Chapter 516: Stop Staring, I

The short branch stuck in Shamon's abdomen was different in color and form from the Wood Release Uchiha Gin was familiar with; it was entirely grayish-brown, resembling deadwood that had been air-dried for a long time, with thorny spikes along its trunk and a chilling, sharp glint at its tip.

Although one could feel the immense vitality it radiated, a discerning eye could tell at a glance that this was energy birthed from absorbing Shamon's life essence.

"Was this thing there from the beginning?"

Uchiha Gin frowned and studied it for a moment before turning to ask Chiyo, who stood beside him with a nervous expression.

"No. When we found Master, he was in a constant state of coma, and there was no such strange branch on his body."

Chiyo shook her head. The moment they discovered Shamon had lost contact, they had launched a carpet search of the entire route.

Finally, less than a hundred miles from Loulan, they discovered the shattered corpses of a Sand ninja Anbu squad; these were the very guards who had accompanied Shamon to Loulan.

Only then did the Hidden Sand Village realize the situation had exceeded their control, and they immediately sent reinforcements to dig three feet deep into the surrounding area.

Unexpectedly, they really did discover a sphere formed from condensed yellow sand deep beneath the thick desert, its entire surface covered in dense, intricate incantations.

As a disciple, Chiyo recognized at once that this was her master's Magnet Release ninjutsu, Particle Sealing Palm, a defensive technique that would not dissipate as long as the caster remained alive.

Relieved to judge from this technique that Shamon's life was not in danger, Chiyo immediately used the secret scroll left behind by her master to dispel the Particle Sealing Palm on the spot.

With the collapse of the sand sphere, the unconscious Shamon saw the light of day once more.

"So it was normal at the start."

After hearing Chiyo's description, Uchiha Gin's gaze was filled with contemplation. It seemed the seed of this small tree in Shamon's abdomen had been planted in his body by someone intentionally.

But what was the purpose of doing this? If they only wanted Shamon's life, they could have used other, more convenient methods; why go through the trouble of planting such an inefficient killing weapon in his stomach?

"Have you tried cutting this thing out?"

Not daring to touch the mysterious plant with his bare hands, Uchiha Gin pulled out a pitch-black rod and poked it curiously, only to find that the little thing stood firm.

Tsk, it's rooted quite deep, isn't it?

"It cannot be cut."

Chiyo shook her head with a dim expression. Seeing this, Uchiha Gin blinked in confusion.

"This plant has already connected with Master's life. If it is forcibly removed, Master's life will also come to an end."

"How do you know that?"

Questioned, Chiyo bit her lip, her pretty face full of regret.

"Cough, let me explain."

Just then, an old man wrapped in bandages from head to toe pushed the door open, his footsteps staggering; it was clear he didn't have many days left to live.

"Who is he?"

Uchiha Gin pointed curiously at the old man wrapped like a mummy. Judging by his hoarse voice, he felt he had seen him somewhere before.

"Lord Reto, you should be resting right now."

The person who arrived was none other than Reto, who had been accidentally injured by the Sand ninja on the city wall. After experiencing a round of friendly fire, this formidable figure had stubbornly stood up again and, after some simple treatment, returned to the public eye.

"Huh? So you aren't dead yet?"

Upon hearing the name, Uchiha Gin instantly remembered this bit-part character. He hadn't expected that after so many years, this old guy still hadn't gone offline to play mahjong with the Sage of Six Paths.

"Ugh!"

Hearing Uchiha Gin's careless remark, a spurt of blood erupted from the bandaged head of Reto, and his hunched body trembled uncontrollably; it seemed he was quite enraged.

"First Kazekage, please calm down and consider the bigger picture."

Ebizo, standing to the side, immediately stepped forward to support the crumbling Reto and helped him catch his breath.

"Hmph! I shall spare you for now."

Reto gritted his teeth, glared fiercely at Uchiha Gin, and spoke slowly.

"When we first found Shamon, I ordered the medical ninja to treat him immediately. The result was counterproductive; not only did it fail to wake Shamon, but it actually accelerated the growth of this plant."

It turned out that the moment Shamon was dug out, Chiyo, as a medical ninja, had begun treating her master, pouring life energy converted from chakra into his body as if it were free.

However, after several hours of emergency treatment, not only was there no sign of Shamon waking up, but his body grew increasingly weak. Only then did people notice a small bulge appearing on his abdomen.

At first, Chiyo had blushed upon seeing it, thinking her master had been over-supplementing, but after observing for a while, she realized the position was wrong. After lifting his clothes, this strange sprout came into everyone's view.

By then, it was too late for Chiyo to remove the foreign object. Under the irrigation of medical ninjutsu filled with life energy, the seed hidden in Shamon's body had taken root prematurely as if it had been injected with stimulants.

The roots coiled within his body had dug deep into Shamon's internal organs and meridians, assimilating with his life until the day of his death.

"It's all my fault. If I had checked more carefully..."

Chiyo covered her face in pain, large tears sliding down her cheeks. She bore the inescapable responsibility for her master ending up in this state.

"No, it was my judgment that was wrong. You need not blame yourself."

Reto shook his head, taking the responsibility for the medical accident upon himself. If anything were to happen to Shamon, the only ones the Hidden Sand Village could rely on were Chiyo and her brother; he couldn't let them be tarnished by this.

"First Kazekage, this has nothing to do with you."

Wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, Chiyo straightened her back. She would take responsibility for her own actions.

Seeing the old man and the young woman passing the blame back and forth, Uchiha Gin scratched his head in frustration.

So it was a case of good intentions leading to a bad outcome—they had artificially ripened the seed in Shamon's body, which was why he was currently in critical condition.

Stepping forward to pat Chiyo on the head, Uchiha Gin calmly interrupted their conversation.

"Alright, alright. Instead of wasting time shifting blame, you'd better think about how to treat Shamon."

"Uncle Gin, do you already have a way?"

Feeling the warmth from the large hand on her head, a blush flashed across Chiyo's face. For some reason, after hearing Uchiha Gin's voice, she felt an inexplicable sense of peace in her heart.

"I still need to conduct a thorough examination before reaching a conclusion."

Uchiha Gin neither nodded nor shook his head. The situation with Shamon was somewhat complex; the first thing he needed to figure out was the origin of this plant.

"Everyone else, get out. I need a quiet environment."

Pulling a pair of medical surgical gloves from the ninja tool pouch behind him, Uchiha Gin turned and spoke to the people in the room.

Feeling bored, Uchiha Hikari and Otsutsuki Kaguya were the first to turn and leave; they were much better at killing than saving lives.

"Understood."

The Sand ninja looked at each other, and eventually, Chiyo stood up. The others didn't say anything more and followed her out.

When there were no more bystanders in the room, Uchiha Gin's gaze moved past the unconscious Shamon and landed on the quilt spread out to the side.

This quilt was definitely not simple. From the complex incantations on it, Uchiha Gin could determine that this was a sealing jutsu used to extract Tailed Beast chakra.

If Shamon could survive being drained for so long, this quilt deserved the most credit.

"Some things are better asked directly to the person involved—no, the beast involved."

As Uchiha Gin spoke, he lifted his hand to take the One-Tail card placed in the center of the sealing array. Rubbing the familiar texture of the card, a red glint flashed in his eyes.

The next moment, his consciousness entered a vast, strange space. In this space, yellow sand covered the ground, and violent winds cut like blades.

In the very center of the space lay a dying giant raccoon, though its appearance was far more miserable than the chubby, round ball Uchiha Gin remembered.

"Yo, I remember the raccoon I locked up. How did it turn into a weasel?"

"Who?!"

The teasing voice cut through the gale and landed firmly in Shukaku's ears, startling it so much that it wanted to crawl up to check, but due to exhaustion, it just rolled over on the spot.

"Haha, you even learned to roll over? Not bad~"

Seeing this comical scene, Uchiha Gin walked up to Shukaku, his half-closed eyes radiating a coldness that chilled the Tailed Beast to the core.

"You... it's you!"

The two coin-like beast pupils dropped, meeting Uchiha Gin's slightly red eyes. Shukaku shrank its tail in fear.

"What are you looking at? I've come to collect you!"

Smiling, he raised his hand in greeting, looking up and down at the successfully "weight-loss" Shukaku, and reached out to pat its thin, bony belly.

Shukaku retreated a few steps in alarm to keep its distance. As one of the few beings (beasts) in the world who knew Uchiha Gin's true identity, it naturally didn't dare to underestimate this strange human.

"What are you here for? I know, you're here to reclaim me, right?!"

The confused Shukaku used its walnut-sized brain to quickly think about Uchiha Gin's intentions, concluding that he was here to collect it. A look of struggle instantly appeared on its massive beast face.

If it were gone, relying only on that big blue crawler, wouldn't that bald guy Shamon be dead for sure?

"What, you don't want to leave?"

Catching Shukaku's undisguised micro-expression, Uchiha Gin raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

Logically speaking, Shukaku had been reduced to this miserable state because it was dragged down by Shamon; it should be eager to draw a line and return to its previous chubby, majestic self.

"Leave? It's just changing places to continue being a prisoner. I'm doing just fine here."

Facing Uchiha Gin's intrigued questioning, Shukaku turned its head away stiffly.

"It seems you and Shamon get along quite well."

"Who gets along well with that bald guy! If it weren't for the fact that he helped me beat up that stinking fox, I wouldn't have shared my precious chakra with him."

Exposed, Shukaku's old face flushed red. It turned its back on Uchiha Gin and raised its voice, though its speech was standard tsundere.

"Alright, I didn't come here to collect you this time."

Uchiha Gin chuckled and shook his head.

"Really?"

Shukaku was stunned, and a look of surprise immediately appeared on its face.

With a flash, Uchiha Gin reappeared in front of the arrogant Shukaku, his scarlet eyes staring straight into those coin-like beast pupils, his voice tinged with rare gravity.

"I just want to ask, what kind of enemy did Shamon encounter?"

"..."

Hearing this question, Shukaku's pupils shrank slightly, and the corner of its mouth, which had just been curled up, instantly froze. Its expression revealed a fear that left Uchiha Gin deeply puzzled.

In the entire ninja world, there were many who could defeat a Tailed Beast, but those who could make a Tailed Beast show genuine, heartfelt fear were few and far between.

Aside from Uchiha Gin, who had cut off the tails of many Tailed Beasts, there were only Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju.

"Is it Hashirama?"

Seeing Shukaku remain silent, Uchiha Gin frowned and asked.

Whether it was the joint condemnation letters from the several major ninja villages or the Wood Release creations left at the scene, all these suspicions pointed directly to Hashirama Senju, who had been missing for some time.

But Uchiha Gin believed that the attacker had likely only stolen the power of Hashirama, rather than it being the work of the man himself.

"It is him, yet it is not him."

After a brief recollection, Shukaku spoke with some uncertainty.

As expected!

This answer coincided with Uchiha Gin's own guess; the enemy had indeed utilized the power of Hashirama Senju.

"Although he looks like that descendant of Asura, there is something indescribably strange about him."

"Strange?"

Hearing Shukaku use the word "strange," a sense of curiosity immediately arose in his heart. If the enemy had merely stolen the power of Wood Release, it shouldn't have been enough to make a Tailed Beast feel it was strange, right?

"That's right, that human—no, compared to a human, he is more like..."

As Shukaku spoke, its large face scrunched up tightly, as if recalling a very painful experience, with a trace of imperceptible trembling hidden deep within its eyes.

"More like what?"

"More like us."

At the very same time Uchiha Gin was conducting a medical examination for Shamon,

inside a cave less than a hundred miles outside the city of Loulan, a burly figure draped in a black cloak, sitting cross-legged, slowly opened his eyes.

If anyone familiar with Hashirama Senju were present at this moment, they would certainly be shocked.

Because the face hidden beneath the cloak was exactly the same as the missing Hashirama Senju.

The only difference was that this Hashirama Senju's expression was extremely stiff, and not a trace of life could be seen in his black eyes, as if he were a cold corpse.

"Mission target is alive. Shall I continue execution?"

Suddenly, he opened his mouth and asked the empty air beside him, word by word.

"Number One, this time your expression was the most outstanding, and you recovered the most chakra. If you wish to continue, I have no objections."

A black-red rift suddenly tore open in the pitch-black void, and then Jigen's indifferent voice could be heard coming from within, though the satisfaction in his tone was clearly audible.

"Received. Mission continuation confirmed."

Having received confirmation, Number One nodded expressionlessly.

Tap! —

Dressed in traditional monk robes, Jigen stepped out from the portal, his eyes filled with gratification as he looked at the Number One test subject.

Among the current test subjects, Number One was the one with the best mission completion rate; the results of the others were not bad, but they had not brought back much in the way of gains.

"However, just in case, I will have Number Three and Number Four assist you."

Tap! —

Tap! —

As he spoke, two more cloaked figures walked out from the portal; looking at their appearance alone, they were carved from the same mold as Number One.

Number One raised his head, scanned the other two test subjects expressionlessly, and nodded slightly.

Looking at the three test subjects present, the corners of Jigen's mouth curled up slightly. As long as he successfully seized the power of all the Tailed Beasts, his plan to ascend and become a god would take another giant step forward.

"The end of the Tailed Beast Knights has arrived." (End of chapter)