Chapter 74: Isobu, the three tailed beast.

Mountain forest outside Kirigakure... The Three-Tails' jinchūriki stood calmly. A faint smile played on his lips. "Are you ready? I'm about to release Isobu." Zenkichi nodded. "Go ahead. We're far enough from the village—it won't be affected. And if this experiment fails, I can still suppress Isobu with my own strength." The jinchūriki smiled and raised his hand. Chakra flames ignited across his palm as he pressed it against his stomach. A sealing formula appeared across his abdomen, then burned away under the chakra flames. A crimson, malevolent chakra erupted from his body and surged into the clearing nearby. Moments later, a massive turtle with three tails appeared—Isobu, the Three-Tails. Each tail swung with terrifying force, generating winds that shook the surrounding trees. Its enormous size and destructive potential made it clear why tailed beasts were considered living weapons. Even just its presence felt like a nightmare for any ordinary shinobi. "Stand back," Zenkichi ordered, motioning to the Third Mizukage and the others. The Mizukage hesitated. "Do you need backup?" Zenkichi shook his head. "No. None of you can help. Isobu has one of the strongest defenses among all the tailed beasts." Isobu's massive turtle body was protected by thick, rock-like shell plating—resistant to almost any ordinary attack. What Zenkichi needed to do was cut off a portion of Isobu's body—and very few were qualified to attempt such a thing. "Totsuka no Tsurugi!" Zenkichi pressed his palms together. As he separated them, a golden blade of energy formed in his hands—a radiant, oversized sword of light. He surged forward toward Isobu. With a deafening roar, Isobu reacted, its tails sweeping toward Zenkichi. The wind from their movement howled as if tearing the sky apart. The rage of a beast imprisoned for decades exploded outward. Zenkichi barely flinched. "So much brute force... terrifying," he muttered casually. He raised the sword and slashed. A blinding wave of sword energy burst forth, like a tsunami of golden light. --- From a distance... The Third Mizukage stood on a cliff, surrounded by ANBU, observing closely. Seeing Isobu's massive body thrash about, he couldn't help but mutter in awe, "As expected of a tailed beast... just one movement matches the destructive force of an S-rank jutsu." "But Zenkichi's ability to turn into light makes him immune to physical attacks. Still... can even he cut through that shell?" He was worried. Then—it happened. Zenkichi's sword slash collided with Isobu's tail base. Slice. Three enormous tails were severed at the root and slammed into the ground with a thunderous crash. Isobu let out a pained roar and collapsed, unconscious. The ANBU stared in disbelief. "...No way." Even the Mizukage was speechless. This was Isobu, the most heavily-armored tailed beast—and Zenkichi had just carved off its tails with a single slash. But Zenkichi only shook his head. "So much for defense. You're a disgrace among tailed beasts," he muttered. After all, Isobu had once been knocked out by Deidara. Even with its formidable defense, it was surprisingly fragile in practice. "Sealing team! Get those tails sealed!" Zenkichi commanded. The Kirigakure sealing unit moved quickly, sealing the severed tails for the next stage of the experiment—implanting them into a new host. The Third Mizukage had prepared a test subject: a death row prisoner who had betrayed the village. His reward, if he survived, was the pardon of his remaining family. "Let's begin." The sealing team worked swiftly, transferring the tailed chakra into the man's body. Because the tails had been severed and were inert, the sealing was done without resistance. "How do you feel?" the Mizukage asked. The man took a moment to gauge himself. "The chakra's violent, but since it's not too much, the seal is suppressing it. I think I can control it—at least in small amounts." "Let's see it," the Mizukage instructed. The man nodded. With a simple mental command, red chakra began to seep from the seal. Three faint chakra tails extended behind him, flicking with restrained power. "This chakra is wild. Not easy to use in jutsu, but if I extract it slowly, it works." The red aura vanished. Forming hand seals, the man activated a Water Release technique. A massive waterfall erupted from thin air and came crashing down on a distant hill, smashing it to pieces. "The chakra's quality is way higher than mine. The same technique hits way harder." The Mizukage considered his words. "Interesting... how far can you transform?" The man focused. The red chakra flared up, coating his entire body in a second-stage tailed form. "In this state, I can't cast jutsu anymore. The chakra's too chaotic." "But I don't think I need jutsu. In this form, I could crush most enemies with raw power." Zenkichi approached, observing with satisfaction. "It worked." "This partial jinchūriki form is compact enough to hide easily—but powerful enough to release a Tailed Beast Bomb." The Mizukage nodded. "So we'll divide Isobu's power into two halves?" Zenkichi replied, "Exactly. Seal the main body into Yagura. He can suppress it." "As for the tails... let's give them to Mangetsu Hōzuki. He should handle it just fine." The Mizukage agreed. "If you've already made your decision, I won't object. Should we seal Isobu now or begin with Saiken?" Zenkichi looked down at the unconscious Isobu and smiled. "Let's finish sealing Isobu first. We won't get another clean shot like this." --- 60+ Chapters on Patreon. Patreon.com/Zphyr_