3 The Great Escape

Now that the spirit beast (?) and its human had formed an understanding, it was time to think about the next step.

Namely, how to get the heck out of this suffocating place?

But first...

"Gau Kuo... Gao... Ko... Kokuo?"

"Finally."

The white beast made a clapping motion with its front hooves.

Since the kid's misuse of its name had annoyed it so much, it had forced the kid to keep repeating its name until it was pronounced correctly.

It still felt a bit off, but nevermind.

For Yao Huang, it was just the problem of separating which part of his memory should be used when he opened this crappy mouth. Sounds easy in theory, but in practice it was actually hard. He'd lived for thousands of years using his old part of the soul after all, going with it as the default had become pure instinct.

No wonder reincarnated souls had to drink the Five-Fragrance Tea... it was to prevent this kind of confusion upon birth!

"Kokuo, let me ask you this... where are we?"

He couldn't gather qi at the moment, so he had no way to trace his location. As the saying goes, when you got lost in Chang'an, you better not be shy and ask the locals!

"We are in the underground chamber of the Anbu headquarter in Iwagakure."

Kokuo replied smoothly.

"...Eh?"

Yao Huang went dumbstruck smoothly.

A village... hidden by rocks. That was what the word 'Iwagakure' meant, based on this automatic translator in his head. What a weird name for a village. Was that an alias?

"Err... how far is it from Chang'an? Or Luoyang?"

"What?"

It was Kokuo's turn to be dumbstruck.

Yao Huang suddenly got a bad premonition. It could go both ways. Either Kokuo was inept with the outside world, thus unable to provide him with precise information, or he really had been flung so far in the future that everything he knew had changed.

Both didn't look good in prospect.

"Ngggh..."

After massaging his temple, Yao Huang arrived to a decision.

The most important thing was to escape this room. From there, he would just improvise. Anyway, since Kokuo at least knew the alias of the place, the spirit beast wouldn't be too useless later on. General direction should be fine, right?

"Let's escape this room first."

Yao Huang snapped his fingers, catching Kokuo's attention.

"This One has been waiting," the white beast nodded. "This One shall ask first, do you have a plan?"

"Plan, huh..."

He stared at the pair of blue-green eyes. He remembered that Kokuo had said something about taking over before, and with that tone, it felt like the beast was already used to it.

"Have you ever attempted escape before?"

Kokuo snorted.

"What a silly question. This One had longed for freedom for who knows how long."

Attempts were a matter of course.

"What did you do before?"

"An easy task. This One overpowered the Jinchuuriki's will, and then controlled thus with This One's chakra. Breaking through the pathetic seals of the humans are an easy task."

"If it was easy, why were you still here..."

Kokuo wouldn't answer.

In fact, it was because Kokuo had done everything with such a forceful manner that the escape attempt had always failed.

Since it was still sealed before, it couldn't fully utilize its chakra, resulting in imperfect control of its Jinchuuriki. Not to mention that even as human sacrifices, those ninjas still held their village in their heart, blocking Kokuo's way whenever it was trying to decimate the village.

In the end, it would exhaust itself in the process, resulting in another capture.

However, it was different this time.

The kid had ripped off the seal, giving the beast access to its entirety of chakra. Also, the kid didn't seem to have any attachment to Iwagakure. More like, the kid was extremely oblivious.

It might work!

"Kid, pass control to This One," Kokuo said. "This One shall destroy this building and set us free!"

"Hmm... hold on for a bit."

Yao Huang tsk-ed. This spirit beast was too impatient. Well, it was understandable.

"Destroying the building is fine, but won't that attract too much attention? We shouldn't paint such a big target on our back."

"Hngh..."

The white beast scowled.

"Then, what idea do you have in mind?"

"Well..."

He pointed at the huge, steel door.

"This room is kept in complete darkness, so it's possible that there's no other opening than that door, right? But if I'm put inside such an enclosed space, wouldn't I die from asphyxiation? That means, there's still another opening around here."

Ventilation!

Naturally, it would be guarded as well. However, they were there in the event of a human sneaking through, not a spirit beast. If they went in that direction, wouldn't that create a surprise factor?

Licking his finger, Yao Huang lifted his hand in the air, trying to feel the flow of air.

"...There."

Ignoring the pain on his body, he walked in the darkness until he encountered a wall. The air was flowing from an opening near the ceiling above.

"Let's go from here. I'll leave the rest to you."

Kokuo turned his gaze toward the kid. Those pair of eyes held a mysterious gaze.

"Are you sure? Don't you fear that This One will take over your body permanently?"

Yao Huang nodded, full of confidence.

"A dignified spirit beast such as you will never renege on their promise."

"Interesting!"

Kokuo's image turned into a small white ball that flew into Yao Huang's chest.

"Remember this well, human. This One shall give you a peek of the true strength of a Tailed Beast!"

Suddenly, Yao Huang felt energy bursting out of his body.

It was different from qi. The energy glow in dark, reddish color, and they seemed to have a will of their own. The energy enclosed Yao Huang's body like a cloak, enveloping it from head to toe.

His vision turned acute, allowing him to see the features of the room, even in the blinding darkness. His muscles felt more taut, growing stronger at an unbelievable pace. Something was urging him, corroding on his willpower without mercy. He had to fully concentrate in order to not getting swept away.

"You're still hanging on. Impressive! Truly impressive! This One is pleased!"

That will formed a consciousness, and Yao Huang could feel Kokuo within his self.

It was as if both human and spirit beast had merged together. If they were to show weakness even a little bit, one's will would be devoured by the other!

"What is... this?"

Before he knew it, he had been standing on all four.

Dense, reddish chakra enclosed his entire body, creating a shape similar to a horse. Five horns made of chakra protruded out of his head, while five swaying tails spread out from his back. The ground couldn't handle the immense pressure emanating from his body, causing it to break down and sunk into a crater.

Even a beginner in chakra like Yao Huang could tell that right now, he was engulfed in a great power!

"Let us go!"

His body stomped the ground with his hands and feet, creating the illusory sound of hooves. The ground was crushed into dust as he aimed his chakra horns toward the air duct above.

---

Above the ground, the Iwagakure Anbu were lounging in their headquarter, enjoying the short break between shifts. Another grueling day would follow, but for now, tea and a friend's company was all that matter.

That was, until an explosion occured.

"What's that? The Five-Tails?!"

"No, it's from the opposite side..."

Based off history, the Five-Tails would always escape through the front door of the sealing chamber. The explosion, however, came from the rear. Could it be-

"Intruders?! Are they trying to kidnap the temporary vessel?"

"But, how did they know that today is the correct time to act?"

"Dumbass! Leave the speculation for later! Let's move out!"

Sadly, their guess was slightly off the mark. The perpetrator was indeed the Five-Tails itself!

Like a flash of red lightning, the chakra-covered body of Yao Huang bolted through the rocks as if they were water. With a loud crash, he broke through the surface, the force sending him several feet above.

The sun was shining brightly in the clear blue sky. Below him stood numerous towers made out of rock spires, with the biggest and tallest one in the center of the formation.

"M-mountains! So many mountains!"

Yao Huang couldn't contain his surprise. This kind of landscape... could it be...

"The land of the U-Tsang?!"

"The land of what?"

Kokuo was confused. The kid's attitude was acceptable, but that mouth sometimes spewed out incomprehensible words... perhaps the kid really had something wrong in the head.

"Take a look, kid. This is the village carved on the mountains of the Land of Earth, Iwagakure!"

Kokuo's words blazed with the flame of hatred. Oh, how it wished to level this village with the earth, sending those wretched ninjas to hell for the crime of enslaving it! Even when freedom was at hand, this grudge wasn't so easy to withhold!

Thankfully, the kid's will was there, anchoring the beast to reality.

"Patience. Escaping comes first."

Revenge was a dish best served cold, that was what his experience had told him. On the other hand, escapes should be struck while the iron was still hot!

"Hmph," Kokuo snorted. "Where to, now?"

"Let's see... you want to see the forests, don't you?"

If this was the land of U-Tsang, that means they wouldn't see fertile land for quite a while. It would be better to go south-east, toward the central plains. From there, they could proceed south.

Judging from the position of the sun, south-east should be...

"There."

Kokuo lifted its head, staring at the indistinguishable patch of green in the distance.

"Let's go!"

The reddish chakra began to move in rapid speed, growing hotter with each passing second.

"Eh?"

Yao Huang was shocked. He felt his body temperature skyrocketing in fearsome rate. Wait, wait, wouldn't he got burned alive if this continue?!

"Fear not, human!"

Kokuo roared, overjoyed to be able to unleash its true potential.

<Boil Release!>

The chakra boiled like hot water, causing Yao Huang to feel that he was being cooked alive. However, he didn't feel any pain. A greater surge of power enveloped his body instead.

His hands and feet, which was now shaped like hooves, clapped on the air, producing sonic boom. At the same time, his body accelerated forward like an arrow, blasting toward the green patch in the far distance.

"Owaaaaaa!?!"

Like a shooting star, the figure crossed the sky, splitting clouds in two.

"O-oi! Kokuo!"

"What is it?"

"We're too conspicuous! Lower! Go lower!"

"Tch."

It was true, though. People on the ground were staring at the strange object flashing through above them with curious look. It wouldn't be good if their pursuers could find them thanks to that.

Kokuo rotated the kid's body in the air, and then stomped upward. The push sent them hurtling down straight, but before they could crash down, he stomped forward, propelling them a few meters above ground.

From time to time, Kokuo would made gallops, keeping this ridiculous speed as they maneuver past rough, mountainous terrains.

"Finally... finally!"

Yao Huang could understand the spirit beast's excitement.

After all, they had finally reached a forest!

"Hahahaha!"

Like a mad horse, Kokuo galloped further and further into the sea of trees, feeling more alive than before. For but this very moment, the proud and calm beast was content to be replaced by a childish mare.

Sadly, the blissful moments flit by in an instant.

"We got company."

Kokuo could feel their chakra even from the distance. Iwagakure ninjas. It seemed that they had finally caught up.

"With this speed? I think it's more like they're already here in the first place," Yao Huang commented.

That means... perhaps they were patrol guards? Still troublesome, but compared to elites, they were more manageable.

"Kid, there's a bridge up ahead."

The forest opened up into a wide ravine, with a stone bridge connecting the two edges. Right at this moment, numerous people clad in red outfits and brown flak jackets poured out of the forest right behind Yao Huang.

He was a bit late to notice them, as he was entranced by the bridge's architecture. If only he could make this kind of thing in their Yang Dynasty, perhaps-

Ah, wait, he got an idea.

"Venerable spirit beast, do you have a way to destroy this bridge?"

Kokuo gave him a slight grin.

"Piece of cake!"

Balls made of condensed chakra began to appear around Yao Huang's body. As he crossed through the bridge, Kokuo threw these balls onto the bridge's surface.

"Wait! Stop!"

At the same time that the Iwagakure ninjas' leader stopped his men, the spot where the balls landed exploded, throwing pieces of stone into the air. Each balls were thrown in haphazard manner, creating a chaotic mess.

The bridge shook. One of the support pillar was cracked from the explosion, and it couldn't hold the weight any longer.

"Woah!"

The earth trembles as the bridge collapsed, crumbling into pieces.

The Iwagakure ninjas scrambled to safety. By the time that the dust finally settled and they were able to regroup, there was no longer any sight of the Five-Tails.

"Damn!"

The squad leader slammed his fist on the ground. The Tsuchikage would really take his head this time...