Damn, this curse really works.
Kazuyama Gekkō stared at the name and circle drawn on the ground, completely stunned.
As expected, never doubt anything that comes from the system. It might not sound reliable, but the results? Absolutely solid.
Another round of bird poop and broken bones—just imagining Madara Uchiha's withered face nearly made Kazuyama Gekkō burst out laughing.
Looks like he's got plenty to do over the next few days.
But just as he was about to use the "Draw a Circle to Curse You" technique again, a familiar system prompt chimed in.
[Ding! Please note, host: the Curse Technique: Draw a Circle to Curse You has a three-day cooldown. The curse only brings misfortune and cannot cause death. Please remember this.]
Kazuyama Gekkō: …Dreams shattered!
Also, what's this about Tailed Beast Synchronization?
System? Come out and explain this.
[Ding! Tailed Beast Synchronization, as the name implies, allows the Seven-Tails, Chōmei, within the host to manifest in an energy form alongside you!]
[After appearing, all of Chōmei's abilities can be used. However, chakra will be split in half—both you and Seven-Tails Chōmei will control half of the Tailed Beast's chakra!]
Terrifying! Absolutely terrifying! Isn't this basically allowing him and Chōmei to fight side by side?
One plus one equals two? No! Him plus Chōmei is one plus one equals ten! After all, humans and Tailed Beasts are different. Fighting separately makes them way more powerful!
Take him for example—if he doesn't use Half-Tailed Beast Mode, he can still fight with ninjutsu and his Kekkei Genkai. But once he enters Half-Tailed Beast Mode, he can't use ninjutsu. Now, with synchronization, that problem's solved. He just needs to wear the Tailed Beast Cloak and fight.
He can leave the full-scale Tailed Beast attacks to Chōmei.
Still, there's a catch—since both of them share Chōmei's chakra, if the fight drags on too long, the chakra consumption could get intense.
Soon enough, he was hugging himself and trembling. The battle was over, but things had settled down again.
But the weather? Definitely not calm. He was standing in the Land of Frost.
This place was covered in ice and snow. Cold. Really cold.
To avoid freezing to death, he coated his entire body with chakra and sprinted deeper into the Land of Frost.
Just like the Land of Birds, the Land of Frost was a peaceful country. But unlike many smaller nations, it had a large landmass.
Even though it was frozen year-round, its rich marine resources made it valuable. The Five Great Nations all maintained trade with the Land of Frost.
After freezing for an hour, he finally reached a town and immediately bought himself a thick cotton coat.
As soon as he put it on, warmth returned.
While eating to replenish his energy, he started discussing things with Chōmei.
"Chōmei, I think we've been exposed..."
"No way! Kazuyama, don't scare me like that! I don't want to end up locked back in that cave in Takigakure with you!"
Chōmei was so startled, the ration in his mouth fell out—though he caught it just before it hit the ground.
Still, it showed how badly shaken he was.
Those rations were freshly delivered by Kazuyama, and Chōmei hadn't even taken a bite yet. No way he'd waste them.
Kazuyama took a bite of meat in the real world and sighed in his inner world.
"Chōmei, you know about the Ten-Tails, right?"
"Or the God Tree..."
The ration Chōmei had just popped into his mouth dropped again. He caught it, but this time his expression was even more panicked.
"Kazuyama, how do you know about that?"
"Someone your age shouldn't even know about the Ten-Tails. No—no one should know right now."
"That's something that predates even us nine Tailed Beasts."
Kazuyama let out another sigh, completely speechless as he looked at Chōmei. Was that really the issue right now?
The real question was what to do next, right?
"Chōmei, don't worry about how I know. You know my abilities. Those hidden scrolls and files? They're like fairy tales to me—I can read them anytime I want."
"Right now, we need to talk about Madara Uchiha and the Ten-Tails."
That was one slick bit of manipulation—and the kicker was, it came straight from Kazuyama Gekkō's mouth, directed at his own partner, Chōmei.
It felt... a little off.
Kazuyama: Is this pick-up artist stuff? Nah, I'm just helping Chōmei focus on what really matters.
"You're right. With your Kekkei Genkai, the Transparent Release Technique, where can't you go?"
"You even talked me into coming out—alright, keep going."
See? Successful PUA right there.
Kazuyama grinned and was just about to continue when the familiar system prompt sounded again.
[Ding! Host detected using PUA tactics on longtime companion Seven-Tails Chōmei. Inhumane! Shameful! As a special reward, chakra consumption for Tailed Beast Synchronization reduced by 10%!]
[Ding! Originally, Tailed Beast Synchronization would split Chōmei's chakra in half. With this upgrade, chakra consumption is significantly reduced—up to a max of 50%!]
Nice! That was a seriously good reward! Kazuyama Gekkō almost wanted to keep PUA-ing Chōmei on purpose.
But as a good guy who cared about his bro, he held back.
At least for now. PUA was best played long-term, after all!
Chōmei: ...Are you even speaking human language?
Back to the topic—Kazuyama began his explanation.
"The nine Tailed Beasts were all split off from the Ten-Tails. And now Madara Uchiha has made his move against us."
"That spells big trouble."
"You've seen those Rinnegan eyes too."
"Based on my analysis, Madara Uchiha is trying to collect all nine Tailed Beasts to bring back the Ten-Tails and achieve some grand objective."
Chōmei was already numb to being shocked at this point—he'd been through too many scares lately.
But when he heard about the Ten-Tails' return, he still shivered.
He knew exactly how terrifying the Ten-Tails was—even if it was something he only heard about from the Sage of Six Paths.
After all, the Sage had subdued the Ten-Tails, became its jinchūriki, and then split its power into nine to create them—the nine Tailed Beasts.
And now that the Rinnegan had reappeared, it meant the Sage's power still existed in the world.
That made Kazuyama's words a lot more credible.
Seeing Chōmei fall silent, Kazuyama continued his "performance."
"Madara Uchiha, a man who was supposed to be dead, has returned."
"And as an Uchiha, he's somehow gained the power of the Rinnegan. That proves he didn't die in his battle with the First Hokage. He might've lost—but he came out of it even stronger."
"He's been lying low, biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment..."