The Fire Country was buzzing like a nest kicked open. Hyūga Tennin's anti-Konoha Alliance was spreading fast, and some clans jumped aboard without blinking. The Sarutobi. The Hibiscus Clan. A bunch of others who loved trouble as much as they loved pretending it was strategy.
Then there were the usual fence-sitters: the Ino–Shika–Chō trio, the Saddle Horse Clan, and smaller families waiting to see which side would bleed first.
Inside the Konoha Alliance, nerves were stretched tight. People were running around sharpening kunai, updating patrols, whispering about "inevitable war." Very dramatic. Very pointless.
Me? Amamiya Raizen?
I wasn't losing sleep over any of it.
Sure, a coalition might form. Sure, they might charge at us with self-righteous speeches and rusty spears. But what then? Win or lose, they'd still have to deal with the same old problems: territory, food, money, manpower. Half the Warring States disasters started because some clan didn't think past their first victory.
Besides, alliances weren't built overnight. A month. Maybe two. Plenty of time to handle clan business, eat, sleep, complain, repeat.
I was halfway through paperwork hell when an Anbu knelt in front of me.
"Raizen-sama. Report from the southern border."
"If this is more Hyūga news, keep it. My head hurts enough."
"It's not the Hyūga… we found a monster in the southern lake."
That made me look up.
"A monster?"
"Yes. Resembles a turtle. Three tails. Extremely dangerous. It destroyed an entire village. Our Chūnin team vanished investigating it, so Anbu Second Squad moved in and confirmed the creature's presence."
A chill went down my spine.
A turtle with three tails.
You didn't need a bingo book to figure that one out.
"Is it still in the lake?" I asked, voice tightening.
"Always at the bottom. Never leaves."
Good. Perfect. Because I had met a tailed beast before. Five Tails. Back when I was weak and breathing too hard after ten minutes of fighting. I couldn't even keep it; I had to let it go.
But now? I wasn't a weakling anymore.
If there was ever a moment to gamble, this was it.
If the Hyūga want to crush the Konoha Alliance… fine. But if I tame a tailed beast first? Let's see who blinks.
I snapped to my feet.
"Prepare Anbu Third and Fourth Squad. We leave in one hour."
"Yes, Raizen-sama!"
An hour later, the squads assembled. I led them straight out of the Konoha Alliance territory, ignoring the confused looks from the other clans' shinobi. A parade of masked operatives wasn't exactly subtle, but subtlety wasn't the goal today.
After a full day of travel, the southern lake finally came into view. It looked less like a lake and more like a small ocean—wide, silent, and too calm for comfort. Anbu Second Squad ran up the moment they spotted me.
"Report," I said.
"The creature appears randomly, Raizen-sama. Currently at the bottom."
Figures. Three Tails was basically a professional napper.
"You all step back," I said.
"My lord—!"
"I said step back."
They obeyed, retreating to the treeline.
I studied the lake. Calm surface. No chakra signatures. No bubbles. That meant it was either asleep or bored. Knowing my luck, probably both.
Fine. If the beast wouldn't come out…
"I'll drag it out."
I formed a seal. The mouths on my palms opened. Detonation clay flooded out like warm taffy, which I molded into a massive bird and an even larger clay doll.
The bird lifted me over the center of the lake. I hurled the clay doll down.
It expanded.
Then it detonated.
The explosion lit up the sky. Waves surged outward like a mini-tsunami, drenching the shore and rattling every tree for a mile.
A moment of silence followed.
Then—
"GRRRAAAHHHH!"
The roar punched through my ribs. The lake erupted. Water split apart, a massive shape bursting free from the depths. A huge head surfaced first—dark shell, jagged edges, glowing eyes.
Three tails whipped behind it like massive serpents.
A sphere of swirling chakra formed in front of its jaws—dense, violent, atomic.
And it was aimed straight at me.
Perfect.
Time to find out whether this was bravery… or stupidity wearing a Raizen mask.