A Conversation with Genji

"So this is the village you wanted to protect, Hashirama!" Madara Uchiha murmured, his tone filled with both love and hatred.

"Send more White Zetsu Clones to infiltrate Konoha and gather information on the Uchiha Clan. Find an Uchiha descendant who can bear my name as soon as possible. My body will not hold out much longer." After a moment, Madara Uchiha composed himself and gave the order to White Zetsu's main body.

"Lord Madara! There is one more thing. My clone in the Land of Lightning learned that the Third Mizukage sent a letter to the Third Raikage, inviting Kumogakure to join forces in attacking the Land of Whirlpools and seize their Sealing Technique!" White Zetsu added.

"The Land of Whirlpools... the Uzumaki Clan?" Madara Uchiha muttered softly. After some thought, he said to White Zetsu's main body, "This clan's sensory abilities and Sealing Technique could both affect my plans in the future. Since Nagato is already nurturing my Rinnegan, it seems I should eliminate this damned clan first."

Whether Madara Uchiha had recalled Hashirama Senju being taken from him by Mito Uzumaki, or truly believed the Uzumaki Clan would threaten his plans, he dispatched a large number of White Zetsu Clones to the Land of Whirlpools as well, gathering intelligence and preparing to strike alongside Kirigakure and Kumogakure.

The scene returned to Seiji.

As soon as Seiji returned home, he went to see Genji, intending to discuss the Land of Whirlpools with him.

"Little Seiji, you're back!" Genji looked delighted when he saw Seiji return.

Although he had great confidence in Seiji's strength, and Seiji had not been assigned a combat mission this time, it was still his eldest grandson's first trip abroad. Genji could not help worrying as an elder would for a younger family member traveling far from home.

"Grandpa! I'm back!" Seiji was just as happy. Ever since gaining Genji as family, this was the first time he had been away from home for so long.

After the grandfather and grandson caught up for a while, they began discussing business.

"Grandpa, did you know that the Mizukage is plotting against the Land of Whirlpools?" Seiji asked. He first needed to determine whether Genji knew about this. Although his grandfather held a high position within the village, he had not involved himself in village affairs for quite some time.

"I did. In fact, I was the one who suggested that the Mizukage send you to Kumogakure with the letter." Genji smiled. He knew what Seiji wanted to ask.

"After Lord Gengetsu, the Second Mizukage, died together with Mu, the Second Tsuchikage, Kirigakure no longer had any top-tier experts apart from the current Third Mizukage. We still had several Kage-level fighters, but they were merely ordinary Kage-level fighters. What we lacked were experts capable of deciding a battle's outcome and changing the entire situation on the battlefield. Therefore, at the Mizukage's proposal, we began experimenting with Jinchuriki," Genji continued.

"However, Kirigakure lacks an inheritance of Sealing Techniques, and we have never produced an expert skilled in them. As a result, the experiments progressed extremely poorly. We tried shinobi at every level of strength, yet not a single attempt succeeded. No one survived after borrowing the power of a Tailed Beast. Those who were fortunate enough to survive after using Tailed Beast power soon lost themselves when the beasts went berserk. So many outstanding shinobi died for nothing." Genji's expression darkened. He let out a long sigh before continuing, his voice heavy with unwillingness.

"The Sealing Technique inherited by the Uzumaki Clan of the Land of Whirlpools is exactly what we desperately need. And seizing it amid the coming Great Shinobi War is our only chance to obtain that inheritance. Otherwise, once Konoha has time to spare, we will have no possibility of taking it. Though the Uzumaki Clan is only Konoha's ally in name, Konoha will never allow other villages a chance to lay their hands on it. That is why the Mizukage proposed this plan."

"Grandpa, which two Tailed Beasts does Kirigakure possess?" Seiji asked. He was quite concerned about this and also somewhat curious.

Seiji knew that Sunagakure possessed Shukaku the One-Tail, while Konoha had Kurama, the strongest Nine-Tails. During a recent mission, he had learned that one of Kumogakure's Tailed Beasts was Gyūki, the Eight-Tails. As for the whereabouts of the other Tailed Beasts, he still did not know much, even though he now controlled the Underground Exchange. After all, ever since the villages witnessed Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Mito Uzumaki take action during the First Great Shinobi War, they had treated the Tailed Beasts as strategic nuclear weapons and tightly sealed away all information about them.

"At first, Konoha obtained eight Tailed Beasts. During the first Kage Summit, Lord Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, sold off the seven Tailed Beasts other than the Nine-Tails. Sunagakure already possessed the One-Tail, so it did not take any others. Iwagakure received the Four-Tails and Five-Tails. Kirigakure obtained the Three-Tails and Six-Tails, while Kumogakure received the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails. As for the last Seven-Tails, it was given to Takigakure, which was also quite powerful overall at the time." Genji answered Seiji's question in detail. After all, Seiji was his beloved eldest grandson, and his strength was now more than sufficient. An Elite Jonin ranked among Kirigakure's finest, so there was nothing that could not be told to him about such a secret.

Isobu, the Three-Tails, and Saiken, the Six-Tails? Seiji thought.

(Note: The Tailed Beasts did not hate humans from the beginning. At first, they maintained good relations with humans, only later being repeatedly captured by certain people pursuing power. Although Seiji had not watched much Naruto in his previous life, he knew the names of all Nine Tailed Beasts thanks to Isshiki's thousand years of memories.)