"Rooaaarrr!"
The Seven-Tails bellowed toward the sky. Around him, not a single ninja remained alive. He drew in a deep breath, his voice booming with exhilaration.
"Hahaha—this feeling of freedom… it's been far too long!"
He began to gather chakra again, condensing another Tailed Beast Bomb in his mouth. He wanted this place to vanish completely from existence.
Uchiha Kairen turned toward his team. "That side's wrapped up already. We'd better pick up the pace. A man who drags behind has no right to call a tailed beast his friend. Uncle, when I'm in front—swing freely. Even if I'm in the way, cut through me. Danten, attack from behind. Don't hold back. When I give the word, we finish this together."
He gave the signal, eyes flashing.
"Light Release: Refractive Blitz!"
Uchiha Kairen linked himself, Uchiha Danten, and the Takigakure leader with the energy of his twin-blades: berserker. A blinding gold light erupted—then, in an instant, he was beside the enemy.
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
Kairen, Uchiha Retsu, and Uchiha Honō acted in perfect sync, launching a binding jutsu together.
Danten and Kirito followed immediately, their strikes slicing down at the Takigakure's leader. Kairen's body flashed between them at impossible speed—so fast that their slashes nearly crossed through him.
But they trusted him completely. Neither man hesitated. Their swords fell with killing intent—
—and passed harmlessly through Kairen's form, as though he were made of light itself.
Takikage stared in horror as a sword swept through the young man's torso and came down toward him. Dodging was already impossible; he twisted his body at the last second, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow.
At that moment, Danten's twin blades descended again, sealing his movement and cutting toward his head. Takikage bent his body into an unnatural contortion, but at this rate his right arm would be severed—
"Genjutsu: Sharingan!"
"Genjutsu: Technique of the Mist Servant!"
"Genjutsu: Darkness Illusion!"
From the outer perimeter, Uchiha Gorou, Uchiha Retsu, and Uchiha Honō unleashed three illusions in rapid succession.
Against a Kage-level opponent, they could only disrupt his senses for a moment—but even a single second could decide the outcome.
Takikage's movements froze for barely two seconds before he shook free—
but that was more than enough time for Kairen to traverse the path of light twice over.
"Lightning Release: Chidori!"
When Takikage came to his senses, a thunderous sword had already pierced his chest. His strength left him at once; even his gaze dimmed.
"Shff! Shff!"
Two clean, fluid strikes followed—severing his head and half his body.
Thus ended the life of a Kage-level shinobi.
The battle was over. The Uchiha squad had hunted their prey—an assassination of Takikage, successful.
In the distance, the Seven-Tails had already launched three Tailed Beast Bombs. The explosions turned the entire Takigakure into a crater of ruin. The sheer force of a tailed beast truly defied imagination.
Uchiha Kairen leapt onto the battlefield before the Seven-Tails.
"How's that, big guy? Feeling good?"
"Hahaha! Not bad at all! You humans… you're pretty interesting. No one's ever called me 'brother' before."
Chōmei's laughter echoed, wild and triumphant. Finally—finally—those wretched captors were gone.
Kairen smiled faintly.
"The Sage of Six Paths divided the Ten-Tails into nine beings, giving each of you a home to dwell in. But humans… humans feared your strength. Their greed grew—villages began trying to claim the tailed beasts as weapons.
"They captured you, sealed you, enslaved you. And because of that, a grudge formed between ninja and beast—an endless hatred.
"But all of this… is humanity's greed. If there were more understanding, more trust, more patience… if people treated you as comrades rather than tools, then you and humans could stand side by side—just like my comrades here. Not as weapons. As family."
Chōmei's compound eyes blinked slowly.
"You know quite a lot, little one. Who exactly are you?"
"My name is Uchiha Kairen, of the Uchiha clan. Our ancestors inherited the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths. And I… I wish to inherit his will—to see a world where tailed beasts and humans live together freely and peacefully. That's why I came to free you."
His gaze was steady, his words sincere.
Chōmei's wings flexed.
"Heh… a descendant of the old man, huh? No wonder those eyes looked familiar—Sharingan, right? Well, you've done it. You've freed me. Thanks for that. Guess this is goodbye."
He spread his six wings, preparing to fly.
But Kairen couldn't let him go—not when the "cooked duck" was about to fly away.
"Where can you even go now?" Kairen called out. "Wherever you fly, humans will find you again. They'll seal you, or make you their slave once more. You'll never be safe!"
"Damn it! Damn you humans!" Chōmei roared, his voice rumbling like thunder. "Because of you, there's nowhere left for me! I am a tailed beast, not your pet to command!"
"Wait, wait, brother—don't get worked up. I've got a better idea. Do you know about the Summoning Realm? I have one. You could live there—peacefully. You wouldn't need to sign any contract, wouldn't owe anyone anything. It's beautiful—mountains, rivers, endless sky. You could be free again."
As he spoke, Kairen quietly activated his Sharingan, weaving a faint genjutsu into his words—not to control, but to soothe, to nudge the beast's emotions toward calm.
Chōmei's antennae twitched. "You're serious? Why would you do all this? No human's ever that kind. What's your real goal? Speak!"
An immense pressure filled the air, crushing down on Kairen until he could barely breathe.
But he met it head-on.
"I just want to see if humans and tailed beasts can coexist. You're not meant to be caged or bound. You're living beings, meant to roam free beneath the same sky.
"But right now… I can't free all of you. Not yet. And if I let you wander, the same tragedy will happen again. So let me give you a home—somewhere safe, somewhere only you can reach."
His words rang with unfeigned sincerity. He stepped forward and reached out his hand.
When their fingers and claw met, a warmth spread through them both—a quiet resonance of recognition.
For Chōmei, that feeling was ancient and nostalgic.
"Old man… is that you? I've waited so long…" he murmured.
Sensing his emotion, Kairen leapt up, landing atop Chōmei's head, stroking the rough surface gently.
"Come on, big brother. Let's go home."
"Reverse Summoning Technique!"