Puppeteer and the Seven-Tails

After hearing the place name Black Steel Forest, Yayoi's expression went blank for a moment. He frowned, as if recalling something.

In fact, this was not the first time he had sent out search parties to look for the Seven-Tails.

The Tailed Beast's immense reserves of pure chakra energy were something he desperately needed at the moment.

Thus, on a night several months ago, he had gone alone to Black Steel Forest to search for traces of the Seven-Tails.

The good news was that he had successfully found the Seven-Tails then.

The bad news was that someone had beaten him to it.

It was a black-haired man wearing black ninja garb beneath layered red lamellar armor.

The back of his clothes bore a fan emblem, and he had a pair of striking red eyes—the Sharingan.

He was undoubtedly a ninja from the Uchiha Clan.

Yayoi had hidden far away at the edge of the battlefield, watching the Seven-Tails fight that male Uchiha ninja with the Sharingan... no, not fight. He had simply watched the Seven-Tails get brutalized by that man.

A gigantic warrior formed from chakra wielded a chakra sword. Its flying sword energy effortlessly cleaved through several mountains miles away. Another strike split the heart of Black Steel Forest in two, and the final strike sent the Seven-Tails fleeing for its life.

Perhaps thinking the Seven-Tails was too weak and unworthy of his status, the Uchiha man had watched its miserable retreat without pursuing. He had simply turned and left in disappointment.

The chakra sword's enormous attack range and the terrifying shockwaves it generated had even sent Yayoi tumbling through the air at the edge of the battlefield.

Left with no choice, Yayoi had expended a massive amount of chakra to use an Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall beyond his limits, barely blocking the tsunami-like shockwaves at the battlefield's edge.

Then, without a second thought, he had turned and fled, terrified that even one step too slow would cost him his life.

After returning, Yayoi remembered being utterly dazed, feeling as though he must have watched a fake version of Naruto in his previous life.

Whenever he thought of that Uchiha man casually using ordinary attacks that night to chop the forest into pieces, collapse mountains, reverse great rivers, carve canyons into the earth, and send the Seven-Tails fleeing with a single slash...

Yayoi felt that this Warring States Era was simply garbage.

He had later learned the identity of that man with the Sharingan.

One of the two future founders of Hidden Leaf Village, and the current head of the Uchiha Clan—Madara Uchiha.

A man as famous as Hashirama Senju, the head of the Senju Clan.

"..."

Over the years, Yayoi had established himself within the territories of the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Iron. His understanding of the outside world had almost entirely come through information passed along by traveling merchants.

The information brought by those merchants had passed through who knew how many hands and had long since become distorted.

He had only heard that the war in the Land of Fire was extremely intense, but he had no idea exactly how intense it was.

Moreover, he had fought ninjas from the Hyuga Clan before. Although the Hyuga Clan was very strong, if he developed his own forces a little more, it was not as if he could not fight them. At the very least, they had not driven him into despair.

But Madara Uchiha... faced with that towering figure like a demon god, Yayoi could not summon even the slightest will to fight.

The Susanoo used by Itachi Uchiha in the future was as fragile as an infant by comparison.

Yayoi recalled the First, Hashirama Senju, fighting the elderly Third Hokage in the story while in the body of an Impure World Reincarnation... even if he had been weakened, was that weakening not far too absurd?

Wasn't the Third Hokage supposed to be the strongest Hokage?

How many versions would the First have to be buffed through before he could fight Madara Uchiha, who could split several mountains with one sword strike?

And how exactly had Kakuzu fought Hashirama Senju, the First, and not been beaten to death in the end?

Could it be that, just like when he faced Madara Uchiha, Kakuzu had cast a Ninjutsu at the edge of the battlefield to block the aftershocks of his opponent's attack, then fled at top speed? Did that count as having officially fought him?

"Lord Yayoi, should we move now? The Seven-Tails' injuries have not healed, and it is extremely weak. This is the best time to capture it."

Kakuzu spoke up with a suggestion, interrupting Yayoi's thoughts.

"Mm. But only you need to come with me."

Yayoi came back to himself and nodded.

Under the shogunate of the Land of Night, there were several thousand samurai who had mastered chakra techniques, while there were only six or seven hundred ninjas.

Among them, there were only around twenty samurai and ninjas combined who possessed Jonin-level strength.

Kakuzu was one of the strongest among them and could be rated elite. He was roughly on the level of Kakashi at the beginning of the story.

As for Yayoi himself, his strength as leader was roughly equivalent to three current Kakuzus.

If his naturally unique Active Chakra was included, he could perform Seal-less Self-Healing in terms of healing ability.

When it came to Medical Ninjutsu, he believed there were no more than a few people in the Ninja World capable of matching him.

So, on that basis, perhaps another Kakuzu had to be added.

After the final calculation, the power he could unleash at full strength was equivalent to four Kakuzus.

"We don't need the others?"

Kakuzu was slightly stunned.

There were still several ninjas in the Land of Night whose strength was only one tier below his. Against a Tailed Beast, they could provide some restraint and would not be knocked down in a single blow.

"No. Too many people will only create chaos. Against a Tailed Beast, it is best to rely on elites."

Yayoi shook his head and refused.

He knew the power of the Tailed Beasts. Such beings were not something ordinary Jonin could restrain.

He had too few elite subordinates. Even losing a single Jonin-level combatant would pain him for a long time.

Black Steel Forest.

It was located within the former territory of the Land of Waterfalls and now naturally belonged to the Land of Night.

From afar, one could see the dark mountain ranges stretching around the enormous forest.

Trees dozens of meters tall were everywhere here.

It was a primal paradise where venomous insects and savage beasts ran rampant.

Yayoi wore a tight black ninja outfit beneath a black overcoat-style cloak. The hem of the cloak was decorated with crimson patterns of the flower of death and rebirth—the Red Spider Lily.

The aura that naturally leaked from his body was filled with mystery and danger.

When he and Kakuzu arrived, they could vaguely see the enormous fissure running from the forest's edge all the way into its depths, as well as the mountain in the distance that had been cleaved open through the middle.

A massive canyon created by artificial means had come into being so unremarkably.

Yayoi recalled that night several months ago, and the man named Madara Uchiha.

It was here that the man had shown him what true "power" meant.

It was also the first time he had begun to doubt whether he had transmigrated into a fake version of Naruto.

Now, he had to go to great lengths to obtain the "trash" that man had not even deemed worthy of notice. For a moment, his feelings were complicated.

After composing himself, Yayoi's figure flashed as he sprinted into Black Steel Forest.

Kakuzu sprinted after him as well.

Cool sprays of water splashed beneath both their feet as they simultaneously used Water Release: Water Body Flicker to accelerate.

"We're here. It seems to be just ahead."

Though they had not yet seen their target, as they went deeper, they felt malicious energy filling the air. The sight of all sorts of beasts and poisonous insects scattering away also told them that their target was close at hand.

Sure enough, after arriving beneath a tree with dense foliage, they used it to conceal themselves and saw the massive creature resting in the forest clearing ahead.

It was a gigantic creature that resembled a fusion of a beetle and a dragonfly. It had one tail and six enormous transparent cicada wings.

Its beetle-like blue shell looked incomparably hard. Under the sunlight, it reflected a dazzling metallic sheen, clearly not something ordinary attacks could breach.

"Judging by its size, it has shrunk quite a bit."

The corner of Yayoi's mouth curled up.

This gigantic creature was the target of his trip—the Seven-Tails.

Though it still looked enormous, compared to the Seven-Tails he had seen that night several months ago, it had shrunk by far more than just one size. Even its aura seemed considerably "weaker."

Several months had passed, yet the Seven-Tails had not fully recovered. It was likely only at sixty or seventy percent of its peak strength.

So this battle was in the bag.

Yayoi calmed himself and took a scroll from his ninja tool pouch. He unfurled a small section, revealing densely packed black curse markings surrounding the character "I."

Poof.

With a soft sound and a puff of white Smoke, a humanoid figure emerged from within the Smoke.

She was a young girl.

The girl's skin was snow-white and bloodless. Her neat, smooth silver-white hair was carefully arranged, and a faint purple radiance swirled in her dull, lifeless pupils.

She wore a blue slit kimono that exposed her slender snow-white legs, as though they would break with a single bend. On her feet were white tabi socks and black wooden sandals.

Her appearance was as flawless and beautiful as that of a fairy. Yet because it was too perfectly refined, she seemed less like a human.

If one had to describe her, she was a living work of art.

There was no doubt that she was a puppet.

Yet her mouth, eyes, knees, elbows, and other parts bore no mechanical joints, making her look like a real living girl.

Yayoi spread the fingers of his left hand, and five solidified Chakra Threads instantly extended through the air, connecting to the girl puppet's body.

The girl puppet's previously lifeless eyes immediately gained a trace of human-like light, as though life had been infused into her.

Kakuzu, standing to the side, revealed a look of amazement.

"No matter how many times I see it, it still feels like she's a real living person."

Oda Yayoi, shogun of the Land of Night, known as the "Puppeteer," was a top-tier puppet master in the modern Ninja World.

When it came to puppet creation and control, he was undoubtedly the strongest standing at the pinnacle of the modern Ninja World.

"Not yet. But as long as we successfully capture the Seven-Tails this time, we can use that massive chakra to automate this puppet. Speaking of which, the incomplete Yin-Yang Release scroll I obtained from the Hagoromo Clan I destroyed also gave me tremendous inspiration."

Yin-Yang Release was an ancient chakra art handed down from a bygone age.

Legend said it could create all things and determine life and death.

Though it was not a complete Yin-Yang Release, the incomplete scroll had still provided substantial help. In particular, its ability to imbue intangible things with the qualities of life worked perfectly with his unique Active Chakra, producing an effect greater than the sum of its parts.

Yayoi licked his lips, his eyes fixed on the Seven-Tails with burning eagerness.

Once he obtained the Seven-Tails, he could use its massive chakra to take his puppet's capabilities to the next level and complete its automation. Not only would it free up his hands, but it would also add a powerful combatant to his side.

Puppet automation meant that a puppet no longer needed to be controlled by Chakra Threads and could move and fight independently, completely freeing the puppet master's hands.

Yayoi had named such puppets Chakra-Automated Puppets.

In this era, personal strength was the only correct answer.

Without powerful force of his own, he could never have held the position of shogun of the Land of Night securely.

Furthermore, his strength of four Kakuzus did not include his puppets.

And under normal circumstances, puppets were far stronger than their puppet masters.

"It's practically a revolution for puppet masters. But aside from Lord Yayoi, no other puppet master can give life to a puppet, can they?"

Yayoi calmly accepted Kakuzu's praise.

The chakra he refined contained rich life properties and could directly produce healing effects comparable to Medical Ninjutsu in the form of energy. This was already widely known in the underground Black Market and was no great secret.

On the surface, it seemed very similar to the chakra of the Uzumaki Clan, but its practical applications were far broader and more comprehensive.

The Uzumaki Clan's special chakra could only be used on animals and humans, whereas his chakra could grant life activity even to inanimate objects.

That was precisely why he could create puppets that came infinitely close to humans.

After obtaining the incomplete Yin-Yang Release scroll, this process had accelerated even further.

It was even more exceptional than the human puppet technology that would appear in the future.

"Go, Irori."

Yayoi moved his fingers and softly called the girl puppet's name.

The girl puppet Yayoi had named Irori lit up with purple light in her eyes. Her small wooden sandals tapped the ground, and her body shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Her graceful, fairy-like figure slipped through the dense foliage. The instant she entered the Seven-Tails' field of vision, mist surged around her, and pale vapor poured from her slightly parted rosy lips.

Then Irori clapped her hands together, and her purple eyes gleamed faintly.

Pale cold air poured from her gently parted rosy lips.

Ice Release: Ice Flower Pillar!

Boom!

Ice pillars several meters in diameter instantly burst from the ground, crashing across one another into the Seven-Tails' body with deafening force.

The Seven-Tails, still stunned, had no time to react. It let out a pained howl as pillar after pillar erupted from beneath the ground and sent its body rolling backward.

Irori moved like the wind, giving the Seven-Tails no time to react. Her hands remained pressed together in a clapping pose.

Pale cold air surged from Irori's body like a flood, sweeping across the earth and sky and plunging this stretch of forest into the biting season of winter.

Ice Release: Thousand Killing Array!

Cold stars gleamed in the sky as ice spears, each two meters long, transformed into countless silver meteors and streaked toward the Seven-Tails on the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Every ice spear exploded with the force of an artillery shell, mercilessly raining down upon the Seven-Tails' body.

The ground ruptured, and the resulting shockwaves ruthlessly tore up the surrounding trees by their roots, hurling them into the distance.

From within the Smoke of the explosions came an ear-splitting, enraged roar.

It was the agonized howl of the Seven-Tails.

"Damn humans!"

A few months ago, it had barely escaped disaster. Yet before its wounds had fully healed, humans had found it again.

Were these humans dogs? Why did they keep coming one after another?

Rage and killing intent filled its chest.

Because the surrounding ground had been ravaged by Irori's Ice Release Ninjutsu, Yayoi's figure was inevitably exposed.

Facing the enraged Seven-Tails, Yayoi merely pulled on the Chakra Threads and had Irori retreat to his side, his expression indifferent and calm.

"Seven-Tails, your power is far too dangerous to ninjas. I will seal you away."

Following Yayoi's words were Shuriken and Kunai flying toward the Seven-Tails.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

They struck the Seven-Tails' body with metallic sounds like mosquito bites. Every Shuriken and Kunai was deflected.

Seven-Tails: "..."

Yayoi: "..."

Yayoi turned to look at Kakuzu, who had come to his side.

"It's a tactic, Lord Yayoi."

Kakuzu answered without blushing or missing a beat.

Before Yayoi could respond, the Seven-Tails flew into another rage, roaring repeatedly as its emotions completely boiled over. It suddenly opened its enormous mouth.

Tiny black and red solid chakra spheres gathered within its mouth.

A terrifying, violent aura flooded wildly through the air.

Having lost all reason, the Seven-Tails wanted only to use absolute power to destroy every living thing before it.