Izuna, restore the glory of the Uchiha!

"Well……"

Nine-Tails trembled.

It used most of its power on that frantic barrage of Tailed Beast Balls.

Trying to protect himself from those storms even more terrifying than the Tailed Beast Balls, so as not to be truly destroyed, almost exhausted his life force, leaving him completely drained.

The massive, mountain-like body began to contract violently, a sign that its chakra was completely depleted.

With a flash of red light, the Nine-Tails' body shrank almost to nothingness, and then shrank even further...

Until Ban jumped down into the giant pit and stood in front of it, he could look down at it from a high vantage point.

After being forced to shrink in size, it became a fox that was only about knee-high.

It's already on the verge of a tailed beast's rebirth.

"Help, help me..."

The nine-tailed creature lay prostrate on the ground, emitting a faint, mournful cry. Without external intervention, its depleted life force would be unable to maintain its form, and its consciousness would soon dissipate.

It desperately needs chakra to keep its body functioning, which has already exhausted its source of energy; otherwise, it won't be long before its body completely dissipates.

Madara frowned. His goal wasn't to kill Kurama. The summoning contract would become invalid immediately after death, and he would have wasted his time.

He reached out and placed his palm on the fox's head, channeling his chakra to envelop it.

The Nine-Tails vaguely sensed a familiar feeling, like the aura of the Six Paths. Although it was very weak, its survival instinct made it eager to accept this chakra.

It didn't want to die.

Although the tailed beasts are immortal, if they were to dissipate at this moment and reassemble, the Nine-Tails that is resurrected would no longer possess the memories and self of this moment.

After a long time, the Nine-Tails finally stood up, trembling.

Aside from its blank yet clear eyes, it looks much better than before and is trying to get away with being cute.

With its tail between its legs, Nine-Tails staggered as if drunk, crawling away from Madara.

While moving, he secretly glanced at Ban's reaction out of the corner of his eye.

It seems that even though it was saved by Ban, it still has no intention of bowing its head.

If I had known it would be like this, what would have been wrong with forcibly being controlled by illusions?

At least it doesn't have to suffer that physical pain.

It wouldn't be a waste of a huge amount of chakra, but instead all the Tailed Beast Balls hit him squarely.

They also have to exhaust their own source power to protect themselves.

What kind of nonsense is this?!

Let's just assume it tacitly agrees to Ban's peace agreement. In any case, for a long time to come, given its current state, it won't have the ability to harass human villages.

However, just as it was about to climb over a small hill, using both its front and hind legs, and was about to leave the spotted area of ​​sight.

A cold voice came from behind.

"return."

Nine-Tails paused, then continued swaying, trying to pretend it hadn't heard, and even increased the frequency.

It hoped that the Uchiha in front of it would spare this poor fox.

Backfired.

Ban was clearly a man of action after words proved useless; he didn't bother to catch up and simply clapped his hands down.

"Spiritual communication!"

Black psychic runes stretched across the cracked ground as if they were alive.

"Bang!"

A puff of white smoke flashed by.

The next second, the Nine-Tails, who had just been celebrating its escape, reappeared at Madara's feet.

O Six Paths, why do you have to hurt me like this!

Nine-Tailed Fox felt a desperate, heart-wrenching cry, but it knew that preserving its life was more important at this moment, so it simply kept its eyes glazed over and pretended to be dumbfounded.

The fiery red fox in front of him was indeed very cute, but Madara knew that Kurama was acting, and that his acting was clumsy and forced.

It hasn't sold this kind of cuteness for thousands of years, and it's become quite rusty. What kind of plague has it run into today?

"I won."

Ban stated calmly.

The nine tails nodded vigorously, as if pounding garlic.

"Therefore, you are not allowed to hurt people indiscriminately in the future, and you are even more forbidden to destroy the village."

Do I look like someone who can hurt people at will?

Nine-Tailed Fox was on the verge of tears.

The operation to prevent the Tailed Beast Ball from rebounding just now damaged the Fire God Seal, its very essence. Whether it can fully recover is still unknown.

But it dared not argue, and continued to nod obediently.

Once Madara confirmed that Kurama understood his meaning, he graciously waved his hand.

"Let's go."

Nine-Tails was as if he had been granted a pardon!

He used all four limbs to run wildly, so fast that he even tripped and fell on flat ground, rolling in the dust and getting covered in mud.

But it soon realized that it was facing an even bigger challenge.

The carpet bombing had already created a huge crater in the original location, with the bottom of the crater at least tens of meters above the edge, and the rock walls were as smooth as a mirror.

This was nothing to it not long ago, but now it's an insurmountable barrier.

Ban stood dozens of meters away, arms crossed, watching it with a leisurely air.

Nine-Tails looked at its claws, worn raw from its attempts, and fell into deep thought.

Is it more shameful to actually dig your way out bit by bit, like a fox digging a burrow?

Or would it be even more embarrassing to ask this terrifying Uchiha for help?

then.

Ban then saw the gray-faced fox wagging its tail and running towards him, howling.

……

Izuna was comfortably soaking in the steaming hot bath.

Suddenly, a strong tremor came through the water.

Ripples spread across the surface of the bath.

If he wasn't mistaken, this was probably also a commotion created by Madara and Kurama.

Just as he was about to open the encyclopedia again to check on the situation on Ban's side, he heard two people talking in hushed tones from the pool next door.

"Brother, this commotion... is it caused by that fox demon?"

"Hmph, there aren't any other tailed beasts around here besides it, so it's probably the one that's gone mad."

Are they talking about the Nine-Tails?

Izuna felt a chill run down his spine and instantly became more alert.

Besides Madara, are there other forces coveting the Nine-Tails?

Taking advantage of the thick steam in the bathroom, he quietly moved closer to the source of the sound and heard it more clearly.

"I heard that a village nearby was attacked by the Nine-Tailed Fox, with flames shooting into the sky. It should be not far away."

Brother, shouldn't we hurry up and set off? What if someone else beats us to it...?

"What's the rush? Nobody's going to take it from us."

A rough voice interrupted him.

"But didn't Lord Ai instruct..."

"Shut up! Don't mention that name again!"

艾？

Izuna narrowed his eyes. The name sounded somewhat familiar, and he quickly searched his mind for information about this person.

Raikage!

No, Shadow Village hasn't been established yet. To be precise, it should be the head of the Yotsuki clan in the Land of Lightning.

So, who are these two people he sent out, who dared to call him by his name and were entrusted with the important task of capturing ninja beasts?

During the Warring States period... two brothers... were incredibly powerful...

Golden Horn and Silver Horn!

Izuna's pupils constricted slightly.

The person sitting in the bathtub next to him was Gold Horn and Silver Horn!

Those descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, monsters who can devour the flesh and blood of the Nine-Tailed Fox!

Izuna was somewhat surprised to encounter other people with names and surnames, but this did not prevent him from figuring out the logic behind it.

As previously predicted, the landscape of the ninja world is changing.

Smaller families struggled to survive in the absence of proper systems, while larger families tended to focus on improving their own strength.

Capturing ninja beasts as strategic weapons is naturally their primary objective.

This is a bit troublesome, as their timing coincides perfectly with Madara's capture of the Nine-Tails.

Izuna's mind sank.

Although Izuna believed Madara could win the battle against Kurama, he was bound to suffer some losses. Since the encyclopedia couldn't provide a detailed account of all the aftermath of the battle, he had to prepare for the worst.

We cannot allow them the opportunity to stab us in the back and reap the benefits.

Without making a sound, Izuna stood up from the bathtub, wrapped himself in a towel, and walked out of the bathroom.

The innkeeper just mentioned that a caravan from the Land of Thunder has arrived here.

It seems that this so-called caravan was just a front, and in reality, it was a group of people used by Gold Horn and Silver Horn to capture wild animals.

He returned to the counter.

The shopkeeper was busy calculating accounts when he saw Izuna return. He quickly went up to him with a big smile on his face.

"Why is the guest back again? Did they forget something...?"

Izuna's Sharingan swirled.

"Tell me, which room did those people from the Land of Lightning stay in?"