Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

"That depends on whether you, Lord Takikage, have the courage. Your tailed beasts were safe before because they weren't being targeted, but now they are, and the other side is powerful enough to seal them. There must be an organized and premeditated criminal organization involved. Keeping the tailed beasts in your village not only doesn't serve as a deterrent but also endangers your village. Look at these innocent villagers, they're so pitiful! Here's what we'll do! I'll take a loss and take the Seven-Tails. You can spread the word that the Seven-Tails is with me, and I'll see if those guys have the guts to come and snatch it from me! Of course, it's all voluntary. You can ask the Seven-Tails its own wishes; if it wants to come with me, it can. If it doesn't, I won't force it. But if those people come back, it'll depend on your methods, Lord Takikage. Those people are ruthless killers..."

At this moment, Shinto, who had just thoroughly beaten up the Seven-Tails and was feeling refreshed, walked over and patted his chest, saying to Takikage, "What a generous guy! He's actually willing to help us shoulder this disaster!" His hearty words deeply moved the group of Takikage. "Golden Lion of Sunagakure, what a wonderful person! He's actually willing to help us take on this disaster!"

As expected, rumors in the ninja world cannot be completely trusted. The Sand Village's Golden Lion is clearly a kind-hearted person who helps those in need, which is completely inconsistent with the rumors of him being a troublemaker everywhere!

Shinto, seeing his deeply moved Takigakure comrades, was even more surprised at how smoothly things had gone. He had to thank Onoki for this divine intervention. He had originally planned to be ruthless and forcibly seize the Seven-Tails to get the resources Danzo had. His reputation in the ninja world was already mixed; as many people loved him as hated him, and one more hating him wouldn't matter. Who knew Onoki's intervention would actually help him salvage some of his image…

As for the Seven-Tails' wishes... this beast is much more cowardly than its fourth brother. It gave up after being punched twice. It's just a coward who eats the soft and fears the strong. It has no dignity as the son of the Six Paths. Even if Takikage dares to ask it, it wouldn't dare to say no.

"Waaaaah... Let me go with them... Staying here will only bring you trouble..."

Sure enough, upon receiving Masato's sharp gaze, the Seven-Tails lying on the ground instantly burst into tears. Without Takikage even having to speak, it immediately expressed its stance, speaking with such righteous indignation.

"This... Lord Shinto, I'll leave it to you..."

Even the Seven-Tails said so, so what could Takikage say? He was shocked that even a tailed beast could be a coward, crying after being beaten up for less than half an hour. But he didn't dare say it; he couldn't beat the Seven-Tails. Now that someone who could make the Seven-Tails cry had spoken up, there was nothing he could do even if he was unhappy.

As for the days when the Seven-Tails is no longer there to protect them, whether the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain will try to harm their sworn brother... they'll just have to keep clinging to Konoha's coattails...

"Don't worry about the trouble. We're all doing this for the harmonious development of the ninja world! Since you, Lord Takigage, have agreed, we'll take this giant beetle with us. Don't worry, I guarantee those guys will never come to your Takigakure again! Your village also needs to be rebuilt, so I won't stay for a meal. We'll be leaving now."

"boom!"

"Once the giant beetle is gone, I'll treat you to a big meal when we get back!"

Takikage nodded, and Masato kicked the giant beetle in the head again, like a father disciplining his son, making the group of Takikage ninjas tremble with fear. The Sand Village's Golden Lion is damn fierce!

"Phew... Hopefully, spreading the word will keep those people from coming to Takigakure again..."

Watching the two people and one beast leave, Takikage breathed a sigh of relief and said to his underlings, "Back then, although we managed to buy the Seven-Tails by relying on Hashirama Senju's coattails, those terrorists this time were just too strong. Fortunately, their target was only the Tailed Beast; if it had been in the main tournament, the village would have been wiped out..."

131. Hai Zang: That kid finally did something decent.

The Golden Lion of Sunagakure has taken away the Seven-Tails of Takigakure!

Takigakure was attacked by an unknown criminal organization targeting the Seven-Tails, the Takigakure's weapon. Fortunately, the Sand Village's Golden Lion and a genius puppeteer happened to be passing by and rescued Takigakure from the attack. To prevent further disaster, the Golden Lion took the Seven-Tails away, causing the criminal organization to shift their target!

When news of Takigakure reached the ninja world, everyone was shocked!

Is this year a big year for tailed beasts?

The Four-Tails of Iwagakure are still completely confused about what's going on, and now the Seven-Tails is in trouble again! An unknown criminal organization, the Golden Lion of Sunagakure?

Why is this guy everywhere?!

The last time, Konoha cleared him of suspicion regarding the Four-Tails and Five-Tails incident at Iwagakure, whether they believed it or not. Now this guy is getting involved in the Seven-Tails incident at Takigakure, and what's more, an unknown criminal organization just attacked Takigakure to hunt the tailed beasts, and this guy just happens to be passing by...

Is this even possible?!

Many people believe that Shiki's incredible bad luck is what brought misfortune to Takigakure. For so many years, nothing bad happened, but the moment he arrived, Takigakure was struck by misfortune. Adding to this, the son of Hashirama Senju, the current head of the Senju clan, happened to be caught in the crossfire of being hunted by Koma Senju... In short, they all feel that Shiki is always carrying an ominous aura...

Even the Raikage and Mizukage, who believe in science and dispel superstition, are considering putting up a huge sign at the border saying "No Golden Lions or Dogs Allowed." This guy has ruined Iwagakure, Konoha, and Takigakure. Who knows when he might be in a good mood and wander over there one day...

However, this was something that Takigaku took the initiative to spread, and his tone was full of gratitude towards that golden lion, which completely baffled everyone!

However, there is one thing that deserves everyone's attention: is this golden lion really that strong? Let alone taking down the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, although Konoha has already refuted the rumors, there are still many shrewd people who do not believe it. But taking away the Seven-Tails is not so simple. From ancient times to the present, apart from Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, who has dared to take away a tailed beast?

Tailed beasts are notoriously short-tempered. It's almost impossible to take them away without crippling them. Yet this golden lion managed to take the Seven-Tails away. If we hadn't fought it beforehand and beaten the Seven-Tails into begging for mercy, would the proud souls of the tailed beasts have obediently followed him?

The Raikage has a lot to say about this. He fought the Eight-Tails one-on-one recently when it was provoked, and his chest was even breached. The Raikage knows better than anyone how volatile the tailed beasts are.

......

"That damn bastard again!!! (「▼皿▼)"

In Iwagakure, Onoki's nose darkened even more, making the leader of the Land of Demons beside him weak in the knees, fearing that Onoki's temper would flare up and he would blast him to smithereens.

At this moment, Onoki's hatred had reached the heavens, and the name "Golden Lion" instantly surpassed Hiruzen Sarutobi and Madara to seize the top spot on his little notebook.

This was a ploy by the leader of the Land of Demons to use purple as leverage to ask him to send troops. He has already sent people, and his attitude has been made clear. As for whether he can retrieve the Seven-Tails, it depends on whether the Land of Demons and the Seven-Tails are destined to be together. If it was Takigakure's valiant defense that led to their defeat, Onoki wouldn't be so furious. After all, the Seven-Tails was bought from Konoha by them at great expense, and the hopes of the entire village rested on it. It's normal for them to defend it to the death.

However, his two underlings leading the front line reported to him that the culprit behind their heavy casualties in Iwagakure was that bastard Shiki. With him flying in the air with that old woman Chiyo's son, Chiyo's son's ten-man squad was practically a bug, racking up more kills than the Seven-Tails unleashing its Tailed Beast Ball. Shiki hadn't even made a move yet, and half of his underlings were already poisoned and lying down.

Last time, that bastard Shiki colluded with Kakuzu to release the Five-Tails and even took down their Four-Tails. This time, it was Shiki again who caused his people to suffer heavy losses. What's most infuriating is that he can't openly seek revenge on Shiki for this. Onoki is so frustrated he's practically a dog in his stomach!

If people find out that they were the ones who attacked Takigakure, their reputation will be ruined! In particular, Konoha will definitely criticize Iwagakure as righteous envoys, and then the other three villages will follow suit, and Iwagakure's reputation will be tarnished.

What's most infuriating is that they went into a huge debt with Sunagakure to buy two tailed beasts, but that bastard Shiki ended up with a Seven-Tails instead. This... Onoki felt worse than if he'd eaten shit...

"Lord Tsuchikage... perhaps... perhaps we should just let it go. Maybe our Land of Demons is simply not meant to have the Seven-Tails... We've already brought... brought the Four-Tails Jinchuriki..."

Seeing that Onoki was about to explode in anger, the person in charge of the Land of Demons didn't dare to say anything more and said tremblingly. At this point, the dream of being the sixth greatest ninja village in the ninja world was gone. It was already a favor that Onoki didn't blame him for this incident.

"What else do you want? Bring Zi back to me right now! If even a single hair on her head is missing, I'll hold you accountable! ╬?д?╬?"

If the person in charge of the Land of Demons hadn't brought it up, things would have been fine. But once you brought up this topic, Onoki's temper couldn't be contained. His hands lit up with a white light, and he unleashed a torrent of abuse on the person in charge of the Land of Demons!

I really want to blast this bastard to death with a single shot!

That bastard! If that bastard hadn't flattered him a bit, he wouldn't have agreed to that bastard's request!

"Snapped!"

Thinking of this, Onoki slapped himself hard. Those were all his good lads!

"Yes, yes... I'll have someone send a Jinchūriki over right away..."

The leader of the Land of Demons almost broke through to the Nascent Soul stage when he saw the white light in Onoki's hand. Upon hearing Onoki's words, he immediately cowered like a dog. In his opinion, this matter was a natural progression. With the strength of the Iwa ninja, it would be easy for them to go to Takigakure and take down the Seven-Tails. But who the hell knew that they would run into this Golden Lion.

The Land of Demons has really lost out this time!

They mobilized the entire nation to smuggle themselves across the Bear Kingdom to the Wind Kingdom to pan for gold. Countless people died far from home just to raise this much money. They thought they could rise to power, but now it's all over.

He couldn't afford to mess with Onoki, and he certainly couldn't afford to mess with Shiki the Golden Lion from Sunagakure, who could kill even a few village kage!

...

"...Sister! Hurry up and bring that brat back! Oh, and bring the Seven-Tails back with you too!!"

In Sunagakure, Kaizo rushed home and excitedly told Chiyo, who was pruning the flowers and plants.

I'm so excited!

So exciting!

That kid's been out partying for so long, and he's finally done something decent!

132. Tobirama Senju is still the most reliable.

Nanao!

That's the Seven-Tails, the third-ranked tailed beast!

When Konoha was preparing to auction off the Tailed Beasts, the richest people in the ninja world, of course, also had their own ideas. However, since they already had one Tailed Beast and the sealing technique was damaged, they didn't have a great desire for another Tailed Beast. After all, the One-Tailed Beast had already turned their village upside down, so what would happen if they got another Tailed Beast?

Tailed beasts are great, everyone knows they're nuclear weapons, but you still have to be able to control them! Back then, they couldn't control Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast, so they didn't participate in Konoha's Tailed Beast auction.

Otherwise, they could have piled gold dust on Hashirama Senju and killed him...

But things are different now. They have a complete version of the Tailed Beast Sealing Technique from Konoha. And apart from the riot caused by Konoha during the First World War, they have been at peace since Bunpuku sealed himself away. Although they can't control the power of the Tailed Beasts, at least with the complete version of the Tailed Beast Sealing Technique, their village no longer has to worry about Tailed Beast riots.

Under such circumstances, if they had a Seven-Tails in their hands, plus Shinto who could beat up the Seven-Tails, the nuclear threat of Sunagakure would rival that of Konoha. At that time, the village's defense would soar to a new level. Why did the other four great ninja villages in the ninja world rarely cause trouble, while Sunagakure had people constantly causing trouble before Shinto emerged?

So what if other villages have two tailed beasts while Sunagakure only has one? And it's even considered one of the weakest tailed beasts. Konoha also only has one, but theirs is the largest, and they also have Mito Uzumaki, a top-tier player in the tournament.

"...I had already notified Jie to bring them back before you arrived, and I estimate they're on their way now."

Chiyo looked at her younger brother's hurried appearance and felt a sense of relief. "Masato has finally grown up and knows to pick on the weak."

A while ago, after this kid took away the Four-Tails from Iwagakure, she was worried that he wouldn't understand and would wander around with the Four-Tails. Later, when Konoha exposed the bounty traitor Kakuzu, she knew that this must have been the kid's doing. She was also pleased that the kid was clever enough to know how to shift the blame.

After all, the Four-Tails has already been branded with the Iwagakure (Hidden Stone Village) label. Even if they bring that kid back, they can't accept him, lest things get exposed and they have to explain themselves.

However, the Seven-Tails of Takigakure is different this time. Although we don't know what role this kid played in the Takigakure incident, when did an unknown criminal organization appear in the ninja world?

And the target is still the Tailed Beast?

Having worked behind the scenes in Sunagakure for so many years, how could she not know that there was such an awesome criminal organization in the ninja world that was targeting the tailed beasts? And how could they coincidentally attack Takigakure when they were passing by? How did that kid know about the entrance to Takigakure and go to "help out"?

Therefore, Chiyo suspected that all of this was very likely orchestrated by her nephew... No! Although her nephew was not bad-witted, he certainly couldn't have come up with such a meticulous and interconnected plan given his level of education. It must have been her precious academic genius son who came up with it.

No one knows a child better than their mother. Although Shinto wasn't her biological son, she raised him. She was certain that this kid had been eyeing the Seven-Tails of Takigakure for a long time. Then, somehow, he found out the location of the entrance to Takigakure. To shut everyone up, he secretly notified some ninja villages that already had designs on Takigakure. After all, Takigakure had been so arrogant over the years, and many ninja villages that didn't like them had done something to them, such as the Grass Village and the Rain Village. If they got the entrance to Takigakure and launched a sneak attack, they would definitely dare to do it.

Then, at the last moment, her nephew and her precious son came out to play the hero and save the day. With the nephew's strength, how could those nobodies from Kusagakure and Amegakure not run away? As for fooling Takikage in the end, that was even simpler. With her nephew's natural-born king-level eloquence, wouldn't Takikage, who had never seen the world and just stayed in one place all day, be fooled by his nephew?

Although the plan still has many flaws, Chiyo is very pleased that her nephew understands the principle of picking on the weakest point this time, and that he has managed to leave no reason for others to object even though the Seven-Tails is in his hands.

My nephew has always been the type of high-level fighter. While he occasionally comes up with some ingenious ideas, most of the time he just relies on brute force to overpower others, lacking any real skill. It's fine now that he's young, but in two years he'll be twenty. If he's still like that... wouldn't he become the next Hashirama Senju...?

Chiyo hopes her nephew will follow in Tobirama Senju's footsteps. While Hashirama Senju is good, Tobirama Senju is still the most stable choice!

.....

"Hiruzen, what did Takikage say?"

Compared to the Raikage and Mizukage's wariness, Onoki's fury, and Kaizo's excitement, the atmosphere in the Hokage Building was serious. Apart from Danzo, who was twisting his thighs to try to appear solemn, the other three members of the Konoha F4 were genuinely serious.

It's not important that the Seven-Tails was led by the Golden Lion. Although the Tailed Beasts are powerful, only they know that the other eight Tailed Beasts combined are no match for their village's Nine-Tails. Lady Mito is still quite healthy, and the addition of the Seven-Tails to Sunagakure won't pose much of a threat to Konoha. At most, it will just make releasing the Tailed Beasts a little more difficult next time...

What they care about most is that unknown criminal organization that targets the tailed beasts. As Konoha, which takes it upon itself to maintain world peace, it would be strange if they could feel at ease knowing that there is now an organization in the ninja world that targets the tailed beasts!

What is this organization trying to do by capturing the Tailed Beasts? Isn't it just trying to cause trouble? This would greatly threaten their dominant position in Konoha. So while outsiders are focused on Shiki and the Seven-Tails in his possession, they are paying more attention to this unknown organization from Onoki.

"Takigage's explanation is that this group suddenly stormed into their village, and judging from their behavior, they were all well-trained elite ninjas. Moreover, they completely surpassed the ninjas of Takigakure in both combat strength and numbers. If it weren't for the Seven-Tails' help in stalling for time until the Golden Lion and the genius puppeteer Miyako came to the rescue, they probably would have succeeded later that night!"

"Moreover... Takigage gave me an important piece of information: the Golden Lion of Sunagakure is powerful enough to beat the Seven-Tails into submission. Takigage and his men witnessed the Golden Lion punching the Seven-Tails until it cried..."

133. Hiruzen Sarutobi is only susceptible to Danzo's tactics.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, he turned and looked up at the sky. The first time he saw Shiki and Sakumo fight one-on-one in the Senju clan, his second teacher had said that this kid would be very strong as long as he didn't die, and he never doubted his second teacher's words.

As it turns out, the Second Hokage's judgment was wrong. That bastard Shiki is indeed very powerful. Sakumo's talent, combined with the swordsmanship that perfectly matches the Hatake clan, is already incredibly impressive. His record of defeating a Kage-level opponent at the age of twelve is unmatched in Konoha. It can be said that Sakumo has no weaknesses except for his lack of stamina. Moreover, to make Sakumo weak, one must be able to withstand his early, relentless attacks. Even he might not be able to withstand that.

However, whenever Sakumo encountered this Golden Lion, he seemed somewhat powerless. His terrifying defense, powerful swordsmanship, and ability to control sand over a wide area made him appear weak. Although Sakumo could hold his own against him, he admitted that he was always at a disadvantage. After all, this guy's body was too tough, probably even tougher than the Third Raikage.

When he heard that Shiki had beaten the Seven-Tails to tears, his first reaction was that it was bullshit and Takikage was bragging!

But since many people were there to witness it, Takikage had no need to brag to him. It was only then that he realized how awesome Shiki really was.

Beating up tailed beasts is the domain of the First Hokage and Madara! If another war breaks out in the future, this Golden Lion of Sunagakure will be a huge problem.

"...While the Golden Lion is powerful, the most important thing right now is to find out the origins of this unknown organization. Could they be from other ninja villages, such as...Kumakubi? Kirigakure? Or is Sunagakure orchestrating this themselves...?"