Want to read ahead? Join my Patreon for just $7 to get early access to all upcoming chapters!
› Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations
───────────────────────────
Chapter 179: Acquiring the One-Tail Shukaku
Sunagakure.
It was noon, the hottest time of the day. The scorching sun seemed ready to melt people.
Outside the village, on the endless desert.
Fourth Kazekage Rasa stood on a floating cloud of sand, fully activating his Magnet Release to form a massive sand tornado.
Rumble, rumble. The loud noise was continuous.
Creating such a scene wasn't for fighting anyone; it was merely for gold panning...
To sift out the gold dust hidden deep under the desert.
As for why the dignified Kazekage was working so hard to pan for gold under the blazing sun... it was to pay the village's debts.
Thinking of the astronomical compensation, Rasa's eyes burned with rage.
"Konoha! Sunagakure lost the Third Great Ninja War and has to bear huge war reparations. But don't get cocky! Next time, Sunagakure will definitely make you pay it back with interest."
So what if it was war reparations? His Sunagakure didn't have much else, but as long as he used his Magnet Release, he could have as much gold dust as he wanted. It just cost a bit of time and Chakra.
"Hmm?" Rasa suddenly turned his head to look behind him, his pupils constricting violently.
In the cloudless sky, a figure was flying toward him at extreme speed. The speed was incredibly fast, far exceeding his sand cloud. The comer clearly had bad intentions!
He immediately stopped panning for gold and attacked without a word. A strange ninja entering Sunagakure's territory without notification could only be an enemy!
Sand spears shot toward the intruder one after another.
Then, he was dumbfounded on the spot. His sand spears, hard as steel, were shattered into loose sand by the opponent in an extremely violent manner. Shattered by sheer physical strength.
"Who are you!!" Rasa was shaken and hurriedly increased his altitude.
But due to the glaring sunlight reflection, he still couldn't see the person clearly, only a blurry silhouette.
"Not answering?" he shouted angrily. "Don't look down on Sunagakure! And don't look down on me, the Fourth Kazekage!"
In extreme anger, he unleashed his ultimate move. His Chakra fluctuated violently as he thrust his right hand toward the ground. "Magnet Release: Gold Dust Imperial Funeral!!"
Rumble!
The gold dust on the ground surged like flowing water instantly, shooting up with a whoosh. It turned into a monstrous wave of gold, crashing toward the intruder.
"Be buried in gold dust!!" Rasa shouted. "I don't care who you are. If you dare intrude into Sunagakure's territory, your only end is to be crushed into meat paste by gold dust!"
Rumble!
Just then, an even greater roar came from the desert below the intruder. A wave of sand, even more massive, rose from the ground. Like a giant mouth, it directly swallowed and covered the surging gold wave.
Rasa was dumbfounded again.
He stared blankly at the sand wave that was ten times larger than his own gold wave. His eyes were filled with horror, his lips trembling in disbelief. "No... Impossible..."
"How do you possess Magnet Release... How do you know Desert Imperial Funeral..."
Did Lord Third Kazekage, who had gone missing, return?
Rasa thought about it and immediately extinguished the idea. Even the Third Kazekage couldn't unleash a Desert Imperial Funeral of this scale. It definitely wasn't him!!
In the next instant, the answer was revealed.
Taking advantage of his momentary shock, the intruder flew before his eyes like lightning. A black robe with red clouds came into view.
"Akatsuki—"
Before he could say more than a word, Rasa's expression instantly became dull. Tomoe faintly appeared in his pupils. He was already under the Sharingan genjutsu.
Alex flew beside Konan. Looking at the massive Desert Imperial Funeral he created below, he commented, "The momentum does look scary, like a natural disaster, but the power... is just average."
It was good for dealing with cannon fodder, but against true powerhouses, such attacks were hard to be effective. The opponent would either blast through the sand wave with raw power or dodge with high speed. As his strength increased, the power of many ninjutsu gradually couldn't keep up.
He put away his thoughts and looked at Rasa, who was under the genjutsu. "Who is the One-Tail Jinchuriki in your village right now?"
Alex vaguely remembered that the previous One-Tail Jinchuriki, the monk Bunpuku, died of natural causes. He didn't know if he was dead yet in this time period. Gaara was younger than Naruto, so he definitely hadn't been born yet.
"It is Bunpuku," Rasa answered mechanically.
"What is his condition?"
"Very old and weak. His lifespan is almost at its end."
Alex asked curiously, "How do you plan to handle the One-Tail Shukaku later?"
"Karura is pregnant. If Bunpuku can hold on until the child is born, I plan to seal the One-Tail Shukaku directly into the child, making my child the new One-Tail Jinchuriki. If Bunpuku dies prematurely, then seal it into a vessel first, and wait for the child to be born before sealing it into him."
After all that, Rasa had already made up his mind to make Gaara the One-Tail Jinchuriki.
However, since Alex was here, the One-Tail was destined to be taken. Gaara's original fate, and his mother Karura's fate, would both be changed.
"Lead the way immediately. Go to Bunpuku's location."
"Follow me." Rasa nodded blankly.
Under Konan's control, the sand cloud under his feet expanded, carrying her as they flew into Sunagakure together.
The Sand Ninja inside the village saw the familiar sand cloud in the sky and knew the Kazekage had returned. Although they were a bit curious about the identity of the person standing beside the Kazekage, under the Kazekage's brief explanation, they didn't suspect anything. They put away their curiosity and continued their work.
Rasa carried Konan all the way to the dungeon in a remote corner of the village. Ever since Bunpuku became the One-Tail Jinchuriki, he had been imprisoned inside, denied freedom. He was only released briefly to fight for the village when the power of the Tailed Beast was needed.
Rasa and Konan landed, standing at the dungeon entrance. The nearby Anbu guards had no reaction, standing blankly in place, executing their original patrol duties. They had long been controlled by Konan's genjutsu beforehand.
The prison door opened, and the two entered the dim, moldy dungeon. They walked all the way to the deepest part, standing in front of a completely sealed iron door.
"We're here." Rasa stood aside mechanically, speaking no more.
Alex flew up; he could clearly sense the weak life form behind the door.
Bang!
Konan smashed the iron door open with brute force. Inside a cage less than five square meters, Bunpuku sat cross-legged peacefully on the ground. He seemed indifferent to the sudden events.
His face was crisscrossed with wrinkles, looking extremely old. His whole body was like a leaking balloon, his life aura dissipating visibly. His lifespan was almost up...
He slowly opened his cloudy eyes, looking at the people standing at the door. Before he could speak, the three tomoe in Konan's pupils merged instantly, forming a hydrangea pattern.
Mangekyo activated!
She directly controlled Bunpuku and the One-Tail Shukaku inside his body.
"Alex."
"Leave it to me."
Alex controlled a sealing paper, pasting it on Bunpuku's abdomen.
"Get in there, One-Tail Shukaku!"
The paper lit up with a fluorescent white light, emitting a dense sealing power. It rapidly sucked the irresistible One-Tail Shukaku from Bunpuku's body into the paper's sealing space.
One-Tail Shukaku, acquired!
With the Tailed Beast removed, Bunpuku's last bit of life aura dissipated rapidly.
Alex put away the sealing paper and looked at the old man who had spent his entire life in this palm-sized cage. Shaking his head, a sheet of white paper floated leisurely to the top of his head. Lighting up with fluorescent green light, it injected a portion of life force into his dying body and sealed the life breach caused by the extraction of the Tailed Beast.
This operation would allow this poor old man to live out his natural lifespan and die of old age. In his old age, he could at least enjoy some freedom; after all, he was no longer the One-Tail Jinchuriki...
"Let's leave." Alex flew back to Konan.
Thump.
Rasa, standing beside them, smashed straight onto the ground, turning into a lifeless corpse.
Konan didn't even look, walking straight out of the dungeon and flying into the sky.
Next target—Konoha's Nine-Tails!
───────────────────────────
Support this fanfic by leaving reviews, comments, and Power Stones!
For advance chapters, visit:
› Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations