It was late at night when Naraku arrived at Takigakure. He used a White Zetsu to infiltrate the Barrier and, following its guidance, reached the location of the Sealing Jutsu ceremony.
Hiding dozens of meters outside the encirclement, one person and one Zetsu concealed their Chakra, stealthily peeking out to observe.
"This is it. That old Jinchuriki is about to die," the root white zetsu explained with a grin, leaning next to Naraku. He pointed to the unconscious green-haired child lying on a platform not far away.
"This is the next Jinchuriki they've chosen. Once the Tailed Beast is transferred to him, we'll seize the opportunity to snatch him and bring him to Lord Madara."
Naraku thought back, recalling that this seemed to be Fu, the Jinchuriki of the Seven-Tails Chomei in the original timeline.
Just as he remembered her, several Ninja, who appeared to be in charge of the Sealing Jutsu, took their positions according to the formation and quickly performed hand signs.
—The timing is incredibly precise.
Feeling the sudden change in the old Jinchuriki's Chakra, Naraku glanced at the White Zetsu, who was waiting for praise, and said, "Well done."
If it had been a little earlier, he could have just taken the dying old Jinchuriki, instead of snatching Fu, who was still a child, and having her die from the Tailed Beast being extracted right after becoming a Jinchuriki.
But now it was too late, and he couldn't rush out and tell the Takigakure Ninja, "Don't bother, the Jinchuriki will be stolen anyway after it's done. It's better to let that half-dead old man bear the burden."
Black Zetsu was watching from behind; if the 'Jin' persona went out of character even a little, it would all be over.
He had to find a way to save Fu's life after the deed was done.
"Hehehe~"
Rarely shown a good face by "Jin," the White Zetsu felt utterly refreshed. It thought, perhaps humans feel this relieved after defecating.
Under the operation of several Sealing Jutsu Ninja, the Seven-Tails Chomei was successfully transferred into Fu, and circles of Sealing Jutsu runes rapidly grew on her belly.
Seeing that Jin still had no intention of acting, the White Zetsu moved closer, "It's ready now."
"Idiot," Naraku grinned, a malicious and cunning smile, "Are you telling me what to do?"
Immediately, he changed his appearance to that of a young man, put on a mask, and vanished from his spot.
The White Zetsu patted its chest in fear, "That was close, I almost got torn to pieces again... By the way, why am I scared if I don't feel pain?"
No one knew the answer to that question, and Naraku, who was launching a lightning-fast attack on the Sealing Jutsu site, had no time to ponder such things.
"Enemy attack!!!"
The moment a sensory Ninja shouted a warning, he had already reached Fu's side, skillfully scooping the child into his arms with one hand.
The Takigakure leader's eyes were bloodshot, almost bulging out, as he roared and charged at the suddenly appearing enemy, "Seize him!!!"
Their Takigakure was the only power outside the Five Great Nations that possessed a Tailed Beast. If they lost the Seven-Tails, their standing in the Ninja World would surely plummet!
Moreover, the Ninja World was in turmoil recently, with Kumogakure and Sunagakure locked in fierce battle, and Iwagakure might even join the fray. Without a Tailed Beast, how could Takigakure, caught in the middle, establish itself in the great war?
Given the gravity of the situation, almost all the Ninja present swarmed forward, surrounding the invading enemy. Various Ninjutsu and exploding tags were thrown at the center as if they were free.
However, the opponent merely raised his free hand, and a massive vortex of Black Flame erupted from beneath his feet, enveloping his body as it spiraled upwards, piercing through the dark, night-shrouded sky.
All the Ninjutsu attacking the opponent were like mud oxen sinking into water, disappearing in an instant into the towering waves of fire.
Even exploding tags had little effect, like small pebbles dropping into a vast river or ocean, only causing a tiny splash.
"What kind of Ninjutsu is this?"
"It's not like Fire Release! Is it a Bloodline Limit?"
"He didn't even perform hand signs! How is that possible!"
"Watch out! It's coming!"
The moment the fiery waves expanded in all directions, some Ninja, still disbelieving, quickly used Earth Release or Water Release to defend themselves.
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!
Water Release: Multiple Water Wall!
But when the flames swept over, their usually solid and effective defenses were like paper, instantly turning into ash and mist, forcing them to retreat quickly to temporarily avoid the brunt of the attack.
A moment later, everything dissipated. The culprit still stood steadily in place, not even a speck of dust on his clothes. He seemed utterly disappointed by their weak attacks, letting out a low, muffled chuckle from behind his mask.
"Heh heh..."
He provocatively beckoned to the Takigakure leader.
"Bastard!"
The Takigakure leader stomped the ground, charging forward. His right hand, using Earth Release: Earth Spear, instantly hardened and turned black, striking at that irritating mask.
The opponent, however, tilted his head, dodging the punch by a hair's breadth, and with a long spear conjured from thin air, he swung it backhand. The powerful force, imbued with Black Flame, slammed heavily into the leader's spine, creating a shower of sparks and electrical arcs.
If he hadn't reinforced his back defense with Earth Release: Multiple Earth Spears in time, that blow would have directly scorched his flesh and broken his spine.
The moment he fell, the Takigakure leader endured the pain of internal injuries, propped himself up with both hands, and bounced back, spinning to kick the Masked Man's jaw, which the opponent dodged by tilting his head back a half-step.
While the Masked Man was held up by the continuous waves of his subordinates, finding it difficult to escape for a moment, the Takigakure leader's hands flew, and after a few seconds, he completed an extremely complex and powerful Ninjutsu:
Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!
The deep pool nearby violently shook, and a water dragon soared into the sky, circling overhead as massive as a mountain, then roared and charged at the enemy, attempting to tear him to shreds.
The long spear in the Masked Man's hand also rapidly expanded and transformed into a black fire dragon, letting out an earth-shattering roar, like a wise summoning animal protecting its master. It opened its mouth and bit the water dragon's throat, fiercely entwining with it.
The fire dragon's body, composed of Black Flame, showed no weakness when it touched water. Instead, white mist, from the water vaporizing and then recondensing, rose from all over the water dragon's body, which looked on the verge of collapsing.
The situation in Takigakure grew increasingly dire. The Ninja's attacks became more concentrated. The Masked Man had just kicked away an attacker when, caught off guard, a Jonin's long sword grazed his arm.
Perhaps fearing injury to the precious Jinchuriki, the Masked Man chose to protect the child with his left hand, unable to counterattack in time.
The Takigakure leader did not miss this excellent opportunity. He decisively abandoned the Water Dragon Jutsu and instead rushed to the opponent's side, seizing the chance to grab the swaddling clothes and snatch the child back from him.
"Kill him!!!"
At the same instant, countless Kunai and senbon shot out, densely blocking all escape routes. Even though the Masked Man desperately dodged, several senbon and long swords still pierced his body, and when he landed, he was impaled through the abdomen by Earth Release: Earth Spikes.
Blood gushed from the wounds on his body and also flowed down from the mask's crevices.
The Takigakure leader and the Ninja had barely rejoiced for a moment when they saw that the blood flowing between the earth spikes and weapons was not from the Masked Man, but from the Jinchuriki who should have been in his hands.
He widened his eyes, only then realizing that his arms were empty. He was terrified, realizing that the Village had just lost its only Tailed Beast.