Naruto: Konoha’s Trickster, Starting as the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki Chapter 400: The Death of the Jinchūriki, and the Slumber of

"Kazuyama, Kokuō's gone. Only this guy's left in the sea."

"Kokuō's Jinchūriki."

Kazuyama Gekkō casually pointed, and the surface of the sea instantly froze into crystal. Seeing this, Chōi threw Han onto it.

That at least kept Han from sinking again and becoming shark food.

Looking at Han's charred body, his breathing so faint it was barely detectable, Kazuyama curled his lip in disdain.

"He took too much damage and couldn't maintain his Tailed Beast form. So, he chose to release it in the end?"

"Of course. He's not a perfect Jinchūriki—there's no way he could've truly fought alongside his Tailed Beast."

Right now, in the entire ninja world, only he could claim to be a perfect Jinchūriki.

Even Killer Bee hadn't completely mastered the Eight-Tails, Gyūki. Yugito and Matatabi still lacked full synchronization.

The true key to victory lies in the bond between Jinchūriki and Tailed Beast.

[Ding! Host, what you just said really rubs this system the wrong way.]

"Haha, don't sweat it."

Kazuyama looked at the unconscious Han with satisfaction. He and Chōi's power was more than enough.

Just one Tailed Beast Ball Beam had completely overwheld the opponent.

To not only shatter the Tailed Beast Ball but inflict this kind of damage—now he had a real thod to face and defeat a Tailed Beast.

"Shing!"

Kazuyama drew his Kusanagi Sword. A frigid chill radiated from the blade.

"Five-Tails Kokuō, I know you can hear ."

"The Jinchūriki is dead, but a Tailed Beast doesn't die. I'll be waiting for your return."

"But rember, we're not enemies—we should be allies. After all, we share the sa enemy."

"The Ten-Tails, for example."

Kokuō hadn't truly fallen into slumber. Though she'd been too battered to maintain her Tailed Beast form, she was still a Jinchūriki-bound beast. Once she couldn't sustain her power, she imdiately withdrew into the seal.

Even if doing so caused her Jinchūriki to suffer horribly, what did that matter to her? Whether he lived or died had nothing to do with her.

She'd been seething with anger toward Kazuyama. But when she heard him speak her na, she froze for a mont.

How long had it been since anyone last called her by na?

Why would this brat even know it?

And the Ten-Tails? How could a kid like him know about that?

Did Chōi tell him? No way. Even if they were close, none of the nine Tailed Beasts would ever reveal the truth about the Ten-Tails.

"Stop overthinking it, Kokuō. Kazuyama really does know a lot about us."

"Why do you think I chose to partner with him? In his words, we're brothers."

"And it's not just you. Matatabi's already joined our side."

"Think about it, Kokuō. Would you rather stand with us against the enemies to co, or keep being soone's tool in so village?"

Chōi understood her all too well. As one of the two female Tailed Beasts, Kokuō was nothing like Matatabi.

She admired strength. Only those who could defeat her through sheer power earned her respect.

That's why she never spoke harshly to Shukaku, Gyūki, or Kurama.

But toward the others—especially Chōi—her attitude was terrible.

The words from one man and one beast stirred a storm within her, but before she could respond...

Kazuyama's Kusanagi Sword had already fallen, cleanly severing Han's head.

And blood? There was none.

The mont the blade struck, Han's body crystallized, then began to fracture and fall apart.

Crystal Release was the perfect thod for disposing of corpses—especially out here on the open sea.

With the Jinchūriki dead, a wave of darkness surged in Kokuō's heart...

"So tired... So dark..."

"Damn Chōi and that brat, you win this ti—but next ti, I swear I'll get my revenge..."

Kokuō's chakra flared briefly, then slowly faded into the sea. It was clear—now that her Jinchūriki had died, she too had fallen into slumber.

When or where she might awaken again was anyone's guess.

With the battle finally over, Kazuyama let out a long breath.

"Kazuyama, Kokuō might not wake for years. Do you think you can bring her over to our side when she does?"

Chōi knew exactly what kind of threat lay ahead.

Soone wielding both the Rinnegan and Mangekyō Sharingan—if they didn't unite to face him, things would get out of hand fast.

"We'll cross that bridge when we co to it."

"You really think she can be convinced?"

Chōi nodded. Before the fight, he had already explained Kokuō's personality to Kazuyama.

She respected strength and would listen to whoever bested her.

"Shouldn't be a problem. Kokuō's always been like that."

"Alright, we'll go with that."

Kazuyama dispelled his Tailed Beast transformation, and Chōi returned to his body.

Despite the intense battle, Kazuyama didn't feel the slightest fatigue.

Even after using the Pressure Points of Harm and Death, he barely felt any discomfort—his Vigorous Vitality Trait wasn't just for show.

His chakra reserves were drained, but far from empty.

He activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and instantly reappeared at the coastline.

With the threat of both the Five-Tails and Hanzō of the Salamander gone, the battlefield had shifted.

Tsunade was leading the Konoha forces in a fierce counterattack, driving the Iwagakure shinobi all the way back to the 38th parallel.

Standing on the border of the Land of Fire, Tsunade and Jiraiya were both covered in wounds—but their spirits were high.

The ninja around them were also visibly injured.

"That was a solid victory... but I wonder how Minato and Kazuyama are doing..."

Jiraiya frowned slightly. Though they had driven off Iwagakure's forces, the two most promising young ninja were still missing.

Whether it was Minato Namikaze or Kazuyama, both had been facing the deadliest threats on the battlefield.

"Don't worry so much. It's not their first ti going up against a Tailed Beast."

"With the Flying Thunder God Technique, even if they can't win, they can at least retreat safely."

Tsunade, in contrast, didn't seem worried at all. After all, when it ca to escaping, nothing beat the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Can't win? Just vanish in a blink. It was practically made for staying alive.

She didn't even realize that, deep down, she'd already started to equate the technique with running away.

If the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, ever found out, he'd probably claw his way out of the grave.

After all, that jutsu wasn't created just for escape!

Of course, if Kazuyama were here, he'd probably say:

"Second Hokage, if you'd treated this technique like I do—as the ultimate escape jutsu—you wouldn't have died in Kumogakure."

...

(100 Chapters Ahead)

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