The Seven-Tails Submits

After being caught by Furen's Wood Golem Jutsu, Chōmei, the Seven-Tails, was encased in a thick cocoon of wood, wrapped tightly by the massive trees birthed from Deep Forest Emergence. The technique drained Chōmei's chakra, and its body was rapidly shrinking as the energy was siphoned away. The insect-like buzzing of Chōmei's wings, which matched its insectoid appearance, filled the air.

As Furen continued extracting chakra, the observers—Yan Hua and Youlang—watched in awe from a distance. The sheer dominance of Furen over the massive tailed beast had them utterly dumbfounded.

Not long ago, when Fū became the Seven-Tails' new jinchūriki after the previous host's death, sealing the beast had required the entire village, led by their leader, Takikage. Despite Takikage strength, which they estimated to be on par with the Kage-level shinobi of the great nations, even he had struggled. When they attempted to extract the Seven-Tails from the previous host, Feimo had nearly lost his consciousness to the overwhelming chakra leakage, which was only a fraction of the beast's full power.

Now, witnessing Furen battling Chōmei's complete form was incomprehensible. Yan Hua pointed at Furen's figure atop the massive wooden golem. "He… doesn't look very old at all."

Youlang swallowed hard, eyeing Furen's sharp, striking appearance. "Which nation could he be from?"

Yan Hua's expression turned thoughtful, and then a sudden flash of realization crossed her face. "Youlang, do you remember hearing of a shinobi with this exact power… one who also used Wood Release?"

"You mean… the First Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, from the Land of Fire?!" Youlang's eyes widened even further in disbelief, followed by a deep sense of unease. If this mysterious shinobi was indeed from the Leaf, why was he here, and why was he fighting the rampaging Seven-Tails?

In the sky, Chōmei's body began to shrink further, its chakra depleted to the point that it could no longer maintain its full form. Slowly, the massive beast descended to the ground, too weak to resist any longer.

"Little bug, why don't you keep flying?" Furen taunted as he released the Deep Forest Emergence from the golem's hands, now holding Chōmei, who had shrunk to half its previous size.

Chōmei let out a weak, buzzing whimper. It had given up. The natural suppression of Wood Release on tailed beasts was too powerful. Once captured by the Wood Release, it had no chance but to succumb, its chakra drained away.

"What do you want from me?" Chōmei buzzed weakly, signaling its surrender to Furen.

The once towering Seven-Tails was now small enough to be held in the golem's arms. After absorbing the beast's chakra for a considerable time, Furen finally stopped, noting that the chakra stored in his Yin Seal had almost reached its limit.

"The chakra from my Yin Seal is nearly full… it's about the equivalent of one tailed beast's worth of chakra," Furen remarked, rubbing the mark on his forehead.

"Enough! If you keep absorbing any more, I'll disappear!" Chōmei's voice screamed in Furen's mind. The Seven-Tails, though not capable of dying in the traditional sense, could be dispersed into nothingness if its chakra was drained completely. It would take a long time to reconstitute its form.

With his Yin Seal fully charged, Furen deactivated his Wood Golem Jutsu. The enormous wooden figure collapsed as both Furen and the weakened Chōmei fell into the waters beneath the waterfall. Chōmei no longer had the strength to flee.

"Little bug, I need you to behave and release your jinchūriki," Furen said, patting the downed Chōmei.

Without hesitation, Chōmei retracted its chakra back into the seal inside Fū's body. The layers of the tailed beast transformation peeled away, revealing a small figure with short green hair. Fū lay unconscious on the wet ground beneath the waterfall, her chest rising and falling softly.

Fū had been dreaming. In her dream, she had been swallowed by a giant monster, but a brave hero had saved her, pulling her out of the beast's belly. As she slowly opened her eyes, Fū found herself resting in Furen's arms. Upon seeing him for the first time, she froze.

Fū's affection level +50%

"You… you're the hero who saved me from my dream, aren't you?" Fū gazed at Furen with admiration and affection, her eyes sparkling with both awe and a hint of love.

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T/N:

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