209 Naruto: Snatching the Mangekyō

Akira continued his work methodically, obliterating the spiritual essence lingering in the severed palm and tails of the Ten-Tails.

The spiritual energy within the six severed tails of the Ten-Tails was incredibly potent, far surpassing the flesh and severed palm he had dealt with earlier.

It was no surprise—the sheer size of the tails was overwhelming. However, despite their formidable power, the Ten-Tails remained a mindless beast with little intelligence. Even if its raw strength exceeded his, Akira had countless strategies to wear it down.

Using Kamui and his personal dojutsu, Akira, along with two allies, endured a grueling battle. In the end, the spiritual energy within the severed tails was eradicated.

The Ten-Tails' spiritual energy, though devoid of intelligence, posed a significant challenge with its relentless instinctive attacks.

Returning from the battle with the severed tails, Akira opened his eyes to find Tsunade holding a white plate in her hands, her expression conflicted as she stared at the thinly sliced flesh of the Ten-Tails on the dish.

"To be honest, eating this thing takes a lot of courage. Just looking at it gives me the impression that it's still alive."

As she spoke, Tsunade gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and picked up a slice with chopsticks, putting it into her mouth.

She chewed twice before her expression twisted in pure disgust. It was as if she was about to vomit but was desperately suppressing the urge.

Seeing her reaction, Akira and his companions froze, thinking something terrible had happened.

"Urgh…"

Finally, Tsunade couldn't hold it in any longer and dry-heaved violently. However, nothing came out except a bit of saliva.

Gasping for breath, she managed to speak after a long pause, "This stuff is just... unbelievably disgusting. I've never tasted anything so revolting in my life. Words can't even describe it."

Hearing this, Akira and the others sighed in relief—it wasn't the worst-case scenario.

"Fugaku, Shisui, you'd better prepare yourselves. Tough days are ahead!" Tsunade warned the two.

From her reaction, it was clear the so-called delicacy was beyond awful.

"How do you feel? Any discomfort?" Akira asked cautiously.

Tsunade shook her head. "So far, no issues. The Ten-Tails' flesh contains an immense amount of Six Paths power—far beyond the scope of our chakra."

"Good. That's a relief." Akira nodded.

"No major problems. Don't worry," Tsunade replied with a faint smile. Then, glancing at Fugaku and Shisui, she teased, "Come on now, you'll have to eat it sooner or later. Why not give it a try?"

With that, she used a Wood Release technique to sprout a small tree branch from her arm, snapped it off, and crafted two pairs of chopsticks.

Fugaku and Shisui had no choice but to accept the chopsticks, each picking up a piece of Ten-Tails flesh and reluctantly putting it into their mouths.

Moments later, they both wore the same expressions as Tsunade—faces contorted in agony, as if wearing masks of despair.

"This taste…" Fugaku muttered, smacking his lips. It felt like his entire worldview had been upended.

"How can something taste this awful?" Shisui muttered, staring at the mound of flesh before him as if it were a nightmare.

"Hehe…" Tsunade chuckled at their misery, then turned her gaze toward Akira. "Fifth Hokage, care to try some? This is your hard-earned 'delicacy,' after all."

"No, no, I'll pass. This treasure is all yours. I have other matters to attend to." Akira waved his hands in refusal, using Kamui to teleport away.

There was no way he'd try it after seeing their reactions! Besides, he truly had pressing matters to handle.

After Akira disappeared, Tsunade smirked and braced herself, swallowing another slice of Ten-Tails flesh with her eyes shut tight.

Back in his laboratory, Akira stored a severed arm and a chunk of flesh from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path into his Kamui dimension. Then, he returned to the massive chamber where the Ten-Tails' flesh had been stored.

Retrieving the Statue's body parts, he placed them at the site of the Ten-Tails' severed tails.

As soon as the Statue's tissues appeared, the Ten-Tails' severed tails reacted violently.

Yellow tendrils sprouted from the exposed wounds, writhing like vines as they reached for the Statue's body parts.

Witnessing this, Akira's pupils narrowed in shock.

"It broke the seal so easily. The power of the Six Paths truly is formidable!"

In mere moments, the tendrils enveloped the severed arm and flesh from the Statue, dragging them toward the wounds.

Finally, the two pieces were fully absorbed into the Ten-Tails' body, vanishing entirely.

This development didn't surprise Akira too much. After all, the two were essentially part of the same entity, merely reuniting.

After observing for a while, Akira layered seals upon the severed tails and palm of the Ten-Tails once more.

He planned to use the tails himself, while the severed palm was reserved as a backup in case of emergencies.

Before leaving, he couldn't resist glancing at Tsunade, Fugaku, and Shisui, who were still battling their taste buds against the Ten-Tails' flesh. Stifling a laugh, he teleported away.

Not long after Akira's departure, the trio, despite their immense discomfort, each managed to consume nearly ten pounds of the Ten-Tails' flesh before finally reaching their limits.

"I can't take it anymore. I'll need a couple of days to digest this and adjust." Tsunade, pale-faced, looked dazed.

Fugaku and Shisui were in no better shape, matching her condition perfectly.

Though they had grown stronger, the process had been nothing short of torturous.

Fugaku, shaking his head, muttered, "That's enough for now. I'll take a couple of days to adapt."

The trio then left, each heading back home.

Upon arriving home, Fugaku found a feast prepared by Mikoto, who was clearly waiting for his return.

Sitting by the table, Itachi held Sasuke in his arms. When he saw Fugaku enter, his eyes lit up.

"Father, you're finally back! Can you help me train later? The academy's lessons are too basic for me."

Still pale from the ordeal, Fugaku forced a smile.

"Itachi, I'm sorry. I'm really tired today. Next time, I promise."

At that moment, Mikoto emerged from the kitchen, carrying a large bowl of aromatic soup. Noticing Fugaku's pallor, she asked worriedly, "Fugaku, are you alright? Did you get injured?"

The sight of the delicious food on the table did nothing for Fugaku's appetite. Despite the Ten-Tails' flesh being pure chakra, it left him with an unbearable sense of fullness.