So far, they had gathered four tailed beasts, with five still missing.
Sasori, who already knew nearly all the information about the tailed beasts, spoke first. "Big Brother Kurotsuchi, let's split up. I know where Four-Tails Jinchuriki Motoi is—it won't be hard to extract his tailed beast cells. The Two-Tails is Kakuzu's target; he and Hidan should already be on their way to Kumogakure village. The Six-Tails is in Kirigakure, but as for the Five-Tails, it's already been sealed by Akatsuki, so extracting its cells will be tricky."
"Not a problem," Orochimaru chimed in smoothly. "The Five-Tails was once associated with Iwagakure's forces, so there must still be sealed containers holding it in the village. Bring me one of those containers—I can extract the tailed beast cells from it. If that method fails, giving me the corpse of the Five-Tails Jinchuriki would also work."
Sasori looked at Orochimaru, whose expression remained calm yet exuded great confidence. He still found the guy revolting, but now he understood why Anya put so much faith in him.
"If we're going to act before Akatsuki does, then I'll head out right away."
Sasori didn't waste time once he made up his mind.
Anya nodded. "Go ahead—Four-Tails is yours. The rest I'll handle alone."
"Alright."
After Sasori left, Orochimaru couldn't help speaking up. "From the beginning until now, you seem to have overlooked one tailed beast."
"That one I'll leave for last—I'll find it myself."
Orochimaru caught on quickly. "Almost forgot—you founded an organization yourself, didn't you? Never lacking intelligence, developing quietly all these years. In terms of scale, you've already matched Akatsuki, haven't you?"
Anya asked tentatively, "What's this? Uncle interested in joining?"
Orochimaru chuckled. "Would you chase me down if I betrayed your organization?"
Anya changed the subject. "Well, I'm heading to Kumogakure next. Want to come along?"
Orochimaru didn't waste any words. His entire body began twisting, soon transforming into a small white snake that appeared before Anya, crawling smoothly onto his shoulder.
Wings unfurled, Anya soared into the sky, shooting straight upward.
Soon after, Fuu and Gaara both woke up inside the cabin. After exiting the experiment chamber, Fuu sensed something and exclaimed in surprise, "Brother—he really left us behind! He's given us freedom."
Gaara looked at the four experiment chambers before him with a complicated expression. Suddenly making a decision, he extended his hand, and earth around him gathered together into sand floating in front of him.
"Don't!" Fuu quickly grabbed his hand to stop him. "Don't do anything reckless or you'll lose your life."
"But..." Gaara struggled emotionally. "Your older brother is too dangerous. I don't know what his goal is in collecting the tailed beasts, but it definitely won't be..."
Fuu said firmly, "You don't understand him. Whatever he wants to do, he will accomplish. Even if you destroy all this now, it'll only waste some time—but you, for sure, will be killed by him. As my uncle used to say: no one who opposes him has ever ended up standing tall. If even so many ninja from the Four-Nation Coalition died during that war, what chance do you think you stand?"
"What are you saying?" Gaara turned pale with shock. "So during that battle back in the Third War, the Four-Nation Coalition was defeated by him. Does that mean he was responsible for the disaster at Deadly Poison Valley?"
Fuu realized she'd said too much, but given the situation, all she could do was reluctantly nod.
"What is he planning now?" Gaara felt uneasy and became even more determined to destroy this place.
"Brother is actually a good person. Whatever he does, it's always for the betterment of this world. I firmly believe in that. Gaara, you're the first friend I've made since leaving my village. I truly don't want you to die like this." Fuu's eyes pleaded.
Gaara thought for a moment before slowly lowering his arms and turning to Fuu. "Let's go back to where we were before. I think I understand how Deadly Poison Valley was created. The source is that man."
Fuu quickly caught on. "You mean that ninja who wears sunglasses, never speaks, and constantly raises insects?"
"Yes. He belongs to the Aburame Clan from Konoha. Their kinjutsu has such abilities, which is why he was imprisoned by your brother." Gaara said firmly. "At the very least, we can make sure Deadly Poison Valley is erased from this world as a forbidden zone."
Fuu took Gaara's hand and said, "Okay, let's do it together."
Seven-Tails' wings unfolded from Fuu's back while Gaara used his sand to carry them both toward the place where they had been imprisoned.
Back in Kumogakure, Kakuzu and Hidan were locked in battle against Two-Tails. Blue chakra resembling cat demon patterns surfaced across Two-Tails' body mid-Partial Transformation. Its hair stood upright while its eyes turned white-pupiled. With its massive figure and sharp claws, it forced the two ninja into retreat.
Hidan, bruised and battered, sneered mockingly. "Hey hey, check it out, Kakuzu! The feline freak's mad!"
Kakuzu coldly snorted, "Idiot, playtime's over. Let's begin."
"Fine then."
With that, Hidan deliberately revealed himself directly in front of Two-Tails.
Although Two-Tails mid-Partial Transformation couldn't fully comprehend the situation, it wouldn't miss such a perfect opportunity. It raised its feline claw and smashed it down toward Hidan's position.
"Boom…"
A tremendous explosion rang out. Hidan didn't dodge and was smashed brutally into the ground, creating a crater several meters deep. Surrounding buildings collapsed and shattered.
Two-Tails gleamed with joy in its pupils after landing a successful strike—having eliminated one opponent, only one remained.
Its cat-like pupils narrowed into vertical slits while searching for Kakuzu's presence.
"Ahhh, it hurts so badly. Seriously hurts," a cocky voice called out from beneath the giant paw.
Two-Tails doubted its own hearing until experiencing an uncomfortable sensation akin to mosquito bites upon its claw.
Once the paw was lifted away, Hidan was seen smugly bringing a sharply pointed weapon to his lips while lying on the ground. He remarked, "I've tasted your cat claw. Soon, I'll nail your own claw to the wall so you can taste this feeling too."
[Death Connection]
After extracting a drop of blood from his weapon, Hidan underwent a drastic transformation—activating the secret jutsu: Death Connection.
Watching this unfold, Kakuzu stepped out from his hiding spot, realizing there was no longer any need to intervene.
At that moment, a voice whispered into Kakuzu's ear, "This ability is actually quite useful when facing opponents who don't know about it."
"Kid, why did you come here?" Kakuzu exclaimed in surprise and suspicion before vanishing instantly with a Shunshin.
When they met, Kakuzu's eyes flicked instantly to the White Snake on Anya's shoulder—but he barely gave it a second glance. "What? Just one Tailed Beast? You think Hidan and I can't handle it?"
"You kidding me?" Anya chuckled. "With you two around, even rounding up all nine Tailed Beasts wouldn't be a problem—so what's one little kitten?"
Kakuzu knew how Anya operated and cut right to the chase. "What do you want this time?"
Anya pulled out a small bottle and handed it to him. "Help me collect some cells of the Two-Tails."
"Fine." Without another word, Kakuzu took the bottle and left immediately.
Five minutes later, Anya exchanged a few whispered words with Kakuzu, took an item from him, and swiftly departed, as if he had never been there.
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