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There's a dish called "Oil-Braised Shrimp" that's rumored to be a visual feast, with a bright red color that makes you crave it. But this cooking method is probably only achievable by top-tier chefs like Jiraiya. It's not within Haori's skillset.
The reason is simple: Haori doesn't have toads to spray natural, pesticide-free animal oil when he's using Sage Mode.
So, without any cooking oil at all, the Seven-Tails was directly charcoal-grilled… well, non-fried, healthier, but you can try to imagine the taste. It's probably like eating ash.
With a sizzling sound like cold water hitting a frying pan, Haori's Sage Art: Fire Release finally stopped. Then, as the steam on the surface of the lake dissipated, the Seven-Tails' figure reappeared.
But it was impossible for it to be the same as before. The Seven-Tails now had black skin, looking like it had added a layer of armor. It was much more imposing than its original appearance… if you ignored the feeling of being cooked through under that blackness.
Its three pairs of wings had also been curled up by the intense heat. Looking at it like this, the Seven-Tails probably couldn't fly anymore.
"Did I overdo it a bit?" Haori thought to himself. After he had swept away and burned the tailed beast's scales, Haori's vision naturally returned.
From the history of the ninja world's observation of tailed beasts, there had never been a record of a tailed beast being burned to death. But just because there wasn't a record, that didn't mean the possibility didn't exist.
After all, if there wasn't a Great Cosmic Force of Restraint, Amaterasu could burn a tailed beast or two to death without a problem.
Haori's Sage Art: Fire Release: Kirin, naturally, couldn't compare to Amaterasu. It burns everything, right? But this scale of Fire Release, when used to grill meat, how could its power be any worse? Even compared to black flames.
It was a powerful composite jutsu in itself, capable of reaching the legendary 1+1+1>2 (?) level.
And considering the tailed beast's powerful vitality, defense, and recovery ability, Haori had also piled on the Fire Release. His basic understanding was that you need to use a fierce fire for big ingredients.
But even so, it was probably impossible for the Seven-Tails to be directly burned to death. But it had definitely been burned to a stupor. And after this move, its combat ability had basically been weakened to the point of being "powerless."
However, just in case… in extreme situations, would a tailed beast play dead? Then, it would wait for an opportunity to counterattack? After all, it hadn't fallen down after suffering such a serious injury.
Haori was a dishonest person. He said he had overdone it, but he was preparing to attack again.
He could be even more excessive.
Haori grabbed the left clone's arm. He spun around in a circle, then used centrifugal force and inertia to throw the clone towards the tailed beast.
Then, another clone… Haori didn't say anything. Haori threw two Haoris at you.
With the power boost of Sage Mode, he didn't need the assistance of Lightning Release for this kind of acceleration. The two clones were like arrows released from a bow, heading straight for the tailed beast.
Before the first clone crossed paths with the huge body of the tailed beast, at the moment they met, the Chidori Blade reappeared in his hand.
The lightning blade, along with Haori's right forearm, rose vertically. And his left arm was crossed behind his right arm:
Accompanied by a sudden, violent vibration, a short, high-frequency, teeth-grinding sound rang out. This noise was like an axe blade chopping a tightly stretched steel cable.
The Seven-Tails' front leg was cut off like that, then spun and flew away.
Essentially, a tailed beast is an energy aggregate. Ideally, it should weigh about as much as seven apples. But in reality, that's not the case. Tailed beasts have a weight proportional to their size. When the Seven-Tails' forearm smashed into the lake, it splashed up a huge amount of water.
But before the severed limb fell, another Haori was in action. At this moment, Haori wasn't fighting alone. He was fighting with three people.
The second clone rushed into the Seven-Tails' embrace, as if it were grabbing it. The Chidori Sharp Spear pierced it from front to back.
After completing this attack, the clone released its grip and naturally fell back to the surface of the lake. Then, it retreated from beside the tailed beast.
At this time, the highly destructive Chidori Sharp Spear, although it had already left his hand, still maintained its original shape, hanging on the tailed beast like a substantial, real, long, sharp blade.
Although the torso was hit, the Seven-Tails, Chōmei, really felt like he had been shot in the knee. Then, he finally collapsed.
Witnessing this scene, the onlookers finally came out of their shock. Now, even someone who didn't understand fighting knew that the battle was over.
Zesetsu, the leader of Takigakure, gently patted Fu's head with his hand. Then, he took her hand and was about to walk forward. A collapsed tailed beast like this wouldn't be able to turn the tables, so they could completely start preparing for the sealing ceremony.
After all, a salted fish's reflex is a feat. To achieve this, there are two steps. First, you have to become a salted fish. Second, you have to try to turn over. And science has proven that 99.9% of the time, you can only complete the first step. The second step can be considered impossible.
But at this time, Haori's real body was already walking step by step towards the Seven-Tails, who was half-floating on the water and possibly unconscious. He saw him walk slowly to the side of the tailed beast, then stop.
Because of their backs being turned, the few people who were walking in from the mouth of the waterfall couldn't see Haori's face. Naturally, they wouldn't see his eyes changing.
They only saw Haori pause for a moment in front of the tailed beast, then raise his arm over his shoulder, circle it over his head, and then a third Chidori Sharp Spear appeared.
They didn't know if it was an illusion, but when Haori's real body used this move, the lightning seemed particularly bright. But Haori's next action…
This could be described as textbook… a swift, decisive blow.
The few people who were walking towards them instantly stopped. They didn't even know why they suddenly felt a sense of suffocation:
In the eyes of the few people, the Seven-Tails' huge body suddenly shattered in an instant. Then, piece by piece, inch by inch, its body simply vanished into nothingness.
Someone even reached out and rubbed their eyes… Where is our tailed beast?
Your tailed beast is dead. There's no doubt about it. And it's probably the kind of dead that it might not come back to life.
For a moment, no one knew what to do or what to say.
Haori stood there for a moment, then retracted his clones and turned to the group who had just walked halfway.
"I'm really sorry. I didn't control my strength well in the final strike. I went overboard. The Seven-Tails… seems to be dead."
"After all, your sealing formula requires the tailed beast to be completely unresisting. I wanted to weaken the tailed beast to the extreme to ensure the success rate of the seal…"
Takigakure had to do the sealing themselves. Haori and the others were just there in case something happened. If they had to let Konoha do this, no matter how open-minded they were, they couldn't be completely at ease. Besides, the Eight Trigrams Sealing is a top secret. It couldn't be used on other existing Jinchūriki.
When Haori first spoke, the few people could still see the strange mask on his face. But when he finished speaking, the mask had retracted and turned back into the mark on his forehead.
The battle was over. He had released Sage Mode.
But little Fu seemed to notice, for a moment, that the person who had just beaten up the tailed beast winked at her playfully.
From a social ethical point of view, any behavior that flirts with a little girl is immoral. But this was just saying that Haori was in a really good mood at this time.
First, the power of Sage Mode had been verified. Haori's evaluation of this move was only three words: It wasn't in vain.
In the past, he had encountered and fought tailed beasts several times. But the basic battle mode was always a barrage of cannon attacks. Although he could win that way, and sometimes he won quite easily, it could be considered a victory for "Academy City." But this time, it could be completely classified as a victory for "ninjas."
Second, Haori felt that this time was different from the Three-Tails. The Seven-Tails might really be dead… This wasn't because he had a deeper understanding of tailed beasts. It was a vague, mystical "feeling."
It was like throwing a three-pointer from 30 meters away. Sometimes, when you release the ball, you feel like it's going in, and then it really goes in.
But at this time, how could you describe the old village head's expression, how could you express his feeling of being force-fed?
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