บท 281: Chapter 281
"Any updates on that guy's whereabouts, Black Zetsu?"
"Still haven't found him. An enemy with space-time abilities is tough to track down, Lord Madara. Even White Zetsu's clones can't keep up."
Black Zetsu cursed Madara in its heart after responding. It was hiding from him, and now this foolish reincarnation of Indra wanted it to come closer. Fortunately, the Ten-Tails was almost fully assembled, and it wouldn't be long before it could revive its mother.
Madara spoke, "Don't forget about that guy. I must eliminate all unstable elements before I cast Infinite Tsukuyomi."
"Rest assured, Lord Madara."
After Black Zetsu finished speaking, it informed Madara of the locations where the Four-Tails and Five-Tails were being revived. It mentioned that the Cloud Village might have already sent the Eight-Tails, intending for it to persuade the two Tailed Beasts when they resurrected.
The information White Zetsu's clones had gathered was thorough. One clone posed as a servant in Onoki's household during the day, while another eavesdropped on conversations at night.
Onoki, a veteran of the Third Great Ninja War at the Land of Fields battlefield, had mentioned how the Four-Tails and Five-Tails fought alongside the Eight-Tails back in the day. If not for the Eight-Tails' life-saving abilities, it might have been reviving alongside the Four-Tails and Five-Tails right now.
Due to this connection with the Eight-Tails, Iwagakure agreed to let the Eight-Tails try to convince the Four-Tails and Five-Tails. Their power was crucial in the current war.
Iwagakure's bottom line was to borrow the strength of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails. As long as they won the war, they would release them before the jinchūriki died, allowing them to pass to the next host.
However, if the Four-Tails and Five-Tails didn't agree to this, Iwagakure would have no choice but to resort to force.
...
Meanwhile, in Konoha.
After waking up, Tsunade was busy with work, leaving Yoko to her father, Yoichi, for the day.
Before Yoichi could react, Tsunade's shadow clone disappeared, leaving him no choice but to spend the day with his daughter.
He didn't mind, though, as he wasn't particularly interested in village matters. Yoichi had initially wanted to become Hokage to marry Tsunade and enjoy a leisurely life while reshaping the ninja world in his image.
Now, he had achieved the first two goals, and the third was underway, not requiring his constant attention.
While playing with his daughter, Yoichi mused that after conquering Kirigakure, he would select the Sixth Hokage.
Before doing so, he would need to deal with the Daimyo and nobles of the Land of Fire. The next Hokage would likely be chosen between Shisui and Nawaki, though Kakashi had no desire for the position. Despite this, he would still rank ahead of Shisui.
Nawaki was slightly weaker than Shisui, but he had been training in Wood Release under Hashirama, so he had likely made significant progress.
However, neither of them had the boldness required to handle the Daimyo and nobles properly, Yoichi thought as he entertained his daughter.
At the same time, he opened his ability panel. Last night, he hadn't found any worthy trade offers, so he decided to check again today.
"I wish to acquire one of the top twelve Heavenly Flames in exchange for six grade-eight multicolored pills."
"I wish to find a way to resolve the Karma Mark. In return, I offer gratitude."
"I wish to find a cure for the Poison Body. In exchange, I offer a meticulously compiled medical book."
"I wish to obtain Yin and Yang Release to break a seal. I offer one of my Kekkei Genkai in return."
Yoichi's eyes fell on the request for Yin and Yang Release. Unlike the previous requests, this was something he could actually do.
He had both Yin and Yang Release, and the only seal requiring both was the Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei.
"Could this request be from Ōtsutsuki Kaguya?" he wondered.
Kaguya's consciousness had been sealed away, her body trapped as the Demonic Statue, and her chakra split into the nine Tailed Beasts.
To fully revive, the most crucial step was using the Infinite Tsukuyomi to free her consciousness. Even if they gathered all nine Tailed Beasts and revived the Ten-Tails, it would only possess a fraction of her consciousness.
Over time, the Ten-Tails' power would likely be absorbed by Madara, and even the abilities like Amenominaka would become his.
"Let's give it a try," Yoichi decided after pondering for a while. He wasn't afraid of Kaguya at this point. If he wanted to, he could wipe out his enemies within a year, though it would be exhausting.
Having made up his mind, Yoichi summoned both Yin and Yang Release to his hands. After casting the Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei: Release, the power in his hands vanished.
Since he had accepted the trade, the ability wheel directly took his power away.
Suddenly, Yoichi sensed something was off. He carried Yoko outside and looked up at the moon. Even though it was daytime, the moon appeared unnaturally prominent and clear.
No one else seemed to notice. After watching it for a while, Yoichi returned inside.
Once back in the house, he felt a slight change in his body, as if a new ability had appeared out of nowhere.
Yoichi extended his hand, and a gray bone slowly grew from his palm. The bone emanated a power of decay and destruction, making Yoichi feel immensely powerful.
Even a small piece of this bone could drain half of his remaining life energy if it struck him.
"Yayaya!"
Yoko reached out to touch the bone in Yoichi's hand, but he quickly stopped her.
"All-Killing Ash Bones are too dangerous for you to touch," he warned, retracting the bone.
Acquiring this ability had been an unexpected bonus, further enhancing Yoichi's power. Although he already possessed Yin-Yang Release, Six Paths Sage Mode, and the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan, he hadn't yet mastered the Kekkei Mōra.
The Kekkei Mōra could only be unlocked by absorbing the Divine Tree. Yoichi's Six-Tomoe Rinnegan had absorbed the powers of Indra and Asura, which were theoretically the powers of Hagoromo.
To unlock his own Kekkei Mōra, he needed to absorb a Ten-Tails.
Yoichi's target was the Ten-Tails under Isshiki's control, as Madara's Ten-Tails carried too much of Kaguya's will. Isshiki's Ten-Tails, having never been absorbed, was the perfect candidate for him.
Afterward, Yoichi took Yoko home and entrusted her to Mina, as he wanted to test his All-Killing Ash Bones ability.
When they arrived at the Uchiha compound, Mina's first reaction upon seeing Yoichi was surprise, but she quickly took over caring for Yoko.
"Lord Yoichi, you really are a womanizer. Besides Lady Tsunade, there must be others, right?"
Mina teased him as she played with Yoko, referring to Yugito. The young woman had almost matured, and who knew if her belly might start growing one day.
Yoichi chuckled awkwardly at her remark, finding an excuse to leave.
There were also Kushina and Konan. Kushina might reveal herself soon, while Konan would remain his secretary and assistant. He had plenty of children already, and it was time to start being more cautious.
Meanwhile, on another side of Konoha.
After the war with the Land of Wind's nobles neared its end, Jiraiya had requested to return to the village.
Not being suited for administrative roles, his usefulness had diminished after the war. After receiving Jiraiya's request, Pakura immediately forwarded it to the village, and within two days, Jiraiya was allowed to end his mission and return.
Once back, Jiraiya often visited Minato's home, where he learned about Kushina's near-death experience. He was relieved the enemy hadn't succeeded, as gaining the power of the Nine-Tails could have led to untold disaster.
At the training ground, Minato was teaching Naruto. He wanted to pass on the Rasengan, but Naruto was still too young, so they focused on other training for now.
The Rasengan would have to wait until Naruto grew older, at which point Minato would leave it to Jiraiya to teach.
"Dad, watch out!" Naruto shouted.
On the training ground, Naruto's speed was nearly fast enough to rival the Body Flicker Technique. He quickly appeared on Minato's left side, attacking with a punch and a kick.
His speed was impressive, fully utilizing his physical capabilities with total concentration breathing.
However, Minato effortlessly blocked all of Naruto's attacks, though he was inwardly amazed at how strong Naruto had become, even before entering the ninja academy.
After exchanging dozens of moves, Minato used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Naruto, quickly pinning his arms and subduing him.
"Darn it," Naruto muttered, hanging his head in defeat after failing to break free. "I lost again."
Minato released Naruto with a smile. "Naruto, I'm amazed by your strength. When I was your age, I wasn't as strong as you are now. Has someone been training your taijutsu?"
"Yeah, I've been training taijutsu with Sasuke and Kimimaro. My taijutsu is way better than Sasuke's!" Naruto boasted, crossing his arms behind his head with a grin, not realizing that Sasuke had already started learning ninjutsu and swordsmanship. While Naruto was better at taijutsu, Sasuke's overall strength far surpassed his.
"Did the Fifth Hokage teach you taijutsu?" Minato asked.
"Nope. Uncle Yoichi only taught us a breathing technique. Kimimaro taught me and Sasuke taijutsu," Naruto replied, shaking his head. Kimimaro had told him that once he and Sasuke could beat him together, they could ask Uncle Yoichi for further instruction. But Naruto found that nearly impossible, as he and Sasuke couldn't last more than a few moves against Kimimaro.
"Naruto, a ninja's strength doesn't rely solely on taijutsu. Ninjutsu and other techniques are just as important," Jiraiya said as he approached with a smile. "From now on, I'll be teaching you ninjutsu. I promise you'll inherit my strongest techniques."
Jiraiya hadn't finished his sentence when he suddenly clutched his chest in pain, collapsing to the ground in agony, groaning uncontrollably.
"Master Jiraiya?" Minato hurried over to his side. After checking Jiraiya's chakra with sensory techniques and finding nothing abnormal, he quickly told Naruto, "Naruto, go tell your mom. I'm taking Master Jiraiya to the hospital."
Before Minato could finish his instructions, Jiraiya tugged on his sleeve and whispered, "Mount Myōboku."
With that, Jiraiya passed out completely.
Realizing what needed to be done, Minato immediately used the Summoning Jutsu to call upon Fukasaku. He told the toad, "Fukasaku, Master Jiraiya has suffered some kind of incident. We need the help of Sage Fukasaku right away. Have Gamabunta reverse summon both of us to Mount Myōboku."
"Understood," Fukasaku replied, releasing the summoning jutsu and returning to Mount Myōboku.
Moments later, Minato and Jiraiya were reverse summoned to the mountain.
When they arrived, the towering Gamabunta looked down at the unconscious Jiraiya in shock and asked, "Minato, how are you alive again? And what's wrong with Jiraiya?"
"Boss Gamabunta, it's urgent. I'll explain later. Right now, I need to see Sage Fukasaku," Minato said, shouldering Jiraiya and hurrying toward the inner parts of Mount Myōboku.
Back in Konoha, Naruto led Kushina to the training grounds, only to find it empty.
Kushina reassured Naruto, "Don't worry. Go home first, Naruto. I'll head to the hospital to check on things."
...
'That sensation just now… Mother?'
While traveling, Black Zetsu suddenly sensed the awakening of its mother's will, shocking it so much that it emerged from the ground. It had felt her will.
"Impossible. How could this happen without Infinite Tsukuyomi?"
Looking up at the moon, Black Zetsu confirmed that its mother's will had indeed resurfaced, fully conscious.
'The Ten-Tails… reviving.'
It only heard a few telepathic words, but that was enough for Black Zetsu to confirm that it was Kaguya. As her will incarnate, it couldn't be mistaken.
"I'm not sure what's happening, but this is good. Mother might be freeing herself from Hamura and Hagoromo's seal. Now she can slowly regain her power, hahaha."
With that thought, Black Zetsu excitedly dove back underground, heading toward Madara.
If Kaguya could break her own seal, it was all the more reason to speed up the collection of the nine Tailed Beasts.
(End of Chapter)
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