"Lord Xia Yin," Nara Shikaku turned around and looked at Shine, his eyes filled with exhaustion and urgency. "You said before that there were troop movements in the Hidden Mist. Now it seems they had this planned all along! Can you send someone for a deeper reconnaissance? We must find Rin's whereabouts, even if... even if it's just her body!"
Shine nodded slightly, his tone flat. "I will have Yue expand the reconnaissance range. However, the territory of the Hidden Mist is fraught with danger; I'm afraid it will take some time."
He paused and added, "The priority now is to treat Kakashi. Perhaps once he wakes up, we'll know what happened."
Fugaku also nodded and said in a deep voice, "I have already sent for the Hien sisters. Their Medical Ninjutsu is the most exquisite; they will surely be able to wake Kakashi."
Soon, the Hien sisters arrived and carried Kakashi into the medical tent. The Ninjas in the camp gradually dispersed, but their faces remained full of worry. The sadness and oppression in the air lingered for a long time.
Nara Shikaku and Fugaku stood outside the medical tent, brows furrowed, remaining silent.
Shine turned and returned to his own tent, leaving behind a cold silhouette.
Inside the tent, Shine sat at his desk, his fingertips stroking the hilt of his tachi, a cold arc curling at the corner of his mouth.
What if Kakashi woke up? He would only bury the truth deep in his heart, letting that pain and self-blame accompany him for a lifetime.
And Obito had completely stepped onto the path of darkness, becoming Madara's pawn to stir the winds and clouds of the Ninja World.
All of this was within his plan.
Rin's death, the Awakening of the dual Mangekyo, Obito's fall to darkness, and Kakashi's descent into despair—all paved the way for his rise.
Next, he only needed to wait for the right moment to set off for the Hidden Rain Village, subdue the youth with the Rinnegan, and take complete control of the Ninja World's fate.
Inside the medical tent, the Hien sisters were doing their best to treat Kakashi. A faint green light enveloped his body, but he still showed no signs of waking, his brow still furrowed as if he could never escape that nightmare.
Outside the camp, the morning mist gradually dissipated, and sunlight pierced through the clouds, yet it could not illuminate the gloom in people's hearts.
This tragedy was just the beginning; the storm of the Ninja World was yet to come.
Two months of time flowed quietly amidst the tug-of-war on the Kirigakure Battlefield.
The atmosphere of the Konoha Allied Forces camp had gradually eased from the gloom of Rin's disappearance and Kakashi's serious injuries.
Although Kakashi had long since awakened, he had become the most silent figure in the camp. His left eye patch was never removed again, though occasionally during training, a crimson glimmer would flash in the depths of his eye—a trace of the Mangekyo Sharingan not yet fully under control.
Shine still commanded the Mobile Squad, neutralizing several Hidden Mist raids. His prestige within the Allied Forces grew steadier by the day. Meanwhile, the reconnaissance team he sent to the Hidden Rain Village had returned with key intelligence on Nagato and the Akatsuki Organization; the time to depart was now ripe.
Deep within the Hidden Mist Village, a Tailed Beast taming ceremony that required no Dōjutsu assistance was secretly taking place in a Deep Sea Secret Realm.
Yagura Karatachi's ability to hold the position of Fourth Mizukage was never based on external forces—he himself was a rare genius of the Hidden Mist, with Water Release Ninjutsu that had reached its peak. Furthermore, he had mastered a peerless and fierce style of Taijutsu. Combined with his thorough knowledge of the Hidden Mist's Legacy, the "Water Release: Tailed Beast Binding Secret Technique," this was the source of his confidence in challenging the Three-Tails.
Rin's death had caused the initial Jinchuriki plan to fail, but Yagura did not lose heart. Instead, he gathered all the top sealing Ninjas and Medical Ninjas of the Hidden Mist. After two months, they laid down a Nine-fold Sealing Array in the deep-sea canyon where the Three-Tails resided. Using himself as a vessel, he swore to tame this rampaging Tailed Beast.
When the news reached the Allied Forces camp, it was dusk, with the setting sun dyeing the sea surface red.
Yue's reconnaissance Ninjutsu penetrated the Hidden Mist's barrier, transmitting back the shocking images in full: above the deep-sea canyon, Yagura stood in his white Mizukage robes at the center of the sealing array, with deep blue Chakra condensed to the extreme surging around him.
He did not possess the crimson Sharingan, yet by virtue of his absolute control over Water Release, he channeled the water of the entire sea area, transforming it into thousands of chains that tightly bound the Three-Tails' massive body.
The Three-Tails roared in fury, a Tailed Beast Ball condensing in its mouth, but it was forcibly suppressed by the runes of the sealing array and could not explode.
"With water as the medium and the body as the sheath, Sealing Secret Technique—Tailed Beast Heart-Return!"
Yagura's roar echoed through the deep sea. The speed of his hand signs was at the limit, and the sealing array instantly erupted with a blinding blue light, wrapping around the Three-Tails' body layer by layer.
Under the dual suppression of the water currents and the runes, the massive Tailed Beast's body gradually shrank, finally turning into a brilliant blue light that Yagura forcibly absorbed into his body.
When the last trace of Tailed Beast Chakra merged into his body, Yagura slowly opened his eyes. Though his eyes lacked the enhancement of Dōjutsu, they held a majesty that looked down upon the world. The Tailed Beast pressure emanating from him made the reconnaissance Ninjas several kilometers away tremble—he had succeeded, becoming the Three-Tails Jinchuriki through pure Hidden Mist power!
"Yagura... actually subdued the Three-Tails."
Shine looked at the images sent back from the reconnaissance, his fingertips stroking the hilt of his tachi. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, which then turned into a knowing, cold smile.
Although he had previously speculated that Yagura would attempt to Seal the Three-Tails again, he hadn't expected the other party to succeed without the help of Madara's Dōjutsu, relying solely on his own strength and secret techniques.
This was enough to demonstrate Yagura's formidable power, and it also meant that the threat of the Hidden Mist was even greater than he had anticipated.
But this did not disrupt his layout—regardless of what power Yagura relied on, the result of him becoming the Three-Tails Jinchuriki would only accelerate the intensification of conflicts in the Ninja World, which was exactly what he needed.
The news exploded like a clap of thunder in the Allied Forces Headquarters.
"Yagura Karatachi tamed the Three-Tails? How is that possible!" Nara Shikaku stood up abruptly, his expression grave to the extreme.
The rampaging nature of Tailed Beasts was common knowledge in the Ninja World. Previous generations of Mizukage had failed to completely tame it, yet Yagura succeeded using only Hidden Mist secret techniques. The strength behind this made his heart tremble.
Uchiha Fugaku's brow was tightly furrowed, his eyes full of wariness. "Yagura's Water Release was already unfathomable. Now, with the power of the Three-Tails, his combat strength has reached the Tailed Beast level. Once he launches a general offensive, our defensive line won't be able to withstand the destructive power of a Tailed Beast Ball at all!"
The atmosphere in the headquarters instantly froze; everyone realized the danger of the situation.
Without the constraints of Dōjutsu, Yagura's control over the Three-Tails might be purer and more destructive.
"Panic leads to chaos."
Shine's voice rang out calmly, breaking the heavy atmosphere.
He looked up at everyone and said in an unhurried tone, "Although Yagura successfully sealed the Three-Tails, the backlash of the Tailed Beast's power is extremely strong. He will need at least three months to gain preliminary control. This period is precisely our opportunity to reinforce our defenses and seek support."
He paused and continued his analysis: "Moreover, the Three-Tails' violent personality isn't something that can be easily suppressed."
"By forcibly taking it into his body, Yagura will inevitably endure a huge mental burden, and his temperament may become irritable and suspicious."
"There are already factions within the Hidden Mist that oppose him. This is exactly the weakness we can exploit