91 Powerful Tools

*Getting closer to chapter 100, please post your favorite scene to be turned into a comic strip!*

"Boy, do it now!" She shouted. Kai, who was in a daze, broke out of his stupor and ran to the crate. He pried off the front panel. Inside was a huge orange pot with a thick white rope tied around the rim. Kai grabbed the pot by hugging the middle of it. His arms barely reached half-way around the pot, but regardless he lifted it. Kai started to spin and then threw the pot directly toward the woman like a professional shot-put athlete. Natsume felt that the pot was very familiar, and sifted through her memories while she watched the show.

The woman caught the pot and immediately activated it. The rest of her chakra was drained by the pot and a suction force began to pull in the unconscious Gyuki. The woman's body became thinner and withered as her chakra was being overdrawn. The tailed beast's body warped and stretched as it was drawn into the pot. At that point, Natsume had discovered why the pot looked familiar. It was none other than one of the treasured tools of Rikudo Sennin; Kohaku no Johei!

After Gyuki was successfully sealed, the woman cut off the connection to the jar and began to recover. She placed her hand on the pot and frowned. The woman grabbed the rope and slung the pot over her shoulder before jumping backward. Natsume glanced at the spot she was standing in only to see a bright light coming from the depths of the water. Then, she felt a terrifying chakra leaking out from the surface.

A beam of destructive power blasted outward toward the woman, causing the surrounding water to instantly evaporate. The woman barely dodged the attack when the emaciated Gyuki stuck its head out of the water for a second before releasing a cloud of ink that obscured all senses. Once the ink settled and dissipated in the water, Gyuki was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing that the fighting was over, Natsume returned to the coast. The samurai already started finishing off the injured crabs and packing them up for the village. The woman stood on the water staring off into the distance until the sun set. She only returned to the pier after all the cleanup was finished.

"Boy, I'm leaving. Your contract is void."

"My name is Kai now! Owner-sama, I will catch up to you one day!" He had witnessed her prowess against the tailed beast and his fighting spirit soared.

"You haven't even reached the starting line." Her blank expression never changed. She looked over at Natsume one more time before leaving with the orange pot on her back.

Natsume had played the fight again in her mind several times and had a good idea about how Gyuki escaped. Rather, he was never caught by Kohaku no Johei in the first place. During the flash of light, he must have used his severed tentacle to substitute himself, and then dived deep into the ocean. Natsume wondered if he purposefully let his tentacle be severed to give himself a way out later.

As for the crab menace, the tailed beast bomb had dealt a blow to many of the crabs that fled to the deeper ocean. Their bodies washed up on the coast while the samurai were cleaning up the stragglers. Natsume had mostly played the part of a bystander, except for her initial battle with the crabs. It seems that Yori and the others did not expect the tailed beast to show up, but the owner had known. She had overheard the samurai complaining, further cementing their distrust of shinobi.

Yori had historically stood up for the inn owner, but now he only felt embarrassed and betrayed. For Natsume, this was all just an exciting event to her, with many gains. She thought of the two Jutsu she had memorized, and a slight smile appeared on her lips. Additionally, she was able to encounter the holder of one of the treasured tools. Based on her memories, it seemed that kumogakure had all six treasured tools in their possession at one point in time.

Although she was tempted by their power, without bijuu-level chakra, she would not be able to use them. Seeing the woman nearly exhaust her vitality just to activate the sealing pot once was enough to convince her not to be too greedy. Natsume decided to put the thoughts of kumogakure away for now and began meditating once more.

The night quickly passed and soon dawn arrived. Natsume opened her eyes and let out a deep breath. The process of sensing her Tenketsu was indeed a difficult one. However, she smiled and internally celebrated because she finally managed to locate one! And it also happened to be the Gate of Opening. Natsume did not think this was a coincidence and thought back to the ancient scroll she received from Mount Kakazan.

Natsume was originally worried about opening the gates but didn't notice the benefits of learning the technique. The eight gates were associated with eight Tenketsu. In other words, the technique to open the eight gates was also a guide to sensing those Tenketsu! She did not have to release the limiter and risk her body, just sensing the Tenketsu would benefit her greatly. Where there's a first, there will be a second, and third.

Thinking about the sudden appearance of a powerful shinobi like the inn owner, and her current weakened state, having another skill that could save her life was necessary. Although she could always fall back on her Mangekyou Sharingan, the harm from overuse would be significantly higher than using the first few gates. With that, she decided to master the scroll.

"Good morning, Suzume." Yori noticed that she woke and came up to her tent. Natsume smoothed her kimono and exited the tent to greet Yori.

"Do you have any directions for me, sensei?" After bowing, Natsume asked. It was rare for him to greet her in the morning.

"Since the Giant Crabs have been defeated, we will bring back the meat to the village and return to the Three Wolves."

"Where is that?" Although she already knew, Natsume was playing her role.

"In the far north, there are three mountains' we samurai call home. There, you will meet the Shogun, and begin training in earnest."

"Yes, sensei." Natsume noticed his mood was low ever since the fight. "Sensei is very kind and honest, these aren't bad traits. Those that take advantage of those traits are the bad ones."

'Like me.' Natsume added in her head.

Yori smirked and realized she was trying to comfort him. "The world devours those kinds of people. We set off in an hour."

Natsume watched his retreating figure and thought about the future, shaking head. 'You're wrong, sensei. The world will be saved by that kind of person.'