On the return journey, a group of Sky Ninja were grumbling loudly.
"Have Yabushi and his crew gone mad? Why would they offend their client like that!"
"I know right! Where else are we gonna find suckers like them again!"
"Now we've pissed off both Konoha and Cloud Village. Guess only Iwagakure will dare to hire us afterwards."
"Not sure even that's true. Those idiots have ruined our reputation completely!"
As they continued complaining bitterly, a lone Sky Ninja flying an aircraft approached them.
"Hold on! Give the password first!" one Sky Ninja shouted cautiously.
The approaching figure yelled enthusiastically, "Sweep away five nations!"
Hearing the correct response, the chunin instinctively replied, "Dominate the shinobi world!"
Though he'd already learned this answer from other Sky Ninja before, Seiki still felt somewhat speechless when saying it.
Should I call these people ignorant or fearless?
The others, however, were clearly delighted.
"Ha ha! Definitely one of our brothers who got separated."
"Can't blame us for being careful. How could any outsider possibly handle our aircraft so skillfully?"
Seiki didn't use Genjutsu to control this newcomer directly because Genjutsu was essentially "deception."
Sometimes, words could be more reliable than illusionary techniques.
After all, illusions could be dispelled, but words wouldn't disappear.
It was harder to convince people they had been deceived than actually deceiving them.
Especially for these Sky Ninja who had long lived in underground ruins, with almost zero social experience, after some casual chatting and heart-to-heart talk, everyone quickly became familiar with him.
Under Seiki's deliberate guidance, practically each person opened their hearts to him, feeling they had met too late; many even proactively suggesting he should become the next leader of the Sky Ninja.
"This just proves I didn't need Genjutsu at all," Seiki mused coolly. Deceiving these innocent and adorable Sky Ninja wasn't any harder than tricking Asuma back when they first entered the Academy.
Hmm, their emotional intelligence probably only equaled five-year-olds—no higher.
Before long, all the information they knew had been completely revealed, even details about what color underwear they wore.
From all this chatter, Seiki picked up on something that had slipped under his radar before.
"The Sky Ninja started their war preparations two years ago. Could it have something to do with the Chunin Exams incident?"
If that was indeed the case, Seiki wouldn't be surprised. After all, the situation had been chaotic then, and Konoha's focus had only been on the other four great ninja villages.
It made sense that the Sky Ninja took advantage of the chaos to retrieve the Zero-Tails resurrection scroll—which had originally belonged to the Sky Country but was seized by Konoha after its destruction.
They kept chatting happily the whole way back. When they reached the ruins, everyone waved fond goodbyes.
"Naruto, make sure to visit us often in the future!"
'Naruto' smiled and responded, then followed them into the ruins.
"Beep! Unit 2233, please enter the password!"
This password worked together with the aircraft; naturally, Seiki was well prepared.
"Ding! Verification successful. Welcome home, Unit 2233!"
...
Central Control Room.
"Lord Shinno, that's exactly what happened. Suddenly, a group of traitors launched indiscriminate attacks against Cloud Village!"
Hearing the news, Shinno's first reaction was disbelief.
He had personally brainwashed his followers. Everyone was taught to revere sacrifice as sacred; there was absolutely no way anyone would betray him after just one trip outside.
"Could it be genjutsu?" Having spent years outdoors, he indeed possessed broader insight than other Sky Ninja, quickly considering this possibility.
"Still, even if it were genjutsu, those Cloud Village warriors wouldn't listen to my explanation anyway. Forget it..." Shinno slightly shook his head. "Call everyone back. The revenge operation is temporarily canceled."
Thanks to the brainwashing education, his subordinates didn't entertain a single thought of doubt, immediately responding, "Yes!"
After his subordinate left, Shinno approached the control terminal behind him, gazing at the wriggling meat mass with a dazed expression. "What magnificent power... Unfortunately, this level of darkness can only bring about your preliminary resurrection!"
Just then, unexpectedly, that meat mass suddenly made a sound. "Who are you?"
Strangely enough, Shinno seemed not to hear its voice at all, continuing muttering to himself. Instead, a void beside him produced a voice.
"Indeed, merely manipulating the five senses isn't enough; I must also manipulate chakra perception! Hmm, further improvements are needed!"
"Although I've no clue what you're on about, you must be an enemy, right? And if that's true..." Zero-Tails' body suddenly expanded as it cackled sharply, "Then become my nourishment!"
However, Shinno suddenly flew into a rage. "Daring to betray me? Haven't you learned yet who your master is?"
Shinno made a hand sign, and immediately Zero-Tails began rolling in agony, roaring painfully.
"Ahhh, how could this happen?"
"Because in his eyes, the one you attacked isn't me!"
Meanwhile, Shinno appeared to have heard something else. Still furious, he opened a hidden compartment in a nearby pillar and retrieved a scroll.
The next moment, Seiki took the scroll from his hand, inspecting it curiously.
Unaware of anything unusual, Shinno furiously flipped through empty space. "Hmph! Seems like I need to place another seal on you!"
Witnessing this bizarre scene, even Zero-Tails—who feeds on darkness—felt an inexplicable sense of fear rising inside.
"Who exactly are you?"
It couldn't see its opponent, and the voice itself was clearly intended for it to hear. In such circumstances, even sensing the opponent's chakra existence proved useless.
Rather than answering, Seiki flipped through the scroll, muttering to himself, "This is an extremely ancient sealing technique. Seems somewhat outdated."
"You—you want to do what to meeee..."
Instantly, Seiki seized Zero-Tails' primary command authority, then completely concealed it.
After agonizing screams, Zero-Tails cast fearful eyes toward a certain direction. "Master!"
Yet even so, Seiki still refused to reveal himself, calmly sitting upon the throne instead.
"Tell me how you were born."
Seiki indeed found Zero-Tails' ability to consume negative chakra intriguing. From his memory, the creature within Hozuki Castle's Wish-Granting Casket—the one capable of reading minds—seemed somewhat similar to Zero-Tails.
"Apologies, Master. I can only fully regain my memories after achieving complete resurrection!"
Zero-Tails replied with evident anxiety.
Seiki didn't insist. Just like he hadn't opened the Wish-Granting Casket two years ago, some things shouldn't be rushed.
When no response came, Zero-Tails panicked, thinking its master might be angry. Without hesitation, it bit off a piece of its own flesh and eagerly tossed out the meaty lump, saying, "Master, my body can convert negative emotions into chakra. You can just use it as a chakra converter."
It quickly added, "This fragment has absolutely no consciousness and won't betray your trust at all."
Seiki gave a light chuckle. "You really think ahead."
Seeing that his master wasn't angry, Zero-Tails relaxed. "Is there anything else you need me to do, Master?"
"Protect this place!" Seiki stood up and walked toward the exit. "Until the vacancy period of Heaven's Throne ends!"
He was greatly looking forward to the moment when the airborne fortress, Anchorbandian, ascended into the skies.
After confirming the chakra had completely vanished, Zero-Tails finally sighed in relief.
"He possesses techniques far more terrifying than anyone I've ever seen, yet... why does the chakra I sense from him feel incredibly pure? Could it be that the darkest of darkness is actually light?"
Precisely because he sensed this purity did he feel tremendous fear toward his new master.
It was merely a creature that devoured darkness, while its master was the king who commanded darkness itself!
Thinking about this, it cast a contemptuous glance at the ignorant Shinno. "Compared to this ignorant fool who knows nothing, my true master is the one capable of commanding my power!"
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