“How were the tailed beasts sealed inside the jinchūrikis?” Thena asked.

“They were sealed using the most powerful ninja art just below shinjutsu in terms of power which is fūinjutsu, the art of sealing,” Max explained. “And before you ask, shinjutsu refers to divine techniques—abilities that can only be used by the Ōtsutsuki or individuals with the Rinne-Sharingan, Senrigan, or Jōugan.

The Rinne-Sharingan is a combination of the Sharingan and Rinnegan in terms of appearance,it’s the highest form of the Rinnegan, granting the wielder a unique ability, usually a shinjutsu. As for the Senrigan and Jōgan, I don’t have enough information to say more.”

“Okay, but I don’t understand,” Thena said, frowning. “Why did the hidden villages seal the tailed beasts away instead of making them companions to defend their villages?”

Max sighed. “Because people are paranoid. They hate having anything that powerful outside their control—especially a living weapon like a tailed beast. And even if they tried, most tailed beasts never wanted to be part of human conflicts in the first place. That idea was doomed from the start.”

“The method of sealing the tailed beasts into human hosts seemed better,” Max explained. “Because the Jinchūriki could use the tailed beast’s chakra to enhance their strength and become incredibly powerful. Some even gained their beast’s trust, allowing them to fully transform into it. Once they reached that point, only a Kage-level ninja could fight them head-on—and even then, it’d be a tough battle.”

“Kage-level… that’s a power classification, right?” Thena asked.

“Yeah,” Max nodded. “It was a ranking system the villages used to measure a ninja’s strength. It started from Genin as the weakest, then Chūnin, Jōnin, Elite Jōnin, and finally Kage-level. After that came the unofficial tiers—Super Kage-level, Quasi–Six Paths, and Six Paths-level.”

He leaned back slightly, a small grin tugging at his lips. “At the moment, I’m hovering around Quasi Six Paths level—and with my trump card, I can push even further beyond it.”

Thena’s eyes widened slightly. “So just how strong is a Six Paths-level ninja?”

“To put it in perspective.A Six Paths-level being could single-handedly take on an entire hidden village—one protected by six or more Kage-level ninjas and thousands of ninjas concisting of chunin,genin and jounins—and still it would still be a one-sided massacre.”

He paused, a flicker of amusement crossing his eyes. “Don’t worry, though. Things will make more sense once you see me in action one day.”

“Then I can’t wait to see you go all out,” Thena said with a small grin.

“It wouldn’t be a pretty sight,” Max replied, stretching slightly as he stood up. “because me going all out would mean I’m facing a serious threat “

He let out a quiet yawn and glanced toward the hallway. “Alright, that’s enough for one day. Get some sleep early—tomorrow’s going to be a long one. We’ll be busy from dusk till dawn.”

Thena smiled faintly, already feeling a jolt of excitement for what awaited her training.

—————

After a tense few minutes, Ra’s finally responded .

“I’d rather die a free man than a slave,” Ra’s spat, glaring up at Pain.

Pain’s expression didn’t change. “I thought you said you knew when to swallow your pride to survive… but I guess even that has its limits.”

He turned toward the wall, reaching into his cloak. Pulling out a small seal inscribed with intricate markings, he pressed it against the wooden wall as the Flying Thunder God symbol lit up briefly.

“Good thing I came prepared,” Pain murmured. He had placed several such seals on his way to the stronghold—just in case.

Moments later, a soft whoosh echoed through the chamber, followed by a distortion in the air. A figure materialized beside Pain.

Ra’s eyes widened. “YOU!”

“Yesss, meee,” Max replied calmly, his tone almost bored. “Seems we have something in common… neither of us likes being recruited.”

He walked toward Ra’s, who was now slumped against the wall, weakened but defiant. Max stopped just before him, towering over the fallen demon. Then he crouched down, pulling out a scroll, a brush, and an ink bottle from his system space.

“I tried using words to make you see reason,” Max said quietly as he began drawing complex sealing symbols across the scroll. “So I won’t take responsibility for what happens next because one way or another,you will work for me.”

A few moments later, he finished. “This product is still experimental,” he warned coldly, rolling the scroll open and pressing the freshly drawn seal onto Ra’s forehead. “Brace yourself—it’s going to hurt.”

Pain stepped forward, placing a firm hand on Ra’s shoulder to hold him in place.

“No! What are you doing!?” Ra’s roared, panic finally breaking through his composure.

Max’s eyes hardened. Chakra flared from his palm and into the seal. The markings ignited with blinding light—then Ra’s screamed as the seal burned into his skin, the chamber echoing with his pain.

And after a few minutes of agonized screaming, Ra’s cries finally went silent. The smell of burnt hair lingered in the air . Ra’s Al Ghul’s once thin, greying hair was completely gone, leaving his scalp singed and smooth.

Max stepped back, lowering his hand as faint trails of smoke rose from his fingertips.

“Starting now,” Pain said, his voice calm and resonant, “you are Ra’s al Ghul of the Revolution.”

Ra’s slowly lifted his head, trembling but defiant, blood dripping from his split lip. “And I… am at your service,” he rasped, forcing himself upright despite the injuries Pain had inflicted earlier.

Max rolled his eyes as he walked toward Ra’s, placed a glowing green palm against his chest, and released a pulse of Chakra

The burn marks receded slightly, and Ra’s steadied his stance as his pain dulled.

Max then stepped back and pulled out his his brush and ink again as Pain held out his hands . Max then started drawing on Pian’s outstretched palm then stepped back when he was done.

Pain then turned toward Ra’s.

“Stick out your tongue.”

Ra’s hesitated for a moment, then obeyed.

With precision, Pain hovered his hand above the surface of Ra’s tongue the same binding seal once used by Danzō to silence Root operatives,The Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal. The markings pulsed briefly before settling and leaving a set of rectangular tattooed bars.

“It is done” Pain said.

Ra’s closed his mouth slowly and bowed once more, his expression unreadable,

Talia groaned softly as consciousness returned, her head pounding like a drum. The last thing she remembered before blacking out was the man in the white mask — the one who had struck Damian down before everything went dark.

She blinked, her vision swimming as she pushed herself up from the cold stone floor. Her surroundings slowly came into focus — the dimly lit chamber of her father’s stronghold, now tainted by the scent of smoke and blood.

Two cloaked figures stood ahead, their backs turned to her. One of them vanished in an instant, leaving only the man in the white mask.

Her gaze darted past him to see her grandfather, Ra’s al Ghul, standing upright but changed. His once-proud figure seemed smaller somehow, his bald head gleaming under the faint torchlight. Something was wrong deeply wrong.

The masked man turned toward her, his single orange eye glinting like a burning ember through the swirls of his mask.

“It seems you’ve awakened,” Pain said, his voice calm but heavy with authority.

Talia’s breath hitched as she instinctively reached for the blade that wasn’t there.

“What have you done to him?” she demanded, her voice trembling with anger and disbelief as her eyes flicked toward her grandfather — who now stood silently, head bowed before the intruder.

“The same thing that will happen to you after I kill Damian, if you don’t choose your next words carefully,” Pain replied.

Talia clenched her jaw. Through gritted teeth she asked, “What do you want?”

“I have acquired what I want,” Pain said, voice flat. “I don’t know why I’m even keeping you both alive. You’re liabilities.” He picked up a sword and raised it over the unconscious Damian.

“WAIT!” Talia shouted. The sound cracked through the chamber. “Let me work for you in exchange for Damian’s life. Or take my life instead.”

“And why would I do that?” Pain asked.

“Damian is the heir to the al Ghul empire,” Talia said, fighting to keep her voice steady. “His death — along with mine — would look suspicious when you move to take over coupled with my father’s sudden ‘out of character’ actions will raise alarms. The League will rebel against you.”

Pain considered her for a long breath, then inclined his head. “Hmmm. You’re clever. Fine.”

He stepped forward. “Stick out your tongue.”

“What?” Talia snapped, incredulous. Was the man in front of her really going to humiliate her? She hesitated, then — because she had no real choice — stuck out her tongue.

Pain pressed the into her flesh, the same binding jutsu Danzō used to silence his Root operatives. It burned for a heartbeat, then settled. Talia sucked her tongue back in, stunned.

“I hope I won’t regret this,” Pain murmured. “You will carry a mark that I can track. I’ll know where Damian is at all times. I can teleport and snap his neck whenever I choose to ,It’s removal is impossible unless you kill him and the seal on your tongue prevents you from divulging any secret related to me.”

He tossed the sword back into a rack and fixed her with a cold stare. “Take your son to wherever you think he’ll be safe and be back in forty‑eight hours.”

Talia swallowed hard, but she nodded once because for now, Damian’s life was at stake.

Talia carefully lifted the unconscious Damian into her arms and hurried toward the exit. Her footsteps echoed through the stone corridors until they faded completely.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Pain turned to Ra’s.

“Recall all the Shadows back for an announcement,” Pain ordered.

“It shall be done,” Ra’s replied before leaving the chamber, his voice steady despite the lingering pain.

Pain stood alone in silence. He turned toward the gaping hole in the wall,the one Slade had been blasted through earlier and narrowed his eyes beneath the mask,the faint sound of wind whistling from outside.He had survived.

—

Max’s Hideout

Max appeared in his hideout, collapsing to the floor with a heavy exhale. Every muscle in his body ached. After putting Thena to bed, he had sprinted across the city, teleporting only when he came within range of a Thunder God Mark. The trip had drained him completely.

Still, the dirty work was done. He’d managed to place the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal on Ra’s. The loyalty seal he had used before was incomplete — unstable. For all he knew, Ra’s could have been pretending.

As for why he hadn’t placed the same seal on Talia or Damian… that was deliberate. He wasn’t sure how deep Talia’s ties to Batman still ran, and the last thing he needed was Gotham’s Dark Knight poking around his operations.

And killing Damian had been a bluff . He only wanted to see how much Damian meant to Talia… and she had answered that question perfectly.

End of chapter

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