Chapter 57: Let go! Let go of me! Second update!
"I see. Still, you really are cute in this form." Otsutsuki Toneri nodded in understanding, then studied the tiny Matatabi with interest.
It was a special transformation technique that could only make them smaller and would also restrict their power. No wonder no Tailed Beast used it.
After all, Tailed Beasts were proud. They had no need to deliberately shrink to conceal their movements, and their enormous size gave them immense physical strength.
To them, this transformation technique was of very little use.
"Let's sign the contract. From now on, I'll be your summoning beast." Matatabi neither agreed nor disagreed with Otsutsuki Toneri's words, then opened her mouth slightly and bit his finger.
Otsutsuki Toneri paid it no mind. It did not hurt; Matatabi had not bitten hard. Signing the contract did indeed require his blood.
Bright red blood flowed out, and Matatabi licked it. Suddenly, Otsutsuki Toneri thought he saw her feline eyes light up.
Then...
"Hey, hey? Have you gotten addicted to sucking my blood? Let go! Let go of me! What are you trying to do?" Otsutsuki Toneri's eyelids twitched as he watched the blue pet cat clasp his finger with both paws and suck on it nonstop...
Was this cat treating his finger like a baby bottle?
Otsutsuki Toneri pulled his finger back, then vigorously rubbed Matatabi's feline head and spoke irritably.
A cat spirit was a cat spirit. Did she really like sucking his blood that much?
"Meow, meow? Your blood seems a little different. Your bloodline?" Matatabi gave two embarrassed meows, then climbed onto Otsutsuki Toneri's shoulder and gently rubbed against his cheek.
It seemed that after shrinking, even her disposition had begun developing in the direction of a pet cat...
Of course, Matatabi was also doing this deliberately. She understood humans extremely well and knew how to win their favor. Right now, she very much wanted to build a good relationship with Otsutsuki Toneri.
"My bloodline? It might be even purer than Hagoromo's. Why? Does it benefit you?" Otsutsuki Toneri pondered briefly at her words, then looked at Matatabi curiously.
His bloodline had undergone an extremely thorough ancestral reversion and was already on par with Kaguya's own. There was nothing wrong with saying it was purer than Hagoromo Otsutsuki's.
But what interested him more was whether his blood had some special quality for Matatabi.
Still, that did seem reasonable. Tailed Beasts were originally created by giving life to the Ten-Tails' chakra. The Ten-Tails was originally the God Tree, and the God Tree Fruit had been eaten by Otsutsuki Kaguya.
They were closely interconnected to begin with. His blood might truly have a special effect on Matatabi.
"It has a very rich flavor. It seems very beneficial to me, but I don't know how to describe it." Thoughtfulness showed in Matatabi's feline eyes as she tilted her head slightly and spoke softly.
She only felt that Otsutsuki Toneri's blood tasted very good, and her body's instinctive reaction told her it was enormously beneficial to her.
But even she could not explain exactly what those benefits were.
After drinking some of Otsutsuki Toneri's blood just now, she had only felt warmth inside her body. Her power had not increased either.
She did not know what was going on.
"Never mind. We'll find out eventually. By the way, Yugito, how are you feeling?" Otsutsuki Toneri smiled, moved Matatabi from his shoulder into his arms, and gently stroked her before looking at Yugito.
This woman's strength was just barely passable, and she also possessed the Two-Tails' chakra.
Although she could no longer unleash the Two-Tails' full power after losing Matatabi, she could still use Tailed Beast Transformation.
She was more than sufficient to serve as a follower.
"I'm all right. I just felt a little weak from having my Tailed Beast suddenly extracted." Yugito shook her head, then slowly stood up.
Her body had recovered a little by now. After all, Matatabi had left some chakra inside her.
"Good. I assume Matatabi has told you a little about me, so I'll ask once more. Are you willing to follow me? If not, you can return to Kumogakure now. I won't make things difficult for you."
Otsutsuki Toneri smiled gently. He was in a fairly good mood at the moment, having acquired a fine pet cat.
Yugito's presence was optional to begin with. If she did not want to follow him, he could simply let her leave. It made no difference.
If she was willing to remain by his side, Otsutsuki Toneri would naturally treat her well in the future.
"I..." Yugito hesitated. Although Matatabi had already explained the stakes to her while inside her body,
and she understood that following this mysterious boy would probably benefit her greatly, she still found it difficult to let go of Kumogakure.
But if she returned now, those people in Kumogakure probably would not welcome her either, would they?
After all, the Two-Tails was gone, and so was her value to Kumogakure.
At that thought, Yugito grew somewhat dejected.
"I'll follow you, my lord. From now on, I am willing to do your bidding." After a long silence, Yugito glanced at Matatabi in Otsutsuki Toneri's arms and spoke softly.
She had nothing left. Matatabi was her only bond, and it was Matatabi who had told her to follow Otsutsuki Toneri.
Since Matatabi had said it, she had little reason to refuse.
"Very good. Don't worry, Yugito. I won't disappoint you. Sooner or later, our names will resound across this continent!" A smile curled Otsutsuki Toneri's lips. Yugito's decision pleased him greatly.
After all, she really was quite a good follower: beautiful, tall, and stronger than the vast majority of people on the continent. She could be counted among those near the top of the pyramid.
(Please support me~ It'll be going premium in the next couple of days. Hoping for good results~)
Chapter 58: The turtle's scent. Third update!
"Young master, now that our business in Kumogakure is finished, where are we going next?" Seeing that the two had finished talking, Otsutsuki Quxian asked Otsutsuki Toneri.
At the same time, Otsutsuki Quxian swept an appraising gaze over Yugito, particularly her ample chest.
It made her eyelids twitch quite fiercely...
Still, she herself was young. There really was no comparison to be made...
Yugito also looked toward Otsutsuki Toneri at the question, but after noticing Otsutsuki Quxian's gaze, she gave her a puzzled look.
For some reason, this girl seemed hostile toward her.
Having been shunned by Kumogakure's residents since childhood, Yugito was extremely sensitive to such feelings.
But she did not mind. She was already used to looks like that.
"Our next destination?" Otsutsuki Toneri pondered briefly, then glanced at the Rinnegan in his palm.
The scarlet Rinnegan shone with a faint, eerie red light. After absorbing chakra from the Nine-Tails, the Eight-Tails, and the Two-Tails, it was extremely close to evolving.
There's no need to absorb any more Tailed Beast Chakra for now.
Otsutsuki Toneri thought to himself. The Rinnegan's evolution was imminent, and afterward, he would also need some time to adjust to its new power.
He had yet to fully develop the Tenseigan's power either. Both powers required time for him to explore.
There was also Otsutsuki Kaguya's gift. He needed to train with that as well.
In that case, his immediate priority was finding a base!
"Should we go to the Akatsuki?" Otsutsuki Toneri lowered his head slightly. Dawn, daybreak-it was an organization every Naruto fan loved.
The Akatsuki was also one of Otsutsuki Toneri's targets, but now did not seem like a particularly suitable time to seek it out.
Uchiha Itachi should have only recently joined the Akatsuki, so its membership probably had not filled out yet.
Moreover, the current Akatsuki was led by Nagato, who had already sunk into twisted obsession.
He could wait a while longer.
There was also Black Zetsu. He ought to find time to make contact with that devious old schemer.
Since he would leave the Akatsuki alone for now, he already had his next destination.
"Kirigakure. We're going to Kirigakure!" Otsutsuki Toneri raised his head and smiled. That was right. If he wanted to find a base now,
Kirigakure was extremely suitable for Otsutsuki Toneri!
"Kirigakure? Young master, it seems rather far from here." Otsutsuki Quxian took out a map of the continent, checked it, and spoke to Otsutsuki Toneri.
Kirigakure was an island nation surrounded by sea, and it truly was quite some distance from the Land of Lightning, where they currently were.
"Kirigakure... It seemed to be in the Bloody Mist Village's Blood Mist Era before. I wonder whether that has ended yet?" Yugito recalled what she knew, her dark brows drawing together slightly on her delicate, fair face.
Kirigakure had closed itself off for a long time. According to information gathered by Kumogakure's intelligence ninja,
under the policies of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, Kirigakure had previously been slaughtering Kekkei Genkai wielders without restraint.
Who knew what the Fourth Mizukage was thinking? Wasn't every Kekkei Genkai wielder a pillar of strength within a village?
"It should be just about over. I wonder whether she has taken office yet?" Otsutsuki Toneri smiled at her words, then murmured softly to himself.
The Blood Mist Era resulted from policies implemented while Yagura was under Obito Uchiha's control. But logically, under the current circumstances,
Yagura should be about to have the genjutsu lifted. Under the cold-blooded rule of the controlled Yagura, he had already made a complete mess of Kirigakure.
More and more clans were dissatisfied with Yagura. After all, the Yuki Clan and the Kaguya Clan were the clearest examples.
Powerful as those two clans were, one had been exterminated outright, while the other had been driven into rebellion and then exterminated.
What about the other clans, then?
Yagura's removal from office was only a matter of time. The only question was whether he had been found out yet.
Still, it should happen sometime around now. The original story had not mentioned an exact date.
But regardless, Kirigakure was indeed extremely suitable for Otsutsuki Toneri.
Surrounded by sea and sharing no direct border with the continent, it was an excellent place to sit back and watch the situation on the continent change.
"Let's go. We'll leave the Land of Lightning first and head to Kirigakure." With that thought, Otsutsuki Toneri smiled at the two women.
The three then left the Land of Lightning. Their departure went smoothly. It seemed Ay had not sent anyone to intercept them.
After all, Otsutsuki Toneri's strength had left quite a shadow over Ay. Sending people in pursuit would only be futile, or even cost lives for nothing.
After traveling for some time, the three reached the Land of Water by boat and set foot in the island nation.
"Hmm? Toneri, I smell that turtle." As soon as they stepped onto land, Matatabi, cradled in Otsutsuki Toneri's arms, twitched her nose and spoke to him.
"That turtle? Do you mean Isobu, the Three-Tails?" Otsutsuki Toneri paused at her words, then asked curiously.
Matatabi was a Tailed Beast, and a cat spirit at that. It was normal for her to sense a nearby Tailed Beast.
But had Isobu, the Three-Tails, already been released into the wild?
Did that mean the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, was already dead?
Before you continue