Chapter 119: Tailed Beast Ball

Chapter 119: Tailed Beast Ball

"It's nothing... I just think you're really beautiful."

The Nekomata's Journey visibly paused for a moment, then turned her head nonchalantly, though the tip of her tail involuntarily twitched upwards. "Humph~ You're quite the smooth talker, kid."

"Sorry, did I make you uncomfortable?" Ling chuckled softly, yet his gaze still couldn't help but follow the constantly shifting black runes on The Nekomata's Journey. "These black runes have the feel of natural illusions. They're truly captivating."

"Humph~ These were also left to me by the old man." There was an indescribable pride in The Nekomata's Journey's voice, but when her gaze fell on the Oni huddled in the distance, undisguised disgust showed on her feline face. "Kid, have you given it a try?"

"I'm still formulating a strategy," Ling finally shifted his gaze to the Oni. "If I could use my Sharingan, I'm confident I could take care of this Oni clone neatly... But unfortunately, I've lost my Sharingan eyes."

"However, my fighting style has changed quite a bit since I lost my Sharingan eyes. Sensory ninjutsu has divided my already meager chakra to the fullest. It's okay to fight against ninjas, but against such a colossal summoned beast... I have no intention of wasting all my chakra here."

"However, the main reason is that even if I could use the Sharingan now, I can no longer apply it in reality. So I want to avoid relying on it as much as possible—after all, I might encounter situations where I have to fight large summoned beasts in the future, and I won't have so much leisure time to think about countermeasures then."

"Humph~ It's just an aggregation of the accumulated evil thoughts of a few humans. Is such a weak thing worth your so much attention?" The Nekomata's Journey sneered. "Even that stinky tanuki could easily kill this maggot."

[Tanuki? Judging from her tone, it should also be a Tailed Beast, right? But with this kind of attitude... ] Ling tilted his head slightly. [It should be weaker than The Nekomata's Journey, right? One-tailed? I seem to have heard the term "beetle" before. I've never heard of any beetle having a tail... Is that also one of the Tailed Beasts? If so, how many tails does it have?

"And she mentioned 'just an aggregation of the accumulated evil thoughts of a few humans'... Is she saying that the formation method of Tailed Beasts is quite similar, just more advanced?]

"What are you thinking about again, kid?"

"Thinking about things related to you." Ling looked directly into The Nekomata's Journey's heterochromatic pupils that resembled precious gemstones, the smile on his lips widening. "Moreover, I don't know if it's an illusion, but I always feel that I've only just started to truly look at this world... After all, compared to the power of the Tailed Beasts, the conflicts between ninjas are just like children's squabbles."

The Nekomata's Journey let out a snort and shifted her gaze. "Not only in terms of strength, but even in terms of age, you're just a bunch of kids..."

"Compared to the Tailed Beasts, that's indeed true..." Ling laughed out loud. "Although it might be inappropriate, can I ask an impertinent question now?"

"Humph~ Well, let's hear it then.

"

 "How could The Nekomata's Journey, being so powerful, be defeated by Yi? Rather, how was The Nekomata's Journey sealed by the Uzumaki clan previously?"

 The tip of The Nekomata's Journey's always-raised tail suddenly drooped. "What a rude problem..."

 Ling shrugged slightly. "Sorry. If you don't want to answer, then you don't have to."

 "Humph~ We don't have your humans' habit of beating around the bush for the sake of face," The Nekomata's Journey's voice sounded a bit dissatisfied. "I was just caught off guard by those two brats because I didn't go all out right away. If it weren't for their annoying sealing techniques right off the bat..."

 "Oh? So, for Tailed Beasts, the most difficult thing to deal with is sealing techniques?"

 The Nekomata's Journey was silent for a long time before speaking. "The sealing techniques were created by that Shura kid after he broke with Indra... And it's the only type of jutsu that he developed before Indra.

 That kid said the original intention of this sealing technique was to [subdue the enemy and reach reconciliation without taking their lives]. It's a jutsu that kid created to achieve the so - called [equality among all beings]. And we Tailed Beasts are much slower to react to non - Malice attacks...

 Otherwise, it would be impossible for those two inexperienced brats to defeat me... Humph."

 "Hmm, I see. When I fought Yi before, he did say that after trying to let go of his Malice, his sealing techniques became even more refined..." Ling nodded thoughtfully, but the smile on his lips spread further. "Oops, it seems I've inadvertently groomed a really formidable opponent."

 "Humph~ You're the real monster, aren't you, kid?"

 "Well, maybe," Ling shrugged slightly, looking quite relaxed. "Without relying on the Sharingan, I'm not confident I can end the battle neatly. Continuing to waste time with useless guesses... So I'll leave it to The Nekomata's Journey from now on. I'll look for another chance to conduct my experiment after I return to the clan territory."

 "Humph~ You're a really strange Uchiha."

 "No matter how strange I am, I'm still Uchiha," Ling said with a soft smile as he reached out to stroke The Nekomata's Journey's soft fur. "And I'll always be Uchiha."

 The Nekomata's Journey let out another snort, raised its head, and looked at the curled - up Oni. "Kid, watch closely. Now I'll show you what a Tailed Beast can do."

 Ling felt a tightness around his waist. He was instantly swept up by the crimson chakra and landed on The Nekomata's Journey's back. But he had no time to savor the wonderful feeling of the fur beneath him. He just frowned and pinched his temples to relieve the nausea welling up in his stomach.

 [The chakra of Tailed Beasts isn't very kind to sensory ninjas...] Ling pressed his palm against his stomach. [In this situation, even a docile Tailed Beast would be regarded as an enemy and put on high alert the moment it's detected.

 In a way, Yi's sealing technique that isolates the aura really helped me a lot... I should thank him the next time I see him.

]

While Ling was lost in thought, The Nekomata's Journey lowered its body facing the direction of the Oni. Just as Ling wondered what The Nekomata's Journey was up to, crimson and azure chakra emerged out of thin air and gathered in front of it.

The smallest of the chakra - formed spheres was as big as Ling's head, but they were insignificant compared to The Nekomata's Journey. Ling watched as the chakra gathered, twisted together, and finally formed a purple - black sphere the size of The Nekomata's Journey's head.

The moment the purple - black sphere was formed, instead of being launched as Ling expected it to be, The Nekomata's Journey opened its mouth and swallowed it. The intense chakra fluctuations suddenly disappeared from Ling's perception.

Before Ling could be confused, even stronger chakra fluctuations invaded his perception again. The moment The Nekomata's Journey opened its mouth, the highly - compressed chakra sphere shot towards the distant Oni at a speed that was almost impossible to track with the naked eye or perception.

Ling involuntarily activated the Sharingan, but even so, he only saw a black line flash across his field of vision, followed by a violent golden light bursting in the distance.

The subsequent strong wind pressure made Ling involuntarily lie low on The Nekomata's Journey's back. When the wind pressure dissipated, there was a huge crater where the Oni had been, and the Oni was nowhere to be found.

Ling stared blankly at the scene in front of him, his voice a bit dry. "… What's this?"

"It's a Tailed Beast Ball," The Nekomata's Journey said gracefully while licking its paws. "One of the common skills used by us Tailed Beasts."