As night fell, Anya infiltrated the village but completely ignored Kakuzu, taking Genzo with her to hide in a secluded spot.
Genzo frowned. "Why are we hiding? Aren't we here to find the Seven-Tails jinchuriki?"
Anya smiled mysteriously and said, "Guard my body well. I have my ways to locate him."
After speaking, she swiftly formed hand seals and silently invoked the [Spirit Transformation Technique].
A dark soul, undetectable to ordinary people, flew out from her body. Although her chakra was sealed, Anya's greatest strength lay in her soul. With the Spirit Transformation Technique, she could easily take on almost anyone in a one-on-one fight. Plus, it was incredibly effective for tracking down targets—especially jinchuriki.
Sure enough, the moment Anya's soul separated, she sensed a massive soul force.
That direction.
Her dark soul drifted straight toward it, as if drawn by an unseen force. Anya tried using the sealing technique taught to her earlier by Kushina.
It worked. After completing the seals, an invisible barrier materialized from nowhere, trapping the body of the Seven-Tails beneath it.
"Who's there?" The Seven-Tails jinchuriki immediately awoke.
Surprisingly, he appeared to be an old man with snow-white hair, looking frail—like a candle flickering precariously in the wind. However, his soul force was incredibly strong.
Anya hesitated briefly before increasing the strength of her Spirit Transformation. Her jet-black soul, almost solid in form, directly entered the old man's mind.
"What kind of ability is this?" The old man exclaimed in shock.
Inside the depths of the old man's soul, Anya could clearly see the space within. Besides the man himself, there was a monster resembling a cross between a beetle and a dragonfly. It had several large wings behind it, standing out prominently.
Anya observed this tailed beast calmly. In her soul state, she felt no pressure at all, which greatly eased her mind. Apparently, among the tailed beasts, the Seven-Tails must be one of the weaker ones. Thinking about it, it made sense too—if it were truly powerful, none of the Five Great Nations would have allowed Takigakure to ever possess it.
"So this is the Seven-Tails, Chomei?" Anya looked at the beast for a while before transforming her soul form into her original appearance. Smiling warmly, she said, "Nice to meet you. My name is Anya. This is an advanced ninjutsu known as the Spirit Transformation Technique. It allows me to attack and communicate using soul energy."
Chomei appeared unusually unsettled at the sight of Anya, its wings quivering behind it nervously, clearly frightened. The old man reached out a trembling hand to soothe the beast before asking softly, "What is your purpose for entering my soul?"
Anya responded candidly with her original intention, "I plan to take over Takigakure and eliminate all the ninja there. However, I don't want to cause too much chaos. That's why I tried to suppress your six senses beforehand. Now that you've noticed me, I'll just be straightforward. Please don't resist, so we can avoid unnecessary casualties."
Upon hearing this, the old man paused, then smiled bitterly and asked, "May I ask which nation you're from and why you've targeted such a minor place like Takigakure?"
Seeing the old man in such a good mood without rushing to fight, Anya was quite pleased and sat down voluntarily to chat: "I'm from Konoha..."
Before she could finish those four words, Chomei, the Seven-Tails who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "You're from the Uchiha Clan, aren't you? Such an evil dark soul — even darker than Madara himself."
Upon hearing this, Anya asked with great interest: "Oh right, I remember now. You nine tailed beasts were captured by the First Hokage and Madara, weren't you? How strong were those two actually?"
Clearly recalling that era, the Seven-Tails murmured: "Without the Sage of Six Paths, they were truly invincible under heaven."
At this moment, the old man spoke up and asked: "So you're actually from the Uchiha Clan of Konoha. As far as I know, Takigakure shouldn't have offended Konoha, should it?"
"That's true, but my subordinates' village was burned by yours. Oh, that would be the attack on the Village Hidden in the Hot Spring Mist half a month ago. So, am I wrong for coming here for revenge?" Anya countered.
"There's no right or wrong in war, young one. I hope you can keep your word." After saying this, the old man's face revealed a bitter expression as he exclaimed in surprise: "I've already sensed that familiar killing aura. The person coming is actually Kakuzu. Makes sense though; he truly does hate the village."
"Oh, looks like your spiritual perception is indeed sharp, feeling it even through the seal." Anya praised.
"Not really. I'm just too familiar with him. After all, the Earth Grudge Fear he wields used to be our village's forbidden jutsu." At this point, the old man uneasily asked: "Tell me, will Kakuzu really listen to you and only kill ninja without harming others?"
"I can't guarantee 100%, since he's basically a mercenary I hired rather than my subordinate." After saying this, Anya thought for a moment and added: "If there aren't any strong ninjas around, he'll probably hold back on the damage."
"That's good then." The old man exhaled in relief. Knowing Kakuzu's strength well, he realized their village ninja wouldn't stand a chance, so he frankly said: "Actually, you don't need to bind me like this. I'm old already and have no desire to fight anymore. May I ask a favor from you?"
"Oh, what kind of favor?"
"You can take control of Takigakure in exchange for protecting my granddaughter and helping her inherit the power of the Seven-Tails. She and the Seven-Tails are the most precious things I have left in this world."
"Your granddaughter? What's she like?"
"She's named Fu. This is what she looks like." In midair, the old man conjured an image of the Little Girl — with green hair, orange eyes, and slightly dark skin, around two years old.
"No problem." Anya readily agreed. Dealing with little girls was easy enough — just throw in some candy. If one lollipop didn't do it, two would.
"Thank you." The old man expressed his gratitude: "You may leave now; I won't go out."
"Well then, I'll take my leave. See you tomorrow."
After dispelling the Spirit Transformation Technique, Anya quickly regained consciousness. Looking at Genzo who stood beside him silently, he said: "Things went even better than I expected. Now, we just need to wait for Kakuzu to deal with the trouble."
"Ah, the ninja you brought along isn't your average shinobi."
"Genzo used the mechanical contraptions he created to detect movements in Takigakure. Nearly all the ninjas inside had been slain by Kakuzu."
At dawn, Takigakure was already filled with a bloody atmosphere from the battle. Most villagers, except those still asleep, had noticed something strange, but as ordinary people, they were too afraid to step outside.
Kakuzu, radiating a bloodthirsty aura, openly approached the two. His upper garment was torn, and one of the four masks on him had shattered. It seemed the fight hadn't been a complete walkover—he had taken some damage. Unfortunately, against Kakuzu, without sheer power and accurate intel, the outcome was doomed to end badly.
The first words Kakuzu spoke upon seeing the two were: "Time to settle the bill."
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