Konoha cat breeder

Chapter 242: Loss

A massive flame rose on the island, illuminating the previously dark night. The area surrounding the small island was as bright as day.

A ninja dressed in the attire of the Mist Village's Anbu, wearing an Anbu mask, carried a little girl in his arms and left the island. He was the only one who successfully escaped the island, abandoning the ship and running at full speed across the sea.

This Anbu ninja was Tonari. After reading the memories of the Anbu he had captured, Tonari learned the location of the Mist Village's main force.

To call it the "main force" was an exaggeration—it was actually just over two hundred people. It was a typical case of loud thunder but little rain. For the Third Mizukage to mobilize this many people was already his limit.

However, the Anbu Tonari spared was previously the captain of a Mist Anbu squad and held a relatively high status in the current operation. As a result, Tonari was able to extract a lot of valuable information from his mind.

"Lord Chisa."

As soon as he arrived at the temporary base of the Mist ninjas, a Mist Anbu stepped forward to block his path.

"Chisa" was Tonari's current identity. He looked battered and worn, with visible injuries.

"Mm." Tonari nodded slightly and walked past the Anbu into the island's interior.

With his current status, aside from the commander of the operation, Kenbei, he didn't need to explain himself to anyone.

Upon entering the camp, Tonari quickly found the commander of the operation—Kenbei, an elite jonin trusted by the Third Mizukage.

"Chisa, what happened?" Kenbei stood up, his expression serious as he noticed the injuries on Tonari.

Alongside him stood two other veteran Mist jonin—Bī and Ao. This Ao was the same person who would later become known as the "Byakugan Killer" and a trusted aide of the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi. However, he had not yet obtained the Byakugan and could not see through Tonari's disguise.

"Kenbei-sama, the mission target has been secured, but the Konoha Anbu betrayed us. They set up an ambush outside the island and attacked us after we retrieved the target. I was the only one who escaped, but at least the mission is complete."

Hearing this, the three jonin's expressions turned grim. Kenbei took Rin from Tonari's arms and exchanged glances with Bī and Ao.

"Since the mission target is in hand, we'll proceed with the original plan. Time is not on our side, and we don't have a numerical advantage. If we want to strike Konoha, we must act while their forces are scattered," Kenbei said in a low voice.

"Agreed."

"Understood!"

The three made their decision instantly.

"Chisa, come with me. Ao, you'll take charge here. We'll split into two groups," Kenbei ordered.

"Stay safe," Ao nodded and left to gather his team for the operation. Their task was to create chaos within the Fire Country to provide Kenbei's group with an opening.

Tonari followed Kenbei and Bī into a secret chamber deep within the island—a place even Tonari hadn't seen before, despite reading Chisa's memories. This was because the memories of Anbu often had sealed portions, preventing them from revealing sensitive village secrets. Any attempt to tamper with the seal would automatically erase the information.

Carrying Rin, Tonari followed the two down a long passage, seemingly leading to the deepest part of the island. The surroundings grew increasingly damp, and the rough tunnel walls indicated that it had been recently excavated.

After a long descent, they finally reached the end of the passage—an expansive underground cavern. In the corner of this cavern was an intricate sealing array containing a miniature, three-tailed turtle.

The Three-Tails, Isobu!

The creature remained motionless, eyes closed, as though in deep slumber, even within the seal.

"So, this is where Uchiha Madara stored the Three-Tails?" Tonari mused.

Kenbei and Bī's eyes gleamed with excitement upon seeing the tailed beast. The Mist Village had two tailed beasts: the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails. While the Six-Tails already had a suitable jinchūriki, the Three-Tails had been missing for a long time. Today, under the Third Mizukage's guidance, they had finally recovered it.

"Are we really going to do this? We just found it. If we lose it again, who knows how long it'll take to find it," Bī hesitated.

"Fool! The Three-Tails might be valuable, but compared to defeating Konoha, it's insignificant!" Kenbei snapped.

Reluctantly, Bī nodded, suppressing his doubts.

"Chisa, place the girl here. This chamber is relatively safe, but please stand guard while we work," Kenbei instructed.

Tonari nodded, laying Rin down on the only platform in the room. He positioned himself at the tunnel entrance, pretending to stand guard while keeping his focus on Kenbei and Bī.

The two jonin approached the sealing array. The array itself wasn't designed to suppress the Three-Tails but rather to prevent unauthorized access. The beast's slow chakra flow indicated it was in a dormant state.

"Release!" Kenbei formed a hand seal, and the barrier slowly dissipated.

Bī immediately entered the array and lifted the motionless Three-Tails.

"Now to seal it inside the girl," Kenbei muttered.

The Mist Village had no shortage of sealing techniques, having divided the Uzumaki clan's knowledge with the Cloud Village after the fall of Uzushiogakure.

"We should place the curse seal on her heart first, as Mizukage-sama instructed," Bī suggested.

"But the Three-Tails is already out. If it goes berserk, we won't be able to contain it. Let's seal it first."

While they debated, the supposedly unconscious Rin suddenly opened her eyes.

"No need to hesitate. Let me make the choice for you," she said, sitting up.

Startled, Kenbei and Bī turned toward her, only to see two crimson Sharingan spinning in her eyes.

Rin had vanished. In her place sat Tonari, while the "Chisa" at the entrance revealed itself to be the Third Kazekage puppet under Tonari's control.

Both Kenbei and Bī had fallen into a genjutsu cast by the Sharingan.

"The true power of the Sharingan isn't just its level, but the potency of Yin Chakra," Tonari thought to himself.

While the difference between two-tomoe and three-tomoe Sharingan was significant, the gap between three-tomoe and the Mangekyō Sharingan was even more profound. The Sharingan's power was largely determined by the amount of Yin Chakra infused into it.

Even the Mangekyō Sharingan's abilities were enhanced by an abundance of Yin Chakra.

The Third Kazekage puppet approached Tonari, who muttered, "No suitable host for now, so I'll have to use you."

He dragged the Three-Tails in front of the puppet and began forming hand seals.

"Four Symbols Seal!"

The first layer of sealing bound the Three-Tails inside the puppet. Though a puppet couldn't normally harness tailed beast chakra, Tonari had a workaround. By injecting an active shadow clone into the puppet, he could potentially draw on the beast's chakra if it cooperated.

"Four Symbols Seal!"

He reinforced the seal with a second layer, completing the Eight Trigrams Seal, a formation strong enough to contain the Three-Tails perfectly.

Once the sealing was complete, Tonari swapped identities with the puppet, transforming it back into Rin while he reassumed the appearance of Chisa and replaced his mask.

Finally, he dispelled the genjutsu on Kenbei and Bī.

"Mm?" Kenbei frowned, sensing that something was off.

Bī also shook his head, feeling somewhat disoriented.

"Did we… finish sealing the Three-Tails?" Bī asked hesitantly.

Kenbei rubbed his forehead, wincing. "Ugh… it seems the curse seal was also applied."

"Why does my head feel so foggy?" Bī grumbled.

"Probably from the mental strain of the sealing process. This chamber is secure, and Chisa was standing guard. It's understandable for first-timers to feel drained."

Convinced, the two jonin brushed off their discomfort.

"With preparations complete, we'll proceed as planned. Escort the girl to Konoha, then remotely release the Three-Tails, letting it rampage from within," Kenbei commanded.

This was the Third Mizukage's strategy. Given its high success probability, the Mist ninjas had agreed without hesitation.

"Bī, summon your team to escort the girl. Ao will create a diversion," Kenbei ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Tonari, still in disguise, picked up the puppet disguised as Rin and left the chamber.

Outside, Tonari quickly assembled the Anbu team under Chisa's command and set sail for the Fire Country aboard one of the Mist's special vessels.

Meanwhile, the real Rin had already been hidden away by Tonari's shadow clone and Akaya. For now, Madara still lived, and maintaining the facade for Obito was necessary. Once Madara died, Rin would become a trump card to overturn the situation.

Tonari, aboard the Mist vessel with the disguised puppet, advanced along the planned route toward the Land of Fire.

At the same time, Rin's disappearance had finally been noticed by Kakashi. As Obito's dying wish was for Kakashi to protect Rin, her sudden absence threw him into a panic.

Now a jonin, Kakashi had the authority to lead missions. With the Fourth Hokage, Minato, absent from the village, he turned to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, for assistance.

Understanding Kakashi's urgency, Hiruzen dispatched three Anbu to accompany him in the search for Rin.

Everything seemed to progress as if preordained, one step leading seamlessly to the next.

Following an inexplicable sense of direction, Kakashi and his team unknowingly closed in on Tonari's group.

As fate would have it, Kakashi and the disguised "Rin" finally crossed paths.

Predictably, the encounter erupted into battle. While the Mist and Konoha Anbu clashed, only "Rin" and Kakashi stood face to face.

Tonari, unsure how to respond, initiated an attack.

Kakashi, however, grew increasingly agitated.

"Rin! It's me! I'm Kakashi!"

But "Rin" remained silent, heightening Kakashi's desperation.

With the three Konoha Anbu tied up, more Mist Anbu turned their attention to Kakashi. Left with no choice, Kakashi prepared to break through.

"Chidori!"

Lightning chirped in his hand, like the cries of a thousand birds.

Tonari's eyes gleamed from beneath the Chisa mask.

"It's time!"

The true protagonist had arrived!

This carefully orchestrated tragedy—written and directed by Uchiha Madara, starring Kakashi, Obito, and Rin, with Mist and Konoha Anbu as extras—was finally reaching its climax.

Thunder rumbled as rain poured from the sky.

The sharp chirping of the Chidori cut through the downpour, only to fall silent in an instant.

Kakashi froze, eyes wide with horror, as his lightning blade pierced through "Rin's" chest.

Had he paid closer attention, he might have noticed the subtle difference between human flesh and puppet material. But in his frantic state, such details escaped him.

Far away, Obito emerged from the forest, wrapped in the wooden shell of White Zetsu.

"Rin… why…?"

The intense emotional shock caused Obito's Sharingan to spin wildly. The two tomoe merged into three, and the three-tomoe rapidly twisted into a shape resembling a windmill.

As Kakashi withdrew his bloodied hand from "Rin's" chest, thunder roared across the sky.

Obito's remaining eye trembled, the tomoe spinning faster and faster until it transformed into a distinct Mangekyō pattern.

"This… this is the hell Madara spoke of?!" Obito muttered, his heart consumed by agony and hatred.

His overwhelming love, shattered in an instant, had given birth to an unparalleled hatred—strong enough to destroy everything.

At the same moment, Tonari, standing nearby, felt a surge of chakra flooding his body. His own Sharingan, already three-tomoe, spun uncontrollably as chakra poured into his left eye.

"Not enough! I need more Yin Chakra!"

Drawing on the Yin chakra of the Two-Tails, Tonari pushed his body to the limit. Suddenly, he felt an unfamiliar sensation as dormant cells within him awakened.

The cells of Hashirama Senju!

For the first time, Tonari truly understood the connection between Hashirama's cells and the Sharingan. The fusion of Indra's and Asura's chakra resonated within him, stirring the dormant cells into action.

As his heart pounded faster, chakra surged through his body, seemingly endless.

Through the narrow eyeholes of his mask, the transformation was evident—a crimson Sharingan devoid of tomoe, replaced by three sickle-shaped blades forming a windmill pattern.

The Mangekyō Sharingan!

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