This puppeteer is a bit... well...

Chapter 230 The Death of Fenfu

"This...this..."

The Blood Pool Clan members all widened their eyes as they gazed at the spatial vortex that opened behind Ryuji.

In the past six months, Long Er's growth has expanded the space inside countless times. Six months ago, even with all kinds of equipment installed, it couldn't fit forty people, but now it can fit for 200 people.

Spatial abilities are extremely rare and powerful in the entire ninja world, let alone carrying such a vast space with you.

"Now you believe in my sincerity, right?"

Looking at the surprised crowd, Long Er smiled slightly, his tone tinged with smugness.

The old patriarch was the first to recover, but a trace of shock still lingered in his eyes. "I didn't see sincerity, but I certainly saw your ability to help the Blood Pool Clan. Let's discuss sincerity later!"

Hey, I knew it wouldn't be that easy!

Long Er sighed inwardly.

He thought that this clan, isolated in Hell Valley, would be simple and easy to deceive... and indeed they were. If they weren't simple and easy to deceive, they wouldn't have been fooled and used dozens of times.

But even the most naive person will become wary after being deceived and taken advantage of so many times.

"Then let's talk slowly!"

The Blood Pond is a bloodline limit that rivals the Sharingan in genjutsu, and it can also be used to launch various ninjutsu using blood as a medium... Although Ryuji looks down on the Sharingan, that's because the conditions for awakening the Sharingan are too demanding and the side effects are too great.

Without these things, his emphasis on the Sharingan would undoubtedly be several levels higher.

……

The specific negotiations were tedious and boring, making Long Er want to doze off.

But since it concerns the future of both parties, he has no choice but to pull himself together.

Suddenly, a red voice came from the ocean of consciousness.

"Master, Lord Fenfu is dying."

Although he was imprisoned in the Sand Village dungeon and no one respected him, and even countless people feared him, he and Ryuji were friends, so Kurenai usually addressed him as "Master" as a respectful title.

Upon hearing this news, Long Er was stunned for a moment, then seemed somewhat dazed, "Is the old monk finally going to give up?"

He greatly admired the old monk, who was also a close friend and confidant with whom he could see through each other's inner thoughts and have deep conversations. Now, the old monk is nearing the end of his life.

The One-Tailed Jinchuriki, Bunfuku, is about to die of old age... Although I received this news more than half a year ago, I thought he could live for at least another five years or so, but I never expected this...

It is worth mentioning that Ryuji used his chakra in the souls he created, and with the contingency plan he deliberately made during the creation, each soul contained his own dormant consciousness, which could be deliberately and instantly taken over the soul body when needed, becoming its master.

Because countless souls possess their own meanings, they form a vast spiritual ocean across distances, allowing him to communicate with other souls from afar and even exchange bodies as a soul channel.

Of course, the furthest distance cannot exceed two hundred kilometers.

After successfully shrinking the chakra generator, Ryuji has been mass-producing scarab puppets to serve as relay signal stations.

Now, the scarab beetle has spread throughout the entire ninja world, and his mental ocean, like a wireless network, covers the entire ninja continent, allowing him to receive intelligence from any corner of the continent at any time.

Therefore, even in remote places like Hell Valley, information can be received.

The specific interpretation of "red" in the ocean of the spirit.

Ultimately, Fenban couldn't overcome his inner demons. He was still bothered by what Ryuji had said about being cowardly. In addition, his aging body had to bear the pressure of a tailed beast, and he was getting weaker and weaker. He was now only barely clinging to life thanks to the medical ninjas' relentless investment.

"Even a high-ranking monk, even if he says he has seen through it all, he hasn't truly seen through it all in his heart..."

Long Er couldn't help but sigh, and then continued his negotiations with the Blood Pool patriarch, who looked astonished.

……

The negotiations ended half an hour later.

Long Er stepped out of the cave, and the scorching ultraviolet rays outside shone on him again. At this moment, Hell Valley was unusually deserted, with no one in sight.

The Blood Pool clan finally agreed to Ryuji's conditions and entered his personal space.

No matter what, even if they faced rejection and oppression in Sunagakure, it was still far better than slowly waiting to die in Hell Valley. This was the only hope they had seen in decades that could truly take them away from Hell Valley without worrying about pressure from the Land of Lightning and Kumogakure.

Floating continent, mechanical city.

temple.

By this time, Bunpuku's consciousness was already blurred. Standing beside her were Ebizo, Chiyo, Kurenai, the Third Kazekage, and Rasa.

This news is being kept under wraps for the time being, and only these high-ranking officials know about it. And almost everyone who knows about it has arrived.

The succession of a human jinchūriki is a major event for any village.

Just as they were talking with their heads down.

A hurried footstep sounded, and a young man with a somber expression walked in. Upon hearing the footsteps, Fenfu forced himself to open his eyes despite his discomfort.

"We'll be leaving now, Master."

Hong bowed slightly and then walked out of the room first. The meaning of this action was very clear: this place was no longer suitable for anyone else to stay.

Let's leave the rest of the time to Bunfuku and Ryuji.

Chiyo and Ebizo, realizing that this was not the place for them, nodded to Ryuji.

At this moment, only Fenfu and Ryuji remained in the room.

Fenfu's voice was hoarse and his speech was intermittent. The fact that he could recognize the person in front of him as Long Er was already a result of his last burst of energy.

"Old monk."

Ryuji exclaimed with reverence for Bunfuku, for the person before him was one of the few in the world who could truly connect with the Tailed Beasts.

Shukaku's assessment of him was that he possessed the qualities of the Sage of Six Paths. If it weren't for the confirmation that the Sage of Six Paths had truly died and was not a reincarnation, one would mistake him for the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths... This was the highest praise ever received by Jinchuriki throughout the ages.

"Do you have any last words?" Ryuji's thoughts were very complicated, and he had a lot to say.

But for a Jinchūriki who has lived for decades and been imprisoned for decades, and whose many thoughts have long been extinguished, there is no need to say anything more.

His face, seemingly aged and covered in wrinkles, betrayed no emotion. He simply let out a long sigh, seemingly without any attachment to this world, and murmured a small farewell.

"Fool. In the end, I am just an ordinary mortal..." The old monk left these words with a smile.

Long Er sensed that the old monk Fenfu's life force had withered in that instant, as if he was waiting for Long Er to return so he could tell him his last words.

"No, you are a true high monk!"

No matter how enlightened a high monk may be, he is still just a mortal.

If one could be as serene as the Buddha when sharing blessings, then one would not be sharing blessings, but rather becoming the Buddha.

Ryuji took a deep breath and looked at Shukaku, who had turned into flowing sand.

Next, it was his turn to talk to One-Tail.

Having anticipated the possibility of the tailed beasts going out of control, the temple built in the Mechanical City was very large, with a spacious plaza outside the main hall, large enough to accommodate a tailed beast.

Sand flowed out from the temple and gathered in the square in the shape of a raccoon dog, its enormous body surpassing all the buildings in the temple.

He gained his freedom, but felt no joy in it, only the sorrow of losing his friend.

"Shukaku, do you still remember our promise?"

Shukaku did not answer Ryuji's question immediately. Instead, he turned his head to look at Bunfuku in the hall, stared at him for a few seconds, and then turned his gaze back.

The last bit of disappointment in my heart was also put away.

As a tailed beast that has lived for countless years, he has long been accustomed to parting ways with other creatures.

"Of course I remember."

Ryuji and Shukaku once made a promise: if Ryuji could create chakra out of thin air, Shukaku would voluntarily enter Ryuji's body and serve him.

Now, this machine has already been successfully developed... Although it is far from being able to replace the tailed beasts, this thing has shown him the possibility of success.

Shukaku glanced longingly at the sky outside, then transformed into condensed chakra and swiftly poured it into Ryuji's body.

Instantly, powerful chakra surged through his entire body.

Feeling the surging power brought by Shukaku, Ryuji let out a long breath.

Because Shukaku voluntarily helped him, there was no need for a seal or to divert chakra to maintain the seal, making him stronger than a typical Jinchūriki.

Tailed beasts' chakra has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that there is no need to worry about the amount of chakra, and they can squander it without restraint. The disadvantage is that it will interfere with the control of chakra.

However, this only applies to traditional ninjas. As for Shukaku, who voluntarily provided himself as Ryuji's jinchūriki, and Ryuji himself, as a puppeteer, with his exquisite chakra manipulation skills.

None of these are problems.

After accepting Shukaku, Ryuji turned and left the temple, after which he heard a long chanting of Buddhist prayers.

The other monks in the temple gathered around Fenfu and presided over the funeral.

They bid farewell to the old monk who had lived for decades in their own way.

Speaking of which, this temple was specially built by Long Er for Fenfu in Fujian. These monks were all Fenfu's fellow disciples in the temple before. However, as time has passed, Fenfu no longer recognizes any of them and has never stepped out of the temple.

Chiyo and Ebizo, who were waiting outside the temple, also noticed the commotion inside.

Chiyo felt a little melancholy, and he turned to Ebizo and said.

"My dear brother, now that Fenfu is gone, we've lost another person we know."

Ebizo knew his sister had entered a melancholic mode, but his heart was equally heavy.

"Sister, let's retire after this war is over."

Just then, Ryuji walked out of the temple and sensed the heavy atmosphere around him.

For ninjas, life and death are nothing new.

Although it's inevitable to feel sad as familiar people leave one by one, I've long since gotten used to it.

However, this is a terrible habit.

He joked, "You can't just plant these flags anywhere, or something bad will happen."

Chiyo and Ebizo didn't understand what Ryuji meant. Chiyo asked with concern, "Is Shukaku really willing to reside inside your body?"

Although he had lived for so many years, this was the first time he had ever seen a tailed beast submit willingly without needing to be sealed. He couldn't help but feel a little worried about his disciple who, though without a formal title, was actually teaching him skills.

Over the years, apart from Bunpuku, she has never heard of any Jinchuriki living peacefully with a Tailed Beast (she is currently unaware of Killer Bee's situation).

"That's natural. Even if he's restless, I can easily subdue him with my strength."

Chiyo was quite reassured by what Ryuji said.

"By the way, I just went to Hell Valley to bring the Blood Pool Clan over. They've been temporarily settled in a residential area and are being looked after by a few members of the Dark Guard. They still need to register and reorganize their files, so I'll leave that to you."

Hearing what Long Er said, Hai Laozang suddenly remembered and patted his head, saying, "As expected, as you get older, your memory isn't so clear. I just remembered that during the time you were away, the Fengmo clan also sent people to contact us, saying they wanted to join our village. Now you don't have to go out in person."

Upon hearing what Ebizo said, Ryuji's eyes lit up.

The Fuma clan is a renowned clan in the ninja world. If even they have voluntarily pledged allegiance to Sunagakure, then other ninja clans that want to join a ninja village but are still observing will probably no longer hesitate.

However, this is not surprising.

After all, this was the era of ninja villages, and using ninja clans as a unit was too weak.

In the original story, the Fuma clan joined the Sound Village established by Orochimaru because they realized that ninja clans could not exist alone in this era, and this was a compromise they made.

"That's good, saves me the trouble of visiting them one by one in person."

Most of the ninja clans worth paying attention to have already joined, so now we can focus on improving our own village's strength.

(End of this chapter)