All Under Heaven Rejoices

Sasuke sat cross-legged in the middle of the courtyard, eyes closed, hands forming a strange seal. It wasn't one of the twelve standard hand seals used by shinobi. It was one Naro had taught him—the Contract Seal unique to Beast Tamers.

The scroll containing Matatabi lay in front of him. The Sealing Tag on it had been torn away, and the black runes glimmered faintly in the sunlight, slowly writhing as if they were alive.

He wasn't practicing ninjutsu or refining chakra. He was doing something he had never done before: sensing.

Not sensing an enemy's chakra or the danger around him, but sensing the slumbering beast inside the scroll.

Matatabi's presence seeped through the scroll like a mass of deep blue flame, flickering and shimmering in the darkness. Its emotions were complicated: anger, wariness, confusion, and something else he couldn't quite name.

Sasuke slowly let his chakra seep into the scroll, trying to establish a connection with the beast.

Matatabi ignored him, curled up deep inside the scroll like a real cat, wary of a stranger's approach.

The moment Sasuke's chakra touched it, Matatabi let out a low growl and sent his chakra rebounding. Sasuke swayed, then opened his eyes. The Three Tomoe in his blood-red Sharingan turned slowly.

"It bounced back again." He sounded a little dejected.

"Don't rush it." Mikoto's voice came from the veranda. "The Tailed Beasts have lived for hundreds of years. They've met far more people than you have, and they won't trust just anyone. You need time and patience."

Sasuke nodded, closed his eyes, and tried again.

Across the courtyard, Karin was doing the same thing. The scroll containing Kokuō lay in front of her, and white steam occasionally seeped from it, coalescing into a small cloud in the air.

She let her chakra seep into the scroll, but the Five-Tails didn't react at all. It neither resisted nor accepted her, as silent as a stone.

Karin gritted her teeth and increased her chakra output. The Five-Tails still didn't react.

"Karin," Shisui called to her. "The Tailed Beasts aren't your enemies. You don't need to suppress them with chakra. Your goal isn't to make them submit, but to make them accept you. More chakra won't solve the problem."

Karin stopped, took a deep breath, and steadied herself. She recalled what Naro had told her: Beast Tamers weren't Jinchuriki. Their relationship wasn't one of a seal and the sealed, but of partners. Partners, not enemies.

She placed her hand on the scroll again. This time, she didn't use chakra. She simply rested her hand on it, sensing the presence of the beast inside.

The Five-Tails still didn't react, but at least it didn't resist.

Standing a short distance from Karin, Shisui watched her. "My lord, do you think they'll succeed?"

"They will." Naro took a sip of tea. "It's only a matter of time."

"Are you sure?"

Naro set down his teacup and looked at the osmanthus tree in the courtyard. The flowers had bloomed in the autumn, golden petals covering the branches. They fluttered down whenever the wind blew, filling the courtyard with the heady scent of osmanthus—sweet with a hint of bitterness, like life in the Ninja World.

"Because their hearts haven't been tainted yet. They still believe in others, in the world, and in the hope that things can get better." Naro's voice was calm. "The Tailed Beasts have lived for hundreds of years and seen too much of humanity's ugliness: greed, betrayal, exploitation, deceit... They've lost faith in humans. But Sasuke and Karin are different. They're still young. They haven't turned into the kind of disgusting adults who make people sick."

Shisui was silent for a while before speaking. "My lord, do you think they'll make the Tailed Beasts believe in humanity again?"

"I don't know." Naro stood up. "But it's worth a try."

He went inside, took the Ghost Bone Banner out of his Purple Mansion, and resumed refining it. He'd been busy with other things lately, and his progress on the banner had slowed considerably.

The black banner floated in midair, white runes flowing across its surface, brightening and dimming like breaths. The twelve vengeful spirits gathered around it with their hands clasped, murmuring incantations too faint to make out. Wisps of black energy drifted from their bodies and were absorbed by the banner.

Mikoto stood at the courtyard gate and watched for a while before turning to leave. She needed to prepare lunch. No matter how much the world changed, people still had to eat.

The next few days passed peacefully.

Every day, Sasuke "talked" to Matatabi. Matatabi didn't respond at all, but he kept pushing his chakra into the scroll and trying to communicate. If it didn't work once, he tried ten times; if it didn't work ten times, he tried a hundred. He wasn't a patient person, but he showed remarkable perseverance at this.

Karin took a different approach. Unlike Sasuke, she didn't try over and over. Each day, at a set time, she placed her hand on the scroll and quietly sensed the Five-Tails' presence. Sometimes she stopped after a few minutes; other times she sat there for half an hour. She was unhurried, as if this were the most natural thing in the world.

Naro visited them briefly every day, offered a few words of guidance, then returned to his room to continue refining the Ghost Bone Banner. He told them that a Beast Tamer's cultivation wasn't about speed but depth. Building a connection with a Tailed Beast couldn't happen overnight, and there was no point rushing it.

Mikoto cooked for them, did their laundry, and tidied the courtyard every day. She rarely spoke and seldom showed much expression, but her eyes always followed Sasuke and Karin, like any mother who cared about her children.

While Sasuke and Karin were making slow progress, Kumogakure and Iwagakure were in an uproar. After all, the Jinchuriki of both villages had vanished without a word!

Everyone couldn't help thinking: what if it had been the village's Kage who disappeared? Just like the Third Kazekage during the Third Shinobi World War—he, too, had vanished without a trace.

Fourth Raikage A flew into a rage when he heard the news and smashed his desk with one punch. The intelligence officers knelt in a row, none of them daring to look up. He stood before the shattered desk, fists clenched and veins bulging along his arms. It was as if the air in the room had caught fire from his fury.

"Konoha! It had to be Konoha! Just like with the Third Kazekage, it was definitely Konoha!"

One of the advisers cautiously spoke up. "Lord Raikage, there's no evidence yet that Konoha was responsible..."

"Who else could it be?!" the Raikage roared, nearly spitting in the adviser's face. "Which other village in the Ninja World has that kind of ability? Sunagakure? Kirigakure? Even Iwagakure lost one of its own! The only people who can seal a Tailed Beast that quickly are those with the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu. And who has the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu? Konoha!"

The adviser didn't dare say another word.

The Raikage paced around his office like a bull trapped in a pen.

"Ever since the Uchiha Clan Massacre, Konoha's strength has fallen sharply. That old fox Sarutobi Hiruzen was afraid we'd take advantage of the situation and attack Konoha, so he struck first, stealing our Tailed Beasts to weaken us. A neat little plan!"

He stopped and punched the wall. His fist left a dent, and cracks spread out around it.

"Send word! Write to Konoha and demand they hand over the culprit! If they refuse, we go to war!"

The situation in Iwagakure was much the same. Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki sat in his office, holding an intelligence scroll. He read it three times, then set it on his desk. His expression was grim, but he wasn't as furious as the Raikage. The old man had lived for decades and weathered far more storms.

"Han was taken without anyone noticing?" he asked in a hoarse voice, as if speaking to himself.

"Yes." His subordinate knelt on the floor. "The people who carried out the operation moved quickly and left no trace. We searched for three days and found nothing."

Ōnoki was silent for a long time.

"Lord Tsuchikage, who do you think did it?"

Ōnoki didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked, "What's been happening in the Ninja World lately?"

"Konoha's Uchiha Clan was wiped out, and the Hyuga Clan has shut itself away..."

"What else?"

The subordinate thought for a moment. "There's also... after the Uchiha Clan Massacre, someone made the Sage of Six Paths' secrets public. The origins of the Kekkei Genkai of the Senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki, Hyuga, and Kaguya Clans have all been dug up. The villages have reacted in different ways, but they're all investigating in secret."

"Do you think these things are connected?"

"This subordinate... doesn't know."

Ōnoki picked up the scroll and read it again.

"The Jinchuriki have been taken, the Sage of Six Paths' secrets have been revealed, the Uchiha have been wiped out, and the Hyuga's Caged Bird has been exposed... More has happened in the last few months than in the past ten years combined."

He set the scroll down and looked out the window at the sky. Iwagakure was built among rocky mountains. From the window, he could see ranges of mountains in the distance, their gray-yellow rocks gleaming in the sunlight like countless candles melting.

"Write to Konoha." He made up his mind. "Demand they hand over the culprit. If they refuse... we go to war."

His subordinate froze. "Go to war? Are we really going to fight?"

"Lord Tsuchikage, what if Konoha wasn't responsible?"

"It doesn't matter whether Konoha did it." Ōnoki's voice was calm, but every word weighed heavily. "What matters is that we need a reason."

"What reason?"

Ōnoki didn't answer.

What he didn't say was that Konoha was at its weakest. The Uchiha were gone, the Hyuga had withdrawn, and the Senju were reduced to a single Tsunade, who wasn't even in the village. No matter how much the other villages fought one another, they wouldn't gain much. Konoha was different. Take a bite out of that prize, and you could feast for ten years.

There was never a shortage of excuses for war.

Konoha, Hokage Building.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind his desk, with two letters spread out before him.

One was from Kumogakure, worded harshly. It demanded that Konoha hand over whoever had taken the Two-Tails' Jinchuriki, or face war. The other was from Iwagakure. Its wording was a little milder, but the meaning was much the same: hand them over, or go to war.

He held a pipe in his mouth, smoke drifting slowly through the office like his tangled thoughts. The ashtray beside him was already full of cigarette butts. The documents on his desk remained just as they had when they arrived; he hadn't written a single word.

The door opened.

"Hiruzen, you've seen these?" Shimura Danzō strode in, his single eye dark and brooding.

"I have." Sarutobi Hiruzen took the pipe from his mouth and tapped it against the ashtray. His movements were slow, as if he were stalling for time. "Kumogakure and Iwagakure have both sent letters demanding we hand over the culprit."

"What do you think?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up at Danzō. His eyes were tired, and the dark circles beneath them were deep. He'd barely slept in days.

"Did you do it?"

Danzō's single eye widened before narrowing again. He couldn't help asking, "You suspect me?"

"I'm only asking whether you did it."

"No." Danzō's voice was cold. "I haven't done anything lately. Root was already short-handed, and you took some of my Sealing Jutsu specialists. I hardly have anyone left who can take action. How could I steal a Jinchuriki?"

"Then who do you think did it?" Sarutobi Hiruzen watched him for a while, then looked away.

"How should I know?" Danzō's voice remained cold. "But one thing is certain: the other side's Sealing Jutsu is powerful. To take a Jinchuriki without alerting the entire village, their Sealing Jutsu must be at least as good as the Uzumaki Clan's."

"Are there any such sealing experts in the Ninja World?"

"Yes." Danzō answered without hesitation. "Uzumaki Mito could have done it when she was alive. As for anyone else..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent.

Danzō watched him, then suddenly said, "Hiruzen, I recall that you gathered up a lot of the Uzumaki Clan's inheritance before."

Sarutobi Hiruzen jerked his head up and fixed Danzō with a threatening stare. "What are you implying?"

"Nothing. You know that." There wasn't a trace of a smile in Danzō's single eye. "I'm just saying that you have the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu inheritance now. Could it have been someone under your command...?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up. "The Anbu under my command wouldn't do such a thing. Besides, the Anbu don't have access to those Sealing Jutsu."

"Then who could it be? It's not as if Uzumaki Mito came back to life!"

As soon as Danzō finished speaking, he and Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed to realize something. They met each other's gaze and said in unison, "Impure World Reincarnation!"

"Did Orochimaru do it?!" Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice rose. "Why would he take Tailed Beasts—and two of them?"

"Then it was your student." Shimura Danzō didn't reveal that he was still in contact with Orochimaru. Instead, he pushed the blame onto Sarutobi Hiruzen first. He planned to contact Orochimaru for answers once he returned to Root.

The office fell silent for a few seconds.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat down first. He rubbed his temples, exhaustion weighing more heavily on his face. He was nearly seventy and still had to clean up this mess.

"Danzō, send your people to find Orochimaru and tell him I want to see him." His voice softened a little. "And you can see the situation for yourself. Kumogakure and Iwagakure are both pointing fingers at us because Konoha is the only village with the Uzumaki Clan's complete Sealing Jutsu inheritance."

Danzō snorted, showing he understood what Sarutobi Hiruzen meant.

"Also, I need you to activate Root's spies in Kumogakure and Iwagakure and find out whether the Jinchuriki really are missing." Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "Were they truly taken, or are the villages staging this as an excuse to go to war? I need solid intelligence, not guesses."

"Understood." Danzō nodded. "Anything else?"

"I'll write back to Kumogakure and Iwagakure and deny their accusations. They can send people to Konoha to look for their Tailed Beast Jinchuriki. We didn't do it, so we have nothing to fear from an investigation."

"Do you think they'll send anyone?"

"No." Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head. "They won't send anyone. They don't want the truth; they want an excuse for war. They intend to attack whether they investigate or not. They want to take a big bite out of Konoha while we're unstable."

Danzō fell silent.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood and walked to the window, looking out over Konoha. There were still few people on the streets, the gates of the Hyuga Clan Compound remained firmly shut, and there were more Anbu on patrol than usual. Everything seemed peaceful enough, but currents were stirring beneath that calm surface.

"Order the clans to prepare for battle," he said. "Raise border security to the highest level. Report anything unusual immediately."

"Yes." Danzō turned to leave, but stopped at the doorway. Without looking back, he said, "Hiruzen, I didn't do this. You'd better believe that."

He opened the door and left.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood by the window in silence for a long time.

The news spread quickly.

Within two days, word that the Jinchuriki of Iwagakure and Kumogakure had been taken had spread throughout the Ninja World.

In Sunagakure, Fourth Kazekage Rasa stood by the office window, clutching an intelligence scroll so tightly that creases formed beneath his fingers. Outside, sand filled the sky. The wind swept across the desert, raising a golden haze.

"Both villages had their Jinchuriki taken at the same time?" He turned to his subordinate. "Are you sure?"

"Certain. The source is reliable."

"Interesting." Rasa rolled up the scroll and tapped it against the desk. "Who do you think did it?"

The subordinate shook his head. "This subordinate doesn't know."

"I suspect Konoha," Rasa said. "But that's not what matters. If Kumogakure and Iwagakure go to war with Konoha at the same time, should Sunagakure join in?"

The subordinate didn't dare answer.

Rasa thought for a long time, then said, "We'll wait and see. Let's see how things develop."

In Kirigakure, Mizukage Terumi Mei stood by the window, looking out at the sea. Fog had risen over the water, turning everything into a white blur. It was as hard to make out as the murky state of the Ninja World.

"Konoha's Jinchuriki have been taken?" she asked.

"No, the Jinchuriki from Kumogakure and Iwagakure were taken," her subordinate corrected her.

Terumi Mei was silent for a moment, then smiled.

"Whoever did it, war is coming." She turned around. "Order all units to prepare for battle. This time, Kirigakure won't start a war, but we won't just take a beating, either."

"Also, send someone to inform the daimyo and ask him to send more supplies. Tell him..."

"War is coming again..." Jiraiya murmured to himself as he watched the Anbu hurrying along the street.