Tailed Beast!

A ninja's training wasn't something that could be finished in a day. Explaining chakra and the related fundamentals alone took several days, and then came physical conditioning-in short, without a year or two of training, you couldn't expect to get anywhere!

Well, becoming a genin in just a year or two would already make you a prodigy!

Just then, Uzumaki Gamu seemed to notice something. He said to Mito, "Uh... I'm going out for a stroll. Keep teaching for now~"

"Mm..." Mito didn't say much and continued her lesson!

After leaving with the Body Flicker Technique, Uzumaki Gamu quickly arrived two kilometers away, where a group was heading toward the town!

The two men leading them chatted as they walked. The one who seemed to be the younger brother said, "Big brother, I heard that thirty-five-million bounty is right here in this little town called Rōran! Kill him, and we'll be rich!"

His older brother laughed. "Hmph, a fifteen-year-old brat wandering into someone else's country like he owns the place. What an arrogant idiot!"

"Wow... You guys actually have the nerve to call me an idiot with skills like yours? Sigh~" Uzumaki Gamu's voice rang out!

The group jumped in fright. Their leader demanded, "Who's there?!"

"Well... honestly, you're so pathetic I don't even feel like talking to you... Just die! Storm Release: Light Rain!!" As soon as he finished speaking, the leader saw something white shoot into the sky and explode. Then... rain made of white light fell from above!

-Preparing ninja tools-

That afternoon, in Reto's office.

"Lord Reto! Our observer in Rōran has sent back a report!" Reto's adjutant reported.

"Oh? Has that man left?" Reto put down the document in his hand.

The adjutant answered, "No... The mayor's daughter became his disciple last night, so he's staying in town to teach her... though most of the teaching is being done by the woman we believe is his older sister! A group of bandit ninjas also went to Rōran, but he killed them all effortlessly!" (Mito looked older no matter how you looked at it, so it was only natural that people assumed she was his older sister!)

Reto rubbed his temples at the news. "It's troublesome that he didn't leave right away... There's nothing inherently wrong with him staying in the Land of Wind, but having him remain in our territory is a problem." Because they had spread word about Uzumaki Gamu everywhere earlier, plenty of idiots were now trying to corner him, hoping to trade his head for thirty-five million!

Those fools throwing their lives away didn't matter, but their constant troublemaking on his turf would damage his reputation. If he couldn't even deal with petty punks like them, how could he command anyone's respect? How could he become Kazekage?

In other words, his plan to dump all the trouble on Uzumaki Gamu wouldn't work anymore. He would have to enter the fray himself!

Just then, someone burst into Reto's office.

The newcomer shouted urgently, "Bad news, Lord Reto! Something terrible has happened!"

Reto scolded him. "What are you panicking for?! Could it possibly be worse than a famine? Calm down and explain!"

"...Yes!" The messenger caught his breath and answered solemnly, "An urgent message came from the Temple. The sealed One-Tail, Shukaku, has been stolen!"

"What did you say?!!" Now Reto was frightened too! (Note: There's a reason Shukaku was written as being sealed. First, the first Five Kage Summit discussed the distribution of tailed beasts. Tobirama proposed exchanging money for tailed beasts, with Hashirama capturing all nine and distributing them evenly among the Five Great Nations. However, Reto refused at the time, explaining that a temple in Sunagakure had held a sealed tailed beast since ancient times, so they didn't need another one-just give them resources! That means Shukaku had already been sealed for a very long time... Everyone else needed Hashirama to capture them, so why were you so pathetic that people from ages ago had already sealed you?)

Though startled, Reto quickly calmed down and began thinking seriously!

He had never witnessed a tailed beast's power himself, but Reto had studied diligently since childhood and learned about their strength from books. If that power fell into enemy hands, they would be in serious trouble!

With that thought, Reto asked, "Besides telling us Shukaku was stolen, did the Temple say anything else?"

The messenger explained in detail, "The Temple hopes we can help their people capture the criminal who stole Shukaku. We must not let him undo Shukaku's seal. At present, no one in the Land of Wind can seal Shukaku again. If that seal is broken, it will be a tremendous disaster for the Land of Wind!"

Reto interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on them. "...We can't let the seal be broken? Why was he stolen now...?" Although he had no evidence, his instincts told him this might have something to do with Uzumaki Gamu!

Had Uzumaki Gamu stolen him? No, Reto wasn't thinking along those lines. His thoughts were more complicated.

He had only recently learned about Uzumaki Gamu's bounty, and soon afterward, Uzumaki Gamu had arrived in the Land of Wind... It was almost as if someone had tipped him off beforehand so he would take his men to eliminate Uzumaki Gamu. Since Reto often used the same trick of turning one enemy against another, he actually noticed something suspicious!

In other words, someone wanted to use our Land of Wind to eliminate Gamu Uzumaki. But after last night, the mastermind realized ordinary ninjas couldn't kill him, so they stole Shukaku? Damn, that means they're heading our way! Tch!! Reto grew agitated. If Shukaku went on a rampage nearby, the territory he had spent years securing would be ruined.

Years of hard work, wiped out overnight? Who the hell could stomach that?!

Besides... he couldn't accept watching his fellow countrymen die like that. He ordered, "No, we have to stop them! Notify everyone. Head for Rōran immediately!"

His adjutant asked in confusion, "Why Rōran?"

"There's no time to explain. Move out immediately! I'll go ahead!" Reto stopped wasting words and immediately set off for his destination!

-Preparing ninja tools-

Light Rain fell from the sky and riddled those morons with holes.

Light Rain was Uzumaki Gamu's original ninjutsu. He launched accumulated Storm Release into the sky, then made it explode overhead, producing lasers that fell like raindrops. Such a dense area attack was lethal to anyone without sufficient strength, and this group fell squarely into that category. After struggling to resist for a while, they were shot full of holes!

Once they were all dead, Uzumaki Gamu flickered over from a distance and grumbled speechlessly, "This is getting ridiculous. Every random nobody dares come looking for trouble... I really want to slap the bastard who put a bounty on me until he spins like a top... To avoid more trouble, I should probably find someone important to beat down and bolster my reputation!" Again, if you were strong enough, your enemies would fear you! If you were ruthless enough, they would be even less willing to attack!

For the sake of his future happy, peaceful life, Uzumaki Gamu decided to find some unlucky sucker and make an example of him!

"But there's nobody suitable in this endless desert... Sigh, looks like I'll have to wait for some unlucky bastard to come to me." Uzumaki Gamu scratched his head, then cremated the people who had come to kill him with Fire Release.

Though they were villains who had come to kill him, Uzumaki Gamu felt a little bad leaving their corpses exposed in the wilderness. Whatever mistakes they had made before (Uzumaki Gamu: Coming to kill me was a mistake!), their deaths had settled the debt. Letting them return to the earth would at least give them a proper end!

So, after cremating them, Uzumaki Gamu used Wind Release to gather their ashes into a box made with Earth Release, then picked a random spot to bury them.

After finishing, Uzumaki Gamu went back to check. Mito was still teaching~

"Sigh... Looks like she'll be talking for ages. Ugh... Teaching disciples really is a pain~" Uzumaki Gamu complained. As someone who hated trouble, he genuinely didn't want to do anything so boring and time-consuming!

Still, since he had promised his little sister, Uzumaki Gamu would make sure it was done properly. So... he lay down off to the side and watched~ (Mito: Your idea of doing it properly is dumping everything on me?) Of course, he wasn't merely lying there. He was also considering whether there was a way to speed up training. For example... could he use his atomic-level chakra control to help his disciple cheat?

-Preparing ninja tools-

After a day of lessons, Lala had learned the fundamentals.

Uzumaki Gamu couldn't help praising her. "Not bad! You remembered everything after hearing it once... Looks like I took on a genius disciple?" Hey, hey, hey! What happened to all that complaining about the hassle?

Well... when the other person was a genius, he didn't feel that way anymore. Yes, in plain terms, he played favorites! (Uzumaki Gamu: What do you mean, playing favorites? Look at Konoha's teachers over the generations-the Third, Orochimaru, Kakashi. Don't they all favor the smart one?)

Of course, the most important reason was that Mito had handled all the troublesome work. Uzumaki Gamu simply enjoyed the results, so naturally he didn't find it bothersome anymore!

"Thank you for the praise, Master!" Lala replied with neither arrogance nor servility.

Mito thought, Now I regret it. I should've taken her as my disciple~ Who could have known this child was so clever?

Of course, she dismissed that thought after only a few seconds. She had made this child become her brother's disciple purely to keep him from ending up all alone in the future. The child being talented was a good thing for him!

"Well, let's set talent aside for now. We've worked all day. Time to eat!" Uzumaki Gamu suggested. The three returned to the mayor's house for dinner. Now that he had accepted Lala as his disciple, he could openly freeload meals there.

After dinner, they resumed training for the evening! She was already starting late. Without working twice as hard, who knew how many years it would take before she was ready to venture out?

So Uzumaki Gamu told Lala, "All right, let's start learning how to extract chakra!!"

Before Lala could answer, Mito asked doubtfully, "Already? She can't even produce stamina yet, can she?"

As mentioned before, the mixture of physical energy produced by the body's 130 trillion cells and spiritual energy was called "stamina." Stamina was the foundation for using taijutsu. Within the body, stamina was converted into chakra, and after extracting chakra, ninjas could use techniques through hand seals. To extract chakra, one first had to learn to combine those energies into stamina. That step alone required a long period of training!

Could he really skip stamina and go straight to extracting chakra?

"Right, she can't yet. I'm just letting her understand the process of extracting chakra to make her later studies easier!" Uzumaki Gamu walked over to Lala, took her hand, and sat down on the ground with her. "Cross your legs, then close your eyes and focus on what you feel. I'll use my power to guide you through extracting chakra!"

"...Yes!" Lala answered respectfully.

Uzumaki Gamu then extended his chakra into Lala's body and began stimulating her physical energy.

Lala said, "It feels... a little hot! My body feels full of strength!"

"Mm, remember this. This is physical energy. Next comes... spiritual energy." Uzumaki Gamu continued by stimulating Lala's brain.

"Ugh... My head feels so dizzy, but... I feel like I'm seeing all sorts of things..." Lala's head felt swollen, while her mind involuntarily began imagining things, filling with a multitude of imagined images. That was what happened when spiritual energy ran wild!

"Mm, that's what spiritual energy feels like. Remember it well~" Uzumaki Gamu reminded her. "Now we mix them and turn them into stamina." Guided by Uzumaki Gamu's power, Lala's spiritual and physical energies began merging. Stamina was born! Then, under his influence, it was further refined into chakra!

Mito exclaimed in shock, "You can actually guide someone from outside to help them extract chakra?"

"Well, chakra is the power of connection, after all. With enough precision, connecting to someone's body from outside and helping isn't impossible! Of course, you'd need my level of control!" After explaining, Uzumaki Gamu looked at Lala. "Remember, this sensation is chakra. Remember how it feels, and your future training will produce twice the results with half the effort!"

"Yes!" Lala nodded vigorously to show she understood.

Watching her overly forceful movements, Uzumaki Gamu smiled helplessly. His disciple treasured the opportunity to study under him, so she put tremendous effort into every response. Well, he could understand that! This child truly wanted to learn!

Just then, both the smiling Uzumaki Gamu and Mito seemed to sense something at the same time. They glanced down at the ground, then exchanged a look. With Lala right in front of them, they tacitly refrained from discussing what they had sensed.

Uzumaki Gamu turned to Lala. "All right, that's enough training for today. We're going back to the inn to rest. Stay home and take your time digesting what you learned today!"

"Yes!" Lala again nodded vigorously!

Uzumaki Gamu ruffled her hair. "You don't have to try so hard. Just relax~"

Lala said uneasily, "But... when I talk like this, adults think I'm a good girl."

"...Well, I don't go in for that. Besides... I'm not an adult either!" Uzumaki Gamu pointed at his fifteen-year-old body. "So don't be so stiff. Just think of me as a big brother~"

Despite his words, Lala remained visibly reserved... Well, it seemed it would take some time for her to feel they were on equal footing.

So Uzumaki Gamu said no more and left with Mito!

After they left the mayor's house, Mito asked, "Second Brother, the Dragon Vein underground seemed to stir a little just now."

"Mm, right when Lala extracted chakra. Almost like it was responding to her... So that's how it works!" Uzumaki Gamu roughly understood what was going on. "Maybe because Lala was born and raised here, she has a certain affinity with the Dragon Vein's power, and extracting chakra made it resonate?" It was only natural for someone nurtured by this land to possess the attributes of its power, wasn't it?

In the future, the queen of the Rōran Kingdom would possess a technique capable of controlling the Dragon Vein. Judging from this, it wasn't just a matter of having that technique; she herself also exerted some influence over its power... Wait, considering her position and connections, could Lala be the future Queen of Roran's ancestor?

Uzumaki Gamu began calculating. Judging by her age... she'd probably be the movie heroine Sara's grandmother or great-grandmother. Working backward from the historical plot, Lala's generation should have discovered how to use the Dragon Vein, then used it to expand the city and successfully establish a kingdom, passing the throne down from generation to generation... That's probably how it happened. Looking at it that way, Lala really is talented~ Throughout history, anyone capable of founding a nation was impressive!

"Second Brother, have you thought of something? You've been quiet for so long." Seeing Uzumaki Gamu remain silent, Mito took the initiative to ask.

Uzumaki Gamu considered it, then answered, "Uh... yes, something occurred to me... If we find the right method, Lala might be able to harness the Dragon Vein's power someday. If she can use that power, this town might become wealthy?"

"Only might?" Mito asked.

"Well... power itself is just an inert thing. What matters is the person using it. If the player's no good, even giving them a full lineup of braindead easy ninjas won't get them to three thousand points in Super Kage~" Never mind ranked matches-even in combat-power mode, some people could overcome a ten-million-point power gap and beat stronger opponents~

Mito looked utterly bewildered. "Three thousand points in Super Kage? What's that? Anyway, you mean it still depends on how the person uses it?" She didn't understand Uzumaki Gamu's references, but she understood his point!

"Mm, you're a quick learner... Hm?" Uzumaki Gamu suddenly felt something very strange.

Mito, whose sensory range was wider, located the anomaly. With her eyes closed, she said, "Someone's fighting seven kilometers away. It's that Reto, and his opponent... Hm? What is this chakra? It's so powerful! Stronger than Hashirama's!" The chakra startled her enough to make her eyes fly open.

"Stronger than Hashirama's current chakra? Then there's only one possibility!" Uzumaki Gamu immediately looked in the direction Mito had sensed. Then, as though confirming his suspicions, a thunderous boom rang out, and a tanuki made his grand entrance!

-Preparing ninja tools-

Just as Reto had expected, the person who stole Shukaku was heading for Rōran Town, where Uzumaki Gamu was staying!

He and his men had successfully intercepted the thief-a monk from the Temple where Shukaku had been sealed... This was an inside job!

Whether it was or not, they would capture him first!

Reto stepped forward to demand his surrender. But when the monk saw him, he opened the jar sealing Shukaku.

Wait, is that thing really so easy to open? Reto was dumbfounded. A seal was a seal precisely because it was hard to undo. If you could just open it like unscrewing a bottle cap, what kind of seal was that?

The instant the lid came off, the jar turned into an explosive diarrhea cannon, as though it had eaten at Wallace. A raging sandstorm blasted out, swallowing everything nearby in an instant!

Reto immediately used his Wind Release. Divine Wind shielded his subordinates and dragged them backward! (The Divine Wind used by Reto in the game from MoreFun seemed to be different from Wind Release: Divine Wind. Reto's version appeared to wrap him in raging winds, allowing him to enter a special mode where all his attacks became ranged attacks wreathed in cutting blades of wind!)

As Reto retreated, the sandstorm gradually condensed into the Sand Beast-One-Tail, Shukaku!

Newly freed, Shukaku first looked at the sky he hadn't seen in so long, then at the familiar sand. Excited and furious, he declared, "I was imprisoned for a thousand years! Then sealed away somewhere that never saw daylight! And now you dare release me... You're asking to die... Feel the fury of a thousand years of imprisonment!!! Hahahahaha!!" Shukaku's power stirred up raging winds. Countless grains of sand and stones rose into the sky under his control, turning the peaceful desert into a region engulfed by a sandstorm in an instant!

Setting aside Shukaku's Illidan cosplay, Reto swallowed at the sight of the transformed landscape. How on earth had the ancients managed to seal him?

"I'll start with you!!" After laughing for a while, Shukaku noticed Reto and his men, then gathered chakra in his mouth... Don't worry, it wasn't a Tailed Beast Bomb. Shukaku disdained using that against a few humans. What he would use was...

"Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!!" He spat a massive wind sphere packed with chakra from his mouth to strike the enemy. Fast and powerful-in plain terms, it was an air cannon!

Shukaku fired that air cannon straight at Reto.

Damn, I can't dodge while carrying them! Reto immediately assessed the situation. With these burdens in tow, he couldn't evade the Drilling Air Bullet, so he had to block it... But could human strength stop a tailed beast's attack?

"Even if I can't stop it, I have to try!" Reto wasn't someone who would casually abandon his subordinates. (Otherwise, so many people wouldn't have followed him at such a young age!)

Just as Reto was about to stake everything on it, he suddenly heard a voice.

"Water Release: Iron Cannonball!" A large water sphere spat from the mouth of a Mount Myōboku toad attacked the target. This Water Release: Iron Cannonball rivaled Shukaku's Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet in power.

The two similarly powerful attacks collided and exploded. Rain began falling over one patch of desert!

Then Uzumaki Gamu descended from the sky astride the Toad King, making his grand entrance!