Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

1049. Four-Tails: That bastard is coming! Run!

"Father, Lao Zi and Han have both disappeared. Are we just going to do nothing?"

Inside the Tsuchikage Tower in Iwagakure, Huang Tu frowned as he looked at his father. Lao Zi and Han had been missing for a month. He had thought his father would send people to search for them, but in the past month, his father seemed to have forgotten about it and hadn't inquired about it at all.

It made him wonder if his father was really suffering from dementia. Those were Jinchuriki, the village's nuclear weapons! Their village had paid a huge price for those two tailed beasts, and now his father didn't seem to care at all.

"No need. Those two idiots will be back soon. A big fuss would be time-consuming and exhausting, and the village would just lose face..."

Onoki looked at his son, who was so anxious he was almost on the verge of exasperation, and sighed inwardly.

Golden Lion Shiki was right when he said that Onoki's proudest achievement in his life was raising such a son, who was far superior to Hiruzen Sarutobi's short and good-for-nothing younger son.

Mature, steady, sensible, and filial.

Unfortunately, his son lacked talent and was somewhat dull-witted, completely failing to inherit his father's quick wit. He was somewhat like the Wang family neighbor who lived next door to them back in the day. Perhaps because his father was too busy with his work as the shadow knight, his son had played with the Wang family since childhood and had been deeply influenced by them.

That's why he's kept his beloved granddaughter by his side since she was little, preventing her from being influenced by his son. Now it seems to be working. His son's ideas aren't comprehensive enough, which is why he's still holding on to the position of Tsuchikage after Deidara left, and not letting his son take over.

My son is really no good!

It doesn't matter how talented the Hokage of Konoha is, as long as he doesn't cause trouble and can maintain his position. But the Hokage of Iwagakure is different; he can't be lacking in intelligence.

He doesn't even look at the current situation of their village. Onoki is the only one who can defeat a Tailed Beast. Sending out more underlings to find one would be useless and would even make the ninja world laugh at them, one of the five great ninja villages, for not being able to keep an eye on two Jinchuriki. So even though he still owes debts, he still has to spend money to make a deal with Kakuzu, that bounty traitor. Although doing so will increase the debt burden, at least the village won't lose face.

Sometimes, the village's reputation is more important than life itself!

Actually, he was quite anxious during this time, but in order to maintain the lofty image of the Tsuchikage, he had to pretend to be as calm and collected as Iron Egg.

Although Kakuzu was once a tailed beast dealer, he always had to deal with that bastard Shiki. He had only heard about Kakuzu's previous deal with Kirigakure involving the Six-Tails, but he had never actually witnessed it, and he wasn't sure if Kakuzu could handle Rōshi and Han.

Considering Kakuzu's relationship with that bastard Shiki, Kakuzu would probably go and find that bastard Shiki. Although I'm very unhappy about it, if Kakuzu really goes and finds that bastard Shiki, at least this matter will be settled.

Although Shiki is almost sixty, and it's hard to say how much strength he still has, he was able to fight the Nine-Tails hand-to-hand over a decade ago, and recently he even knocked out the Konoha freak who was nearly killed by the Kazekage. So, dealing with Roshi and Han shouldn't be a problem for him...

"...Father, you didn't ask someone for help, did you?"

Seeing his father's leisurely demeanor, Huang Tu's first suspect was Kakuzu, the top black market player. He knew that his father had some business dealings with Kakuzu, but that was a duel between his father and those old guys back then, so he couldn't interfere. Besides, that kind of thing happened in every village; otherwise, how would those rogue ninjas make money? It's just that everyone tacitly agreed not to say it.

But this matter is different. Its impact is much greater than the infighting among those old guys. If the ninja world finds out that their Iwagakure's Jinchuriki is missing and they can't handle it themselves, and they have to spend money to hire Kakuzu, what will happen? Putting aside whether it's embarrassing or not, the Raikage will probably start making moves.

Although this Raikage doesn't have the same impressive record as the Third Raikage, who fought the Eight-Tails hand-to-hand, I imagine he should be able to handle the Four-Tails and Five-Tails quite well.

"......"

Meanwhile, Tu Mu, standing nearby, seemed oblivious to the conversation between the father and son, almost asleep.

Kakuzu was the one who contacted him, so he naturally knew the whole story. He couldn't say whether his boss's method was right or wrong. After all, if the method succeeded, Iwagakure would only lose some money. But if it was exposed, the boss's concern about saving face would not only be lost, but he would also lose even more face.

However, he usually keeps quiet in such situations, simply following the leader's instructions without offering any unsolicited opinions.

He was under immense pressure. After returning from Konoha, in order to keep his boss in check and prevent him from being misled by those eyeing his position into starting a war, he relayed Shiki's words verbatim. Although he managed to keep his boss in check for the time being, it was only temporary. Fortunately, Ozuru and Han's departure from home completely diverted his boss's attention; otherwise, who knows how long his boss could have kept things stable.

After all, the eldest son is getting old and has suffered several serious injuries over the years, so it's quite reasonable that he has some dementia and can't remember things...

I don't know if Lao Zi and Han think the same way as him, which is why they went missing at this time to help him divert the boss's attention.

........

"Oh no, that bastard's here! Old Zi, run! Σ(?д?ll)"

"Sun Wukong, what's wrong?"

The Land of Stone, a tiny country located on the border of the Land of Earth, is so small that it can't even be found on a map! It's practically a tiny city-state. Although the country has little land, its population is also extremely small, making it a unique case of vast land and sparse population. However, to be honest, such a small country has no reason to exist independently. In fact, it would be better for them to be incorporated into the Land of Earth.

But ironically, this country not only wasn't incorporated into the Land of Earth, but instead contentedly served as a dutiful son of the Land of Earth, peacefully persisting in the turbulent ninja world for so many years.

This is quite remarkable, perhaps because the country is so small that its coordinates cannot be found on a map, reflecting that it has never been affected by war in recent years.

In a cave in the Land of Stone, Old Purple, who was sleeping peacefully, was suddenly startled by a cry from his Four-Tails father in his belly. He picked at his sleepy eyes, looking completely bewildered.

"Run! That bastard Golden Lion is coming, probably looking for us!"

Sensing the approaching, irritating aura, the four tails inside Old Purple's belly seemed to recall that painful realization, and their bodies began to tremble violently.

What does its running away with Old Purple have to do with Golden Lion? Why did it suddenly appear here, and why is it clearly heading straight for them...?

1050. Don't come any closer!

"What?!?! (?｀?Д?′)!!"

Just as Lao Zi rushed out of the cave, a sudden sense of oppression that made him want to call out "Dad" hit him, and he quickly slammed on the brakes.

Golden, slicked-back hair, a scruffy beard, a wrinkled floral shirt, and black shorts that were so short they were practically knee-length—though many years had passed, this image, this overwhelming sense of oppression, could only belong to that blond demon from Sunagakure...

Finished!

At this moment, Lao Zi felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. Despite the scorching summer heat, his heart was so cold.

The four-tailed father in the belly, that coward, cried out several times but didn't react at all.

Seriously, they don't check the almanac before going out! They just escaped the wolf pack and now they've run into a lion...

I should have known better than to go with that idiot Han. In the village, even though I was constantly being watched by the secret police and had no privacy, at least I had enough to eat and drink and wouldn't get beaten up. But now, looking at this devil's eyes, I'm definitely going to get a beating.

"Hey! Isn't this Little Azi? What are you doing here? You're really not being fair. I searched the whole map just to find you, and I'm all sweaty and stinky now. You, on the other hand, are pretty carefree, still have sleepy eyes..."

Joking aside, Shinto is incredibly popular right now, as if his intelligence has been completely suppressed. He never expected that this bastard, Old Purple, would be so good at playing the "blind spot" game. After his intelligence was once suppressed by that illiterate Jiraiya, he got up and wandered around the Land of Earth, searching almost every country near it, but still couldn't find the bastard. He didn't pay any attention to the tiny Land of Stone, which had no coordinates on the map, since it was too close to the Land of Earth. Why would an idiot stay so close by instead of running far?

So, he came to the Land of Stone with the intention of giving it a try, only to be swept away by Observation Haki.

Hey!

That bastard is actually sleeping soundly in the cave.

Thinking about how I've been running around all over the map under the scorching sun all this time, and this bastard is so carefree, I can't help but feel furious.

"Don't come any closer! (?｀?Д?′)!!"

"Lord Golden Lion, I...I wonder what brings you here?"

At first, he was a little flustered, but then, under that immense pressure, and with that cowardly father of the Four-Tails ignoring him and refusing to come out no matter what, Old Purple could only pretend to be calm and say.

He knew that the super tough guy Golden Lion admired tough guys the most, so he hoped that, considering Golden Lion's unyielding spirit, he would go easy on him later.

"Alright, alright, stop pretending to be a tough guy in front of me. I'm not going to hit you, so what are you panicking about? You ran off with that steampunk guy, and your Tsuchikage is useless, so you came to us Sunagakure for help. We believe that if everyone contributes a little love, we're all one family, so I just came out for a stroll. You bastard, you really know how to hide, huh? You even know how to play the 'blind spot' game. You're much better than that idiot steampunk who was wandering around everywhere. He got caught after only a short time. Alright, just tie yourself up and come with me."

Seeing that Old Purple was still strong and white-haired, Shinto finally softened and did not make a move. The kid that he and his brother had taken away and sold back then was now over fifty years old. How could an ordinary person's life force withstand the consumption of a tailed beast? Old Purple, who was almost ten years younger than him, looked older than him now.

Although he has the potential to be an ageless male god...

We've known each other for a long time, and he'll be gone in a year or two. Let's just leave a good impression on him while he's still alive.

"That old bastard, Onoki..."

Old Purple actually believed him when he heard him say that. First, he obediently tied himself up and made a slipknot very cleverly. Then, he gritted his teeth and gave Onoki a good scolding.

Although he secretly ran away from the village, it didn't mean he didn't love the village. It was just that he had been watched by the secret police every day for years, and the wary look in the eyes of the secret police officers made him very uncomfortable. That's why he discussed with Han about running away to breathe some free air for a while before returning to the village to turn himself in. He never thought of bringing shame to the village, and he had never done anything to bring shame to the village in his entire life.

Even though he ran away once or twice when he sensed the Golden Lion, it was just a wise man knowing when to yield, and he didn't bring shame to the village.

But that old bastard Onoki actually had the nerve to beg Sunagakure, a village with whom they had a history of love and hate, making the village lose all face!

"Alright, alright, stop spewing nonsense. You can't hear me spewing nonsense at Onoki anyway. If you're so brave, spew it at him to his face, and I'll call you a warrior. Let's go, giddy up..."

Lao Zi: Is it cute or not...ヽ(ー_ー)ノ

......

"That bastard isn't all that great. He calls himself the Golden Lion of Sunagakure, but I think he's just trying to gain fame. We've been waiting here for two weeks and he still hasn't shown up. He's been bragging so much, but I don't even know if he can pull it off. Pshaw!"

At the agreed meeting point, Hidan, who was supposed to be immortal, plopped down on the unconscious Five-Tails Jinchuriki, his mouth firing incessantly like a Gatling gun emitting blue light.

Hidan, who won't die, won't change his arrogant persona just because he got beaten up, especially since that bastard who made him wear the Calabash Brothers costume for a month has already started writing about it in red pen in his little notebook.

He'll start talking whenever he has a chance. Anyway, Hidan really won't die, so what's there to be afraid of!

"Hey...! You idiot, be careful not to ruin our rich man's life!"

Kakuzu sighed helplessly and then gave a reminder.

The little guy was beyond saving anyway, and he couldn't be bothered to try anymore. He'd heard it countless times already, his ears were practically calloused. The kid wasn't going to die anyway, and his good brother didn't know any sealing techniques. If the kid wanted to be left alone, he could just let him be...

"boom!"

"Snapped!"

"Hey... it hurts..."

Sure enough, people don't talk about each other during the day, but once they do, things get interesting. As soon as Kakuzu finished speaking, he was struck, fell to the ground, clutched his head and cried out in pain. The action was all done in one smooth motion. Shinto's figure had already appeared in front of Hidan, who was supposed to be immortal, with Old Purple, who had been tied up tightly by himself, on his shoulder.

"Oh dear, my temper is short. I was wondering why I would sneeze for no reason, and why I couldn't stop once I started. It turns out it was you, you little rascal, who kept talking so much. You didn't get enough of being beaten, did you?"

"boom!"

"You want to do it again, right?"

"boom!"

"This is called subduing the enemy without fighting, winning without bloodshed. Do you understand this four-character idiom?"

"boom!"

"How are you doing, old man? Are you alright now?"

Shinto, annoyed, rode on Hidan's back, who was immortal, and unleashed a barrage of punches. He had only intended to land a punch or two, since Kaku was there and he had to give him face. But to be fair, the feel of the punches was undeniably amazing.

Simply can not stop.

It's intoxicating!

1051. The aura of ultramodern civilization

"You're something else! (?^?)"

Hidan, who wouldn't die, got up and rubbed the big bump on his head, still trying to be stubborn. However, seeing the huge, dark fist waving in front of him, coupled with the excruciating pain in his soul, he chose to follow his heart.

He really couldn't understand why he felt pain when the evil god boss had clearly taken back his sense of pain back then, and he had hurt himself countless times over the years without ever feeling any pain.

Did the evil god leader not take back the power completely enough?

"That's more like it! As the old saying goes, 'A wise man submits to circumstances.' If you had said that earlier, you wouldn't have gotten beaten up. You know, beating people up is tiring..."