The Nine-Tails laughed arrogantly, constantly spitting out mocking words at the Two-Tails.
"I always thought Shukaku, that stinking tanuki, was the weakest among the tailed beasts."
"Now I realize I was wrong. Two-Tails, you're the weakest one."
"At least Shukaku has the guts to challenge me. You can't even—"
"Hahaha…"
"…"
Uchiha Ren stayed silent, inwardly marveling at the Nine-Tails' venomous tongue.
No wonder Matatabi kept saying the tailed beast siblings all disliked the Nine-Tails.
With a mouth that is poisonous, who would like this smelly fox?
Then Uchiha Ren turned to look at Matatabi.
The cat's fur was standing on end, violent chakra surging around its body.
Clearly, the Nine-Tails' words had completely enraged it.
One either died in silence—
Or exploded in silence.
"It's just chakra!"
"Boss, this time, however much chakra the Nine-Tails gives, I'll give the same!"
Matatabi glared fiercely at the Nine-Tails.
This time, even if it couldn't win bread, it had to fight for dignity.
The Nine-Tails was already mocking it right in its face!
Its newly acknowledged boss had remained silent and hadn't even refuted the Nine-Tails' words.
Clearly, he had tacitly agreed.
If it still didn't react, would it ever have the chance to speak loudly in front of its new boss again?
No!
It would lose all face today!
"This… this isn't good, Cat…"
"Cat, you need to think clearly. The Nine-Tails does indeed have more tails than you, and its chakra is also greater…"
"The power plant's chakra storage tanks are not only specially made, but their number is also…"
Uchiha Ren suppressed the smile at the corner of his mouth.
Naturally, the more tailed beast chakra there was, the better.
But he still had to pay attention to how he ate.
After all, this was a long-term business.
Since Kurama had already taken the initiative to play the villain, Uchiha Ren could not betray its "kind intentions."
He could still play the role of a pure little white lotus very well.
"Boss, don't say anymore!"
"How can a tailed beast's strength be decided simply by the number of tails?"
"Kurama is a tailed beast. I'm also a tailed beast."
"I'm not inferior to it!"
Matatabi directly interrupted Uchiha Ren, looking eager to fight.
"Hmph. Two-Tails, I hope you don't regret this."
"Your tiny amount of chakra won't satisfy a black-hearted bastard like Uchiha Ren."
"Only this great one can barely endure it!"
The Nine-Tails spoke with disdain, looking down on Matatabi while also disgustingly stabbing at Uchiha Ren.
But Uchiha Ren remained calm and composed.
What could insults do to him?
If it wanted to curse, let it curse.
So what if it was cursed?
People with shallow hearts were often angered by insults and delighted by praise.
But in truth, all of that was merely how others viewed you.
Those who lived according to others' opinions were destined to be pitiful.
Uchiha Ren only wanted chakra.
The more, the better!
All of this was for Konoha!
"So what?"
"Today, I'll go all out just to beat you once!"
Matatabi had long felt an ominous premonition.
Uchiha Ren's so-called rent and chakra definitely did not mean just a small amount.
How much exactly?
Matatabi still didn't know.
But it was definitely a massive amount of chakra.
Still, the Nine-Tails had already dragged it up and started insulting it.
This time, it absolutely could not admit defeat!
Otherwise, the next time the tailed beast siblings gathered in their mental space, with the Nine-Tails' personality, it would definitely embellish this matter and retell it.
Matatabi also needed a face!
"Cat, since you've already decided, I won't try to persuade you anymore."
"Good luck."
"Don't worry, Boss. I'll win!"
Matatabi refused to lose in momentum and looked full of confidence.
"Hmph. A mayfly trying to shake a great tree."
The Nine-Tails snorted coldly.
After speaking, it fell silent and closed its eyes, accelerating the condensation of its chakra.
This time, it would show the Two-Tails that even among tailed beasts, there were differences.
The value of the tailed beast big brother was not something a lower-class tailed beast with only two tails could question.
"Mito, stop sunbathing!"
"Let's go to the Konoha Power Plant!"
Uchiha Ren's consciousness returned, and he immediately dragged Uzumaki Mito toward the Konoha Power Plant.
"That's right, smelly old woman. Hurry to the power plant!"
Kurama's voice echoed in Uzumaki Mito's heart, filled with impatience.
This time, even if it had to shed a layer of skin, it would not let the Two-Tails have an easy time.
Just because it had attached itself to Uchiha Ren, it dared show off in front of him?
Then let's perish together!
The Nine-Tails thought viciously.
"Uchiha Ren, what exactly happened?"
Uzumaki Mito felt somewhat regretful that she had not followed Uchiha Ren into the sealed space.
In the past, whenever she extracted the Nine-Tails' chakra at the Konoha Power Plant, the Nine-Tails would curse nonstop.
Its words were vulgar and unbearable.
It could curse for an entire afternoon until it had no strength left to continue.
Of course, Uzumaki Mito would not let the Nine-Tails keep sending telegrams forever.
When she really couldn't endure the scolding anymore, she would bind the Nine-Tails' mouth shut with chains.
As for why she did not bind its mouth immediately—
Naturally, it was because Mito was "kind."
Every extraction squeezed the Nine-Tails until it looked half-dead.
If she didn't even let it curse a few times, that would be too hellish.
"Don't ask so much!"
"Kurama simply wants to contribute to Konoha!"
Uchiha Ren was too lazy to explain everything to Uzumaki Mito.
He gave a vague answer and dragged her toward the Konoha Power Plant.
Konoha Power Plant.
Uchiha Ren had not come here for a long time.
The power plant's scale had already expanded three or four times.
Back when the new power plant was built, Uchiha Ren had determined that the Konoha Power Plant was a treasure trove of profit.
Its scale would definitely continue expanding.
So he had reserved plenty of Konoha land for it.
"Hokage-sama!"
The shinobi on guard duty immediately discovered Uchiha Ren.
With those distinctive white pupils, one glance told him the guard was from the Hyuga Clan.
Using the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan to guard an important base was simply a perfect match.
No one could escape the detection of Hyuga-exclusive X-ray vision.
Even if someone used genjutsu to control an insider, the Byakugan would detect abnormal chakra sources.
"Have there been any suspicious individuals lately?"
"The power plant is an extremely important property for Konoha. There must not be any mistakes…"
As Uchiha Ren spoke, he passed through layer after layer of checkpoints.
The ground and walls were densely engraved with sealing technique formulas and sensory ninjutsu.
Fully armed Konoha shinobi patrolled everywhere at all times.
This time, Uchiha Ren had launched a surprise inspection.
He was very satisfied with the Konoha Power Plant's security strength.
Even if he wanted to sneak inside silently and sabotage it, it would be extremely difficult.
"Good work. Keep it up."
Uchiha Ren patted the Hyuga shinobi on the shoulder.
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
Soon, Uchiha Ren and Uzumaki Mito arrived before a building.
Only after comparing chakra signatures, passwords, and hand seals did they pass the review and enter the tailed beast chakra extraction room.
"Cat, do you see the number on the screen?"
"Every time the number increases by one, it means one of the giant chakra storage bottles outside has been filled."
"They're the storage bottles you saw earlier."
"Each one is over ten meters tall."
Uchiha Ren thoughtfully introduced the device in front of them to Matatabi.
Matatabi nodded, forcing itself to stay calm.
Those ten-meter-tall storage bottles arranged in endless rows were meant to hold chakra?
How much chakra would it take to fill all of them?
"Mito, how many bottles can Kurama fill each time?"
"About two thousand or so."
"Previously, it was more than three thousand, but later, the power plant upgraded its storage technology."
"Through special formulas, tailed beast chakra can now be compressed and refined inside the storage bottles."
"This is truly incredible technology. It even involves advanced sealing techniques."
"Is Konoha's Technology Department Minister from the Uzumaki Clan?"
Uzumaki Mito's tone was quiet and faint.
Such advanced sealing technique mastery was rare across the entire ninja world.
The formulas mixed into the seals were also extremely familiar to her.
She definitely knew this Technology Department Minister.
She simply could not be sure who it was.
Aside from a shinobi born from the Uzumaki Clan, Uzumaki Mito could not imagine anyone else in the ninja world capable of developing this kind of technology.
Of course, Tobirama could also do this.
She had personally taught him back then.
With that foundation, it would not be strange at all for him to innovate further and invent such technology.
It would even be extremely reasonable.
After all, Tobirama had always liked tinkering with strange techniques.
But Tobirama was already dead.
Naturally, that option was eliminated.
"Of course not!"
"Do not underestimate the geniuses of the ninja world."
"The Technology Department Minister's surname is not Uzumaki."
Uchiha Ren said firmly.
Senju Tobirama's surname was Senju, after all.
"Hmph. I don't believe that!"
"I trust my judgment. This is clearly sealing technique work from the Uzumaki Clan."
"I definitely know this Technology Department Minister!"
"To this day, not even a trace of information about the Technology Department Minister's identity has leaked."
"What about his identity is so shameful?"
Uchiha Ren froze.
His expression stiffened, but he recovered in the next instant.
This old woman Uzumaki Mito truly had venomous eyes.
She could infer traces of Senju Tobirama just from the technique formulas alone.
But this was unavoidable.
All of Senju Tobirama's sealing techniques had been learned from the Uzumaki Clan.
Any insider could see clues from the formulas and symbols.
After all, across the entire ninja world, only the Uzumaki Clan possessed this kind of sealing technique.
But Uchiha Ren would never admit it.
"Cough, cough. Mito, you're talking too much today."
"He simply wants to hide his identity and silently dedicate everything from the darkness, contributing to Konoha and the ninja world."
"When he figures it out himself, he will naturally appear in Konoha."
"Sometimes, human curiosity can be very dangerous."
"One careless step can cause disaster."
"Have you forgotten how Senju Toma privately opened the Hashirama cell experiment?"
"He nearly died himself, and even dragged a group of Senju clansmen into it."
"Alright, alright. I won't ask anymore."
Uzumaki Mito rolled her eyes.
She was only curious about the identity of Konoha's Technology Department Minister.
How had Uchiha Ren started digging up old debts again?
Her little braid had been grabbed once more.
"Good that you understand."
"In the future, don't ask what you shouldn't ask."
Uchiha Ren blocked Uzumaki Mito's curiosity with a single sentence.
Senju Tobirama's identity could not see the light at all.
The identity of Konoha's Second Hokage was still extremely solid.
Once exposed to sunlight, it would not be easy to keep turning Tobirama into a nuclear-powered beast of burden.
"Enough. Hurry and extract the Nine-Tails' chakra."
"Extracting chakra once takes a long time."
Uchiha Ren urged Uzumaki Mito to start quickly.
"I know, you smelly brat!"
Uzumaki Mito stepped forward and gripped the extraction device with both hands.
Powerful Nine-Tails chakra erupted from her body.
A tailed beast cloak even appeared over her skin.
"Smelly old woman, don't control me this time."
"You'll waste my precious chakra."
"I'll fully cooperate with you."
Kurama sat with both hands clasped.
Sensing Uzumaki Mito's movements, it opened its eyes.
A sharp light flashed in them.
This time, it would show the Two-Tails the strength of the boss of tailed beasts—
Kurama!
"What exactly did you and Uchiha Ren talk about?"
"This is extracting your chakra, yet you're this proactive?"
Uzumaki Mito heard the Nine-Tails' voice and looked shocked.
She grew even more curious about what had happened in the sealed space earlier.
"This has nothing to do with Uchiha Ren."
"This concerns my status among the tailed beasts!"
"Stop wasting words. Carefully sense my chakra."
"Every time you forcibly extract my chakra, I keep resisting."
"A lot of chakra gets wasted and lost during the process."
"Understood!"
Uzumaki Mito felt herself enter a strange state.
The fiery red chakra cloak covering her body transformed into gold within a few breaths.
"Holy crap?"
"A golden tailed beast cloak!"
"Perfect jinchūriki?!"
"Seriously?"
Uchiha Ren looked at the golden tailed beast cloak and couldn't help exclaiming.
Kurama had accepted Uzumaki Mito?
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible!
Kurama wished it could tear this old woman alive.
It had to be because of the Two-Tails.
Kurama was truly going all out.
Matatabi still stared blankly at Uzumaki Mito.
It had only heard of the term jinchūriki.
It still did not know what it meant for Uzumaki Mito to enter this state.
Cat, you'd better know when to stop.
Don't actually squeeze yourself crippled.
Uchiha Ren looked at Matatabi, his face showing pity.
On the large screen, the number representing the chakra storage tanks kept rising.
Time passed bit by bit.
Noon became sunset.
The sun gradually fell.
The moon appeared.
But the Nine-Tails still had not stopped supplying chakra.
The golden tailed beast cloak around Uzumaki Mito had long vanished.
Only a thin, weak red film remained, so faint it was nearly invisible unless one looked closely.
"Kurama, how about next time?"
"I think this is enough. Truly enough."
"It's already three thousand six hundred eighty-eight bottles."
"That's already the number from before the modification."
"If this continues, I'm afraid you won't be able to endure it."
For once, Uzumaki Mito tried to persuade the Nine-Tails to stop.
The Nine-Tails was no longer just extracted until it looked half-dead.
It had become skin and bones.
Even so, it was still desperately supplying chakra.
Seeing the Nine-Tails' dispirited state, even Uzumaki Mito could not bear it.
Tailed beasts wouldn't die…
Right?
"Stop talking nonsense, old woman!"
"This isn't my limit yet!"
"I am a tailed beast with nine tails…"
The Nine-Tails' words came in broken fragments.
Every pause made Uzumaki Mito's heart leap violently.
She was afraid the Nine-Tails might suddenly drop dead.
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