Chapter 348: The Strongman Posture of Going Too Far

And upon learning the source of Laozi's Lava Release, all the Rock ninja, including Onoki, held Laozi in extremely high regard.

This kind of pride and tenacity was precisely the spirit advocated by the Rock Village.

No one doubted that Laozi's ability was influenced by the Four-Tails Son Goku, because strength cannot be faked.

Power obtained through the influence of others is ultimately not as strong as that developed by oneself.

This is also the reason why Laozi's strength had always steadily suppressed Han's.

And the fact that Laozi could develop Lava Release was not strange, because Laozi stood out from the hundreds of thousands of people in the Rock Village precisely because he had extremely excellent "compatibility" with the Four-Tails Son Goku.

From this point of view, it was not strange that Laozi could develop Lava Release.

Therefore, within the Rock ninja, almost no one dared to offend this ninja with an aloof personality and a thick, large beard.

There is a saying: "Going too far is as bad as not going far enough."

This saying was perfectly embodied in the jinchuriki.

For a jinchuriki to use the power of a Tailed Beast, they must gain the recognition of the Tailed Beast, and to become a perfect jinchuriki, they must forge an extremely deep bond with the Tailed Beast.

With the strength and arrogance of a Tailed Beast, how could it easily acknowledge a weakling and forge a bond with them?

So, to become a qualified jinchuriki, the first point is that one must be strong!

"Strong" refers to the strength of the heart and will.

Although Tailed Beasts have different personalities, they all have one thing in common: they appreciate souls that are aloof and strong.

Therefore, the weaker a jinchuriki is, and the more they indulge in the power brought by the Tailed Beast, the more the Tailed Beast naturally rejects this jinchuriki.

And the more aloof a jinchuriki is, and the less willing they are to use the power of the Tailed Beast, the more the Tailed Beasts appreciate this jinchuriki.

Therefore, on this point, Laozi perfectly met the conditions to become a qualified jinchuriki.

Thanks to this, although Laozi could not be called a "perfect jinchuriki," borrowing the power of the Four-Tails was not difficult.

It was just that because of his own personality, Laozi was more willing to use his own power most of the time, rather than borrowing power from the Four-Tails Son Goku within his body.

But now, it had reached a life-or-death juncture, and Laozi could not care about these things.

Facing the Ice Dragon Swirling Tail: Dual launched by Mizunuki Ryosuke, he had to obtain power that could rival it as soon as possible.

And the only one who could bring him this power was the Four-Tails Son Goku within his body.

At the critical moment, Laozi closed his eyes and sank into his own consciousness space.

The consciousness space is different from reality; it does not have the concept of time, so what happens in the consciousness space often only takes an instant in reality.

In Laozi's consciousness space, a monkey with red fur, a massive volume, bulging muscles, and a majestic face was resting in the pitch-black space.

The four strong tails with red fur already explained its identity—the Four-Tails Son Goku.

Similar to all other jinchuriki, the image of the Four-Tails in Laozi's consciousness space was also covered by layer upon layer of shackles.

These shackles were the manifestation of the seal on the Four-Tails.

"Kid, you only think of me when you can't win?"

Laozi's movement into the consciousness space naturally could not be hidden from the Four-Tails. He opened his eyes, which were the size of searchlights, and looked at Laozi with a slightly bored and mocking gaze.

"Yes."

"Four-Tails, I need your power now."

"Please lend me your power."

Laozi admitted it directly and simply. To successfully borrow the power, Laozi directly and simply used the "dogeza" posture toward the Four-Tails Son Goku.

Seeing this, the expression of the Four-Tails also changed slightly.

It was rare to see the aloof Laozi make such a move.

At this moment, the Four-Tails Son Goku, who had a relatively straightforward temper among the Tailed Beasts, no longer had the heart to tease Laozi.

"Kid, your opponent is not simple."

"I smelled a familiar scent on him."

"That guy has the scent of an 'old friend' of mine."

The Four-Tails Son Goku's expression became somewhat serious. Through Laozi's several close-quarters clashes with Mizunuki Ryosuke, although the Four-Tails Son Goku was sealed in Laozi's body, he still keenly sensed the scent belonging to the Three-Tails Isobu on Mizunuki Ryosuke.

"If you borrow my power, you must win."

"Especially, you cannot lose to that guy!"

The Four-Tails Son Goku said through gritted teeth. He did not skimp on his power and gave a large amount of Tailed Beast chakra directly to Laozi.

There is a saying that "they are as incompatible as fire and water"; water and fire are inherently at odds with each other.

Among the nine Tailed Beasts, Son Goku and Isobu were also the most at odds with each other.

Therefore, upon seeing an "old friend," the Four-Tails' first thought was to defeat Isobu. In fact, precisely because the opponent was Isobu's jinchuriki, Mizunuki Ryosuke, the Four-Tails agreed to Laozi's request to borrow power so readily.

Hearing this, Laozi's expression was startled.

He naturally knew what kind of species the "old friends" of the Four-Tails Son Goku were.

At this moment, Laozi's heart sank, and his assessment of Mizunuki Ryosuke's strength rose another level.

At least until just now, all the power Mizunuki Ryosuke had displayed had no shadow of a Tailed Beast.

This showed that the opponent, like him, did not have a high dependency on Tailed Beast power.

Immediately, Laozi felt that this Fourth Mizukage was even more unfathomable.

"Understood, I will win!"

Laozi said seriously, his whole body revealing a resolute aura.

Yes, he would win, and he must win!

"Very good!"

The Four-Tails Son Goku nodded with satisfaction upon seeing this.

Laozi did not continue to dawdle, letting his consciousness leave the consciousness space and return to his body.

In the blink of an eye, when Laozi looked again at the ice-cold barbs shimmering on the Ice Dragon tail about to strike, his mindset was already completely different.

Because Laozi could feel a powerful force slowly emerging from his body.

It was precisely this force that gave him the confidence to confront the Ice Dragon Swirling Tail.

Crimson chakra surged madly from Laozi's body surface, and an evil, viscous red cloak soon formed on Laozi's body.

Unlike Han, Laozi, who had borrowed power through "legal means," did not have his consciousness affected after entering the semi-tailed beast state.

At this moment, two crimson claws condensed from Tailed Beast chakra extended from Laozi's back, having nearly the same size as the incoming Ice Dragon tail wings.

The tail attacks of the two Ice Dragon Kings, which were enough to shatter everything, were firmly grasped by the two crimson chakra giant hands.

"BOOM!!!!!"

The moment the Ice Dragon tail wings made contact with the crimson claws, a violent shockwave splashed toward the surroundings from the place where the two intersected, and the collision between the two sides formed a stalemate state.

"NOT ENOUGH!!!!"

Laozi shouted in his heart, and a large amount of Tailed Beast chakra erupted madly as if it were free, and the semi-transparent crimson claws condensed from Tailed Beast chakra actually began to become as if they were substantial!

An evil aura permeated from the claws, and the Ice Dragon King's proud swirling tail attack actually fell into a predicament under the crimson magic claws.

"HAAAH!!!"

Laozi roared, he exerted force suddenly, manipulating the crimson claws formed by Tailed Beast chakra to firmly grasp the Ice Dragon King's tail, and then swung the claws with all his might, throwing the two Ice Dragon Kings into the air.