After locating the possible island where the jinchuriki was hiding, we decided to establish a perimeter. We wanted to check for any Kiri ninja, spies from other nations, or anything of the sort.
"If we encounter any potential threats, what are we likely to find?" Kakashi asked.
"It's not obvious," I commented, making a throat-slitting motion, to which everyone nodded. "Clear the area so I can subdue him quickly without anyone noticing."
I said this last part looking specifically at Danzo.
"I still don't understand what the purpose of all this is," the mummy complained.
"It's not obvious. We're doing this to make Konoha stronger, period. Or do you want to weaken it?" My question silenced him, only for him to gesture to his men to carry out the order.
"Is it necessary to kill them all?" Shusui couldn't help but ask.
"I don't want any ninja on this island except us." I didn't give him a direct answer, but he should be smart enough to know what I meant.
With that said, everyone went off to do their work, leaving me alone with Danzo.
"We'd better get going," I said, and we started walking toward the more secluded spots.
...
Honestly, I'm not too worried about the ninjas around here, since we've at least been covering our tracks, so if they do find something out, they'll never connect it to us.
It's pretty obvious that one way or another they'll find out that something happened and that the Seven-Tails' jinchuriki disappeared, but the idea is to keep it a secret, since he might be dead, kidnapped, or simply very well hidden.
I'm not doing all this to keep it a secret; I'm doing it so they don't know it was us, or at least so it's the least obvious clue.
But, as I was saying, what worries me most is something else, and that's the White Zetsu.
I don't know how they're using the White Zetsu, if there are thousands of them or just those two, the one bonded to Black Zetsu and the spiral, but it's worrying, since the idea of these guys knowing what we're going to do is something I honestly don't like.
One of the reasons I did all this, besides sheer selfishness, was to keep a hidden tailed beast from Obito, Pain, or Madara. That way, I could never complete the Gedo Masomi, and we prevented Kaguya and those aliens with antennae and strange powers from appearing.
Because after years, decades, or centuries, they didn't appear, but Kaguya awakens, and shortly after, those guys appear. For me, awakening her was like a radar for them, or at least that's what I think.
Now, putting aside my crazy theories and ramblings, I need to see if there's a White Zetsu around here, because if there is, they'll alert Black Zetsu. From there, it'll reach Obito, and since he controlled the Mizukage, the Mizukage won't reprimand us for doing this, causing other ninja villages to point the finger at us for stealing tailed beasts from other villages, potentially starting another war.
"What are you trying to do?" Danzo asked, watching me place my ear to the ground.
"I'm checking to see if anything is spying on us," I explained, closing my eyes.
Danzo just groaned silently and sat down.
At that moment, becoming one with nature, with infinite calm and awareness of everything around me, I activated Sage Mode.
He sensed it immediately; a few kilometers away sat the Six-Tails jinchuriki, unsure of what he was doing.
He also sensed everything around him—the animals, plants, insects, everything—and without thinking, he released a current of chakra all around, like echolocation.
The White Zetsu, having been modified by Hashirama's cells, I could sense them immediately, since they shared the same blood, chakra, and vitality.
After a while I didn't feel anything, so I decided to do it two more times just in case, and nothing happened.
However, the jinchuriki, for some reason, abruptly stood up, looking around, searching for something; most likely he realized what he'd done. I don't think he realized it himself, but rather it must have been the bijuu who alerted him, recognizing the chakra or something like that.
"It's all right; I'm going to capture him; you just do your job, and if anyone comes, stop them; it shouldn't take me long," I told Danzo without waiting for his reply, since in three shunshin I reached the jinchuriki's position, who was searching for something with his eyes, but the moment he saw me, he retreated.
"You…" he stated, taking a step back.
"Leaf, rogue ninja of Kiri, would you do me the favor of surrendering voluntarily, and perhaps your death won't be so painful?" I said very kindly.
"That a kage from another village is coming after me can only mean one thing," the jinchuriki declared, drawing a kunai ready for battle.
"Oh, poor thing, it thinks it has a chance of winning," I mocked, throwing a kunai forward, also drawing one.
The clang of metal was loud, only for the regenerated ninja to inhale sharply and spit out a large ball of water.
In response, I simply threw the kunai I had at his side and readied my hand.
The moment the jutsu was about to reach me, I teleported to the jinchuriki's side.
Because of the speed of the situation, he didn't realize what had happened, giving me the opportunity to act.
"Five Elements Seal," I declared, striking the jinchuriki in the stomach, causing him to scream in pain as he fell to the ground.
This guy might not have the Eight Trigrams Seal to completely nullify the Tailed Beast's chakra, but that doesn't mean this seal can't temporarily incapacitate someone, which is exactly what I needed.
Taking advantage of the fact that he was on the ground, groaning in pain, and the meridians around the seal, I made two hand seals so that a small wooden dragon could wrap around him, leaving him unable to move while his chakra was absorbed.
"Why are you doing this?" the jinchuriki questioned, groaning in pain and glaring at me.
"What good is explaining my plan to a dead man?" And with that, I struck him in the neck, knocking him out. "Mission accomplished."
At that moment, Danzo appeared in a flash, staring at the jinchuriki.
"We have him; now what?" he asked.
"Now we have to extract the biju and seal it," I told him.
"You want to extract it here, and where are you going to seal it, in a...?" He fell silent, staring at me intently, realizing what I intended. "You want to become a jinchuriki?"
"Doesn't sound like a bad idea," I said, looking at him.
"So all this was just so you could have more power," he couldn't help but complain upon discovering my plan.
"Don't judge me as if you wouldn't do the same if you had the chance," I declared as I released the unconscious jinchuriki.
Quickly, I summoned an altar and a scroll containing the key to perform the Eight Trigrams Sealing Technique. Making a few hand seals, several roots lifted the jinchuriki as if it were crucified.
Meanwhile, Danzo could be seen in the distance, silently watching everything I was doing. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye.
"You won't interfere in this, will you?" I asked.
"I know perfectly well that if anything goes wrong, you'll blame me for everything; that's why you agreed to let me come with you. I imagine you already had several copies proving you never left the village, so if anything goes wrong on this mission, all the blame will somehow fall on me, giving you the opportunity to bring me down, steal all my scrolls and information about the root, and make it public."
Hearing Danzo say those things, I could only stare at him in surprise.
"I can't believe it. You know how to think. What made you change your ways?" I said incredulously, making him frown even more.
"You're going to seal the biju inside your stomach, aren't you, so we can go back to the village? I have plans to make after all this time has taken," Danzo said irritably.
"I think I can agree with you on that," I said as I tore the jinchuriki's upper garment, revealing the seal where the biju was contained. "Usually, I'd have to analyze the seal to open it safely, but thanks to Minato and his crazy inventions, I only need to do this."
With that said, I made three hand seals and touched the jinchuriki's seal with two fingers. It began to glow, and in the next second, crimson chakra erupted from the seal. It slowly began to take shape, forming a giant slug that reminded me a little of Katsuyu.
"Descendant of Hashirama," the tailed beast declared with a hint of annoyance.
"We don't have time," I said, gesturing with my hands. "Sage Art Jutsu: Gate of the Great God."
At that moment, eight torii gates fell upon the Six-Tails, one for each tail, one for its body, and one for its head, stopping it in its tracks.
I simply stood on the altar as I began to form the hand seals for the Eight Trigrams Sealing Technique.
"Eight Trigrams Sealing Technique!" I exclaimed after completing the hand seals.
Unlike in the anime, and without a Grim Reaper helping to make everything instantaneous, the biju's red chakra slowly began to flow into my stomach.
After 30 minutes of waiting, all of the biju's chakra finally entered the seal.
"Phew, it's about time," I said, stepping out of the altar, which vanished in a puff of smoke, to look at the lifeless body of the former jinchuriki.
The mummy simply stared at me with a rather neutral expression, unsure if I was making plans with all of this, but honestly, I wasn't worried, since I had a seal on my tongue that wouldn't allow me to say anything about what was happening here. If I revealed that I was the current jinchuriki of the Six-Tails, it would harm the village.
"I see it's all over at last," I finished simply.
"It's that simple," I said, forming hand seals and spitting a highly flammable liquid onto the jinchuriki's corpse. Then I snapped my fingers, creating a flame that leaped onto the body and began to roast. "Let's go meet up with the others and head home."
...
In a flash, we arrived at the same spot where I'd left the carriage I'd left the village in.
"I still haven't gotten used to this," he muttered, leaning against a tree as if he were about to throw up.
"I imagine there won't be any paperwork for this failed mission, right?" Kakashi asked.
"Exactly, this mission never even happened, guys?" I confirmed to everyone there.
Once we were all gathered, I told them that the information given for the mission was incorrect, so we couldn't continue, and we were heading back home.
No one asked what the mission was about or what had happened; the mission had failed, period. The original mission was irrelevant; it was no longer relevant. Only Danzo and I knew about the biju.
It wasn't very comforting that the mummy knew about this, but what's done is done, and honestly, I needed someone by my side in case I was using the Eight Trigrams Seal in an emergency.
I could have used Kakashi, or some of the others, but honestly, I'd rather not risk it, lest I accidentally reveal something.
Danzo might not inspire much confidence, but at least I knew he wouldn't tell anyone.
"You have a week off; you earned it." With that said, I used the Flying Thunder God Technique again, returning to my office.
There, I could see a wood clone I'd left behind when I left, which had replaced me during this time.
Without saying much, I left it, remaining alone. As I sat down, I could have used a shadow clone, but there was a risk it would disappear; hence, using a wood clone, but it didn't have feedback. I could only communicate with it, but it wasn't always available. That's why I had left the old monkey in charge temporarily.
Back home, I was able to calm down, closing my eyes.
Only to be teleported back to my mental space, seeing a tunnel filled with roots and branches all around.
"So, how complicated is it to make a deal with a biju?"
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In the end, I ended up going on and on, since I wanted to make everything as clear as possible and leave no gaps.
There are still some things the anime/manga doesn't explain clearly, and for me, the databook is about as useful as Wikipedia—not very helpful. So, things like using the Eight Trigrams Seal without the Grim Reaper are a bit confusing, and I don't really know how it's done. Therefore, I have no choice but to make it up to fill in those gaps.
Well, with nothing more to add, I hope you enjoyed the chapter; see you later.