Chapter 236: The Tailed Beast Plan

Walking through the cold corridor, Yuto and Konan arrived at the massive underground lab.

This lab, built a kilometer below the surface, was reinforced with special metals and barriers. Even with the combined resources of Amegakure and Yuto's strength, constructing it had been an immense effort.

But the result was worth it. The lab was nearly impossible to detect, with minimal risk of exposure.

Upon entering, the lab's layout became distinct, reflecting Yuto's usual meticulous style. To the left were countless instruments and potions, while to the right, experimental subjects floated in tanks of solution.

At the far end of the entrance stood a massive red-furred ape, bound tightly. It had four tails, each resembling a dinosaur's, and chakra seeped from its skin, radiating intense, molten heat. Thick adamantine chains pierced its body, anchoring it firmly to a small mountain.

The Four-Tails!

"How's its condition?" Yuto glanced at the Four-Tails. "It looks rather lifeless."

"Yuto-sama, after the routine chakra extraction a few days ago, it's been like this," Konan replied.

"Seems like it's been drained too much. Makes sense, though. Extracting chakra every eighty-four hours would wear down even a tailed beast. Plus, being so far underground, its recovery is likely much slower than normal." Yuto put on his gloves and began tinkering with the lab equipment. "Looks like we'll need to capture more tailed beasts. Any updates on the whereabouts of the jinchūriki?"

Konan smiled bitterly. "Apologies, Yuto-sama. Aside from the jinchūriki who remain in their villages, the others are hiding."

"Take your time. We're not in a rush." Yuto unfurled a summoning scroll, and a corpse appeared on the operating table.

The body had crimson skin and a humanoid appearance—one of the bio-beast soldiers developed to assist Kirigakure.

This artificial soldier was a fusion of Hashirama cells, chakra from the Four-Tails, Yuto's ocular powers, and the regenerative abilities of Katsuyu. The result was a bio-soldier capable of using Lava Release.

"Their intelligence is too low." Yuto sighed. "If I hadn't hidden nearby that night and used my ocular powers to control them, the Uchiha's explosion might've overrun Kirigakure. These creatures can't even follow the preset commands I gave them."

"Maybe the ratio of ocular power to chakra isn't quite right…"

Yuto muttered to himself as he continued his work on the experimental subject. The purple-haired woman quietly observed, occasionally wiping his sweat or handing him water.

In these past two years, Yuto's efforts had borne fruit: the Four-Tails, this massive laboratory, the Sealing Mountain designed to contain the tailed beasts, and the creation of hundreds of bio-soldiers with moderate combat ability.

Two years ago, Yuto had been summoned to the Pure Land by the Sage of Six Paths, where he told the plan to "end the shinobi era." This was not just an empty promise. Yuto had been steadily working toward that goal.

In a sense, Yuto was highly rational. He knew that if he outright declared, "I'm going to rid the world of chakra," the entire world would rise against him, even Amegakure wouldn't stand by his side.

Moreover, if chakra suddenly disappeared, the resulting chain of events would cause massive calamities across the world. Yuto believed there had to be a "transition period" to gradually phase out chakra, ensuring a peaceful shift into an era without it. Or, even if supernatural forces still existed in the future, they couldn't take the same form as they did in the shinobi era.

After all, the current shinobi world experienced a world war every few decades—a highly irrational cycle.

The vision of the future was still taking shape in Yuto's mind. Though he hadn't finalized its form, he had already begun preparations.

No matter what method was used to change the shinobi world and alter all chakra, there was no way to avoid the Ten-Tails.

Therefore, collecting the tailed beasts became an Akatsuki mission. Even though Yuto hadn't awakened the Rinnegan and couldn't summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, it was still advantageous to control the tailed beasts.

The chaos of the shinobi world provided Yuto with enough time to capture the tailed beasts. He still lacked the overwhelming power to take on all five nations alone. Even with his clones and Amegakure, his current force was equivalent to about three and a half major nations.

And with Orochimaru's use of Impure World Reincarnation, Yuto certainly had his hands full.

When Yuto could fuse his four clones and true body and fully obtaining the pure-blooded Otsutsuki lineage, only then would he be confident in surpassing even Kage-level shinobi and reaching the threshold of Sage-level power.

As for the bio-beast soldiers, they were expendable tools for war. With the Sage of Six Paths still present, Yuto knew that the ambition to end the shinobi era wouldn't be smooth sailing. It was wise to prepare some contingencies.

However, Yuto's interference had already caused deviations from the original story. Capturing the tailed beasts was proving more challenging than expected.

For example, the wild Three-Tails, which had been released near Konohagakure two years ago after Mangetsu's village raid, was sealed within Gaara after being defeated by Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru.

In terms of natural chakra reserves, Gaara was indeed the ideal jinchūriki candidate. But Yuto still couldn't fathom why Konoha's leadership had made the odd decision to seal the Three-Tails within a Suna hostage. The event had already occurred, though, and regardless of the complex reasoning and politics behind it, Gaara had become the jinchūriki of the Three-Tails.

Thus, Konoha had three jinchūriki: Kushina Uzumaki with the Nine-Tails' Yin half, Naruto Uzumaki with the Nine-Tails' Yang half, and Gaara with the Three-Tails.

To keep updated on jinchūriki intelligence, Yuto needed a well-placed spy. Conveniently, a relative named Sae Hyuga had crossed his path. With just a glance, Yuto saw the deep hatred in the boy's eyes, and he quickly enticed Yoru with promises of power to do his bidding.

Hatred blinds people, and true avengers are often half-mad.

Time passed, and Yuto, still consumed by his researcher's fervor, worked tirelessly. When he finally felt a bit of fatigue, the clock on the wall had already made a full revolution.

Beside him, the purple-haired woman continued to stay by his side, holding a towel and a cup of hot water.

Taking the hot towel, Yuto pressed it against his forehead and, after tidying up, slowly walked toward the entrance.

"Konan, thank you for your hard work. You don't have to stay here with me, though."

"Yuto-sama, it's no problem. I want to witness the birth of the new world."

"You can be surprisingly... sentimental sometimes," Yuto smiled wryly, then suddenly remembered something. "Any word on Uchiha Obito? He seems to be after the tailed beasts too."

(End of Chapter)