"Madara-sama, do you really want me to go capture a Tailed Beast?"
Renya asked again, unwilling to accept it.
He knew well that most of the Tailed Beasts were sealed inside Jinchūriki, serving as each village's ultimate weapon of war.
If he were to recklessly seize one, it would be no different from declaring war on another shinobi village!
That was exactly how the future Akatsuki became the public enemy of the entire ninja world.
Sending him to capture eight Tailed Beasts was no different from making him single-handedly challenge every hidden village!
Renya had only awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, not the Rinnegan.
Besides, his Mangekyō was an ordinary one — excessive use could lead to blindness.
It was utterly impossible to complete such an enormous task.
More importantly, once he started capturing Tailed Beasts, word would inevitably reach Konoha.
If Senju Tobirama learned about it, things would get messy.
He had only found an excuse to leave the village, yet somehow ended up with a mission like this!
"I didn't say you have to capture them all at once," Uchiha Madara said, seeing through Renya's hesitation. "Catch one or two first. When the time comes, I'll join you."
This kid's eyes weren't Eternal Mangekyō — forcing him to capture all the Tailed Beasts would indeed be too much.
"Can't we just wait until the timing's right and go together?" Renya muttered under his breath.
The Jinchūriki were the villages' living weapons of war; they weren't going to be taken easily.
"No," Uchiha Madara said coldly. "The Tailed Beasts are an indispensable part of the plan. Go and capture one for now."
Since Renya had chosen to join the "Eye of the Moon" plan, he had to do something useful for it.
Uchiha Madara had no need for worthless allies!
Seeing that there was no way to refuse, Renya could only nod helplessly.
"I understand, Madara-sama."
For now, he could only capture one Tailed Beast to appease Madara.
At least that guy didn't demand all of them at once — so the situation wasn't as bad as it could be.
...
Madara couldn't possibly carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan this early; most likely, just as in the original timeline, he'd still need to use the Rinne Rebirth technique to return to life.
He was merely making Renya handle the preparations for what came next.
In that case, all Renya needed to do was wait ten or so years until Madara's time came to an end.
But Renya wouldn't let Madara's fate follow the same tragic path as in the original story. When the time came, he'd tell Madara the truth in advance and let him return to the village to live out his years in peace.
As for that pair of Rinnegan — he could keep them safe himself.
Leaving them with Madara would only be a waste. Better to make use of what remained.
After all, once his Mangekyō went blind, he could simply replace them with the Rinnegan.
Yes, that sounded like a perfect plan.
At that moment, Madara had no idea that someone was already scheming to take his eyes.
The next day, Renya set out on his mission to capture a Tailed Beast.
"Youth, I'll be waiting here for your return,"
Uchiha Madara said from the cave entrance, watching Renya's figure fade into the distance.
He was currently at a critical stage of awakening the Rinnegan and couldn't leave the cave for now.
Renya merely waved his hand casually.
Madara was truly cunning — carrying out the Eye of the Moon Plan behind Hashirama's back.
And here he was, stuck with the miserable task of catching Tailed Beasts.
Fortunately, he knew that the Three-Tails had remained in the wild for quite some time. Kirigakure had purchased the beast for a high price but had never managed to seal it into a Jinchūriki.
Most likely, it was still hiding in some lake within the Land of Water.
Renya also suspected that Kirigakure's lack of sealing expertise — and Uzushiogakure's downfall — were connected.
Uzushiogakure was an island nation across the sea from the Land of Fire, not far from the Land of Water.
Kirigakure, as a maritime power, had the most convenient means of invasion.
And it was one of the few villages to possess multiple Tailed Beasts simultaneously — both the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails.
That made it all the more likely that Uzushiogakure's destruction was tied to Kirigakure.
Of course, Renya didn't rule out the possibility that multiple nations had joined forces in that invasion.
Uzushiogakure's fall occurred around the time of the Second Great Ninja War — which, counting the years, wasn't far off now.
Since Uzushiogakure had been an ally of Konoha, maybe he could prevent that tragedy when the time came.
For now, his top priority was to capture the Three-Tails.
If Kirigakure lost it, perhaps they would abandon their plans to invade Uzushiogakure altogether.
...
A few days later.
After several years away, Renya once again set foot in the Land of Water.
The current Mizukage was no longer the First, but the Third.
He pulled up his hood to hide his face.
Even though activating his Sharingan would immediately reveal his identity, he still instinctively removed the forehead protector from his head.
He'd long since been expelled from the Uchiha clan — so what if someone recognized him?
An Uchiha infiltrating the Land of Water to capture a Tailed Beast had nothing to do with him.
Everyone knew he'd already joined the Senju clan.
If something went wrong, Konoha could just blame the Uchiha!
Renya had already planned to pin it all on them if his identity was exposed.
He began following the coastline, searching for any trace of the Three-Tails.
Vast lakes, abandoned ports, calm ocean waters — any of these could be its hiding place.
The process was far more difficult than he had imagined.
Not only did he need to track the beast, but he also had to evade Kirigakure's patrol squads.
He couldn't kill them — that would only alert the village.
So every time, he was forced to hide his presence.
Fortunately, these patrols weren't particularly strong and failed to notice him lurking nearby.
"Tch, what a pain," Renya muttered under his breath from a crevice between coral rocks, watching a team of Kirigakure shinobi pass in the distance.
Maybe it was the influence of his second personality, but several times he had to resist the urge to rush out and slaughter those patrols.
They were nothing but obstacles slowing down his search for the Three-Tails.
Still, he held back each time.
Killing those weaklings and alarming Kirigakure wasn't worth it.
He still needed to catch the Three-Tails within their territory.
...
A few days later, in the center of a vast mist-shrouded lake, Renya finally sensed an enormous chakra presence.
He didn't need to think twice — the Three-Tails was there.
"Found it!" Renya's eyes gleamed with excitement.
All he had to do was lure the creature out, control it with genjutsu, and bring it back to report mission success.
Or perhaps he could even force the Three-Tails into signing a summoning contract with him.
Though that came with a downside — if the beast were ever sealed into someone, it couldn't be summoned again.
Whatever. He'd catch it first, think later!
Renya didn't rush straight into the water — that was the Three-Tails' domain.
Instead, he climbed to a vantage point and began forming hand seals rapidly.
Tilting his head back, Renya exhaled a massive fireball that split into hundreds of smaller ones midair, transforming into a fiery rain that crashed down upon the lake.
Countless fireballs struck the surface, exploding into clouds of searing steam that briefly burned away the heavy mist covering the area.
The lake churned and boiled violently.
"ROAAARRRR!!!"
A thunderous roar, ancient and bestial, echoed from the depths below — shaking the very ground as waves rippled outward.
The Three-Tails had awakened.