Discovered

"Josuke, thank you for taking this on. It's not a huge deal that the cargo was lost, but some of the materials inside are precious and can't be lost. I installed a tracker on the cargo before they fled, so please bring it back."

Josuke nodded. It was a simple mission. Anyone in Konoha with hands could do it.

He only worried that a few members of the Akatsuki Organization might suddenly appear at this time and beat Josuke to a pulp, which would be game over.

Hearing Josuke readily agree, Orochimaru's expression improved slightly. He then gave instructions to Sasuke.

"Sasuke, go scout the perimeter for any pursuing enemies. Find a way to evade them and provide backup for Josuke once he's succeeded."

Got it~

Sasuke remained as aloof as ever, unwilling to say more. He simply left without looking back.

Seeing this, Josuke had no reason to stay. After bidding farewell to Orochimaru, he got up to leave. Once the two were gone, Orochimaru began to cough violently.

The coughing echoed through the underground, though the two above couldn't hear it.

After a long while, Orochimaru finally let out a slow breath. He looked in Sasuke's direction. The Living Corpse Reincarnation jutsu was almost complete; he just needed a few more boxes of medicinal herbs from inside.

After leaving the base, Josuke followed the tracker on the scroll and indeed found the location of the cargo.

He saw the Konoha ninja here had no proper combat spirit. They were sleeping soundly in small groups, lined up neatly.

Is this what Konoha ninja are like?

So lax.

He could only say they weren't as good as the Otogakure founded by Orochimaru. Josuke dared to guarantee that even a single Otogakure ninja could easily defeat this group.

Josuke recognized the leader; it was none other than Ebisu. But why wasn't Ibiki here? Josuke didn't know. This was the intelligence he had gathered.

After confirming the number of people and their defensive formation, Josuke began his stealth infiltration. It was incredibly simple; he dismantled Ebisu's defenses effortlessly.

He soon arrived at the storage area. The two guards were already drowsy. Josuke didn't even need to disguise himself; he slipped past them right under their noses.

The cargo Orochimaru was looking for...

The cargo was indeed a small box, just as Orochimaru had said. He didn't know what was inside, but there was a combination lock on the outside.

Josuke wasn't curious enough to check.

After retrieving the cargo, Josuke prepared to leave.

Just then!!

An unforeseen event occurred. Outside the tent, Izumo Kamizuki, one of Konoha's gatekeepers, arrived to inspect the warehouse. Josuke, inside, heard the commotion.

He was so startled he quickly hid.

Seriously, of all times, why now? This is such a plot device.

At this moment, Izumo Kamizuki had no idea someone was inside. He was just moving around casually as usual, carrying the Summoning: Giant Club.

A giant club resembling a seashell, it could fly freely in the air, with Izumo controlling all its attacks and defenses.

(I've seen many Naruto plot analyses that claim this is the Three-Tails' eye. I don't know if it's true; Kishimoto himself has been inconsistent. So, I'll conduct a small poll here. Reply to the author with "The coolest is not the Three-Tails' eye" if you think it's not, and reply with "Although very cool, not as cool as the readers" if you think it is. Then, the answer for "readers are cool" and "although very cool, not as cool as the readers" will be the same.)

Hidden, Josuke didn't know who had entered. He could only pray that he wouldn't be discovered.

But fate wouldn't allow it.

Izumo's weapon seemed to attract the Nine-Tails' chakra within Josuke, making the chakra in his body incredibly restless. Although it was only a small amount of chakra, it was enough.

It directly led to Josuke being caught red-handed.

As everyone knows, substitutes—no, Tailed Beasts—attract each other, and so does their chakra. When Izumo used his weapon, it had already sensed the aura of the Nine-Tails' chakra.

So, the weapon intentionally or unintentionally moved towards Josuke. Josuke was hiding, trying not to be discovered, but the Nine-Tails' chakra became disobedient at this moment.

It directly wrapped Josuke in a Tailed Beast cloak.

The evil Tailed Beast chakra overflowed into the surroundings. Even though Izumo was flying, he sensed it and immediately entered combat mode.

Izumo was excited. Today was a joyous occasion for him. His squad had first received intel from a kind Konoha villager that Orochimaru's supply transport team would pass through here today.

The kind villager had also led the ninja here, so Izumo had laid an ambush and, as expected, caught a big fish.

And now, he was just doing a routine inspection of the cargo when he found a thief.

However, the only drawback these days was that the kind villager seemed to dislike the Hokage and preferred Danzo, for some reason. It was a strange thing.

"Who's there? Come out!!"

Izumo shouted, trying to force Josuke out. But would Josuke comply?

Josuke didn't want to fight, but that didn't mean he couldn't. Since you've called for backup, don't blame me for being impolite.

The Tailed Beast chakra was now back under Josuke's control. Seeing the thief hiding inside refusing to come out, Izumo decided to go all out.

He threw his great hammer!

"Bang!!"

It shattered the wooden crates around, kicking up dust. Josuke seized the opportunity to grab the great hammer. It was indeed that feeling—a chakra similar to the Nine-Tails' chakra within him.

Half of his weapon was taken. Izumo Kamizuki tried to pull it back, but found the opponent's strength was like a wild bull's; he couldn't budge it no matter how hard he pulled.

"Who exactly are you?" Izumo Kamizuki asked the man wearing a mysterious mask. Their fight had already attracted quite a few onlookers, including "experts" with strength comparable to Izumo Kamizuki's.

"My name is not to be changed, I am Yamanaka Fū!!"

Yamanaka Fū? Who was that?

Was he from the Yamanaka clan? Then why hadn't he ever seen him before? What Izumo Kamizuki didn't know was that Josuke was hiding his true appearance.

The name Yamanaka Fū was also something he made up on the spot. Anyway, he was wearing a high-end custom mask, so he didn't need to worry about his handsome face getting smashed.

The only thing to worry about was being captured.

Izumo Kamizuki continued to pull hard on his weapon, but unexpectedly, Josuke yanked again, pulling him right up close. Izumo Kamizuki was a tough guy.

Even when being pulled, he didn't panic and even unleashed a Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique at Josuke.

But it was useless. Naive!!

The law of action and reaction is mutual. Izumo Kamizuki was pulled up close by Josuke, and with a punch to his face, Izumo Kamizuki was sent flying back several meters.

The weapon, made from the eyes of the Three-Tails, successfully fell into Josuke's hands.

After Izumo Kamizuki was sent flying, a group of enemies surrounded him once more