Chapter 411 - 411: The Nine Tailed Beasts Gather

Under the pursuit of the four shadows summoned by Limbo: Border Jail, the Eight-Tails Gyūki was swiftly defeated.

Throughout the entire battle, it barely had a chance to retaliate. Byakuya's four shadows treated the massive beast like a ball, kicking it back and forth between them.

Even though Gyūki's eight tails could transform into smaller clones, nothing could change its fate of being utterly dominated.

[Ding! Host has defeated the Eight-Tails Gyūki. Reward obtained: Summoning Jutsu (Eight-Tails Gyūki)!]

As the system announced Amaha Byakuya's victory, the Eight-Tails' form vanished.

Meanwhile, on the beach below, the spectators who had witnessed Byakuya's power firsthand stood slack-jawed in disbelief.

But the moment the Eight-Tails disappeared, Byakuya vanished as well.

He returned to the Kamui dimension and summoned Gyūki there.

Byakuya attempted to communicate with Gyūki the same way he had with the other Tailed Beasts—explaining the general situation and persuading it to shrink its form.

The violent, battle-hungry Eight-Tails had been thoroughly beaten into submission. After such a devastating defeat, it had no choice but to comply.

If it refused, there would only be more beatings. It wasn't a masochist, after all.

"Shrink down... to about this size?"

As Gyūki spoke, it reduced itself to roughly the same size as the other miniaturized Tailed Beasts.

"Yes, that works."

Byakuya nodded.

He then brought Gyūki out of the Kamui dimension to meet the others.

"One-Tail, Two-Tails, Three-Tails..."

Gyūki counted them all, discovering that including itself, eight Tailed Beasts were now gathered here.

This genuinely surprised it.

"That just leaves the Nine-Tails..."

Byakuya murmured to himself.

"As expected, you won't let the Nine-Tails go either."

Gyūki sighed.

"Of course not. After all, all nine are essential."

Byakuya nodded.

"Well, I don't really understand why you're so determined to fuse the Ten-Tails, but I know no one in this world can stop you now."

Gyūki shrugged.

Having just been summoned to this world, even after Byakuya's explanation about the Ten-Tails fusion and the Infinite Tsukuyomi, it couldn't fully comprehend the reasoning yet.

Byakuya smiled slightly but said nothing more.

He opened the System Shop.

[Ding! Host has purchased "Tailed Beast Challenge Scroll (Nine-Tails Kurama)." 1,800 Fusion Points consumed. Current balance: 7,700 FP!]

Having finally acquired the last Tailed Beast scroll, Byakuya immediately summoned the Nine-Tails.

[Nine-Tails Kurama has appeared in Hokkaido, Japan. Please proceed to challenge it!]

Finally, a Tailed Beast had appeared on Japanese soil. Byakuya teleported to Hokkaido without delay.

Fortunately, Kurama had appeared in a rural area. By the time he arrived, no civilians had been attacked.

Before him stood a massive humanoid fox with orange-red fur—the Nine-Tails Kurama, his final target.

Among all nine Tailed Beasts, Kurama was undoubtedly the strongest, possessing nearly infinite chakra of no particular nature.

Kurama's temperament was equally volatile, harboring deep wariness and hatred toward humans. The moment it spotted Byakuya walking through the air, its expression turned savage.

It crouched into a hunting stance, ready to pounce at any moment.

"That hostile toward me, are you? In that case..."

As he spoke, Byakuya manifested Susanoo in the void. "How about now?"

With each step he took through the air, his Susanoo evolved through its stages, its chakra intensity climbing higher and higher, until it reached its Perfect form...

Kurama immediately sensed an oddly familiar chakra signature. When it got a clear look at the Perfect Susanoo, memories of an extremely unpleasant past came flooding back.

Specifically, the time it had been controlled by Uchiha Madara's Sharingan and forced to fight Hashirama Senju.

Being controlled by the Sharingan was humiliating enough, but then it had been beaten like a disobedient child by Hashirama's giant wooden Buddha.

Because of this, Kurama despised Uchiha Madara—and by extension, all humans.

Its expression grew even more ferocious. With a roar, it launched itself at Byakuya.

"You recognize this power and still want to resist?"

Byakuya raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.

It seemed the Nine-Tails truly harbored an intense hatred for Madara.

Being forcibly captured by Madara and made to fight Hashirama for no reason—it was entirely understandable why Kurama would despise him.

But Byakuya had no intention of going easy on the Nine-Tails.

Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu!

A massive wooden dragon coiled around Susanoo's body, then lunged at the charging Kurama.

Since the battle at the Valley of the End, Kurama was once again ensnared by a Wood Dragon. The technique not only drained the chakra from its body but also immobilized it completely. Its roars of defiance transformed into cries of pain.

Then, Perfect Susanoo's blade descended.

Though Tailed Beasts couldn't be killed, this single strike was enough to decide the outcome.

[Ding! Host has defeated "Nine-Tails Kurama." Reward obtained: Summoning Jutsu—Nine-Tails Kurama!]

And with that, all nine Tailed Beasts had become Byakuya's summoning creatures.

He didn't bother returning to the Kamui dimension first—he summoned the Nine-Tails right there on the spot.

After all, this was a remote, uninhabited area.

When Kurama was summoned, it didn't immediately grasp what had happened. Seeing Byakuya before it, its first instinct was to tear him apart.

But it quickly realized it couldn't. Though the Wood Dragon was no longer binding its body, it simply couldn't control its own movements...

"?!"

Kurama's expression shifted to shock, completely bewildered by what was happening.

"Calm down. I'm not your enemy anymore."

Byakuya spoke in a placating tone.

"What did you do to me?!"

This was the first time Kurama had spoken to Byakuya directly.

"Nothing much. I just defeated you, and now you're my summoning beast. Simple as that."

Byakuya said flatly.

But Kurama didn't seem ready to accept this. Even after hearing his explanation, it still harbored intense hostility toward him.

The reason was simple: Byakuya's abilities were essentially identical to Uchiha Madara's. Since Kurama despised Madara, it certainly wasn't going to show Byakuya any goodwill.

"Maybe you should take some time to cool off first. Once you've calmed down, we can continue this conversation."

With that, Byakuya tossed Kurama into the Kamui dimension.

Let the Nine-Tails have some quiet time in there.

He himself traveled back home through the Kamui dimension.

...

Now all nine Tailed Beasts were gathered—though the Nine-Tails was still having a timeout in the Kamui dimension.

"Byakuya, you left for a bit. You've already dealt with that Nine-Tails guy, right? Where is it?"

Seeing Byakuya return, Shukaku immediately asked.

"It's been dealt with, but it wasn't being cooperative. I'm letting it cool off for now."

Byakuya replied.

"Figures the Nine-Tails couldn't last long against you either. But you could totally force it to comply, couldn't you? Why give it time to think about it?"

Gyūki was mildly surprised.

Though Byakuya hadn't issued any direct commands to them yet, the Tailed Beasts were well aware that once he gave an order, they would have no choice but to obey absolutely.

"I treat all of you the same way. If we can sit down and talk things through, I'd rather not resort to heavy-handed methods."

Byakuya responded.

"What's there to cool off about? That guy won't appreciate the consideration. How about you let me go teach it a lesson? Maybe then it'll behave."

Shukaku immediately volunteered to discipline Kurama.

It had never liked the Nine-Tails, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to vent some frustration.

Of course, Shukaku knew it couldn't actually beat Kurama in a straight fight. That's precisely why it was seizing this chance to leverage Byakuya's authority.

"You want to challenge it one-on-one? That's not impossible."

Byakuya said casually.

"..."

Shukaku's confidence immediately wavered.

"It's probably been long enough. Let me check on it."

With that, Byakuya entered the Kamui dimension.

He found Kurama lying there, seemingly having accepted that escape was impossible.

"Calmed down yet?"

Byakuya asked.

"..."

Kurama remained silent, completely ignoring him.

"...Still like this, huh? I understand why you hate humans—especially me—but I don't have time to wait for you to come around. So, I'll have to do this the hard way."

Byakuya said matter-of-factly.

He used his mental command to force Kurama to shrink.

Then he brought it out of the Kamui dimension.

Now, all nine Tailed Beasts were truly reunited.

Kurama was still fuming about being forcibly controlled, but the next moment, Shukaku diverted its attention.

"Kurama, look at you now! Hahaha—"

Shukaku immediately began mocking the Nine-Tails.

"..."

When Kurama noticed that not only Shukaku but all the other Tailed Beasts were present—and all miniaturized just like itself—it was momentarily stunned.

So this was that human's doing as well...?

"You think you have the right to laugh at me? You ended up here just the same."

Kurama snorted coldly.

"No, no, no. I'm nothing like you. At least I'm not a sore loser."

Shukaku taunted.

Shukaku wasn't the only one who had a poor relationship with Kurama—all seven other Tailed Beasts had their issues with the Nine-Tails too, given its arrogant personality. The difference was that Shukaku was the only one who made its disdain openly known.

So none of the other Tailed Beasts spoke up for Kurama, but they didn't back Shukaku either. They simply didn't want to get involved in the conflict between those two.

"That's enough. You're going to be living together from now on, so try not to cause any unpleasantness."

Byakuya cut off the bickering between Shukaku and Kurama.

"What? You want me to live with that thing? Absolutely not!"

Kurama immediately protested.

Having been distracted by Shukaku, it seemed to have momentarily forgotten its grievances with Byakuya.

"Actually, it's us who can't stand living with you. Don't get it twisted!"

Shukaku retorted at once.

For a moment, the two tiny creatures looked ready to come to blows.

But at their current toy-like size, whether they were arguing or fighting, they only managed to look adorable.

"I said that's enough. This is my home. If you accidentally wreck the place, I won't let you off easy."

Byakuya warned again.

This wasn't just his home—it was his bedroom.

The Tailed Beasts typically slept here.

As he spoke, a miniature Wood Dragon appeared in his palm—a scaled-down version of the Wood Dragon Jutsu.

For disciplining Tailed Beasts, the Wood Dragon worked exceptionally well.

It not only drained their chakra but also caused intense pain.

One Wood Dragon wrap and they'd behave.

Among all the Tailed Beasts present, Kurama had suffered the most from the Wood Dragon Jutsu. So when it saw the technique in Byakuya's hand, despite feeling humiliated and bitter, it had no choice but to settle down.

Seeing Kurama fall into line, Shukaku realized the severity of the situation even without having experienced the technique itself.

If even the Nine-Tails was afraid of something, it had to be serious.

Shukaku immediately acted as if nothing had happened, dropping its quarrel with Kurama.

"Good. Very obedient."

Only then did Byakuya dispel the miniature Wood Dragon.

"Now, the same old topic. I'm going to fuse you into the Ten-Tails. Before that happens, you're free to go wherever you want and enjoy yourselves, but you cannot harm humans."

Byakuya stated plainly. "Also, after my goal is achieved, I'll voluntarily separate the Ten-Tails. Though I'm sure that sounds like an empty promise to you. Believe it or not—your choice."

"I believe you, Byakuya. I don't really have anywhere specific I want to go. Just wandering around town is fine with me."

Shukaku was the first to respond.

Among the nine Tailed Beasts, it had spent the most time with Byakuya and had developed some understanding of him.

"Same here, I suppose."

Matatabi said casually.

Whether it believed him or not didn't really matter—Byakuya's word was final anyway, since they had to obey his commands.

In other words, it had adopted a somewhat resigned, go-with-the-flow attitude.

The remaining Tailed Beasts, from Three-Tails through Seven-Tails, had all spent some time with Byakuya by now. They understood why he was doing this and didn't harbor any obvious resistance.

"You beat me fair and square. You're the boss. I'll follow your lead."

Gyūki was brief and to the point.

"..."

Now only the Nine-Tails Kurama remained silent.

Byakuya hadn't actually asked them to voice their opinions—Shukaku had just started it, and then the others followed suit from Two-Tails to Eight-Tails.

"Bunch of idiots, trusting a human so easily."

Kurama grumbled first, then crossed its arms and sighed with an air of reluctant acceptance. "Well, there's nothing I can do about it now. Do whatever you want."

...

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