"Vaelastrasz, do you feel it? That unique chakra belonging to the Nine-Tails! The Ten-Tails God Tree is exactly what we predicted, a quintessential bio-energy collector. This means the so-called Chakra Fruit is actually a crystalline mass formed by the aggregation of countless life energies."
Allen pressed his hand against Naruto's stomach, his eyes shimmering with excitement.
He truly wondered what the Sage of the Six Paths had been thinking when he created the nine Tailed Beasts; the power gap between them was simply absurd. Specifically, the Nine-Tails was on a completely different level compared to the first eight. Even though only half of the Nine-Tails' chakra was sealed within Naruto, it could still easily crush the second-ranked Eight-Tails, Gyuki.
Clearly, if the Ten-Tails were compared to a tree, the One through Eight-Tails were merely branches, while the Nine-Tails was the main trunk. Unfortunately, he couldn't extract this half of the chakra just yet; he had to wait patiently for the Three-Tails to revive first.
"Yes! I feel it! The medium contained within it far exceeds the total of the other eight Tailed Beasts combined. By collecting, refining, and concentrating energy to eventually form an essence that can alter the very nature of existence, the biological technology of these aliens is truly remarkable. If we could seize and devour the God Tree, we could draw energy directly from the planet itself."
As she spoke, Vaelastrasz's tone was filled with agitation and anticipation. In her view, simply devouring individual biological entities was far too inefficient compared to the speed of siphoning energy from a planetary body. Siphoning just once would allow them to instantly ascend to a higher plane of existence.
Allen nodded in deep agreement. "Indeed. We wouldn't even need to completely drain a planet like Kaguya did. Drawing half or even a third would immediately grant us unimaginably vast power."
"The problem is, if Kaguya truly consumed nearly half or a third of this planet's life energy, her strength will be far beyond our imagination," Vaelastrasz reminded him in a low voice.
"Don't worry. Kaguya's natural talent wasn't particularly good, and she wasn't skilled in combat; she hasn't even developed her full potential. Although her biological level qualifies her as a goddess, she isn't a true warrior, and she fears facing death. As long as we demonstrate the ability to kill her, she'll flee in terror like a startled kitten," Allen explained meaningfully.
Was Kaguya powerful? From the perspective of vitality, she was undeniably the strongest individual on the planet. But her combat prowess and instincts? Simply put, they were amateur. As a god who had consumed a massive portion of the planet's life energy, losing to her two sons was one thing, but being sealed again by Naruto and Sasuke, two "noobs" by comparison, was an absolute embarrassment.
Specifically regarding her fighting style: from beginning to end, there was no technique involved. It was pure reliance on bloodline and energy to crush opponents; she never developed a single unique ability of her own. Furthermore, her history showed that she was deathly afraid of injury and demise. Consequently, Allen never viewed Kaguya as a true opponent, only as prey.
"I suggest you remain cautious. Regardless, she is an entity whose life stage is far above ours."
With that, Vaelastrasz manifested tentacle-like appendages, inserting them into the seal on Naruto's abdomen to slowly siphon the medium from the half-Nine-Tails. While this was less efficient than sealing it within Allen, every bit counted. As the medium flooded in, she was no longer satisfied with mere energy storage; she wanted to transform herself into an energy collector, much like the Ten-Tails God Tree. However, she was dissatisfied with the tree's efficiency of fruiting once every thousand years and planned to use her unique Red Dragon bloodline to refine the process, shortening it as much as possible.
As Allen watched the siphoning process, a dark figure suddenly pushed open the door and walked in. This room was a forbidden zone in the Hidden Sound Village; only a few like Kabuto, Neji, and Karin had permission to enter. Even they would knock first.
Realizing this, Allen instantly entered a combat state, expanding his En to encompass the entire room. As his invisible Nen spread, he immediately discovered that the intruder was not a living human but a deceased person summoned via Reanimation. No wonder his tracking for humanoid life forms hadn't triggered. Recalling the news Obito had recently provided, the intruder's identity became obvious.
"Are you Allen?" the shadow asked, its two crimson eyes staring at him.
"Ah, that's me. And you are the legendary Ghost of the Uchiha, Madara Uchiha?" Allen looked up, meeting the gaze without flinching.
The two stared at each other for a full thirty seconds before Madara burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! Such presence! Such eyes! Truly a young man capable of breaking the status quo of the Five Great Nations and bringing drastic change to the ninja world."
"Thanks for the compliment. But you didn't return from the world of the dead just to praise me, did you?" Allen countered.
"No, of course not," Madara shook his head slightly. "You don't seem surprised by my appearance. Which means you saw through Obito's identity long ago."
"Isn't it obvious? If the famous Madara Uchiha had to hide behind a mask and skulk in the shadows, how could he have ever stood as an equal to the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju? I wasn't sure who that guy claiming to be you was, but I didn't feel a shred of a powerhouse's aura from him," Allen explained with feigned nonchalance.
To be honest, he hadn't expected Madara to seek him out so soon after being reanimated. Nor did he know what this lunatic had in mind.
"You're right. Obito is like a rat accustomed to the sewers; he could never possess his own majesty. No matter the disguise, he is merely a poor imitation of me. But you are different; I see intense confidence, even hubris, in you. Tell me, why did you join Akatsuki? Or rather, what is your purpose for joining?" Madara went straight to the point.
"For the Tailed Beasts. To be precise, to revive the Ten-Tails," Allen answered without a second thought.
"Revive the Ten-Tails?" Madara frowned instinctively.
"Yes. Aren't you curious what kind of transformation occurs when nine such incredible energies are gathered? And are Tailed Beasts just Tailed Beasts? At least from my research, there are secrets hidden within them that remain unknown to the world..."