The moment Utakata saw Kitazawa and Tsunade, he felt a little more at ease—because they weren't Mist Anbu.
But on the second look, he noticed the Konoha forehead protector on Kitazawa, and frowned instinctively.
He remembered that Konoha and Kirigakure were already allies. If Konoha learned his true identity, they might inform Kirigakure.
"Who are you two?" Utakata asked calmly.
Even though Tsunade and Kitazawa were famous throughout the ninja world, he had never met them, so he didn't recognize them. And as the Six-Tails jinchūriki, there were very few people in the world who could beat him—so he had confidence.
"Tsunade," Tsunade said evenly.
Utakata's heart jolted.
He'd thought she looked familiar, but he hadn't expected it to really be her.
As Konoha's Hokage, she normally wouldn't leave the village casually.
Utakata understood immediately—she'd come for him.
A bad feeling rose in his chest.
"Kitazawa," Kitazawa added right after.
"…?" Utakata's pupils shook.
Now this wasn't just "bad." Tsunade plus Kitazawa—this was basically a death sentence.
He was strong, but he didn't think he was on the level of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura—the Three-Tails jinchūriki.
Even Yagura had lost to Tsunade and Kitazawa. How could Utakata possibly win?
Especially since Kitazawa now possessed the legendary Wood Release.
"What do you want with me?" Utakata asked, instinctively tightening his grip on a straw.
The straw was his weapon—used to blow bubbles.
He specialized in bubble-based Water Release techniques, which worked in tandem with the Six-Tails, Saiken.
In terms of abilities, Saiken was a bit like Katsuyu: it could spit strongly corrosive acidic liquids and gas.
"Meeting is fate," Kitazawa said with a smile. "We'd like to invite you to Konoha as a guest."
"And you think I'll believe that?" Utakata shot back.
"I don't," Kitazawa paused, then said. "So we'll speak with strength."
"I'm a missing-nin from Kirigakure," Utakata said in a low voice. "Mist Anbu are nearby. If you capture me by force, you're breaking the rules."
"Konoha and Kirigakure are allies. That's not breaking the rules," Kitazawa said, shaking his head.
"Hmph. Enough talk!" Tsunade sprang forward, chakra erupting, and smashed a fist toward Utakata.
The sheer force kicked up violent gusts.
Utakata's expression changed. He immediately drew on Saiken's power.
A massive tail grew from his back and snapped forward to block.
Tsunade's fist struck the tail.
A terrifying shockwave burst out.
Utakata was sent flying.
When he hit the ground, his tail felt almost numb.
"So you really live up to the name!" Utakata stood, and an enormous dark-red mass of tailed-beast chakra surged out of him.
It wrapped around him like a cloak. He still looked humanoid, but now he had six tails.
"What is this?" Uchiha Sasuke stared wide-eyed. It was his first time seeing partial tailed-beast transformation.
Even without sensory techniques, he could feel the bottomless chakra.
Could a human really possess chakra like this?
"This is tailed-beast power!" Uzumaki Naruto blurted out. "Kitazawa-sensei said jinchūriki can borrow their tailed beast's chakra!"
Sasuke thought of Yagura, realization dawning on his face.
"This is partial transformation!" Naruto continued. "There's also full transformation—Kitazawa-sensei defeated Yagura when he was fully transformed!"
"Why didn't I know this? Why did Kitazawa-sensei only tell you?" Sasuke nodded, then suddenly frowned.
"Because I…" Naruto stopped halfway.
Scratching his head, he remembered Kitazawa had warned him not to reveal that he was the Nine-Tails jinchūriki to others.
Besides, Naruto didn't know much either.
Kitazawa had only told him that the better your relationship with Kurama, the more chakra you could borrow.
In terms of stages, there were three:
Stage one: borrowing chakra. Stage two: partial transformation. Stage three: full transformation.
In reality, Naruto had other states too—like Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
A sudden slicing whoosh cut off their conversation.
Sasuke and Naruto snapped their eyes to Utakata.
He whipped his six tails at Tsunade and Kitazawa.
Monster Strength!
Tsunade punched again.
Air pressure rolled outward, and all six tails were knocked aside.
At that moment, Utakata opened his mouth and spat a stream of gray liquid.
Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!
Kitazawa slapped his hands together, and an arched wooden wall rose in front of Tsunade.
The gray liquid splashed onto it and immediately began corroding.
Moments later, the wall was pierced, and the liquid dripped to the ground.
Tsunade wasn't surprised.
She knew Saiken's abilities fairly well.
Yang Release Chakra Mode!
Tsunade formed hand seals. Her chakra exploded upward—so intense that even her blonde hair lifted and streamed.
"What?!" Utakata's face turned pale with disbelief.
After she activated the mode, Tsunade's chakra skyrocketed, nearly matching his partial transformation.
In Utakata's experience, no such absurd jutsu existed. It felt like his worldview was crumbling.
"Not bad," Tsunade said with a grin, clenching her fist.
But Utakata couldn't smile at all.
"Granny Tsunade is insane!" Naruto gasped.
Sasuke nodded along.
That sudden surge of chakra had genuinely startled him.
For a second, he almost thought she was a jinchūriki too.
But once he recovered, a new question surfaced: could he learn that technique?
Against Naruto, his biggest disadvantage was chakra reserves.
Utakata's expression hardened. He snapped his six tails out again.
Tsunade didn't dodge—she grabbed two of them with her bare hands.
With a heave, she yanked Utakata off balance and slammed him into the ground.
Boom!
A deep crater formed where he hit.
Tsunade was about to swing him again, but her expression changed and she released him immediately.
Acidic fluid was seeping from where she'd been gripping.
But Tsunade reacted fast—she lifted her leg and stomped.
The ground cracked outward from her, and a storm of shattered rock blasted into Utakata.
Utakata roared and spewed a huge volume of acid.
Tsunade immediately retreated.
Utakata took the chance to stand and pull back, creating distance.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin.
He felt Tsunade could defeat Utakata on her own—he didn't really need to step in.
The reason was simple: Utakata couldn't achieve full transformation right now.
In the original story, when Utakata encountered Pain's Six Paths, he was defeated while only partially transformed.
In theory, only perfect jinchūriki—like Naruto, Killer B, and Yagura—could use full transformation.
Of course, there was another method:
If the jinchūriki lost consciousness and the tailed beast went on a rampage.
Gaara had done something like that before, achieving a kind of "pseudo" perfect transformation.
But it wasn't truly perfect, because the jinchūriki wasn't in control.
And when a tailed beast rampaged, it could easily harm allies.
They didn't care about the villages that had imprisoned them—they wouldn't protect them the way a jinchūriki might.
Utakata suddenly accelerated, his body moving like a snake.
He crossed the gap in an instant and appeared in front of Tsunade.
Monster Strength!
Tsunade threw a punch, cutting off the attack.
Utakata recoiled—leaving behind a cloud of highly corrosive acid gas.
Tsunade leapt up and avoided it.
Then Utakata spat out a storm of bubbles.
Midair, Tsunade flicked her hands—six kunai shot through the bubbles.
The bubbles burst and mixed with the acid gas, spreading black toxic fumes.
Tsunade frowned.
She was stuck in the air with nowhere to land.
Even as the world's top medical ninja who excelled at detoxification, she didn't dare rush into the poison produced by the Six-Tails.
Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!
Kitazawa formed seals calmly.
A seed hit the ground, and in an instant a wooden dragon rose beneath Tsunade.
Tsunade shifted her body and landed on the dragon's back.
The dragon swam through the toxic cloud.
Its surface corroded, turning black rapidly.
But the next second, new "flesh" grew out, fighting the poison.
In the cycle of destruction and regeneration, the wood dragon looked almost untouched.
Seeing this, Utakata felt like he'd been caught in genjutsu.
He'd heard of Wood Release, but watching his poison fail in real time was still unbelievable.
Tsunade tightened her fist, sprang off the dragon, and dropped like a meteor.
Utakata lashed out with all six tails.
Boom!
All six tails were blown aside.
Utakata flickered and vanished from his spot.
Tsunade landed—ground sinking under her feet and cracking into a spiderweb of fractures.
She snorted, located Utakata, and chased him down.
Utakata spat acid.
Tsunade accelerated, dodged around it, and kicked him.
Utakata went flying and crashed into the ground, carving out another crater.
Tsunade pressed the advantage, cocked her fist, and smashed down again.
A massive impact rang out, followed by a plume of dust shooting into the air.
"Granny Tsunade is terrifying…" Naruto couldn't help but mutter.
From start to finish, Tsunade only used super strength—simple, brutal, and effective.
And her opponent was Utakata, the Six-Tails jinchūriki.
"Seriously," Sasuke agreed.
He felt like one punch from Tsunade would kill him on the spot.
Fire Release, Lightning Release, swordplay—against her, it was all flashy nonsense, completely useless.
This was what a true powerhouse looked like.
Sasuke's eyes filled with longing.
When would he be able to casually beat up a jinchūriki like that?
A furious roar erupted.
After getting pummeled nonstop, Utakata finally snapped.
That dense chakra swelled again—far more intense than before.
A violent wind slammed toward Tsunade.
She punched once to create space, then jumped back.
Utakata threw his head back, six tails thrashing wildly.
Terrifying chakra gathered rapidly, and once it reached a threshold, it condensed into black.
"What is that?" Karin went pale as she sensed it.
"That should be a Tailed Beast Ball," Sasuke said grimly. "The strongest technique a jinchūriki and tailed beast can use—legend says it can destroy heaven and earth."
"The Rasengan is something my dad created by copying the Tailed Beast Ball," Naruto added.
"Don't worry," Sasuke said when he noticed Karin's expression. "With Kitazawa-sensei and the Hokage here, we'll be fine."
"Tsunade-sensei!" Kitazawa called, forming seals.
Tsunade didn't try to be stubborn—she flashed behind him at once.
Even with Yang Release Chakra Mode boosting her, she was still human. She couldn't tank a Tailed Beast Ball head-on.
Yang Release Chakra Mode!
Wood Release: Hotei Technique!
Kitazawa slapped his hands together.
A massive wooden shield shaped like a fanged demon face rose in front of them, protecting Sasuke and the others as well.
Utakata fired the black Tailed Beast Ball immediately.
It slammed into the wooden shield with a deafening crash.
It was like a storm descending—everything around the shield was pulverized into dust.
A terrifying shockwave threw up dirt and debris, forming a towering mushroom cloud that seemed to have no end.
Inside the shield, Naruto, Sasuke, and the others stared around in fear.
They were at the center of the explosion. The ground and shield shook violently, as if they might shatter at any moment.
They trusted Kitazawa, but the sight still filled them with dread.
Kitazawa activated the Byakugan.
He was worried Utakata might run.
But Utakata didn't.
After firing the Tailed Beast Ball, he collapsed to the ground, panting hard.
Kitazawa thought it through and understood why.
Utakata had used the Tailed Beast Ball while only partially transformed—so the burden on him was enormous.
After a long moment, everything finally settled.
Sasuke and the others exhaled in relief.
Kitazawa formed seals and released Wood Release: Hotei Technique.
The wooden shield vanished, revealing the scene outside.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin froze, eyes blank.
They'd been in a valley—but now the valley was gone, flattened into a wasteland.
Flowers, grass, trees—everything looked like it had never existed.
Nothing remained except ravaged earth.
They'd heard of the Tailed Beast Ball, but never seen one.
Now that they had, they finally understood why it was said to have world-ending power.
But something even more unbelievable was that Kitazawa had blocked it.
Tsunade wasn't as shaken.
After all, she'd seen Hashirama Senju's Wood Release before.
Snapping back, she dashed to Utakata.
Monster Strength!
She clenched her fist and aimed at him.
Utakata had just used the Tailed Beast Ball and was in a weakened state.
He reflexively raised his six tails to block.
It didn't matter.
A brutal force exploded outward.
Tsunade's punch blasted through all six tails and smashed into Utakata's body.
The ground beneath him sank again.
At point-blank range, Utakata felt like he'd been run over by a hundred-ton boulder—and he blacked out completely.
"Done," Tsunade said, dusting her hands.
After that fight, she felt refreshed from head to toe.
After working forever, she finally got to go all-out once.
"Tsunade-sensei," Kitazawa said with a smile, "with your strength now, aside from the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails, I don't think the other jinchūriki can beat you."
Were jinchūriki strong? Absolutely—far beyond most ninja.
But they had limits. And those who couldn't fully transform weren't much of a threat to true top-tier fighters.
The Kage of the Five Great Villages all had records of suppressing rampaging tailed beasts.
The most troublesome was always the Nine-Tails.
When the Nine-Tails rampaged, aside from Wood Release, the Mangekyō Sharingan, and sealing techniques, there weren't many good answers.
Luckily, Konoha now possessed all three.
"It's thanks to Yang Release Chakra Mode," Tsunade said, canceling the mode.
Last time, without this mode, she hadn't been able to beat Yagura alongside Kitazawa this easily.
Today, aside from blocking the Tailed Beast Ball once, Kitazawa barely intervened.
And if she'd been alone, she still couldn't tank the Tailed Beast Ball—but she could dodge it.
In other words, she really could defeat Utakata by herself.
"Kitazawa-sensei, Granny Tsunade—you're way too strong!" Naruto ran up excitedly and looked Utakata over.
The bloody chakra cloak had faded, making him look like any other ninja.
"You can also partially transform like him," Tsunade chuckled. "When we get back, have Kitazawa teach you."
"Really?!" Naruto instantly lit up.
Even if Utakata's partial transformation got him beaten half to death by Tsunade, the power boost was undeniable.
Sasuke had just walked over and abruptly froze when he heard that.
What did she mean Naruto could also partially transform?
"Naruto is a jinchūriki?!" Karin blurted out in shock.
"I am," Naruto said, glancing at Kitazawa as he admitted it.
At this point, there was no point hiding it anymore.
"…???" Sasuke was stunned, frozen in place.
Wait—how was he supposed to compete with that?
After the fight, he finally understood what jinchūriki were.
Naruto without partial transformation already beat him.
If Naruto got partial transformation too… Sasuke's vision went dark.
Would he ever beat Naruto in this lifetime?
[Current Mission: Help Uzumaki Naruto achieve partial transformation.]
[Mission reward: +10 cards to chakra capacity.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa's eyes lit up.
This was great—simple and effective, and way more generous than before: ten full "cards" of chakra in one go.
But this mission trigger was weird.
He'd already accepted a mission to help Naruto become a perfect jinchūriki.
Kitazawa had assumed partial transformation wouldn't trigger its own mission…but apparently the system did whatever it wanted.
"Of course it's true," Tsunade said, patting Naruto's shoulder.
A Nine-Tails jinchūriki wasn't born knowing how to transform.
Uzumaki Kushina had been taught by Uzumaki Mito.
Normally, Naruto should have been taught by Jiraiya, but Jiraiya was rarely in the village—Kitazawa was more suitable.
And with Wood Release plus sealing techniques, Kitazawa wasn't afraid of the Nine-Tails rampaging.
Sasuke unconsciously clenched his fist.
A sharp sense of crisis flared in him.
The thought that he might never surpass Naruto made his chest burn with frustration.
Without realizing it, his three-tomoe Sharingan activated on its own, leaking a dark, heavy aura.
Tsunade glanced at him, surprised.
Why had Sasuke suddenly gained so much Yin Release power?
Kitazawa blinked.
He could guess the reason.
Either the protagonist halo was kicking in again—or this was simply the bond of Indra and Asura.
Kitazawa was about to speak when his brows lifted.
A group of Mist Anbu wearing masks appeared.
Misled by Uchiha Itachi, they hadn't found Utakata—but they also hadn't left the Land of Rivers.
The Tailed Beast Ball explosion had been so massive that they sensed it and rushed over.
Sasuke, Naruto, and the others instinctively prepared for battle.
"It's Utakata!" one Mist Anbu shouted.
"Shut up!" the Anbu captain's face changed as he snapped.
Didn't you see Tsunade and Kitazawa standing right there too?
The Mist Anbu fell silent.
Their mission was to retrieve Utakata.
The problem was… they didn't dare move now.
As Anbu, they'd participated in the previous war between Kirigakure and Konoha.
They knew exactly how terrifying Tsunade and Kitazawa were.
They could risk their lives—but dying for nothing was pointless.
"Hokage-sama." The captain took a deep breath and stepped forward.
If Kirigakure and Konoha were enemies, he would've turned around and left instantly.
But they were allies now—he had to negotiate.
Otherwise he couldn't answer to Mei Terumi.
"Utakata is a missing-nin from Kirigakure. I hope Hokage-sama will hand him over to us," the captain said politely, bowing slightly.
"Utakata was defeated by us. He is now Konoha's spoils of war," Tsunade said calmly. "Go back and tell Mei to send someone to Konoha to discuss it."
"I understand. We'll leave immediately!" The captain suppressed his shock and turned to go at once.
Because if Tsunade and Kitazawa wanted to, they could wipe them all out.
And then they could claim Utakata did it—Mei would have no proof otherwise and would have to swallow the loss.
Kitazawa withdrew his gaze and walked up to Utakata.
He formed seals and added several more sealing techniques onto him.
"Haru," Kitazawa called.
Haru appeared immediately, along with her three Anbu teammates.
"Take him back to Konoha," Kitazawa ordered.
They still had another mission to complete, and carrying Utakata around would be inconvenient.
That was why he'd had Haru accompany them to the Land of Rivers.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sama," Haru answered, and had her teammates lift Utakata.
"I'll send a shadow clone with you," Kitazawa thought for a moment, then formed seals and created a shadow clone.
He was worried Mist Anbu might ambush them and try to take Utakata back.
With his clone guarding them, unless Mei came in person, no one was taking Utakata.
The group carrying Utakata gradually disappeared into the distance.
"Alright, next we go to the Tsuchigumo clan," Tsunade said enthusiastically.
Once they finished the Tsuchigumo mission, she could go enjoy the casino for several days.
After a satisfying brawl, then straight to gambling—life didn't get better than this.
"Let's go." Kitazawa patted Sasuke on the shoulder.
Sasuke snapped out of it and realized his three-tomoe Sharingan had been active for who-knew-how-long.
He paused, deactivated it, and followed after Kitazawa.
Compared to him, Karin stayed relatively calm after learning Naruto was a jinchūriki.
Her mindset was different—she'd never been trying to compete with Naruto.
Kitazawa glanced at Sasuke.
All things considered, it was a good thing.
He had once thought about helping Sasuke awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, but later felt it wasn't necessary.
For Sasuke, awakening it wasn't that hard—just get beaten up by Naruto a few more times.
Since the system mission to help Naruto reach partial transformation had already triggered, Kitazawa could simply go with the flow.
Helping Naruto was helping Sasuke too.
[Current Mission: Help Uchiha Sasuke awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.]
[Mission Reward: Mangekyō Sharingan.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa's eyes widened.
No way—did a new mission just trigger that casually? And it just happened to be a Mangekyō-related mission?
Kitazawa accepted without hesitation.
To be honest, the three-tomoe Sharingan was already useless to him.
At his current level, he didn't need it.
But the Mangekyō Sharingan would be extremely useful—especially because it came with two innate ocular jutsu.
It could also unlock the powerful Susanoo.
If he awakened something like Kamui, then even at the Ōtsutsuki level it could still play a shocking role.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin.
The Mangekyō is the eye that reflects the heart—its jutsu are tied closely to the user's mental state at awakening.
But his Mangekyō would be a system reward, so what would the jutsu be?
Could he choose?
[Current Mission: Defeat the Six-Tails jinchūriki Utakata.]
[Mission Reward: +20% Byakugan purity.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa snapped back and stared at the three lines of text.
After he scanned them, the words shifted again.
[Byakugan purity has reached 100%. Special ability awakened: Mind Insight.]
[Mind Insight: Allows you to perceive portions of another person's thoughts, depending on the gap in strength between you.]
Kitazawa raised an eyebrow.
This ability existed in the original work—Kaguya Ōtsutsuki had it.
Her version was even stronger—she could fully see others' minds.
Kaguya had used the Byakugan to read Hamura and Hagoromo's thoughts.
Kitazawa's was weaker: only partial insight, and dependent on the strength gap.
Still, it was useful—for interrogation and questioning.
[When Ōtsutsuki bloodline reaches 100%, the Tenseigan can be awakened.]
A new line appeared.
That was within his expectations.
Soon, the group arrived at the mountain where Shiranami was located.
"You three go up," Kitazawa said. "Try to capture Shiranami alive."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei!" Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin headed up the mountain.
Kitazawa activated the Byakugan.
He looked at Sasuke and used Byakugan: Mind Insight.
In the next instant, a flood of thoughts poured into his head.
Summed up: Sasuke wanted to steal Naruto's spotlight and get a perfect score on the mission.
Kitazawa then looked at Tsunade.
But he couldn't sense any thoughts or ideas at all.
"What are you doing?" Tsunade noticed something off.
"Oh, I'm using a sensory technique," Kitazawa said, half-truthfully.
"Then why are you looking at me?" Tsunade glared at him.
"Because Sasuke and the others haven't started fighting yet," Kitazawa replied, making up an excuse as he looked away.
It was clear that against Kage-level fighters, he couldn't use Byakugan: Mind Insight to read their thoughts.
Thinking about it, that was normal.
If he could read their minds, it would be absurdly overpowered—he'd be unbeatable against them.
Another point was that using Mind Insight could be detected.
But ordinary jōnin, chūnin, and genin below Kage level probably wouldn't be able to avoid it.
Just as he'd thought, it would be extremely useful for interrogation.
"Enemy attack!" a shout rang out.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin had been spotted by the ninja on the mountain.
In the next second, all kinds of thrown weapons flew at them.
Sasuke immediately drew the Sword of the Thunder God with his right hand and swung hard.
In a flash, dazzling lightning spread out and knocked every projectile away.
"Where did you three little brats come from?" Shiranami stepped out, looking down at them.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked—Sasuke had stolen the first question, so Naruto had to settle for the second.
"You trespass on my turf and you don't even know who I am?" Shiranami scowled.
"You're Shiranami?" Naruto's eyes lit up. "You're exactly who we're looking for!"
"What do you want with me?" Shiranami glanced around. "Where's your squad leader?"
"Obviously to capture you!" Naruto formed seals and shouted, "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Not good!" Sasuke didn't hesitate—he charged straight at Shiranami.
"What?!" Shiranami froze at the sight of the dense crowd of clones.
But he had no time to think—Sasuke was already in his face.
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!
Shiranami hastily formed seals, and a wall rose.
A sharp chirping screech rang out.
Lightning Release: Chidori Stream!
Lightning wrapped Sasuke's body. He became like a blade and smashed straight through the earth wall.
Leaf-Style: Willow!
Meeting Shiranami's stunned gaze, Sasuke twisted his wrist—his Sword of the Thunder God vibrated.
Shiranami suddenly couldn't move.
At the same time, the sword seemed to flicker, leaving sword shadows everywhere.
Genjutsu?!
Shiranami panicked and broke the illusion—
But it was too late.
The Sword of the Thunder God reached him and carved a deep gash into his arm.
Because Kitazawa wanted Shiranami alive, Sasuke hadn't aimed for the heart.
In pain, Shiranami counterattacked.
A stream of green gas burst out.
"Poison gas?" Sasuke's pupils shrank. He held his breath and retreated.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!" Naruto and his clones slapped their hands together.
Howling wind swept like waves, blasting the poison back.
Caught off guard, Shiranami's subordinates inhaled it and collapsed.
"Bastards!" Shiranami cursed, but didn't even spare his men a glance.
He already knew—if he kept fighting, the outcome would be disastrous.
Earth Release: Rock Lodging Destruction!
Shiranami formed seals through the pain.
He slammed his left hand onto the ground, and the mountain peak cracked apart, huge rocks tumbling down.
Naruto's shadow clones were hit first, popping into smoke one after another.
"Naruto, go help Karin!" Sasuke said, and immediately activated his three-tomoe Sharingan.
He locked onto the fleeing Shiranami, leaping across falling rocks as he chased.
"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, but Sasuke was already far. Naruto could only turn back to help Karin.
Lightning Release: Chidori Stream!
Sasuke surged forward with lightning acceleration and quickly caught up.
"Damn brat!" Shiranami turned and flung six shuriken.
"In front of these eyes, mere shuriken are useless," Sasuke said coldly, flicking his blade to knock all six away.
"Three-tomoe Sharingan?" Shiranami finally noticed—and froze.
Unbelievable.
Sasuke's brow lifted. Perfect opening.
Genjutsu: Shiranui!
His three-tomoe Sharingan pulsed, dragging Shiranami into illusion.
Body Flicker Technique!
Sasuke darted in, then released lightning in all directions.
"AAAAH!" Shiranami screamed as the electricity tore through him.
"Too weak." Sasuke casually spun the sword and sheathed it.
"Sasuke!" Naruto and Karin arrived—but the fight was already over.
A typical jōnin hit by Lightning Release: Chidori Stream was basically done.
After all, it was an A-rank Lightning Release technique.
"With Sasuke and Naruto's strength, ordinary jōnin aren't even good practice anymore," Tsunade said, shaking her head as she watched.
"They've improved too fast," Kitazawa said with a chuckle.
"You really won't consider letting them graduate early?" Tsunade asked.
"At this point, it wouldn't be much different," Kitazawa said casually. "We can just assign them harder missions next."
"True." Tsunade nodded.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Karin walked up to them.
Behind her, Sasuke and Naruto carried the unconscious Shiranami.
Under Kitazawa's lead, the group headed toward the nearby Tsuchigumo clan.
"I didn't expect the Tsuchigumo clan to end up like this," Tsunade sighed after looking around when they arrived at Mt. Katsuragi.
With no one living here for a long time, the buildings were coated in dust and looked badly deteriorated.
"Who are you?" a girl appeared in front of them.
She had long brown wavy hair and green eyes—distinctive and striking.
An elderly man followed behind her, watching Kitazawa and Tsunade with caution.
"We're ninja from Konoha," Kitazawa said. "We'd like to meet the Tsuchigumo clan leader."
"Konoha?" The girl's eyes lit up. "I've heard Grandpa talk about you!"
"How do you prove you're Konoha ninja?" the old man behind her asked sternly.
"Proof?" Kitazawa extended a hand, and a tree erupted from the ground in front of him.
"Wood Release?!" The old man's face changed drastically. "You're Kitazawa?"
"I am," Kitazawa said with a smile.
"Looks like Wood Release is even more famous than me as Hokage," Tsunade joked.
"You're the Fifth Hokage?" the old man's heart jolted again.
"That's right." Tsunade lifted her chin toward the distance. "We mean no harm. Please come out and meet us."
"Hokage-sama—your visit honors us. Forgive our poor welcome," an elderly man stepped out. He was the Tsuchigumo clan leader, En no Gyōja.
"Grandpa!" the girl blurted.
"Hokage-sama, this is my granddaughter, Hotaru," En no Gyōja introduced.
"Mm." Tsunade nodded. "I brought you a gift."
Sasuke and Naruto carried Shiranami forward.
"Shiranami?" En no Gyōja looked shocked.
"He's your clan's traitor, so we're handing him over for you to deal with," Tsunade said with a wave.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama!" En no Gyōja bowed.
"It's nothing." Tsunade paused. "I came here to discuss something. I want you to move to Konoha."
"What?" En no Gyōja and the others had not expected that at all. They froze.
"Konoha and the Tsuchigumo clan signed an alliance treaty during the Third Great Ninja War," Tsunade said unhurriedly. "If you move to Konoha, it'll be easier to protect the forbidden technique, Fury."
En no Gyōja instinctively wanted to refuse, but then abruptly stopped.
He glanced at Hotaru and fell into thought.
The Tsuchigumo clan truly no longer had the strength to protect Fury.
They hadn't gone after Shiranami because they simply couldn't.
And most importantly—Hotaru. If she stayed here, she had no future.
Then there was Tsunade's invitation.
As the Fifth Hokage, her words carried weight. If the Tsuchigumo joined Konoha, they wouldn't be treated poorly.
"We'll discuss it," En no Gyōja said, pulling Hotaru and their attendant Tonbee aside.
Before long, they made their decision and accepted Tsunade's invitation.
However, they proposed one condition: they would only reside temporarily, not formally join Konoha immediately.
Tsunade agreed easily.
In her eyes, the condition meant nothing.
After all, only three people remained in the Tsuchigumo clan—so in the end, they would inevitably put down roots and develop in Konoha.
~~~
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