The Land of Taki.
Among the smaller nations beneath the Five Great Countries, it boasted one of the strongest military forces, possessing the Seven-Tails, Chōmei.
Besides having a tailed beast, the Land of Taki also held two legendary treasures: the secret immortality technique Earth Grudge Fear and the Hero Water.
However, Earth Grudge Fear had long been stolen by Kakuzu.
Legend has it that the village leader of Takigakure, dissatisfied with Hashirama Senju's distribution of tailed beasts, felt slighted.
So, he sent the elite jōnin Kakuzu to assassinate Hashirama Senju.
And Kakuzu, from eight hundred miles away, threw a single shuriken at Hashirama.
It was... quite cowardly.
Word of this quickly spread, and the villagers of Takigakure began mocking Kakuzu, calling him a coward.
"If it were me," one said, "I'd throw it from seven hundred miles away."
Another chimed in, "Please, I'd do it from six hundred!"
As the debate heated up, the village leader stepped in, declaring, "I'd throw ten shurikens from ten kilometers away."
Everyone was awestruck.
In the end, an enraged Kakuzu silenced the mockery by killing the village leader and taking Earth Grudge Fear for himself.
As it turns out, mocking an honest man is never a good idea.
The current war between the Land of Rain and the Land of Taki also stemmed from Takigakure's other treasure: the Seven-Tails, Chōmei.
Hanzō of the Salamander declared that Takigakure was nothing but a bully picking on honest folks, and that the tailed beast should be his to play with.
Imitating the Raikage's boldness, Hanzō decisively invaded the Land of Taki.
Though Takigakure was indeed powerful, it paled in comparison to someone like Hanzō, whose large-scale AoE attacks were nothing short of devastating.
Caught between these two smaller powers, the Land of Grass suffered the most.
Known for mimicking others, the ninja of the Land of Grass were utterly helpless against Hanzō's unreasonable Salamander summon, Ibuse.
They could only lie down and accept their fate as the two bullies trampled over them.
...
Walking through the Land of Taki, Rinjin quickly found his destination: Niko Town, located near the border with the Land of Fire.
It was a modest town with about a hundred and eighty households.
Due to its location, nestled between the Land of Fire and the trade routes leading to the Land of Earth, it had gradually developed into a small hub.
Upon arriving in town, Rinjin followed the secret signal to locate a Kumogakure squad on patrol.
To his surprise, the squad was led by someone he knew: Captain Ryūto, along with members Kohaku, Yui, and a shy young boy.
Greeting them warmly, Rinjin followed them into their hidden shelter.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Rinjin produced his appointment letter to verify his identity.
Ryūto then handed over some intelligence, which Rinjin promptly placed on the table.
Forming hand seals, he activated the Heaven-Sent Technique, and the intelligence disappeared instantly.
The four members of the squad visibly relaxed.
Rising to his feet, Rinjin patted Ryūto on the shoulder, left a Flying Raijin formula behind, and exited the room.
With his task complete, Rinjin didn't linger.
He dug a hole beneath the town, left some shadow clones there, and moved on.
Following the trade route, Rinjin first arrived at the battlefield in the Land of Grass, where he left a special tracking scroll.
Then, without missing a beat, he headed straight for Iwagakure in the Land of Earth.
His plan? To stir up some trouble with the Four-Tails, Son Gokū, or the Five-Tails, Kokuō.
Of course, Rinjin wasn't planning to become a Jinchūriki or target Kokuō specifically. His goal was to drop one of these beasts onto the battlefield in the Land of Grass.
After all, instigating chaos? That's a human specialty.
Joining a caravan entering the city, Rinjin left a Flying Raijin formula behind and easily infiltrated the fortress-like village.
Iwagakure, built atop steep plateaus, was one of the most defensible villages.
Its structures, made of rock and yellow clay, had a staggered layout that exuded a strong Turkish vibe.
The only difference was that this place wasn't coastal, and its people didn't favor white.
Walking through the bustling streets, Rinjin couldn't help but marvel at how much easier it was to infiltrate than to stay hidden. If he wanted to cause trouble, nothing could stop him.
Using the intelligence in his mind, he quickly located the home of the Four-Tails' Jinchūriki.
The house was situated near the center of the village, not far from the Tsuchikage's office.
In later years, the Four-Tails' Jinchūriki, Rōshi, would live outside the village.
Finding a secluded corner, Rinjin pulled out a brick and smashed the window of the Jinchūriki's house.
Instead of fleeing, Rinjin crouched by the wall, ears perked, listening for any commotion.
Sure enough, within a minute, a gruff voice shouted, "I love you!" followed by a string of censored expletives.
Rinjin couldn't make out the words, but it didn't matter. As long as the guy was home, he could send him on a one-way trip.
"Flying Raijin Jutsu!"
Forming a single hand seal, Rinjin vanished from the corner.
In an instant, he appeared before the cursing Jinchūriki.
"Who are you?!" The Four-Tails' Jinchūriki's eyes narrowed, shouting instinctively.
But instead of a polite answer, he was greeted by a pair of outstretched hands.
Rinjin's right hand extended, each of his five fingers igniting with a blue flame.
"Five Elements Seal!"
With a low growl, Rinjin's hands slammed into the Jinchūriki's abdomen.
"Zzzzzz~"
A burst of white smoke filled the air.
Just as the Jinchūriki was about to call on Son Gokū for help, his eyes bulged in shock.
"Gone... it's gone!"
Hearing this, Rinjin smirked and shook his head calmly.
"Not quite yet."
He could still feel the immense chakra of the Four-Tails.
The next second, Rinjin grabbed the Jinchūriki's collar with his left hand, while his right hand reignited with five flames.
"Ten Elements Seal!"
...
"Damn it, there's still more?"
"Fifteen Elements Seal!"
Finally, looking at the Jinchūriki who had passed out with his eyes rolled back, Rinjin let out a long sigh of relief and wiped his non-existent sweat.
Lifting the Jinchūriki's shirt, Rinjin inspected the layers of seals on his abdomen and nodded in satisfaction.
Placing the Jinchūriki down, Rinjin formed hand seals once more.
"Heaven-Sent Technique!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, a blue light enveloped the Jinchūriki's body.
The next second, the Jinchūriki vanished.
Meanwhile, Rinjin formed a single hand seal and disappeared from the scene.
Three minutes later, Iwagakure's ANBU finally arrived, reporting the Jinchūriki's disappearance to the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, in a panic.
A thousand miles away, on the battlefield in the Land of Grass, a ferocious monkey was wreaking havoc.
With a slap of its left hand, a Rain ninja was crushed. With a swing of its right, a Taki ninja was sent flying. Its four tails lashed out, creating a massive shockwave.
Not far away, Rinjin sat atop a tree, calmly observing the chaos.
The Jinchūriki's body couldn't withstand the tearing force of the Heaven-Sent Technique and had died.
What remained was the Four-Tails, Son Gokū.
Now, all Rinjin needed to do was discreetly leak the news of Son Gokū's presence in the Land of Grass to Amegakure.
With this in mind, Rinjin stood up and grabbed a massive spiked club that had somehow appeared beside him.
On the battlefield, both sides froze in disbelief.
A hooded man wielding a two-meter-long club stood before the Four-Tails.
Just as everyone expected the man to be crushed under the beast's foot, something unbelievable happened.
The man swung the heavy club with a deafening whoosh, smashing the Four-Tails' toe flat.
"Roar!"
The earth-shaking roar echoed across the battlefield.
The Four-Tails clutched its foot, blowing on it furiously.
Looking up, Rinjin grinned wickedly.
In the next moment, his immense physical strength erupted as he appeared before the Four-Tails' other foot.
"Take this!"
With a thunderous shout, the sound of metal striking flesh rang out.
The Four-Tails' other toe was flattened as well...
"Boom!" With a loud crash and a cloud of dust, the Four-Tails fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
——————————————————————————————————————
The new chapter is live! Patreon early-access is now updated to **Chapter139
Join us for exclusive content:
patreon.com/DarkGolds
Thank you for your support!