Roshi fully believed Black Zetsu's words.
For one, it was Black Zetsu who rescued him from the Rock ninja village—a place filled with hatred—allowing him to see the light of day again.
And secondly, Black Zetsu seemed quite reliable, at least in the eyes of a ten-year-old boy.
Thus, while running, he began trying to communicate with the Four-Tails sealed inside him.
But Black Zetsu knew better. He also knew how terrifying Akaba's mastery of Water Releases truly was. That kid was a genius through and through. Roshi, as skilled as he had become, simply couldn't stand up against him.
He never really expected Roshi to escape. His only thought was that if he himself had to leave, he couldn't let Konoha or the Rock ninja village obtain a complete jinchuriki.
If Roshi were to actively release the tailed beast—even fully unleash it—Konoha would have no choice but to reseal the Four-Tails.
And once that happened, who knows what kind of ownership disputes might arise over the beast?
Hehehe, could the Rock and Leaf villages remain peaceful then?
As for Roshi himself? Just a tool. Since he couldn't be taken along, using him one last time until he was worn out was still putting him to good use.
Black Zetsu secretly mused.
Akaba didn't know what Black Zetsu was thinking, but he did know this guy was full of bad intentions. From the surging, chaotic chakra alone, he could tell that Roshi's current state was off.
That kind of energy likely meant forced Tailed Beast Transformation.
He mentally cursed to himself.
In the past, Akaba might not have had any option besides controlling things through his Kaleidoscope Sharingan. But now it was different—Roshi was just a ten-year-old child, so mentally manipulating him wasn't hard at all.
Of course, doing it alone wouldn't work.
Even though his Kekkei Genkai illusion technique was powerful, in this case there were two interfering factors—both the tailed beast and Black Zetsu. The success rate would be low. Therefore, he needed to rely on the power of Yumekuma.
He cast the Summoning Technique.
Little Yumekuma emerged from the summoning circle, immediately finding itself speeding forward.
"Hey Akaba, did you summon me here just for a joyride?" the little creature asked naively.
"No nonsense. Quickly, use your secret art and assist me in placing the three targets ahead under genjutsu."
The three targets were precisely Roshi, the Four-Tails, and Black Zetsu.
Akaba gathered his spiritual energy, felt the mental link established by Yumekuma's secret technique, and quickly took out his sketchpad. Still on the run, he began sketching.
Although he could directly apply illusions, using physical mediums significantly boosted their power—especially since his brush and sketchpad were both Chakra Weapons.
The next second, Roshi stiffened slightly, his chakra suddenly grinding to a halt.
At the same time, Black Zetsu fell into an illusion too.
His illusion was quite peculiar—it resembled an anime. It started with a massive mountain crashing down from the heavens, pinning a woman beneath it. Then came a scene where a child wept endlessly...
What does this mean?
Feeling like Akaba must've had some intention behind this, Black Zetsu vaguely suspected what the illusion referred to. Originally, he intended to break free immediately. Yet upon seeing the opening scene, his curiosity got the better of him—he wanted to keep watching a bit more.
But then—
It was gone!
The illusion vanished!
Surprised and confused, Black Zetsu quickly broke out of it.
It hadn't been difficult. After all, his body was unusually unique; genjutsu didn't affect him all that strongly. Plus, Akaba was trying to control three targets at once. Black Zetsu wasn't his main focus—the bulk of the illusion came from Little Yumekuma anyway.
That's why the tale of *Chen Xiang Rescuing His Mother* (*a famous Chinese legend about a boy who rescues his mother trapped under a mountain*) was used—to serve as a distraction and buy some time.
Now, it was no longer necessary.
Since Akaba had already subdued Roshi, he was now fully focused on dealing with the Four-Tails inside him.
The Four-Tails had been locked away tight until Roshi tried to break its seal earlier, which left it slightly weakened. Now both were under genjutsu control—where was the beast's strength to cause trouble?
Black Zetsu gritted his teeth.
"What the hell are you trying to show me?!"
This was the first time he spoke directly to Akaba.
Damn it, this guy not only messed up his plan but also gave him a story with no beginning or end. Yet strangely, he really wanted to know the story's content.
"Want to know? Then guess."
Akaba smiled faintly and instantly appeared in front of Roshi.
He created Multiple Shadow Clones; the original focused on suppressing with genjutsu while a clone used the Five Elements Sealing Technique, attempting to disrupt Roshi's chakra flow.
However,
At that moment, Black Zetsu started manipulating the chakra within Roshi.
Fire and Earth chakra.
Combined—
[Magma Release: Lava Streaming Rock Technique].
Akaba frowned slightly. The shadow clone hastily changed hand seals, shifting from sealing technique to water prison technique... (Note: ".com" likely an error in source text)
Before "Roshi" could spew magma, a massive water prison trapped him.
Soon after—
[Goro Goro no Mi]—Lightning.
Such a gullible idiot deserved a shocking lesson from the Goro Goro no Mi!
The water prison itself had binding properties. Especially when performed by Akaba, combined with the power of Goro Goro no Mi, soon enough Roshi let out a sharp scream and broke free from the genjutsu.
Next second, Akaba quickly formed seals.
Years of hand seal training paid off—his hand seal formation speed was incredible. In moments, he completed the sealing technique.
[Five Elements Sealing Technique]!
With one sealing jutsu, the tailed beast's chakra within Roshi was restrained.
Seeing the situation go bad, Black Zetsu detached from Roshi to escape. Akaba wouldn't let him get off so easily. His arm transformed into lightning as he reached out to grab.
Zzzzt!
"Tch, brat! I won't let this go!"
Black Zetsu's body had unique qualities—the Goro Goro no Mi could hurt him, but not fatally. After all, he could fuse with earth, using it to conduct and disperse the electricity, reducing damage.
Therefore,
Black Zetsu still managed to escape.
But Akaba wasn't worried. Capturing him wouldn't be easy. That guy was slicker than oil—if Mito Uzumaki were here with her top-tier sealing techniques maybe there'd be hope.
As for himself?
Forget it—unless using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
Akaba valued his life highly. For now, he didn't want mutual destruction with Black Zetsu, so he could only watch the guy leave.
Still, messing with Black Zetsu through genjutsu and giving him some electric therapy pain wasn't a bad result at all. Plus the mission had succeeded—
Four-Tails Jinchuriki captured alive.
"Sir, over here!"
"It's finished. Contact others—we're pulling back to the village."
Maintaining the Water Prison, Akaba extended his other hand to give Roshi several more shocks. Roshi's hair turned blackened and frizzy, muscles twitching violently.
When the arriving Military Police arrived, they gulped hard.
Locked in Water Prison, then electrified through water's conductivity—
What brutality!
And that was just a Jinchuriki. If they'd gone through the same, they probably wouldn't have walked away intact.
After several more seconds of electroshock therapy, Akaba finally released the technique, lifting the effect of Water Prison.
Roshi lay on the ground unconscious, his muscles twitching involuntarily from prolonged electric shocks.
"Pity this technique won't work on Madara. Otherwise I'd love letting him experience Yang Release's power too."
Akaba sighed regretfully.
Certainly.
The Goro Goro no Mi could combine not only with Water Prison. In fact, most Water Release techniques could merge with it because the Devil Fruit ability wasn't ninjutsu—it required no hand seals at all.
While searching proved difficult, returning was simple.
Through military police stations and outposts, news spread rapidly across all sectors. As for Akaba, he'd already returned to Konoha carrying Roshi ahead of time.
For this mission, he'd released the Yin Seal, drawing upon some chakra reserves.
Back in Konoha, Akaba kept thinking about the legend of Xiang Chen rescuing his mother—a famous Chinese myth where a boy defied gods to save his divine mother—wondering whether Black Zetsu had understood that story.
Imprisoning Sansheng Mu beneath a mountain was essentially Kaguya otsutsuki herself.
Black Zetsu probably did understand; otherwise he wouldn't have cursed so bitterly while leaving. Having lived for over a millennium, he'd perfected an unreadable poker face, allowing emotions to surface only when matters touched his deepest concerns.
"It's time to give him a scare. My Eternal Kaleidoscope Sharingan is nearly ready. Once I transplant that, obtaining Hashirama Cells and the Rinnegan will allow me to fully control the Rinnegan without side effects. As long as I avoid becoming Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, what do I fear from Black Zetsu?"
A cold gleam flashed through Akaba's eyes.
Cunning opponents were tough to handle, especially calculating ones like Black Zetsu who could survive anything. He needed to provoke him first, forcing this calm enemy to lose control so a critical weakness might show through.
Regarding the Rinnegan...
Unlike Madara, Akaba possessed Uzumaki clan stamina. With his Eternal Mangekyou, integrating Hashirama Cells would become significantly easier without having to endure unbearable pain.
The Rinnegan was practically his!
Dragging Roshi like a broken sack, Akaba made straight for Anbu HQ despite the late hour.
Within seconds, an Anbu operative appeared.
"This man is the Four-Tails Jinchuriki. Call Sealing Team immediately for custody. Wait for Hokage's orders regarding further disposition."
"Understood!"
Not daring to slack off, the Anbu operative quickly signaled reinforcements. Soon several masked ninjas arrived, escorting Roshi into the Anbu Base.
Since Roshi had already been subjected to Five Elements Seal, there was no concern about him waking up and escaping temporarily.
If they couldn't even handle someone like this, Anbu would've been wiped out by Danzo long ago.
Akaba felt exhausted.
Extremely long-distance Flying Thunder God transportation drained significant chakra, especially carrying a jinchuriki back home. Plus he never considered himself particularly diligent, wanting nothing more than going home for sleep right now.
Because it was time.
Going on missions at night was unprecedented since becoming a ninja.
Earlier during the fight, fatigue hadn't bothered him, but returning to the village suddenly made him extremely sleepy, longing for immediate rest.
He knew, however, that The Third might still be awake tonight.
Though capturing a jinchuriki who'd fled to Land of Fire varied in importance, Konoha's determination to capture meant strategic significance for village security, thus keeping its leader deeply concerned.
Unless important developments came tonight, The Third would probably struggle falling asleep.
These were none of Akaba's concern. The Anbu would immediately report the matter of capturing the jinchuriki, and the information would surely reach Danzo sooner or later, no matter where he was hiding.
The Four-Tails belonged to the Rock Village. It would be unrealistic for Konoha to attempt a direct seizure, as this would provoke hatred from most other ninja villages and could trigger the Second Great Ninja War earlier than expected.
Most likely, it would come down to an exchange of interests.
But securing a living Jinchuriki would definitely cost Onoki dearly.
Akaba returned home and didn't dwell on these matters for long. He took a quick shower before heading to bed. Time to get some good, long rest.
By the next morning when he woke up, Izumi Yamano's latest update should have already arrived.
Thinking about it, there would surely be chaos again.
After all, tomorrow's manga chapter, "[Jiraiya]" would feature many explosive elements.
For instance, [Sage Mode] and [Sage Art].
What The Third and Danzo desired most right now were precisely these two abilities. Once the next chapter drops, they might finally figure out what the 'Three Sacred Lands' truly mean — each Sacred Land contained the secrets to achieving Sage Mode!
At that point, Jiraiya and Orochimaru both would have plenty of chances to cause chaos.
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