Chapter 47: Capturing the Nine-Tails
Stelle became a blur, circling the Nine-Tails at an impossible speed as violet flames erupted across her body. These were no mere offensive jutsu; the moment they ignited, they amplified her celerity and fortitude to inhuman levels.
The Nine-Tails' colossal tails lashed out, each one a mountain-crushing cudgel that could obliterate a shinobi with a glancing blow. They smashed into the earth again and again, but their target was always gone.
Her speed was simply too great. She moved like a bolt of purple lightning, a fluid stream of energy that defied physics, changing direction with such abruptness that she was impossible to track. The only result of the beast's titanic efforts was the constant deformation of the landscape, which was now a cratered wasteland of pulverized rock and choking dust.
The Nine-Tails roared in frustration. How could this damned human be so fast? It surged onto all fours, its body a mountain of raw power, and swiped its claws. The ground buckled and ancient trees were snapped like twigs. Its two front claws, far more agile than its tails, lunged for Stelle, seeking to squash the infuriating insect flat. The sheer force of the attack displaced the very air, creating a shockwave that would have sent any ordinary ninja tumbling, let alone able to fight back.
Unfortunately for the beast, it had encountered Stelle.
"You're too slow, Nine-Tails," she taunted, her voice cutting cleanly through the chaos. "You can't catch me at all."
Her figure flickered, appearing atop a newly formed stone pillar. "Can't you go any faster? Or should I slow down a bit? Just enough for you to keep up?"
She tilted her head, a picture of casual disappointment. "I must say, for the strongest of the Tailed Beasts, you're not much to look at."
That final barb sent the beast's rage past its breaking point.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" it howled, its voice a maelstrom of hate. A sphere of pure, violent energy began to condense within its gaping maw.
The Tailed Beast Bomb, a swirling vortex of negative emotion and cataclysmic power, grew rapidly, crackling with arcs of purple-black lightning. The very air around it began to vibrate, humming with a terrifying pressure as the chakra compressed.
Stelle felt the immense power contained within that sphere and her movements paused for a fraction of a second. 'Konoha's top genius, fighting the Nine-Tails, King of the Tailed Beasts, and dying heroically while sealing it away…' she mused. 'That sounds like a decent script.'
The Fourth Hokage had already set a precedent. With a bit of careful manipulation, it was an excellent way to make a dramatic exit.
She took a few steps back, then waved cheekily at the furious fox.
"Hey, big guy! Over here!"
The Nine-Tails' crimson eyes locked onto her, its entire being focused on the single desire to smash the Tailed Beast Bomb into her infuriatingly smug face. But in the next second…
A flash. Senju Tobirama appeared directly in front of Stelle, his body materializing from thin air via the Flying Thunder God Technique. His eyes, however, were what seized the world—a spinning crimson pattern, the Mangekyo Sharingan, flared to life, unleashing a torrent of ocular power directly at the Nine-Tails.
The same tomoe pattern bloomed in the beast's massive eyes. Its entire body froze, locked in place as if turned to stone. The incomplete Tailed Beast Bomb, its energy unstable and uncontained, detonated inside its own mouth.
"ROAR!"
The internal explosion sent the Nine-Tails into a violent, thrashing frenzy. Its colossal form flailed wildly, the sheer force of its agony nearly shattering the genjutsu's hold. Senju Tobirama grunted, intensifying the ocular power. A single, crimson tear of blood traced a path from the corner of his eye.
Stelle moved swiftly. Stepping forward, she produced a blank scroll as a medium and began weaving the hand seals for the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style, preparing to seal the rampaging beast.
Of course, a scroll was only a temporary prison. The Nine-Tails could continuously release its chakra to corrode the seal from within, and it would inevitably break free. The seal would require periodic reinforcement. To that end, Stelle immediately layered two more sealing techniques over the first—ones she had used before, ones that everyone had seen—bolstering the scroll's integrity.
But once they brought it back to Konoha, who would become its Jinchuriki?
The Uzumaki clan was the obvious choice, but to bind a Tailed Beast with the Adamantine Sealing Chains felt like a complete waste of its potential. It would be far more interesting if someone could actually establish a good relationship with the Nine-Tails and unlock its chakra mode.
Such a person would need to be thick-skinned, brimming with passion, and unfailingly upright and kind.
Filtering through the candidates, only one person in Konoha truly fit the profile: Might Duy.
Stelle's mind painted a vivid picture. If the Nine-Tails were sealed inside his belly, it would be forced to watch a hot-blooded idiot spend his days walking on his hands, flashing his blindingly white teeth, and crying waterfalls of "noodle tears."
She could almost hear him now: "Nine-Tails, are you interfering with my chakra again? This is the power of youth!"
A sudden shiver ran down her spine at the thought. It was so bizarre it was almost brilliant. Fortunately, Might Duy's physical constitution likely wasn't suitable for becoming a Jinchuriki. Otherwise, she really would have been tempted to try.
The two of them began the journey back, walking one after the other in comfortable silence. After a while, Stelle decided to voice a question that had been nagging at her.
"Teacher Tobirama, have you been alright lately?"
Over the past few days, Senju Tobirama's emotional state had been a rollercoaster, occasionally erupting with spikes of ten or twenty thousand mood points at a time. Of course, on the surface, he was as stoic as ever—a true master of facial expression management. If it weren't for her system, she would have no idea his mind was a whirlwind of activity.
Senju Tobirama stopped in his tracks.
"Why do you ask?" he said, his tone flat.
Stelle scratched her head, feigning concern. "It just seems like you have a lot on your mind, Teacher. Are you worried about the situation at the border?"
He shot her a sideways glance, his expression unreadable. Instead of answering, he posed a question of his own. "When the Tailed Beast Bomb appeared just now, why did you hesitate?"
Hey, hey, you don't have to be so sharp, do you?
"I just noticed the charging time for a Tailed Beast Bomb is quite long, haha," she deflected smoothly. "By the way, Teacher Tobirama, when are you going to hold the inauguration ceremony for the Third Hokage?"
She was genuinely looking forward to attending Senju Tobirama's promotion. With the Second Hokage becoming the Third, it would push everyone else in the line of succession back a spot. By the time it was Minato Namikaze's turn, he wouldn't be the "Yondaime" who could "bring a girl home"; he'd be the Fifth.
"We'll discuss it after the Five Kage Summit concludes."
Senju Tobirama didn't press the previous topic, but the look he gave her was distinctly strange. A moment later, Stelle received another notification.
[+5,000 Mood Value from Senju Tobirama]
A long string of question marks materialized over her head.
Something is definitely not right with Senju Tobirama!
At that very moment, far from the battlefield, Black Zetsu, who had been tailing Senju Stelle for days, let out a silent, soul-shattering scream. After witnessing the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan blaze to life in Senju Tobirama's eyes, his entire reality had crumbled.
Aaaaaah! How could Uchiha Madara's Eternal Eyes be in Senju Tobirama's head?!
How is this possible!
Could it be that Madara died again? No, even more impossible! Once Senju Hashirama was dead, who in this world could possibly be a match for Lord Madara?
Senju Tobirama has the Flying Thunder God, but he absolutely cannot defeat Uchiha Madara!
The only logical conclusion was a horrifying one.
So… it was Senju Stelle who killed Uchiha Madara, took his Eternal Eyes, and gave them to Senju Tobirama.
Yes, that must be it. Lord Madara would never have lowered his guard against her.
That damned, treacherous disciple! Why wasn't she the one killed by Lord Madara? She must have used some despicable, cowardly means to ambush him!
His plan…
His Infinite Tsukuyomi…
Black Zetsu's amorphous form collapsed onto the forest floor, his very essence writhing with a regret so bitter it felt like acid. He wished he could bury his head in the dirt and weep for a thousand years.
If he had known this would happen, back when that woman Mie was still alive, he would have done anything—anything—to have her kill Senju Stelle. He would have had her scatter the traitor's ashes to the four winds. This woman who had single-handedly ruined his grand, millennia-spanning plan.
He wanted her to die. A death so complete there would be no grave to mark it.
[Ding! Mood Value from Black Zetsu +50,000]
[Ding! Mood Value from Black Zetsu +50,000]
Hearing the delightful chime of the system notifications, a subtle, knowing smile touched Stelle's lips.
Hehe. Dumbfounded, aren't you? she thought with vicious glee. You thought Madara was resurrected and were just waiting for him to leave Konoha so you could latch on and start spinning your lies. Well, I'm not going to let you succeed. I'll even make sure you can never find Madara's body, leaving you dangling with nothing but a pair of eyes to obsess over.
Today's top donor, it seemed, was feeling just a little bit irritable.
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