The Three-Tails' Fate (Part One)

Issui at the helpless Guren, Yishui said calmly, "Orochimaru is dead. What do you plan to do next?"

Guren stared blankly at Issui. His extraordinary power quickly filled her mind. The moment Orochimaru, her pillar of faith, fell, she felt Issui could become her new faith, her subordinate. She would believe in his achievements and use them to prove her own existence; the weak always need the dominance of the strong. In an instant, Guren understood. Her eyes hardened as she looked at Issui, and she said, word by word, "My lord, I want to become your subordinate. Please accept me. I will remove all obstacles for you..."

Issui, seriously? Can't you be a little more rational? You just broke away from Orochimaru, and now you want to latch onto me? You've lived under Orochimaru's shady leadership for so many years, haven't you had enough? You don't even know what kind of person I am, and you're already trying to latch onto me? Don't you even think about it?

"I am now Konoha ninja, unlike Orochimaru's independent organization. It's unreasonable for me to take you as a subordinate; the village wouldn't allow it." Issui had no choice but to politely decline.

"It's alright. I can join your forces as your retainer. After all, large clans all have their own private forces. With your status, how can you manage without some capable subordinates? Besides, you can't always do everything yourself. You can delegate some minor tasks to me. Although I don't have your strength, I am still Kekkei Genkai ninja, and most Jonin are no match for me. Moreover, even if you live in the village, over time you will get caught up in the infighting among the various factions. The stronger your subordinates become, the stronger your foundation will be. Otherwise, no matter how powerful a person is, it's useless without power and a solid base." Guren said confidently. She was a smart woman, and so was Issui. She firmly believed that Issui would agree.

Issui looked at Guren with some surprise, not expecting this woman to say such a thing. It seemed Guren did have a mind of her own. After all, as the leader of a base under Orochimaru, not only strength but also intelligence was crucial. Ninjas living in this world, with their daily scheming and infighting, would all grow up quickly. People would choose to ignore guys like Naruto; he survived by being clueless, but who told him to have the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox as a cheat code?

"Alright, but in that case, you can't appear in Konoha openly for the time being. You can go to the Land of Snow to develop your career. The Daimyo of the Land of Snow, Kazahana Koyuki, has a close relationship with me. You just need to tell her that you are my subordinate. You can leave now. I will announce to the outside world that you are 'dead'..." Issui agreed to Guren's suggestion and arranged for her to go to the Land of Snow, after all, it was like her own backyard.

"Okay, no problem, I'll set off now..." Guren nodded, and with a flash, she disappeared from the spot.

After Guren left, Issui headed towards the center of the battle between Kirigakure, Deidara, and Tobi. The battlefield there was also devastated, filled with Kirigakure had lost several Anbu members, and Ao and Chōjūrō were also injured to varying degrees. Mei Terumi was also panting heavily. On Deidara's side, Tobi had hardly participated in the battle, while Deidara had localized burns, disheveled hair, and looked ashen-faced.

"Hey, your battle isn't over yet? That's taking forever. Do you need my help...?" Issui said, looking at the group.

Issui arrived, everyone stopped fighting. They were deeply shocked by the battle between Issui and Orochimaru. If Issui had joined the fight, it would have ended much sooner.

Tobi looked at Issui, his heart churning. It seemed his identity was about to be exposed prematurely. Honestly, Issui's appearance had completely disrupted his plans. He had originally intended to wait until Nagato died before officially appearing in the Shinobi World, but now he hadn't collected many Tailed Beasts. If his identity were exposed, the trouble would be immense. It seemed he couldn't reveal his identity now and had to think of another way.

"Deidara- senpai, a super pervert is coming! Let's run away..." Tobi shouted, hiding behind Deidara.

"???" Deidara's head immediately filled with black lines. Damn it, are you even a ninja? How could you say something so shameless? You can only think these things in your mind, you can't say them out loud, you know? Isn't this clearly telling the enemy that we're finished? Although his current identity is that of Issui spy, he still has to work for Akatsuki on the surface. If he fails to retrieve the Three-Tails, who knows what the others will say about him when he gets back?

Issui narrowed her eyes, looked at Tobi's performance and sneered. "Keep pretending, keep pretending. You've been lying for so long. I'll see when you show your true colors."

"Let's go!!" Deidara said through gritted teeth, looking quite resentful. He reached into the clay bag behind him, bit off a bit of clay, chewed it, and threw it out. The clay transformed into a giant white bird. Deidara jumped onto it and commanded the giant bird to take off and escape. He ignored Tobi, leaving Tobi alone on the ground.

"Ah, help! Deidara- senpai doesn't want me anymore! Wait for me, Deidara- senpai..." Tobi yelled and ran away after Deidara.

"Phew..." Mei Terumi let out a soft breath, saving herself a lot of energy. If it weren't for Issui's intimidation, they might have fought for a long time. Although she was confident that she could defeat the blond man, even if she killed him, she wouldn't feel good. Several of the Anbu's elites had also been lost. These elites were trained by the village for a long time. She couldn't bear to lose so many at once.

"Sealing Squad, seal the Three-Tails, then return quickly, or things will change..." Qing hurriedly instructed the Sealing Squad to seal the Three-Tails.

"Alright, now that this matter is settled, I'll head back to the village. You Kirigakure have certainly reaped a great harvest this time, reclaiming the Three-Tails. The village's fighting strength will increase considerably." Issui said, then hurried towards Konoha. To be honest, he really didn't understand. Even though the relationship between Kirigakure and Konoha was temporarily one of alliance, it was still full of competition behind the scenes. Tsunade would actually agree to let him help Kirigakure capture the Three-Tails. Perhaps Kirigakure offered Konoha some generous price.

"Senior, you can go back by yourself. I need to find a place to poop..." Tobi said to Deidara was flying in mid-air.

"Are you deserting your post? We'll all get criticized when we go back. Are you going to leave me to bear everyone's anger alone? You were the one who said you were going to run away first, otherwise would I have run away? You bastard!" Tobi roared. Damn it, you think you can escape? No way!

"No, senior, I really need to poop. Are you going to watch me poop? Tobi won't run away. Senior, go ahead, I'll be right back..." Tobi said, sticking out his butt and swaying Deidara.

"???" Deidara was speechless. Couldn't the leader have assigned him a more normal teammate? This guy was obviously an airhead and mentally unstable. Oh well, he wouldn't argue with him anymore. Let him be.

After Tobi left Deidara, the only visible eye on his mask, his right eye, turned a blood-red color. It was so blurry that you could see a hollow triangular windmill spinning rapidly inside, with each corner of the windmill having a long tail. As the Red Eye rotated, Tobi's body began to spin around his right eye, gradually becoming ethereal, and finally disappearing from sight.

"Haha, Mizukage- sama, our Kirigakure has gained quite a bit this time! Before, because we lost the Three-Tails, our position among the Five Great Nations was in jeopardy. Now that we have the Three-Tails, the other villages won't look down on us anymore..." Ao said excitedly as he walked along the road.

"Yes, but even so, we can't be arrogant. We've all witnessed the power of that boy from Konoha. If I were to face him, what would my chances be? At present, Kirigakure is developing rapidly. It would be good for us to maintain good relations with a village like Konoha, which has both strength and potential. Konoha has produced a constant stream of talented people: the Sannin, White Fang, Yellow Flash, Kakashi... and now, Issui Kanna has the potential to become God of Shinobi like Hashirama Senju..." Mei Terumi said with a sigh.

Just then, the space in front of the Kirigakure people became illusory and began to rotate. A man wearing a yellow Spiral Mask gradually appeared, his body solidifying from the illusory, dressed in black clothes with red clouds.

"Hey everyone..." Tobi waved to the Kirigakure Village members and said with a grin.

"What are you doing back here?" Chōjūrō drew his Hiramekarei from behind him and demanded.

The members of the Kirigakure looked at Tobi with tension. Given Tobi's sudden appearance and his strange methods, everyone felt from the bottom of their hearts that Tobi was not as simple as before. He was most likely hiding his strength, and he dared to come alone, so he must have something to rely on. Otherwise, he would not have come so impulsively, given his 'fear of death' personality.

"Mizukage, it's been a long time. Could you hand over the Three-Tails to me?" Tobi said to Mei Terumi calm tone.

"You know me?" Mei Terumi never expected that this Masked Man would actually recognize her. Judging from his tone, he seemed quite familiar with her. She felt like she had overlooked something. Thinking about it carefully, that's right, could he be...?

"Lord Mizukage, I think the schemer who has been lurking all along has finally revealed himself to us, the mysterious man who has manipulated Fourth Mizukage..." Ao's Byakugan looked at him through Tobi's mask. He could already sense that familiar defiant energy. The Masked Man was the one who had been manipulating Yagura all along, using Yagura to create years of internal Kirigakure in Kirigakure.

"Oh, you recognize me now. You two were among those who suspected me back then, but the one who knows my identity better is probably Ao. You've been secretly investigating the Fourth, and eventually you suspected me. The Fifth Mizukage was just pushed into the Mizukage by those old men..." Tobi said.

"Hmph, now that we've run into each other, you're not leaving! Boil Release: Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!!!" Mei Terumi, having confirmed Tobi's identity, no longer held back and struck first.

A large amount of acid gushed from Mei Terumi's mouth, aimed directly at Tobi in front of her...