"Has the seal loosened again?!"
Outside a building, several Cloud Ninja dressed in Sealing Team attire hurriedly walked by. One of them asked, and another nodded, saying, "It seems so, the Chakra disturbance is too abnormal."
"Sigh, compared to the Uzumaki's Sealing Jutsu, our Iron Seal is still too unstable. It's fine if it's sealing the Eight-Tails itself, but sealing it into a Jinchuriki is simply insufficient."
The man sighed heavily but kept walking without stopping. Soon, he arrived in a sealed chamber filled with Sealing Jutsu symbols. A young boy lay on the bed, eyes tightly shut, sweating profusely.
The Sealing Jutsu, which should have been hidden securely after stabilizing, now reappeared and trembled incessantly.
"Hurry, stabilize it."
Seeing the poor state of the Jinchuriki, the group dared not delay. They swiftly employed their Sealing Jutsu techniques, one after another, connecting with the Sealing Jutsu on the Jinchuriki's body.
With their efforts, the trembling Sealing Jutsu quickly calmed down, and the Jinchuriki, in his slumber, gradually relaxed his furrowed brow.
Seeing the seal stabilized, the group sighed in relief. One of them remarked, "I wonder what A-sama was thinking, sealing the Eight-Tails inside a child who can't possibly resist it."
"There's no choice. He was the most suitable sacrifice in the village. Plus, everyone knows the impact of the Second Great Ninja War. All villages are reinforcing their military strength. It's unavoidable to find a vessel for the Eight-Tails quickly."
"Indeed, it's a pity that the Hidden Whirlpool Village was so stubborn back then. If they hadn't held out, perhaps we wouldn't have this trouble. Look, didn't we also recruit the Magnet Release Ninja and Lava Release Ninja?"
"However, I heard that the descendant of that Magnet Release Ninja doesn't seem to have inherited the talent. I wonder if A-sama will act against the Hidden Sand Village again."
"Shh, be careful what you say."
As they discussed, no one noticed that the young boy sleeping on the stone bed furrowed his brow slightly. However, his Chakra remained stable, suggesting his frown wasn't due to instability.
Outside the building, a three-person team was steadily approaching. The Valley of Cloud and Lightning is not just a canyon between two mountains but a range of peculiar mountains.
Due to the vast differences in peak heights and the lack of gentle saddles between them, they cannot form ridges and are thus called a valley.
Once the Eight-Tails goes berserk, these undulating mountains would greatly weaken the impact of its rampage. Even a Tailed Beast Bomb wouldn't spread its aftermath to Hidden Cloud Village.
The building where the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki was located stood on a mountain in the Valley of Cloud and Lightning. The architecture was grand, with intricate carvings that didn't quite match the style of Hidden Cloud Village.
Despite its ornate appearance, the building now resembled a prison, tightly confining the young boy known as Blue B. As long as he hadn't mastered control over the Eight-Tails' power, there was no way he could leave this structure, let alone return to a normal ninja life.
Sakumo, less gifted in sensing abilities compared to his two temporary teammates, furrowed his brow and remarked to the others nearby, "Has the rampaging Chakra disappeared? Did something unexpected happen?"
Upon hearing this, Tatsuma shook his head and replied, "He's still within my sensing range. It's just that his Chakra has stabilized. Perhaps the turbulent Sealing Jutsu was reinforced again."
"I see," Sakumo nodded. As long as their whereabouts weren't discovered, the transfer of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki from Hidden Cloud Village was all that mattered. With a sigh of relief, he continued:
"So uncontrollable as a Jinchuriki, no wonder the Elders of Hidden Cloud Village don't trust him. They've even started considering backup plans early."
Sakumo had lived in the village for many years and, as the ANBU Captain, he knew about the Jinchuriki. The previous Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails was Uzumaki Mito. Sakumo had never witnessed the Nine-Tails running amok under Uzumaki Mito's control.
After the change in Jinchuriki, the young girl named Kushina Uzumaki performed admirably. It was said that within a few days of adaptation, she could attend important events. In a short time, she completely adjusted her state and began studying how to control the power of the Nine-Tails according to the notes left by Uzumaki Mito.
In contrast to the two reassuring Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, this Blue B, the Jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, was evidently much "inferior."
Even after three years, he had not only failed to control the power of the Eight-Tails but also easily lost control, requiring extensive monitoring.
At this moment, Tatsuma finally understood why there were so many people stationed in the Valley of Cloud and Lightning. After all, in the original story, when Killer B lived in the Valley of Cloud and Lightning, there weren't many people here.
Compared to the Perfect Jinchuriki Killer B, Blue B is much more concerning, so it's understandable that Hidden Cloud Village has strengthened its precautions.
After Sakumo finished his reflections, he looked at Tatsuma and asked, "Yaksha, what do you think we should do next?"
As soon as these words came out, both Tatsuma and Minato were taken aback. Even Sakumo himself didn't understand why he had asked such a question. After all, he was the Squad Captain of the team, but he had been following Tatsuma's arrangements all along, albeit through discussions every step of the way.
Unconsciously, Sakumo seemed to have already felt that Tatsuma was the one leading the missions, hence his inadvertent display of attitude.
He quickly added, "This high-difficulty mission is an excellent opportunity for you both to hone your skills. Tatsuma, please share your thoughts first, and then Minato, you can speak later."
Although it was evident that Sakumo was improvising, Tatsuma didn't expose it. He simply nodded and said:
"This mission's primary objective is still to gather information about the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. This should be the residence of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Blue B, and there might be a lot of information stored here.
There may also be various letters exchanged with the village, although the likelihood of these people keeping letters is small, we still need to thoroughly investigate.
As for taking action against Blue B, I personally think it should not be our top priority. Minato, what do you think?"
Seeing Tatsuma pass the conversation to him, Minato didn't hesitate and earnestly replied, "I agree. Gathering intelligence on the Jinchuriki should take precedence over everything else."
After first agreeing with Tatsuma's opinion, he continued, "Afterwards, I think we should leave some Flying Thunder God seals in the Valley of Cloud and Lightning. This is the residence of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. Although it can only confirm that Blue B is the current Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, considering the geographical conditions here, if nothing unexpected happens, the next and even subsequent Eight-Tails Jinchuriki after that will live and learn here.
And something like what happened with Blue B might not be an isolated incident. It is possible that the information about the next Eight-Tails Jinchuriki will also be hidden. By being able to enter the Valley of Clouds and Lightning at any time, Konoha will have the key to constantly monitor the Valley of Clouds and Lightning.
As long as they do not completely abandon this area, it will always be a convenient entry point for Konoha."
Hearing this, Tatsuma nodded in agreement and looked at Sakumo, saying, "Sakumo-sama, I think what Minato said is feasible. What do you think?"
"It's doable, but it will trouble the two of you more. However, since we're leaving the Flying Thunder God markings, make sure not a single one is discovered. Once Hidden Cloud Village finds the first mark, they are very likely to react and conduct a thorough investigation of the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, then find and destroy all the Flying Thunder God marks hidden in the Valley of Clouds and Lightning."
Sakumo added a few final words. Seeing no other objections, the three slowly headed towards the building.
Perhaps the recent Tailed Beast Chakra disturbance had caused the guards here to tense up and then suddenly relax. Tatsuma could clearly feel that these people were somewhat slack.
However, this was good for Tatsuma. After infiltrating, they began searching.
As an experienced ANBU member, Sakumo even brought special lubricant, making all the hinges and lock cores silent. This lubricant evaporates quickly, so by tomorrow morning, the rare smoothness will return to being dry.
Searching for documents in the dark, silently opening doors and locks—these are essential skills for ANBU ninjas. Even Minato, who has been an ANBU for the shortest time, has mastered them skillfully.
The three of them searched for a long time, making backups of all useful information. As the night deepened, their actions became smoother.
Except for a few occupied rooms and the special room where Blue B was, the three of them searched everywhere. Sakumo stayed inside the building to monitor, while Tatsuma and Minato went outside to inscribe the Flying Thunder God techniques.
Just before dawn, the three of them returned to the building. Tatsuma quietly reminded, "Someone is waking up and starting to move. Sakumo-sama, should we withdraw first or take a risk?"
Sakumo looked back to see the two staring at him eagerly. He raised his eyebrows slightly and then asked, "Do you both want to take the risk?"
"At your command," Tatsuma replied, but Sakumo already understood and his thoughts and began to ponder.
If their mission was solely for information, they had already accomplished it and even set up additional measures. Returning to the village, they could report success without issue.
However, coming all the way to the Land of Lightning, enduring so much, and only obtaining trivial information seemed like a waste. The Hokage surely didn't assign him two teammates skilled in the Flying Thunder God technique just for safety.
Sakumo looked at Tatsuma and asked, "How confident are you?"
"It's just a seal that couldn't even hold the Eight-Tails," Tatsuma said with a smile. He was very confident in his sealing techniques; otherwise, he would be unworthy of Uzumaki Mito's teachings. *Mito's dedication to him surpassed even that towards Kushina.
*Mito taught Kushina how to use most of the sealing techniques, but she imparted a deeper knowledge of various sealing techniques to Tatsuma. In terms of variety, Tatsuma was not as proficient as Kushina.
After all, there are many seals that rely on the power of the Uzumaki Clan. However, when it comes to analyzing, breaking, and rewriting sealing techniques, Kushina is no match for him.
"Then... let's take the risk!"
----
Check out my Patreon for more advanced chapters up to 50 at patreon.com/HellGolt