At the Tailed Beast Space...
Kurama and the Five-Tails were chatting idly.
"So you're in the Rain Village too?"
"No. I'm not far, but there's still some distance," the Five-Tails replied.
Kurama looked down at the miniature Five-Tails, Kokuō, beneath his feet, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"Don't you have any pride? Or did someone bully you into hiding like that? Tell me who it was—I'll go take revenge for you right now!"
"My jinchūriki is pretty easy to talk to. Give her some benefits and she'll definitely move."
"I'm just trying to avoid trouble," the Five-Tails said from below.
"You guys can shrink too, you know."
"It's better not to attract attention when moving around outside. Otherwise those ninja will come again. I don't want to be sealed up again. Staying outside is pretty nice."
"...You're just here to show off, aren't you?"
If any other Tailed Beast had said that, Kurama would already have smacked them with his tail.
But the Five-Tails was the one who cared most about the other Tailed Beasts.
Kurama, the classic tsundere, rarely spoke to anyone.
In a thousand years, only the Five-Tails occasionally came to visit.
To be precise—
Only the Five-Tails visited the others.
"Tsk."
Kurama snorted, blowing a puff of air onto the miniature Five-Tails' face.
"In a few years, my jinchūriki will die anyway. After that, it'll only take a few more years for me to revive. Then I'll go out and roam freely."
"Judging from the current situation, she won't prepare another jinchūriki for me."
"Oh?" The Five-Tails seemed pleased.
"Looks like you're doing pretty well now. That person kept his promise to me."
---
Nightfall.
Hanzo and Hattori Murakami watched from a distance, staring at the inn where Konoha's delegation was staying.
Because of the distance, Murakami could barely sense anything and could only rely on visual observation.
Only Hanzo's sensory field could monitor the situation inside.
"Hanzo-sama, since Konoha has ulterior motives, why are we still being so cautious?" Murakami asked.
"That Morishita is indeed a businessman, but this transaction already touches our political stance."
"They say it's an iron refinery—but whether it produces iron or kunai in the end is another matter. This is essentially aiding the enemy."
Hanzo nodded in appreciation at Murakami's thinking, then waved his hand.
"Business is still business."
"Even without Konoha, aren't we trading weapons with Iwagakure? Every month those kunai and shuriken bring in considerable income."
"As long as we don't send troops or interfere, they won't push their luck."
"Morishita isn't the problem. At least he's sincere."
"The problem is those Konoha ninja guards."
"Hmph."
Even from afar, Hanzo could sense chakra fluctuations inside.
Morishita's chakra had become chaotic—he was clearly under genjutsu.
There were also numerous tiny dots—insects.
Ordinary ninja might not notice them, but to Hanzo they were as obvious as smoke bombs.
"Our ninja quality still needs improvement..."
The Rain ninja assigned to close-range surveillance hadn't noticed anything.
Although Kikaichū had a low presence, they weren't impossible to detect.
With even slight sensing, their unusual chakra signatures could be identified.
Still, those Rain ninja were merely decoys meant to mislead Konoha, so it didn't matter much.
After this, Hanzo decided, he needed to improve the overall quality of Rain ninja.
At this level...
In a few decades, they might not even be able to defeat White Zetsu.
Just as he was thinking, the Konoha ninja inside the inn began to move.
Hanzo sensed their chakra splitting—
"Shadow Clones. Murakami, move."
The Rain ninja watching outside suddenly stood motionless, as if under genjutsu.
The Konoha ninja dashed out and vanished instantly using Body Flicker Technique.
Moments later, the Rain ninja regained awareness, as if nothing had happened.
"Poison..."
Approaching closer, Hanzo sensed subtle differences in the air and looked surprised.
"Those Rain ninja were wearing gas masks."
But the slight abnormality in his eyes quickly made him understand.
"Chakra... nano-scale poison insects... I see."
Even Hanzo's sensory field had limitations.
At such tiny scales and from a distance, detection was difficult.
Only after getting closer could he sense them.
"Byakugan."
This time, Hanzo became serious.
While locking onto chakra, he activated the Byakugan to monitor them.
"That direction... that's where Uzumaki Mito and the others are staying."
"Konoha's target is them?" Murakami looked surprised.
"They're after Uzumaki Mito's sealing jutsus?"
"...That's not the only reason," Hanzo replied coldly.
"What I want to know is, how did Uzumaki Mito's presence in Amegakure get leaked?"
Hanzo was visibly irritated.
Someone he had risked everything to recruit—
And now someone was trying to steal her.
---
"Aburame, can you still confirm the direction?" a Konoha ninja asked.
"Yes. We're very close now. The insects on my body are becoming restless."
"The general area is correct. The target is nearby."
"Good. Yamanaka, you're up next."
"Understood."
The Yamanaka ninja sat cross-legged, releasing his spiritual energy.
In his perception, clusters of chakra flickered like pale flames.
As his mental power spread—
A terrifying chakra source appeared.
Unlike the others, this flame burned red and intensely.
"Found her."
The Yamanaka ninja placed his hand on the leader's head, transmitting the information.
"Ninja Art: Demonic Nightmare Mutual Death Jutsu."
Similar to Orochimaru's Twin Snakes Mutual Death and Hidan's Curse Jutsu: Death Controlling Possessed Blood,
this technique was also a mutual-destruction jutsu.
But unlike Orochimaru's, it could be used remotely via chakra linkage.
And unlike Hidan's technique, it used the user's own chakra, not the opponent's blood.
After the ninja split his chakra—
The other two drew long blades and charged toward Uzumaki Mito.
---
Inside the room...
Uzumaki Mito had just put Uzumaki Kushina and the othee uzumaki to sleep.
Suddenly—
A chill ran through her heart.
Kurama's negative emotion sensing was warning her.
"Someone is targeting me... Hanzo?"
Mito's eyes turned cold.
"As expected... the power of the Uzumaki clan attracts envy."
"I misjudged him."
Looking at the two children behind her, Mito placed sealing formulas on them.
Two figures in the shadows appeared to her as black smoke—disgusting, sinister chakra.
"Hanzo actually has such disgusting subordinates."
Golden chakra wrapped around her instantly.
Two Adamantine Sealing Chains shot toward the shadows.
"Clang!"
When they saw Mito's chakra cloak, the attackers knew they'd been exposed.
Even they hadn't expected Mito's sensing ability to be so powerful.
...
Tailed Beast Space.
The miniature Five-Tails looked confused at Kurama's sudden change.
"Kurama, what's wrong?"
"Heh... nothing."
"The human you trusted sent people to assassinate my jinchūriki."
Kurama grinned maliciously.
"I told you. Humans can't be trusted."
"You got fooled again."
"To think someone would actually believe humans. Hahaha—"
"..."
The Five-Tails couldn't believe it.
The man's chakra had shown no abnormalities.
How could he have lied?
But Kurama's laughter confirmed it—
The agreement had been broken.
That man...
Had ultimately succumbed to greed for Tailed Beast power.
Even if his sincerity had once been genuine—
He had changed.
"That man...!"
The Five-Tails' anger surged.
"Bastard!"
"Humans... a bunch of liars!"
---
Far from Amegakure, inside a cave.
A miniature Five-Tails lay on the ground.
When it opened its eyes—
Furious chakra burst outward.
Its body expanded instantly, growing mountain-sized.
It turned toward Amegakure—
Eyes filled with hatred.
It would crush that village.
It would make that man pay.
Even if defeated—
It would make him understand the consequences of breaking their agreement.
White steam surrounded its body.
Kokuō spread its four hooves—
And charged toward Amegakure.
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