[Western Front]
Back into the cave, the Shimura clan were not celebrating. This had been an overwhelming victory. After all, jinchuriki were known to be at kage-level. Perhaps this one was not a kage-level figure just yet, due to his age and inexperience, allowing us to seal the monster inside my body before it could fully transform.
No, the Shimura clan was in a state of shock. Shocked of their own achievement. Alone, I would have never been able to seal the beast. No, even with a squad of ANBU, doing so would have been nearly impossible.
But everything from start to finish had been calculated, minutely executioned. The twenty thousand explosive tags had crippled him, angered him, made him lose his mind to the beast. Rage was a powerful regent, but also made him more predictable. Against a cohesive army like the Shimura clan, the fourth tail had been subdued, and captured. It was a worthy achievement.
No, an extraordinary one.
For the first time since they had headed off to the battlefield, the Shimura clan started to realize the growth they had gone through, the strength that I, Danzo, had offered them.
Two elders had been sacrificed for the seal, and Uzumaki chains were consumed. My chest was now exposed in the air, my muscular stature and charred tissue for everyone to see. However, rather than celebrating, the clansmen sat in formation.
The Shimura clan did not possess many hidden techniques. Actually, none could compare to the Nara Shadow manipulation, the Uchiha dojutsu, or bloodline release of the Senju clan. However, they possessed the most knowledge about fuinjutsu. Although it could not compare to the Uzumaki clan, they were the main suppliers of storage seals in Konohagakure.
Itoru spoke: "Danzo-sama. I wish to sacrifice my life"
Another two elders spoke: "Me too. I would gladly lay out my life for you"
"Me too", jonins started to speak.
It is not as if I did not know why. The four-tails was injured, and so it was not tormenting my mind just yet. However, it was only a matter of time.
Reverse Four Soul Symbols Seal [Forbidden Jutsu].
The Reverse Four Symbols Seal was not forbidden for any reason. It was one of the strongest seals, one that had been designed to seal monstruosity. Summoned beasts of kage-level, or even tailed beasts. This meant that as long I was mentally prepared, the four-tails would have little opportunity to take over. Furthermore, I was not just a regular shinobi. My mind was sharp enough. I had gone through death itself, and killed over four hundred shinobi myself in the past two months.
No.
The reason why the Shimura elders were worried, and the reason why they wanted to sacrifice themselves, was the consumption of souls. The more enemies I killed, the more control I would have over the tailed beast. The stronger the chakra of the enemies I killed, the sturdier the seal would become.
"There is no need for that", I spoke, "Why would I need to sacrifice allies, when I can sacrifice enemies?"
Itoru frowned: "But...if the beast takes over, then it will be all for nothing-"
I shook my head: "Do I look this feeble to you? My orders are resolute. I will not claim the lives of my clansmen. Yukiko, make a report please"
Yukiko nodded fervently: "Three jonins lost their lives, including two elders. Additionally, the rest of the Iwagakure forces were tough, and claimed the lives of four chunins, and eight genins"
I bit my lips. Each loss was tough to deal with. They were not regular shinobi. They were clansmen, family members. I hoped not to lose any, but I guess this was to be expected. Facing a jinchuriki was the worst case scenario, though I could not make up for the enemies' decision-making. Sending a young jinchuriki on the front without any force to support him made no sense...unless...
'They are acting like Danzo...I knew the Tsuchikage had internal strife, but the Iwagakure elders have created this situation. They made sure the jinchuriki would fall, to put the blame onto Oniki and force him to reneign on his aggressive policies on his village's clans!', I assumed
I was amused.
The internal instability of Iwagakure had opened a window of opportunities. Killing a jinchuriki was one thing. Capturing one was...usually impossible. For instance, the eight-tails was always escorted by the raikage. Capturing it would mean defeating two kage-level figures. Even in Konoha, doing so would require extraordinary investments.
Iwagakure elders probably expected Roshi to return injured. Even if he died, the four-tails would reincarnate in the village, as they had likely sealed portion of its soul in some sort of seal. However, for the four-tails to be captured, it meant that there was a kage-level figure.
I did not qualify as a kage-level figure. After all, even Hiruzen, the current Hokage, barely qualified as a kage-level figure.
However, with the support of the entire Shimura clan, I had managed to do the impossible. Had I been straightforward and revealed my strength, Iwagakure would have never taken such risks. But not even Konohagakure's higher ups knew of our numbers. The fact that we left just enough convoy passed also made them think that it was a squad of strong ANBU, not a whole clan.
My schemes to reap Hiruzen's money had turned into Iwagakure underestimating my strength, and taking disproportionate risks. This was the best. If I could just master this power...then becoming a kage-level figure was assured. No, I could go even beyond that.
'My chakra reserves are increasing minutes by minutes...They already doubled since the fight...And my arm is almost fully regenerated. Impressive'
The elders had a point, though. I needed to collect souls.
I could feel the strain on my mind. Not to mention sleeping, a moment of inattention could cause me to lose control at this point.