Evil Uchiha Itsuki

"Itsuki!" Temari was anxious.

Even though she didn't like Gaara much, he was still her brother.

Instinctively, she wanted to step in and help.

"Don't move," Itsuki commanded sternly. "I'm going to extract Shukaku from him. After this, he'll be a normal child and can live a peaceful life."

"Separate a Tailed Beast?" Temari was stunned. "Is that even possible?"

"Maybe not for others, but for me, nothing is impossible." Itsuki calmly said, delivering the most arrogant statement.

Chains from the scroll wrapped tightly around Gaara.

If you looked closely, you'd notice that the chains weren't actually binding Gaara—they seemed to pass through space itself, wrapping around something far away.

"What are you trying to do, Uchiha?" Shukaku's sharp voice echoed from within Gaara.

Itsuki's form appeared inside Gaara's mind.

In the sealed space, Shukaku and Itsuki faced each other.

"I'm here to set you free, Shukaku!"

"I don't need it!" Shukaku growled, refusing to believe that an Uchiha could be so kindhearted.

Especially this one, who exuded a dark aura from head to toe.

This guy couldn't be further from a "good person."

Freedom? The "freedom" this guy was talking about—was he planning to kill him?

Damn it, there's not a single decent Uchiha. Not this one, not Madara!

"Remember Bunpuku? Your previous Jinchuriki."

Itsuki smiled. "He was a good man, right? You didn't like him, so now you get me instead."

"I... *@#￥%&*!" Shukaku swore furiously.

What do you mean, 'you didn't like Bunpuku so you get me instead'? What does that even have to do with anything?

If you didn't like the good guy, now you get the bad guy? What kind of twisted logic is that?

"Crack, crack, crack!" 

The chains kept emerging from the scroll, wrapping tighter around Shukaku.

Slowly, Shukaku realized in horror that he was being disassembled.

In the truest sense—dismantled.

First, an arm detached from his body.

Then, his leg.

And then, his chakra began to split away.

"This is it!" 

As Itsuki felt the One-Tail's chakra separating from its main body, a sinister smile spread across his face.

He pulled harder, completely separating Shukaku's chakra from his body.

"No, Uchiha, stop!" Shukaku screamed in terror.

Tailed Beasts were special creatures made of chakra. Their chakra was the most crucial part of their existence.

When their chakra is fully extracted, their physical form diminishes dramatically, leaving their bodies in a near-comatose state.

"Don't worry, Shukaku!" Itsuki smiled, continuing to make hand seals.

He had figured it out.

All he wanted was Shukaku's chakra. As for those dismembered limbs, he'd give them back.

He had no particular interest in collecting detached limbs.

Finally!

Itsuki successfully extracted all of Shukaku's chakra, completely separating it from the main body.

Now, in front of him, there were two distinct entities: one was Shukaku's body, and the other was his power.

Looking at these two, Itsuki fell silent.

A strange thought crossed his mind.

What if Itsuki extracted the power of all the Tailed Beasts, leaving only their bodies? Would they still revive as the Ten-Tails?

Probably!

But!

The Ten-Tails' power would be much weaker.

Itsuki smiled strangely.

The Ten-Tails, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki... They were too powerful, which might not be a good thing.

Wouldn't it be better to weaken them a little and see how Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki would react?

Faced with a weakened mother, would he still help Naruto and Sasuke gain Six Paths power?

"Seal!" 

Deep in thought, Itsuki made the final hand sign.

"Buzz!"

A small Shukaku was dragged by chains and sealed into the scroll.

The word "seal" appeared on the scroll's surface.

Gaara, who had been floating in midair, suddenly fell heavily to the ground.

"Gaara!" Temari gasped, rushing over to check on him.

Itsuki had indeed pulled Shukaku out of Gaara's body.

The Tailed Beast had been removed, but what about Gaara? Was he okay?

Temari was nervous!

Gaara was unconscious, but his breathing was steady, and his complexion was rosy.

There was even a faint smile on his lips.

Temari was taken aback.

"Don't worry!" Itsuki said with a smile. "He's just sleeping."

"Sleeping?" Temari asked, surprised.

"Yes!" Itsuki grinned. "You know Gaara's sleep has always been a problem because of Shukaku. Now that Shukaku is gone, he can finally get a good night's sleep. He might even be having a nice dream."

Temari frowned. "Shukaku's sealed in the scroll? So why is Gaara okay? Isn't a Jinchuriki supposed to die when the Tailed Beast is removed?"

"It's a long explanation." Itsuki shrugged. "So, let's not get into it. Let's do something fun instead."

With that, Itsuki's eyes gleamed as he stared at Temari.

There was something about her that set her apart from other women.

One thing: "She's the youngest."

"Y-you better not try anything!" Temari crossed her arms over her chest, flustered. "This is a desert—you're crazy, doing it here..."

Itsuki's grin grew wider. "Isn't that what makes it interesting?"

Gaara, meanwhile, was having the most peaceful sleep of his life.

It felt like he was floating on clouds.

The only thing that bothered him was the strange sound that kept echoing in his ears while he slept.

Who was that?

The voice sounded so pitiful.

Like they were dying, but couldn't quite die.

The sound was so heartbreaking that even Gaara, with his cold heart, felt a wave of sympathy.

"Gaara, you're awake?"

When Gaara opened his eyes, Temari was looking at him excitedly.

"Hmm," Gaara nodded lightly, clearly in a good mood after such a refreshing sleep.

"What happened to me?"

"From today onward, you're free!" Temari said joyfully. "All the problems caused by the Tailed Beast are gone. You're no longer a Jinchuriki!"

Gaara froze.

That was something he never expected to hear.

"Are you insane?" Gaara coldly glared at Temari. "If the Tailed Beast has left my body, how am I still alive?"

"Don't worry about that."

Itsuki's lazy voice interrupted.

His demeanor was casual as he said, "The Tailed Beast inside you is now in the hands of the Akatsuki. It has nothing to do with you anymore."

Whoosh!

With that, Itsuki used Flying Thunder God to transport the three of them back to the Sand Village, where he found a suitable place and unceremoniously kicked Gaara out.

"Boom!" 

"Ugh!"

Gaara's head slammed hard against the wall, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.

The sand flew over quickly to protect him.

But!

It was too late for protection after the hit had already happened.

Gaara's eyelid twitched.

It was fast!

Way too fast.

So fast that his sand didn't even have the slightest chance to resist.

Uchiha Itsuki—this man was his natural enemy.

If Itsuki wanted to kill him, he could do it anytime.

However!

Gaara didn't care about that. What concerned him more was the beast inside him. Was Shukaku really gone?

He closed his eyes and tried to sense it carefully.

After that…

Itsuki took Temari and wandered all over the Sand Village.

They left their mark in many parts of the village.

Finally, Pakura, impatient, came to find them, and they stopped.

"What? You want to join in?"

Itsuki lazily got off Temari.

Temari was still trembling.

She couldn't even acknowledge Pakura's arrival; her whole body seemed on the verge of breaking down.

"She's just a young girl. Can't you be more careful and not hurt her?" Pakura frowned.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Itsuki teased. "You were way scarier than she is back then, tsk tsk…"

"Enough!"

Pakura scolded him. "What about Shukaku? You haven't given me an update. Don't you realize how serious the matter of the tailed beasts is?"

"Shukaku's already in the hands of the Akatsuki!"

Itsuki checked the time and said, "By now, the Four-Tails is probably with the Akatsuki too. The Seven-Tails is almost caught as well."

"So many?"

Pakura was genuinely shocked.

"Are the Akatsuki really planning to capture all the tailed beasts?"

"Mhm!"

Itsuki smiled. "So, you'd better hold a meeting and announce these developments. Make sure everyone is on guard against the Akatsuki, and also find a way to deal with them."

"I know what to do."

Pakura narrowed her eyes and thought for a moment before looking up at Itsuki. "And you? Aren't you also one of the Akatsuki?"

Strictly speaking, the Two-Tails was also in the hands of the Akatsuki.

"I'm part of them, but that doesn't stop me from going against them."

"What are you really planning? What's the Akatsuki's next move?"

Pakura's brow furrowed deeply. She found it harder and harder to understand this man.

Itsuki chuckled lightly, stepped forward, and pulled Pakura into his arms.

"Young girls are no fun. Big sister, your turn!"

...

Pakura didn't immediately inform the village that Shukaku had been taken.

Her influence in the Sand Village was still too weak.

She needed time!

Every minute she gained gave her more control over the village.

Though rumors about the matter had already spread, she paid them no mind.

On the contrary…

The Sand Village River project was progressing steadily, now spanning several hundred meters.

No issues arose along the way.

According to the spies' reports, the project in the Hidden Rain Village was also progressing simultaneously.

This news excited the Sand Village.

They were finally going to have water.

As a result, their feelings toward Pakura grew increasingly favorable.

They began to respect this wind shadow, who had caused quite a stir since returning to the village.

As for Itsuki, he was completing missions nonstop every day.

Although the missions were small, their sheer number meant his strength grew daily. The effects became especially apparent when he focused all his power on his ocular jutsu.

Recently, his biggest task had been helping build the riverbed.

To speed things up, Itsuki activated his Susanoo, swinging its great sword a few times.

Immediately!

Huge cracks appeared in the ground.

Itsuki marveled at the world of ninjas: just a few casual swings of his sword could accomplish what it would take a hundred workers several days to do.

So!

Itsuki didn't stop there and would occasionally strike near the confluence of the Sand and Rain Village rivers, accelerating the construction process.

Though he was merely playing around, his actions cut the construction time by nearly half.

The people from both villages were initially confused.

Why had so many cracks suddenly appeared in the ground?

It seemed as if heaven itself was helping them.

Later, they learned it was the power of Uchiha Itsuki, the Shadow of the Hidden Leaf.

And so!

The people of the Sand Village grew more fond of Itsuki.

Meanwhile, the people of the Rain Village developed a growing resentment.

Unlike the Sand Village, where people had enough to eat and drink and could live normal lives…

The Rain Village was different. They desperately needed this job.

This job meant they could at least eat and make some money.

Itsuki shortening the construction time—how could they be happy about that?

They would have preferred the job to last forever.

Additionally…

In the Rain Village!

Pain looked down at the tiny, sleeping One-Tail in his hand, his lips twitching. He couldn't help but ask, "Is this really the One-Tail?"

Damn!

Weren't the tailed beasts supposed to be towering, colossal creatures?

This thing, which could be crushed with a single slap, what the heck was it?

"Yes!"

Itsuki explained, "I couldn't let Gaara, the One-Tail's jinchuriki, die, so I extracted the One-Tail's power, leaving some in Gaara's body, and brought you the rest."

"You extracted its power?"

Nagato frowned. "Is that even possible? Once the jinchuriki runs out of power, won't they die anyway?"

"No!"

Itsuki shook his head again. "I sealed the remaining power inside the jinchuriki's body. They won't be able to use it."

Nagato nodded.

He didn't really care whether the jinchuriki lived or died; his main concern was whether the tailed beast could still be useful.

"How many have you captured?"

"The Four-Tails has been caught, Kisame did it. We've tracked down the Five-Tails and are preparing to capture it. There's only a trace of the Six-Tails, and the Seven-Tails is already locked away in the Akatsuki's hideout."

Nagato replied casually.

Itsuki thought for a moment and said, "I need some of the tailed beasts' power for an experiment!"

"Fine! Konan will take you."

Nagato didn't hesitate.

Because of Konan, even if he didn't like Itsuki, he knew they weren't enemies.

There were still countless things they needed to cooperate on.

And besides, Itsuki had even gone out of his way to bring back the One-Tail, which was a gesture of goodwill.

In Nagato's eyes, taking a little bit of the tailed beasts' power wasn't a big deal.

As long as it didn't interfere with the Ten-Tails' resurrection plan, nothing else mattered.

And so…

Itsuki, having already obtained the powers of the One-Tail, Two-Tails, Three-Tails, Eight-Tails, and Nine-Tails, now also gained the power of the Four-Tails and Seven-Tails.

Only the Five-Tails and Six-Tails remained!

"Everything's going smoothly!"

Itsuki murmured. "Once I get the last two tailed beasts' powers, and transfer the Two-Tails into my body, I'll have power on the level of the Six Paths!"

He walked away, leaving behind several tailed beasts and jinchuriki, their eyes reflecting the pattern of the Sharingan.

(End of Chapter)