...
After a while, voices echoed across the lake.
Relieved: "Damn! I'm still alive."
Irritated: "That damn turtle's hide is thick! My Lava Release couldn't even melt a bit of its skin!"
Now relaxed enough to crack a dark joke: "Enough already! Our taijutsu squad was basically giving that beast a pedicure! I almost got squashed to death!"
...
"Mizukage-sama."
At the command center, the chief strategist reported back to the Third Mizukage.
"The Three-Tails has been subdued and is no longer able to move. We can begin the Jinchūriki sealing process."
The Third Mizukage, a sensory-type ninja, had already sensed the weakened state of the Three-Tails long before the report came in.
At the same time, he could precisely detect the casualty count among the Kirigakure forces.
His expression remained indifferent as he issued the command.
"Commence the sealing of the Three-Tails."
"Understood!"
With orders dispatched from the command center, the combat units of Kirigakure began an orderly retreat. In their place, the sealing team took over, swiftly forming a circle around the Three-Tails and setting up the sealing array.
Over the radio, a directive came through. Code H1 of the ANBU, watching over the restrained Yagura, spoke up.
"Kid. Don't even think about running."
"Do I look like I'm trying to run? Ease up on the paranoia, will you?"
Yagura sighed, dusting off his pants as he stood up, glancing at the ANBU assigned to guard him.
"I'm not going anywhere. So, what happens next?"
"You don't need to do anything. Just sit still and accept the sealing."
The ANBU had no intention of being polite. As he spoke, he stepped forward, reaching to restrain Yagura.
Yagura instinctively stepped back, raising his hands. "Is that really necessary? I can walk on my own."
The ANBU remained expressionless. "You don't have a choice."
In an instant, two ANBU members appeared behind Yagura, each performing a jutsu to restrain him.
"Water Release: Water Prison Jutsu!"
A sphere of water materialized, trapping Yagura entirely.
With no means to resist, Yagura resigned himself to his predicament, even taking a moment to reflect on how Hatake Kakashi must have felt when he was caught in a Water Prison before.
A free lesson in experience.
Yagura, his eyes dull and emotionless, stared at the ANBU outside the prison, convincing himself that this situation was, in some twisted way, a win.
Except... it wasn't.
Being bound, unable to move, while the pressure of the water bore down on his body—it wasn't pleasant at all.
A normal person wouldn't be able to move a muscle, let alone break free from such a technique.
"Keep an eye on him. After all the effort it took to subdue the Three-Tails, if this Jinchūriki brat escapes, it'll all be for nothing."
Code H1 gave a strict order to the other ANBU.
Yagura, unamused, exhaled a string of bubbles.
Were these guys dense or something?
When had he ever shown any intention of running?
He was a perfectly decent person, alright?
Not that it mattered to the ANBU. To them, good or bad, child or adult, their mission was to transport him safely under zero-risk conditions.
"Water Release: Water Whip."
Four ANBU extended water tendrils into the Water Prison.
Though Yagura couldn't see them, he could feel his limbs being bound by the water whips.
Wait… something felt off.
No, this was really off.
Yagura: "Glub glub glub?!" What the hell?! You're taking this way too far!
The four ANBU maintaining the water whips kept their chakra flowing, while the two who had cast the Water Prison withdrew their hands, regaining their mobility.
"Move out."
The four ANBU lifted the Water Prison and began transporting it towards the Three-Tails, surrounded by a protective formation of over twenty additional ANBU.
Yagura, now witnessing firsthand that a Water Prison could function as a mobile containment unit, found himself both impressed and deeply annoyed.
If only he wasn't the one inside it.
Oh well. Might as well chalk this up as another life experience.
At least these guys would have an amusing story to tell someday about how they had once "restrained" the future Fourth Mizukage.
Resigned to his fate, Yagura relaxed inside the mobile Water Prison, quietly awaiting his arrival at the sealing site.
As they approached, he grew increasingly aware of the sheer size of the Three-Tails.
If he had to compare, his entire height was probably no taller than one of its toes.
"Jinchūriki, Yagura, delivered."
Code H1 led the group, handing him over to the leader of the sealing team.
"Understood." The sealing squad leader nodded, glancing at the small boy trapped within the Water Prison. "So, this is the Jinchūriki."
The four ANBU released their water whips, and with no chakra left to sustain it, the Water Prison collapsed.
Yagura shook out his drenched hair, forcing a smile. "I don't suppose you'd let me change into dry clothes first?"
The sealing squad leader grinned. "Kid, we could arrange for a Fire Release jutsu instead."
"I'll pass."
His soaked clothes were unbearable, so he figured he might as well take them off. Knowing that he'd soon have a sealing mark on his stomach, just like Naruto, he pulled off his shirt and tossed it aside.
Turning his gaze to the motionless Three-Tails nearby, Yagura clenched his fists and asked,
"When do we begin?"
Surprised by his lack of fear or resistance, the sealing team exchanged glances.
Since their Jinchūriki was cooperative, it saved them a lot of trouble.
The sealing squad leader exhaled a puff of smoke and gave Yagura an approving look before smiling.
"Right now."
...
The Three-Tails lay defeated, unable to resist. The sealing team was ready, and the Jinchūriki was compliant.
Everything was in place.
Yagura was guided onto the ceremonial platform and lay down.
"Three-Seal Formation!"
Pain—
A palm struck his abdomen, igniting a searing heat as the sealing marks spread across his skin like molten iron.
Yagura winced, instinctively trying to curl up, but the ANBU restrained his limbs with water whips, leaving him unable to move.
With the sealing formation in place, the squad leader withdrew his hand, the chakra dispersing from his fingers.
"The Jinchūriki's seal is complete. Begin the transfer!"
Yagura gasped for air, glancing down. The intricate seal on his stomach resembled a three-bladed pinwheel.
Before he could process it further, the sealing team activated their jutsu.
"Seal!"
A surge of chakra was extracted from the Three-Tails and channeled into Yagura's body through the seal on his stomach.
His body instantly felt unbearably heavy.
An overwhelming mass of chakra, far beyond his own, flooded into him.
He couldn't move. He had no strength.
As the world around him faded to white, his consciousness flickered.
...
When Yagura came to, he found himself in a different space.
Towering walls surrounded him on three sides, stretching so high that the ceiling was beyond sight. Beneath his feet, the water barely covered his toes.
Before him, in the dim shadows, loomed a massive iron gate.
Beyond it, the Three-Tails—an enormous gray-shelled turtle—watched him with blood-red eyes.
Gulp...
Yagura took an uneasy step back.
Even knowing this was his mindscape, even knowing the Three-Tails was locked behind that gate, being stared down by such a colossal beast was nerve-wracking.
Steeling himself, Yagura stepped forward and waved. "Yo, Three-Tails. Long time no see."
Raising an eyebrow, he added, "Not sure if time even exists for you in here, but… good afternoon?"
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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