The moment she heard the words "giant turtle," Terumi Mei froze for a split second. Then she reacted, her pupils shrinking as she exclaimed in shock,
"Y–You… you're looking for the Three-Tails??"
"Mm. Is there a problem?"
Carl looked at Terumi Mei calmly. Under the gaze of those brilliantly shining Tenseigan eyes, how could she dare raise any objections? No matter how important the Three-Tails was, all she could do now was force an awkward smile and say,
"Of course there's no problem. It's just… Carl-sama, may I ask about Konoha's Nine-Tails…?"
Hearing this, Carl smiled faintly and raised one hand. A layer of red chakra armor slowly covered his entire palm.
At that sight, Terumi Mei instantly felt much better.
Even Konoha had handed over the Nine-Tails—what right did Kirigakure have to complain? When it came to tailed beasts, these nuclear weapons, the real fear wasn't not having one yourself, but not having one while others did.
What Terumi Mei didn't know was that Konoha had only given up a portion of the Nine-Tails' chakra. As for their Three-Tails, it was likely going to be taken whole by Carl.
Golden light flickered in Carl's eyes. After sweeping his gaze around, his eyes widened slightly, and the space behind him suddenly collapsed into a patch of blackness.
Yomotsu Hirasaka— a spatial ability that some Ōtsutsuki could activate. It was also space-time teleportation, but unlike Carl's Kamui, this technique could carry other people along.
Carl turned and stepped into the black space. Lily and Kaguya followed right after him. Once the three had entered, the opened space closed again.
Such ghostly, unfathomable methods delivered yet another powerful shock to the shinobi of Kirigakure.
Ao swallowed hard and couldn't help asking,
"Terumi Mei-sama… are we really just going to hand the Three-Tails over to them like this?"
Terumi Mei snapped back to her senses and shot Ao an annoyed glare.
"What else can we do? Any one of those three could wipe the floor with us. And didn't you see? Even Konoha handed over the Nine-Tails. There wasn't even a hint of news about it—just like the Third Hokage, always scheming deep. I bet he agreed even more readily than we did."
Thinking back to what had just happened in the forest—the way Ōtsutsuki Isshiki casually crushed Kirigakure's elite—Terumi Mei felt more convinced than ever that her decision had been absolutely right.
Trading one Three-Tails for the safety of the entire village—no matter how you looked at it, that was an incredibly profitable deal.
...
Elsewhere, above a tranquil lake, the figures of Carl and the other two emerged from the void.
They looked down at the lake below. The water offered no concealment at all—the Three-Tails drifting in the depths was completely exposed before their eyes.
To Kaguya, the Three-Tails was nothing short of a perfect tonic. Excitement was plain on her face, yet she didn't act immediately. Instead, she looked toward Carl.
Carl gave a slight nod.
At that signal, Kaguya swept her sleeve. In the next instant, it was as if an invisible giant hand lifted the entire lake into the sky, leaving only the Three-Tails lying dumbfounded at the bottom of the crater.
It jerked its massive head up and stared at Carl and the others in the air with its turtle-like eyes. When it caught sight of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya standing slightly behind Carl, an extremely human-like expression of terror appeared on its face.
"T–That is…!?"
The moment it realized who the newcomer was, the Three-Tails reacted decisively. It opened its mouth and fired a Tailed Beast Ball straight at Kaguya, then immediately bolted for the distance with all its might.
Though it looked like a turtle, its running speed was astonishing. In the blink of an eye, it had already fled far away.
Facing the massive Tailed Beast Ball hurtling toward her, Kaguya merely raised one hand. The entire attack vanished into her palm without even causing a ripple.
Glancing at the still-fleeing Three-Tails, Kaguya clenched both hands hidden within her wide sleeves. The enormous Demonic Statue of the Outer Path appeared out of thin air. It opened its mouth and shot out a tongue-like chakra tendril, instantly yanking the Three-Tails back.
The Three-Tails let out an unwilling roar before its entire body merged into the Demonic Statue.
After absorbing the Three-Tails, the statue's withered exterior clearly gained some luster. With a bang and a cloud of smoke, the Demonic Statue vanished.
Kaguya let out a light breath and bowed to Carl.
"Thank you, Carl-sama, for your assistance."
Carl smiled.
"I didn't even lift a finger. What's there to thank me for?"
"If not for Carl-sama, I wouldn't know how long I would have remained sealed on the moon…"
"Heh. Even without me, someone would have freed you eventually. You still have a very devoted son hiding in the shinobi world."
"…A devoted son?"
Kaguya looked at Carl in confusion. After thinking for a moment, realization dawned on her face.
"You mean Black Zetsu?"
Carl nodded.
"Mm. You've been out for a while now—didn't you think of contacting him? He's been lurking in the shinobi world for hundreds of years just for your sake. Honestly, even I find that admirable."
Kaguya tilted her head slightly.
"He… can hardly be considered my child. If Carl-sama is interested in him, shall I go and bring him here?"
"No need. You just summoned the Demonic Statue—he and the others will definitely sense it. He'll come looking for us soon enough. We'll talk when we meet him."
"Understood. I will follow Carl-sama's arrangements."
At this point, Kaguya had lowered her stance completely, almost like a maid attending her master.
Beside them, Lily yawned and said,
"So are we just waiting here for another Ōtsutsuki to show up?"
"Mm. While we wait, I still need to figure out how we're going back. The method might have to be found on the Ōtsutsuki themselves."
...
Amegakure
Deva Path Pain stood atop the highest point of a tower, gazing down coldly.
A gray vortex appeared behind him, and Obito—wearing his orange spiral mask—stepped out from it.
Without turning his head, Deva Path Pain spoke in a low voice,
"Someone has summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path elsewhere. It seems to be in the direction of Kirigakure."
Obito's brows furrowed slightly beneath his mask. He had already received word of this and had come specifically to confirm it with Nagato.
Putting on a tone of feigned surprise, he said,
"Other than you, there's actually someone else who can summon the Demonic Statue? Could it be… that another pair of Rinnegan exists?"
Deva Path Pain turned around. A strange violet glow flickered within his cold Rinnegan eyes.
"I've decided. The tailed beast recovery plan will begin with the Three-Tails hidden in Kirigakure."
-----------
+80 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg