Uchiha Nagi left with Shukaku in tow. The little brat Gaara couldn't harm him unless he went into his Tailed Beast form, but Shukaku had been scared witless and probably wouldn't be coming out anytime soon.
If a ninja fought a Tailed Beast of the same physical size, would they have an advantage? The answer was a definite yes. A jonin is forged through countless battles, while a Tailed Beast's fighting experience is negligible. They were invincible because of their immense chakra, immortal bodies, and their innate nuclear weapon, the Tailed Beast Ball. But in terms of combat experience, they were probably inferior to even a summoning animal like Gamabunta. While a summoning animal like Gamabunta might be as large as them, it didn't have as much chakra. And what could Gamabunta do to block a Tailed Beast Ball? A water cannon wouldn't stop it.
So, their actual combat experience was pitifully low. When Uchiha Nagi released his Susanoo and used his swordsmanship against Shukaku, Shukaku was completely dominated in terms of taijutsu.
The reason he took Gaara with him was, of course, his curiosity about Shukaku's innate ability: Magnet Release.
What was Magnet Release? It was the electromagnetic force, one of the four fundamental forces of the universe, and the most mysterious. In the right hands, combined with physics, one could create an electromagnetic railgun. But the ninja didn't know that. Although the Third and Fourth Kazekage had observed Shukaku and invented Magnet Release, they could only control metal with it. If you gave Magnet Release to a transmigrator, who knows what kind of crazy things they could do with it?
"Sand control, Wind Release, sealing jutsu, and Magnet Release to control the rare metals in the sand. Shukaku really knows a lot of tricks," Uchiha Nagi sighed with emotion.
"Uh, Sensei, are you talking about the monster inside him? The sand monster you fought in the desert last night?" Kimimaro asked curiously.
Uchiha Nagi had already cured his poison, and now the group was traveling at a leisurely pace.
Last night, after trapping Kankuro with his Sharingan, he had casually asked him for some intel on Sunagakure. To his surprise, a terrifying plague had broken out in the village, caused by Aburame Torune's nano-insects. The Sand Village's ninja forces had suffered heavy casualties and were in no position to pursue him. So, Uchiha Nagi had changed his plans on the spot and unceremoniously taken Shukaku with him.
As for the mischievous Shukaku, the Mangekyo Sharingan was the bane of the Tailed Beasts. He wasn't worried about being unable to control it. And after last night's battle, he roughly understood why the Tailed Beasts were captured and used as weapons by ninja. They had immense chakra but little combat experience. Aside from swatting at humans with their "little" fists, their only other move was the Tailed Beast Ball. Against low-level ninja, that was fine. But against high-level ninja with their endless variety of ninjutsu and sealing jutsu, the Tailed Beasts were a piece of cake.
"Yes. That thing is called Shukaku. It's one of the Tailed Beasts, the one with the fewest tails," Uchiha Nagi said.
"Are there many Tailed Beasts?" Yukihime asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Yes. There are nine in total, from the One-Tail to the Nine-Tails. The One-Tail has the least chakra, and the Nine-Tails has the most. After Hashirama Senju brought peace to the chaotic world, he captured all the Tailed Beasts. Konoha kept the strongest, the Nine-Tails, and distributed the rest to the other ninja villages to be used as jinchuriki. The hope was that with these nuclear weapons, everyone would be too afraid to start another war."
At this, Uchiha Nagi gave a cynical laugh. "Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. The idea was good, but reality is cruel."
If Hashirama had chosen to join forces with Madara and rule the entire ninja world, there would have been no more wars. But unfortunately, Asura's chakra, or perhaps his soul's influence, led Hashirama to choose the path of so-called "love and understanding." The result was that after he and Madara were gone, an unprecedented Great Ninja War broke out, far more brutal than before. The small-scale skirmishes between clans and on missions escalated into full-blown wars between nations. And it happened once every decade or so. They would fight until their populations were decimated, take a break to recover their strength, and then start fighting all over again.
"Is that so? I know war is cruel, but I've never seen it. I can't even imagine how cruel it must be," Yukihime said, lowering her head.
Beside her, on the camel, Gaara's eyelashes fluttered. Uchiha Nagi had bought a few camels from a merchant at an oasis. One was for Yukihime, and the one that was originally for Kimimaro was now being used by Gaara. The desert was a difficult journey for an ordinary person.
"You're awake. Get up. Your stomach's been growling for a while. Kimimaro, give him something to eat," Uchiha Nagi said.
Kimimaro nodded and took out some flatbread and water from the camel's luggage, handing it to Gaara.
Gaara took it without expression, his mind a whirl of thoughts. He then began to eat. He was indeed hungry. He had slept for a full day and night. For the first time, Shukaku hadn't disturbed his sleep. He had been awake for a while but couldn't resist the urge to sleep a little longer.
The four of them rode their camels across the vast desert of the Land of Wind, leaving faint footprints in the sand that were quickly covered by the blowing wind.
Uchiha Nagi frowned as he looked at the map. He wanted to go to the Land of Iron, but there were only a few routes. He could either take a long detour through the vast Land of Earth or pass directly through the Land of Rain. The final option was to go straight through the Land of Fire.
Of the three, the first two, which seemed safer, were actually the most dangerous. Onoki was in his prime, nearing old age, and his Dust Release, a kekkei tota, was incredibly powerful.
And the Land of Rain... that place was Nagato, Tobi, and White Zetsu's main base. Even with the Flying Thunder God, Uchiha Nagi wasn't confident he could face a super-Kage-level opponent like Nagato, especially with a few followers to protect.
"Oh well. Pick the softest persimmon. We'll go through the Land of Fire," Uchiha Nagi decided. Having come from Konoha, he knew better than anyone how few Kage-level shinobi the village had at this time. Besides the Third Hokage, there was only Danzo, the king of cowards, who had regained his strength with Hashirama's cells. There were no other Kage-level powerhouses to be found. He didn't know how strong Guy's body had become, but he definitely wouldn't open the Gate of Death for a rogue ninja. After all, everyone wants to live.
"Sensei, are we going to the Land of Fire?" Kimimaro asked.
"Yes. Breathing Styles are a form of swordsmanship, and they require a matching weapon. Your bone sword is sturdy enough, but it's not ideal. You can't just create a new one with your Shikotsumyaku every time it breaks in a fight. We need to go to the Land of Iron and forge a suitable weapon for you," Uchiha Nagi said.
The world of Demon Slayer had its Swordsmith Village, but their weapons were specifically designed to kill demons, made from Sun Steel. The ninja world, on the other hand, had chakra-conducting metal. So, Nagi planned to forge a new longsword for himself here, one that could channel his chakra. When he went to the Demon Slayer world, he would use a Nichirin Blade made from Sun Steel. Different enemies required different weapons.
He glanced at a scroll on his person. It contained the Executioner's Blade. It was the only one of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist that wasn't bound by a summoning contract. He wondered if it could be reforged. If not, it was pretty useless. Besides its regeneration ability, it couldn't be infused with chakra, didn't have any special abilities like the other swords, and couldn't even block a Tailed Beast Ball. It was completely mediocre.
"Are there nine more monsters like me?"
Out of the blue, Gaara's voice cut in. Uchiha Nagi was taken aback for a moment, then looked at him.
"That's right. The One-Tail inside you is called Shukaku. It's the weakest one," Uchiha Nagi replied.
He hadn't sealed or bound Gaara. If he couldn't handle a seven or eight-year-old kid, then what was the point? He might as well just go back to the Demon Slayer world and retire.
"What did you say?! I'm not the weakest! Aaargh! That bastard! I'm going to bite him to death!"
Hearing this, Shukaku began to rampage inside Gaara. A torrent of violent chakra erupted, and the young Gaara, unable to withstand such a massive influx of power, collapsed to the ground, wailing in pain.
"Sensei, he..."
"It's alright. I'll go in and teach that tanuki a lesson."
Uchiha Nagi reassured Kimimaro and Yukihime, then his red eyes opened, and he looked at Gaara.
It was the same dim, barren desert. Shukaku was trapped in a stone prison, shaking the pillars frantically. Chakra poured out of its body, and the young Gaara was forced to endure this immense power.
Then, a figure appeared in the spiritual world, and with him, Gaara.
"Huh!? It's the kid! And... how did you get in here?!"
Shukaku had just spotted Gaara when it saw the man who had stabbed it in the rear.
"Those red eyes... the Sharingan? You're from the Uchiha clan?"
Uchiha Nagi smiled faintly. "That's right. I am Uchiha Nagi. Hey, big tanuki, if you don't want to suffer, you'd better quiet down. Do you hear me?"
"What did you say? You stinking bug! If you have the guts, come in here! See if I don't bite you to death!"
Shukaku thrashed and roared inside its stone prison, as if that would break it open. But the talismans on it held firm, and no matter how much it struggled, the seal didn't budge.
"Shut up." Uchiha Nagi's Mangekyo flared, and Shukaku instantly froze, its entire body stiffening. Although Nagi couldn't enter the seal himself, the power of his Mangekyo could still immobilize Shukaku. The paralyzed Tailed Beast fell to the ground with a thud, silent.
The pain subsided for Gaara, and Uchiha Nagi withdrew from the sealed spiritual world.
When he returned to the outside world, he found that in that short time, Gaara's skin was already severely burned, similar to how Naruto's body had been burned when he first manifested three tails. When a large amount of the Nine-Tails' chakra had flowed into Naruto, manifesting as three tails, it had not only increased his strength but also burned his body.