Chapter 376

376. Chapter 368: The invitation has been delivered, hurry up and come to me

"Tailed Beast life is also life. I have been working for 72 consecutive hours. That bald guy is simply not human!."

"Me too, humans should all die!"

"Beasts~ Beasts!"

"Old man, please open your eyes!"

Night fell, and it was time for the Tailed Beasts' daily small meeting. Nine figures sat in a circle, sparing no effort to complain about the troublesome things that had happened recently.

Except for a certain fat fox who was becoming more and more rounded, the other Tailed Beasts were exuding an aura of decadence, with the word "class" written in large letters on their ferocious beast heads.

"Stinky fox, why haven't I seen you come out to stroll lately?"

Shukaku, who was much thinner than before, had a round face that was now just skin. His copper-coin-like eyes searched for the Nine-Tails, who was dozing peacefully in the corner. Looking at the other's shiny fur, he felt very unbalanced in his heart.

"Hmph~"

The Nine-Tails half-narrowed its eyes, not wanting to pay attention to a beast like Shukaku at all. It was different from these guys who worked hard; it was born to enjoy life~

"You!"

Seeing the disdain in the Nine-Tails' eyes, Shukaku was so angry that his shriveled tail behind him swung wildly, and his sharp teeth ground together with a creaking sound.

"Alright, alright, at a time like this, let's not have internal strife, meow?"

The Two-Tails, lying on the ground, stretched a big stretch, stood up gracefully, licked the meat pads in its palms, and advised.

"Hmph! It seems that you and Gyuki are also living well. You haven't become dogs for humans, have you?"

Shukaku curled his lips and began to be sarcastic toward the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails. When he said "dog," his gaze kept staring at the Nine-Tails.

"Looking for death!"

Upon hearing this, the Two-Tails instantly bristled. Although what the other party said was correct, Shukaku's remarks made it lose face, so it immediately stretched out its claws, wanting to slap Shukaku's stinky mouth.

"Matatabi, don't be angry. It doesn't know our current situation, so it's understandable to say so."

Thick tentacles blocked the Two-Tails. The Eight-Tails, which had been silent, shook its huge ox head and said in a dull voice.

"What situation? Isn't it just submitting to humans in exchange for a little freedom?"

In the darkness, a voice of resentment sounded, and then two groups of Tailed Beasts walked out: the Three-Tails and Six-Tails, and the Four-Tails and Five-Tails. They were all listless, as if their chakra had been sucked dry.

"We just think that humans are not without their merits."

Seeing the weakness of the few Tailed Beasts, Gyuki frowned and defended.

"They are just a group of greedy borers; they don't have any merits at all!"

The Four-Tails gritted its teeth, and the resentment in its voice could be felt by the Tailed Beasts present from a distance.

Looking at its previously knotted muscles, which were now shriveled to just skin and bones, Gyuki, who was also a muscle lover, couldn't help but feel terrified.

"What on earth have you encountered?"

"Humans are all trash!"

"Getting along with humans isn't actually that hard, right?"

The Seven-Tails, whose presence was not very high, looked curiously at the Tailed Beasts who were clearly in two camps.

It got along quite well with its host. Chomei, who was regarded as a god by Kakuzu, was not ruthlessly exploited like the Four-Tails and the others.

"Huh? Chomei, you really are a traitor. I thought you were just framed by humans!"

The Five-Tails, Kokuo, had its four hooves trembling slightly. Once self-proclaimed as the number one speedster among Tailed Beasts, it now found it difficult even to stand, and the steam it emitted was not as hot as before.

Thus, the Tailed Beasts were divided into two camps. One was the resistance faction led by the One-Tail, with members including Shukaku, Isobu, Son Goku, Kokuo, and Saiken. Even though these Tailed Beasts were almost squeezed into medicine dregs by their hosts, they still refused to communicate with the knights.

The other was the "lying flat" faction led by the Nine-Tails, with members including Matatabi, Chomei, Gyuki, and Kurama. Due to various unavoidable reasons, they chose to reach a consensus with their hosts and were willing to communicate and fight with them.

Except for the Nine-Tails, it had no choice but to obey.

"Traitor!"

"We just remember the old man's words~"

"Tap... tap... tap..."

The two sides refused to give in to each other, and it looked like it was about to escalate into physical conflict. But just then, a crisp sound of footsteps echoed clearly throughout the Tailed Beast chat room. The Tailed Beasts were shocked and moved their gazes in unison.

"It seems that the resentment between you is very deep~"

In the darkness, a red and blue figure slowly paced out, two magenta compound eyes exuding visible mockery.

"How did you get in?"

The Tailed Beasts looked at the human who had suddenly broken into their private chat group and opened their mouths in surprise.

"Long time no see. It looks like your living conditions recently are a bit worrying?"

Uchiha Gin, transformed into the Decade Knight, followed the network cable and easily smuggled into the space where the Tailed Beasts often chatted. After looking around, his gaze fell on the Tailed Beasts led by Shukaku.

"It's all your fault, you bastard!"

Shukaku gritted his teeth, his little eyes full of resentment. If it weren't for this human in front of him, how could he have been sealed into a card and squeezed by that bald guy?

"If your skills are inferior to others, why not admit defeat?"

Uchiha Gin shook his head. Looking at Shukaku, who was so thin and miserable, he, full of love, chose to forgive the other party's insolence.

"I want to eat you alive!"

"Shukaku, don't, you are no match for him!"

Kokuo, who still had some brains, immediately grabbed the furious Shukaku and pulled him aside, his huge eyes filled with confusion.

"You appeared at this juncture, surely not just to come and laugh at us, right?"

Looking at Kokuo, who had a bit more humanity in his expression, with slight surprise, it seemed that these Tailed Beasts who were unwilling to communicate hadn't learned nothing from humans.

"That is natural."

Uchiha Gin nodded gently, his gaze shifting to the Nine-Tails' side.

"You guys are quite spirited. It seems you haven't enjoyed much happiness lately?"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes, yes, all thanks to the support of Brother Decade~"

Chomei, who had seen Uchiha Gin's power, was the first to express his position, nodding like a garlic bulb.

"Pass tea to the big boss!"

"Welcome Brother Decade to inspect the work!"

The Two-Tails and Eight-Tails also immediately transformed into lackeys, diligently acting like senior bootlickers. Only the Nine-Tails shrank there stiffly, choosing to ignore Uchiha Gin.

The Nine-Tails was the only one among these Tailed Beasts who hadn't had deep communication with Uchiha Gin. The other eight had all had their tails cut or chakra plucked by a certain shameless curly-haired man. The psychological shadow couldn't be said to be large, only unforgettable for a lifetime.

And the Nine-Tails was relatively lucky, released by Senju Hashirama in advance, escaping the punishment of tail-cutting, and was later sealed directly by Uchiha Madara.

Although it often saw this curly-haired man, it really hadn't met any of Uchiha Gin's other avatars.

"Yo~ Nine-Tails, how is my cousin doing lately?"

"Quite busy."

Facing Uchiha Gin's inquiry, the Nine-Tails thought for a while and decided to give him some face, then opened its mouth to answer.

"Sigh, busy is good~"

Uchiha Gin, like a lonely old man, felt sad for a while, then leaped into the field.

In the eyes of the Tailed Beasts, whether resentful or fearful, he spoke slowly, his voice low and sexy.

"Do you want freedom? If you want it, I can give it to you. Go fight! I will bestow true freedom upon the final winner!"

"..."

As Uchiha Gin's voice fell, the entire space fell into a long silence. All the Tailed Beasts looked at each other, as if wondering if they had heard something wrong.

"Human, what do you mean by that?"

Unable to suppress the confusion in his heart, Shukaku asked in a muffled voice.

"No need for me to say more, you will understand in a while."

Uchiha Gin played a riddle, his body began to become ethereal. At the last moment before disappearing, he added another sentence.

"There is only one chance, you must grasp it well~"

Following Uchiha Gin's departure, the Tailed Beasts in the chat room also lost the desire to continue communicating and went offline one after another. Before long, all the beasts' avatars turned grey.

"Next, it's time to send the invitations."

At home, Uchiha Gin, lying on the sofa, slowly opened his eyes, his scarlet eyes filled with faint mysterious power.

That night, almost at the same moment, a black envelope with gold edges appeared out of thin air in front of all the knights in the Ninja World.

"This is?"

The knights looked in surprise at the envelope in front of them that exuded an inexplicable attraction. Their bodies uncontrollably picked it up. A sentence written on the front of the envelope made them frown at the same time.

【Those who become knights will bear the fate of being unable to escape battle.】

Land of Wind

"Lord Reto, I may have to leave for a while."

Shamon, who was over fifty, had traces of wind and sand erosion on his weathered face. He held the slightly worn driver in his hand and said to the white-haired former Kazekage.

"Shamon, you are the Kazekage. Some things don't need to be done by yourself. Let Chiyo and the others go. Don't underestimate them~"

Thinking that Shamon was taking on some high-difficulty mission again, Reto advised as usual.

"The next era belongs to Chiyo and the others. I just want to fight one last time... for the Land of Wind."

After saying a series of inexplicable words, Shamon put on his windproof cloak and resolutely dived into the sharp yellow sand. The footprints he left behind were covered by the wind and sand in the blink of an eye.

"Lord Reto! Something bad!"

Not long after Shamon left, Chiyo, in a hurry, broke in, holding a black envelope that had already been opened, her beautiful eyes full of worry.

"Chiyo, as a dignified Kazekage candidate, how can you be so fussed?"

Reto, who was drinking tea, frowned. Looking at Chiyo, whose childish behavior and mature figure were so different, his tone carried a stern look.

"Grandpa Reto, forget about that for now. Look at this letter quickly!"

"What is it? You... Nani!!!"

Reto took the envelope handed over by Chiyo with a displeased face, pulled out the letter inside, and scanned it casually. His grey-white pupils instantly dilated.

"Go quickly! Chase your teacher back!"

"Yes!"

Land of Water.

Hidden Mist Village, Mizukage Office.

"Senior brother, did you also receive this letter?"

Gui, with long black hair, pulled a black envelope with gold edges from his arms and placed it on the desk of the current Mizukage, Hozuki Gengetsu.

"Sure enough, everyone received it."

Upon hearing this, Hozuki Gengetsu, the Second Mizukage, who was resting his chin on his hands and closing his eyes in thought, slowly opened his eyes. His sinister gaze fell on the envelope in front of him, and then he took out an identical envelope from the drawer.

"What do you plan to do?"

"Hmph~ Not to mention that so-called wish, just take this opportunity to settle things with that bandage man!"

Recalling the signature at the end of the letter, a complex look flashed in Hozuki Gengetsu's eyes, and then he showed a ferocious smile.

"But..."

A look of worry appeared on Gui's face. Hozuki Gengetsu was now the Second Mizukage and the pillar of the village. If he encountered any accidents, their Hidden Mist Village would be leaderless, and those restless Kekkei Genkai families would definitely not miss this excellent opportunity.

"Do you think I will lose?"

Hozuki Gengetsu's expression turned fierce, his face without eyebrows looking very fierce.

"No. Since that's the case, I will go too, and take care of things then."

Although the letter said it was an individual battle, it didn't forbid private teaming up.

"Rest assured, I'll take you flying. When the time comes to make a wish, I'll allow you to make suggestions~"

With his junior brother's help, Hozuki Gengetsu felt a bit more confident. He immediately smiled and patted Gui on the shoulder, making a promise.

"No need, just don't die."

Land of Earth.

In the secret room behind the Hidden Rock Village.

The Second Tsuchikage, Mu, wrapped in bandages, sat cross-legged under the eaves, holding the black envelope in his hand, his eyes flickering with light.

"I'm here, Teacher!"

A short figure descended from the sky. The potato-like young man, Onoki, landed in front of Mu. Time had given him a weathered face, but forgot to give him the corresponding height, causing him, who was nearly thirty, to still be less than 1.4 meters tall.

"That is..."

After landing, Onoki saw the black envelope in Mu's arms, his eyes instantly widening to the size of copper bells.

"It looks like you also received it."

Mu looked at his disciple's surprised expression and immediately guessed the general idea.

"So it wasn't a prank..."

Onoki was stunned for a moment, then with a complex expression, touched an identical envelope from behind him.

After getting this letter last night, he didn't take the content inside seriously at all, thinking it was a prank played by the child named Zi.

"What do you think we should do?"

Mu played with the envelope in his hand, his voice very hoarse due to his burned throat.

"We can't go!"

Onoki didn't believe in any wish coming true; it wouldn't necessarily be useful even if used to deceive a three-year-old child.

"Aren't you worried about losing your knight qualification?"

"Hmph~ This is the Four-Tails I took down with my own ability."

Regarding the penalty for absence mentioned in the letter, Onoki naturally sneered at it. The power of the Four-Tails was already his possession; he didn't believe anyone could take it away.

"Sigh... when the time comes, you should still take a trip with me."

Looking at his disciple with a rebellious expression, Mu lowered his head and looked at the signature at the end of the letter, shaking his head with a complex expression.

"No, Teacher, this is obviously a scam!"

"Even if it's a scam, we have to go and confirm it."

Land of Lightning

"Big brother, can we win?"

Ginkaku held the letter in his hand with a painful expression and asked Kinkaku, who was working hard to exercise his muscles.

"Thump!"

"Since it's an invitation from Mr. Gin, we must support it."

Casually throwing the thousand-jin barbell to the ground, Kinkaku wiped the bean-sized sweat from his forehead, full of fighting spirit.

"Let those guys see the capacity of our two brothers!"

"Divine Beast Lord, can we choose to abstain?"

Kakuzu, with a melancholy expression, sat in the safe house he had prepared, carefully picking at the gold paint on the black envelope while asking the Seven-Tails, Chomei, for advice.

"Is there that option?"

Chomei, who had already received the notice, naturally knew that this battle could not be avoided.

"That's true."

After collecting the gold powder, Kakuzu sighed, his green-glowing pupils full of helplessness.

"Unless we win, the effort and return are completely disproportionate!" (End of chapter)