Chapter 370: The Wild Tailed Beast Capture Plan; Forcibly Sealing the One-Tail [HN]

Inside the conference room of the Hokage Building.

The atmosphere was so heavy that it seemed as though one could wring water from it.

When Uchiha Chiya calmly uttered the words, “Capture all the tailed beasts that are currently roaming outside,” even Nara Shikaku and Namikaze Minato, who had weathered countless storms, could not help but have their pupils shrink sharply.

“Hokage-sama!”

Shikaku was the first to speak, his voice carrying an unprecedented gravity.

“The tailed beasts are the ultimate weapons that maintain the balance between the nations, and they are also important military assets for many hidden villages.”

“To suddenly capture them all would be no different from declaring war on the entire shinobi world! What… is the reason for this?”

Everyone’s eyes focused on Chiya, waiting for his explanation.

The implications behind capturing the tailed beasts were simply too shocking, enough to overturn the existing order of the shinobi world.

Chiya sat calmly in the main seat, his fingertips lightly tapping the table in a steady rhythm.

His eyes swept across every high-ranking official present, those deep eyes seeming capable of seeing straight through their souls and making everyone unconsciously hold their breath.

“Tailed beasts are unstable sources of power.”

Chiya’s voice was not loud, but it carried unquestionable authority.

“They are ultimately a source of trouble while left roaming outside.”

“Whether they are exploited by ambitious people or run wild on their own, they will eventually bring disaster to the shinobi world.”

“Rather than waiting for disaster to happen, it is better to place this power under Konoha’s control and let us decide how it should be used.”

He paused, and his tone became even colder, carrying a hint of chilling killing intent.

“As for declaring war? Konoha today fears no challenge.”

“If anyone dares to interfere, then consider it a provocation against Konoha and simply… crush them!”

When those final words fell, the temperature in the entire conference room seemed to drop several degrees.

Everyone seemed to see that Uchiha Chiya once again, the man who had dominated an entire era during the Third Shinobi World War with ruthless and decisive methods.

Everyone fell silent.

They looked at Chiya and thought of his unfathomable strength, Konoha’s military power and prosperity that now surpassed the other villages, and the iron-fisted resolve with which he had never once reversed a decision he had made.

The leaders of the “Ino-Shika-Cho” clans exchanged glances.

In the end, Shikaku spoke on their behalf after taking a deep breath.

“Since this is the Hokage-sama’s decision, we… have no objections.”

“However, the operation must be planned carefully, and we should minimize friction and its subsequent impact as much as possible.”

“The specific targets will be decided by you and Minato together, Shikaku.”

Chiya stood up, bringing the brief meeting to an end.

“I only want results.”

He turned and left, the hem of his Hokage cloak drawing a sharp arc through the air.

…

After leaving the conference room, Mirai and Chibi, who had already been waiting outside, immediately came forward.

They had clearly sensed the solemn atmosphere inside the conference room and the authority their father had not completely restrained.

“Father!”

Mirai hurried forward, her eyes sparkling with complete and unquestioning trust.

“Are we starting the operation?”

Chibi was more observant.

She noticed the faint trace of exhaustion between Chiya’s brows and asked softly.

“Father, did everything go smoothly?”

Looking at his two graceful daughters, the coldness surrounding Chiya instantly softened.

He reached out and instinctively wanted to rub Mirai’s head, but when his hand reached halfway, he noticed that his daughter had already grown to shoulder height.

His movement paused slightly.

Mirai, however, seemed to return to her childhood and voluntarily lowered her head, rubbing the top of her hair against his palm like a small beast seeking comfort while offering him support.

A warmth rose in Chiya’s heart.

He gently rubbed her soft hair before looking toward the quiet and graceful Chibi and answering warmly.

“Yes, we’re starting.”

He walked between them.

Mirai affectionately linked her arm with one of his, while Chibi quietly walked beside him on the other side, staying very close.

The golden light of the setting sun stretched their three shadows into the distance, intertwining them into a warm yet resolute picture.

“Father, no matter what you do, we will support you!”

Mirai’s tone was firm as she waved her little fist.

“As for the tailed beasts, if they refuse to listen, Chibi and I will help you beat them up!”

Chibi also nodded lightly, her eyes calm yet powerful.

“We will always stand by Father’s side.”

Looking at them, Chiya’s cold defenses were filled by their wholehearted dependence and trust.

Perhaps in the eyes of the world, he was a ruthless Hokage.

But before his daughters, he was simply their father.

This bond was the strongest support behind everything he did, as well as the softest corner of his heart.

“Good.”

Chiya’s voice carried an almost imperceptible warmth.

“However, the missions ahead will be dangerous.”

“You must stay close to me, and without my orders, you are not allowed to act on your own.”

“Yes, Father!”

The two girls answered in unison.

…

The next day.

According to the precise intelligence provided by Black Zetsu, as well as the secret report sent back from the Land of Wind by the Root shinobi dispatched by Shikaku, the One-Tail, Shukaku, had not immediately been sealed into a new jinchuriki after the death of its previous host, the monk Bunpuku.

Because of its violent and difficult-to-control nature, Sunagakure had instead temporarily restrained it with powerful sealing techniques in a barren ravine outside the village, leaving it in a half-sealed “wild” state.

Ever since Sunagakure had suffered a crushing defeat at Konoha’s hands during the Third Shinobi World War, Uchiha Chiya had used his position as the victor to forcibly place several Root shinobi inside Sunagakure as “advisers.”

He had also clearly informed the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, that regarding the tailed beasts, especially the One-Tail, any developments had to be reported to Konoha.

The shadow of defeat and Chiya’s absolute strength had forced Rasa to submit to these almost humiliating terms.

This was also the main reason Sunagakure had remained quiet in recent years.

Chiya did not delay at all.

Taking Mirai and Chibi with him, he directly activated Kamui.

He crossed the national border and arrived at the barren ravine deep within the Land of Wind.

Several Uzumaki clan shinobi wearing Konoha uniforms were already standing guard around the ravine.

Their red hair was especially conspicuous amid the wind and sand.

They were the ones who had jointly established a powerful sealing barrier, barely restricting Shukaku’s movements to this valley and preventing it from completely running wild and endangering the surrounding region.

“Hokage-sama!”

The leading Uzumaki shinobi immediately stepped forward and respectfully saluted when he saw Chiya.

Chiya nodded slightly and turned his gaze toward the depths of the ravine, which was shrouded in yellow sand and faintly filled with violent chakra fluctuations.

He could clearly sense that chakra filled with resentment and ferocity.

It belonged to the One-Tail, Shukaku.

“Stay outside and maintain the stability of the barrier.”

Chiya gave the order before looking at his two eager daughters beside him, his tone becoming stern.

“Mirai, Chibi, you stay here as well.”

“Without my permission, you are not allowed to take even one step into the valley.”

“Shukaku’s power is different from that of ordinary enemies.”

“Father…”

Mirai wanted to say something, but Chibi gently tugged at her sleeve.

Chibi shook her head at her, silently indicating that she should trust their father.

Mirai pouted, but obediently nodded.

“All right, then Father, be careful!”

Chiya said nothing more.

His figure flashed and disappeared from the spot like a ghost.

The next moment, he had already appeared in the center of the ravine filled with sand and violent chakra.

Deep within the ravine, Shukaku, sensing the approach of a powerful threat, completely awakened from its temporary seal.

Endless yellow sand gathered.

A massive tanuki-shaped creature formed rapidly from the sand, its crimson single eye locking onto the tiny figure that had suddenly appeared before it as it let out a thunderous roar.

“Roar!!! Damn Uchiha! It’s you accursed Sharingan users again! And that disgusting Uzumaki seal! I’ll tear you apart!!”

Terrifying chakra swept outward like a storm.

The entire ravine trembled, and sand filled the sky.

Shukaku swung its enormous sand arm and slammed it down toward Chiya with enough force to crush everything in its path.

Faced with an attack powerful enough to make even an ordinary Kage-level expert change expression, Chiya’s expression did not change in the slightest.

He did not even use Susanoo.

He simply stood there and raised his right hand.

Just as the enormous sand palm was about to crush him into pulp, purple ripples suddenly surged through Chiya’s Rinnegan.

Chiya calmly extended his hand.

An irresistible suction force suddenly erupted.

Its target was not Shukaku’s physical body, but the enormous chakra core within it.

“What?!”

Shukaku was horrified to discover that the vast chakra within its body, which was as immense as an ocean, was now surging uncontrollably toward that tiny human’s palm like a flood breaking through a dam.

It tried to struggle.

It tried to summon more sand to attack.

But the suction force did not merely affect its chakra.

It seemed as though even its very “existence” was being dragged toward him.

“Damn it! Damn you!!”

Shukaku let out a furious and unwilling roar.

Its enormous body began to twist and deform, and its sandy structure became unstable.

It desperately fired Air Bullets, trying to interfere with Chiya, but the Wind Release chakra spheres powerful enough to destroy hills were easily deflected and annihilated by an invisible repulsive force field several meters away from Chiya.

“Planetary Devastation.”

Chiya raised his left hand.

A pitch-black gravitational core instantly rose into the sky.

In an instant, the heavens and earth changed color.

Countless enormous rocks and endless sand within and outside the ravine seemed to be controlled by an invisible giant hand, violently converging toward the black core.

Shukaku’s enormous sandy body was the first to be caught in the pull, forcibly dragged, compressed, and sealed by this immense power originating from the world itself.

“No!!! I… refuse to accept this!!!”

Shukaku’s roar echoed through the increasingly cramped space, filled with despair and fury.

Its terrifying power, which was enough to overturn an entire small country, appeared so powerless before the supreme ocular technique of the Rinnegan.

Layers upon layers of rock and sand wrapped around it.

In the end, they formed a massive stone sphere more than a hundred meters in diameter that quietly floated in the sky.

Shukaku’s chakra reaction completely disappeared.

The entire sealing process was so fast that it was almost suffocating.

From the moment Chiya entered the valley to the moment Shukaku was completely sealed into the stone sphere in the sky, only a few short minutes had passed.

Outside the ravine, the Uzumaki shinobi maintaining the barrier were left dumbfounded.

Although they had long known that Hokage-sama’s strength was unfathomable, witnessing it with their own eyes was completely different.

The legendary Shukaku, which was said to be capable of fighting tailed beasts head-on, had been casually sealed like a toy before the Hokage.

The visual and psychological impact was incomparable.

Mirai and Chibi also widened their beautiful eyes, their small hands unconsciously covering their mouths.

They already knew that their father was incredibly powerful and stood at the very peak of the shinobi world.

But seeing their father directly seal a complete tailed beast with such overwhelming ease still shocked them to their very core.

Their hearts pounded wildly.

“D-Dad… you’re amazing…”

Mirai murmured to herself, her eyes filled with indescribable admiration and pride.

Chibi did not say anything, but her calm eyes also shimmered brightly as she stared intently at the tall figure standing in the sky.

Her heart was filled with admiration and dependence toward her powerful father.

Chiya’s figure emerged from the gradually settling sandstorm, his robes fluttering while not a speck of dust stained them.

He raised his hand and beckoned.

The enormous Planetary Devastation stone sphere floating in the sky rapidly shrank.

In the end, it became a black sphere the size of a fist, its surface covered in strange patterns, before falling into his palm.

He walked out of the ravine and stored the black sphere containing the One-Tail inside his Kamui space, as though he had merely completed an insignificant task.

“Done.”

He walked over to his two daughters and looked at their excitement that had not yet subsided.

“Let’s go. Next target.”

Mirai suddenly rushed forward and hugged one of Chiya’s arms, shouting excitedly.

“Father! That was so cool! You’re incredible!”

“That giant tanuki looked like nothing more than a little pet in front of you!”

Chibi also walked to his other side.

Although she was not as outwardly expressive as her older sister, the admiration in her eyes was just as obvious.

Looking at his daughters surrounding him on both sides and feeling their wholehearted admiration and closeness, the corners of Chiya’s mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.

He rubbed Mirai’s hair and then nodded at Chibi.

“Let’s go.”

The setting sun once again stretched the three figures into the distance as they headed toward the horizon.

Their first battle had ended in victory.

But the journey to capture the tailed beasts had only just begun.

And Konoha’s Hokage had already revealed his unquestionable will and power to the entire shinobi world.