The Uzumaki clan was known for their incredible vitality and stamina, as well as chakra reserves that far exceeded those of ordinary shinobi.
They also possessed the strongest sealing techniques in the entire shinobi world.
Their most famous one? The Dead Demon Consuming Seal. In the future, it would be used to seal away four Hokage—and Orochimaru's arms, too.
All things considered, the Uzumaki clan was basically tailor-made to hunt Tailed Beasts.
Even the strongest of them all—the Nine Tails—had been sealed within Uzumaki Mito and later Uzumaki Kushina, tightly restrained by their clan's Adamantine Sealing Chains. Over the years, it had never once truly broken free.
Since the time of the First Hokage, the Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Fire had formed an alliance.
More accurately, it was the Senju clan and the Uzumaki clan who had allied.
But after the Second Hokage died, the Senju faded into the background, and the Land of Whirlpools fell under siege from the other great nations.
Yagura had looked into the historical records. Nearly every hidden village except Konoha had taken part in that invasion.
And yet, Konoha had been the one that should have helped the most.
Despite the fact that their shinobi still wore the Uzumaki crest on their uniforms, they didn't send a single soldier—not one—to rescue their ally.
Yagura didn't immediately make any further comments. Instead, he smiled and said to the Third Raikage,
"So, you're after those lost sealing scrolls of the Uzumaki, huh? Speaking of which—how's your village's Eight Tails doing these days, Raikage-san?"
He figured the Raikage's interest in sealing techniques was at least partially due to the recent... incident with their uncooperative Tailed Beast.
In stark contrast, Yagura, as Kirigakure's jinchūriki, had his beast completely under control. He'd just finished a full-blown battle with the Raikage and come out on even footing.
With an easygoing smile, Yagura asked, "What about Orochimaru? Did you manage to catch him?"
"We located him," the Raikage said with narrowed eyes. "But we didn't capture him."
After all, the Eight Tails had needed to be suppressed at the time—and Orochimaru's ability to escape death was among the best in the shinobi world.
Yagura wasn't particularly surprised and brushed past the topic.
"Well, as long as the Eight Tails is sealed properly again, that's good news. Now you just need to find a suitable jinchūriki. I'd say the fact Orochimaru succeeded so easily was largely due to your last one not being up to standard."
His "easy-for-you-to-say" attitude made the Raikage want to punch him.
"Spare me the lecture."
With a good sense of what had happened on Kumogakure's end, the conversation around Orochimaru came to a close.
"Back to the Uzumaki," Yagura said. "If we do locate any hidden sealing scrolls, I've got no problem handing them over to you."
He didn't need them anyway.
What Yagura valued more than the Uzumaki's sealing jutsu... were the Uzumaki themselves.
Look at all the Uzumaki who'd shown up in the original story—Naruto, Nagato, even the 'weakest' one, Karin—none of them were ordinary.
As for any generational grudges from the clan's destruction, Kirigakure would sort that out later.
Those driven by revenge wouldn't survive. The ones who wanted to live... would.
The two villages aligned their interests.
Kumogakure agreed to withdraw its forces and began purchasing military supplies from Kirigakure.
Kirigakure, in turn, agreed to cooperate with Kumogakure in wiping out the remaining Uzumaki and seizing their advanced sealing techniques.
With both sides eager for peace, the negotiations progressed swiftly and smoothly.
This peace talk, hard-earned through battle, was going better than Yagura had expected.
The Third Raikage was a man of his word, someone who respected strength. He no longer looked down on Yagura.
With their visions aligned, the meeting came to a successful close.
The details of the peace treaty would have to be ironed out by the diplomats of both nations—something that couldn't be completed overnight, and not something for the two Kage to handle personally.
They shook hands.
Yagura couldn't help but reflect that this very hand had nearly chopped him in half just a few chapters ago.
The Third Raikage felt the same way. He never imagined he'd be sitting down as equals with a kid younger than his own son.
"Business is done. Now, I have a personal question I'd like to ask you, Mizukage."
Seeing the Raikage's gaze soften slightly, Yagura blinked.
"A personal question? Sure—so long as it's not classified."
"What is it about you that the Three Tails actually likes?"
"...Wow. You really don't beat around the bush, huh."
Yagura gave it some thought. Since Killer Bee would eventually become a jinchūriki and learn to control his beast, it wasn't too big a deal to answer this.
"Well," he said, his eyes glinting mischievously as he turned to his right shoulder. "Why not let the Three Tails answer that himself?"
[Yagura: Isobu, he's talking to you. Mind answering?]
[Isobu: …You just want to hear what I'll say too.]
[Yagura: Ehehe~]
With a puff of summoning smoke, a mini-sized Isobu—no bigger than a pet turtle—appeared on Yagura's shoulder.
His blood-red, expressionless fish eyes glared at the man in front of him with a mix of resentment and speechless disbelief.
This terrifying human with monstrous strength.
Isobu still remembered the hellish Liger Bomb-style attacks from their last fight. His shell had taken quite a beating.
For the Raikage, it was another paradigm shift. A Tailed Beast appearing outside its jinchūriki's body, casually hanging out—and getting along?
Another blow to his worldview.
The tiny Tailed Beast remained silent for a moment. Then, under the wide-eyed gaze of Yagura, who was watching him like an eager puppy, Isobu finally opened his mouth.
"…He's dumb."
Yagura's color drained. Dang—critical hit!!
Isobu continued, "He trusts me. Talks to me properly. Gives me freedom, doesn't restrict my movement. We go diving and swimming together."
Yagura had originally meant to tease Isobu a little.
But now he was the one feeling shy.
Isobu flicked his spiky, armored tail and gently scratched Yagura's now-blushing cheek.
"Also… he's talented. He can use my power."
With that, Isobu stopped talking, signaling that he was done.
Yagura, still blushing, absentmindedly rubbed the spot where the tail had touched him. He grinned, eyes crinkling.
"Hehe… You're making me blush here."
The tiny Tailed Beast wriggled under his touch and swatted back playfully with its tail.
The whole scene was… strangely wholesome.
The Raikage—who had just gone toe-to-toe with the Eight Tails in a brutal fight—felt like he was dreaming.
Even the Kumogakure guards nearby looked like they'd seen a ghost.
Isobu didn't stay long. After playing around for a bit, he vanished on his own.
Yagura, still rubbing his fingertips, turned back with a smile.
"You could use this as a reference when selecting your next jinchūriki."
"Mm."
After witnessing that surreal display, the Raikage had pretty much confirmed his choice.
"Thanks for the answer, Mizukage."
He gave Yagura a rare compliment. "Seems like, at least under your leadership, Kirigakure won't fall."
"Yep~ Definitely not!"
Yagura's eyes shifted to the scroll the Raikage had placed on the table.
"And this is…?"
"I believe in reciprocity. You left me with quite the injury back in battle, so I'm returning the favor with this."
The Raikage tapped the scroll. "You've heard of Shimura Danzo from Konoha, haven't you?"
Yagura's expression turned serious. "Yeah. I've heard of him."
"He sent me an invitation to join forces against Kirigakure."
The Raikage rose, accepting his Raikage hat from one of the nearby shinobi.
"Word is, Danzo's strongly opposed to Konoha purchasing weapons from your village."
Yagura shook his head with a chuckle. "Sounds like Shimura Danzo isn't exactly fond of us."
"Pretty much."
The Raikage didn't mince words. "They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend. But I didn't agree to work with him. I didn't two weeks ago, and I sure won't now. Compared to him—you're far more suited to be Kumogakure's ally."
Yagura: "I'm honored."
The Raikage had his own reasons for handing over Danzo's letter.
It wasn't just to repay Yagura for answering his Tailed Beast question.
It was also to show his sincerity and strengthen ties between Kirigakure and Kumogakure.
And to plant a seed of suspicion toward Konoha in Yagura's heart.
It might just lead to Kirigakure pulling away from Konoha and drawing closer to Kumogakure—shaping the course of the ongoing war.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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