Among the Jinchuriki, Utakata's combat strength ranked relatively low. Among peak Jinchuriki, Utakata possessed a rather limited set of techniques. Without any particularly powerful trump cards, his battle power was significantly diminished. That said, this was only when compared to other Jinchuriki. Compared to ordinary ninja, Utakata was still far superior. As for now, with his abilities becoming increasingly refined, he was still far stronger than immature Jinchuriki like Gaara and Naruto Uzumaki.
However, when Jinchuriki lacked sufficient combat experience, problems often arose. Naruto Uzumaki was a typical example—he had comparatively weak resistance against Genjutsu and was easily defeated before unleashing his full potential. Utakata did not suffer such a severe weakness, but he still struggled greatly against Earth Release and Lightning Release techniques. The Six-Tails' corrosive *Acid* ability often proved ineffective—it might pack a punch, but it couldn't hit what it couldn't reach.
From his fighting style alone, the Six-Tails Jinchuriki was best suited as battlefield artillery, with powerful wide-area attacks and suppression abilities. But in one-on-one confrontations—or even when facing multiple opponents—his countermeasures were insufficient. Fortunately, his Soap Bubble Ninjutsu excelled at diversion and disruption, allowing him to pull back safely. This was precisely why Utakata had never been captured all this time.
In this relatively populated town, especially during such a bustling moment filled with crowds, Kirigakure's Anbu probably wouldn't dare initiate an outright battle with Utakata here. During peacetime, large-scale conflicts between ninja that endangered civilians rarely occurred, as doing so would openly break long-standing traditions among ninja villages.
Just because they dared not act now didn't mean they'd stay idle forever. The night grew deeper, and Mizuki, lying in bed inside his bedroom pretending to rest, clearly sensed several ninja sneaking into the town under darkness, slowly surrounding Utakata's position. Nearby, Mizuki even spotted one Kirigakure Anbu hiding on the rooftop of the small inn where he was staying, maintaining close surveillance.
"They won't make their move here," he mused. "Nobody dares provoke a mentally unstable Jinchuriki within a civilian town. We'll just wait for Utakata to leave tomorrow."
Kiri refrained from tipping their hand early, and Mizuki himself was happy to get some sleep. Still, Mizuki thought Kiri's manpower seemed inadequate—this group was clearly undermanned for hunting down a Jinchuriki. If Utakata showed even slight caution, these Kirigakure Anbu practically stood no chance at all.
Then again, capturing someone didn't necessarily require brute force alone. Sometimes, emotional appeals worked better. Most likely, this mission aimed primarily at persuasion while treating direct combat as secondary. That approach made sense regarding a runaway Six-Tails Jinchuriki.
An uneventful night passed by quietly. Exactly as Mizuki predicted, Kiri waited patiently for the right opportunity to strike.
Mizuki had actually considered whether he should secretly intervene and help Kiri capture Utakata. After considering it at length, he ultimately gave up—not out of fear of messing up the story or clouding his own judgment. At this point, everything had already fallen apart—no need to worry about looking like he knew too much beforehand. As long as the big picture stayed intact, nothing else required overcautious handling.
The problem lay in this: covert reconnaissance might be acceptable, but once action was taken, the chances of not being discovered were very low. The Six-Tails jinchuriki was definitely no pushover, and those sent by Kiri to capture jinchuriki wouldn't be ordinary shinobi either. If discovered, failure to complete the mission would be secondary—more concerning would be the potential complications arising from hostile villages discovering each other's surveillance activities, possibly triggering distrust between them. Mizuki attacking Sunagakure's jinchuriki wasn't completely unknown to others. Even without solid evidence, suspicion could still arise. At a time like this, if Mizuki secretly appeared beside another jinchuriki, it would be difficult to explain clearly.
Before Akatsuki restarted their tailed beasts' capture plan, Utakata himself wasn't in much danger. He wasn't the only jinchuriki wandering outside his village; capturing him or not wouldn't make much difference, so it was better to just leave things be. Interfering in other villages' internal affairs could be acceptable if done completely undetected, otherwise it would be better to just stand back and watch.
Utakata wasted the morning at the inn, but finally took action after lunch.
"Is he leaving already? Nope—he must've sensed someone tailing him. Foam-based jutsu really do have wide applications. Their reconnaissance skills are quite effective."
Utakata hadn't lost basic vigilance. By simply blowing some bubbles around the nearby area, any slight movement or change in the surroundings would disturb these bubbles, immediately alerting him.
The moment Utakata caught a whiff of danger, the instant he left town and escaped civilian interference, he dropped all pretense and shot off in a full sprint. The Kiri Anbu watching silently began chasing relentlessly. Hidden aside, Mizuki observed how things unfolded.
"In silence, Mizuki evaluated Utakata's current strength. From what he could see, Utakata clearly wasn't a taijutsu specialist. His fundamentals were merely average, seemingly walking the path of a signature ninjutsu-oriented shinobi."
In contrast, the pursuing Kirigakure Anbu squad maintained tight formation throughout the chase. Clearly an elite tactical unit skilled in [Combined Attack Jutsu], their leader was none other than "Sword," who had split from Mizuki only days before. So this individual was the one responsible for hunting down Utakata. An old associate in the mix meant Mizuki needed to be extra careful.
After prolonged tracking, the Kirigakure Anbu finally intercepted Utakata, now panting heavily. Hiding aside, Mizuki couldn't help but admire Sword's methods. The Kiri Anbu possessed greater overall power and numerical advantage. They could have easily intercepted Utakata earlier since his speed was somewhat inferior, yet they deliberately held back, sticking close behind him instead. Only when Utakata exhausted most of his stamina did they encircle him. This pack-style tactic—relying on numbers to compensate for slightly weaker individuals—was indeed an effective method for capturing powerful rogue ninja, a classic example of wolf-pack tactics. Indeed, the experienced Anbu Commander lived up to expectations.
Utakata, surrounded at the center, refused to give up, his eyes locked on the advancing enemies. The two sides seemed to exchange words, but after only a few sentences, they immediately launched into fierce combat.
Realizing his stamina was nearly gone, Utakata knew his best chance to escape had passed; he needed to fight off his pursuers before even thinking of breaking free.
One by one, the bubbles drifted toward the attackers from the trumpet-shaped bubble wand.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>