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Chapter 99N
🕑 Added 2025-07-15 16:00:39 +0000 UTCChapter 99N
2-in-1-chapter
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The wooden figure that appeared momentarily vanished, and the towering rock and earth platform in the forest was destroyed, leaving only a low stump. Uchiha Obito, along with his severed hand, disappeared as well—likely taken away by Zetsu. Samehada preferred to devour high-quality chakra, not flesh, so it had merely grabbed the Gunbai.
But thinking carefully, What was cut off was Obito's right hand, not the incomplete Sage Body of his left side.
Even if it had been the left hand, honestly, it wouldn’t rank high among today’s spoils.
This time, the most valuable gain was the Gunbai in hand.
Standing atop that low mound, Rēn carefully examined the Gunbai. Shaped like a gourd, with black edges and a moon-white fan surface, at the top were two patterns on either side depicting six tomoe in the style of the Sharingan. The long handle was wrapped with bandages, and the end was fitted with an iron clasp.
Aside from the clearly added iron clasp, the entire Gunbai appeared seamless, neither metal nor iron, hard and resilient in texture.
"The branch of the God Tree, is it?"
Rēn gripped the Gunbai tightly.
His eyes shone brilliantly, and the smile at the corner of his lips could hardly be restrained. He gently caressed this treasure symbolizing a thousand years of Uchiha history and glory. His cautious, tender touch was arguably only the second time in his life he had shown such care—the first being when he received Fujika from his mother's arms before she was even one hundred days old.
If not for the self-control he had cultivated over the years, he probably would have already burst into loud laughter.
The branch of the God Tree— This was a branch of the God Tree itself!
Even the tailed beasts were but fragments of the God Tree’s power, expressible by the equation:
The power of the nine tailed beasts + the shell of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path = Ten-Tails (God Tree).
And this Gunbai that Rēn held was forged from a branch taken when the God Tree was whole. It looked small, far less imposing and terrifying than the tailed beasts, yet in essence, the power of the Uchiha’s Gunbai was more complete than that of the tailed beasts.
Though small in form, it contained abundant information and secrets.
The moment Rēn grasped the fan, he immediately activated The Knight Does Not Die Empty-Handed, erasing all the marks left by predecessors and fully bringing it under his dominion, resulting in indescribable joy.
In the future, perhaps much would depend on this Gunbai.
After admiring it for some time, Rēn decisively replaced Samehada and strapped the Gunbai to his back. His crimson layered armor had been custom-made by the elders of his clan in imitation of Uchiha Madara’s armor, though Rēn couldn’t guess what kind of expectations they held for him. Even the clasp for carrying the Gunbai had been retained.
This made things convenient for Rēn, sparing him from having to seal the Gunbai into a scroll or carry it in hand at all times.
As for Samehada,
Once the summoning was released, Samehada returned to the Konoha Police Force. Rēn had long instructed his subordinates to periodically take Samehada to Konoha Prison for “feeding.” Though the chakra quality there was average, its sheer quantity and stable supply made it sufficient to replenish Samehada’s chakra consumption.
Samehada was no tailed beast; its chakra was not self-generated but plundered from external sources. If nothing was replenished, even Samehada would eventually run dry.
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"Yagura Karatachi!"
A shadow backlit by the sun fell over the desolate ground, enveloping Yagura Karatachi.
After being crushed under the colossal body of the Three-Tails, no grass or trees remained. When he released his tailed beast transformation, Yagura Karatachi lay for a long time, unattended on this barren earth. Black Zetsu had only rescued Uchiha Obito and had no time to concern himself with a mere Three-Tails Jinchūriki and Fourth Mizukage.
Or rather,
He dared not retrieve Yagura Karatachi, fearing Rēn’s power.
"Second war trophy."
Rēn reached down and grabbed Yagura Karatachi, quickly striding toward Black Tide Mountain Castle. Truthfully, even Rēn himself felt the situation had become a tangled mess. This war with Kirigakure seemed increasingly strange.
The shinobi armies below hadn’t yet engaged in large-scale combat, yet the two commanders had already fought a decisive battle.
To be honest,
With the Fourth Mizukage and Three-Tails Jinchūriki now in Rēn’s hands, there was no suspense left in the war. Kirigakure could not possibly defeat Konoha. But that didn’t mean the war itself would necessarily end here.
How best to leverage Yagura Karatachi was not Rēn’s area of expertise,
It was the job of his staff officers.
There was no reason for him, the commander-in-chief, to handle everything personally while the subordinates sat idle.
Therefore,
After a final inspection to confirm nothing had been overlooked, he headed back to Black Tide Mountain Castle to rendezvous with his subordinates. By now, the main army was likely arriving as well. There were still pressing matters to handle—after all, the complete annihilation of the eastern border defense force’s command center awaited his attention.
Thinking of these troublesome matters gave Rēn a slight headache.
He retraced his path—The irregular route he had violently carved out in his fight against the semi-tailed beast transformed Yagura Karatachi—
And returned to the old Black Tide Mountain Castle.
Unlike when he had left, when it was a desolate place of corpses and vultures, it was now bustling and alive.
Looking around, everywhere were Konoha shinobi in green flak jackets, clearing the rubble from the collapsed main gate and collecting the bodies of fallen comrades from the border defense force. The dead were laid in one corner of the open ground, covered with white cloth, clearly awaiting a collective burial.
He even spotted his only disciple sitting under the shade of a tree, reading a book.
"Master!"
Kurama Yakumo felt the light dim before her, looked up from her book, and froze for a moment before breaking into a happy smile upon recognizing who stood before her.
"Why are you reading out here? Where’s Fujika? Didn’t she come with you?"
Rēn asked gently.
"The room was stuffy, so I came out for air. As for Fujika, she went to the training ground to practice swordsmanship with Chihaya-senpai. She invited me too, but my body already felt a bit too exhausted today, so I didn’t go." Despite her young age, she spoke clearly and logically.
Answering Rēn’s questions one by one.
"I see. Don’t worry, it won’t be long before you can train in swordsmanship alongside Fujika. When that time comes, I’ll personally teach you both."
Rēn gently ruffled the little girl’s hair.
At that moment, he heard the sound of hurried footsteps approaching and turned his head. As expected, a large crowd was advancing toward him.
At the front was Rēn’s deputy, the vice-commander of the several-thousand-strong army, Hyūga Masayuki, a sixty-something elder of the Hyūga clan’s main family, wearing traditional Hyūga attire with gray-white hair.
Behind this vigorous, brisk elder followed Aburame Shikuro, Yamanaka Mokuren, Akimichi Tōdō, Inuzuka Gaku, Nara Suzaku, Mimura Habaki, and other high-ranking officers.
"Lord Rēn!"
Hyūga Masayuki approached and bowed in greeting.
But his tone was less than cordial, even somewhat indignant.
In truth, Hyūga Masayuki was indeed in a foul mood. While en route, he had first received intelligence suggesting that Uchiha Rēn, the supreme commander of the army, had recklessly entered a trap set by the Kirigakure forces. Then came word that the eastern border defense force’s command center at Black Tide Mountain had been completely annihilated...
Were it not for the Uchiha clan’s jōnin assuring him repeatedly that their clan head was absolutely safe, Hyūga Masayuki had almost decided to forgo rest and immediately mobilize the army to search for Rēn!
Losing the command center alone was already an unimaginable headache.
If the supreme commander also went missing...What would be left to fight for?
Masayuki, as vice-commander, had no authority to command the proud jōnin of the Uchiha clan. Without Rēn, Konoha’s internal chaos would erupt before Kirigakure could even invade.
Fortunately, Uchiha Rēn had returned safely and appeared uninjured, allowing Masayuki to finally relax. But he was still determined to speak to Rēn about this recklessness. As commander-in-chief, Rēn’s every move affected the morale of thousands—he could not simply act on personal confidence in his own strength...
Wait?
As Masayuki composed his thoughts, something caught his eye—the body lying at Rēn’s feet.
No—it was a living person!
And judging by the face... wasn’t that the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi?
Ever since the Hyūga clan’s bitter defeat at the hands of the Kirigakure, they had paid close attention to Kirigakure intelligence. Though Masayuki had never met Yagura Karatachi, he had seen his portrait. A natural “baby face” like Yagura’s was rare and easily recognizable.
"Lord Rēn, is that the Fourth Mizukage?"
Before Masayuki could speak, Nara Suzaku asked the question on his behalf.
Clearly, Masayuki was not the only one to recognize Yagura Karatachi.
This jōnin of the Nara clan was Nara Shikaku’s cousin and served as chief staff officer in this war against Kirigakure. Interestingly, most of Rēn’s subordinates—Aburame Shikuro, Yamanaka Mokuren, Akimichi Tōdō, Inuzuka Gaku, and others—were all elite shinobi from Konoha’s prominent clans.
But,
Not a single clan head was among them.
Even Kurama Kumogumo, the staunch ally of the Uchiha, had not come. Instead, it was his younger brother Kurama Unkai, who stood quietly among the others.
After glancing around at the assembled leaders, Rēn gave a slight nod.
"That’s right—he is indeed the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi."
As he spoke, he stepped aside to reveal Yagura Karatachi, fully exposed to everyone’s view, still trapped in genjutsu and unable to free himself.
It really was the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi!
Everyone fell silent; no one had expected to see the Fourth Mizukage here. Was this a dream? Shouldn’t the Mizukage be stationed in Kirigakure right now? Even if he were to personally lead a campaign, shouldn’t he be surrounded by the heavy protection of the Mist shinobi army?
Why was he appearing here, at the very heart of the Konoha shinobi’s stronghold?
Hyūga Masayuki had already activated his Byakugan, Yamanaka Mokuren performed a clan secret technique, and the others each employed their own abilities. Anyone with sensory skills, seeing that Rēn gave tacit approval, all extended their senses toward the Fourth Mizukage, who appeared utterly defenseless. Then—
They “saw” that within Yagura Karatachi slumbered a vast, terrifying force!
That was unmistakably the chakra of a Tailed Beast!
“Lord Rēn, what exactly is going on?”
The veins bulged at the corners of Hyūga Masayuki’s eyes, his words coming quickly and urgently, unable to hide his turbulent emotions.
It wasn’t just Hyūga Masayuki who was eager to know what was happening; everyone else was also extremely curious, all wanting to understand why the Fourth Mizukage would appear here at this moment.
“Let’s find another place. This isn’t the place to talk.”
Rēn shook his head slightly.
He didn’t immediately answer to clear their doubts.
Hyūga Masayuki, Byakugan still active, froze for a moment and then noticed that within his 360-degree unobstructed field of vision, many people were coming and going. This was the main gate of the castle, and the shinobi passing through couldn’t help but cast curious glances their way. Fortunately, discipline was good—none dared approach to eavesdrop.
But Rēn was right.
This indeed wasn’t a good place for discussion.
“Then how about going to the tenshu?”
Hyūga Masayuki looked at Rēn, seeking his opinion.
Rēn raised his head, looking toward the highest point of Black Tide Mountain, the tenshu.
Black Tide Mountain Castle was the designated frontline command center. Even if the command center of the border defense forces had been annihilated, it wouldn’t halt the execution of the original plan. In fact, precisely because of this, it was all the more necessary to rebuild the command center here. Only then could they properly replace the destroyed command hub and, at the fastest possible speed, bring the border defense forces back under a new command system.
