Since Things Had Come to This, He'd Grab the Six-Tails, the One Ranked Sixth!

After checking the system panel, Xuan Yu wasn't sure whether he'd come out ahead or lost out this time.

The special effect of his Four-Symbols Seal seemed to bring it up to Minato Namikaze's level—or even make it a little stronger than Minato's.

If he captured the Nine-Tails now, he could split it into two or more parts, then seal them using different forms of the Four-Symbols Seal.

But he genuinely had no need to create a Jinchūriki. He couldn't exactly capture a Tailed Beast and seal it inside himself to boost his strength, could he?

That might raise his strength a little, but he could keep improving through his own efforts. He had no need to capture baby Tailed Beasts and collect rent from them.

"Wait! This ability might actually be useful." After grumbling to himself for a while, Xuan Yu suddenly thought of a way to use it.

For example, if he went after the Nine-Tails and extracted all of it from Naruto, he'd be killing Leaf Village's Jinchūriki. The people of Leaf Village would never let that slide.

But if he took most of the Tailed Beast and left Naruto with a fox's leg, just enough to keep him from dying—

The Jinchūriki's strength would certainly take a huge hit, but he wouldn't die.

If Xuan Yu handled it carefully, the Jinchūriki he took the Tailed Beast from might not even realize what had happened.

At that thought, Xuan Yu felt much better.

If something happened to a Jinchūriki, their village was bound to investigate.

And the investigation would either turn up nothing, or reveal that Obito had targeted the Jinchūriki. Either way, it had nothing to do with him.

Now that he'd finished drawing his prize, grown stronger, and come up with a good plan, Xuan Yu finally got moving.

First, he bought an outfit matching Obito Bro's on the Black Market. Then he slung the Uchiha Flame Fan over his back, put on a Tiger-Pattern Mask like Obito Bro's, and set out to capture a Tailed Beast.

Xuan Yu's target was one of the Three-, Four-, Five-, or Six-Tails.

The Three-Tails was wild. If it got captured, there might not even be anyone who knew.

The Four-Tails' Jinchūriki didn't get along with Tsuchikage Ōnoki and hardly ever returned to Iwagakure.

The Five-Tails' Jinchūriki spent most of his time wandering outside the village, making him an easy target too.

As for Utakata, the Six-Tails' Jinchūriki, he'd also fled Kirigakure and spent his days roaming after being "persecuted" by his teacher.

But his teacher hadn't actually persecuted him. He'd wanted to help Utakata solve the problem of the curse afflicting him—in other words, the Tailed Beast.

After giving it serious thought, Xuan Yu decided to go after the Six-Tails first.

The Three-Tails might be wild, but it lived in a large lake near Kirigakure. If things got too noisy, Kirigakure's shinobi might easily notice.

As for the Four- and Five-Tails' Jinchūriki, they were both seasoned shinobi.

By comparison, Utakata seemed like a relatively easy Jinchūriki to capture.

Besides, he was troubled by the "curse." Maybe Xuan Yu wouldn't even have to fight him—he could simply offer to help him get rid of it.

Following what he remembered, Xuan Yu headed to the Black Market in the Land of Water to gather information.

With both Kamui abilities, traveling all over the Ninja World had become incredibly easy.

"Whoom!"

When he activated his dōjutsu, a transparent vortex appeared behind him. His body quickly slipped into it, transporting him to somewhere near the Land of Water.

On his first trip, he could only appear in the general area.

But once he'd been somewhere, he could learn the exact coordinates of the surrounding area and use Kamui to teleport to a precise location next time.

Of course, once his mastery of Kamui reached perfection and he knew the Ninja World well enough, he'd be able to teleport to precise locations even in places he'd never visited.

It wasn't hard to find out about Utakata.

Xuan Yu didn't have to put in much effort at the Black Market in the Land of Water before he found information about him.

Utakata's teacher had died by then, and Utakata no longer lived on the small island not far from Kirigakure. Instead, he lived in the woods near the Land of Water.

Some mercenaries had seen someone dressed like Utakata in the forests near the Land of Water while carrying out a mission.

Once he'd learned this, Xuan Yu didn't waste any time. He used Kamui to appear in the general area and began searching for Utakata.

Few people lived in this forest.

Aside from mercenaries and shinobi from the villages carrying out missions, hardly anyone came around.

After leaving Kirigakure, Utakata had come here alone to live.

He hadn't met his adorable female student yet. For the past few years, he'd lived alone in a wooden cabin beside a stream.

Living alone in the mountains, Utakata was extremely vigilant.

Even so, he had no idea that a highly capable mercenary was closing in on him.

After circling the nearby forest a few times, Xuan Yu gradually spotted signs of human habitation.

When he saw them, he knew his target was close.

After searching the area a little longer, he found a stream.

Xuan Yu rubbed his chin, musing to himself, If Utakata plans to live in the forest for a long time, he'll probably choose somewhere near a water source. That'll make it easier to get water.

This stream is the only good water source nearby. If I search along it, I might find my target.

After thinking it over, Xuan Yu decided to continue searching for Utakata along both banks of the stream.

He realized that he really needed the Byakugan or an ability like the Mind's Eye of the Kagura.

With either of those abilities, finding Utakata would be much easier.

Of course, if he could raise his Speed Force a little more, he'd gain all kinds of special abilities too.

But he couldn't upgrade the Speed Force directly by spending money. To raise the talent and unlock some of its special abilities, he'd have to find a way to quickly improve his speed and stamina attributes.

After following the stream for a while, Xuan Yu found that his guess had been exactly right.

Two small wooden cabins stood not far away.

On a jutting ledge of the mountainside behind him, a young man in a light-blue robe stood holding a bubble-blowing ninja tool.

He was none other than Utakata, the Six-Tails' Jinchūriki.

Utakata knew nothing about Xuan Yu, but he'd still noticed him when Xuan Yu approached the area where he lived.

Now Utakata watched Xuan Yu warily, his entire body ready for battle.

After spotting the wooden cabin where Utakata lived, Xuan Yu briefly surveyed the area, then turned his gaze toward Utakata above him.

Utakata had meant to stay hidden and watch what Xuan Yu was up to. He hadn't expected Xuan Yu to find his position after only a brief look around.

When Xuan Yu turned his gaze toward him, Utakata felt immense pressure.

Xuan Yu could have used his overwhelming strength to take Utakata down outright, but he didn't.