"Kill Shinma?"
Seeing Sakumo's stunned expression, Pakkun continued.
"Fox was extremely direct. He said Shinma is Danzo's man—and that he must be killed.
Otherwise… you'll die."
Hatake Sakumo fell silent, his brows furrowing.
Shinma and his older brother had followed him for many years.
They were his trusted aides.
His friends.
The older brother had died early in battle.
Shinma, however, had grown rapidly stronger.
Becoming a capable jōnin was only a matter of time.
For Fox to suddenly claim Shinma worked for Danzo—
That was difficult for Sakumo to accept.
After a moment, Sakumo said,
"If Shinma truly serves Danzo, I will verify it carefully.
But turning around and killing him immediately… would be too rash."
Pakkun nodded.
Shinma had fought alongside them for many years.
One person's accusation wasn't enough to justify killing him.
With a puff of white smoke, Pakkun disappeared.
Sakumo turned back toward Yamashiro and the others.
He didn't even glance at Shinma.
Instead, he spoke to Yamashiro.
"I received new intelligence. This mission will be extremely difficult.
We need to be even more cautious.
Fortunately, we no longer have a fixed target to protect.
That gives us flexibility.
Even if the Five-Tails destroys a few ranches, it can't be helped.
A Tailed Beast is a natural disaster—comparable to a massive earthquake.
Our real objective is to prevent the Five-Tails from approaching the major tribes of the Land of Grass.
Yamashiro, let's study the map and identify the largest settlements near the border."
Yamashiro took out a map.
"The Five-Tails has gone berserk. The Hidden Stone Village must be even more anxious than we are.
Our goal is to drive it away.
We might be able to make use of the Iwa shinobi."
Sakumo nodded.
"That's a good plan."
Nearby, Shinma watched as Sakumo and Yamashiro studied the map, drawing several circles across it.
His heart began to grow uneasy.
Why had Sakumo suddenly become so cautious?
Before this, Sakumo would have risked everything for the village.
He would have rushed straight at the Five-Tails.
But if Sakumo remained this careful…
How was Shinma supposed to make him fail?
The group soon reached the border of the Land of Grass.
Before long, they found massive hoofprints.
The Five-Tails, now fully released from its Jinchūriki, was rampaging wildly across the grasslands.
Each hoofprint was five meters long.
And a full meter deep.
Yamashiro studied the tracks and said,
"During the Warring States era, the Five-Tails was a natural disaster beast native to the Land of Grass.
The First Hokage believed the Tailed Beasts were too dangerous.
So he captured the Five-Tails and later gifted it to the Hidden Stone Village.
It's been sealed for decades.
Now that it has returned to the grasslands—
It won't willingly return to the Land of Earth.
And it certainly won't accept another seal."
He shook his head.
"Capturing the Five-Tails again will be extremely difficult."
Hearing this analysis, Shinma relaxed slightly.
Good.
The harder the mission was…
The better his chances.
Sakumo quietly glanced at Shinma.
His expression was different from the others.
Everyone else looked tense.
Shinma… looked relieved.
Sakumo began to believe Fox's warning.
He summoned the Eight Ninja Dogs, letting Pakkun track the Five-Tails by scent to ensure nothing went wrong.
Following the enormous footprints, the group pushed deeper into the Land of Grass.
Yamashiro checked the map again.
"Twenty kilometers ahead, there's a tribal settlement.
We need to move faster.
We can't let the Five-Tails destroy it."
They accelerated.
After chasing for more than ten kilometers—
They finally saw it.
A gigantic beast racing across the grasslands.
Five white tails whipping through the air.
Four hooves pounding the earth.
The Five-Tails ran freely across the endless plains.
The ground trembled with every step.
And every tremor seemed to express its joy.
Yamashiro lowered his binoculars.
"Sakumo. There are more than twenty Iwa shinobi following it from behind.
They're tracking it—but they don't have the strength to stop it."
Sakumo nodded.
"For the mission's sake, we must redirect the Five-Tails."
The Five-Tails lifted its head, running happily through the vast grasslands.
This was the place it loved.
The homeland where it had lived for thousands of years.
Whenever it briefly broke free from its Jinchūriki in the Hidden Stone Village…
All it ever saw was the miserable yellow earth of the Land of Earth.
But here—
The air of the grasslands was fresh.
The ground was wide and open.
Behind it, a handful of Iwa shinobi ants followed from afar.
Without powerful shinobi to suppress it, their sealing team was laughable.
Then suddenly—
The Five-Tails slowed down.
The Iwa battalion commander noticed it turn its head.
Following its gaze—
He saw a group of shinobi running parallel across the grasslands.
At the front was a man with white hair tied in a ponytail.
A short blade strapped to his back.
The White Fang of Konoha.
A figure like the White Fang appearing here—
Was shocking.
The distance between them shrank rapidly.
Suddenly—
A brilliant slash flashed forward.
The blade struck the Five-Tails' right foreleg.
The strike was unbelievably fast.
The slash tore deep into flesh.
For a horse-like creature, the legs were both its strongest and most vulnerable point.
A warhorse with a broken leg had only one fate.
Death.
The Five-Tails screamed in agony.
The roar of the beast rolled across the plains like thunder and hurricane winds.
The White Fang's blade cut through flesh—
Even biting into bone.
Though the leg wasn't severed—
The pain forced the Five-Tails to rear up onto its hind legs.
The beast already stood more than fifty meters tall.
Rearing up—
It towered over a hundred meters high.
When it crashed back to the ground, it lowered its head and licked its wounded leg.
Tailed Beast chakra surged forward.
The injury healed rapidly.
Seeing his strike succeed, Sakumo immediately retreated.
As he turned—
He noticed Shinma charging forward nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with Yamashiro.
Slightly too eager…
It made sense for Yamashiro to advance.
He was an experienced jōnin.
But Gekko Hayate and Shinma, both special jōnin, should remain behind to support—
Not rush into the front line.
Sakumo said calmly,
"Don't rush.
Our objective is to redirect the Five-Tails—not fight it head-on."
When it was still inside Han's body, the Five-Tails had heard of the White Fang.
Its eyes were filled with caution.
That blade was terrifyingly sharp.
A Tailed Beast's body was a physical manifestation of chakra—extremely durable.
Ordinary weapons or explosive tags were useless against it.
But if the White Fang struck the same point three times—
Even its leg could be severed.
Seeing Sakumo approaching again from the right—
The Five-Tails instinctively dodged to the left.
After several exchanges like this—
The beast's direction gradually shifted.
The distant settlement was now safe.
But the deeper they traveled into the Land of Grass—
The more settlements they would encounter.
Who knew how long this would last?
Yamashiro kept checking the map, using the sun to determine direction and continuously adjusting their path to guide the Five-Tails away from populated areas.
This continued for the entire morning.
The Five-Tails showed no sign of fatigue.
Then—
Four battalions of Iwa shinobi appeared on the horizon.
Sakumo raised his hand.
He signaled his team to retreat farther away.
They wanted to withdraw.
But the Iwa shinobi didn't allow it.
One shinobi suddenly appeared in front of Sakumo using the Body Flicker Technique.
"I am Kitsuchi, jōnin of the Hidden Stone Village."
Kitsuchi spoke sternly.
"White Fang. We are here to seal the Five-Tails.
Konoha must keep its distance."
His expression was extremely serious.
The Five-Tails' rampage was the highest-level emergency for the Hidden Stone Village.
As the son in law of the Third Tsuchikage, he had personally led the force to handle it.
Sakumo replied calmly,
"The Land of Grass is under Konoha's protection.
We must monitor the Five-Tails.
We will not allow it to destroy a single major settlement."
Seeing the tension rise, Yamashiro stepped forward.
"Jōnin Kitsuchi, please understand our position.
We understand your urgency as well.
The Five-Tails is moving farther away from the Land of Earth.
Though our villages are enemies—
Our immediate goal is the same: sealing the Five-Tails.
As long as you do not allow it to destroy settlements in the Land of Grass—
We will not interfere."
Kitsuchi considered this.
Then nodded.
He disappeared in a flash.
Four Iwa battalions moved into position.
Two of them were led by sealing teams.
They surrounded the Five-Tails.
Kitsuchi slammed his hands onto the ground.
"Earth Release: Mountain Earth Technique!"
Sakumo's eyes lit up.
Kitsuchi's Earth Release…
Was incredible.
Two massive hemispheres of earth—each over a hundred meters tall—
rose from the ground and slammed together.
The Five-Tails was crushed between them.
As the son in law of the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki, Kitsuchi's mastery of Earth Release had already reached the peak of the ninja world.
The Five-Tails recognized him.
And became even more furious.
Several previous rampages had been suppressed by Kitsuchi.
"Kitsuchi!"
"I've finally returned to the grasslands!"
"Why won't you people leave me alone?!"
Kitsuchi kept both palms pressed against the ground, continuously pouring chakra into the earth.
"You left the grasslands decades ago.
This land no longer welcomes you.
And besides—
It was Senju Hashirama who captured you.
What does that have to do with us?"
The Five-Tails opened its mouth.
A massive Tailed Beast Ball began forming.
The sphere, more than ten meters wide, warped the air and light around it.
An Iwa jōnin landed beside Kitsuchi and shouted,
"All units!
Prepare Ten-Thousand Earth Flow Wall!"
More than two hundred Iwa shinobi formed hand seals simultaneously.
Each created at least three Earth Flow Walls.
Nearly a thousand earthen walls rose in front of the mountain dome.
The Tailed Beast Ball fired.
It crushed wall after wall—
But the walls gradually altered its trajectory.
Originally aimed directly at Kitsuchi—
The blast eventually veered away, grazing past him.
It detonated far across the grasslands.
A massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
The earth trembled.
Two sealing battalions leapt onto the earthen dome.
Scrolls covered in sealing inscriptions unfurled.
They wrapped toward the Five-Tails.
The beast glared at them with hatred.
It suddenly pulled all five tails inward.
Gathering every ounce of strength—
It exploded with power.
The horns on its head smashed apart the left hemisphere.
Its five tails shattered the right.
Chunks of earth the size of hills flew through the air.
Kitsuchi shouted,
"Don't panic!
We can't succeed in one attempt!
Just like before—
The Five-Tails will eventually tire!"
Breaking free of the Mountain Earth Technique, the Five-Tails fled immediately.
Kitsuchi led the Iwa shinobi in pursuit.
The Five-Tails charged toward the Konoha shinobi.
It hoped the two enemy villages would start fighting each other.
As the beast rushed toward them—
Yamashiro shouted,
"Move aside!
Let the Iwa shinobi handle it!"
At that moment—
Shinma pulled a smoke bomb from his ninja pouch and smashed it onto the ground.
Thick smoke erupted.
Inside the smoke—
Shinma's eyes flickered.
This is the smoke bomb Shimura Kōhi gave me.
The smoke contains a powerful hallucinogenic compound.
It supposedly works extremely well against Tailed Beasts.
Even the Eight-Tails couldn't resist this drug…