At this moment, the fierce battle of the Earth-Lightning War was in full swing. Why, at such a sensitive time, would that stubborn mule Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage, dare to provoke the entire world by targeting Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast of Sunagakure? What kind of reckless move was this? Wasn't he afraid of Sunagakure's retaliation?
As Jinghang sped through the desert like the wind, he seriously pondered this question. However, no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure it out. Could there be some kind of conspiracy here?
But reality often defies expectations. The reason why Ōnoki suddenly had this idea and put it into action was due to the appearance of one person and the absence of another.
The one who appeared was none other than the current Eight-Tails jinchūriki of Kumogakure, B. This man showed up on the battlefield during the most intense phase of the war between the two villages. His near-perfect mastery of the Eight-Tails' power tipped the scales of the war heavily in Kumogakure's favor. The legendary "AB Combo" (A and B's Lightning Release: Double Lariat) wreaked havoc on the battlefield, slaughtering enemies left and right. Iwagakure's forces were utterly crushed, suffering heavy losses and constant retreats.
The one who disappeared was Rōshi, the jinchūriki of the Four-Tails from Iwagakure. As a jinchūriki, Rōshi had a good relationship with the Four-Tails, Son Gokū, making him a formidable force. However, Rōshi was a gentle and humble individual who disliked violence and bloodshed. Before the war even began, he had clashed with Ōnoki over their differing ideals, leading to frequent heated arguments. Eventually, he became a wandering monk, traveling the world and disappearing without a trace. Even when the Second Shinobi World War broke out, there was no sign of him.
Fortunately for Iwagakure, they still had another tailed beast, the Five-Tails, Kokuō. Unfortunately, its jinchūriki, Han, was still a child who had only recently become a jinchūriki and could not fully harness the beast's power. In a battle against B, Han was clearly at a disadvantage.
The unfavorable situation on the battlefield left Ōnoki so anxious that his hair was falling out in clumps. Finally, before his entire forehead went bald, he came up with an idea: if his village didn't have enough tailed beasts, why not just steal them from others?
But who should he target? Ōnoki counted his options one by one. The Two-Tails, Matatabi, was in Kumogakure, and its jinchūriki was said to be a baby girl—pass. The Three-Tails, Isobu, and the Six-Tails, Saiken, were far away in Kirigakure; by the time his men could bring them back, the war would already be over—pass. The Seven-Tails, Chōmei, was in Takigakure, and its jinchūriki was rumored to be an old man on the verge of death—pass.
That left only the One-Tail, Shukaku, and the Nine-Tails, Kurama. But the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki was none other than Mito Uzumaki, the widow of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Her sealing techniques were overwhelmingly powerful, and with Konoha's strength, provoking them could lead to their intervention in the war, which would spell doom for Iwagakure—pass.
The only option left was Shukaku. Its jinchūriki was said to be an old monk, who shouldn't be too difficult to deal with. Additionally, Sunagakure's Third Kazekage, Jinghang, was a cunning little fox who had recently withdrawn from the battlefield to focus on domestic development—building roads and developing the desert (referring to the Moon Lake New District project and the construction of the Sand-Moon Highway).
Ōnoki figured that Jinghang probably wouldn't dare to take decisive action. Even if he did, by that time, Iwagakure would already have two tailed beasts in its possession, and the war with Kumogakure would be settled. If worse came to worst, he could return the jinchūriki after paying some reparations. Reasonable enough, right? With this plan in mind, Ōnoki made his decision.
Once the idea was clear, the next step was planning. To capture Shukaku, Ōnoki made thorough preparations. First, he activated a precious secret agent planted in Sunagakure during the Second Tsuchikage's era, successfully uncovering the movements of Shukaku's jinchūriki, Bunpuku.
Next, despite the tense situation on the frontlines, he forcibly pulled Kazama Kyo, a traditionalist elite ninja, and nearly a hundred other jōnin from the battlefield to form a strike team. They were equipped with the best gear and supplies, and given a strict order: capture Bunpuku at all costs.
Kazama Kyo, a traditionalist ninja, followed the Tsuchikage's orders without question. Whether the mission was right or wrong was not her concern.
She devised a meticulous plan for the operation, which could be summarized in eight words: "Take the long route there, the short route back." According to the intelligence, Bunpuku was accompanying a construction team of about twenty people and would remain in a specific desert area for roughly half a month. Kazama Kyo led her team on a detour through the desert, avoiding all fortresses and oases to evade Sunagakure's sentries. They relied solely on their own supplies, trudging through the vast desert for over ten days before finally reaching their target location. They successfully captured the jinchūriki.
However, the cost was immense. By the halfway point of the mission, seven team members had been swallowed by quicksand, two were stung by venomous desert scorpions and died despite rescue efforts, fifteen were separated from the main group during a sandstorm and were never seen again, one died of severe dehydration, and sixteen were torn to shreds by a berserk Shukaku during the capture attempt.
If not for Kazama Kyo's exceptional mastery of Dust Release, which temporarily dispersed Shukaku's sand form, and the self-sacrifice of several jōnin skilled in sealing techniques, the entire team might have been wiped out.
These were all elite jōnin, painstakingly trained by the village and hardened through countless battles. They were the backbone of Iwagakure's combat strength. Kazama Kyo's heart bled for the losses.
But there was no time for grief. The mission's most critical phase remained: bringing the old monk back to Iwagakure!
The return journey was relatively straightforward—a direct path to Kaze Pass, followed by a day's travel to exit the Land of Wind's borders.
However, the team's supplies were nearly depleted, as Kazama Kyo had anticipated. She led the remaining jōnin in a ruthless raid on a small oasis guarded by Sunagakure sentries. Since they were retreating, there was no need for stealth. They slaughtered the sentries, replenished their water supplies, and looted all available food before quickly withdrawing.
That night, Kazama Kyo handed a water pouch to Bunpuku and spoke in a harsh tone:
"Drink it, old monk. Unless you want to die of thirst."
Bunpuku, his hands clasped in prayer, looked deeply sorrowful.
"Young lady, by committing such atrocities, you are bound for the Avīci Hell after death."
"Hmph!" Kazama Kyo remained unfazed.
"You're trying to starve and dehydrate yourself to release Shukaku, aren't you? I saw that coming!"
With that, she drew a Damascus dagger and pressed it against the throat of another captive, Wu Zhonghe.
"I'll count to three. If you don't drink, I'll kill him. One, two—"
Bunpuku glared at her with hatred but had no choice but to comply. He unscrewed the cap and took a few gulps.
"Eat this," Kazama Kyo ordered, tossing him a small bag of soldier pills. Bunpuku opened the bag and poured all the pills into his mouth, chewing and swallowing them.
"Master!" Wu Zhonghe's eyes were bloodshot with rage and despair.
Kazama Kyo then handed a water pouch to Wu Zhonghe.
"You vile woman! Do you think you can use my life to threaten Master Bunpuku? Dream on! Go ahead and kill me!" Wu Zhonghe spat, his curses relentless.
Kazama Kyo smirked coldly and kicked Bunpuku to the ground, pressing his bald head into the sand.
"I don't have time for your nonsense. Drink now, or this monk suffers more."
Wu Zhonghe gritted his teeth, trembling with anger. In the end, he reluctantly opened the water pouch...
New Chapter live! updated to Chapter 124
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