"Up ahead is Taki-nin Village. Renji, what exactly are you planning? This whole trip hasn't been like you at all." Uchiha Retsu stared at his brother, clearly unsettled. He hated being kept in the dark. If it had been anyone other than Renji, he would have snapped long ago.
Renji noticed everyone's eyes on him. Slowly, he said, "I'm not planning anything reckless. I just think the Seven Tails has been wasted.
Handed over to Taki-nin for so many years, and they've never used it once. What a waste of power. Better to make it the Uchiha's card, a hidden trump to confront Konoha and intimidate the shinobi world."
Everyone looked at him as though he were mad.
"Renji, I always thought I was crazy enough. Didn't expect you to be worse, not just a monster in talent, but wild in thought too." Uchiha Kirito grinned with excitement. It was as if he had found a kindred spirit.
"Big Brother, you can't be serious. You're talking about stealing the Seven Tails from an entire shinobi village. You're insane, right?" Uchiha Xingye felt his composure crumbling. The "big thigh" he thought he could cling to suddenly looked like a giant pit.
"Heh, interesting. My little junior's mind really is something else." Uchiha Duantian showed no intention of stopping him, even looking eager.
Xingye thought he was trapped in a squad of lunatics. Everyone around him was crazy. Even Ku Zan had been corrupted. He felt like the only sane man left. Somebody save me.
"I knew you weren't planning anything simple on this road. Looks like I was right." Retsu chuckled.
"Let's hear the plan. I've heard intel before about the Seven Tails' situation in this village. Lay it out, and we can figure out how to proceed." Yan spoke up.
Damn it. They're all in on it now. Shouldn't somebody be talking him down instead of fanning the flames? What do they want from me, medicine? I can't cure this level of madness. Xingye thought miserably.
"I agree we need to be careful. If it can't be done, we retreat immediately." Xingye ground his teeth. He had no choice.
"Of course we'll be careful. But it won't be as hard as you think. I have intel about a hidden passage into the village. It doesn't lead straight to the Seven Tails, but it saves us a lot of trouble.
We'll split three ways. Yan and Retsu, you two will raid the Hero Water chamber. Collect some and destroy the rest. Blow up that giant tree if you can." Renji pulled out a map and pointed to the massive tree in the center.
"Xingye and Senior Duantian, disguise yourselves as village shinobi. Quietly clear a path outward from the inside." He traced a line on the right flank.
"Uncle, you and I will go speak with the Seven Tails. If things go well, I'll release it, kill the Taki-nin leader, and let the beast help us raze the village. Then we'll relocate it into the Hellhound clan's summoning realm.
We'll form a balanced contract with it, grant it freedom, and unless it is absolutely necessary, the Seven Tails will never appear in this world again. It will become our clan's last trump card.
If something goes wrong, we'll unleash a combined technique. All we need is to restrain it for a few seconds. I can then forcefully draw it into the summoning realm. Once it's there, it's my domain. It won't be able to resist." Renji's voice rang with confidence.
"Perfect. Let's make this loud. Don't worry, Yan and I are experts at fireworks." Retsu grinned broadly.
"No issue here. Xingye and I are suited for infiltration." Duantian nodded.
Xingye nodded too, resigned. At least theirs was the safest task, with the best chance of escape.
"Don't forget, even if Taki's Kage is weak, he's still a Kage. I can hold him off, but don't expect me to kill him." Kirito was no fool. He knew his limits and wasn't about to throw his life away.
"Relax, Uncle. I'm certain. Light Release's elementization is my true trump card." Renji's confidence didn't waver.
"Elementization? What does that mean?" Retsu asked the question on everyone's mind.
"Haha, you'll see soon enough." Renji smirked, deliberately vague.
"When do we act?" Yan pressed.
"The sooner the better. Tonight."
Night fell. Shadows flickered across the terrain as the group advanced. Reaching a modest house, they slipped inside. Renji located a hidden switch based on intel, opening a secret tunnel.
The tunnel brought them into a cavern beneath the village. To the left was the Hero Water's giant tree. To the right lay their escape route. The Seven Tails would be deeper in.
Renji summoned Black Claw, his great hound. "Sniff it out. Track where the scents are weakest. Seals suppress chakra. Where the air is unnaturally still, that's where the beast will be."
At last, they stood before a cave entrance. Their eyes could see it, but their senses registered nothing. No sound, no breeze, no trace of life.
Renji grinned and patted Black Claw's flank. "Found you. Seven Tails, your new partner has arrived."
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