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Chapter 193: S-Rank Shinobi Secret Scroll Reward!
🕑 Added 2025-09-15 12:17:47 +0000 UTCChapter 193: S-Rank Shinobi Secret Scroll Reward!
The Black Samurai's iron fist hovered just before Kokuō's face. The gale force from the punch had plastered the Tailed Beast's white fur flat against its skin. The moment the notification popped up on his panel, Keisuke stopped the attack. Seeing this, Kokuō couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
It knew it hadn't been fighting at full strength; it hadn't even used its Tailed Beast Bomb. But it also knew that Keisuke had been holding back as well. For a ninja to engage in a battle of pure strength, ignoring all other ninjutsu, was a clear sign of restraint. If Keisuke had just flown into the air, Kokuō would have been almost completely helpless against him.
And that strange "giant jutsu" he had used at the end... it brought back some very unpleasant memories. It thought back to the man named Hashirama Senju, who had also used a colossal wood golem to capture it, its power almost perfectly suppressing its Tailed Beast chakra. In Keisuke, Kokuō saw a faint shadow of that man. On top of that, it had sensed the presence of natural energy around him.
Faced with an opponent who could nearly defeat it even while holding back, it was difficult for Kokuō not to acknowledge his strength. No—his power.
The massive form of the Black Samurai gradually dissipated into the air, and the Shadow Vise Technique released its hold.
"It seems we can proceed to the next step, just as we promised," Keisuke's true form was revealed, a wide smile on his face as he looked at the Tailed Beast. "Just as we discussed. Sign a contract with me and become my summoning beast, Kokuō!"
The Five-Tails lowered its massive body before him, quietly waiting.
Keisuke didn't hesitate. Following the method described in the Summoning Jutsu, he bit his thumb and, using his own blood as a medium, inscribed the contract formula onto Kokuō's body. A moment later, the complex array was complete. The crimson blood shone against the snow-white fur for a moment before sinking in and disappearing.
The summoning contract was complete.
Keisuke could clearly feel a faint space-time connection between himself and Kokuō. He could now use the Summoning Jutsu to call it to his side at any time, or use a Reverse Summoning to go to it. 'I wonder what the chakra cost is to summon Kokuō... I'll have to test that later,' he thought.
At the same time, Kokuō felt Keisuke's warm blood enter its body and also sensed the new bond between them.
"You truly are a good ninja who honors his promises," it said, its voice growing softer, its sea-blue eyes filled with a human-like affection. "Nara Keisuke, I am very fond of you."
"I like you too, Kokuō," Keisuke replied, boldly reaching out and rubbing its head. The silky white fur was so comfortable he felt like he could fall asleep on it. "Kokuō, let's go meet the others first."
"Alright."
Kokuō allowed Keisuke to climb onto its head and then carried him toward the other Konoha shinobi. Seeing Keisuke riding the Five-Tails, Hiruzen and the others knew without a doubt that he had succeeded—he had signed a summoning contract with the Tailed Beast. This was news that would shake not just Konoha, but the entire ninja world. The already renowned Shadow of Darkness, now partnered with the Five-Tails... their combined power was almost unimaginable.
But what shocked them even more was the strength Keisuke had just displayed. Wasn't the Shadow of Darkness supposed to be a stealth-type ninja who relied on his flight and seal-less jutsu? What was that heaven-and-earth-shaking black giant that had just beaten down a Tailed Beast?!
Minato and Kagami, who had seen the Black Samurai before, were even more stunned. They had thought the "giant jutsu" was some last-resort, life-draining forbidden technique. But judging from this battle... could it be one of his regular jutsu? Kagami almost wanted to check Keisuke's eyes to see if they were the Eternal Mangekyo that Lord Madara had taught him about. 'But Lord Madara never said the Eternal Mangekyo's pupils were pure black...'
"Clan Head, Minato-san..." Keisuke greeted them from atop Kokuō's head. "I'm glad I did not fail in my duty. If there's nothing else, I'm going to take Kokuō to get familiar with the area."
Hiruzen opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say. Keisuke had captured, unsealed, and contracted the Five-Tails... it was a one-man show from start to finish. The only role Konoha had played was... changing the location of the contract signing? In the end, all Hiruzen could manage was a dry, "Be careful."
"Of course," Keisuke said, stroking Kokuō's soft fur. "Kokuō's size is a bit much. If he were to suddenly appear before ordinary citizens, it would cause a panic. I won't be taking him back to Kikyo Castle for now."
Hiruzen and Minato nodded. Konoha had a Tailed Beast, but this was the first time they had a "semi-wild" one. Keisuke's approach was undoubtedly the most prudent. Of course, the most prudent approach would have been to seal it away, just like the Nine-Tails. But they couldn't find a suitable Jinchuriki candidate in time, and... they couldn't overcome Keisuke's unyielding will.
'So be it. A summoning contract is still an effective way to control a Tailed Beast's power,' Hiruzen sighed internally. Keisuke's strength was now guaranteed to grow even further. As long as he remained on Konoha's side and didn't do anything too outrageous, Hiruzen decided he couldn't be bothered to interfere with his actions anymore. 'Instead of worrying about the Five-Tails losing control, I should be thinking about which battlefield to send them to next...'
Unaware of Hiruzen's thoughts, Keisuke bid them farewell and patted Kokuō's head. "Let's go, Kokuō. We can start by exploring this place... This is actually the Valley of the End, where the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara fought."
The white demonic beast began to move away.
"Lord Hokage, Minato, see you next time!" Nara Shikano shouted before using his Shadow Beast Scroll to chase after them. "Five-Tails! Keisuke! Wait for me!"
Hiruzen watched him go, completely baffled. 'Whether it's Shikano or Keisuke... why are they so obsessed with the Five-Tails?' Minato and Kagami were wondering the same thing, but they also had no answer.
Keisuke rode Kokuō to the cliffs of the Valley of the End. The beast leaped lightly down to the wide river below and landed with a massive splash.
"This feels so good!" Kokuō thrashed its limbs, swimming gracefully through the water like an elven dolphin, letting out a cheerful cry.
Keisuke held up a shadow shield, avoiding the downpour of water. "Kokuō, the clan head is catching up."
"What's he coming for?" Kokuō asked, pausing its swim to look up at Nara Shikano approaching on his shadow beast. "His ninjutsu looks just like yours."
"That's because I'm the one who developed it," Keisuke explained. "Speaking of which, Kokuō, would you be interested in learning some other ninjutsu later?"
The Tailed Beasts were blessed with incredible natural talent, but most of them only knew how to fight with their bodies. Kokuō's "Five Mountain Leap" and "Horn Breaker" were just simple physical attacks—basically, a kick and a charge. Of course, for a Tailed Beast, that was usually more than enough. But as its contractor, Keisuke hoped it could become even stronger.
"We can talk about that later..." Kokuō replied noncommittally.
"Five-Tails—is it Kokuō?" Nara Shikano arrived, hovering on his shadow beast to remain at eye-level. "What a beautiful name!"
"Ninja of the Nara clan," Kokuō said. "What do you want?"
"Um, I wanted to discuss your future living arrangements," Shikano said, suppressing his excitement to begin a formal discussion. "I heard from Keisuke earlier that you prefer to live in a forest?"
"Yes," Kokuō replied, nodding as he got down to business. It might not be human, but it wasn't completely ignorant of their rules. For the sake of its future quality of life, it began a serious discussion with the old clan head.
Keisuke, finally getting a moment of peace, decided to inspect the S-rank scroll he had just received. 'An S-rank scroll from Kokuō. I wonder what's inside...'* He thought of the various abilities it possessed. 'Let's just open it!'
He secretly reached out and pet Kokuō's fur, just for good luck.
[Opening...]
[Contents of this S-Rank Shinobi Secret Scroll: Technique]
[S-Rank Technique: Tailed Beast Bomb]
[Description: The boiling Tailed Beast chakra! Shake the heavens! Shatter the earth!]
[Effect: Mix Yang Release chakra and Yin Release chakra at an 8:2 ratio and compress them together. After applying extreme rotational shape transformation, release it. The size and destructive power are determined by the amount of chakra invested.]
[Evaluation: Nuclear launch detected!]
