Within the vast chamber inside the cave, all members of Yomagakure had gathered.
Natsume stood behind Yomi. Though unfamiliar to them, no one dared question his presence.
At most, they were simply curious.
Shimura Danzō arrived last.
He looked somewhat different from their previous meeting at the Dragon Vein in the Land of Wind.
Both of his eyes had returned to normal—
Or rather, ordinary.
It seemed he had exhausted his supply of Sharingan eyes.
Actually, this wasn't surprising.
Due to Natsume's interference, he gained nothing during the Uchiha Clan's extermination night.
Even the original pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan had been taken from him.
Thanks to Orochimaru supplying him with another set of Three-Tomoe Sharingan, he barely survived twice.
But now, Shimura Danzō had left Konoha and was no longer the leader of Root or the Hokage's assistant.
Given Orochimaru's nature, it was unlikely he would remain in contact.
After all, Danzō had lost his usefulness.
"Yomi."
Shimura Danzō walked forward and solemnly asked, "You've found a way to deal with the Jinchūriki?"
Previously, he only knew that Konoha had sent out Natsume, but didn't know that Kumogakure had dispatched Yugito Nii.
Mainly because she was too far away—his remaining Root members were few and scattered.
A few escaped notice within Konoha.
Only after Yugito Nii reached the Sealing Temple did Shimura Danzō learn about her being a Jinchūriki.
This troubled him greatly.
As for how he recognized Yugito as a Jinchūriki?
Because Kumogakure never attempted to conceal their Jinchūriki identities.
They were quite active both during wars and missions.
B and A had already become famous as the "AB combo" since the Third Great Ninja World War.
Of course, their combined efforts also contributed to spreading the legend of Minato Namikaze's Yellow Flash throughout the ninja world.
Though not as renowned as Killer B, Yugito Nii's files were still familiar to Danzo as a high-ranking Konoha official.
So he immediately recognized her.
After confirming with Yomi, he also found her troublesome.
If he could obtain Moryō, he wouldn't fear anyone.
But the prerequisite for obtaining Moryō was defeating Yugito Nii.
Thus forming a vicious cycle and deadlock.
"I've already figured something out."
Yomi nodded and said, "These past few days, I have conducted experiments using Dark Medical Ninjutsu. I finally made a breakthrough—it allows me to temporarily match a Jinchūriki's strength."
"Excellent."
He inwardly exhaled in relief, a grimace curling his aged face as he spoke, "Then I'll leave Yugito Nii to you."
Seeing Yomi's strength improving, he wisely added an honorific when addressing him.
Truthfully, he had looked down on this man before.
And still did now.
He was just using Yomi.
If Moryō proved truly invincible, he wouldn't hesitate to swallow his pride and serve under it.
That's right—Shimura Danzō considered Yomi both an associate and a rival.
He had decades of experience battling against Sarutobi Hiruzen and was confident he could outcompete him.
After all, Yomi was still far inferior to his old rival.
"You four will accompany me. The rest remain here."
Yomi glanced at the group and pointed at his four closest subordinates.
These were the only four who had undergone the Dark Medical Ninjutsu surgery,
Their strength rivaling that of Jonin.
Danzo Shimura remained silent.
After all, the others were practically useless.
Following them would be a suicide mission.
"Who is this…?"
Danzo Shimura noticed the unfamiliar Natsume.
"One of my subordinates."
Yomi casually explained, "He previously scouted the Land of Swamps to locate the Sealing Temple where Lord Moryo's body was sealed."
"Did he find it?"
Danzo Shimura studied Natsume carefully, eyes narrowing slightly.
"He found it."
Yomi nodded in response. "First, we extract Lord Moryo's soul, then head to the Land of Swamps."
Without a Sharingan, Danzo Shimura couldn't see through Natsume's disguise at all.
After staring for a while longer, he dismissed his suspicions.
He had always been prone to paranoia; being forced to flee from Konoha Village only worsened his already severe condition, stripping him of his sense of security.
The seven of them exited the cave and swiftly reached the Sealing Temple.
"There's a barrier."
Danzo Shimura warned.
He was the first one to detect it.
Among those present, excluding Natsume, he was the most powerful.
"No problem."
Yomi smiled confidently. "Begin."
The four behind him stepped forward immediately, hands forming seals.
[Fire Release: Goka Messhitsu!]
[Wind Release: Divine Wind!]
First came the flames,
Quickly spreading from both flanks and engulfing the front of the Sealing Temple.
Next surged whirlwinds fueled by chakra, following right after the fire.
At the moment the two walls of fire ceased, they merged directly with the flames.
Instantly, sparks burst skyward in a blazing eruption.
Even in daylight, the fiery vortex shone so brightly it lit up the entire area.
Kumogakure's barrier instantly revealed a faint dome-like appearance before shattering apart.
Still, it had bought valuable time for Yugito Nii and the others.
[Water Release: Water Formation Wall!]
Two Kumogakure Jonin swiftly performed hand seals.
From the land in front of the temple, two walls of water surged upward, blocking the fiery tornado.
The clash of water and fire sent a thick mist billowing into the air.
Yugito Nii lightly arched her eyebrows, swiftly locking onto enemy positions.
"They really are asking for death!"
Her voice carried the same regal arrogance as always, like a true queen.
The next moment, she sprang forward like a black panther.
"Careful!"
Four members of Yomagakure sensed danger closing in.
But it was useless.
Yugito appeared in the middle of their formation.
Her fingers extended sharply like feline claws.
Without hesitation, she struck left and right.
In an instant, two men were pierced through the chest, dying under her long nails.
Of course, these weren't ordinary fingernails—they were Matatabi's, the Two-Tailed Beast's claws.
Genuine giant cat claws.
Natsume watched with envy.
He had always wanted a cat.
Among the nine tailed beasts, the Two-Tails was the only one shaped like a cat.
And it wasn't even ugly—it was definitely the kind of creature you could stroke.
More importantly, Yugito Nii was a cat girl!
As a perfect Jinchuriki, she retained her catlike features even in human form.
Such as cat claws, a tail, and cat ears.
Having killed two enemies, Yugito Nii didn't even pause.
Her gleaming claws effortlessly cut down the remaining enemies.
After eliminating the four opponents, Yugito Nii turned her gaze toward Yomi and Danzo Shimura.
As for Natsume, she completely ignored him.
The earlier battle had already shown her that Yomagakure's strength truly wasn't much.
In fact, that was exactly the case.
Ninja from outside the Five Great Villages were worth only half as much.
Occasionally producing someone like Hanzo the Demi-God was the exception.
Well, Nagato and others weren't counted.
After all, some people received godlike powers directly.
Still, if one insisted on counting, Nagato and others were Jiraiya's disciples, having been trained to the standard of the Five Great Villages.
"Oh, so it's you?"
Yugito Nii sneered, "I never thought I'd see Danzo Shimura, Konoha's disgraced cur."
"What did you say?!"
Danzo Shimura's rage flared instantly, making his entire body tremble.
"A decrepit old fool driven off by a child—aren't you just a beaten dog?"
Yugito Nii paid no heed to his killing intent at all and continued taunting.
"Enough! You've angered me!"
Danzo Shimura's expression darkened as he stared at her. "I'll make sure you die painfully."
"Pfft! Big talk!"
Suddenly, gusts of wind erupted beneath Yugito Nii's feet as she appeared directly in front of Danzo Shimura. Her massive cat claw immediately slashed downward.
So fast!
Danzo Shimura actually had little experience fighting perfect jinchuriki.
Thus, he hadn't expected such speed from her first strike.
But still, he was an experienced jonin.
In the blink of an eye, his staff blocked her cat claw.
As Konoha's former Hokage candidate, his staff was naturally no ordinary object. Its durability made it more than suitable as a weapon.
A deafening collision rang out.
Danzo Shimura's pupils constricted. The immense force sent tremors through his body, causing him to involuntarily retreat several steps.
This power from a jinchuriki?
Or perhaps...am I really getting old?
His face grew even grimmer.
"Hmph, nothing special!"
Yugito Nii, however, looked proud and arrogant, looking down at him.
Though their heights were similar, her heels made her seem taller.
Upon hearing those words, Danzo Shimura flew into a rage.
[Wood Release: Violent Spear Trees!]
He swung his right arm.
Instantly, chakra enveloped his arm, and then a giant tree sprouted, towering three or four times over Danzo Shimura.
The moment the colossal tree formed, all its branches shot straight toward Yugito Nii.
"Wood Release?"
Yugito Nii wasn't alarmed—in fact, she was delighted.
She'd long heard tales of Natsume's Wood Release ravaging Sunagakure.
But seeing is believing—secondhand accounts mean little.
She'd been curious about Wood Release for quite some time and wanted to test its power firsthand.
She had originally planned to provoke Natsume into acting, but he held back.
Unexpectedly, Danzo Shimura had surprised her instead.
"Let's see just how powerful Konoha's Wood Release really is!"
Yugito Nii let out a soft snort, her entire body erupted in blue chakra. A blue tail sprouted from the base of her spine.
This was the most basic state of a jinchuriki.
They could channel the tailed beast's chakra.
Without a tailed beast cloak, it wasn't considered even a partial transformation.
Even so, the massive surge of chakra caused the air around her to tremble.
Both Yomi and Natsume instinctively took several steps backward.
Danzo Shimura, too, felt a suffocating pressure.
Fortunately, he had previous experience facing the Nine-Tailed Fox, so he wasn't completely overwhelmed.
[Fire Release: Rat Tama]!
Without even forming hand seals, Yugito Nii directly opened her mouth.
The blue chakra rapidly converged, transforming into a giant mouse-shaped fireball.
Though it resembled the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique—differing only in color—it was, in fact, entirely different.
Because this was essentially a ninjutsu technique used by the Two-Tailed Beast Matatabi.
As for why it took the form of a rat?
Likely because Matatabi preferred it that way.
The blue flames crashed into the giant tree, igniting it instantly into roaring flames.
In an instant, the surrounding temperature skyrocketed.
Blistering heat surged outward.
Danzo Shimura's face changed slightly. Though unwilling to show weakness, he still had no choice but to retreat.
Is that all?
A disappointed expression appeared on Yugito Nii's face.
She didn't understand what distinguished Natsume's Wood Release from Danzo Shimura's.
To her, Wood Release was Wood Release—there was no difference at all.
Therefore, she was convinced that Natsume had definitely exaggerated his abilities.
Perhaps he hadn't defeated the One-Tailed Shukaku and Kazekage Rasa single-handedly.
Maybe it was a coordinated ambush by multiple people.
But afterwards, he took full credit for it.
Such things were not unheard of among the Five Great Villages.
[Three Thousand Words]. P.S.: Three thousand words remain for today's ten-thousand-word goal; the rest will be posted this afternoon.
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