Chapter 45: The Meaning of a Tailed Beast
"'That thing'"... or similar descriptions, are common terms in stories.
Usually, they're placeholders for settings that need a long build-up or can't be specified in the current situation. But because of a lack of skill, and the overuse of such terms by amateur writers, many of these "things" end up just giving people a "That's it?" feeling.
However, the "thing" that Hiiro Rinko and 'Vegeta' were vaguely referring to was a genuine 'taboo.'
The nine Tailed Beasts (Bijū).
The vast majority are held by the Five Great Hidden Villages, making them practically equivalent to the 'strategic nuclear deterrents' of his previous life.
The one Sunagakure possessed was the One-Tails, Shukaku.
However, the very fact that the Tailed Beasts, originally scattered, could be captured and distributed to the nations by Senju Hashirama at the First Five Kage Summit meant that he and Uchiha Madara could spin all nine of them on one hand like basketballs.
An uninformed person might think the Tailed Beasts' power wasn't that great, but that's ignoring the fact that no one in that era could beat those two demigods piloting their avatars.
As a 'deterrent,' the strategic value of a Tailed Beast was never to fight an enemy's top masters. It was to be unleashed to slaughter the lower-ranking forces or just level the terrain while the high-end fighters were tied up.
Even in the Five Great Hidden Villages, there weren't that many Jōnin. While Jōnin were the pillars, the true foundation was the Chūnin. A Jōnin, no matter how strong, couldn't replace the work of thousands of Chūnin and Genin.
Besides, after those two gods went 'beyond their time,' the number of people in the current Shinobi World who could go toe-to-toe with a Tailed Beast—excluding massive restrictions like location advantage or an entire sealing squad—could be counted on ten fingers. Even counting 'combinations,' it wouldn't exceed twenty.
On average, each village had maybe one to four masters of that level, and even fewer who could be freely deployed during wartime.
In this situation, the deterrent power of the Tailed Beasts becomes obvious.
Moreover, at this world's current level of productivity, if a Tailed Beast plowed through a main population center, not even one of the Five Great Nations would recover easily.
Plummeting population, uninhabitable land, a total collapse of production lines… Haha, just thinking about it is enough to make you tear your hair out.
It's a total wipe. Time to restart.
It's just that the Tailed Beasts, existing as wild beasts, are just as hard to tame. To wield their power, one must usually use indirect means, like sealing them into a 'Jinchūriki.'
And Sunagakure's Sealing Jutsu… well, everyone knows that story.
Sunagakure had only remained stable because its secrecy was decent, preventing other villages from getting a clear look at their hand, and because the Land of Wind held absolutely no value for an invasion.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have treated Rinko's original parents with such generosity.
"A Jinchūriki..."
Sitting on the office sofa, waiting for the Third Kazekage to write out the permission slip to meet the One-Tails Jinchūriki, Hiiro Rinko stared blankly at the ceiling.
He had actually seen a similar existence in his past life. That boy who ate Ryomen Sukuna's fingers was, in essence, no different from a Jinchūriki here. At the time, he'd even dug out the Naruto manga to re-read it.
He didn't care much for the plot, but he had paid close attention to the Tailed Beasts.
The reason was simple. When he first read about the Nine-Tails—having endured a thousand years of war, hatred, and betrayal, an aggregate of pure hate—it sounded just like a Cursed Spirit.
From 'Imaginary Vengeful Spirits' born from urban legends, to 'Overly Vengeful Spirits' tied to a specific person, to 'Specific Disease Cursed Spirits' born from plagues, to 'Incarnations' created by Cursed Objects...
Although he didn't use Cursed Spirit Manipulation, Rinko, with his techniques and skills, could process various types of Cursed Spirits into many interesting Cursed Tools.
Out of a desire for raw materials, he had even tried to cultivate Cursed Spirits himself for a while, but it was too time-consuming, so he gave up.
But then he read on and found out the Tailed Beasts were just chunks of an alien tree, with nothing to do with curses at all. Rinko had been thoroughly disgusted.
But he'd read that far, and he couldn't just waste the money he'd spent. Out of a sheer collector's obsession, he'd finished it.
Because of that, he still had a vague impression of the final boss.
Rinko vaguely remembered that the white-haired, three-eyed alien woman with the cute eyebrows was, indeed, absurdly overpowered.
It's just a shame she was an idiot.
Being locked on the moon for over a thousand years... even a super-alien who could traverse the universe would probably turn into a moron.
Besides, no matter how overpowered she was, if she couldn't get out, she might as well not exist.
And while his memory of the plot was vague, he definitely remembered that ultimate 'mama's boy's' grand plot.
In any case, the manga's timeline was never clear, so it didn't matter if he remembered it or not. As long as he knew what the troublemakers looked like and followed the flow of major world events, he could always find the clues.
So Hiiro Rinko wasn't worried at all. There was nothing he could interfere with right now. He just needed to enjoy his life with his family at a steady pace, steadily increase his status, and expand his influence.
"Alright. Just show this to the prison guards."
His reminiscence was broken. Rinko looked up at 'Vegeta,' who flicked the permission slip at him, and he caught it.
It was a special pass made of thick cardstock, with Iron Sand layered inside. The Third Kazekage could use his Magnet Release to manipulate the sand into a complex crest as proof of identity.
"Got it."
Even though he was about to meet the Jinchūriki of the One-Tails, Rinko wasn't nervous. After all, missions related to Tailed Beasts were usually S-Rank. For this to be handed to him—a kid who was, at best, at a Special Jōnin level—as an A-Rank mission, it clearly meant the Jinchūriki's condition wasn't a major concern.
"Oh, right. Considering the special nature of this mission, you don't have to wait. I'll count the mission pay as 600,000 Ryō. You can collect it with your research funding on your way out."
Yes! That's what I wanted to hear!
Hiiro Rinko, who was already at the door, instantly broke into an "all-according-to-plan" grin. He spun around and gave the Third Kazekage a brilliant smile.
"Hai~ Thank you for your generosity, Lord Kazekage! This humble servant will bow, scrape, and give his all for Sunagakure until his dying day~"
"...You know what? Just go back to calling me Vegeta. That tone is way too creepy."
"Oh, okay. Goodbye, Vegeta."