The original contract had been set by Shokui, so the "Contract Seal" had to be used on Shokui for it to take effect.
Pinned by the "Seal Gate" that restrained his limbs, Shokui struggled for a while but found it completely futile and gave up. His single eye burned with fury as he glared at Ye Zi.
Ye Zi stood silently in place for a moment, took a deep breath, and began walking toward Shokui.
Realizing that Ye Zi might genuinely have a way to break the contract, Shokui's expression shifted, and he began struggling violently again. However, the "Seal Gate" pressed down on him like a mountain, and no matter how he thrashed, he couldn't break free.
"If this brat really can break the contract, won't I be at his mercy now?" Shokui couldn't help but dwell on the worst-case scenario, his single eye flickering with unease. Thanks to the contract, he hadn't been overly concerned even when Ye Zi controlled him. But if Ye Zi could sever their bond, things would go very badly for him.
"Hey, you've got to be kidding, right?" Shokui yelled, his voice rising several notches, trying to mask his growing anxiety.
Why had Ye Zi bothered to restrain him with wooden pillars in the first place? It had to be preparation for breaking the contract.
Ye Zi ignored Shokui's protests and walked to his side, stepping out of Shokui's direct line of sight.
At first, Shokui had been convinced Ye Zi couldn't possibly break the contract. But the thought of Ye Zi's altered power system, now fully assimilated with chakra, made it a real possibility.
As Ye Zi drew closer, Shokui's inability to see him only heightened his unease. His struggles grew more frantic.
If the contract were broken and Shokui remained sealed in this state, Ye Zi would surely kill him.
"Don't do anything rash! A soul contract of life and death isn't something to play around with. One wrong move, and you'll go down with me!" Shokui shouted, his voice filled with desperation.
Ye Zi remained silent, offering no response to Shokui's words. His serpentine eyes narrowed slightly as his vertical pupils expanded. Without warning, Ye Zi extended his hand and pressed his palm against Shokui's side.
"Contract Seal."
With a low, cold utterance, black runes appeared out of nowhere around Ye Zi's palm, spreading outward to about the size of his hand before stopping.
The "Contract Seal" array formed in the blink of an eye and took effect immediately.
Both Ye Zi and Shokui felt their connection abruptly severed. The sensation was like a taut rubber band snapping, the recoil causing their bond to vanish entirely.
Just as Ye Zi had anticipated, Shokui's power system had been assimilated by the shinobi world, converting his energy into chakra. This made the "Contract Seal" effective.
With the contract broken, Ye Zi's lips curved into a faint, relieved smile. Shokui, on the other hand, widened his single eye in disbelief.
"Impossible! How could you break the contract?!"
Shokui refused to accept the reality of the situation. His mountain-like body thrashed violently, stirring up a cloud of sand, but the gates restraining his neck and limbs remained unyielding.
"Now, are you finally afraid?" Ye Zi asked, standing where he was without approaching Shokui.
"You conniving bastard!" Shokui roared, hurling curses. How could he not feel fear now? Ye Zi was no longer the weakling Shokui had first encountered, he now had the strength to kill Shokui outright.
With the contract severed, their bond of shared life and death was gone. Shokui knew Ye Zi wouldn't let him go. If their roles were reversed, Shokui would have ripped Ye Zi apart without hesitation.
Before Shokui could say more, realizing his dire situation, he quickly softened his tone and spoke in a low, negotiating voice: "Ye Zi, I'll tell you how to break through dimensions. How about letting me go in return?"
Shokui, who usually referred to himself as "this great one," had switched to a humbler "I."
"Have you forgotten?" Ye Zi replied with a cold smile.
Shokui froze, not understanding what Ye Zi meant.
Ye Zi glanced at the sealing array imprinted on Shokui's side, feeling a wave of mixed emotions. He recalled their first encounter. How hopeless he had felt when Shokui had impaled his chest with claws, thinking he would surely die. Yet events had taken unexpected turns ever since.
There was no denying that in the early years, Shokui had helped him significantly.
However, Ye Zi was always aware that Shokui was a dangerous being. His power to grow stronger by devouring others posed a catastrophic threat to any world.
The desolate land beneath their feet was a testament to Shokui's abilities. At times, Ye Zi even envied such power.
Shaking his head to dismiss the thought, Ye Zi sneered. "Have you forgotten about my Spirit Transformation Technique?"
Shokui's single eye widened in realization. The Spirit Transformation Technique, the a skill capable of devouring souls and extracting memories. It came rushing back to his mind. Moreover, it could utterly obliterate the target's soul, leaving no trace behind.
"The Spirit Transformation Technique... that's your plan?" Shokui's expression changed drastically, his body trembling as a chilling sense of danger engulfed his entire being, even penetrating his soul. The thought of his soul being shredded and turned into "food" by Ye Zi filled him with terror.
"Relax. You're still of some use to me. I won't kill you just yet," Ye Zi said coldly.
Shokui exhaled slightly in relief, though his nerves remained taut. He didn't dare speak further, knowing he was entirely at Ye Zi's mercy.
"As for how I'll use you, that depends on my mood," Ye Zi said cryptically.
With that, Ye Zi removed his shirt, exposing his well-defined muscles and the numerous scars that crisscrossed his upper body.
"What are you doing?" Shokui couldn't see Ye Zi and had no idea what he was preparing to do.
"I might as well tell you. I'm going to seal you... into my body," Ye Zi said calmly.
Hearing Ye Zi's words, Shokui's expression changed drastically. He shouted in a tone that tried to sound fierce but revealed his underlying panic:
"You're insane! I'm not a tailed beast. Not only will I not benefit you, but I'll disrupt your chakra flow. And don't forget, my ability is to devour. If you do this, don't come crying later!"
"I'll constantly devour your chakra until I break out of your body!"
Despite his threats, Shokui knew very well that being sealed into Ye Zi's body would only benefit Ye Zi, while all the negative consequences would fall on him.
Of course, Shokui had no intention of accepting this fate. Yet, at this point, he had no choice, so he resorted to scare tactics, hoping to dissuade Ye Zi from proceeding.
But Ye Zi wasn't so easily deterred.
"Feel free to try," Ye Zi replied coldly.
He extended his right hand and pressed it against his abdomen. A complex black sealing array formed on his stomach in an instant.
"You'll regret this! If you dare to do this, I swear I'll devour you!" Shokui roared madly, realizing Ye Zi had made up his mind. The Seal Gate holding him down now felt like a mountain of despair crushing him.
Regret?
A faint, cold smile appeared on Ye Zi's lips. He pressed his left hand onto Kui's struggling side.
The jinchūriki sealing process began!
In an instant, Shokui's mountain-sized body seemed to be caught by an invisible vortex, twisting and spinning as it began to shrink.
Ye Zi rotated his right hand sharply against his abdomen, revealing a dark, gaping void. He prepared to push Shokui into the opening and seal him inside his body.
Realizing he was truly about to be sealed, Shokui resigned himself to his fate, cursing wildly to vent his frustration and fury.
With a flick of Ye Zi's left hand, Shokui's curses were abruptly cut off. His enormous body condensed into a compact yellow sphere pulsating with immense chakra.
Even after being starved and confined for so long, Shokui's chakra reserves remained astonishingly abundant, it was a testament to his monstrous nature. Ye Zi couldn't even fathom how Shokui managed to maintain such reserves.
Ye Zi steadied his mind. Regardless of the risks, sealing Shokui into his body would undoubtedly bring significant benefits. With Sage Mode and Hashirama cells on his side, he could mitigate most of the potential dangers.
He slowly pushed the yellow sphere into the black void on his abdomen. A searing pain crept through his nerves like tearing flesh. Ye Zi furrowed his brows but endured the agony, keeping his movements deliberate and steady as he pressed the sphere deeper into the seal.
The process was excruciating, yet he couldn't rush it. Forcing Shokui into the pre-prepared sealing space violently could backfire.
As the yellow sphere was halfway in, Ye Zi's serpent-like eyes gleamed faintly. Once the seal was completed, he would gain access to techniques similar to Kushina's jinchūriki battle strategies.
True, Shokui wasn't comparable to a tailed beast. But he wasn't an ordinary summoning beast, either. If Shokui ever devoured a tailed beast, he could easily achieve a tailed beast's level of power.
While Shokui's devouring ability was terrifying, his capacity for chakra was even more so. He had often expressed a desire to consume the Nine-Tails inside Kushina, a clear indication that he could handle the Nine-Tails' immense chakra.
Even without devouring, Shokui's natural chakra condensation alone could eventually rival the Nine-Tails given enough time.
"Calling him a summoning beast doesn't do him justice; a tailed beast would be a more fitting label," Ye Zi thought.
His gaze turned colder. With Shokui sealed, Ye Zi no longer needed to worry about Shokui growing too powerful and attempting to regain control.
Although Shokui would be sealed, Ye Zi could still fully utilize his abilities. But this time, those abilities would serve Ye Zi alone.
"From now on, you'll be my tool, Shokui…!"
Ye Zi's eyes snapped open as he pressed the yellow sphere fully into the black void. With a sharp counterclockwise turn of his right hand, he sealed the black void shut, completing the jinchūriki seal.
A sealing array with six black extensions spread across Ye Zi's abdomen. Shokui was successfully sealed within, and the excruciating pain that had tormented Ye Zi quickly subsided like a receding tide.
Ye Zi let out a small sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat from his brow, and glanced around. Picking up his shirt, he used the Reverse Summoning Technique to return to his room at the base.
He tossed his sand-covered clothes aside and sat on the wooden bed, his expression contemplative.
The seal was unilateral, just like a jinchūriki's. Shokui was now bound within him, and Ye Zi could access his chakra.
However, like with a tailed beast, if the jinchūriki didn't earn the beast's trust, excessive use of its chakra could lead to the jinchūriki being influenced by the beast's will, ultimately resulting in loss of control or even rampages.
Using Shokui's chakra might carry similar risks.
"Let's start by examining Shokui's memories and finding the method he mentioned to break through dimensions," Ye Zi muttered to himself.
He closed his eyes and focused his mind, delving into the sealing space within him.
In the dark, empty void, a massive prison stood atop rippling water. Behind the wooden bars, a single enormous eye glimmered coldly in the shadows, radiating a chilling light.
Ye Zi's figure suddenly appeared on the rippling water's surface, his footsteps creating gentle waves beneath him. His body emitted a faint glow, making him stand out in the darkness of the sealed space.
Two clawed hands suddenly gripped the wooden bars of the cage tightly as a massive single eye leaned closer. The light emanating from Ye Zi's body illuminated Shokui's face clearly.
"Ye Zi, I'll devour you!" Shokui roared angrily, glaring at Ye Zi.
Ye Zi tilted his head back slightly and looked at Shokui with a calm expression. "All you can do now is shout," he said coldly.
His words struck a nerve, and Shokui's spirit visibly deflated.
After being sealed in this space, Shokui had fully realized his predicament. This was no ordinary contract but a one-sided suppression, an unfair binding.
Now, there was nothing he could do. If Ye Zi wanted to act against him, Shokui couldn't resist. He was like livestock, trapped in this cramped place with no choice but to endure.
Ye Zi extended his right hand, and a mass of chakra materialized without warning, forming a slowly spinning sphere, much like Minato's Rasengan.
"Do you feel it?" Ye Zi asked coldly, holding the chakra sphere in his palm and staring at Shokui.
"You… you've drawn chakra from my body?" Shokui's eye narrowed as he instantly sensed that a small amount of chakra had been taken from within him.
Ye Zi let out a cold laugh. Without any visible movement, the chakra sphere disintegrated into thin strands before dissipating entirely.
"I can extract chakra from your body whenever I want," Ye Zi said calmly.
Shokui's face twisted with anger. "How dare you use me like this?" he growled.
Ye Zi's expression remained icy. "This is why I didn't kill you. You should be grateful that you're still of use."
Shokui slammed his clawed hands against the wooden bars in rage, but the cage didn't even budge. Furious, he shouted, "Just wait! If I ever get the chance, I'll make you suffer!"
"You won't get a chance," Ye Zi replied, his voice cold and menacing. "Right now, you don't even have the right to use your chakra freely."
Ye Zi's gaze darkened as he added with a chilling smile, "Chakra is essentially your life force. If it's drained completely, you'll die. In simple terms, when I extract your chakra, I'm siphoning away your life."
Shokui's single eye flickered, his anger giving way to a deeper sense of dread.
"Of course, you know this already," Ye Zi continued. "Being in this sealed space, you can still refine chakra. So, if you don't want to die from me draining you dry, I suggest you spend your time diligently refining more chakra.
"Who knows when I might need a large amount of chakra? If you can't supply enough, I'll drain you in one go."
Ye Zi's cold, terrifying gaze bore into Shokui, and his words were unrelentingly cruel.
Treating Kui as a perpetual chakra reserve gave Ye Zi a significant advantage for every battle to come.
When attacking Konoha previously, his limited chakra reserves had left him unable to cause further damage before retreating. Now, with Shokui's chakra, that issue was effectively resolved. This would be especially crucial for his upcoming plans involving the Village Hidden in the Clouds, where chakra would be indispensable.
Although Ye Zi already had substantial chakra reserves, standing against an entire great shinobi village meant they would never feel like enough.
Shokui stopped struggling and stared at Ye Zi, his fury shifting to an unnerving smile. "Fine. You've won," he said, resigned.
It was as though he had accepted his fate. Trapped in this sealed space, he couldn't even take his own life. To avoid dying, he had no choice but to ensure his chakra reserves remained plentiful, yet he couldn't use them to threaten Ye Zi. Even if Ye Zi died, Shokui would perish as well unless Ye Zi decided to release him.
"When I no longer need you, perhaps I'll show some mercy and let you go. Until then, you have two choices: refine chakra desperately or let me drain you dry," Ye Zi said coldly.
Shokui remained silent. This existence was worse than death. Yet, no matter how unbearable it was, he couldn't let himself die... Not now, not ever.
Seeing Shokui's silence, Ye Zi spoke again. "You once said that with enough energy, you could break through dimensions. Now, I'll use my own methods to uncover that secret."
Shokui's pupil contracted sharply. Before he could react, darkness engulfed his vision without warning.
In the sealing space, both Ye Zi and Shokui sat motionless with their eyes closed, like statues.
Ye Zi began delving into Shokui's memories.
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Currently on Chapter 513 - One Against Ten Thousand III