RedX43
patreon
[Konoha2] Chapter 76: First Meeting with the Eight-Tails!
🕑 Added 2025-06-07 09:07:26 +0000 UTCWithin the Forest Domain, Hajime didn’t have to wait long before the Anbu squad arrived, along with Ryo and Ryōma right behind them.
The moment Ryo landed, he couldn't hold back her question. “Captain, did you catch that guy?”
Hajime shook his head. “He’s already entered the Land of Fields, and the intel has already been sent out through other means.”
After replying, he turned to the Anbu squad. “Why is there only one team chasing this time?”
The Anbu team leader quickly explained, “There were three squads in total. But the enemy also split into three merchant caravans, each heading in a different direction.”
“We detected ninja presence in this one, which is why we requested support. But the other two couldn’t be ignored either.”
Hajime nodded—now that made sense.
Still, thinking about the incident where Kushina Uzumaki was kidnapped by Kumo-nin and only rescued by Namikaze Minato near the border, Konoha really did seem like a sieve.
No wonder conspiracy theories abound—some even think Hiruzen Sarutobi allowed it to happen, just to pair Minato and Kushina together.
That kind of thinking really grinds one’s intelligence into the dirt.
But on further thought, during wartime, with Konoha’s main forces away from the village and Kushina graduating—which led to her surveillance being lifted—it’s not entirely unbelievable that she, like Naruto later on, could be easily abducted by Kumo-nin.
Shaking off the thought, Hajime said, “Report to Lord Third Hokage and Lord Danzō—the mission has failed.”
“Also, my clone will infiltrate Kumogakure and carry out retaliation against the Cloud Shinobi.”
“If I manage to find their jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails, there may be quite a surprise.”
Behind their masks, Ryo and the others were all stunned.
Wasn’t that... a bit too much?
The Anbu captain hesitated. “Um… shouldn’t something like this be reported to the Third Hokage before taking action?”
Hajime nodded. “Yes, it should.”
“But as a Root shinobi, I have the authority to act first and report later.”
“If Kumogakure dares to covet our Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki, then they should be prepared to endure our retaliation.”
“What, are you Anbu scared?”
One of the Anbu couldn’t help but retort, “A proper shinobi should obey orders from superiors, not act on their own.”
Hajime glanced at the one who spoke and said blandly, “Which is why you’ll never become a squad captain.”
The Anbu ninja: Can you not be this blunt?
Looking back at the Anbu captain, Hajime added, “If Anbu won’t do it, then we from Root will. All you need to do is report it to the Third Hokage.”
The Anbu captain sighed and nodded. “Understood. I’ll report everything truthfully to the Third Hokage.”
Hajime gave a slight nod, then turned to Aburame Ryōma. “Pegasus, go report to Lord Danzō.”
Ryōma nodded immediately.
Once the Anbu squad and Ryōma had left, Ryo asked, “Captain, do we still have something to do here?”
“Wait,” Hajime replied. “If the clone makes it back, the Cloud Shinobi will likely send pursuers.”
…
Passing through the Land of Fields, the Land of Hot Water, and the Land of the Moon—it was a long journey.
By the evening of the next day, Karu and the wood clone finally crossed into the Land of Lightning.
And it was there, in the Land of Lightning, that they finally caught up with the Kumo-nin spy.
Hajime didn’t even bother with an interrogation—he simply drew his blade and slit the spy’s throat.
Then, traveling through the night, by morning, the wood clone had transformed into a kunai hidden inside Karu’s ninja pouch and entered Kumogakure with him.
Hajime knew very well that Karu would soon be exposed. The Cloud would quickly sense something was wrong.
So if the Eight-Tails’ jinchūriki couldn’t be found fast enough, the mission’s objective would have to change.
If they were surrounded, the operation’s effect would be greatly diminished.
Despite all his earlier bravado—like he could take down the Third Raikage—Hajime did not underestimate the Cloud, especially not the Third Raikage.
With the current strength of his Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees, Hajime knew clearly—it would be broken through in seconds by the Third Raikage.
After all, the man’s chakra was on the level of a tailed beast.
And his speed and offensive power were among the very best in the shinobi world.
The Forest Domain wouldn’t be able to restrain him.
However, for now, the Eight-Tails’ jinchūriki in Kumogakure wasn’t under strict surveillance.
And Karu, as a Jōnin, was fairly familiar with the Eight-Tails’ jinchūriki—Killer B.
Leaping through the village, upon entering Kumogakure, Karu immediately made his way toward Killer B’s residence.
Meanwhile, the wood clone quietly transformed into a Kumo shinobi and tailed him from behind.
“Karu?”
On the street, a Kumo-nin spotted him and called out.
But Karu didn’t even glance back as he darted across the nearby rooftops.
“What’s with that guy? In such a hurry he didn’t even respond,” Kamiichi muttered, but didn’t think too much of it. He headed to a breakfast shop and coincidentally ran into another familiar jōnin, Bruce. He couldn’t help but say, “Hey, did you see Karu? That guy rushed by so early—no idea what’s going on with him.”
Bruce looked puzzled. “Wasn’t he out on a mission? He’s already back?”
“He was? Just got back maybe...?” Kamiichi frowned. “But he wasn’t headed toward the Raikage Building…”
As they spoke, both of them suddenly froze mid-bite—their faces changed as they sensed something was wrong.
Whoosh!
Leaving some money on the table, the two vanished from the spot.
—
On the other side.
Karu arrived outside Killer B’s residence just as B was stepping out the door.
Their eyes met at the entrance.
“Karu-senpai…?”
Killer B greeted him, but immediately sensed something off and furrowed his brow.
Though cautious, B wasn’t particularly alarmed. He was used to this.
He had long grown accustomed to the distance, fear, and even hostility others showed him.
Hiding in the corner, the wood clone formed the Ram seal with both hands.
At nearly the same moment, Karu began weaving hand signs as well.
B’s face changed drastically.
It was the first time a comrade from his own village had attacked him.
He jumped backward with a swift retreat, but vines shot out from the ground, wrapping tightly around his legs.
“This is… Wood Release technique!”
Before B could react, BOOM!—he was slammed into the ground.
Amid the swirling dust, more vines surged toward him.
ROAR!
Suddenly, a terrifying roar erupted. A powerful shockwave blasted outward, clearing the dust in an instant. The vines exploded under the intense pressure.
Karu was forced backward, gouging a deep trench in the ground beneath his feet.
At this moment, Killer B was already cloaked in a layer of crimson Tailed Beast chakra.
Boom!
The ground beneath him burst apart as B launched himself forward, straight toward Karu.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One vine after another exploded as B crashed through them.
But from all directions, even more vines sprang up, rising high and thick, binding B’s body once again.
This time, the vines began rapidly absorbing the Tailed Beast chakra from his body.
As a result, the forest of vines grew even faster. In the blink of an eye, a dense forest had formed around them.
But the wood clone frowned.
The next moment—
An overwhelming shockwave burst from the forest’s center. Trees were uprooted and exploded one by one.
In seconds, the entire Wood Release forest was flattened.
The clone looked on as a chakra-cloaked humanoid figure emerged—bearing eight writhing tails behind him and horns sprouting from his head.
He couldn’t help but silently marvel:
“As expected of the Eight-Tails’ jinchūriki!”
Wood Release – Nativity of a World of Trees!
Karu unleashed a massive torrent of chakra. From the earth, thick vines surged upward like a tidal wave, crashing toward Killer B.
Killer B opened his mouth and exhaled a stream of scorching air. In the next instant, his eight tails swept up a raging gale as he shot forward like a cannonball.
RUMBLE!
The sprawling forest conjured by the Wood Release was torn through in an instant by the half–Tailed Beast–transformed Killer B. His back and arms were already beginning to show protruding white bone.
Lariat!
His bony arm swung down, aiming directly at Karu.
The rising wooden shield shattered under the blow. Karu was struck, his body instantly split in two.
But at that very moment, sharp, spiked wooden stakes burst from the ground around Killer B. The wood clone suddenly appeared, the kanji "座" glowing on his right palm, which he pressed against Killer B’s chest. In the next instant, he leapt backward, pulling out a long stream of glowing blue chakra.
Chakra surged into the air around them, as more stakes shot up from the ground.
The crimson Tailed Beast chakra cloak quickly peeled away from Killer B's body. His sanity returned completely as he blinked and muttered, “You’re… a Wood Release user…”
He realized now—it wasn’t Karu who attacked him. Karu had been controlled by this guy all along. It wasn’t a transformation jutsu like he’d originally thought.
“Damn it… I won’t let you get away with this!”
Killer B gritted his teeth, fury swelling in his chest. The Tailed Beast cloak, which had nearly disappeared, surged back to life, and his form began to swell larger and larger.
“He’s forcing a full release? Going into full Tailed Beast transformation and losing control?”
The wood clone’s heart tightened. He immediately began weaving hand signs.
Dreamwalker Technique!
In an instant, the frenzied Killer B was placed under a powerful illusion.
The next moment, the wood clone’s consciousness appeared inside Killer B’s mindscape—standing before the enormous form of Gyūki, the Eight-Tails, who was bound in chains.
This was Killer B’s inner sealing realm.
ROAR!
Gyūki let out a thunderous roar. The winds surged wildly, blasting the wood clone’s mask apart and sweeping his long hair back like streamers.
However, under the enhanced Total Concentration state, the wood clone’s spiritual consciousness was more focused than ever. He withstood the roar without dissipating.
“Eight-Tails. Nice to meet you!”
The wood clone smiled and greeted him.
Gyūki lowered his gaze at the little human before him. “A brat with the power of Hashirama Senju… What do you want?”
The wood clone chuckled, “I want to borrow your power… to send a message to the Third Raikage.”
Gyūki snorted coldly. “You think you can control me through B with just genjutsu? You must really think I’m weak!”
Gurgle…
Chakra boiled and surged around him as a miniature version of the Eight-Tails began to take shape.
Earlier, when Killer B willingly entered his berserk state, the seal had loosened slightly. Thanks to that, Gyūki could leak some of his power through the cracks, forming a clone to fight back against the wood clone.
But the wood clone moved faster.
His eyes flared with crimson light—so intense it pierced even the special contact lenses he wore.
“Sharingan...”
Gyūki was startled—but the next moment, he couldn’t resist the drowsiness washing over him.
—
Outside, the wood clone slowly released his hand and let out a quiet sigh of relief.
He had finally subdued the Eight-Tails.
Of course, had the beast not still been partially sealed, there’s no way he could’ve done it alone.
But now—
Both the Eight-Tails jinchūriki and the Eight-Tails itself were under his control.
Next step—
Time to test the strength of the Third Raikage.
(End of Chapter)
