Naruto: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 229: Chapter 229: The Three Parties Converge



Chapter 229: The Three Parties Converge

A dense white mist enveloped the entire lake.

Even though it was daytime, the place gave off an eerie feeling.

On the boat, looking at the scene around them where one could barely see their own hand in front of their face, Kabuto habitually adjusted his glasses and thought to himself:

"No matter how many times I come here, this place always feels unsettling. But it's surprising that the Three-Tails actually lives here."

"Even more surprising is that Orochimaru-sama's experiment succeeded. Yūkimaru really does have the ability to control the Three-Tails."

Kabuto turned to look at the boy in the middle of the boat, sitting behind Guren. The boy's hair and eyes bore a striking resemblance to Yagura, the former perfect Jinchuriki and Fourth Mizukage. With a slight smile, Kabuto looked toward the large man rowing at the stern and said:

"This should be the place. Stop the boat."

As one of the last survivors of the coliseum fight, the silent Gozu looked at Guren, and seeing she had no objections, he stopped the boat.

Kabuto then took out a helmet designed to amplify perception and handed it to Yūkimaru. "Put this on."

Yūkimaru obediently put it on.

Kabuto next pulled out a bottle of medicine and poured out over twenty pills, far more than the usual dosage.

Seeing this, Guren's expression changed.

"That's too many!"

Concerned for Yūkimaru's safety, she stepped forward to stop Kabuto. However, after Kabuto invoked Orochimaru-sama's authority, she hesitated and stepped back.

Yūkimaru took the pills, glanced at Guren, who seemed reluctant but ultimately nodded, and courageously swallowed them all.

Satisfied, Kabuto nodded and turned to Guren. "Guren, it's your turn."

"Stop ordering me around!"

Guren and Kabuto never got along well.

Despite this, she still performed the necessary hand seals:

"Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Hexagonal Pillars!"

Amid splashing water, six towering crystal pillars quickly rose from the water, encasing a large area, including the boat.

"What... what's happening?" Gozu, still unsure of their mission, looked on in confusion.

Soon, he saw Yūkimaru, affected by the medicine, clutch his head in pain and scream. His chakra surged, forming a blue pillar of light that shot up into the sky.

The lake water began to roil violently, and a massive shadow slowly emerged from the depths.

"The experiment is a success! The target has appeared!" Kabuto exclaimed excitedly.

Gozu couldn't contain his curiosity: "What exactly is coming?"

"A tailed beast!" Guren said with a grave expression.

"It's the Three-Tails!" Kabuto added.

As the massive shape of the Three-Tails grew clearer beneath the surface, Kabuto adjusted his glasses again and announced:

"Our mission is to capture the Three-Tails!"

To most ninja, a tailed beast represented a calamity, something unbeatable.

But in Kabuto's team, they had Yūkimaru, who could somewhat control the Three-Tails, and the powerful Guren with her Crystal Release. Together, they had a fair chance of success.

However, they underestimated the strength of a tailed beast.

With a heavy, long roar, the crystal hexagonal pillars, which were meant to seal the beast, quickly shattered under the Three-Tails' assault once it broke free from Yūkimaru's control.

The boat was destroyed. Standing on the water's surface, Guren quickly formed more hand seals:

"Crystal Release: Crystal Shuriken!"

Snowflake-shaped crystal shuriken formed in the air and shot towards the now fully risen Three-Tails.

But it was futile.

The sound of shuriken hitting hard surfaces echoed as they failed to penetrate.

Soon, with the Three-Tails' massive body fully emerged, it glared menacingly at Guren and her group.

At this moment, the Three-Tails' presence could no longer be concealed, radiating outwards.

The first to notice the anomaly was Kakashi and his team, who had just engaged Guren.

Wasting no time, Kakashi quickly organized his team, and they rushed towards the lake's center.

Further away.

Hagoromo Gengetsu, having just dealt with a surveillance bat, was about to move on when his Rinnegan detected something.

He shifted his gaze towards the distant lake, the purple ripples of his eyes slightly fluctuating.

To note, the one currently using the Rinnegan was Hagoromo Gengetsu's original body.

His clone was soaking in a tank, undergoing continuous enhancement and evolution with various techniques to meet his expectations.

This process would take quite some time.

Thus, his original body used the Rinnegan for now.

This also sent a clear signal to the outside world: the one possessing the Rinnegan was indeed him.

The Rinnegan, compared to the Mangekyō Sharingan he used before, was significantly more powerful.

Apart from the various abilities demonstrated by Pain, the Rinnegan's wielder automatically mastered all five chakra natures and even Yin-Yang Release.

Hagoromo Gengetsu, already mastering Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, gained new perspectives from the Rinnegan, completing the final piece for creating Truth-Seeking Orbs.

This gain alone justified his acquisition of the Rinnegan.

Of course, the Rinnegan wasn't originally his.

Like Nagato, he couldn't utilize its full power.

But Hagoromo Gengetsu wasn't too concerned.

Before the Infinite Tsukuyomi was activated, it was useful enough.

After that.

If his plan succeeded, whether he had the Rinnegan or not would no longer matter.

Returning to the present.

Hagoromo Gengetsu turned his gaze towards the distant lake.

While the Rinnegan didn't have the range of the Byakugan, its insight surpassed both the Sharingan and Byakugan.

Additionally, due to its connection to the Gedo Statue, the Rinnegan was highly sensitive to tailed beasts.

Just moments ago, Hagoromo Gengetsu's Rinnegan had sensed a tailed beast's presence.

"A tailed beast here?"

Hagoromo Gengetsu was surprised.

It seemed Orochimaru's subordinates were somehow related to this tailed beast.

Were they fighting a Jinchuriki?

Or...

Hagoromo Gengetsu's eyes flickered.

He signaled to Hanare, and the two of them turned and headed towards the lake.

Five minutes later.

Hagoromo Gengetsu and Hanare reached the lake.

Standing on a tree branch by the shore, they didn't need to move further. Looking up, Hagoromo Gengetsu saw a massive turtle wreaking havoc on the lake's surface.

Engaged with it were Guren and a large man, just as seen in the man's memory.

Further away, Kakashi and his team of Konoha ninja were battling Guren's subordinates.

Naruto was notably absent among the Konoha ninja.

Ignoring all the other ninjas, Hagoromo Gengetsu focused on the giant turtle and, crucially, the three large tails on its back.

"The Three-Tails!" Hanare exclaimed in surprise.

She looked at Hagoromo Gengetsu, unable to believe that the Three-Tails, which they had been searching for without any clues, was in this obscure lake.

Hagoromo Gengetsu was equally astonished.

"Why would you hide in a lake instead of the vast, safe ocean? Are you not thinking clearly?"

Hagoromo Gengetsu shook his head.

From the beginning, their approach to finding the Three-Tails had been wrong.

But who would have thought the Three-Tails would choose a small inland lake over the expansive ocean?


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