Chapter 82: Chapter 83: The Emergence of Zero Tails, Dark Chakra!
Chapter 83: The Emergence of Zero Tails, Dark Chakra!
In the vast underground cavern...
A perverse old man is coercing a young boy holding a spear, about to make a move.
So, what is Uchiha Ci doing at this moment?
He's watching.
Well, perhaps "watching" isn't entirely accurate, because with his eyes closed, he's technically just listening in.
A minute ago, as Hayato Tōgō was about to pin him to a cross, Uchiha Ci, mid-conversation with Hidan, had forcibly drawn out the last trace of chakra from his emaciated body. It wasn't enough for any spectacular ninjutsu, nor did he have a giant forty-meter blade like Hidan suggested to chop down the heretical cult leader. He didn't even have enough chakra to activate his Sharingan.
However, he had just enough to perform an E-rank Rope Release Technique.
This basic jutsu, one of the simplest in the ninja toolkit, can free one from bindings and is surprisingly practical. As he continued his conversation with Hidan, Uchiha Ci discreetly used this technique, slipping free of the rope on his left leg. While the cult leader's back was turned toward the lake to prepare a jutsu, Ci aimed a kick at the scroll strapped to his right leg, sending it into the air.
The scroll arced through the air.
Bearing the pain, Uchiha Ci stretched his neck, biting down on the yellow scroll cover and snapping the binding with his teeth, unfurling it in his mouth. Blood trickled from his bitten tongue, dripping along his mouth and onto the scroll. As the text on the scroll began to glow faintly, Ci spat it out, letting it drop into the blood pool beneath his feet.
Hidan saw the entire maneuver but, understanding Uchiha Ci's signal, wisely remained silent, merely continuing their banter to distract the heretical cult leader.
Now, Ci closed his eyes, attempting to connect with the scroll. This scroll, a gift from Shinno, was said to seal the Zero Tails. According to Ci's expectations, it should unleash a torrent of sinister black chakra, enough for him to plunge deep into the wellspring of darkness within his mind, and summon a flood of dark chakra.
He would instantly trigger a burst mode—activating Saiyan Mode!
Infinite regeneration!
Unlimited self-healing!
An unending well of chakra!
Then, in a warrior's trance akin to Lu Mingfei pummeling the White King, Ci would shout:
"Something for nothing!"
Summoning the insanely powerful Dark Ninjutsu: Hyper Vitality Fist, he'd punch the cult leader to death! Bulldozing through the cult, he'd kick evil in the face, and bask in the admiring gaze of his little follower Hidan. If he still had chakra left, he might even leap across kilometers to find Suigetsu, who cut him three times, for a round-two showdown.
But, alas, there's always a "but."
What emerged from the scroll wasn't a torrent of black chakra but... a small, indescribable black-purple blob, something vaguely resembling... excrement.
"Cheep!"
The little blob peeked out from the surface of the blood pool, two small, white eye spots gazing up at Uchiha Ci's half-open eyes.
Uchiha Ci: "…"
The awkward silence was deafening.
The chasm between his imagined invincibility and the reality of summoning a blob of... well, let's call it "Zero Tails," left Ci utterly speechless. If he had it his way, he would light ten cigarettes at once like Tom the Cat and take a heavy, frustrated drag. What he'd be puffing out wasn't smoke rings—it'd be sheer annoyance!
Only now did he recall Shinno's words when he handed him the scroll.
Back then, Shinno had gravely pressed the scroll into Ci's hands, solemnly declaring, "This is Zero Tails, a terrifying Zero Tails!"
Little did Uchiha Ci realize, Shinno had actually been this generous in giving him Zero Tails. Not a one-time consumable item, but the real deal!
The blob before him, this genuine, albeit miniature, Zero Tails—no longer even a shadow of its infamous, fifty-meter form that could crush a truck with a single lash—had... shrunk.
"Cheep-cheep!"
Under Ci's scrutinizing gaze, the little creature excitedly demonstrated its power by extending its finger-sized tail, creating a minuscule three-centimeter splash in the blood pool. Then, losing its balance, it toppled face-first back into the pool.
Silence.
Ci had been ready to transform into a Saiyan, waiting for the chakra surge to trigger Baki Mode. But instead of the chakra of Zero Tails, he got its juvenile form.
In a moment of life-or-death urgency, you're giving me a Pokémon to raise?
This isn't the right vibe!
Ci raised his head slightly, glancing at Hidan standing resolutely before him, hands outstretched in selfless protection. Sighing, he couldn't help but smirk.
"Bro, it's not that I don't want to save you."
"It seems fate has cast me in the role of a luckless Dragon King."
"So, you'd better go ahead and finish the ritual, make me a worthy sacrifice."
"I won't blame you!"
Finishing his silent monologue, Uchiha Ci closed his eyes for real this time, ready to accept his fate.
His body was at its limit, severely injured, his last bit of chakra spent on escaping the ropes. He'd used up every card, only to summon this infantile Zero Tails. He'd given everything for the greater good.
So now, perhaps...
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, he felt a tickle at the back of his neck.
"Cheep!" The little Zero Tails, with its clueless expression, crawled up Ci's leg, somehow sensing his emotions. Clambering up his neck, it opened its tiny mouth, lifting its mask like a true gentleman, and chomped down.
In that instant, a message appeared before Uchiha Ci's eyes:
[You have become the Jinchuriki of Zero Tails (Juvenile Form).]
[You have acquired Dark Chakra Extraction (A) and Dark Awakening (A)!]