Chapter 237

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

The sharp sound of something cutting through the air filled the skies.

The Three-Tails, unable to find footing midair, watched helplessly as Deidara's clay birds—ten or so of them with flapping wings—darted rapidly towards the only vulnerable spot on its body, near the corner of its eye, where its thick turtle shell didn't cover.

Deidara let out a shout, and the clay birds flashed white.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions echoed across the lake.

When the smoke cleared, the Three-Tails, struck directly by the blast, was visibly disoriented and stunned.

Deidara tossed out three more clay birds, which caught the Three-Tails from multiple angles, suspending it midair. At the same time, they carried Kisame up to join him.

"The Three-Tails has been captured. This was surprisingly easy, hmm."

Seated on the clay bird, Deidara, who hadn't even broken a sweat, flipped his golden ponytail and spread his arms nonchalantly.

Hearing this, Kisame wrung out his damp clothes and remarked, "It might've been easy for you, but I was down there wrestling with this beast for quite a while."

"Well, the Three-Tails is a turtle, and water's your domain, Kisame," Deidara replied with a grin. "Now that your tailed beast quota is complete, I still have one left to go. According to our leader, my next target is the One-Tail. Hmm."

"The One-Tail?" Kisame raised an eyebrow. "That one's no easy task. He's the Kazekage of Sunagakure now and rarely leaves the village. Taking him on means dealing with the thousands of shinobi in Suna."

Deidara patted the head of his clay bird confidently. "That's why the One-Tail is mine to capture."

Kisame glanced at the clay bird and nodded in understanding. "True, you're the perfect choice to go after the One-Tail. Still, I won't be joining you on this one."

Kisame was a straightforward man. Not only did he excel at forming seals, but he didn't mind lending a hand to his teammates in capturing tailed beasts if he had the capacity to help.

However, Deidara's future battle style against the One-Tail's jinchūriki wouldn't suit him, so his presence would be unnecessary.

Deidara waved dismissively. "I hear we're getting a new recruit to help me with the One-Tail. Never thought I'd live to become a mentor, hmm!"

"A new recruit?"

Kisame hadn't heard of this yet.

However, anyone approved by their leader, Gensou, wouldn't be lacking in ability.

That worked out fine. The faster they captured all the tailed beasts, the sooner the world he anticipated would come to fruition.

With the Three-Tails in tow, Deidara and Kisame left in high spirits.

Meanwhile, the drenched Konoha ninja below could only stare in stunned silence at the scene unfolding before them.

"No way! That's a tailed beast! And it was taken down so easily by just two people?"

Kiba struggled to believe his eyes.

He had personally witnessed the terrifying power unleashed by the Three-Tails earlier.

Even with Kakashi-sensei and Captain Yamato—two seasoned Jōnin—on their team, the Konoha group had been powerless against the beast.

But somehow…

Just two people.

In such a short amount of time.

They had captured the Three-Tails.

"Is Akatsuki really this strong?!"

Kiba felt like his worldview had shattered.

He wasn't the only one. The other younger Konoha ninja shared similar thoughts.

Although some had witnessed Gensou in battle before, his legendary status from the Warring States period made his immense power unsurprising.

But Akatsuki?

They had previously dismissed the organization as a group of rogue ninja.

Since when had rogue ninja become so overwhelmingly powerful? This went beyond their understanding.

In comparison, Kakashi, who had encountered Akatsuki before and knew their members were formidable, wasn't as shocked.

Watching as the massive silhouette of the Three-Tails shrank into the distance, he frowned.

"The Three-Tails is captured. This complicates things even further."

The tensions between the Five Great Shinobi Villages and Gensou's faction were already escalating.

Now, Akatsuki was ramping up their hunt for the tailed beasts.

And then there was Orochimaru…

Kakashi scanned the area.

After the commotion caused by the Three-Tails and Akatsuki, Hanare had vanished without a trace, and Orochimaru's subordinates had also disappeared.

This mission had yielded no tangible results.

"When did it feel like everything Konoha does starts going wrong?"

Kakashi couldn't help but wonder.

"Kakashi-senpai, what do we do now?" Yamato's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

Kakashi refocused and replied calmly, "Report the capture of the Three-Tails to the village. Until the Hokage sends new orders, we'll split into two teams—one to track Hanare, the other to follow any leads on Orochimaru."

With his instructions given, the Konoha team resumed their mission.

But their efforts were doomed to fail.

Hanare would soon rendezvous with Gensou.

As for Orochimaru's faction, Guren, Yukimaru, and Wutu had already left.

"Guren-nee, where are we going?" Yukimaru, who had always longed for a real home, asked with hopeful eyes.

Guren gently patted his head, casting one last glance toward Orochimaru's base.

Compared to Orochimaru, Yukimaru had become far more important to her.

"We're going to find a new home. One that truly belongs to us."

With those words, Guren, Yukimaru, and the loyal Wutu set off for a distant place.

Orochimaru's forces were now entirely dismantled.

Back at Orochimaru's base, Gensou began a thorough cleanup operation.

Although Orochimaru's laboratory housed many instruments, they were inferior to the resources of Konoha's Root Division.

What intrigued Gensou the most were Orochimaru's research notes—particularly those on the Edo Tensei.

Among the materials, he found blood and tissue samples of relevant individuals and a scroll containing Orochimaru's insights into the Edo Tensei.

Although it wasn't a complete manual, it provided valuable inspiration for Gensou.

"The Edo Tensei… I do have a team well-suited for this technique. However…"

As he pondered, a message came through his Zero Ring.

"The Three-Tails has been successfully captured."

Now, only the One-Tail, Two-Tails, Eight-Tails, and Nine-Tails remained.

Gensou's eyes glinted.

After carefully storing the Edo Tensei materials, he sent Deidara and Kisame the coordinates for the Gedo Statue and resumed his work.

Some time later, Hanare arrived.

After delegating tasks to her, Gensou activated the Hologram Transmission Technique.

In an instant, his multicolored projection appeared on one of the Gedo Statue's ten fingers.

Simultaneously, Deidara and Kisame arrived with the massive Three-Tails.

(End of Chapter)

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