Before long, most of the Tsuchigumo clan members had gathered in the clearing at the center of the village.
Soon after, they realized the village wasn't on fire at all—they had been tricked!
The villagers immediately began to complain and argue.
"Unbelievable! Which idiot said there was a fire? Did you trick us out here just to welcome her?"
"Wasn't she supposed to be living in the Katsuragi Fortress? Why come back here? She might as well stay there forever!"
"Exactly!"
"Just looking at her pisses me off!"
Then, a middle-aged man with considerable influence in the village stepped forward. He pressed both hands down, signaling for everyone to quiet down.
Shinju swept his gaze across the Tsuchigumo clan members' dissatisfied faces, then turned his eyes to the man and spoke directly.
"We are shinobi from Konohagakure. We received a mission to protect your secret jutsu and Hotaru."
"Now that we've safely brought them back to Tsuchigumo Village, our mission is complete."
"Good, good! Thank you for your hard work, you two Konoha shinobi. We'll protect both Hotaru and the secret technique!" The middle-aged man chuckled and nodded.
"You've both worked hard on this mission. Why not stay for a meal before leaving?"
Shinju, seeing that the man's attitude wasn't too bad, waved his hand.
"No need. We still have other matters to take care of."
With that, Shinju led Naruto, Utakata, and the others out of the village.
...
On the road out of the village, Naruto glanced back, then leaned close to Shinju and asked,
"Those people clearly don't welcome Utakata or old man Tonbee. Handing them over like that… do you really think it'll work? ( ¬､¬)"
Shinju shook his head. "Probably not."
He wasn't stupid. The looks those Tsuchigumo gave Utakata were filled with coldness and disdain.
It was the same as the cold stares he and Naruto had endured in their own childhood.
"But what can we do? We can't exactly keep her with us forever just to protect her. (°ー°〃)"
Naruto fell silent, deep in thought.
"Alright, next up we just need to swing by Kirigakure, and we'll pocket fifty million easy."
Shinju stretched lazily, his gaze landing softly on Utakata.
Utakata: (≖╻≖;)
"Wait a sec—are you looking at me, or are you looking at the money?! (▼ヘ▼#)"
Shinju admitted honestly. "Both. (◔◡◔)"
"Actually, I don't even need to take you back to Kirigakure to cash in."
As he spoke, his tone suddenly shifted.
Utakata frowned. "Then what do you want?"
Shinju said, "All you need to do is release the Six-Tails inside you. --003d_--003d"
Shinju knew Akatsuki wouldn't stop until they collected all the tailed beasts.
He didn't know their exact purpose this time, but it certainly wasn't for anything good.
That's why he had to stop Akatsuki from gathering the tailed beasts.
Leaving them in Jinchuriki wasn't safe—they could be captured anytime.
The safest way was the same as with the Three-Tails: seal the beast inside himself. (●´∇｀●)
"Release a tailed beast? Are you insane?"
Utakata glared at him. "The chakra of a tailed beast is overwhelming. Releasing it carelessly would spell disaster for civilians!"
"And besides, back then the Six-Tails was sealed inside me against my will. I don't even know how to undo the seal… (||๐_๐)"
Shinju waved a hand. "That's not your problem. I'll take care of it. ╮(￣▽￣)╭"
Utakata carefully studied the red-haired boy before him.
The calm confidence in his voice, the way he spoke as if the tailed beast was just some oversized toy…
And come to think of it, he probably did have that kind of strength.
After much deliberation, Utakata finally said,
"If you can guarantee that releasing the Six-Tails won't harm the world, then I'll let you do as you wish with it."
"Good."
Shinju's gaze softened with admiration.
It wasn't hard to tell—this Jinchuriki was truly kind-hearted!
...
Shinju piloted his aircraft, bringing Utakata deep into the mountains.
There, he used Wood Release to build a house and an operating room.
The ritual began shortly after.
Well-versed in sealing techniques, Shinju didn't intend to release the beast and then seal it again—that would be far too troublesome.
Instead, he planned to directly transfer the entire seal from Utakata's body into his own.
He pulled out a sheet of paper and drew a complex sealing inscription upon it.
Then, chanting softly, he began forming a long series of hand seals...
At last, the seals completed. Shinju shouted and thrust his right hand into the sealing talisman!
"Sealing Transfer Technique!"
"Whoosh—"
A massive surge of tailed beast chakra exploded, rushing straight into Shinju's body.
...
Outside the operating room.
Naruto, a little drowsy, wasn't too concerned about the noise. He smacked his lips, shut his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
Beside him, four bandit-nin who were bound by Shinju's Wood Release trembled under the crushing wave of tailed beast chakra, nearly losing control of their bladders.
Bandit A sobbed, "If I survive tonight, I swear I'll never do anything bad again! ꒦ິ^꒦ິ"
B said, "If I make it out alive, not only will I stop doing bad things, I'll even do one good deed a day! I'll help old ladies cross the street every day! （༎ຶ-༎ຶ）"
C said, "That's all fake. If I survive, I'll renounce the world and become a monk!! QAQ"
Before long, the terrifying chakra vanished.
The bandits breathed sighs of relief, grateful they'd survived.
...
Inside the operating room.
Shinju had completed the sealing transfer, moving the Six-Tails from Utakata's abdomen into the seal on his right hand...
Within Shinju's right-hand sealing space.
The bored, one-eyed turtle, the Three-Tails, suddenly perked up at the sight of the newly arrived Six-Tails slug. (´◊ω◊｀)
"Old friend, you're here too!"
Six-Tails: "If I had a choice, I wouldn't be. (:з」∠)"
...
Back outside, Utakata slowly opened his eyes.
Overjoyed, he asked, "It… it worked? Where's the Six-Tails?!"
Shinju raised his right hand with a smile. In the center of his palm, a strange sealing mark had appeared.
"It's been transferred to my hand."
Utakata couldn't help but exclaim, "Amazing! I didn't think the genius Shinju wasn't just skilled in ninjutsu, but in sealing techniques too!"
"Incredible!"
"But… the feeling I had during the sealing transfer… it felt strangely familiar..."
He frowned, lost in thought.
Shinju left the operating room, giving him time to think.
"Hah~"
Walking down the wooden corridor he'd built, Shinju yawned. He'd been working nonstop—time for some sleep.
He pushed open Naruto's bedroom door, only to find him holding a kunai, shaving the heads of the four bandits.
Shinju: "Hey, what the hell are you doing??? (꒪⌓꒪)"
Naruto shrugged. "Beats me. ┐(´-｀)┌"
"After that crazy tailed beast chakra surge, they begged me to shave their heads bald. Said they were renouncing the world and becoming monks..."
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo