of Wind explicitly prohibits any form of trade with the Land of Stars—heavy penalties for violators! We merchants wouldn’t dare say openly we’re going to the Land of Stars; that’s asking for trouble. We just say border town nearby—everyone knows tacitly.”
Shizune frowned, pressing: “Then… what if Sand Village ninjas on border patrol check? Won’t they stop you?”
Shara pondered a moment, subconsciously glancing at Tsunade drinking beside him, seeing she seemed unconcerned, then rubbed his hands with a worldly, accustomed expression: “Well… usually, it’s just a matter of spending some money, greasing palms.”
Seeing the disapproval and puzzlement in Shizune’s eyes, he explained further: “Though the Daimyo prohibits it on the surface, goods from the Land of Stars are just too popular.”
“Not just scarce grain, salt, timber, medicine in the Land of Wind, but exquisite luxury items with magical effects, like Chakra nurturing jade stones said to condition the body, highly effective wound salves, even sealing scrolls that preserve food long-term… These things, even the nobles in the Land of Wind capital and people in the Daimyo’s Mansion are willing to pay top dollar for secretly.”
Shara spread his hands, a worldly smile on his face: “So, this ban is just so-so. Sand Village lords need to eat too, need to maintain village expenses. As long as we’re sensible, they usually turn a blind eye. After all, no one fights money.”
Shizune listened, brow furrowing tighter. From Konoha, she knew the ninja world’s dark side well, but such blatant bribery and unspoken rules on the table still made her uncomfortable.
Tsunade just scoffed, taking another gulp of wine, as if long accustomed to such matters.
She had traveled many countries for years, seen far dirtier deals.
At that moment, several figures appeared on the sand dune ahead.
They wore standard Sand Village ninja uniforms, headscarves against sand, the leader with sharp eyes, raising a hand to signal the caravan to stop.
“It’s Sand patrol!” A slight commotion rose in the caravan, camel bells stopping.
Shara’s face changed slightly, muttering softly: “Bad luck, running into them…”
But he quickly switched to his slick smile, deftly jumping off the camel and trotting up.
He skillfully pulled a heavy, weighty small cloth money bag from his bosom, respectfully offering it to the Sand small captain with a humble smile.
“Hard work, lords! A little something for drinks to quench your thirst…”
The Sand small captain expressionlessly took the bag, weighed it in his hand, then actually opened it, glancing inside.
Seeing the shiny gold coins, a faint satisfaction appeared on his face, then casually pocketed the money bag.
He waved lazily, leading his team to walk half a circle beside the caravan, eyes scanning goods and people, lingering extra seconds on Tsunade and Shizune, seemingly detecting their ninja identities, but ultimately saying nothing.
“Alright, no issues, move on.” The small captain drawled, then turned with his men to leave, resuming their “patrol.”
Shara breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly signaling the caravan to proceed.
Shizune watched the departing Sand ninjas’ backs, lips moving, but swallowed her words, just sighing softly.
Tsunade, unfazed, raised her wine gourd for another sip to dilute the desert dryness and slight irritation from the scene.
However, just as her lips touched the spout and the wine was about to flow down her throat—
Rumble…！！！
A muffled, earth-deep violent tremor came abruptly without warning!
“Woo—!”
The caravan’s camels instantly panicked, emitting terrified brays, stamping uneasily in place, some even trying to break free and flee!
Caravan members were startled by the sudden earthquake-like shake, crying out, formation in chaos!
The Sand ninjas about to leave hurriedly drew kunai and weapons.
“What’s going on?!”
“Earthquake?!”
“Steady the camels!”
Tsunade abruptly set down the gourd, wine spilling on her, but she paid no mind.
Shizune immediately clutched Tonton tightly, standing vigilantly, looking toward the vibration’s source.
Only to see at the distant horizon, a massive “sand dune” slowly rising!
No, that wasn’t a sand dune!
As it rose, it revealed a twisted, pale massive body like withered wood, with giant serpent-like tails thrashing wildly behind, stirring up the sky’s yellow sand!
Most chilling was at the top of that colossal thing, a gigantic single eye containing madness and rampage aura suddenly opening!
“Awroo——!!!”
A terrifying roar full of endless desire for destruction surged like a wave in the sand sea, instantly sweeping the entire desert!
The massive Chakra pressure in the sound made everyone and every camel present feel a soul-deep shudder and suffocation!
The sip of wine Tsunade had just swallowed sprayed out entirely!
Her beautiful almond eyes bulged round, her face full of unprecedented shock and disbelief, staring deathly at the distant heaven-connecting terror beast, crying out in alarm: “That is… a tailed beast?! Impossible?! This Chakra… this size… could it be… One-Tails Shukaku rampaging?!”
Intelligence on Sand Village’s Shukaku prone to rampage was no secret to high-level officials of major ninja villages.
While Shizune, hugging her trembling Tonton, gaped counting the tails behind the distant giant beast.
“One, two, three… nine…?!”
“Lady Tsunade! Ten… ten tails?!”
【PS: Here’s a 《Naruto the Movie: Road to Ninja》 glasses Tsunade, epic-level nerf, but glasses add a bit of lewd attribute, looks very bullyable.】
