Chapter 588: The Nine-Tails is About to Face the Biggest Crisis of its Beast Life

No. 002 Dongdajie,

"Bang!"

Inside the dim laboratory, a fair, delicate fist slammed fiercely onto the test bench; the brute, monstrous strength used unintentionally hammered a huge dent into the high-strength alloy surface.

"Damn it, what is that little monkey up to?"

Under the flickering light, the small face of Senju Feizhen appeared and disappeared, but the annoyance radiating from her eyes could not be concealed by her delicate features.

After pulling back her slightly numb fist, her crimson eyes fell upon a piece of intelligence sent by a family member, and her two rows of silver teeth gnashed together.

"That is my property!"

Ever since the leader election, Senju Feizhen had lived a reclusive life, pouring all her energy into researching the Reanimation of the Dead, striving to return to her original form in the shortest time possible and stage a "Dragon King's Return."

But she never expected that, only a few months later, the successor she had pinned her high hopes on, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had not achieved any decent results.

Instead, he had blindly pushed for reforms in the village, causing such a chaotic uproar.

She had long since seen through the core purpose of this reform: it was clearly a feast for the ninja clan alliance to carve up Konoha.

More than half of the functional departments once managed by the Senju and Uchiha had been forcibly reclaimed and, after redistribution, handed out to members of the ninja clan alliance.

Faced with this situation, Senju Feizhen felt helpless; on one hand, their Senju clan currently lacked a powerhouse who could step forward, and if she were to bite the bullet and take the lead, as a woman, she feared it would be difficult to command respect.

Moreover, her current identity was merely an illegitimate daughter of unknown origin, and her voice in the family was not even as influential as the underage Tsunade.

On the other hand, it was because of the Uchiha clan.

Senju Feizhen was extremely surprised; as a family whose rights were equally exploited, the eccentric Uchiha had actually chosen to endure in silence, giving whatever the ninja clan alliance wanted without a hint of hesitation.

Not only that, they even took the initiative to hand over the Tailed Beast Knight system to the village, which left Senju Feizhen completely baffled.

Based on her understanding of Uchiha Izuna, if Sarutobi Hiruzen truly dared to strike hard against the Uchiha, all members of the ninja clan alliance would definitely not live past midnight.

Even the ants in their homes would not escape the scorching of Amaterasu, and their eggs would be fried into tiger-skin eggs.

Since the Uchiha chose silence on this matter, the Senju could not continue to speak up and could only wait and see how things developed.

"Sigh... perhaps he has truly grown up."

Having racked her brains without understanding why Uchiha Izuna was so forbearing, Senju Feizhen could only attribute this behavior to the other party finally growing into a qualified leader, possessing a certain sense of the big picture and knowing how to view problems from the village's perspective.

"This thing, in particular, must never be handed over to those guys!"

Pulling her attention back to reality, Senju Feizhen frowned; the content of the intelligence before her left her with no heart to continue her research. She had to grasp the Tailed Beast Knight system in her own hands.

Of course, she did not mind others becoming Nine-Tails Knights, but at this critical juncture, the situation in the ninja world was changing in the blink of an eye.

The relationships between the major ninja villages were ambiguous; while things looked peaceful on the surface, there was no guarantee that troops wouldn't be at the gates the next second.

If a war truly broke out, a knight capable of utilizing the power of a Tailed Beast could definitely influence the course of the war.

Shimura clan grounds,

Outside the heavily guarded training ground, the Shimura clansmen lined up in a long queue, each wearing a complex expression of anxiety and anticipation.

"Next!"

Under the command of family members, they walked into the training ground one by one, while at the exit on the other side, unconscious Shimura clansmen were carried out on stretchers.

Every one of them wore the same look of deep fear, as if trapped in a painful nightmare.

"Try to touch it."

Inside the training ground, Danzo frowned as he looked at the young family member who had just entered, pointing his finger at the golden card placed on a table not far away.

"Yes!"

The youth nodded excitedly and stepped forward quickly. His gaze was instantly drawn to the exquisite Nine-Tails card on the table; the card, shimmering with an inexplicable light, seemed to possess a deep magic, seducing him into reaching out to touch it.

Under the temptation of power, the Shimura youth did not hesitate at all and grabbed for the Nine-Tails card. However, before his fingers could touch the card, he was enveloped by a terrifying aura originating from the abyss.

A massive fox head suddenly rose before the Shimura youth's eyes, its vertical beast pupils filled with thick contempt, and its ferocious mouth curled to its ears, the mockery undisguised.

"With your status as an ant, you dare to look directly at me?"

"Ah!!!"

Under the onslaught of the Nine-Tails' terrifying aura, the youth, who had been full of ambition just a moment ago, immediately screamed and fainted with his eyes rolled back.

"Out!"

"Tsk! Next."

Danzo seemed to have become accustomed to this situation; he shook his head slightly and signaled the medical team on the side to carry the person away.

"Is it possible that our Shimura clan truly has no one capable of being a knight?"

As time passed, witnessing one young talent after another walk in upright and be carried out horizontally, Danzo's mood gradually became irritable.

"Give it up, this thing is not something our Shimura clan can handle."

Shimura Jin'er, who had appeared beside him at some point, had eyes full of lamentation. You should look at who the previous Tailed Beast Knight was.

"Grand-uncle, this might be the only chance for our Shimura clan. I don't want to give up."

Turning his head to look at the strongest ancestor in the family, Danzo's eyes were full of conflict. If their Shimura clan could master the power of the Tailed Beast, it wouldn't be long before they could surpass all other families.

At that time, whether it was Hokage or branch secretary, they could pick whatever they wanted.

"There is no time left. The fact that the Shimura clan holds the Tailed Beast Knight system is already known to everyone. Continuing to hide it will only make us a target for everyone."

Danzo's pupils shrank slightly upon hearing this. He had only received the Tailed Beast card a few days ago; how did everyone in Konoha find out?

Hadn't everyone agreed that each family would take turns sending people to try, and if there were truly no suitable candidates, they would then openly recruit?

There was a traitor among the F6!

"Damn it!"

But now, Danzo could no longer worry about investigating who had the big mouth; he had to come up with a response, otherwise, he would be accused by those with ulterior motives of embezzling village assets.

"Out!"

The last Shimura clansman also failed the test of the Knight system and collapsed before the Tailed Beast card.

Seeing this, Danzo closed his eyes in despair. After opening them again, his eyes held a sense of determination.

"Post the notice! Announce it to the whole village!"

"Oh? Finally willing to let go?"

Shimura Jin'er looked at the decisive Danzo with deep appreciation; they say the grandson takes after the grandfather, and it was true.

"It doesn't matter. No matter how strong a Tailed Beast Knight is, they are ultimately the village's property. As long as the management rights of the driver remain in our hands, there is a chance for a comeback."

Danzo shook his head. Even if the Shimura clan did not select a knight candidate, as long as the Tailed Beast Knight management department remained under their control, it didn't matter whether the candidate was named Shimura or not.

The next day,

A notice stamped with the Hokage's seal was posted on the most prominent bulletin board in the village. The news that the village was recruiting candidates for the Nine-Tails Knight instantly swept through all of Konoha.

【Due to the disappearance of the previous Nine-Tails Knight, the Second Hokage Uchiha Madara, the village leadership has decided after a meeting that the village cannot go a day without a knight. We are now openly recruiting candidates for the Knight system. Those who meet the criteria may participate in the recruitment. The recruitment conditions are attached at the end of the notice.】

The villagers who stopped to watch in front of the bulletin board read the recruitment conditions, which had a very low threshold, their faces filled with curiosity.

"It doesn't even limit the profession!"

"It doesn't even require being a ninja; can't we ordinary people do it too?"

"Let me see, no requirement to have chakra? Is this for real?"

The ordinary villagers, who had originally just come to watch the excitement, boiled over after reading the recruitment conditions. Isn't this too tempting?

There was already a chasm-like gap between ordinary people and ninjas, but this time, the Nine-Tails Knight recruitment actually allowed them, the ordinary people, to participate. This was clearly giving them a chance to leap over the dragon gate and become people above others.

"Uh... you have to sign a life-and-death waiver before participating. If any accidents occur, the organizers will not be held responsible."

"What's there to be afraid of? I'm not even afraid of being poor, so why would I be afraid of death?"

Even though it was noted that ordinary people needed to sign a life-and-death waiver, it still couldn't dampen the villagers' enthusiasm.

"Wait! Do I have to pay an application fee to participate in the recruitment?"

"How much?"

"Two million ryo!"

"Let's go, let's go~"

"Damn it, I lost to capital in the end!"

Many years later, an old man who had missed out on becoming a Tailed Beast Knight because of the high application fee lamented his experience to his descendants.

"Sigh~ I don't know if someone was plotting against me behind the scenes, or maybe I touched someone's cake. To stop me from becoming the Nine-Tails Knight who saves the world, the capital hiding in the shadows went to great lengths. Capital, you won..."

"This Danzo... actually used this method to accumulate wealth. The Will of Fire taught to him all these years was fed to the dogs!"

In the crowd, Senju Feizhen, with her white hair, clenched her delicate fists with a face as cold as frost, wishing she could punch little Danzo on the head right now.

Teaching such a disciple was a stain she could never erase in her entire life.

"Sigh... two million, if I scrimp and save, I might have it."

Standing in front of the bulletin board and struggling for a while, she finally gave up the idea of storming the Shimura clan grounds to punish her rebellious disciple and instead considered signing up.

Right now, it was more important to keep the power of the Tailed Beast Knight in her own hands, lest it fall into the hands of other unqualified ruffians and ruin Konoha's century-long plan.

"Eh! Tailed Beast Knight? Things are starting to get interesting."

Just as Senju Feizhen was calculating how to get some money from her sister-in-law, a figure with a faint salty, fishy scent stood beside her.

Hearing the slightly familiar magnetic voice, she frowned and turned her head, and a flash of fiery red entered her vision.

Why did this stinky sea-woman come to join the fun?

Looking at Uzumaki Mito, whose figure was still explosive and whose face remained beautiful after so many years, Senju Feizhen did not show any abnormality on her face, but her heart was full of complaints.

Her scrutinizing gaze swept over the curious face of Uzumaki Mito without leaving a trace, pausing for a moment on the purple diamond mark on the other's forehead before turning her head away as if nothing had happened.

Yin Seal, huh?

That curly-haired guy actually developed a pretty good ninjutsu.

However, how could this series of small actions by Senju Feizhen escape the keen perception of Uzumaki Mito? Realizing that someone was secretly sizing her up, she quickly locked her target onto the white-haired girl in front of her.

"This hair color... you wouldn't happen to be the legendary illegitimate daughter of the white-haired one, would you?"

Judging by the familiar hair color and the immense life force within Senju Hizumi, she quickly determined the other person's identity; her slender willow-leaf eyebrows arched slightly, and a hint of an unreadable expression appeared in her eyes.

"As expected of father and daughter, even the aura of your chakra is exactly the same."

"!!!"

Upon hearing this, Senju Hizumi's body instinctively tensed; although she knew the sensory perception of the Uzumaki clan was beyond that of ordinary people, she had not expected the other party to be able to identify individuals even by their chakra aura.

Fortunately, Mito Uzumaki did not associate her with the "fallen in battle" Tobirama Senju, otherwise, she would have had no choice but to use the Great Memory Erasure Jutsu to eliminate the hidden threat.

"Don't be nervous. Although I have a small grudge against your father, misfortune should not befall his family; I won't do anything to you, little sister."

Sensing Senju Hizumi's nervous state, Mito Uzumaki assumed the girl knew about the personal feud she had with Tobirama Senju, so she smiled, shook her head, and offered an explanation, telling the young girl who had just come of age not to worry about an enemy coming to her door.

Little sister?

You old hag, you really have no shame!

Knowing full well that Mito Uzumaki's true age did not match her appearance at all, Senju Hizumi almost rolled her eyes to the heavens.

Yet, she did not reflect at all on the fact that she herself was the same age as Mito Uzumaki, also sporting a super youthful face, and had even changed her gender.

"Do you want to sign up too?"

Looking at the silent Senju Hizumi, Mito Uzumaki assumed the girl was a bit shy, so she took the initiative to bring up a topic.

"Mm."

Senju Hizumi only wanted to escape at this moment, but if she were to just bolt, it would likely arouse unnecessary suspicion from Mito Uzumaki, so she had no choice but to keep a cold face and nod slightly.

"Then you have no chance, because this lady also wants to test the power of the Nine-Tails Knight and see if it's any different from that blue turtle or the gray slug."

Upon hearing this, Mito Uzumaki laughed boldly and pointed a thumb at herself with great confidence.

When she was in the Land of Whirlpools, she had often clashed with the Tailed Beast Knights of the Hidden Mist Village; although their methods were quite bizarre, when faced with her, who wielded the Ship-Breaker, they had no choice but to cower and flee.

"."

Glancing with a slight frown at the self-assured Mito Uzumaki, Senju Hizumi suddenly felt a deep sense of crisis.

Although she had previously succeeded in reaching a reconciliation with the Nine-Tails and transformed into the second Nine-Tails Knight, she could not guarantee that the Nine-Tails could hold up against Mito Uzumaki, whose sealing methods were unpredictable and mysterious.

Sign up!

Even if she had to borrow money, she had to sign up!

She had to retrieve the Tailed Beast Card before this stinking sea-woman made contact with the Nine-Tails!

Thinking of this, the anxious Senju Hizumi had no intention of lingering any longer; without even saying goodbye, she turned and ducked out of the bustling crowd, and Mito Uzumaki curled her lips at the sight.

"No wonder they say a daughter takes after her father; this impolite manner is exactly the same." (End of chapter)