The Ten-Tails shell has a stomachache. What should be done about it?
The Ten-Tails shell is, simply put, the body of the Ten-Tails, lacking only the soul and some essence. Once it swallows a tailed beast, it should pretty much be complete. Therefore, it makes sense that the Ten-Tails shell could have a stomachache.
But this is ridiculous! It swallowed the Eight-Tails, which should be like a supplement for the Ten-Tails shell. To the Ten-Tails shell, other tailed beasts are like nourishment. How could it have a stomachache? Did it eat too much? That's nonsense!
Obito had a headache. Uchiha Itsuki—what did that brat do again? But what could he possibly have done to the Ten-Tails, one of the most powerful beings in existence?
Suddenly, the Ten-Tails shell opened its mouth wide, as if it were about to vomit, spewing something out nonstop. Obito and Zetsu were both shocked. What could the Ten-Tails be vomiting up?
Then, to their disbelief, a tentacle appeared in the Ten-Tails' mouth, followed by another, and then a third one...
"What the heck!?" Zetsu couldn't help but curse. "Did the Eight-Tails transform into its beast form inside the Ten-Tails?"
Although the Eight-Tails was much smaller than the Ten-Tails, the Ten-Tails' stomach couldn't be that big. If the Eight-Tails truly transformed inside the Ten-Tails, it would probably end up bursting.
After a long while, Obito thought the Ten-Tails' mouth was about to rip open before it finally spat the Eight-Tails out.
"What's going on?" Obito asked in confusion. "Zetsu, isn't the Eight-Tails supposed to be part of the Ten-Tails? Why couldn't it digest it? Yeah, that's it—indigestion!"
The Eight-Tails should have smoothly fused with the Ten-Tails, so why couldn't it be absorbed?
Zetsu furrowed his brow, deep in thought, but he couldn't figure it out either. Finally, he muttered, "It must be Uchiha Itsuki again. Who knows what he did this time."
Obito: "..."
Suddenly, a phrase popped into Obito's head: Damn that Danzo! In Higakure, whenever something frustrating happened, Danzo was always to blame. Now, in their camp, everything was being blamed on Uchiha Itsuki. How convenient.
From afar, Itsuki smiled as he watched this scene unfold.
"That smile... something's not right!" Konan stared at Itsuki. "Spill it. What did you do this time?"
Itsuki avoided answering directly, instead saying, "Don't think you can block me by just disabling my Flying Thunder God technique. I have plenty of ways to surprise you."
"Huh?"
"Alright, Konan, darling, it's time for you to go home now," Itsuki said with a grin. "Head back to Higakure. That's your real home. After all, once a woman gets married, her husband should be her priority."
In some countries, after marriage, many women prioritize their husband's family. Don't even mention the extreme feminist movements. In places like Japan, women change not only their children's surname but often their own as well.
Following the ninja world's customs, Konan's full name at this point should be Uchiha Konan.
"Got it!" Konan rolled her eyes in a beautiful gesture. "By the way, have you given any thought to the alliance?"
"I agree!" Itsuki answered without hesitation. "We can't fight the Ten-Tails with just one group. It's a fusion of nine tailed beasts, after all."
"So..."
"There's still room for negotiation," Itsuki said nonchalantly. "I'm not in a hurry."
Konan stared at him suspiciously. How could he not be worried when all the tailed beasts had been captured? But then she smiled. Though he was a strange, perverted man, Itsuki always managed to inspire confidence in them when he was on their side.
Because it was always the enemies who ended up with bad luck.
And this wasn't just a feeling shared by Itsuki's women. Many in Higakure felt the same way. That's why Itsuki was so trusted in the village.
"Let's go!" Itsuki waved to the members of the Akatsuki behind him.
Most of them followed, except one—Orochimaru.
"Hey, Orochimaru, what's the deal? You're not coming with us?" Deidara chuckled.
Itsuki glanced back and shook his head. "That's not Orochimaru. My teacher, as expected, is impressive."
As he spoke, he waved his hand lightly, and Orochimaru's body collapsed to the ground.
Kakuzu stepped forward and noticed a stitched seam on Orochimaru's face. "This isn't a substitution technique. He stitched on someone else's face. When did this happen?"
"There were plenty of opportunities," Itsuki said, unconcerned. "During the battle, my teacher didn't use any ninjutsu—at most, just summoned a few creatures. So..."
He smiled.
Maybe the Orochimaru from the start had been fake. Or perhaps, he had been switched out during the fight. Anything was possible.
It didn't really matter. Itsuki never believed he could kill Orochimaru. Orochimaru was the hardest person to kill in the ninja world. Even Itsuki didn't have the confidence to do it.
You could kill him now, but he'd just resurrect himself through someone else. Orochimaru didn't have just a few secret bases—he had hundreds of them!
So, don't even think about killing Orochimaru. Unless...
"Hmph!" Kakuzu grunted and threw the face mask aside. Without even looking at the fallen ninja on the ground, he asked, "So, are we going to Higakure now?"
"Why not?" Itsuki smiled. "Higakure is a great place with many powerful ninjas. It's at its peak of development right now. You'll have a better future there than wandering around aimlessly."
"Higakure, huh?" Deidara mused. "Since it's Itsuki's territory, it wouldn't hurt to take a look."
Kakuzu and Juzo remained silent. It seemed they didn't have much choice.
After some hesitation, even Sasori nodded.
After all, Itsuki wasn't going to let anyone go.
"Alright, let's go!"
Under the watchful eyes of the Hidden Stone and Hidden Cloud villages, the group boldly walked away.
The Raikage and Tsuchikage exchanged a silent glance.
In this battle, they had suffered heavy losses yet again.
They had been thoroughly manipulated.
First, they lost many subordinates, and then numerous ninjas from their own villages. Even Killer Bee was captured.
From beginning to end, it had been a disaster! Not to mention the situation with their vassals, which was already giving them headaches.
Though they had always acted superior to their vassals, even ordering them to do suicidal tasks, pushing them too far would be dangerous.
When cornered, what wouldn't these people do? Even joining their enemies would be a standard move.
"Sigh!"
Onoki sighed and said, "Raikage, you should go to Higakure. I'll head to the Land of Iron."
"The Land of Iron?"
"Yes!" Onoki said helplessly. "We need General Mifune from the Land of Iron to step in."
After some thought, the Raikage reluctantly nodded. "Anyone will do. I just want to get my brother back as soon as possible."
He was genuinely worried about Killer Bee.
The Land of Iron.
A force ranked just below the top-tier ninja villages, it was a pure samurai nation. With no direct ties to any ninja village, it had gained the trust of many ninjas. Often, when the great ninja villages couldn't resolve issues, they'd turn to the Land of Iron for mediation.
However, in Itsuki's view, samurai weren't all that impressive.
At least in the original storyline, Mifune had surprised Itsuki. Mifune supported Danzo, disregarding his past and flatly rejecting the other Kages. That was quite something.
Onoki wasn't much older than Danzo—at most, four or five years. Mifune's first reason for rejecting Onoki was his age. Seriously? Were a few years that critical? Was being a few years older such a big deal?
As for Onoki's use of the Akatsuki, hadn't Danzo done the same?
The Akatsuki's very existence was largely due to Danzo's machinations. Even if Mifune didn't know Danzo's past deeds, he surely knew enough to be cautious. And yet, he was willing to trust such a person?
Clearly, Mifune had his own biases.
So when Itsuki received an invitation from Mifune to discuss an alliance, he gladly accepted. He was curious to see how this general of the Land of Iron, second only to the Five Great Shinobi Villages, would try to persuade him. Would there be any surprises?
Indeed!
A summit of the Five Kage was about to happen again.
With the imminent revival of the Ten-Tails and the Eye of the Moon plan, the Kages couldn't sit still. They were gathering to confront their common enemy: the Ten-Tails, the most powerful creature composed of the chakra of all nine-tailed beasts.
And the person reviving it claimed to be Uchiha Madara. Wouldn't he have other tricks up his sleeve?
…
Just as Itsuki returned to the Hidden Fire Village, news from the Land of Iron arrived.
It was said that Higakure had agreed to the summit, and Kakashi had already set out for the Land of Iron.
Now, it was up to the Hidden Fire, Sand, and Mist villages.
These were all under Itsuki's influence.
"Itachi, come with me," Itsuki said after some thought. "Konan, you too. You can represent the Hidden Rain."
"Alright!" Konan agreed without hesitation. "Shall I go in person?"
"Do you have to be so dramatic?" Itsuki grumbled.
He had often sent Konan's clone to handle tasks, which had made her a bit upset. Even though there wasn't much difference between a clone and the real body, there were some things only the real body could do. Konan had protested several times, only to be shut down by Itsuki.
Having been suppressed for so long, Konan was understandably frustrated.
"Hmph!"
"Safe travels, Mokukage-sama!" Fugaku said helplessly as he looked at Itsuki. "But Mokukage-sama, what about those people?"
Following Itsuki back were several members of the Akatsuki, each proud and powerful. Seeing them gave Fugaku a headache.
"Just give Kakuzu the proposal I left in my office. That should settle him. As for the others, give Sasori a lab, don't worry about Juzo, and if Deidara is too much for you to handle, call in Guren," Itsuki instructed. "You, Guren, and Shisui should be able to keep them under control."
After all, the Akatsuki members weren't here to cause trouble.
"Understood!"
"Alright, we're off!"
Itsuki was quite excited. This was the legendary Five Kage Summit.
So interesting!
…
"How's it going?"
Obito's face was dark as he asked, "You still can't seal the Eight-Tails?"
"No," Zetsu replied with a grim expression. "I don't know what Uchiha Itsuki did to the Eight-Tails, but there's a strong force resisting. Whenever I start the sealing process or try to control the Ten-Tails to deal with the Eight-Tails, that force disrupts everything."
"So what do we do now?"
Obito fumed. "After all the trouble of gathering the tailed beasts, you're telling me we can only stand here and watch? Damn it!"
"I'm frustrated too!" Zetsu snapped.
Of course, I'm anxious! I'm so close to seeing Mother again, just one thin barrier away. If I could break through it, I'd see her, but I still can't. Who can understand my feelings?
Zetsu paced angrily.
The Eight-Tails couldn't be sealed into the Ten-Tails, and the Ten-Tails couldn't devour the Eight-Tails!
It was ridiculous.
Obito couldn't believe it. The Ten-Tails was on another level, yet Uchiha Itsuki's interference had created an impassable barrier between him and the Ten-Tails.
"But…"
Zetsu's tone suddenly changed. "Although we can't seal it directly, I've found another way. However, it will take time to revive the Ten-Tails."
"How much time?"
Obito didn't care about the details. As long as the Ten-Tails was revived, that's all that mattered. The moment the Ten-Tails was revived, his alliance with Zetsu would end.
"A month," Zetsu answered. "If you can get me the Six Paths' tools from the Hidden Cloud, I can halve that time."
"I'll try!"
Obito's eyes were filled with seriousness. The Hidden Cloud was not an easy village to mess with, especially since he had already used his powers in front of the Raikage multiple times. He wasn't sure if the Raikage had found a way to counter him, considering the man possessed the fastest speed in the ninja world.
"Good… Who's there?!"
Zetsu had just agreed when he suddenly shouted and whipped his head to the side.
"Hehe, Obito-kun, no need to be so tense. We've met before, remember?"
Orochimaru's distinctive voice echoed in Obito's ears.
A figure emerged from the ground, looking smugly at Obito.
"Orochimaru!"
Obito's face darkened. "You actually found me."
He shot a glare at Zetsu. Hadn't Zetsu assured him that Uchiha Itsuki couldn't possibly find them? What was this then? Orochimaru had come knocking on their door.
Zetsu, too, was in shock!
The ninja world was becoming unrecognizable to him. Orochimaru had developed the ability to find them, despite all the precautions Zetsu had taken to hide from Uchiha Itsuki. He had used every trick in the book to block Itsuki's Flying Thunder God technique. Yet, somehow, Orochimaru had still managed to get in.
How had he done it?
Zetsu stared at Orochimaru in disbelief, his expression odd.
(Chapter End)