Chapter 359: An Age Ripe for Brainwashing
After receiving the intelligence from his clansman, Minazuki Gyō quickly convened a meeting with the ninja from the various bloodline families to discuss the matter.
When the attendees heard that Minazuki Gyō had a possible lead on the Six-Tails Jinchuriki's whereabouts, most of them supported him, expressing their desire to capture the Six-Tails. After all, Yagura Karatachi's strength was a known fact, and they truly needed a ninja who could counterbalance him.
Although they were also considered bloodline ninja clans, the number of ninja in their clans was not as large as that of a world-renowned major clan like the Minazuki. If they were to suffer too many casualties in the process of confronting Yagura, their families could face the risk of extinction.
Therefore, capturing the Six-Tails was something that had only benefits and no drawbacks for them. No matter how powerful the Six-Tails was, could it be more difficult to deal with than Yagura?
As for whose head the title of Fifth Mizukage would ultimately fall upon, this matter actually didn't affect them much. Whether it was the Minazuki clan, the Terumī clan, or the Hōzuki clan, it was all the same to them. In any case, it wouldn't be their turn.
Only the clan heads of the Terumī and Hōzuki clans had a flicker of hesitation in their eyes. Their intentions were obvious: wait a little longer for the geniuses in their clans to mature a bit more. In the future, their chances of competing for the position of Fifth Mizukage would be greater.
However, when Minazuki Gyō mentioned that Elder Genshi's side might have also received the intelligence, they could no longer voice their opposition.
The reason was simple. With the Minazuki clan, it was a struggle for interests. With Genshi, it was a class struggle. Genshi represented the interests of the small and medium-sized ninja clans and was not on the same path as them, the major ninja clans. If Genshi's side were to win, it would inevitably suppress the living space of the major clans.
On this point, the ninja clans present who also had bloodlines but were not as powerful as families were not particularly worried. If it weren't for Yagura maliciously ostracizing them, they might have gone over to Genshi's side instead of following the Minazuki clan here. But the Terumī and Hōzuki clans were both large ninja clans. If Genshi's side took power, it was an inevitable result that their interests would be sacrificed to satisfy the smaller clans.
Thus, the rest of the meeting went smoothly. Everyone unanimously approved Minazuki Gyō's proposal to dispatch elite ninja to capture the Six-Tails.
What they didn't know was that the scroll Ishiro had given to Genshi's side was blank.
...
Although Ishiro now had some subordinates, not many of them were capable. He had a few special jonin, but not a single jonin, let alone an elite jonin. So, after he passed the intelligence to the Minazuki clan, the task of monitoring their movements could only be done by Ishiro himself. If he sent a special jonin over, they probably wouldn't even know how they died.
After giving a few instructions to Noboru and the others, Ishiro left the base.
This time, Ishiro had to monitor the movements of the bloodline clan alliance, so the possibility of his sensory ninjutsu being detected was still very high. Moreover, he had experienced firsthand that the Minazuki clan's Ice Release was a perfect counter to his Chameleon Jutsu. Therefore, Ishiro's surveillance had to rely entirely on the Mind's Eye, his passive sensory skill. He didn't dare get too close, only waiting on the road that led to the place described in the intelligence.
Minazuki Gyō moved quickly. The very next day, he personally led a team of about thirty people to the area indicated in the intelligence to search for traces of the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, Utakata.
Ishiro only conducted a rough reconnaissance from a kilometer away at the beginning to confirm the number of people in Minazuki Gyō's party. After that, he did not follow them so closely. Since Ishiro knew the general target of Minazuki Gyō and his group, he took a wide detour and waited for them near the destination.
The intelligence Karasu provided was not detailed; it only mentioned that Utakata's master had appeared in this area before. Ishiro didn't have the manpower or energy to confirm the authenticity of the intelligence, nor did he have the time to find Utakata's exact whereabouts based on the report. So, what Minazuki Gyō received was Ishiro's vague intelligence. They would still have to spend time carefully searching for clues to confirm Utakata's possible presence.
Ishiro was not in a hurry. He stayed far away on the outskirts of the village where Utakata's master had appeared, wondering how many of the thirty or so people Minazuki Gyō had brought would be an appropriate number to die.
For three days, Minazuki Gyō's party, following the single clue Ishiro had given them, moved through several places and finally confirmed Utakata's location.
Outside a village about a hundred kilometers from Kirigakure, Minazuki Gyō and the others were discussing their battle plan.
"This generation's Six-Tails Jinchuriki is still young and certainly cannot control the Six-Tails' power yet. So, there's no need to worry about him teaming up with the Six-Tails."
"However, if the Jinchuriki's spirit is greatly stimulated, it's possible for the Tailed Beast to go on a rampage. Therefore, there is one principle for this operation: try not to kill anyone, including the villagers. Protect all people and things related to the Jinchuriki as much as possible."
"The primary objective is to persuade the other party to cooperate. The secondary objective is to subdue everyone. If an accident causes the Six-Tails to go on a rampage, then we will resort to the final sealing measures."
After listening to Minazuki Gyō's warning, the others all nodded in understanding.
Seeing this, Minazuki Gyō nodded slightly and added, "The Six-Tails' chakra has a strong corrosive effect, so everyone put on your protective suits first to reduce the damage."
Minazuki Gyō's considerations were very thorough. He formulated the most detailed plan and prepared for the worst-case scenario.
After everyone had put on their protective suits, Minazuki Gyō turned to a ninja dressed in a trench coat, his head covered and his face hidden by a fully enclosed mask. "Clan Head Chigaya, have your Red Eyes observed any other ninja approaching?"
The ninja replied, "No. I haven't detected any other ninja nearby these past few days."
Minazuki Gyō frowned. "To this day, Genshi's side has made no move, and we've contacted the village; no one is causing trouble. This means we've fallen into a trap. The ninja who gave us the intelligence did not give it to Genshi."
"Setting aside the possibility that the other party simply wants us to recover the Six-Tails, they must have another move planned. Clan Head Chigaya, from now on, your Red Eyes must remain active at all times until we have completed the recovery of the Six-Tails."
"Leave five people to protect Chigaya. If there's any intelligence, if any ninja appear, give a warning immediately."
"Yes!" The six ninja, including Chigaya, replied in unison.
What Minazuki Gyō didn't know was that someone had been roaming around them the entire time. It was just that the Mist Anbu uniform that person wore was inscribed with special runes that could block the penetration effect of special dōjutsu. And one of the primary methods of the Red Eyes' reconnaissance was penetration vision. The Red Eyes also had telescopic vision, but unfortunately, this Clan Head Chigaya was long accustomed to completely wrapping himself up. Even when using his telescopic vision, it was based on his penetration vision, passing through the trench coat that enveloped him to observe with his telescopic function.
However, the Anbu uniform and mask on Ishiro's body could both counter penetration vision. In other words, even if Ishiro were standing in front of Clan Head Chigaya right now, he wouldn't be able to see him. To Ishiro, this Clan Head Chigaya was less likely to discover his presence than the five ninja protecting him.
Of course, Ishiro himself didn't know that Minazuki Gyō's team had a possessor of the Red Eyes Kekkei Genkai. This was just a precaution he had taken against Ao's Byakugan. In Ishiro's memory, the Red Eyes were unique to Ranmaru; he hadn't associated this Kekkei Genkai with any bloodline clan from Kirigakure. In fact, not just Ishiro, but even many Mist ninja themselves couldn't remember that their village had such a bloodline clan. This was because the number of awakenings of the Red Eyes was too small; in this generation, only this Clan Head Chigaya possessed it.
Ishiro, on the periphery, had also deduced from their search path over these three days that Utakata was likely in the village ahead. So, this time, Ishiro slowly approached to a distance where his Mind's Eye could sense them.
When he sensed Minazuki Gyō's party begin to enter the village, Ishiro also circled around to the other side and slipped in.
As Ishiro was slowly approaching, before the village had fully entered the range of his Mind's Eye, the sounds of battle came from within. However, it didn't seem very intense.
Ishiro immediately quickened his pace.
The village was not large. Ishiro flew at a low altitude and secretly infiltrated a tall tree at the village entrance, observing the village through the dense leaves.
He couldn't see much with his naked eye, but combined with his sensory ninjutsu, Ishiro still understood the current situation. This was an ordinary village, inhabited only by civilians. There were only two people in the entire village who could use chakra: one was the six- or seven-year-old Utakata, and the other was his master.
At this moment, Utakata's master was being held by two ninja, one on each side. The ninja on the right even had a kunai held to his neck. And opposite them, Utakata was looking at all this with a bewildered expression, not resisting, allowing three ninja to perform a seal on him.
"This age is perfect. The perfect age for brainwashing," seeing Utakata's age, Ishiro was very satisfied.
"Hehe, good thing I came in time," Ishiro breathed a sigh of relief. At this point in time, Utakata and his master had very little combat power. If he had been a little later, and Utakata had been successfully sealed by Minazuki Gyō, then Ishiro's plan would have backfired.
But the current situation was just right.
Ishiro quickly used his Porcelain Release, then controlled some porcelain mud to fly quietly into the village, while his main body remained outside, sensing the situation.
"Utakata, run! These people want to use you as a tool! I have some of my research data in my room that might be useful to you. Take it and run!" Utakata's master, who seemed unable to grasp the situation, was still roaring while being held down by two people.
Minazuki Gyō frowned and said to Utakata, "Utakata, we are ninja from the village. We are here to bring you back. Calm down. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your master, would you?"
The others were also very worried. The seal would be complete in just a little while. Utakata must not have an outburst at this time.
Just as everyone was watching Utakata's reaction with a mix of anticipation and nervousness, some mud suddenly shot towards the ninja holding the kunai to Utakata's master's neck. The mud turned into rock in mid-air, but the force of the attack was not great. Because it happened to hit a pressure point, it still made the ninja's arm tremble slightly.
Normally, this would have been nothing. But now, that twitch caused the kunai in the ninja's hand to slice across the throat of Utakata's master.
In an instant, the air fell silent, leaving only the gurgling sound of Utakata's master as his throat filled with blood. The minds of the three ninja performing the sealing jutsu also went blank. At that moment, everyone seemed to hear Utakata's abnormally rapid heartbeat.
"AAAAHHH!!! MASTER!" A few seconds later, Utakata's roar echoed out, and a large amount of red chakra immediately surged from his body. The sealing runes that the three ninja had painstakingly set up were instantly dispersed.
At the same time, Minazuki Gyō immediately gave an order: "Terumī Chiaki, you take your men and search the surroundings. The rest of you, seal the Six-Tails with me!"
"Yes!" The clan head of the Terumī, presumably, immediately began to prepare to search the village. And the others began to prepare various offensive sealing jutsu.
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