Chapter 294: Fixed and Sold My Colleagues

"Saiken!"

"Beep~ beep~ beep~"

The chat room, which had been filled with a cheerful atmosphere just a moment ago, was now terrifyingly silent. Gyuki, with a heavy expression, cut off his connection with Saiken and shook his head at Kurama, whose face was so gloomy it seemed to be dripping water.

"Saiken has also lost contact."

"Gyuki, we'll be fine, right? Our main bodies are in the deep sea; we'll definitely be fine, right?"

Isobu the Three-Tails retracted its head into its shell, opened its single eye, and asked cautiously.

"Don't worry, little brother. The ocean is our turf; it's absolutely safe!"

Gyuki, whose complexion wasn't great, forced himself to perk up after hearing his neighbor's voice, patting his own sturdy pectoral muscles to reassure him.

"Chomei, are you still in that little mountain gully?"

On the other side, as the only pair left on land, Kurama narrowed his eyes, his panting breath carrying wisps of flame, and asked the large, snow-white cocoon.

"Yes."

The Seven-Tails' voice came from within the cocoon. Ever since it entered its metamorphosis stage and formed the cocoon, it had stayed in this gully filled with many waterfalls. The last time it showed its face was several decades ago.

After confirming Chomei's location, a flicker of light passed through Kurama's narrow eyes. He then turned his gaze toward the "seafood duo" and arranged,

"You two had better meet up. If you encounter anything, you'll at least have a chance to tell us."

"Hmph! Mere rats—do you think I, Lord Gyuki, would be afraid?"

Hearing this, Gyuki was furious. Kurama actually looked down on him. He immediately snorted coldly and struck a philosophical pose.

"Isobu, let's go. See you at the usual spot~"

Kurama, who wanted to offer a warning, hadn't even opened his mouth before he saw Gyuki finish his pose in a huff and log off with his nose in the air. However, the words he said to the Three-Tails before leaving were clearly audible throughout the entire chat room.

"."

"Kurama, I'm leaving too. You be careful~"

Moving its heavy shell, Isobu disappeared from the spot with surprising agility.

"I'd like to see exactly who is playing these tricks!"

Once the seafood duo logged off, Kurama gnashed his sharp, cold-glinting teeth. He was determined to investigate the mystery of the missing group members until it was crystal clear.

"I'm going back to hiding~"

After Chomei said this weakly, it also logged off.

"Hmm."

Seeing that all the group members had logged off, Kurama reached out and turned off the chat room's light, preparing to go offline to search for clues.

"Hey, hey, hey, you stinking fox, why the hell are you turning off the lights? I'm still here!"

As the raccoon dog locked in a cell, Shukaku's situation was actually the safest one right now.

In a forest not far from the Hidden Leaf Village—a forest that had not yet been named the "Forest of Death"—this sparsely populated dense woodland happened to be the perfect place to imprison Tailed Beasts.

"Boom!"

With a dull, thunderous roar, even the residents far away in the Hidden Leaf Village felt the ground tremble beneath their feet.

"Was that an earthquake?"

The villagers poked their heads out from their homes, their eyes filled with curiosity. One had to know that the Land of Fire was located in a plain region and rarely experienced earthquakes.

Deep in the dense forest, where the villagers couldn't see, an unbelievable scene was unfolding. Tobirama Senju, acting as the support, stood atop a towering tree dozens of meters high.

"What the..."

Even Tobirama Senju, known for his composure, couldn't help but widen his scarlet eyes after seeing this scene. His mouth hung slightly open, his brain simply gave up on thinking, and he couldn't even speak clearly.

"Haha, Tobirama, this is the second one~"

The smiling long-haired man sat cross-legged atop the head of a sturdy Wood Statue Arhat. Behind him, he dragged a hundred-foot-long, unconscious gray slug. Its fat body was oozing an unknown mucus that corroded the trees and rocks along the way, emitting a pungent, strong acidic odor.

The Wood Statue, as if nothing had happened, flicked the Saiken in its hand and tossed it into a pre-made Wood Style cage. After standing up, Hashirama Senju shouted to his stunned younger brother with a smile.

The sleeping Saiken was tossed like trash into a cage generated by Wood Style: Four-Pillar Prison. As the Tailed Beast entered, these cages began to emit a blue light, greedily absorbing the Tailed Beast's chakra to reinforce themselves.

"This one is completely different from the five-tailed one before. It's truly amazing. How exactly were they born?"

Having regained his senses, Tobirama Senju felt his curiosity surge. He jumped a few times to the front of the cage holding Saiken, examined it for a while, and clicked his tongue in wonder.

"Tobirama, there will be plenty of time for research later. Do you have any news about Madara?"

Standing up from the Wood Statue's head, Hashirama Senju, who had already captured two Tailed Beasts, had deep confidence in his eyes. He wondered how Uchiha Madara's progress was going and if he had caught even one.

"Hmph~ No news has been sent back. He's probably scurrying around like a headless fly right now~"

Crossing his arms, Tobirama Senju showed a gratified expression. His older brother had already caught two, so victory was basically secured. That Uchiha Madara was probably crying in some corner right now~

"To think it would go so smoothly; it seems the intelligence fee wasn't spent in vain~"

Looking at the two unconscious Tailed Beasts with satisfaction, a flash of pain crossed Tobirama Senju's face. To ensure his brother could take down the Tailed Beasts, he had scraped together all his private savings and exhausted every resource to purchase intelligence on several Tailed Beasts from a mysterious information broker. Otherwise, how could Hashirama Senju have found the Five-Tails and Six-Tails so precisely?

"Since Madara hasn't come, I'll be off. The next target... let's choose the Seven-Tails~"

Shaking his head in slight disappointment, Hashirama Senju didn't see the figure he wanted to see. He then clapped his hands and hurried toward the next target. According to the intelligence provided by Tobirama, the Seven-Tails was hiding in a valley in the Land of Waterfalls, next to a very large waterfall, making it very easy to find.

"Rumble~ Rumble~"

At one end of the long coastline of the Land of Fire, two massive figures slowly approached. With a height of a hundred feet, every step they took caused violent tremors, shaking the coastal cliffs incessantly. Occasionally, giant boulders were shaken into the sea, splashing water into the sky.

"Is this as far as it goes~"

Uchiha Madara, wearing a high-collared robe, sniffed the unique salty scent of the ocean and slowly opened his eyes. In his scarlet pupils, six tomoe were rotating rhythmically.

At this moment, Uchiha Madara was riding on a giant, deep-blue cat. The blue chakra flames burning on its body did not cause him any harm at all.

Beside the giant cat followed a massive red ape, dragging four thick tails behind it. Magma flowed from it, rolling with heat; after cooling, it left four crystalline gullies on the beach.

Looking at the boundless sea, Uchiha Madara naturally knew that the two Tailed Beasts he had captured were useless in the water. He jumped down, turned to look at the blank expressions of the two Tailed Beasts, and shook his head with some dissatisfaction.

"You two, just wait here for me!"

In the giant beast pupils of the two Tailed Beasts, two pairs of scarlet Sharingan were reflected. Upon hearing Uchiha Madara's command, the two Tailed Beasts actually nodded in a human-like fashion, sitting obediently on the ground like trained circus animals, waiting for their master's next order.

"Susanoo!"

Uchiha Madara stood on the cliff by the sea, his eyes narrowing. Layers of heavy blue armor began to condense around his body. In no time, a towering blue Tengu-like giant was fully equipped.

"Heh heh~ I've won for sure!"

Standing in the cockpit on the forehead of the Susanoo, Uchiha Madara wore a look of disdain. Confidence shone in his scarlet Sharingan. Having already obtained two Tailed Beasts, he was definitely the final winner of this competition.

The Tengu's wings flapped, turning into a streak of light as it headed toward the depths of the horizon. According to the intelligence from the Empty Realm, that turtle-like Tailed Beast was in the shallow sea not far from land and often swam against the current to enter inland lakes.

On the other side, deep in the ocean, Gyuki was using all his strength to propel his eight tentacles, rushing toward the shallow sea where Isobu lived.

Let it be stated: I, Lord Gyuki, am only going to protect that coward Isobu~

"Isobu, I'm almost there. Where are you hiding?"

Seeing that he had entered the Three-Tails' territory, Gyuki switched to the Tailed Beast-only channel and called out to Isobu loudly.

"I'm right beneath you~"

"Huh? What's the point of just burying your head in the sand?"

Gyuki, with black lines on his forehead, looked at Isobu, who was lying on the shallow seabed with its head hidden, and couldn't help but roll his eyes, calling out a reminder.

"You can't see me~ You can't see me~"

Isobu acted sneakily.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here!"

Gyuki landed beside Isobu, patted its shell with a powerful tentacle, and guaranteed with certainty.

"That's great, we can definitely..."

"BOOM!!!"

Just as Isobu was rejoicing, a massive slash cut through the sea surface. Blue chakra, carrying the power to destroy heaven and earth, swept toward the two Tailed Beasts who were exchanging pleasantries.

"Look out!"

Without needing Gyuki's warning, the moment Isobu realized something was wrong, it had already retracted into its shell, turning into an "iron turtle."

"Damn it!"

As one of the targets, Gyuki saw the incoming blue slash, roared, and extended his strong arms to catch the slash, which looked ethereal but was actually solid. His eight tentacles gripped the ground tightly, his muscles bulging, and he began to condense a light sphere in his mouth, attempting to counterattack.

"Oh? There are two of them? What an unexpected surprise!"

Just as Gyuki's Tailed Beast Bomb was about to take shape, a cold voice rang in the ears of the two Tailed Beasts. Both beasts looked toward the direction of the voice simultaneously, trying to identify the culprit.

"Those eyes... that is Indra's chakra!"

In his shock, Gyuki caught a familiar scent. His ox eyes were filled with disbelief as he looked at the blue Tengu giant wielding a long blade standing on the seabed. He was frozen in place for ten seconds.

At the same time, Gyuki's grip loosened, and the slash struck his sturdy pectoral muscles directly, exploding into a spray of water and leaving a hideous scar. However, under the Tailed Beast's formidable healing power, the scar was already rapidly recovering.

"No, it's blue~"

Isobu, having poked its head out, was also stunned, but it quickly discovered a blind spot. The old man's eldest son manipulated a purple giant, but this one in front of them was blue, and its size was also much smaller.

"Phew~ As long as it's not that guy."

After Isobu's reminder, Gyuki finally came to his senses. He shook his ox head, looked at the expressionless Uchiha Madara, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"A turtle and an octopus? A strange combination. Whatever, become slaves to the Sharingan!"

Standing inside the Susanoo, Uchiha Madara was not affected by water pressure; even being on the seabed caused him no trouble at all. After examining Isobu and Gyuki for a moment, he withdrew his curious gaze. A flicker of light passed through his scarlet eyes, and he said slowly,

"Oh no, Isobu, run!"

A thousand years ago, Gyuki had suffered at the hands of the Sharingan. Sensing the cold, obscure pupil power in Uchiha Madara's eyes, he instantly guessed the reason for the group members' disappearance.

He guessed correctly: it must be this guy with Indra's chakra who used genjutsu to control the other Tailed Beasts. They, the few remaining survivors, were about to fall victim to his evil hands as well.

"Ha, what are you saying? He's just one person. If we fight side-by-side, isn't it..."

The usually cautious Isobu was uncharacteristically tough for once. Relying on the Eight-Tails Gyuki being by its side, it immediately clamored to give the human in front of them a lesson. In its view, Uchiha Madara's "miniature" Susanoo definitely couldn't be as powerful as Indra.

This time, it didn't need to retreat into its shell.

Isobu, it has stood up~

"Boom~"

Just as Isobu's voice came to an abrupt halt, Gyuki immediately turned its head in confusion, only to see that the Three-Tails' single eye had already been reflected into a scarlet Sharingan, and its entire turtle body, like an arrow released from a bowstring, came crashing toward it.

Isobu, use Rocket Headbutt!

Seeing its teammate defect, Gyuki did not feel particularly surprised; its ox eyes were not grown in vain, and it could still see such a large Sharingan.

Facing the menacing Isobu, Gyuki immediately manipulated its eight tentacles to coil around it, attempting to control the Three-Tails.

But things went contrary to its wishes; Uchiha Madara behind it did not give it a chance at all, and the blue Tengu, wielding a long blade, slashed straight toward Gyuki.

"Hmph~ Eat my giant ink blast!"

Seeing itself attacked from front and rear, Gyuki sank its Qi into its dantian, and from a hidden position between its tentacles, it suddenly sprayed pitch-black ink, instantly blackening the entire sea area, while it prepared to take the opportunity to run away and, incidentally, inform Kurama, who was far away on land, of the culprit's information.

"Nine-Tails, Nine-Tails, the culprit capturing the Tailed Beasts is a descendant of Indra!"

Having just transmitted this message to Kurama, Gyuki, who was about to slip away in the darkness, had the step it had just taken stepped upon by a large blue foot.

"Cough cough... are you being polite?"

No matter how hard Gyuki tried, the large foot stepping on its tentacle remained motionless; with no other choice, it could only speak up to condemn the act.

"Did I agree to let you leave?"

How could he let a cooked duck fly away? Firmly stepping on the Eight-Tails' tentacle, Uchiha Madara looked at it indifferently and said coldly.

"Tailed Beast Bomb!"

Seeing Uchiha Madara so close to it, if not used now, when would it be? Gyuki opened its bloody maw without hesitation, a black ball of light instantly condensed, containing the power to destroy heaven and earth, and the Tailed Beast Bomb shot toward the head of the Susanoo.

"Heh heh, that'll teach you to act cool~"

"Boom!"

The massive Tailed Beast Bomb hit the face of the Susanoo directly, stirring up a violent explosion in the seawater; the powerful shockwave generated by the explosion made Uchiha Madara retreat half a step, and Gyuki was able to regain its freedom.

"Isobu, sorry, I will come back to save you."

Glancing at the dumbfounded Three-Tails Isobu, Gyuki felt a chill in its heart, but it was currently weak and alone, and definitely no match for this descendant of Indra, so it immediately exerted force with all eight legs and fled toward the depths of the ocean.

"Thud~"

However, as it fled headlong, it suddenly felt itself bump into a hard object; while seeing stars, it rubbed its sore horns and looked up to see what was going on.

"Did I let you leave?"

Uchiha Madara's cold voice rang in its ear; Gyuki looked at the blue Tengu Gundam in front of it again, and its heart, which had already been cold, instantly felt as if it had fallen into an ice cellar.

Swallowing hard, it glanced at the blue Susanoo behind it with its peripheral vision, only to feel a sense of sorrow welling up in its heart; so Susanoo could also use clones, it would have to learn that in the future!

"I'm being obedient, please let me go~"

The next moment, a touch of scarlet emerged in its desperate ox eyes.

Eight-Tails, out!

"Hey, hey, hey, Gyuki!"

On the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Takigakure, a fiery red figure was anxiously calling out to Gyuki, with whom it had just been in contact, but all messages were like stones sinking into the sea, receiving not a single response; the Nine-Tails could not help but feel a tightness in its heart.

"The culprit is a descendant of Indra? How is that possible, just by those weak humans?"

Subconsciously stopping its pace, the Nine-Tails had deep disbelief in its long, narrow fox eyes.

You must know, it could also be considered a famous wanderer in the Land of Fire, and it had seen people of the Uchiha clan; that kind of feeble ocular power could not affect them at all.

Well... except for that stinky raccoon.

"It's still a distance from the seaside here, the culprit won't be able to rush over for a while, I'll take Chomei and run away first~"

Shaking its huge fox head, the Nine-Tails decided to first find Chomei, who could not move, and take it with it to run away.

Thinking of this, the Nine-Tails stretched out its four limbs and hurried toward the Land of Takigakure.

The Land of Takigakure, a capital city famous for its waterfalls; between the valleys, waterfalls of all sizes were scattered. A black figure, looking at the largest and widest waterfall among the towering mountains, had his eyes light up instantly.

"The biggest waterfall, that must be it, hehe~"

According to the intelligence provided by Tobirama, the Seven-Tails lived near the largest waterfall in the Land of Takigakure. Following the trail, Hashirama Senju immediately unfolded his perception to search for the traces of the Tailed Beast.

……

"Leader, there is a strange man outside, I don't know what he is looking for."

The Land of Takigakure was not without ninja; just as Hashirama Senju was searching, several figures who had long discovered his tracks reported the information of the intruder to the leader of the Takigakure ninja.

"What kind of person is the other party?"

The leader of the Takigakure ninja clan was a middle-aged man with a gloomy face; their Takigakure ninja base was very hidden, and outsiders generally found it hard to know, so the sudden appearance of an intruder clearly meant he was looking for their base.

"I don't know, but looking at the other party's attire, he shouldn't be from the Land of Takigakure."

The Takigakure ninja recalled Hashirama Senju's outfit, then shook his head and stated his analysis.

"The other party's purpose is unknown, first send someone to make contact with him; if the other party's strength is weak, just kill him."

The leader of Takigakure stroked his chin, a terrifying light flashing in his eyes, and slowly gave the order.

"Yes."

Is the other party's goal the Hero Water?

Even though the news was blocked so tightly, was there a mole?

Facing the mysterious Hashirama Senju, the leader of Takigakure could not help but start to let his imagination run wild.

Near their base, there was a magical spring called the Hero Water; after drinking it, one's chakra volume could increase several times or even ten times over, and it was the secret treasure they relied on for survival to establish themselves during the Warring States period.

This intruder was likely here for it.

"Kakuzu, there is an intruder, will you go?"

After receiving the order from the leader of Takigakure, his subordinate found one of the top experts in the base and extended an invitation.

"Boring, I have no interest."

The black-haired youth who was called lowered his head to wipe the kunai in his hand; even though this kunai was already rusted and mottled, he still did not choose to throw it away.

"Can you not be so stingy? The kunai is already broken like this, and you still won't hurry up and throw it away~"

Seeing Kakuzu being so frugal, the person who came to invite him could not help but complain.

"No, after I wipe it clean, I still have to sell it to my colleague~"

Seriously wiping the scrapped kunai, the man named Kakuzu said extremely earnestly.

"..."

If he couldn't beat Kakuzu, he would definitely have snapped that kunai in half.

"Forget it if you aren't going this time, but next time there is a mission, you must go!"

Seeing Kakuzu refuse to join the team, the inviter had no choice but to give up and turn to look for someone else.

Before long, a team of fully prepared Takigakure ninja ran toward the direction of Hashirama Senju.

"Who are you, and what is your purpose for coming here!"

Hashirama Senju scratched his head a bit embarrassedly, looked at the team of ninja in front of him wearing attire with distinct Takigakure characteristics, and answered.

"I am Hashirama Senju... I came to the Land of Takigakure to catch a disaster beast."

"Hashirama Senju? Never heard of him, we don't have any disaster beasts here, leave quickly!"

The captain of the Takigakure ninja squad looked at the honest and simple Hashirama Senju in front of him, and for a moment could not gauge the other party's strength, so he had to use words to drive him away first.

"Uh... could the intelligence be wrong? That shouldn't be... may I ask, do you really not have a green caterpillar with seven tails here?"

Even though the locals said they hadn't seen it, Hashirama Senju still asked without giving up, and described the image of the Seven-Tails Chomei to the other party.

"Seven tails? Green caterpillar? What nonsense are you talking about, where would there be such an insect? Is this guy a fool?"

Upon hearing this preposterous question, the captain of the Takigakure ninja squad could not help but hold his stomach and laugh out loud; the mystery Hashirama Senju had at the beginning vanished, and he was no longer cautious, immediately mocking him.

"Are the local ninja so impolite?"

He was, at the very least, a village leader; although he didn't seem to have much of a reputation here, he wasn't someone these small fry could mock, and they weren't people from his own village.

And so, Hashirama Senju decided to teach these guys a small lesson.

"Haha, look, this fool is actually gesturing at us~"

Without the slightest realization that disaster was imminent, the captain of the Takigakure ninja squad looked at Hashirama Senju, who was punching the air at him, and laughed even louder.

"I'll just throw one punch, I guarantee I won't kill you~"

(End of chapter)