Capturing the Three-Tails (Part 1)

After having barbecue with the people of Konoha, Issui stayed at home with Hinata for two days. On the third day, Issui packed his bags, said goodbye to Hinata and the Hinata, and headed towards the Konoha Gate. The people of Kirigakure were already waiting for him at the gates.

"Let's go..." Issui nodded to Qing.

"Okay..." Qing led the team forward.

After traveling for several days, Issui, Qing, and the others arrived at Kirigakure.

Upon arriving at the location of the Mizukage, they found that Mei Terumi wasn't the only one in the office; there was also an old man and a bespectacled boy. The boy carried two enormous, bulky swords on his back.

"Lord Mizukage, this is from the Lord Hokage of Konoha... The Lord Hokage has agreed to form an alliance with Kirigakure and has even dispatched Konoha Jonin Issui Kanna to help us capture the Three-Tails..." Ao took out a scroll and handed it to Mei Terumi.

"Hmm..." Mei Terumi picked up the scroll and examined it carefully, finally nodding in satisfaction.

"This must be the Star of Hope of Konoha's legend. I was a little disappointed when I didn't get to meet you last time you came to Kirigakure. I'm so glad to finally meet you in person this time. You're truly a heroic young man, outshining us old folks..." The old man in the room looked at Issui and nodded with satisfaction.

"Hello, may I ask who you are...?" Issui asked tentatively. You know me, but I don't know you.

"This is Elder Terumi of our village, the father of Lord Mizukage..." Qing hurriedly explained.

"Oh, it's Elder Terumi. Hello, I'm Issui Kanna. Nice to meet you..." Issui suddenly realized that it was Mei Terumi Mei's father. Damn it, why is this old guy looking at me so strangely? It's like a father-in-law looking at his son-in-law. Seriously? I'm a good boy who listened to Little Hinata, and I can only say goodbye to your Kamimi...

Mei Terumi glanced at Issui, her expression a mixture of joy and anger. This little brat had taken liberties with her back then, and hadn't even looked at her for so long—he was utterly heartless. But since there were other people around, she couldn't say anything. Once they were gone, she would definitely confront him properly.

"Our Kirigakure Anbu discovered the Three-Tails' whereabouts this time. Because the village's strategy was critical, we sent you to rescue Konoha. We originally thought that we would be the only ones capturing the Three-Tails, but recently the Anbu discovered that Orochimaru is also monitoring the Three-Tails' movements. It seems that this time, capturing the Three-Tails will be much more difficult. A figure like Orochimaru already established his formidable reputation during the Second Shinobi World War. The legendary Sannin are not easy to deal with..." Mei Terumi said quietly.

"Well, not only that, but two strange figures dressed in black with red clouds have appeared in the area where the Three-Tails is active. One of them has blond hair tied up, and his appearance looks exactly like the mysterious person who attacked Sunagakure before..." the old man from the Terumi Clan said worriedly.

"So, there have been many unexpected events in capturing the Three-Tails this time. We originally thought that as long as we did our best to capture the Three-Tails, everything would be fine. But now it seems that while we are capturing the Three-Tails, we also have to be wary of enemy ambushes..." Mei Terumi said cautiously.

Issui nodded, surprised that Kirigakure's intelligence system was quite good. They had even managed to detect that Orochimaru and Akatsuki were involved in gathering information. Regardless, Kirigakure was one of the five great ninja Kirigakure in the Hokage World. Even though its power had declined due to internal strife, a weakened camel is still bigger than a horse, especially with the wise leadership of the Fifth Mizukage...

"Hmm, I understand. You can decide how to deal with it. I'll just focus on the fighting. I've dealt with Orochimaru before, so holding him off shouldn't be a problem. As for that blond guy, he was once my defeated opponent, so defeating him shouldn't be a problem either. The biggest problem is that when both groups appear at the same time, I can only hold off one side. The rest of the enemies will have to be dealt with by you..." Issui said calmly.

"Then please hold off Orochimaru and his subordinates. Leave the rest to us. In order to turn the tide, we've decided to set off immediately and capture the Three-Tails as quickly as possible. Then we can deal with both sides of the enemy, which will save us a lot of trouble..." Mei Terumi said.

"No problem, that's what I was thinking too. If we capture the Three-Tails before they arrive, we'll avoid a lot of trouble. Otherwise, we'll be attacked from both sides, and not only will we fail to capture the Three-Tails, we might also suffer serious injuries." Issui nodded.

"That's great! If you have no other choice, let's set off now. Ao, go and gather the Sealing Squad and the elite squad of the Anbu. We'll leave immediately. This time, we must capture the Three-Tails..." Mei Terumi said happily, giving Ao her orders.

"Yes, Lord Mizukage, I'll go prepare right away..." Ao bowed deeply.

After gathering everyone, the entire Issui set off. This time, the team consisted entirely of elites. First, there was Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi of Kirigakure, and her bodyguards Ao and Chōjūrō. Next was Issui, followed by two sealing squads and two elite Kirigakure Anbu. Unless they encountered a monster like Madara Uchiha, anyone else trying to take on this team would have absolutely no chance of success. One wrong move and they'd be dead.

When the group quickly arrived at the lake where the Three-Tails was, the entire lake surface was as smooth as a mirror and quiet, not like a place where large beasts lived. The environment around the lake was also very peaceful, with small animals chasing each other in the jungle from time to time, a scene of quiet harmony.

"Is the Three-Tails in this lake?" Issui asked.

Mei Terumi nodded. "Yes, when the Fourth died, the Three-Tails sealed within his body suddenly disappeared, as if it never existed. After many years of investigation by the Anbu, it was finally confirmed that the Three-Tails is in this lake, but it has been hiding there and hasn't come out. This lake is connected to the ocean, so if the Three-Tails is disturbed, it might escape. Recently, the Three-Tails has been active in the lake more and more frequently... As for why we lured the Three-Tails out of the lake, our Kirigakure's Life Seed Secret Technique can temporarily Imprisonment the lake from all external connections. This way, we just need to find the Three-Tails' location and capture it..."

Issui nodded. It seemed that Kirigakure had made quite a few preparations. It seemed that this time they really wanted to capture the Three-Tails, since Kirigakure was the only one of the five great ninja villages that did not have Tailed Beast.

"Sealing Squad —Prepare!!" Qing instructed the Sealing Squad.

Upon hearing Qing's instructions, the four members of the Sealing Squad quickly separated and took their positions in the four cardinal directions of the lake. Each of them then pulled out a scroll, placed it upright on the ground, rapidly Hand Seals, and finally clasped their hands together, chanting in unison. "Sealing Jutsu, Four Symbols Blessing Imprisonment Formation!!!!"

Suddenly, four different animals emitting a bluish-green light appeared from the scrolls that the four people were facing forward. Each of these four animals had a different shape, somewhat resembling the Four Symbols of ancient China: the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and the Black Tortoise. The four different animals ran around in the air above the lake, casting a huge cubic light shield that enveloped the entire lake.

"Alright, the lake has been temporarily sealed off, but we only have one hour. Everyone needs to hurry. Who will lure the main tail up here...?" Mei Terumi said decisively.

"Let me do it. This lake is so big, it won't be easy to bring it up. Time is of the essence, so I'll do it..." Issui stepped forward and volunteered.

"Alright, then you can do it..." Mei Terumi nodded in satisfaction. She didn't name anyone specifically, just testing Issui to see if he would help wholeheartedly. Otherwise, she would definitely make things difficult for him when they got back.

"Spread out, my spell might be quite large, don't get hurt..." Issui gestured for everyone to make way for him so he could cast the spell.

"Listen to him, everyone spread out and prepare to ambush the Three-Tails..." Mei Terumi gestured for everyone to follow Issui's advice.

After everyone dispersed, Issui mobilized all his Chakra, clasped his hands together, and shouted, "Eye of Heaven —Flame, Super Black Gold Flame Demon Descent!!!"

Since his battle with the Moryo and the subsequent fusion of his Amaterasu Black Flame and God-Devouring Golden Flames, he has become increasingly confident in this technique. It has become one of his most prized and powerful techniques, and with each use, he has become more and more adept at it.

Numerous strange flames erupted from Issui's body. These flames were two-colored, one half a bright gold and the other half a dark black. The numerous black and gold flames gathered on Issui's body, gradually forming a huge Black-Gold Flame Demon God. The moment the Flame Demon God was formed, it roared at the sky. The black and Black Gold Demon God, which was more than fifty meters tall, was like a primordial flame god, full of fighting spirit, as if it wanted to tear the entire sky apart.

"Buzz..."

All the Kirigakure heads, including Mei Terumi's, went blank for a moment. Was this the kind of power a human could possess? It was even more powerful than a Tailed Beast. A sense of powerlessness welled up from the bottom of everyone's hearts. The height of over fifty meters was enough to tear the sky apart, fight against the heavens, and pacify all directions, as if it were a war god who had come from the distant heavens.

"Wow... that's amazing..." Chōjūrō exclaimed in surprise, his mouth agape, big enough to fit an egg.

Qing was also quite surprised. The last time Issui helped Kirigakure kill Wind Tanuki, he had seen Issui use this Secret Technique. At that time, the fire giant was just pure black and not as tall as it is now. But after more than two years, when he saw Issui's Secret Technique again, it had undergone a huge change. It was not only the height and color that had changed, but more importantly, the aura it exuded—an aura of destruction, an aura that devoured everything, an aura that was irresistible.

Mei Terumi first witnessed Issui unleash a powerful Secret Technique, her first noticeable feature was the vertical eye on Issui forehead. This must be his Kekkei Genkai Kekkei Genkai, far surpassing her own. Though she didn't say it aloud, she knew in her heart that her Lava Release and Boil Release were far inferior to Issui's Heaven Eye Kekkei Genkai. This young man was becoming increasingly powerful; could she restrain him? After all, they weren't from the same village, and she couldn't compare to those young girls...