NRAO: Chapter 270: Siege

The tailed beasts were originally fragments of the Ten-Tails, separated and divided by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths.

From the One-Tail to the Nine-Tails, each tailed beast possessed unique abilities and distinct forms. However, the number of tails a beast had didn't directly correlate to its combat effectiveness.

The Seven-Tails, Chōmei, started its life in the form of a pupa but eventually grew into a massive insect resembling a fusion of a beetle and a dragonfly, with wings that enabled it to soar through the skies.

Its voice was deep, and as soon as it was released, it went berserk.

Dust erupted from its body in all directions, obscuring Orochimaru's view.

Still, Orochimaru didn't move. Even as he watched the tailed beast flapping its wings, ready to take flight at any moment he stood his ground.

Scarlet eyes locked onto the giant creature before him, unwavering.

"So, scale powder with interference and invisibility effects… combined with wings…" Orochimaru smirked. "Not bad at all."

"Boy, go to hell!"

Without hesitation, Chōmei flapped its wings with full force, unleashing a furious gust of wind aimed at Orochimaru.

Whoosh!

The air roared as sand and debris whipped through the area, creating a small storm.

The force of the wind was enough to tear apart most opponents.

As the storm settled, Orochimaru's voice echoed from the side, calm and unshaken.

"Are all tailed beasts this hot-tempered?"

Before Chōmei could react, vines erupted from the surrounding ground, growing with terrifying speed and wrapping tightly around its massive body.

Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!

"What is this…?"

"You'd better behave, Chōmei," Orochimaru said with a smirk. "After all, I have the two things that restrain tailed beasts most effectively."

"Damn it! I'll kill you!" Chōmei roared, thrashing violently in an attempt to break free from the vines.

But Orochimaru paid no attention to its outburst, speaking as though the tailed beast's struggles were insignificant.

"In your current state, you're not even a match for Manda," he remarked casually.

"What… did you say…?"

"I told you to be quiet."

Orochimaru's Sharingan flared, the crimson glow reflecting in Chōmei's compound eyes. The tailed beast's wild movements began to slow under the combined restraint of the vines and the overwhelming spiritual pressure of Orochimaru's Mangekyō Sharingan.

Though rage still burned within Chōmei, it could no longer act on its impulses.

With the beast subdued, Orochimaru placed his hand on its forehead, establishing a direct link to its mind.

"What a storm of hatred and hostility…" Orochimaru muttered, frowning slightly as he delved into the depths of the Seven-Tails' psyche. "Taming you in a short time seems impossible."

He sighed. "In that case, I'll deal with you later."

At his command, the sealing artifact he had taken earlier floated to his side.

Orochimaru placed it on the ground and quickly formed a series of hand seals. A powerful suction force began emanating from the artifact's opening, pulling at the Seven-Tails' form.

Chōmei roared in defiance, but it was futile. Its massive body began dissolving into pure chakra, which was then drawn into the artifact in waves.

Moments later, the bottle's cork was sealed shut, trapping the Seven-Tails inside. Orochimaru placed an additional seal on the artifact to ensure its containment.

"Good thing you don't have a Jinchūriki right now," Orochimaru said with a faint smile. "Otherwise, this would have been far more troublesome."

He picked up the artifact, examined it briefly, then casually tossed it into the air.

The space around the artifact rippled as it disappeared, stored within the alternate dimension linked to Orochimaru's Mangekyō Sharingan.


---

What's the most effective way to restrain a tailed beast?

Many might assume it's sealing techniques, but that's not entirely true.

The two most effective methods are the Sharingan and Wood Release.

These three powers—the tailed beasts, the Sharingan, and Wood Release are all derived from the divine tree and its chakra fruit. As such, they naturally counterbalance one another.

Of course, the Rinnegan is even more powerful. With it, the empty shell of the Ten-Tails can be summoned to suppress all nine tailed beasts simultaneously.

That's why Orochimaru's earlier comment, that Chōmei was weaker than Manda in his presence—wasn't just arrogance.

Though a tailed beast's destructive potential far surpasses that of a summoning creature like Manda, without a Jinchūriki to anchor them, tailed beasts are especially vulnerable to the Sharingan and Wood Release.

Still, capturing Chōmei brought no satisfaction to Orochimaru.

Tailed beasts no longer represented a significant source of power for him.

At his current strength, the addition of a single tailed beast made little difference. Whether he had it or not was almost irrelevant.

Surveying the devastated area around him, Orochimaru's figure vanished with a teleportation jutsu.


---

Upon returning to the Sound Ninja Village, Orochimaru received his first piece of information.

"The Land of Forests is at war with us? And they're claiming we killed one of Kumo's ninjas?"

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru," Chana replied respectfully.

These two issues now plagued the village, and both required Orochimaru's attention.

Taking the documents Chana handed him, Orochimaru read through them in silence before speaking.

"I'll handle the situation with the Land of Forests. As for the Kumo ninjas?" He paused, his tone cold. "Leave them alone."

Kana hesitated. "But… what if they come demanding answers later?"

"They won't have the chance."

Chana blinked, confused by Orochimaru's response.

However, Orochimaru offered no further explanation. After spending a day in the village, he departed directly for the Land of Forests.

It was a small nation, one that Orochimaru could crush single-handedly without much effort.


---

While Orochimaru made his way to the Land of Forests, Konoha continued to face mounting pressure from the combined forces of three major ninja villages.

Resources and manpower were dwindling rapidly.

In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage stood anxiously by his desk, his mind consumed by worry.

Despite Konoha's best efforts, they were suffering heavy losses.

"How are we supposed to fight this war?"

"Hokage-sama, urgent news!"

An ANBU agent burst into the office, handing the Third Hokage a sealed scroll.

"Present it."

The Third Hokage opened the scroll and began reading. His expression quickly turned to one of shock.

"An attack on Kirigakure? What in the world…"

He couldn't make sense of the report.

If the information was accurate, Kirigakure, located to the east of the Land of Fire had also come under attack.

This meant that Konoha wasn't just facing three major villages anymore. It was now four.

The Third Hokage slumped into his chair, stunned.

Even with the Sannin, Hatake Sakumo, and rising stars like Namikaze Minato, Konoha could not possibly withstand simultaneous assaults from four great ninja villages.

This wasn't like the series of individual battles in the original war, this was full-scale, coordinated pressure from all sides.

The Land of Fire itself was now in danger of collapsing.

"What do we do? What can we do?"

The Hokage's advisors were equally paralyzed, spending an entire day debating strategies but coming to no conclusions.

Just as despair began to settle, another ANBU arrived, carrying a sealed letter.

The note had been sent from Tsunade, who was stationed at the Suna Ninja defense line.

The message was brief, just a single sentence:

Teacher, let Orochimaru come back to help.