Naruto: Mikoto and Tsunade, don't let either of them go.

"System, please display the method to reduce the cooldown time of the Heretical Reincarnation Technique again."

As soon as he finished speaking to Uchiha Kakuyama, a screen of light appeared in his field of vision:

"Reducing the Rinnegan Outer Path - Method of Rinne Rebirth Technique"

1. Change host, cooldown time is immediately reset to zero.

2. Possessing a certain amount of the Sage of Six Paths' chakra reduces the time by half.

3. Collect Tailed Beast Chakra (each Tailed Beast's Chakra must be at least one-third of its own). Collecting the chakra of each Tailed Beast reduces the cooldown time by one-fifth; collecting the chakra of five Tailed Beasts resets the cooldown time to zero. (The Nine-Tails' Chakra reduces the cooldown time by two-fifths.)

Uchiha Kakuzan stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and then said:

"System, display the method for evolving the Rinnegan into the Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan."

Upon hearing Uchiha Kakuyama's words, text appeared on the screen once again, but this time there was less text:

"Method to evolve the Rinnegan into the Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan (Rinne Sharingan) -- Gather the chakra of all nine tailed beasts (at least one-third of them)."

After seeing the text on the light screen, Uchiha Kakuyama asked:

"If I collect all the chakra of the nine tailed beasts and evolve my Rinnegan into the Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan, will the cooldown time of the Rinne Rebirth Technique be reduced to zero?"

"Yes, as the host's Rinnegan evolves into the Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan, the cooldown time of the Rinne Rebirth Technique is reset to zero, and the cooldown time for using it again is one year."

Upon seeing the text displayed on the light screen, Uchiha Kakuzan muttered to himself:

"In that case, it would be more convenient to just collect all the tailed beast chakra."

In fact, with Uchiha Kakuzan's current strength, he could roam freely throughout the entire ninja world. Even if Uchiha Madara with the Rinnegan were to be resurrected, or if members of the Otsutsuki clan appeared beforehand, Uchiha Kakuzan would be an overwhelming force against them.

However, since he was only one step away from the final form of the Rinnegan, Uchiha Kakuyama completed it casually.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Kakuyama glanced at Sunagakure Village not far away, smiled slightly, and used the Camouflage Concealment Technique to slowly fly towards Sunagakure Village.

······

Because Uchiha Kakuzan possessed secret techniques to conceal his presence and the Camouflage Concealment Technique, and was also floating in mid-air, the entire Sand Village was completely unaware of the arrival of Kakuzan, this uninvited guest.

Although Sunagakure is one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, it is indeed much smaller than Konoha. Furthermore, Uchiha Kagami used the Kagura Mind's Eye of the Uzumaki clan, and as a result, he locked onto the location of Gaara, the Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast, without even using the Byakugan.

However, Uchiha Kakuyama also sensed that not far from Gaara's location, there was another person with relatively strong chakra. If he wasn't mistaken, it should be Gaara's father, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, who was about to be sent away by Orochimaru.

To be honest, if Uchiha Kagakuyama weren't short of money, the Fourth Kazekage's Kekkei Genkai Magnet Release would actually be quite good. It could be used for both offense and defense with iron sand, and it could also be used to pan for gold in the desert to supplement the family income.

As he thought about it, Uchiha Kakuyama flew toward Gaara's location.

To Uchiha Kakuzan's surprise, even though it was already past midnight, Gaara's room was still brightly lit.

Moreover, Qiu Shanjun could clearly sense that Gaara's chakra was currently extremely agitated, and it felt like it was about to lose control.

Chapter 378 Shukaku, the One-Tailed Sand

Chapter 378 Shukaku the One-Tailed Beast

Uchiha Kakuzan frowned, then understood why.

As an ally of Konoha, and the weakest of the five villages, Sunagakure did not participate in the destruction of Uzushiogakure by the combined forces of Kumogakure and Iwagakure.

This resulted in the Sand Village's sealing of the tailed beasts being extremely ineffective. Neither the monk nor Gaara could sleep. If they fell asleep, the One-Tailed Beast might emerge. This is why Gaara would use the Sleeping Technique to put himself into a deep sleep if he wanted to release the One-Tailed Beast to fight the enemy.

Right now, Gaara is in the village, and his room is brightly lit to prevent the One-Tailed Beast from going out of control, which at least helps him reduce his drowsiness.

However, no human being can go without sleep, which is why Gaara is on the verge of a breakdown.

Uchiha Kakuzan sensed the chakra in the room at the doorway before slipping inside and standing in front of Gaara.

Immediately afterwards, Uchiha Kakuzan formed several hand seals and used a sealing barrier to envelop the entire room.

Just after Uchiha Kagami finished forming the hand seals, Gaara, who was still on the verge of collapse, finally came to his senses. His face showed a hint of pain, and he asked fiercely:

"Who are you? Are you here to die again?"

Ever since Gaara killed his uncle, his personality has changed drastically. He no longer cares about the lives of ordinary people and has long been accustomed to those sent by the Fourth Kazekage to assassinate him. The sudden appearance of Uchiha Kagami was also a misunderstanding for Gaara.

After completing the sealing barrier, Uchiha Kakuyama carefully observed Gaara at this moment.

At this moment, Gaara, just like when he first appeared in Konoha, had short red hair, the word "love" engraved on his forehead, wore a brown sand-covered robe, and carried a large yellow gourd on his back.

However, Gaara was not in good condition at this time. He was huddled in a corner, his arms wrapped around himself, his hands gripping his clothes tightly, and his eyes, which were bloodshot and filled with violent emotions, were looking at Uchiha Kakuyama.

Just as Qiushan-kun was carefully observing Gaara, something seemed to have enraged him, and he said with a somewhat fierce expression:

"You've come at the right time. I was just about to kill someone, and you've delivered yourself right to my doorstep. Don't leave now."

As soon as Gaara finished speaking, a large cloud of yellow sand, carrying the stench of blood, rushed towards Uchiha Kakuyama. Kakuyama seemed to be stunned, standing there without any reaction.

Gaara, sitting on the ground, saw that the sand had completely surrounded the person in front of him, and a cruel smile appeared on his lips. He then stretched out his hand, made a fist, and clenched it tightly in front of him.

"Sandstorm Funeral"

With Gaara's gesture, the sand surrounding Gokuyama-kun suddenly enveloped him, as if trying to crush his body alive.

However, just as the sand was about to engulf Qiu Shanjun, with a thought from Qiu Shanjun, a powerful repulsive force repelled the sand, and the sand, like sharp arrows, smashed the furnishings in the room to pieces.

"Shenra Tianzheng"

Neither Gaara nor Uchiha Kakuzan paid any attention to the dilapidated room; they simply stared at each other.

Seeing that Uchiha Kakuzan had so easily broken through his trump card, Gaara didn't immediately make a move. Instead, he stared intently at the uninvited guest before him and said in a hoarse voice:

"Who exactly are you? There's no one named you in Sunagakure. Are you from another village?"

Gaara wasn't afraid. After all, his defense was still very strong, and even if this person could break through his defense, he could unleash the One-Tailed Beast to deal with the enemy.

Uchiha Kakuzan largely ignored Gaara's hostile gaze and said:

"You don't need to know who I am. I'm here today to borrow something from you."

Upon hearing the visitor's words, Gaara became more alert and asked:

"what?"

At the same time, he was secretly wondering why no one from the village had come to his rescue despite the commotion he had caused. Normally, if anything seemed amiss, he would be surrounded.

Uchiha Kakuyama glanced at Gaara's obvious dark circles under his eyes, noting that even at such a young age he possessed the air of someone who stayed up all night cultivating immortality, and casually remarked:

"It's nothing, I just want some of the One-Tail's chakra. Don't worry, it won't harm you, and it can even put the One-Tail to sleep for a while, so you can get a good night's rest."

Gaara, of course, could not accept Uchiha Kakuzan's goodwill. Upon hearing that the person before him intended to harm the monster within his body, he laughed in fury:

"You really don't know your own limitations. If this monster inside me were to come out, the entire Sand Village would be in trouble. And you still want to mess with it? You really don't want to live."

After seeing Gaara's hostile attitude, Uchiha Kakuzan shook his head helplessly and, without saying anything more, activated his Rinnegan and began using genjutsu on Gaara.

With Qiu Shanjun's current strength, and using the Rinnegan—the nemesis of tailed beasts—the result was obvious. Both Gaara and the One-Tailed Beast within him were rendered unconscious before they could even react. It was the little tanuki inside him who, before falling asleep, murmured:

"The Rinnegan, the Six Paths Master..."

Immediately afterwards, Shukaku, the Sand Owl, followed in Gaara's footsteps and fell into a deep sleep.

Uchiha Kakuzan glanced at the unconscious Gaara, then walked over, picked him up, and placed him on the dilapidated table beside him. Immediately afterward, Uchiha Kakuzan placed his palm on Gaara's lower abdomen and used the power of the Rinnegan Preta Path.

"Chakra Absorption"

With a thought, Uchiha Kakuyama continuously absorbed a massive amount of red tailed beast chakra from Gaara's body.

Because the tailed beasts still possessed a great deal of chakra, even though Gaara and the One-Tailed Beast were both unconscious and offered no resistance, Uchiha Kakuyama still managed to absorb more than a third of the One-Tailed Beast's chakra after quite some time.

About half an hour later, Uchiha Kakuzan finally removed his hand from Gaara's body. Looking at Gaara, who was still fast asleep, and then sensing the One-Tailed Beast inside him, which was now skin and bones, Uchiha Kakuzan did not delay. After dispelling Gaara's genjutsu, he left immediately.

Chapter 379 The Abnormality of Karin

The Abnormalities of Chlorin (Chapter 379)

Gaara, whose illusion had been broken, still showed no signs of waking up and remained fast asleep.

As the entire village of Sunagakure was bathed in the morning light, Gaara seemed to remember something and jumped up with a start.

At this moment, Gaara was perfectly clear that he was indeed asleep, and sleeping very soundly; otherwise, he wouldn't feel so refreshed.

I've only experienced this feeling once in my life, and the consequence of that deep sleep was that Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast, escaped and destroyed half of the entire Sunagakure village.

Gaara has never slept so soundly since that incident.

Gaara, who had just woken up, was still a little frightened, wondering if the One-Tailed Beast had caused any trouble while he was asleep.

Immediately afterwards, Gaara remembered the uninvited guest from the previous night and quickly checked his body, finding nothing amiss.

Then, Gaara took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and entered his own consciousness space.

Actually, Gaara never wanted to go to the consciousness space because he would have to see the monster that caused him so much pain there.

However, even though he was unwilling, Gaara forced himself to go inside so he could check on the state of the One-Tailed Beast.

After Gaara entered the consciousness space, what came into view was a One-Tailed Beast that, although still enormous, was thin and bony, just skin and bones.

Moreover, perhaps because too much chakra had been extracted, although the One-Tailed Beast was still breathing, it couldn't be woken up no matter what. This relieved Gaara, who had been somewhat worried.

If they can't wake me up, so be it. As long as I'm still alive, that's all that matters.

Gaara comforted himself, thinking that as long as the One-Tailed Beast was still alive, he could at least give an account to the village.

Although Gaara always hated the village, he still felt a sense of responsibility towards it.

Gaara looked at the sleeping One-Tailed Beast, and as if remembering something, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Gaara thought he would finally be able to get a good night's sleep. Although he couldn't remember what the uninvited guest looked like last night, he still felt a faint sense of gratitude towards him.

At the same moment, the gates of Konoha Village welcomed the departure of Kakashi's team and the Ino-Shika-Cho team.

After Kakashi nailed the mission sheet to the pillar next to the gate with kunai, he said goodbye to Kotetsu and the others, and then led Naruto and the others out of the village.

Once outside the village, Naruto, who was already impatient, couldn't hold back any longer and shouted at Kakashi:

"Kakashi-sensei, Uncle Qiushan hasn't arrived yet. Shouldn't we wait for him?"

Then, before Kakashi could speak, Naruto looked at Shikamaru beside him:

"Hey, hey, Shikamaru, don't you need to wait for your team leader to come when you go out of the village to do a mission?"

Shikamaru glanced at Naruto, who was getting a little too excited, and covered his head in exasperation, muttering, "So troublesome."

Then, Shikamaru pointed to a rather uniquely designed kunai at his waist and said:

"Teacher Qiushan told us to follow Teacher Kakashi out of the village first, and he will be here soon."

Naruto was also drawn to the rather unusual kunai hanging from Shikamaru's waist. He looked at Shikamaru, then at Choji and Ino, noticing that they all had the same kunai. He scratched his head and asked:

"Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, how come you all have the same kunai? Are you newcomers from the village?"

Kakashi had already spotted Shikamaru and the others' kunai, but when Naruto asked them about it, Kakashi, still somewhat concerned, asked again:

"Shikamaru, if I'm not mistaken, this kunai should be the space-time ninjutsu that Lord Okayama has just learned. Will he just use it to get here in a bit?"

Shikamaru already knew Kakashi's background from his father, so he wasn't surprised at all that Kakashi recognized the kunai's origin.

He glanced at the somewhat curious Naruto, then simply drew the kunai, which was slightly larger than a regular kunai, from his waist, twirled it in front of Naruto, and revealed the special pattern on the hilt.

"Kakashi-sensei is right. The space-time ninjutsu that Okayama-sensei uses is the same as the space-time ninjutsu that the Fourth Hokage is most skilled at—it's the Flying Thunder God Technique."

I'm not sure what level the teacher has reached, but it's definitely enough for getting around.

After hearing Shikamaru's explanation, Kakashi nodded and said nothing more.

Naruto, meanwhile, stared at the kunai with unfathomable eyes, silently thinking to himself.

"It's the same ninjutsu as my father's. I wonder if I can learn it in the future. If I do, I guess I'll be following in my father's footsteps."

Sasuke, who had remained silent the whole time, was silently reviewing the Flying Thunder God Technique that his teacher, Qiushan, had taught him the day before, when he saw the kunai.

However, although the Flying Thunder God Technique had been simplified by the teacher, it was still very difficult to learn. Sasuke had only been studying it for a day and still hadn't grasped the basics.

While everyone was silently making their way, Uchiha Kakuzan, who had already brought Mikoto and Kushina out, settling them in, created a wood clone and sent Shikamaru over using the Flying Thunder God seal next to him.

With a fleeting, peculiar fluctuation, Uchiha Kakuyama appeared silently among the crowd.

However, because Uchiha Kakuyama did not conceal his aura, his sudden appearance startled everyone.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Uchiha Kakuzan simply waved his hand:

Good morning, everyone.

Upon seeing that it was Uchiha Kakuyama, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and greeted him.

Just then, Karin Uzumaki, who had been completely unnoticed, hesitated for a moment, then quietly approached Qiushan-jun, took out a thermal lunchbox from her backpack, and said with a slightly flushed face:

"Uncle Qiushan, have you had breakfast? I brought some extra, would you like some?"