Chapter 228

A dense white mist enveloped the entire lake, giving the eerie sensation of dusk even though it was broad daylight.

On a small boat, Kabuto adjusted his glasses out of habit as he observed the mist-laden surroundings, thinking to himself:

"This place feels unsettling no matter how many times I come here. But it's surprising that the Three-Tails actually resides here."

"Even more surprising is that Lord Orochimaru's experiment succeeded. Yukimaru truly has the power to control the Three-Tails."

Kabuto turned his gaze to the boy seated behind Guren, a boy whose hair color and eye hue resembled the former perfect Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails, Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage. Kabuto smirked before calling to the large man rowing the boat at the stern, Wutu:

"This should be the place. Stop here."

Wutu, one of the last survivors of Orochimaru's brutal experiments, glanced at Guren. Seeing no objection from her, he halted the boat.

Kabuto then pulled out a helmet designed to amplify sensory perception and handed it to Yukimaru. "Put this on."

Yukimaru obediently donned the helmet.

Kabuto also took out a bottle of pills, this time pouring out over twenty tablets—far more than before.

Seeing this, Guren's face changed.

"That's too many!"

Worried for Yukimaru's safety, she stepped forward to intervene, but hesitated when Kabuto invoked Orochimaru's name, ultimately choosing to step back.

Yukimaru glanced at Guren, who appeared conflicted but gave a reluctant nod. Summoning his courage, he swallowed all the pills at once.

Satisfied, Kabuto nodded and turned to Guren. "Guren, it's your turn."

"Stop ordering me around!"

Guren didn't get along well with Kabuto.

Nonetheless, she formed the necessary hand seals and performed her jutsu.

"Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Hexagonal Pillars!"

With a splash, six towering crystal pillars rose from the lake, enclosing a large area that included their small boat.

"What… what's going on?" Wutu, who still hadn't grasped the plan, watched the scene with confusion.

It wasn't long before Yukimaru's body reacted to the medicine, and he clutched his head in agony as his chakra surged forth, transforming into a pillar of blue light that pierced the sky.

The lake rippled violently in response to Yukimaru's chakra, and an enormous dark shadow slowly emerged from the depths.

"The experiment is a success! The target has appeared!" Kabuto exclaimed excitedly.

Unable to hold back, Wutu asked, "What exactly is going to appear?"

"A Tailed Beast!" Guren replied grimly.

"The Three-Tails!" Kabuto added.

As the massive, three-tailed form became visible beneath the lake, Kabuto adjusted his glasses again, declaring:

"Our mission is to capture the Three-Tails!"

For most shinobi, a Tailed Beast is synonymous with disaster and is an opponent they cannot hope to face.

But in Kabuto's team, they had Yukimaru, who could somewhat control the Three-Tails, and Guren, who possessed the formidable Crystal Release, giving them a reasonable chance of success.

However, they underestimated the Tailed Beast's power.

With a deep, thunderous roar, the Three-Tails shattered Guren's Crystal Hexagonal Pillars in an instant, breaking free of Yukimaru's influence.

The small boat was destroyed, and Guren, now standing on the lake's surface, quickly formed hand seals.

"Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Shuriken!"

Crystal shurikens in the shape of snowflakes materialized midair, launching toward the enormous Three-Tails.

But it was futile.

With a series of metallic clangs, the crystal shurikens failed to penetrate the Three-Tails' tough hide.

In a surge of intense water currents, the Three-Tails fully emerged from the lake, fixing a fierce gaze on Guren and her companions.

At that moment…

The Three-Tails' chakra, now unrestrained, spread in all directions.

The first to sense the disturbance was Kakashi and his team, who had been waiting for reinforcements after a previous encounter with Guren.

Without hesitation, Kakashi quickly organized a battle formation, and his team dashed toward the lake.

At a greater distance…

Just as Gensou was about to move on after disposing of a suspicious bat, his Rinnegan suddenly picked up on something.

He looked toward the lake, his Rinnegan swirling with a faint ripple. For the record, it was Gensou's true self who currently bore the Rinnegan.

His clone was still in a culture tank, undergoing enhancement and evolution with the aid of various techniques, to reach Gensou's expectations.

This would take time.

So, for now, it was his true self using the Rinnegan, giving the outside world the impression that he alone possessed it.

The Rinnegan, as he was finding, was vastly superior to the Mangekyou Sharingan he once used.

Apart from the various ocular jutsu Pain had demonstrated, the Rinnegan's wielder automatically mastered all five nature transformations and the Yin-Yang Release.

Having Yin-Yang mastery himself, Gensou was able to extract unique insights from the Rinnegan's interpretation of these elemental powers, completing the final piece in his Truth-Seeking Ball.

With this gain, obtaining the Rinnegan had already proven worthwhile.

Of course, the Rinnegan was not truly his.

Like Nagato, he couldn't unleash its full power.

But Gensou didn't mind.

Until the Infinite Tsukuyomi was activated, he would use it as much as he could.

After that…

If his plan succeeded, it wouldn't matter whether he had the Rinnegan or not.

Returning to the present.

Gensou turned his gaze toward the lake.

Though the Rinnegan didn't have the range of the Byakugan, its perception exceeded that of both the Sharingan and the Byakugan.

And due to its connection to the Gedo Statue, the Rinnegan had a heightened sensitivity to Tailed Beasts.

Moments earlier, Gensou had sensed a Tailed Beast's chakra through his Rinnegan.

"A Tailed Beast here?"

Gensou was surprised.

Judging by Orochimaru's subordinates' route, it seemed they were connected to the Tailed Beast in some way.

Were they fighting a Jinchuriki?

Or perhaps…

With a glint in his eye, Gensou signaled to Hanare, and the two of them redirected their path toward the lake.

Five minutes later.

Gensou and Hanare arrived at the lakeside.

Standing on a tree branch by the shore, there was no need to go further; from here, Gensou could see a gigantic turtle thrashing about on the lake.

Fighting it were the people he had glimpsed in the memories of the man he'd interrogated—Guren and a large man.

A bit farther away, Kakashi led a team of Konoha shinobi, battling against Guren's subordinates.

Interestingly, Naruto wasn't among the Konoha shinobi.

Ignoring all other shinobi, Gensou's gaze focused on the massive turtle and, most importantly, the three large tails emerging from its back.

"The Three-Tails!" Hanare exclaimed in surprise.

She turned to Gensou, shocked that the very Three-Tails they'd been tracking, seemingly without any clues, would suddenly appear in this unremarkable lake.

Gensou was equally astonished.

"Why hide in a secluded lake instead of the vast, safe ocean? Makes me wonder if you're just not thinking straight."

Gensou shook his head.

From the start, their approach to finding the Three-Tails had been flawed.

But who could have guessed that the Three-Tails would choose a small inland lake over the seemingly safer open ocean?

(End of Chapter)

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