Chapter 198: The Nine-tails Jinchuriki Is Missing?
“What?!”
“This is impossible!”
“Absurd!”
Exclamations of surprise rang out almost simultaneously!
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, couldn’t help but reveal an incredulous shock!
He abruptly turned his head, his sharp gaze shooting like a spotlight toward Shimura Danzō sitting in the shadows to his side and rear!
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado instantly widened their eyes, abruptly turning their heads, their gazes all focusing on Shimura Danzō sitting on the other side of Hiruzen Sarutobi!
Shimura Danzō had originally closed that one eye, half his face hidden under shadows and bandages, presenting an air of being completely unconcerned and staying out of it.
At this moment, that one eye suddenly opened wide, the pupil contracting sharply like a startled venomous snake!
The skin under the bandages twitched violently, revealing for the first time an undisguisable, utter bewilderment and absurdity!
He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to scold harshly, but was choked by this sudden, inconceivable accusation, his throat tightening, unable to utter a single word, leaving only intense shock and rage leaping in that one eye.
“Dōtai Special Envoy!” Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his churning emotions, his voice restoring the dignity and steadiness befitting the Hokage, but carrying a hint of coldness.
“Please watch your words! Shimura Danzō is Konoha’s Advisor Elder, who has devoted his entire life to Konohagakure. Such a serious accusation, without irrefutable evidence, is a great slander and provocation against Konohagakure and Elder Shimura himself!”
Danzō finally found his voice at this moment, his one eye shooting out a sinister, icy gleam, his voice hoarse and full of oppression: “I am Shimura Danzō! I have never set foot in your Land of Lightning even half a step in my life! The Cloud Village has suffered such a great calamity, and I express deep sympathy. But if you want to splash dirty water on me and use this to make trouble for Konoha…”
He snorted coldly, his killing intent surging: “Produce evidence! Otherwise, Konoha will absolutely not let it rest!”
Facing the fierce reaction from Konoha’s high-level officials, Dōtai showed no retreat. He straightened his back, his voice resolute: “Evidence? Does eyewitness evidence count?! On the battlefield, that Shura, under the combined fierce assault of Lord Raiden, Killer Bee, and Yugito Nii, was forced to reveal his true form! He activated Tails Mode with the outerwear! And the characteristic of that Tails outerwear was nine perfectly clear Chakra tails!”
Dōtai’s voice suddenly rose, carrying absolute certainty: “Under the heavens, besides your Konoha’s Nine-Tails, which other Tails possesses nine tails?!”
As soon as these words were spoken, the reception room fell into brief silence once more.
But this time, the shock on the faces of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzō, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado was quickly replaced by absurdity and certainty.
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly shook his head, his tone exceptionally firm: “Dōtai Jonin, you have been blinded by hatred and the chaos of the battlefield in your judgment. The seal on the Nine-Tails is Konoha’s highest secret. However, I can clearly tell you that Shura absolutely cannot be Konoha’s Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, and Shura could not possibly use the Nine-Tails’ Tails Mode!”
Koharu Utatane pushed up her glasses, adding in an academically rigorous tone: “What your village saw must have been some unknown Ninjutsu disguise, or Shura stole some fragment of power related to the Nine-Tails, just like your village’s Gold Brother and Silver Brother back then, but it absolutely cannot be the true power of the Nine-Tails.”
Koharu Utatane deliberately mentioned Gold Brother and Silver Brother to say, don’t forget that your Cloud Village also had a fake Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
Homura Mitokado also chimed in, her tone carrying doubt: “Moreover, if Shura were truly Konoha’s Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, why would he attack Konoha? And why would he be under Elder Danzō’s manipulation? Dōtai Special Envoy, your village has suffered heavy losses this time, and your urgent need for an outlet amid grief is understandable. But to conclude it’s Konoha’s Nine-Tails based solely on ‘nine tails’ seen on the battlefield, and accuse our village’s elder, is far too hasty, even suspicious of using this opportunity to pressure Konoha and shift the crisis!”
Danzō let out a contemptuous snort: “Hmph! Clumsy framing! That Shura acts mysteriously, with endless means; imitating a few tails is no difficulty. The Cloud Village was outmatched, took a big loss, and now wants to splash dirty water on me and Konoha? What a fine scheme!”
Konoha’s high-level officials spoke one after another, their logic clear and attitude unyielding, refuting Dōtai’s accusation completely.
They firmly believed in the absoluteness of the Sealing Jutsu and had absolute faith in Danzō’s “innocence,” at least on the surface.
They were more inclined to believe this was the Cloud Village’s attempt to blackmail or shift contradictions after a crushing defeat.
Dōtai, seeing the certain and tough attitude of Konoha’s high-level officials, especially Danzō’s undisguised sinister killing intent, knew that further argument was pointless and would only completely tear the facade.
However, he had obtained the important intelligence he wanted.
Thus, Dōtai took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his surging rage, his face ashen, his one eye flashing with unwillingness and humiliation.
“Good! Fine Konoha!” Dōtai’s voice carried suppressed trembling: “Since your village is so evasive and protective, this negotiation ends here! I hope your village takes care! Let’s go!”
He abruptly waved his hand, striding out of the reception room with pent-up indignation, without looking back.
Xi and the other Cloud Village Ninjas followed closely behind. Before leaving, Xi’s calm eyes deeply swept over Konoha’s several high-level officials, especially Shimura Danzō, with a faint trace of inquiry in his gaze.
Watching the Cloud Village group leave in fury, Hiruzen Sarutobi wearily rubbed his brow and instructed the Anbu at the door: “See them off.”
Once the reception room’s door closed again, leaving only Konoha’s four high-level officials inside, the suppressed rage finally erupted.
“Outrageous! Simply bullying us too far!” Shimura Danzō slammed the table, his one eye flashing with cold light, brimming with killing intent.
“That damned Shura! Causing such a huge incident in the Cloud Village, yet daring to frame me! Is he declaring war on Konoha?!” Danzō’s face under the bandages twisted with anger.
Danzō couldn’t figure out where he had ever provoked Shura.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, picked up his fallen pipe, relit it, took a deep drag, and amid the swirling smoke, his voice carried soothing and gravity: “Danzō, calm down. This is clearly Shura’s scheme, intended to provoke strife between Konoha and the Cloud Village so he can reap the benefits. The Cloud Village has suffered such a heavy blow; Dōtai and the others are exasperated and lost calm judgment. We must not throw ourselves into disorder.”
“Hmph!” Danzō snorted coldly and also rose to leave the meeting room.
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Danzō’s departing back, his wrinkled face furrowed, and took up his pipe again, with wisps of blue smoke rising.
Advisor Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado sat upright, their expressions equally somber.
On the other side.
In the inn arranged by Konohagakure for the Cloud Village special envoy group, the atmosphere was equally oppressive.
Upon returning to the inn, Dōtai dismissed the other guards, leaving only Xi in the room.
He dropped the tough mask of the special envoy, sitting wearily by the low table, his one eye gazing at the prosperous street scene of Konoha outside the window, yet his gaze empty and cold.
This “strategist” of the Cloud Village had completely lost the earlier grief and rage, returning to his usual steadiness.
Xi, with his head of blond hair, quietly knelt across from him, posture respectful.
“Xi.” Dōtai’s voice carried a hint of hoarseness, breaking the silence: “In the meeting room earlier, did you sense anything?”
He knew well that Xi’s keen sensory ability was a key reliance for this trip.
Xi slightly lowered his head, his blond hair shimmering softly under the light. Recalling the details of the meeting, his voice clear and calm: “Reporting to Lord Dōtai, I was sensing throughout. Shimura Danzō’s aura… gloomy, obscure, carrying a heavy sense like decaying roots, full of scheming and… blood scent.”
“But completely different from the aura emitted by that Shura on the Hell Valley battlefield. Shura’s aura… violent, dark, profound, like a bottomless abyss, carrying a non-human, tangible Tails oppression. Their Chakra natures and mental fluctuations are entirely different; they absolutely cannot be the same person.”
Upon hearing this, a flash of understanding passed through Dōtai’s one eye, but he showed little surprise, as if it confirmed something.
He picked up the already cold teacup, took a sip, the bitter taste spreading on his tongue.
Xi, seeing Dōtai’s reaction, revealed a trace of bewilderment on his refined face: “Lord Dōtai, there is one thing I don’t understand. Now that the Cloud Village has suffered such a great calamity, with Lord Raiden and the two Jinchūriki Lords gravely injured, it is our weakest moment. Shouldn’t our trip be to seek an alliance with Konoha to jointly deal with that Shura threatening the entire Ninja World?”
“Or to guard against possible attacks from the Stone Village of the Land of Earth once they learn of our weakness?”
“Why… instead aggressively question Konoha, even accusing their elder?”
“Isn’t this… pushing a potential ally toward enmity?”
Dōtai set down the teacup, letting out a meaningful light hum.
Looking at the clever but still somewhat naive subordinate before him, a glint of an old schemer’s sharpness flashed in Dōtai’s one eye.
“Seeking alliance? Showing weakness for aid?” Dōtai’s voice was low and carried a hint of cruelty: “Xi, you are still too young.”
“The Ninja World has never been at peace. When you expose your wounds and show weakness, the surrounding countries will only pounce like more excited hungry wolves to tear and bite, rather than extend a helping hand.”
He paused, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table: “Onoki of the Stone Village, that two-scales old fox, has a keener nose than anyone. With such a big incident in the Cloud Village, he can’t possibly be unaware. The more we appear desperate for external aid now, the more convinced he’ll be that the Cloud Village is weak enough to be slaughtered! He will pounce without hesitation, biting off a chunk of us, or more!”
Dōtai’s one eye flashed with resolute light: “Therefore, we must instead appear even more ‘bared fangs and claws’! Like an injured porcupine: the weaker it is, the more it bristles all its spines! Use the fiercest attitude, even at the cost of creating friction, to question Konoha!”
“We must make Onoki, and all other Ninja Villages see, that although the Cloud Village is injured, it remains ferocious! Still mad enough to drag others down with it at all costs! Only then will they dread us, hesitate, and not dare easily strike! This is the way of survival through bluffing!”
“Moreover, we’re only quarreling with Konoha now, not war; Onoki won’t be the first to stick his neck out.”
“After all, in the last great war, the Stone Village was also nearly wiped out of a generation.”
Xi suddenly understood, a flash of admiration in his eyes: “I see! Lord Dōtai is profoundly farsighted! Then… your insistence on accusing Shimura Danzō and the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki…”
“That serves another purpose: probing!” Dōtai’s gaze sharpened: “Through the reactions of Konoha’s high-level officials, especially Hiruzen Sarutobi, I can basically confirm two things.”
“First, they know nothing about the Hell Valley battle; I deliberately got so many battle details wrong to observe their reactions.”
“So from that, I deduced the second point: Konoha’s Nine-Tails Jinchūriki has likely… gone missing!”
“Or at least, is in some state of loss of control!”
Xi showed confusion again: “Missing? Out of control? Why say that? Didn’t they insist…?”
Dōtai shook his head, revealing a cold smile of worldly insight: “Xi, not every Jinchūriki is like Killer Bee or Yugito Nii, able to reconcile with their Tails and become a Perfect Jinchūriki.”
“Most Jinchūriki are tragedies.”
Looking at the refined boy before him, Dōtai seemed to recall his own youth following the Third Raiden.
In the blink of an eye, he had grown old; the Fourth Raiden needed more young blood by his side, and Xi, this all-around Ninja proficient in three rare abilities—Illusion Technique, Medical Ninjutsu, and sensory Ninjutsu—was a key talent nurtured by the village.
Dōtai hoped he could grow into the Fourth Raiden’s ‘left hand.’
Thus, Dōtai patiently analyzed the great nations’ situations, Ninja Village relations, and Jinchūriki circumstances for Xi.
“The Jinchūriki of the major Ninja Villages, due to uncontrollable rampages, are always seen as monsters by the villagers, feared, rejected, even hated by them. They themselves endure the erosion of Tailed Beast Chakra and negative emotions, their spirits long in pain and suffering.”
His voice lowered, carrying a faint trace of pity: “Such people inevitably have great estrangement with their village. When their power grows to a certain extent, when the pain and resentment in their hearts accumulate unbearably…”
“Choosing to leave the village, or even turn to hate it, is highly likely. Konoha high-level officials’ certainty and evasion about the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki’s status precisely shows they are deeply taboo about it, likely having lost control over that Jinchūriki!”
“That Shura… perhaps has some connection we don’t yet know to this out-of-control Nine-Tails Jinchūriki!”
“This is our greatest gain from this trip, besides the ‘bluffing’!”
The room fell silent.
Xi digested Dōtai’s analysis, his refined face grave.
