Hot springs—an oasis of relaxation beloved by everyone in the ninja world.
"Ahh, so good. As expected, soaking in a hot spring is the best feeling ever."
"Yeah, maintaining the seal all day was exhausting."
"Alright, enough talk, let's just enjoy this. We still have to switch shifts tonight."
Three women were soaking comfortably in the hot spring, clearly enjoying themselves.
Little did they know, perched silently in the tree behind them, a certain "outsider" was watching with rapt attention.
"Tsk tsk tsk, can't deny it—different regions, different beauties."
"Living under a waterfall every day really does wonders for the skin. No complaints here, none at all."
Gekko Chizan was completely entranced, though he kept his admiration to himself. As a proper peeper, he knew better than to make a sound.
Still, the "seal" they mentioned just now...
Could it be for the Seven-Tails?
"Hey! Kurobane Neko, stop groping me!"
"Ehh, why not? Saro-senpai, that body of yours—man, I'm so jealous!"
"Get lost, you damn washboard!"
"Ahhh! I am not a washboard!"
This beautiful scene should probably require a paywall, so let's not get into too much detail.
"Alright, get some rest. The Seven-Tails' seal still isn't stable. Won't be long before they call us in for the next shift."
The kunoichi who hadn't spoken until now finally opened her mouth. Leaning quietly against the side with her eyes closed, she was clearly savoring the moment.
But the moment she spoke, the other two immediately focused their attention on her.
"Ugh! Chiin, what are you even pretending for?"
"Take this!"
In an instant, the calm hot spring turned chaotic again.
Gekko Chizan suppressed the blood rushing to his head and quietly slipped down from the tree.
He began mulling over the intel he'd just gathered.
The Seven-Tails' seal...
He hadn't expected to run into something like this during his trip to Takigakure.
But then again, for a village that housed a tailed beast, Takigakure's defenses were indeed strong.
Still, since fate brought him here, wouldn't it be a waste not to take a shot?
A sharp glint flashed through Gekko Chizan's eyes.
Alright then—if it's for the dream of taking to the skies, what's a little danger? If it comes down to it, he could always bail using Flying Thunder God.
No risk, no reward.
...
Outside Takigakure.
Suzaku and Shibi were sitting on a rock, gazing at the waterfall in the distance.
"Shibi, I'm suddenly getting a bad feeling... You don't think that idiot Chizan's gonna do something crazy, do you?"
Shibi blinked in slight surprise, then shook his head with a smile.
"Suzaku, come on. You know Chizan's nature—he's a total coward."
"All this time, he's never taken on a mission above B-rank. Even C-ranks, he barely touches."
"In his words: 'Missions and money aren't worth more than staying alive.'"
Suzaku nodded lightly after hearing that.
He was a few years older than Chizan, but he knew Gekko Chizan quite well.
After all, the Gekko clan had always been part of Konoha, handling intelligence work for generations.
"Let's hope I'm just overthinking it."
...
The place where the Seven-Tails was sealed was at the far end of the great waterfall.
Inside a cavern surrounded by cascading water was the sealing chamber.
At this moment, over a dozen Takigakure shinobi sat around the waterfall.
Every single one wore a serious expression. In front of them was an intricate sealing array.
From within the cavern came the constant sound of crashing and thrashing—clearly the work of the Seven-Tails, Chōmei.
"Everyone, hold on a bit longer!"
"The seal's nearly stable!"
The jōnin seated at the head clenched his teeth as he shouted words of encouragement.
Not far from them, hidden in Transparent Release, Gekko Chizan was pondering how best to distract these Takigakure shinobi.
Only then would he have a chance to sneak in.
After careful consideration, Gekko Chizan knew he needed a proper plan.
There were simply too many shinobi watching the seal right now, including several jōnin.
For a mere chūnin like him, trying to snatch the tailed beast right from under their noses was practically suicide.
And even if he could sneak in, sealing the Seven-Tails into his own body was another massive hurdle.
But then, a sudden thought about seals made him light up.
He slipped away from the sealing site, leapt onto a large tree, sat cross-legged, and pulled out a scroll from his robe labeled with the character "seal."
"Hehe... Jiraiya's sealing jutsu scroll..."
"Aha! This is it—Four Symbols Seal... Hehehe..."
Seeing the technique he wanted, Gekko Chizan let out a sly grin and looked toward the distant sealing site.
He began formulating his action plan.
Step one: distract Takigakure's forces.
Step two: infiltrate the sealing site.
Step three: convince Chōmei to enter his body and complete the sealing.
Sounds simple enough. But actually doing it? A nightmare.
And so, he meticulously crafted a series of events that would throw the village into chaos and confusion.
Over three days, using the convenience of Transparent Release, he began stealing things.
Big things—like windows and doors. Yes, you heard right. Windows and doors. Gekko Chizan didn't hold back. Under the cover of night, he literally dismantled half of Takigakure's doors.
He piled them all—windows, doors, and all—right in the center of the village.
He also stole small things—like ninja tools and food.
The whole village was thrown into panic. A sudden wave of thefts sparked widespread alarm.
From genin to jōnin, everyone started patrolling nonstop.
And with the Seven-Tails' seal to deal with too, Takigakure's shinobi were quickly pushed to the brink of exhaustion.
Meanwhile, Gekko Chizan, thanks to his utterly shameless tactics, even managed to raise his attributes a bit—leaving him overjoyed.
During those three days, he spent every daylight hour observing the sealing site.
He noticed that the guard rotation happened every eight hours.
During the shift change, he'd have less than 20 seconds to sneak inside.
That's assuming there were no extra alarms in the sealing site.
To be safe, Gekko Chizan left Flying Thunder God markers in all four directions of Takigakure—east, west, south, and north.
If things went south, he needed a quick escape.
...
Finally, on the fourth day, he made his move.
Timing the guard change perfectly, he activated Transparent Release and charged straight into the sealing site.
Heart pounding, he watched every step carefully, terrified of triggering a trap.
But the moment he entered the chamber where Chōmei was sealed—
He realized he'd overthought it.
Takigakure had never considered the possibility of someone infiltrating through the waterfall, let alone reaching the Seven-Tails' seal.
So aside from the actual sealing array—
There were no additional defenses.
Staring at the tailed beast bound in chains before him, Gekko Chizan broke into a grin.
A grin full of joy—and devious cunning.