Chapter 256: Forcing Shukaku Into Submission
"Again with that attack?"
"Where is it coming from? Why can't I sense any chakra fluctuation at all?"
Shukaku was confused. As a being made of chakra, he was naturally sensitive to it. Yet he hadn't sensed a thing from that last strike.
BOOM!
His bisected upper and lower halves landed on the ground. Li Yao's Wind Clone noticed that Shukaku's lower half turned into flowing sand and reformed back into his body.
"It's those sealing marks!"
This time, Li Yao's Wind Clone saw clearly—it wasn't Shukaku's body simply turning to sand that allowed his regeneration, it was the presence of those sealing inscriptions. As long as the marks remained intact, Shukaku could keep restoring himself.
The only question was—did this regeneration have a limit?
With that in mind, Li Yao's Wind Clone raised his hand and fired another slash—this one aimed at the larger previous wound.
BOOM!
Shukaku had just reformed his body when he was cleaved in half again.
"Aaah! It hurts, it hurts!!"
Unlike the last time, when he had felt nothing from the clean slice, this slash wave now caused searing pain as it cut through him.
"You damn human brat! Die!"
Wracked with pain, Shukaku lost his fear. He swung his massive arm at Li Yao's Wind Clone hovering midair.
SHING!
Another slash wave tore through the air, slicing off Shukaku's arm. The intense pain struck again.
This time, Shukaku finally sensed the chakra from the attack.
But it didn't matter. His body was too large, and Li Yao's slash waves were too fast—he couldn't dodge even if he wanted to.
"Oww! I'm gonna kill you—owww! No, stop it!"
With each slash wave, Shukaku was cut apart again and again. The pain left him howling.
Meanwhile, Li Yao's Wind Clone constantly monitored Shukaku's condition.
Occasionally, he would switch to using standard slashes to bisect Shukaku without him even realizing.
Li Yao's Wind Chakra techniques came in two forms.
The first was the Slash, a linear blade, thin like a sheet of paper.
The second was the Slash Wave, shaped like an arrowhead. Its sharpest point could slice through molecules, and its edges spread outward to cleave objects apart.
The Slash was silent and extremely fast, leaving extremely thin cuts—so thin that even something as massive as Shukaku couldn't feel pain from it.
The Slash Wave, on the other hand, left huge gashes and visibly tore things apart.
For example, when it cut the Tailed Beast Bomb, it split it into two arcs that shot to either side of Li Yao.
If he'd used the thin Slash, the Tailed Beast Bomb would've continued straight at him, as if it had never been cut.
That was the difference between the two.
Li Yao's Wind Clone alternated between both techniques to torment Shukaku.
"Sister… this…"
Ebizō had arrived atop the stone wall, carrying the black sealing jar. Seeing his sister and the others sitting in a neat row, he was momentarily speechless.
Shukaku's cries, which now sounded like sobbing, left him unsure whether Shukaku was still the Tailed Beast, or if Li Yao's Wind Clone was the real one.
"Sit down. Let Windwalker finish playing. We'll seal Shukaku afterward," Chiyo said calmly, as if this outrageous scene were completely normal.
If not for the slight trembling in her legs, Ebizō might've actually believed her calm demeanor.
But he, too, was shaken. Silently, he sat beside his sister to enjoy the bizarre spectacle of a tailed beast being "disciplined."
Li Yao's attacks were less like battle and more like taming a giant cat—just that this cat happened to be the infamous One-Tail.
"Aaah… stop, stop! I surrender!"
"Please seal me already!"
"I accept you as my jinchūriki!"
Shukaku couldn't take it anymore. He sat down and surrendered. He didn't want to keep getting slashed.
This human's chakra seemed endless. At first, Shukaku thought he could outlast him and counterattack.
But now, after being sliced so many times his body had shrunk, and this man's chakra still hadn't run dry—Shukaku gave up.
If this human became his jinchūriki, fine. So be it.
Seeing Shukaku admit defeat, Li Yao's Wind Clone had no choice but to stop.
Otherwise, it would be hard to explain things to Chiyo and the others watching from afar. Up to now, he could justify his actions as "subduing" Shukaku. But now, continuing to attack might raise questions.
Besides, the chakra stored in his internal Devouring Seal Array was nearly spent—it was time to stop.
But looking at Shukaku's slightly shrunken form, Li Yao's Wind Clone had gotten the answer he wanted.
Shukaku's regeneration wasn't infinite. Each recovery cost him soul energy. As the soul weakened, his physical form shrank.
Just like when the Reaper Death Seal extracted half of the Nine-Tails' soul—its body immediately shrank by more than half.
A tailed beast's true power lay in its soul.
Their souls were special, capable of drawing energy from the outside world to restore chakra.
Even if killed, they would eventually be reborn somewhere.
Li Yao was deeply intrigued by how tailed beasts absorbed chakra and reincarnated.
After sealing Shukaku, he would assign Sasori to study it.
As for himself, he would continue refining the nature and intensity of Wind Release – Slash Chakra.
He wasn't satisfied with it being at Kekkei Tōta level—he wanted to reach Kekkei Mōra: the ability to cut atoms, even space itself.
If achieved, Wind Release – Slash would be even stronger than typical Kekkei Mōra techniques.
Just as his current slash was stronger than Dust Release, which could only break things down to the molecular level—his could cleave molecules entirely.
In short, Li Yao wouldn't stop improving his single-element chakra ninjutsu.
Soon after—
Seeing that Shukaku had calmed down, Chiyo and the others arrived with the black sealing jar.
Everyone cautiously avoided Shukaku and came to Li Yao's side.
"Let's begin the sealing, Lady Chiyo," said Li Yao's Wind Clone.
As soon as he finished speaking, Shukaku grew agitated and shouted, "I don't want to go in that black jar! I want to go into your body!"
Like hell you are... Li Yao's Wind Clone twitched at the corner of his mouth. Seeing Shukaku still blabbering, he raised his hand slightly—and Shukaku immediately shut up, staring pitifully with wide eyes.
Chiyo and the others exchanged awkward glances. Inwardly, their understanding of Li Yao's strength deepened once more.
"It's hopeless. I'll never surpass that bastard now," Pakura muttered with a bitter expression, glancing at her sister—who looked absolutely smitten—and sighed in defeat.
So strong.
Even Shukaku had been tamed.
The others were equally awed. Li Yao's Wind Clone had truly earned their respect—and admiration.
It was the first time they'd ever seen Shukaku so well-behaved. Unbelievable.
"You do it," said Chiyo, placing the black sealing jar before him. "Just infuse chakra to activate the sealing script on the jar. It'll trigger the seal and capture Shukaku."
Clearly, Shukaku was completely obedient to Windwalker now, so it would be easier for him to seal the beast. Chiyo didn't want to stress her old bones.
The black jar stood half as tall as a person—pretty big.
Li Yao's Wind Clone removed the lid, pressed his hand against the jar's body, and infused it with chakra to activate the seal.
A transparent blue arm extended from the jar and reached toward Shukaku.
Shukaku really didn't want to enter that dark space again. But faced with Li Yao's cold stare, he didn't dare resist. Reluctantly, he allowed himself to be pulled into the black jar and sealed.
(END CHAPTER)
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