Colonizing Takigakure, Operations Master-Kakuzu

Uchiha Jun reached out and took the mass of Tailed Beast chakra and the shell tissue.

The instant it touched his hand, he could clearly sense the immense energy contained within that chakra mass—though it was only a small portion of Chomei's chakra.

Yet the density of that energy was already enough to rival the total chakra reserves of a standard Kage Level ninja!

As for the shell tissue, it radiated a peculiar warmth.

Uchiha Jun examined it and saw dense, fine patterns running through the inside, resembling the structure of some naturally formed sealing formula.

"Good stuff."

Uchiha Jun took out a specially made Sealing Scroll from his ninja tool pouch, carefully sealed the mass of Tailed Beast chakra and shell tissue inside, then tucked the scroll into his clothes.

After finishing all that, he raised his head and looked at the colossal creature before him.

"Let's go."

With the colossal creature behind him, Uchiha Jun headed toward the exit of the sealing space.

Rubble continued to fall from the stone walls lining the passage. The sealing formula overhead had completely collapsed, the blue-white glow of the barrier had gone out, and the entire underground space had sunk into darkness.

By the time he emerged from the dungeon entrance, it was already fully dark outside.

Dozens of Takigakure ninja were hurrying toward the dungeon, evidently alerted by the commotion from earlier.

But when they saw Uchiha Jun walk out of the dungeon, they all froze in place.

Uchiha Jun raised his right hand, and the light of his Mangekyō Sharingan flashed through the night.

"Demonic Illusion: Kasegui no Jutsu."

The ninja's eyes instantly turned vacant, and their bodies stiffened where they stood, as if nailed in place.

"What a powerful ocular technique." Chomei, the Seven-Tails, floated behind Uchiha Jun and sighed in admiration.

"You haven't seen anything yet. The really awesome stuff is still to come," Uchiha Jun said blandly.

He walked out of the dungeon entrance and looked up at the night sky.

The wind parted the clouds overhead, revealing a crescent moon. Moonlight spilled over Takigakure's ruined buildings, casting mottled shadows.

"...What is this?! Th-this... could this be your technique, Uchiha?!"

Chomei, the Seven-Tails, following behind Uchiha Jun, also noticed something strange about the moonlight. Sensing with all his might, he discovered that the moonlight contained powerful ocular power!

Its range was broad enough to cover all of Takigakure!

Was this the genjutsu Uchiha Jun had mentioned, cast upon every Takigakure ninja?

As expected of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Takigakure... you controlled it just like that?" Chomei's voice carried a trace of complicated emotion. "I never thought modern ninja could still be this powerful."

"Jun, everything is ready. I implanted genjutsu into these Takigakure ninja's consciousness, covering our entire operation with a layer of 'cognitive filtering.' The marks have been implanted as well."

A graceful figure appeared beside Uchiha Jun and spoke.

It was Uchiha Hikari. The technique that had just shocked Chomei, the Seven-Tails, was none other than—Yachihoko, along with Limited Tsukuyomi!

Yachihoko could carve "marks" onto targets, allowing the caster to freely control the chakra within their bodies from a great distance.

Limited Tsukuyomi, meanwhile, could be understood as an enhanced version of Tsukuyomi. Through a medium, it could cast Tsukuyomi on multiple targets!

"Great job! You really helped out this time, Hikari!"

"What reward do you want?"

Seeing that the plan he had suggested to Uchiha Hikari had actually succeeded, Uchiha Jun was somewhat surprised.

He had originally thought they would have to kill a batch of Takigakure ninja. He had not expected Uchiha Hikari to be this capable!

Feeling a little excited, Uchiha Jun patted Uchiha Hikari on the shoulder as he spoke.

"N-no need. It's enough that I could help you."

Uchiha Hikari's cheeks reddened. Then she noticed the Seven-Tails behind Uchiha Jun, widened her Mangekyō Sharingan, and asked, "Should we control this Tailed Beast too, Jun?"

"Don't! Don't! Uchiha, explain it to her! You can't go back on your word!"

Chomei, the Seven-Tails, was horrified and immediately began shouting.

"No need. This Tailed Beast is of no use for now, so let it roam free. Also, Hikari, does using your Mangekyō like this put any strain on your eyes?"

"Overusing the Mangekyō causes blindness. Only by fusing it with the Mangekyō of a blood relative and evolving it into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan can you avoid blindness forever."

For the latter half, Uchiha Jun activated his Mangekyō and let only Uchiha Hikari hear him. Information about the Mangekyō Sharingan was best kept hidden whenever possible, even if the only one nearby was a Tailed Beast.

"Huh? It can make you go blind?"

"...Right. Back in the Warring States Period, whenever I used Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi too many times, my eyesight would worsen."

Uchiha Hikari sounded surprised. Hearing that, Uchiha Jun asked with concern.

"How about now? How is your ocular power? You should hold back a little in the future. Once we return to Konoha, I'll work with Orochimaru on a way to help you evolve your eyes into the Eternal Eye."

"Haha, don't worry. Maybe it's because of Yachihoko. Whenever I use Mangekyō ocular techniques, the chakra within Yachihoko's marks shares part of the cost. In reality, it doesn't consume much of my own ocular power."

"That's good. Where's Kakuzu?"

"Boss, I'm here."

Uchiha Jun glanced back at Kakuzu. "Did you install your new hearts?"

"They're installed."

Kakuzu rolled his shoulders. "One Wind Release Jonin heart and one Fire Release Jonin heart. Their quality doesn't compare to the previous two, but gathering hearts of this grade on short notice was already pretty good."

"I can still perform at Kage Level."

"Fine. Then help me take care of something next."

Uchiha Jun took out a Celadon Bottle containing Hero Water from his clothes, then removed an empty small test tube from his ninja tool pouch.

"There are two drops of concentrated Hero Water in this bottle. Take one drop, dilute it into a hundred portions, and test the effects on the prisoners in Takigakure's dungeon. Just record the data."

"Gradually increase the dosage and record all the data."

Uchiha Jun then took a Storage Scroll he had previously seized from some Iwa-nin out of his Storage Scroll and tossed it to Kakuzu. "There are two hundred million ryo in here. Use it as operating funds for the Takigakure base. If you run things well, there'll be more later."

Kakuzu caught the Storage Scroll and instinctively squeezed it, confirming the amount inside. His emerald-green eyes immediately lit up as though he had seen some priceless treasure.

"Two hundred million ryo?!"

Kakuzu's voice rose several pitches, then he immediately lowered it again. Beneath his mask, his face practically blossomed with delight.

"Boss, don't worry. With this money, I can turn Takigakure into an impregnable fortress for you. I can also establish our own network of connections in the surrounding border prefectures. We definitely won't fall behind the Five Great Ninja Villages."

"We can spread an intelligence network too and counter-infiltrate the Five Great Ninja Villages."

Uchiha Jun raised a brow and gave Kakuzu a surprised look. "You can do all that?"

Kakuzu grinned, revealing a dry but confident smile beneath his mask. "Boss, my reputation as a rogue ninja isn't just for show. I worked in Takigakure's Anbu for more than a decade back then. What kind of work haven't I handled?"

"Running bases, grooming trusted subordinates, buying informants, setting up intelligence networks—this stuff is as easy to me as counting money."

He paused, and his expression grew more restrained. "The reason I never did it before was that my 'immortal body' ability was too conspicuous. If the higher-ups of the Five Great Ninja Villages noticed me, I didn't want to spend the rest of my life running."

"But things are different now."

Uchiha Jun nodded. "All right, Takigakure is yours to manage."

He then pulled several mission plans he had prepared in advance from his ninja tool pouch and handed them to Kakuzu.

"These are the detailed plans for the first batch of operating funds. You can follow this pace or make your own arrangements. Also, if there are any Jonin in Takigakure you don't trust, brand them with sealing techniques or control them directly with Earth Grudge Fear's tendrils. Your choice."

"As for the Hero Water experiment—"

Uchiha Jun's gaze swept over Kakuzu. "Record every piece of data clearly. I need to know this thing's threshold of effect on the human body when diluted, how severe the negative emotional fluctuations are after the user's chakra surges, how long they last, and whether there is any way to suppress them."

"I'll come collect it later."

"Understood."

Kakuzu put away the Storage Scroll and mission plans. "I'll personally oversee the experiment."

Uchiha Jun nodded in satisfaction.

He turned toward the exit of Takigakure's dungeon—over there, rays of sunset were streaming through the broken opening, bathing the dark underground space in golden light.