All the World is Auspicious

Sasuke sat cross-legged in the center of the courtyard, eyes tightly shut, his hands forming a strange seal. This seal was not one of the twelve traditional signs used by ninjas, but rather a unique Contract Seal taught to him by Naro—a technique exclusive to a Beast Tamer.

The scroll of Matatabi lay before him. The Sealing Tag on the scroll had already been torn away, and the black runes glowed faintly in the sunlight, undulating slowly as if they possessed a life of their own.

He was not practicing ninjutsu, nor was he refining chakra. He was doing something he had never done before: sensing.

He was not sensing the chakra of an enemy or the dangers of his surroundings, but rather the slumbering behemoth within the scroll.

Matatabi's aura seeped out from the scroll like a mass of ghostly blue flames, leaping and flickering in the darkness. Its emotions were complex—anger, wariness, confusion, and a trace of something indescribable.

Sasuke allowed his chakra to slowly permeate the scroll, attempting to establish a connection with the giant beast.

Matatabi ignored him. It curled up deep within the scroll, much like a real cat, filled with vigilance toward the approach of a stranger.

The moment Sasuke's chakra touched it, the beast let out a low, guttural roar, repelling his chakra back. Sasuke's body swayed, and he opened his eyes, the three tomoe in his blood-red Sharingan slowly rotating.

"Repelled again," he muttered, feeling somewhat frustrated.

"No need to rush," Mikoto's voice drifted from the veranda. "Tailed Beasts have lived for hundreds of years and have seen far more humans than you have. It will not trust anyone easily. You need time, and you need patience."

Sasuke nodded, closed his eyes, and continued his attempt.

On the other side of the courtyard, Karin was doing the same. The scroll of the Five-Tails Kokuō sat before her, and white steam seeped out from it from time to time, condensing into a small cloud in the air.

She let her chakra seep into the scroll, but the Five-Tails showed no reaction. It neither resisted nor accepted, remaining as silent as a stone.

Karin gritted her teeth and increased her chakra output, yet the Five-Tails remained completely unresponsive.

"Karin," Shisui called her name. "A Tailed Beast is not an enemy; you don't need to suppress it with chakra. What you need to do is not make it submit, but make it accept you. The amount of chakra won't solve the problem."

Karin stopped, took a deep breath, and adjusted her mindset. She remembered what Naro had said—a Beast Tamer is not a Jinchuriki; it is not a relationship of sealing and being sealed, but a partnership. Partners are not enemies.

She placed her hands back on the scroll. This time, she did not use chakra, simply resting her hands there to feel the aura of the giant beast within.

The Five-Tails still did not react, but at least, it did not resist.

Shisui stood not far from Karin, watching her figure. "Master, will they succeed?"

"They will," Naro said, taking a sip of tea. "It is only a matter of time."

"You are so certain?"

Naro set down his teacup and looked at the sweet osmanthus tree in the courtyard. The autumn flowers had bloomed, golden petals hanging heavy on the branches. As the wind blew, they fell in a rustle, and the courtyard was filled with the rich scent of osmanthus—sweet, with a hint of bitterness, much like the human world of the Ninja World.

"Because their hearts have not yet been polluted. They believe in others, they believe in the world, and they believe there is still hope." Naro's voice was calm. "Tailed Beasts have lived for centuries and have seen too much of the ugliness of human nature. Greed, betrayal, exploitation, deception... they have already lost faith in humanity. But Sasuke and Karin are different. They are still young; they haven't turned into those disgusting adults."

Shisui was silent for a moment before speaking: "Master, do you think they will make the Tailed Beasts trust humanity again?"

"I don't know," Naro stood up. "But one must try."

He walked into the house, took the Ghost Bone Banner out from his Purple Mansion, and began to continue its refinement. He had been busy with other matters lately, and the progress of the banner's refinement had slowed significantly.

The black banner floated in mid-air, white runes flowing across its surface, brightening and dimming as if breathing. Twelve vengeful spirits circled the banner, hands pressed together, chanting inaudible incantations. Wisps of black aura drifted from them, to be absorbed by the banner.

Mikoto stood at the courtyard gate, watched for a while, and then turned away. She needed to prepare lunch. No matter how the world changed, people still had to eat.

The following days passed in tranquility.

Sasuke "chatted" with Matatabi every day—though the beast ignored him entirely, he persisted in permeating the scroll with his chakra, trying to communicate. If it didn't work once, he tried ten times; if ten times didn't work, he tried a hundred. He was not a patient person, but in this matter, he showed astonishing resilience.

Karin's method was different. She did not attempt as frequently as Sasuke, but instead placed her hands on the scroll at a fixed time every day, quietly feeling the aura of the Five-Tails. Sometimes she would stop after a few minutes, other times she would sit for an hour. She was calm and unhurried, as if she were doing something perfectly natural.

Naro would come to see them for a while every day, offering a few words of guidance before returning to the house to continue refining the Ghost Bone Banner. He told them that the cultivation of a Beast Tamer did not lie in speed, but in depth; establishing a connection with a Tailed Beast was not a task for a single day, and it could not be rushed.

Mikoto cooked, did the laundry, and tidied the courtyard for them every day. She rarely spoke, and her face held little expression, but her gaze always followed Sasuke and Karin, like any mother concerned for her children.

While Sasuke and Karin were growing slowly, the Cloud Village and Iwagakure were in an uproar. After all, the Jinchuriki of both villages had vanished without a sound!

Everyone couldn't help but wonder—what if the ones who disappeared were the Kage of their villages? Just like the Kazekage during the Third Great Ninja War, who had also vanished without a trace.

The Fourth Raikage A of Kumogakure was furious upon hearing the news, smashing his desk with a single punch. Intelligence officers knelt across the floor, none daring to look up. He stood before the shattered desk, fists clenched, veins bulging on his arms; the very air in the room seemed ignited by his rage.

"Konoha! It must be Konoha! Just like the Third Kazekage, it must be Konoha!"

A staff officer nearby spoke cautiously: "Lord Raikage, there is currently no evidence to prove that Konoha did this..."

"Who else could it be but Konoha?!" the Raikage roared, his spit nearly hitting the officer's face. "Which other village in the Ninja World has this capability? Sunagakure? Kirigakure? Iwagakure lost one of their own too! The only ones who can quickly seal a Tailed Beast are those with the sealing techniques of the Uzumaki Clan. And whose hands are the Uzumaki sealing techniques in? They are in Konoha's hands!"

The staff officer dared not speak again.

The Raikage paced back and forth in his office like a bull trapped in a cage.

"Ever since the Uchiha clan was wiped out, Konoha's strength has been far from what it used to be. That old fox Sarutobi Hiruzen, fearing we would take the opportunity to strike at Konoha, must have struck first, snatching our Tailed Beast to weaken our power. What a clever scheme!"

He stopped and punched the wall, leaving a fist-shaped dent with cracks spreading outward.

"Pass the order! Send a letter to Konoha demanding they hand over the culprit! If they don't, we go to war!"

The situation in Iwagakure was much the same. The Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki sat in his office, holding an intelligence scroll. He read it three times before placing it on the table. His expression was grim, but he was not as violently enraged as the Raikage. This old man, who had lived for decades, had weathered far more storms than the Raikage.

"Han was snatched away without a sound?" His voice was hoarse, as if he were asking himself.

"Yes," his subordinate knelt on the ground. "The perpetrators were extremely fast and left no clues behind. We have been investigating for three days and have found nothing."

Ōnoki remained silent for a long time.

"Tsuchikage-sama, who do you think did this?"

Ōnoki did not answer directly, instead countering with a question: "What has been happening in the Ninja World lately?"

"The Uchiha clan in Konoha has been wiped out, the Hyuga clan is hunkering down..."

"Anything else?"

His subordinate thought for a moment: "There is also... after the Uchiha massacre, someone made the secrets of the Sage of Six Paths public. The origins of these Kekkei Genkai—the Senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki, Hyuga, and Kaguya—have all been dug up. The various villages have reacted differently, but all are investigating in secret."

"Do you think these events are connected?"

"This subordinate... is unsure."

Ōnoki picked up the scroll and read it again.

"A Jinchuriki abducted, the secrets of the Sage of Six Paths exposed, the Uchiha wiped out, the Hyuga Caged Bird seal leaked... more has happened in these past few months than in the last ten years combined."

He set the scroll down and looked out at the sky. Iwagakure was built into a rocky mountain; from the window, he could see the endless mountain ranges, the grayish-yellow rock shimmering under the sunlight like countless melting candles.

"Send a letter to Konoha." He made his decision. "Demand they hand over the culprit. If they refuse... we go to war."

The subordinate was stunned—war? Was it really time for war?

"Tsuchikage-sama, what if Konoha didn't do it?"

"Whether Konoha did it or not is irrelevant." Ōnoki's voice was calm, yet every word carried immense weight. "What matters is that we need a reason."

"What reason?"

Ōnoki did not answer.

What he left unsaid was that Konoha was at its weakest. The Uchiha were gone, the Hyuga were hiding, and the only remaining Senju, Tsunade, was not even in the village. No matter how much the other villages fought each other, they wouldn't gain much, but attacking Konoha was different. One bite of this meat could keep them fat for a decade.

There has never been a shortage of excuses for war.

Konoha, Hokage Building.

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

One was from Kumogakure, worded aggressively, demanding that Konoha hand over the culprit who abducted their Two-Tails Jinchuriki, or face war. The other was from Iwagakure, slightly more moderate in tone, but the message was the same—hand over the person, or face war.

He held a pipe in his mouth, the smoke drifting slowly through the office, much like his own chaotic thoughts. The ashtray beside him was already overflowing with cigarette butts, and the documents on his desk remained exactly as they had been when delivered; he hadn't signed a single word.

The door was pushed open.

"Hiruzen, have you seen them?" Shimura Danzō strode in, his single eye filled with gloom.

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

"What is your take?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up at Danzō. His eyes were weary, with dark circles beneath them—he had barely slept in days.

"Did you do it?"

Danzō's single eye widened, then narrowed, and he couldn't help but retort: "You suspect me?"

"I am only asking you, did you do it?"

"No." Danzō's voice was cold. "I have done nothing during this time. My Root personnel were already stretched thin, and after you requisitioned a group of my sealing experts, I have few left who can act. With what would I abduct a Jinchuriki?"

"Then who do you think it was?" Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at him for a moment before looking away.

"How would I know?" Danzō's tone remained cold. "But one thing is certain—the perpetrator's sealing techniques are formidable. To abduct a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki without alerting the entire village, their level of sealing mastery must be at least on par with the Uzumaki Clan."

"Are there any such masters of sealing in the Ninja World?"

"There are." Danzō said decisively. "The late Uzumaki Mito could have done it. As for anyone else..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent.

Danzō looked at him and suddenly said: "Hiruzen, I recall that you were the one who gathered up much of the Uzumaki Clan's legacy."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up sharply, his eyes filled with a threatening glare as he looked at Shimura Danzō. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean nothing by it, you know that." There was not a hint of a smile in Danzō's single eye. "I am simply saying that since the Uzumaki Clan's sealing legacy is now in your hands, could it be that someone under your command..."

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up. "My Anbu would never do such a thing, and besides, the Anbu do not have access to those sealing techniques."

"Then who else could it be? It's not like Uzumaki Mito has been resurrected!"

The moment Shimura Danzō finished speaking, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō both seemed to realize something. Their eyes met, and they spoke a single term in unison: "Impure World Reincarnation!"

"Is this Orochimaru's doing?!" Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice rose. "Why would he capture Tailed Beasts, and two of them at that?"

"He is your disciple." Shimura Danzō did not reveal that he was still in contact with Orochimaru; instead, he pushed the responsibility onto Sarutobi Hiruzen first, planning to contact Orochimaru once he returned to Root to ask.

The office was quiet for several seconds.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat down first. He rubbed his temples, the weariness on his face deepening. At nearly seventy years old, he still had to deal with this mess.

"Danzō, send your men to find Orochimaru and tell him I want to see him." His voice softened slightly. "And you see the situation now. Both Kumogakure and Iwagakure are pointing their fingers at us, using the excuse that only Konoha possesses the complete sealing legacy of the Uzumaki Clan."

Danzō grunted, signaling he understood Sarutobi Hiruzen's intent.

"Furthermore, I need you to activate Root's spies in Kumogakure and Iwagakure to find out if the loss of their Jinchuriki is real or not." Sarutobi Hiruzen said. "Whether they were truly abducted, or if they are staging this to find an excuse for war. I want concrete intelligence, not speculation."

"Very well." Danzō nodded. "Anything else?"

"I will reply to Kumogakure and Iwagakure, denying their accusations. They can send people to Konoha to investigate and see if Konoha is hiding their Tailed Beast Jinchuriki. We didn't do it, so we have nothing to fear from their investigation."

"Do you think they will send anyone?"

"No," Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head. "They won't send anyone. They aren't looking for the truth; they are looking for a pretext for war. Whether we investigate or not, they intend to fight. They want to take advantage of the current instability within Konoha to tear off a piece of us."

Danzo remained silent.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up and walked to the window, looking out at Konoha. The streets were still sparsely populated, the Hyuga compound remained tightly shut, and there were more Anbu patrols than usual. Everything appeared calm, but beneath that surface, undercurrents were churning.

"Order all clans to prepare for battle," he said. "Raise the border alert level to the maximum. Report any movement immediately."

"Understood." Danzo turned to leave, but stopped at the door. Without looking back, he said, "Hiruzen, I didn't do this. You had better believe that I didn't do this."

He pushed the door open and left.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood by the window, silent for a long time.

The news spread quickly.

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

In Sunagakure, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, stood before his office window. He gripped the intelligence scroll in his hand, his fingers tightening until the parchment creased. Outside the window, yellow sand filled the sky; the wind swept across the desert, kicking up a golden mist.

"The Jinchuriki of two villages abducted at the same time?" He turned to look at his subordinate. "Are you certain?"

"Certain. The source is reliable."

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

The subordinate shook his head. "This subordinate does not know."

"I suspect Konoha," Rasa said. "But that is not important. What matters is, if Kumogakure and Iwagakure go to war with Konoha simultaneously, should Sunagakure join in?"

The subordinate dared not answer.

Rasa pondered for a long time before finally saying, "Wait and see. Let's observe how the situation develops."

In Kirigakure, the Mizukage, Terumi Mei, stood by the window, looking out at the sea. A mist had risen over the water, a vast expanse of white where nothing could be seen clearly, much like the obscure and volatile situation in the Ninja World at this moment.

"The Jinchuriki of Konoha has been abducted?" she asked.

"No, it is the Jinchuriki of Kumogakure and Iwagakure who have been abducted," the subordinate corrected.

Terumi Mei was silent for a moment, then she smiled.

"Regardless of who did it, war is coming." She turned around. "Order all units to enter a state of combat readiness. This time, Kirigakure will neither initiate war nor be caught off guard."

"Also, send someone to notify the Daimyo. Tell him to send more supplies, and say..."

"War is coming again..." Jiraiya watched the Anbu hurrying through the streets, muttering to himself.