"I'm sorry," Kawaki repeated.
His voice was barely a whisper.
The magnitude of his acts tipped the scale heavily as Kawaki desperately tried to destroy the Ten-Tails seal with his ninja-tool arm.
The seal began to crack, revealing a void of blackness eagerly awaiting the impending explosion from Kawaki's attack.
"Wha... What the...?" The scene Kawaki saw within that dark realm sent shivers down his spine.
Deep inside the seal's recesses, Kawaki's eyes widened in terror as he caught sight of a struggling figure, Sankira, locked in a grueling battle with the monstrous Ten-Tails itself.
Sankira was on the brink of exhaustion. His body and chakra reserves were depleted. Every fiber of his body screamed at him to surrender, to succumb to the endless bombardment of hopelessness the Ten-Tails sought to drown him in.
"Surrender so soon? As I said, there is absolutely nothing, no one, and nobody who will come to your aid," Juubi indulged in Sankira's vulnerability, its voice dripping with venom.
"You are all alone like you've always been. Come to me, boy. I'm the only one you can count on now. Embrace me, and I'll make sure the world understands your pain, our pain." The monster intended to lure Sankira in to set itself free.
Amidst the suffocating despair, Sankira started chuckling, bringing an unexpected hysterical tone.
"How about... we die here together?" His face contorted with defiance, displaying he had nothing more to lose.
"What? You wouldn't dare," the monster's furious roar reverberated through the abyss, its anger mixed with confusion.
"If I can't stop you, then the only way is to trap you," Sankira declared with unshakable conviction.
Gathering the remnants of his strength, the young Uzumaki began to form hand seals—Ram, Dog, Tiger, Dog, and Ram.
"Seal!" He shouted, lacing with imminence.
Closed his eyes, Sankira awaited the culmination of his efforts. And it came, cascading down upon the Ten-Tails. Multiple torii, sacred gates used in sealing techniques, descended on the monstrous entity, binding it with an adamant force.
Juubi was struck down entirely. Its attempts to break free only fueled the torii's insatiable appetite for chakra. Despite its raw power, the vile beast found itself immobilized, its movements futile against the relentless bindings. Tails thrashed in every way, desperate to dislodge Sankira. But the young warrior stood firm, refusing to yield. Sankira successfully brought the mighty Ten-Tails under his control through his sheer will of fire.
"How?" Juubi bellowed, its anger palpable.
"How can you? HOW?"
The monster's last-ditch effort at escape failed altogether. The more it fought against the torii's grip, the more chakra it unwittingly surrendered.
"Giving up so soon?" Sankira repaid the favor.
"Don't get smug just yet," the monster warned.
"With all the chakra you've poured into this, I doubt you even have enough left to take another breath." Juubi looked to sow doubt in Sankira's mind.
"No. This is it," Sankira said calmly, crushing all its mind games.
"My life in exchange for your eternal imprisonment."
"You're so naive. Why do you assume I can't break these damn chains if you pass out? Why are you willing to sacrifice yourself for those who have lied to you?" Juubi's words lashed out to sway Sankira's boldness.
"Because..." Sankira drew a deep breath, his voice steady and resolute.
"They are my family. And I love them. I would do anything to protect them from you."
The indomitable strength of the love for the family that had given Sankira comfort, care, and happiness proved decisive. It empowered him to construct a colossal cage of torii, sealing away the Ten-Tails for eternity.
As Sankira's dwindling chakra reached its final reserves, dizziness overcame him. The image of the trapped monster grew increasingly blurry. His hand seals broke down, and the torrent of torii ceased its descent on the Juubi. Fortunately, the beast itself was drained of energy, unable to get out of the confinement of the giant cage.
"I guess this is the end of the line," Sankira thought, sadness filling his heart.
The young Uzumaki found solace before his inevitable demise, knowing he had done something for his family and village. Exhaustion coursed through his veins, threatening to consume him entirely. His consciousness was fading.
Ringing across the emptiness above, a distant call surged through. A faint white shimmer emerged, where only darkness had prevailed. Sankira squinted his eyes tightly to focus solely on a familiar figure.
"Sankira, can you hear me? Don't you dare die in front of me!" The glimmer's call was unmistakable.
"Ka... wa... ki?" Sankira's weakened voice strained to pronounce his brother's name, but the connection was made.
"KAWAKI."
"Yeah! Come on, dipshit. Snap out of it!" Kawaki's demand pierced through Sankira's senses.
"I thought you..." Sankira began, interrupted by Kawaki's interjection.
"There's no time to waste. Hurry up before..." A growl from the Ten-Tails discarded Kawaki's words.
"Isn't that Amado's favorite lab rat?" the Juubi mocked, dredging Kawaki's painful past as an experimental ninja tool.
"I'm not too thrilled to see you again either."
"Were you supposed to kill him?" The Ten-Tails shifted its massive eyeball towards the energy-depleted Sankira.
"Shut up."
Kawaki's ninja-tool arm unleashed a devastating blast, engulfing the surroundings in a huge explosion. Miraculously, the colossal cage remained intact, withstanding the ferocity of his outrage. The explosion only served to provoke the monster further.
"Consider you're lucky, boy. Once I destroy these gates, you'll..." The Juubi's threat was abruptly halted.
"Come on, Sankira. I'm tired of seeing this abomination," Kawaki said with a slight head shake.
"It's not that simple, Kawaki," Sankira spoke slowly, his breath dwindling.
"I don't think... I'll make it."
The sky was in a big swirl.