Sealing the Jinchuriki

"B, this can’t go on! The enemy is too powerful. Use a Tailed Beast Ball and end this fight!" Eight-Tails Gyuki urgently warned him. They had been at a disadvantage from the very start, and the situation was extremely unfavorable. Worse still, the enemy seemed to be holding back.

"That’s what I was thinking too!"

Killer B took a deep breath. An enormous amount of chakra surged from his body once more, instantly transforming him into the complete Eight-Tails. Violent chakra churned rapidly as Yin and Yang chakra were compressed at a ratio of two to eight, gathering abruptly in the Eight-Tails’ mouth. An incomparably black chakra sphere gradually expanded.

"Tailed Beast Ball!" Minato, who had been standing by on the sidelines, pulled out two specially made kunai. The Tailed Beast Ball possessed immense power, enough to shatter mountains, split the earth, and reshape the terrain. Minato did not dare let his guard down, but Duke, standing at the heart of the battlefield, was even faster.

Duke wrapped his entire body in subzero cold as he frantically refined the natural energy in the air. Sage Art Chakra poured from his palms like seawater into the Blue-Ice White Night Dragon.

"Sage Art: Ice Release: Absolute Zero Freezing Air!"

The Blue-Ice White Night Dragon’s eyes slowly lit up. Its dragon head, covered in thorn-like ice spikes, lifted as a mass of Cold Qi condensed in its mouth. Brilliant ice-blue light emerged from every direction, gathering and expanding into a blue halo.

The Eight-Tails sensed a lethal threat and continuously poured chakra into the Tailed Beast Ball. Within two breaths, the Tailed Beast Ball in its mouth rapidly took shape, becoming even larger than its head.

The terrifying vortex of energy suddenly condensed. The Eight-Tails aimed at the Ice Dragon, the greatest threat on the field, and fired the Tailed Beast Ball from its mouth.

Almost at the same time, the Blue-Ice White Night Dragon also targeted the Eight-Tails. The ice-blue radiance compressed to its limit, then erupted in the next instant. Amid the sonic booms of air friction, the dazzling beam formed a terrifying Impact Wave as it blasted downward.

Absolute Zero Freezing Air collided with the Tailed Beast Ball in midair. The black Tailed Beast Ball was instantly coated in frost by the Cold Qi. The solidified energy sphere contracted as its surface temperature plummeted, but energy compressed to the extreme had no room left to compress further. The energy inside the Tailed Beast Ball expanded, forcing open crack after crack across its surface. Devastating energy surged wildly from the fissures, then… was frozen solid and snuffed out by the Cold Qi.

"How is that possible?" Under the disbelieving gazes of Killer B and Eight-Tails Gyuki, the Tailed Beast Ball that met Absolute Zero Freezing Air was instantly swallowed by ice-blue light, becoming a dud.

Wherever the freezing beam passed, even the air froze into a long chain. Moisture in the atmosphere rapidly condensed under the plunging temperature. Ice shards fell from the sky, and the ice field, already overflowing with Cold Qi, dropped in temperature to an unbearable degree in an instant.

A trace of terror flashed through the Eight-Tails’ eyes. The outcome of the clash between the two powerful attacks caught it completely off guard. With the freezing beam nearly upon it, it did not dare take any chances and severed one of its tails again to create a clone and escape.

But this time, its luck was not so good. The freezing air spread too quickly. Before the severed-tail Clone Technique could send it to safety, the attack came crashing down.

At the critical moment between life and death, Eight-Tails Gyuki cast Killer B aside and underwent Tailed Beast Transformation on its own, raising a wall of flesh like a mountain. The Cold Qi struck, instantly freezing the half-enlarged Eight-Tails solid without leaving it even the slightest room to maneuver.

A wild wind swept through the area, and all that could be seen was a vast expanse of snow and ice, as if the entire world had been covered in frost.

Hades came running from afar and plunged into the frozen landscape, hopping around joyfully. As expected of a husky, its resistance to the cold was off the charts. In that regard alone, it suited Duke better than Katsuyu. Slug Sister would never be able to endure the temperature before them.

Duke descended atop the Ice Dragon, while Minato flashed over from afar and landed beside him.

"So this is the technique that froze the Nine-Tails? Its power is truly terrifying. Being able to witness it once has made this trip worthwhile!" Minato praised him sincerely.

"No. Compared to the time I used it on the Nine-Tails, I held back a little." Duke stared intently at the Eight-Tails within the iceberg, confirming that it had not escaped through a clone this time.

The Blue-Ice White Night Dragon flapped its wings, splitting open the iceberg with its sharp foreclaws. It swung its tail and shattered countless chunks of ice. Seeing this, Hades scampered over and began digging furiously with both paws. The husky, born to tear apart homes, displayed its digging talent to the fullest before Duke and Minato. Ice fragments flew everywhere as it dug out the Eight-Tails, now an enormous popsicle.

The Eight-Tails’ massive body rapidly shrank until it finally became the Jinchuriki, Killer B. Because Eight-Tails Gyuki had sacrificed itself to save him, he was only frozen stiff. The Jinchuriki’s powerful vitality kept him barely alive. His lips had turned blue, his whole body was shivering, and after struggling for a few moments, he managed to stand.

"Oh, you can still fight?"

"Of course… surrender and death, I choose neither." Killer B stammered, exhaling a cloud of cold air. Eight-Tails Gyuki had been badly injured protecting him and could no longer lend him chakra. Now, he could only rely on himself.

"Your courage is commendable!"

"Of course it is. Until we decide the victor, I won’t give up so easily." Watching the enemies surround him once more, Killer B shuddered as a bead of sweat the size of a soybean rolled down his forehead.

That was what he said, but he knew perfectly well that today would likely be his last. Silently bidding farewell to his brother far away in Kumogakure, Killer B drew the short blades from his back and infused them with Lightning Release chakra, sharpening them further as he prepared for one final struggle.

The Lightning Release chakra infused into the blades created high-frequency vibrations, giving them penetration beyond even Wind Release. Killer B did not ask for much. He only wanted to take one enemy down with him before he died.

Unfortunately, he was still stiff from the freezing, and his entire body was riddled with openings. Forget Duke and Minato—even an ordinary Jonin could have subdued him. Minato vanished with a whoosh, appearing as an afterimage behind Killer B. A series of taijutsu strikes knocked the short blades from his hands.

"Kumogakure’s Jinchuriki, Killer B, please come with us." Minato kicked Killer B flying, then opened his right hand. Clusters of chakra flames rose from his five fingers.

Killer B flew backward and crashed into the iceberg. He had just spat out a mouthful of icy blood when Minato’s five fingers struck his abdomen.

"Sealing Technique: Five Elements Seal!"

The five clusters of chakra flames dimmed. Killer B immediately felt his connection to Eight-Tails Gyuki severed. The obscure seal separated him from the Eight-Tails, making it difficult for him to communicate with it.

Still not satisfied, Minato opened his palm again and pressed it against Killer B’s abdomen, adding another seal atop the Five Elements Seal.

"Eight Trigrams Seal: Alteration!"

Killer B let out a scream. This time, he could no longer sense the Eight-Tails at all, and even refining his own chakra became incredibly difficult. Not every ninja was like Konoha’s tight-suit clan. Without chakra, Killer B immediately coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground. Now, he possessed only a strong physique, slightly stronger than that of an ordinary person.

"Sealing complete! I’ve cut off his connection to the tailed beast inside him. Without a ninja proficient in sealing techniques, he won’t be able to undergo Tailed Beast Transformation for the rest of his life." The last of the two seals had been developed jointly by Minato and Kushina. He firmly believed that even after Killer B returned to Kumogakure, undoing the seal would not be easy.

Duke dispelled his ninjutsu, and the Blue-Ice White Night Dragon turned into shattered ice and sank into the ice field. The two of them grabbed Killer B, jumped onto Hades’ back, and headed for the Konoha encampment.

Their original mission had been to infiltrate and capture a high-ranking Cloud Shinobi official, but plans could not keep up with changes. They had directly wiped out the Cloud Shinobi frontline base instead. Although the number of people in this base was far smaller than during the Third Shinobi World War, it still struck Kumogakure to the bone. More importantly, Konoha had taken away their nuclear weapon.

Duke could guess with his butt that no one cared about the death of the envoy leader anymore. Kumogakure’s top priority was redeeming the Jinchuriki, at any cost. The aged Third Hokage had lost the Haki he once possessed as the Ninja Hero and only sought peace and prosperity for the village. If the Cloud Shinobi cried hard enough, he might soften up and let them off easy.

But none of that had anything to do with Duke. How to weigh the options was a matter for the higher-ups. Whether they sought balance or deliberately suppressed Kumogakure, they had their reasons. Besides, even if the Third Hokage took a sharp turn, there was still Shimura Danzō as the brake pad. Though Duke despised him, he had to admit that the bastard was absolutely the type to demand an outrageous price. If the Cloud Shinobi wanted to redeem Killer B, they would be bled dry.

Before reaching the Konoha encampment, Duke had Hades stop. After using the Summoning Technique to send the husky away, he bid Minato farewell. With his chakra gone, Killer B had been jolted and tossed around during the rapid journey. He lay on the ground with his eyes rolled back, foaming at the mouth. Judging by his condition, he was probably not far from death.

"You’re not going back to Konoha with me?" Minato asked in confusion. "Do you plan to cross the sea from the Land of Hot Water directly to the Land of Water?"

"Yes. Going back to Konoha would mean taking a detour, and it would waste too much time. Delays could bring complications with Obito. It would be safer to settle it sooner."

Minato’s expression turned serious. "Obito isn’t simple anymore. Do you not need me to go with you?"

"Don’t worry, Senior Brother Minato. You should go back and look after Naruto! Obito is just a weakling—I can run circles around him and beat him up. Besides, I’m his martial uncle. Would I be afraid of him?" Duke said confidently.

"Your strength is obvious to all, so of course I trust you. But Obito’s strength cannot be underestimated either. Ninja who master Space-Time Ninjutsu cannot be judged by ordinary standards. I’m worried you’ll suffer because of that."

"Space-Time Ninjutsu is indeed troublesome, but haven’t I mastered Flying Thunder God?"

Minato fell silent awkwardly. "Can yours still be called the Flying Thunder God Technique?"

"How is it not Flying Thunder God?"

"Your Flying Thunder God… is the most unconventional Space-Time Ninjutsu I’ve ever seen!" Minato felt utterly helpless.

Thanks to readers ‘Elegant Cabbage,’ ‘Little Zhang, Be Good and Drink Milk While Studying,’ and ‘Collecting 16 to 25 Year Old Beautiful Girls’ for the tips!