As Second Tsuchikage 50

Chapter 50: Capturing the Tailed Beasts

“Tsuchikage-sama, new intel! The locations of the Seven-Tails, Four-Tails, and Five-Tails have been confirmed. All are currently within the borders of the Land of Fire,” an Iwagakure ANBU reported.

Mū narrowed his eyes and tilted the brim of his Tsuchikage hat downward, his voice calm and steady. “Understood. Return to the Tsuchikage Tower.”

Swish!

Mū and Nanahachi Fūma vanished from the academy with the Body Flicker Technique.

Once they returned to the tower, Mū wasted no time. He immediately began assembling a team, swiftly selecting twenty jōnin for a mission to capture the tailed beasts.

In the original timeline, Iwagakure only ever possessed the Four-Tails and Five-Tails. This time, Mū had no intention of limiting himself to that. He aimed to capture the Seven-Tails as well.

The Seven-Tails was unique among the tailed beasts, its ability to fly gave it massive strategic value. In the future, pairing it with Deidara could produce a formidable aerial bombing unit, one that would wreak havoc on ground-based shinobi forces.

“If only Deidara had been born a little earlier...” Mū muttered, rubbing his temples. Once that kid was born, he would make sure to keep him close and personally train him. No way he’d let him go rogue again.

Thinking about Deidara always left Mū conflicted.

Guess the character:

He was 166 cm tall and weighed 50 kg as a child. Blond hair, blue eyes, a little strange. Trained by the leader of his village. Had a red-haired friend from Sunagakure. His former teammate got irritated with his new partner. He fought against Kakashi, Sasuke, Gaara, and Itachi.

His partner, face always hidden behind a Sharingan, was a disciple of the Fourth Hokage.

Think he is talking about Naruto Uzumaki?

Wrong. It’s little Deidara.

Damn it, they’re so alike. But one’s the main character, and the other’s a side character. Isn’t that unfair?

“Ugh, maybe I should just keep stalling and stay Tsuchikage myself,” Mū muttered under his breath. “Then once Deidara grows up, I can pass the title of Third Tsuchikage to him. After that, the Fourth can be Ōnoki’s granddaughter, Kurotsuchi. That way, it still kind of makes up for Ōnoki.”

The thought spiraled as Mū leaned back in his seat. It was a bold idea, making Deidara the Tsuchikage.

“But Ōnoki would probably explode if that happened...”

If Ōnoki had spent sixty cautious years waiting as heir to the Tsuchikage seat, only for Mū to hand the title over to Deidara in the end, he might die of pure rage.

“Leg-Kage and Deidara... both of them could be candidates for the Fourth.”

In the end, Mū sighed and dropped the idea of stalling. If he really gave the title straight to Deidara, Ōnoki might stage a coup and pull some Genbunmon-style succession drama on him.

Suddenly, Mū realized something. “Where’s Ōnoki? Go bring him over too.”

Ever since Ishikawa’s death, Ōnoki had matured quickly. These days, he either stayed home or trained in the mountains behind the village. But this mission to capture the tailed beasts was the perfect opportunity to toughen him up further.

Otherwise, his so-called Will of Stone would soon turn into the Will of Fossils.

“Tsuchikage-sama, I’ll go immediately,” an ANBU member replied, then flickered out of the office.

Not long after, a boy in an Iwagakure flak jacket stepped into the room.

Mū looked up at Ōnoki. His face had changed, even showing signs of acne now. His nose had grown larger, too, but his height remained stubbornly the same.

“Tsuchikage-sama, what do you need from me?” Ōnoki asked respectfully.

Mū sighed, a trace of helplessness in his eyes. “Just call me ‘Sensei’ when we’re not working.” He slowly got up and patted Ōnoki on the head.

A sly glint lit up in Ōnoki’s eyes as he grinned. “Hehe, then I won’t hold back. Got it, Sensei.”

“Hey! No touching my head! Sensei, don’t you know that constantly patting my head will stunt my growth?” Ōnoki quickly dodged away.

Mū smiled faintly. To be honest, he really wanted to tell Ōnoki that this was as tall as he’d ever be. But saying that out loud... wouldn’t that be too cruel? After thinking it over, he decided not to crush the boy’s dreams. Everyone needs a little hope for the future, right?

“Back to the point. I’ll be leaving the village this afternoon to capture a Tailed Beast. You’re coming with me,” Mū said, hands folded behind his back.

Ōnoki’s face lit up with excitement. He stepped forward mysteriously. “Sensei, I have a surprise for you.”

Mū raised a brow. “Oh? What kind of surprise?”

Ōnoki slowly raised one hand and began focusing his chakra.

Bzzzz~~

A Rasengan formed in his palm moments later.

“Interesting. As expected of my student. So you’ve already mastered the Rasengan. Not bad,” Mū nodded in approval.

“Hehe, even though this jutsu was created by you, Sensei, I managed to learn it purely through talent! It only took me half a month!” Ōnoki said proudly, clearly eager to show he’d surpassed his master.

Mū gave a faint smile and nodded. That was a decent learning speed.

“Sensei, how long did it take you to learn the Rasengan when you created it?” Ōnoki asked, still smug.

Mū raised a brow and answered calmly, “Hmm... I think it was about three hours.”

“...Huh?” Ōnoki froze.

“S-Sensei, you...” His whole posture deflated, turning him into a dull, gray little stone. So, in the end, Sensei is still way stronger? As expected of the current number one in the shinobi world.

“Don’t worry, your talent is excellent. I’d say you’re at the T1 level in the shinobi world. Don’t belittle yourself,” Mū said to comfort him.

“Hmph! Got it, Sensei. After all, I’m the only student of the number one shinobi in the world!” Ōnoki perked up again. Just thinking about his Sensei being the strongest alive filled him with pride. People might not know the name Ōnoki yet, but if you said “the only student of the strongest shinobi,” that would turn heads.

Mū gave a small smile. Putting aside the reader’s perspective, every character in Naruto has flesh and blood. As Ōnoki’s Sensei, he felt this deeply.

“Alright, go pack up. We’re heading out to capture the Tailed Beast.” Mū calmly floated his robe onto the coat rack and slipped on the current Iwagakure flak vest.

“Got it!”

"Oh, right, Sensei! I’ve also mastered the Light–Heavy Rock Technique. I can fly now!" Ōnoki exclaimed, excitement written all over his face as he lifted off the ground to demonstrate.

Mū nodded calmly. "Not bad. That’s perfect, since the Seven-Tails can fly. Good opportunity for you to see it firsthand."

Just then, Nanahachi Fūma appeared beside them. "Tsuchikage-sama, the jōnin squad is ready to deploy at any time."

"Good," Mū replied with a brief nod.

As a precaution, Mū left behind a Split Body Clone in the village. He had no other choice; there wasn’t another top-tier combatant in Iwagakure. At this point, he was essentially the pillar supporting the entire village. If something happened to him, the heart of Iwagakure would collapse entirely.

...

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

RUMBLE!!

The thunder of heavy hooves echoed through the dense forest as a massive Tailed Beast charged forward. Shaped like a strange cross between a horse and a dolphin, it galloped with terrifying speed, hot vapor hissing from its nostrils,  a clear sign of Boil Release in action. This was the King of Beasts, tearing through the terrain at full tilt.

Suddenly, a group of humans appeared ahead, standing directly in its path. The Beast King narrowed its eyes in disgust. "Humans again! Damn pests, worse than animals!"

Letting out a sharp snort, it activated its Boil Release and surged forward, showing no intention of slowing down. "I don’t care anymore, I thought that was a speed bump!" it muttered.

"We’re Tailed Beasts. We don’t care about public transportation!"

"Take it up with the Sage of Six Paths!"

"We Tailed Beasts are doing our best to live too!"

...

(Reader Q&A from OG Author: Some of you think it’s a stretch to have Sage Mū and the Four Kage go up against Madara, but I think it works. The Five Kage lineup is pretty stacked ,  tons of mobility, crowd control, wide area attacks, high damage, and they even brought a bunch of “ragtag extras.” Without the Rinnegan, Madara Uchiha would definitely struggle. Kishimoto made Hashirama and Madara so strong because the pen was in his hand. But now that this is a fanfic, the pen is in mine. Of course, adapting doesn't mean making stuff up. I always do my best to stay within canon.)