After several hours of travel, Ryosuke finally made it back to the mainland.
He found a secluded cave hidden deep within the mountains and immediately began the process of extracting and sealing the Eight-Tails.
Pulling aside Killer Bee's clothing, he studied the intricate seal patterns inscribed across the jinchūriki's abdomen.
The sealing formula was entirely different from the ones used in Kirigakure — its structure and symbols were unique to Kumogakure's sealing arts.
It took Ryosuke some time to fully analyze it.
Gathering chakra into his five fingers, blue light flared from his hands as he pressed his palm against the seal.
With a twist of his chakra flow, the markings began to distort and unravel, releasing the massive tide of tailed beast chakra hidden within Killer Bee's body.
From his system space, Ryosuke took out his final sealing vessel — a mystical jar designed to absorb bijuu chakra — and placed it beside Bee.
The bottle opened, pulling in the crimson energy that poured from the jinchūriki's body like smoke.
Ryosuke adjusted the seal to its maximum capacity, speeding up the absorption.
This time, the chakra flowed faster than when he had sealed the Three-Tails or Six-Tails — perhaps because Killer Bee was in his prime, his body strong and resilient like all Cloud shinobi.
Even so, Ryosuke estimated that the process would take longer.
After all, the Eight-Tails was second only to the Nine-Tails in power.
The bottle glowed brighter as more chakra poured into it.
A full day and night later, the process was complete.
When he finally looked into the vessel, a miniature version of the Eight-Tails — the ox-headed, octopus-bodied beast — floated within.
Ryosuke smiled in satisfaction.
The extraction had taken longer, but it confirmed just how vast the Eight-Tails' chakra reserves were.
Now it was time to move on.
He planned to regroup with Zabuza and Haku, then head toward Iwagakure to collect the next two tailed beasts — the Four-Tails, Son Gokū, and the Five-Tails, Kokuō.
Both were formidable in their own right: Son Gokū wielded Lava Release, while Kokuō possessed Boil Release.
Their jinchūriki were said to be two Iwa-nin: Rōshi and Han.
Ryosuke wasn't sure whether the two were still in Iwagakure — in the original timeline, both had already become wandering ninja.
If they were still within the village, it would complicate things, but if they had left, tracking them down might actually be easier.
Either way, he felt confident.
After sealing the Eight-Tails so smoothly, his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan had proven its overwhelming power.
From the Land of Lightning to the Land of Earth, there were two main routes — one over land and one by sea.
The land route passed through several small nations, including the Land of Waterfalls, home to Takigakure — the Hidden Waterfall Village.
And Takigakure had its own tailed beast: the Seven-Tails, Chōmei, whose jinchūriki was Fū.
Thinking of her, Ryosuke's interest was piqued.
That girl — dark-skinned, with bright green hair and a cheerful spirit — was quite striking.
At this point in time, she was likely still in her youth.
Even if her strength hadn't fully matured, any jinchūriki host to a tailed beast was at least near Kage-level potential.
If she wasn't strong enough yet, he could always train her — as long as he could control the beast within her.
And with his current eyes, subduing a tailed beast would be no problem.
Having decided his next move, Ryosuke turned his gaze to the unconscious Killer Bee lying on the cave floor.
He had left a fragment of the Eight-Tails' chakra inside him, ensuring his life force wouldn't completely fade.
Though weakened, Bee would live.
Since he had promised Samui to spare the man's life, Ryosuke intended to keep that promise.
He just needed to make sure Bee ended up somewhere safe.
After a moment of thought, he dragged Bee's body toward the coastal road leading back to the nearest port.
On a small path, he encountered several Lightning Country civilians.
Without explanation, he dropped the unconscious Bee before them.
"I'll leave this man to you," he said flatly.
Before the villagers could respond, the masked man was gone.
Startled, the civilians looked at each other — then recognized the unconscious figure by his Cloud headband and attire.
It was a Kumogakure shinobi!
They quickly checked his breathing — still alive.
Relieved, they hoisted him up and rushed to the nearest village healer for treatment.
They didn't understand what had happened, but they knew one thing: a man from their own village had to be saved.
Meanwhile, Ryosuke, moving at full speed, reached the harbor in just a few hours.
There, he reunited with Zabuza and Haku.
"Lord God-King," Zabuza greeted respectfully, "the Eight-Tails has been sealed, I assume?"
Ryosuke nodded. "Naturally. Our next destination is the Land of Waterfalls."
Then he added,
"Zabuza, prepare three sets of black cloaks with red clouds — and three masks. One for me, one for you, and one for Haku."
"From now on," he continued with a faint smile, "our group will act under a new name — the Akatsuki."
After all, they had been active long enough for the Cloud's intelligence network to start tracing them.
A disguise was needed — and what better scapegoat than the organization already infamous for collecting tailed beasts?
Zabuza frowned. "Akatsuki? I've never heard of them."
Ryosuke explained calmly,
"Akatsuki is the group that's been collecting the tailed beasts — the same one that manipulated the Fourth Mizukage and threw the Mist Village into chaos.
Since we're also gathering bijuu, it's only logical to let them take the blame."
Understanding dawned on Zabuza's face.
So they were the ones behind the Bloody Mist.
His expression darkened in anger — but also satisfaction.
If his Lord intended to pin the chaos on them, all the better.
"Understood, my Lord," he said with a sharp nod. "I'll take care of it right away."
The full story is available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Zefyrus