WEEKLY POWER GOALS 💎🔥 30→2ch | 60→5ch | 100→8ch | 200→15ch | 400→25ch⏰ Resets Monday!
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After withdrawing from Sunagakure, Suigetsu and Jūgo raced north.
The Akatsuki had outposts in every nation. During tailed beast hunts, the assigned members would bring the jinchūriki to the nearest outpost. Then, Pain, the leader, would summon their projected forms to cooperate in sealing the beast.
By dawn the next day, Suigetsu and Jūgo arrived outside the cave where Sasori and Deidara had taken Gaara in their previous life.
The cave entrance was sealed by a massive boulder, a sealing talisman pasted upon it.
Suigetsu peeled off the talisman and formed a hand seal with two fingers. With a low rumble, the boulder lifted. He and Jūgo entered, and the stone slab slammed down behind them.
Having received the message, the projected forms of Pain and the other Akatsuki members were already waiting.
Pain greeted them. "Well done, you two. You put on an impressive debut performance. You've even set an example for your seniors."
Assigning the two newest rookies, Suigetsu and Jūgo, to hunt the One-Tail wasn't just because Shukaku was the weakest of the beasts. Pain also wanted to use it to pressure the organization's veterans. Imagine—if two rookies could complete their mission, those proud old-timers would be even more driven not to fall behind.
Kisame chuckled. "Heh. Suigetsu, I'm starting to see you in a new light."
Tobi hammed it up. "Wahhh… The pressure as a senior is so intense~!"
Deidara snapped. "Tobi! You joined just a few days before them! Don't you dare call yourself a senior, un!"
Tobi scratched his head. "But… I saved Deidara-senpai…"
Deidara exploded. "Hey#! How long are you going to bring that up?! I'll pay you back with my life—using my ultimate art!!"
Suigetsu seemed unfazed by Tobi's two-faced act. He had his own reasons for joining the Akatsuki, after all.
He seized the chance to boast, spinning a tale without a shred of truth. "Ah, you seniors have no idea. The Shukaku inside this guy went berserk. We risked our lives to subdue it, then fought our way through a hailstorm of exploding tags to escape an encirclement of tens of thousands of Suna shinobi. It was truly a narrow escape!"
Pain listened to the exaggeration but didn't expose him. He simply said, "In any case, you completed your mission flawlessly. The Akatsuki will remember your contribution. Now, let us begin sealing the tailed beast."
Pain's projection formed a hand seal.
―Summoning: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!
RUMBLE―!!
From deep within the cave, before a stone wall, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path rose with a deafening roar. Its hands were bound by chains, its ten fingers splayed wide.
Suigetsu gasped. "This… is the container used to seal the tailed beasts? It's terrifying… even more than Shukaku!"
Under Pain's direction, the Akatsuki members each took their positions on the statue's fingers, corresponding to their assigned rings. Suigetsu stared at the one remaining vacant spot—the little finger of the statue's left hand—and fell into thought.
Pain asked, "Suigetsu. Do you have a question?"
"Ah… I'm just curious about that empty position."
Pain explained, "Akatsuki's 'Void,' the ring of Void on the left little finger. It was taken by Orochimaru. Had he not betrayed us, that would have been his rightful place. But now, he is the Akatsuki's mortal enemy. He, and Uchiha Sasuke, will eventually die by our hand!"
"…" On the statue's ring finger of the right hand, Itachi's expression flickered with an imperceptible depth.
Suigetsu replied, "I see. Understood."
"Then, let us begin. The sealing will last three days and three nights. Please ensure the safety of your physical locations."
―Sealing Jutsu: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals!
WHOOSH!
The statue's mouth opened wide, drawing in the collective chakra. A dense ball of energy condensed in its throat. Moments later, from that ball, nine phantom dragons howled forth! They coiled around Gaara, who lay unconscious on the cold ground, lifting him into the air!
"Ugh… AAAAAH―!!!"
Trapped within the phantom dragons, Gaara let out a blood-curdling scream. Crimson chakra poured from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, flowing along the dragons' bodies into the statue's maw. His life began its final countdown.
…
Three days later, at the edge of the desert in the Land of Wind, Suna's elite jōnin Baki returned from a mission with Temari and Kankurō.
They were unaware the mission was a pretext concocted by the village elders to isolate Gaara. After his capture, they received no urgent summons from Suna.
Temari, still young and playful, rested her closed three-star fan under her arm. Gazing at the distant desert scenery, she suggested, "We're not far from the legendary ancient kingdom of Loulan, right? It's a rare chance, Baki-sensei. Let's go sightseeing!"
Baki said, "We must report back to the village promptly. Next time."
Temari insisted. "Once Gaara becomes Kazekage, Kankurō and I will be tied to him constantly. Sensei, please? Didn't you always teach us that shinobi must broaden their horizons?"
Baki sighed in resignation. "Fine. But I'm warning you. The dangerous Dragon Vein is sealed within Loulan. You may observe from a distance, but do not approach!"
"Great! Let's hurry!"
Temari hooked the fan with her toe, flipping it onto her shoulder over her fishnet top. She set off towards Loulan.
At the same time.
Within the ruins of Loulan, Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke were jointly performing the Yang Seal. It was nearing completion.
Karin, on sensory duty, immediately grew alert. "Hostiles approaching. Three targets. Their chakra is strong, especially the leader's—probably above jōnin level!"
Orochimaru's brow furrowed slightly. He spoke in a low tone. "The Yang Seal is about to complete. We are tied up for the moment. Karin, go and stall them."
"Understood!"
Karin immediately moved to intercept.
Outside the Loulan ruins.
Temari was genuinely a tourist. "This architecture is so ancient. I really wonder, what kind of civilization was Loulan? And how did it fall?"
"Regarding Loulan…"
Baki, as their instructor, was about to showcase his extensive knowledge when he faintly sensed it—an unsettling, heart-pounding chakra signature emanating from within Loulan's main temple.
"Hmm… This feeling of wrongness. Could it be…?"
"Temari, Kankurō. Wait here. I'll go check the situation."
Seeing Baki's serious expression, they asked immediately, "Trouble?"
Baki replied gravely, "Yes. We've arrived at just the right—or wrong—time. It seems someone has their eyes on the 'Dragon Vein' sealed here. The Dragon Vein is the property of the Land of Wind. We cannot allow outsiders to claim it!"
Temari and Kankurō exchanged a glance, their tourist mood vanishing.
"We're coming too!"
Baki knew these two were the children of the previous Kazekage. Once Gaara took the position, they would be his right and left hands. Their own strength had already surpassed the chūnin level.
He didn't refuse.
"Then stay behind me. And do not act recklessly!"
The three ascended the temple steps. Then… a slender, feminine figure appeared at the top of the staircase. "Halt! Come no further!"
Baki observed the young girl, who showed no fear in the face of three shinobi. He demanded, "Who are you? How dare you trespass on our nation's vital ground!"
Karin, well aware combat wasn't her forte, tried a clever retort. "What proof do you have that you're from the Land of Wind?"
Baki sneered, pointing to his forehead protector. "Is my Sunagakure forehead protector not proof enough?"
Karin shrugged. "If a piece of metal was proof, anyone could impersonate a shinobi. Anyway, we're on official business. Please turn back."
A cold smile spread across the half of Baki's face not covered by bandages. "Heh. Then I'll just have to see what kind of 'official business' you're conducting!"
SWISH―!
The words had barely left his mouth when he drew a blade, transforming into a gale as he shot towards the unarmed Karin
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