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The sensory ninja was still behind, and after waiting for others to arrive, Ai angrily ordered the sensory ninja to immediately track the whereabouts of Yōichi.
However, Yōichi left using the Flying Thunder God Technique, using all the chakra in his body, including some stored Nine-Tails chakra, and then teleported to a civilian town on the outskirts of the Land of Hot Water.
This was a location where Yōichi had previously left a mark of the Flying Thunder God Technique, far from the battlefield. At that time, he had his shadow clone hide the mark there, making it impossible for the Cloud ninjas to sense from such a distance.
After failing to sense anything, Ai boldly split up with Killer Bee to search. Despite the potential danger, they decided to send out signals before dying.
But after searching three to four kilometers separately, the four people could not find Yōichi.
In the end, they could only regroup reluctantly. Ai instructed one of them to send the message back to the Cloud Village, while he and Killer Bee were to inform their leader and then set up defenses at the border to intercept anyone coming through.
This was probably the Cloud ninja's last hope of getting Yugito back.
The Two-Tails had been stolen, a major incident for the Cloud Village. They had to retrieve it quickly; if they couldn't regain Yugito at the border, they were ready to start a decisive battle.
In the Cloud Village, the Tailed Beasts were a legacy of power, never to be lost.
After teleporting away, Yōichi ate some soldier pills and rested for less than ten minutes before continuing on his way; although he could have rested more, he felt the Two-Tails inside Yugito becoming restless.
Even if the Jinchūriki passed out, the Tailed Beast was still not docile.
"It seems there's no one skilled in sealing techniques at the camp, and my own sealing skills are mediocre. It looks like I'll have to ask the village to send Mina over."
Yōichi thought to himself. Although Konoha had a sealing unit, Yugito was his war prize and from now on was to be kept under his control; Konoha had no say in the matter.
"Struggling for the position of Hokage is difficult now, but when I return, I'll convince Sakumo-san to take the role!"
Hokage Sakumo-sama was a better choice than Hiruzen. Unlike Hiruzen and other high-ranking officials of Konoha who followed Tobirama's philosophy, Sakumo adhered to a blend of the samurai way and the original will of fire from the First Hokage.
He would protect the village, but he cared more about the comrades of Konoha. Sakumo inherited Hashirama's original ideas, not the will of fire that followed after the death of Madara.
Gulp, gulp.
Red Tailed Beast chakra surged again from Yugito's body, causing Yōichi to frown slightly before using his own chakra to suppress the Two-Tails' chakra, simultaneously entering the sealing space within Yugito.
The Cloud Village used the Iron Armor Seal, not as secure as the Four Symbols Seal but still capable of controlling the Tailed Beast.
Inside Yugito's sealing space, Yōichi saw a giant cat demon enveloped in blue flames, lying within the boundaries of the sealing technique, unable to leave.
"Matatabi, you better stay quiet, or else I'll just kill Yugito and let you resurrect in a few years!"
Yōichi's Sharingan slowly rotated as he spoke. He would not be threatened by a Tailed Beast; as for making friends with them, he lacked the patience.
These Tailed Beasts harbored deep hatred towards humans, and Yōichi did not want to pretend to be a noble light and befriend the Tailed Beasts; it was too troublesome.
"Meow!"
A sharp cat cry followed, then the Two-Tails, with its fur bristled, said, "If you dare harm Yugito, I will never let you go."
"Her Jinchūriki status is only a few days old, and you're already this close? But you're threatening me, do you really want to resurrect in a few years?"
Yōichi was not intimidated by an animal.
"Harsh words should be backed by the ability to enforce them. If you try to take possession again, I'll just kill Yugito."
With that, Yōichi controlled his chakra and left Yugito's internal sealing space.
Securing the Two-Tails was certainly advantageous, but if it continued to cause trouble, Yōichi feared it might be problematic once he returned to the Konoha camp. If he wasn't careful and the Two-Tails rampaged at the camp, he would become a criminal.
However, just as Yōichi was about to head back to the Konoha camp, he suddenly sensed a familiar chakra.
After mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique, his sensory abilities had greatly improved. Although the Thunder God marks were his own creation, without sufficient sensory capability, he couldn't detect the marks.
"Is that... Tsunade?"
Yōichi thought for a moment, then changed direction and headed towards the town.
The nearby town was an ancient town in the Land of Hot Water, famous for its hot springs and situated on the eastern side of the Land of Hot Water, a place where Cloud and Leaf ninjas were unlikely to clash.
Given its hot springs and entertainment facilities, it attracted wealthy individuals from other countries.
Upon reaching the outskirts of the town, Yōichi carried Yugito as he entered.
Crowds could be troublesome, and since Tsunade had only used her ninjutsu once after arriving, it was difficult to locate her.
However, Yōichi had a way to find people. He first asked a local about all the gambling houses' locations, then inquired about famous hot springs and inns.
If Tsunade was here, she would only be in one of these three places; the other areas like the red-light district were not suitable for her.
The person asked, seeing Yōichi's cold expression and the sword at his waist, didn't dare intervene, even though he was carrying a sleeping young woman. He honestly provided information about the casinos, hot springs, and inns, then quickly left.
Encountering a few who wanted to meddle, before they could speak, they were subdued by Yōichi's genjutsu, which made them dance naked in the streets, causing a spectacle.
Luckily, at the second casino, Yōichi heard about Tsunade. A woman with golden blonde hair and twin ponytails, busty, accompanied by a young girl with short black hair, gambling with dice in a VIP room on the second floor.
As Yōichi reached the second floor, he heard Tsunade's voice.
"How about it, big sister, you said one roll decides win or lose, are you betting high or low this time?"
The professional gamblers opposite her, eyes filled with greedy lust, were not lusting after her beauty but her money.
They felt lucky, having gambled for many years, this was the first time they encountered someone so easy to win against; they hadn't even used their gambling skills, and this woman was losing money like water.
Shizune quickly whispered into Tsunade's ear, "Tsunade-sama, if we lose, we won't even have money left for meals." She now regretted not heeding Yōichi-sama's warning, having impulsively let Tsunade try to recoup losses.
Now it seemed they might not even know where to sleep tonight.
"I'm sure I'll win this time!"
Tsunade declared confidently, then slammed her hand on the tatami mat and shouted, "I'm betting low!"
"Wait a second, she's betting high."
The door behind them suddenly opened, and a voice spoke up.
Tsunade turned around, her memory flooding back, "What are you doing here?"
"We'll talk about that later, now you're betting high, roll the dice."
Yōichi finished speaking and directly used the Raijin to open the dice box, the sum of the three dice exactly indicated high.
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In the inn, Tsunade and Yōichi sat at a table covered with several bottles of shochu and some snacks, bought by Shizune to celebrate not having to sleep on the streets today.
"Kid, what are you doing here, and who's that young girl you're carrying? She's from the Cloud Village, isn't she?"
After drinking a cup of sake, Tsunade's tone was unfriendly as she stared at Yōichi; a flush tinted her cheeks, her ample bosom resting on the table, occasionally drawing glances.
Hmph, even if he just helped her win some money, that incident at the gate of Konoha was not forgotten.
"I was passing by after returning from the Land of Lightning and sensed Tsunade-sama's chakra, so I came to check and also to ask for a favor."
Yōichi gestured towards Yugito beside him and continued, "Her name is Yugito, she's the Two-Tails Jinchūriki from the Cloud Village. Tsunade-sama, I believe you are skilled in sealing techniques. Please help me seal her chakra, otherwise, it will be troublesome when we return to the Konoha camp."
"Cloud Village's Two-Tails Jinchūriki? Cloud Village must be furious."
Tsunade's face showed shock, then her expression turned serious, "What's the situation now? Is there a war between the village and Cloud?"
"Not just with Cloud, but also with Sand. The Sand Village's Third Kazekage died, and the Third Raikage caused trouble in Konoha, but he was repelled by me and Sakumo-sama."
Yōichi briefly explained the recent events, then added, "That's the situation. The Two-Tails is too troublesome. If we don't seal her chakra, even returning to the Konoha camp isn't safe."
"It's easy to just seal the chakra. There should be a sealing technique already on the Cloud Village's Two-Tails Jinchūriki. Just apply a conflicting seal, and she won't be able to use any chakra."
When it came to serious matters, Tsunade spoke straightforwardly, then proceeded to inspect the seals on Yugito.
"I've never seen this Cloud Village seal, but it's different from the Five Elements Seal. Just apply another seal, and she'll be completely unable to use chakra; others in the village can perform this seal, you can find them later."
After saying this, Tsunade formed hand seals, gathered chakra in her five fingers, and pressed them against Yugito's abdomen: "Five Elements Seal!"
Five tomoe appeared around the Iron Armor Seal, and Yugito's face showed a look of pain, which slowly eased after a while.
Tsunade clapped her hands and said, "There, she can't use chakra now."
"Thank you, Tsunade-sama. If there's nothing else, I'll be heading back. However, Cloud might trace us here, it's better if you don't stay long."
Yōichi said, preparing to take Yugito back to the Konoha camp. His time away had been long enough, and Cloud now knew of Yugito's abduction; they might directly attack the Land of Fire.
"You have urgent matters, so I won't keep you. You helped me win money earlier, let's consider the sealing technique as payment."
Tsunade finished, then waved her pale fist, continuing, "But don't think I'll forget what happened at the gates of Konoha. I'll settle that account with you later."
Yōichi looked puzzled and asked, "The gates of Konoha? What happened?"
Tsunade, with a threatening look, said, "If you play dumb today, prepare to lie down!"
"Never mind, Tsunade-sama, I'll go report back to Sakumo-sama."
Before leaving, Yōichi paused and then told Shizune, "You should have learned a lesson today. Next time you give money to Tsunade-sama for gambling, I won't be there to help you win."
Shizune nodded resolutely and said, "I understand, Yōichi-sama. From now on, I definitely won't give Tsunade-sama money."
"Go, go, don't lead Shizune astray!"
Tsunade, flushed with anger and embarrassment, pushed Yōichi out the door. Today was just bad luck for her; next time, she would definitely win back, Uchiha brat didn't know anything about gambling.
After Yōichi left, Tsunade sat at the table and poured herself another cup of sake, grumbling, "I knew it, winning money just brings bad luck, now I've run into that brat."
Shizune asked, "But if Yōichi-sama hadn't helped us win money, wouldn't our luck have been even worse? Tsunade-sama, you wouldn't even be able to drink now."
"Shizune, you don't understand, that sealing technique just now used up a lot of chakra, isn't that unlucky!"
Tsunade argued breathlessly, convinced she was jinxed.
"Let's not stay here tonight, Shizune. Let's soak in a hot spring and leave this place, then head to the Land of Tea."
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"Yōichi-kun, you're finally back. Who is she?"
Sakumo saw Yōichi returning with a Cloud Village girl and immediately guessed the situation.
If it was true, Uchiha Yōichi had indeed accomplished a great feat.
"She's the Cloud Village's Two-Tails Jinchūriki, Yugito. Now her chakra is sealed, and she can't use it."
After the chakra was sealed, there was no need to knock her out daily, so Yugito was now conscious and standing beside Uchiha Yōichi.
Hearing his words, Yugito spoke angrily, "You better send me back to the Cloud Village, or the Third Raikage will never forgive you."
"Forget it. If you want to die, I'll give you a kunai, and you can kill yourself. If you don't want to die, just stay quietly by my side. I don't keep living prisoners."
Yōichi warned Yugito, then ordered the ninja outside the tent to lock Yugito in his resting tent.
After everyone left, Yōichi said to Sakumo, "Sakumo-san, I'm sorry for taking action without orders."
Sakumoshook his head and said, "It's not important. If you hadn't discovered the Two-Tails Jinchūriki's information, we would have been even more passive in the future. You are a hero, Yōichi-kun."
(End of Chapter)