Chakra Thirst

Takara took a deep breath, trying to stay calm under Jiraiya's inquisitive gaze while attempting to relax his posture, though he remained ready to act if anything went wrong.

"Yes, Jiraiya-sama," Takara responded, attempting to sound innocent. "I'd love to get the complete collection of Icha Icha Paradise. It's a masterpiece of literature, isn't it?"

Jiraiya let out a hearty laugh, seemingly pleased by the flattery, though the suspicion in his eyes did not wane.

"It's good to see a young man with good taste," Jiraiya replied, moving closer and giving Takara another pat on the shoulder, secretly checking that the tracking seal was still in place while pulling out a storage scroll from which he produced a handful of books. "Here you go, kid! This is a special edition, signed by me!"

Takara stiffly took the books, not really knowing what to do with this pile of what he considered wasted paper.

Fortunately, an Anbu from Konoha appeared beside Jiraiya and whispered something to him before disappearing just as quickly, not even sparing Takara a glance, seeming in a hurry to go elsewhere.

"I have to go, let's talk another time, kid. Enjoy your visit!" Jiraiya said finally, removing his hand from Takara's shoulder and running off in a specific direction with an excited look.

Takara nodded gratefully and watched Jiraiya leave without looking back, feeling the movement of the tracking seal still on his shoulder. As soon as Jiraiya was out of sight, he quickly moved to a less crowded corner. There, he activated his connection with the puppets he had successfully released as a distraction.

"Alright, it's time to implement plan B," Takara thought, giving precise orders to his puppets.

Tsunade and Shizune (his puppets, to be exact) moved swiftly toward the Senju complex, not stopping for a moment and ignoring the surprised expressions of the people. Their movements were naturally noticed by Anbu, who, after recognizing their identities, quickly moved to inform the relevant parties.

"Damn it, Tsunade!" Jiraiya cursed with a smile as he ran excitedly, finally feeling his heart at ease. "You really worried me these past days; I almost believed something really happened to you!"

Meanwhile, Takara used the confusion to sneak towards the Hokage Monument and used the Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique. Using his Tenseigan, he located the exact spot where the Kyubi's egg was, protected by multiple layers of seals and barriers.

"This is going to be tricky," he thought while analyzing the seals of the cave he ended up in. "But nothing I can't handle, at least it's not in a terribly hostile environment this time."

Takara entered Sage Mode, removed the tracking seal on his shoulder, and formed several hand signs, activating an advanced fuinjutsu technique to dismantle the barriers steadily but safely.

He could have broken it by force, but he was sure that would alert several people.

At least when the barrier collapses due to lack of chakra, they won't be able to point fingers at him.

As he worked, he could feel the pressure of time.

He didn't have much before the distraction from his puppets couldn't buy him more time or before Jiraiya realized the connection with his seal was gone. And if he connected that one thing was related to the other, it would be even worse.

Finally, after several minutes of intense work, he managed to access the hidden compartment. There, nestled among complex seals, was the Kyubi's egg, emitting a soft pulse of energy.

Even its egg was larger than the rest; if someone told him Hagoromo had no favorites, he wouldn't believe it at all.

Couldn't he have simply made, say, nine beasts with the same number of tails?

"Here you are," Takara murmured, reaching out to touch the egg.

At that moment, he sensed a presence behind him. He quickly turned and saw one of his puppets disguised as a civilian with an urgent message.

"Jiraiya sensed something wrong and sent a clone," the puppet informed him. "He'll be where you met in less than a minute."

Takara gritted his teeth. There was no time to lose. With a quick movement, he sent the Kyubi's egg through Nakime's spatial door and entered simultaneously, returning to his base before Jiraiya's clone could track or reach him.

As he vanished, Jiraiya's clone looked around darkly, unable to locate the "enthusiastic fan" the original had met just minutes ago.

"I knew it! That kid was up to something!"

But by then, Takara was already safe, with the Kyubi's egg secured and another step completed in his master plan.

Additionally, after retrieving the puppets that had drawn attention to the Senju complex, he ordered them to throw a bunch of explosive tags, causing multiple explosions and starting some fires that would keep everyone busy.

Between the investigation of the explosions and the barrier's collapse, which would happen at the same time as the "disappearance" of Tsunade and Shizune, he should have more than enough time to get away from Konoha.

Jiraiya himself would prioritize searching for his platonic love over pursuing a suspiciously precocious boy from Sunagakure for whom he had no proof of any wrongdoing.

Moreover, the barrier still had enough chakra to sustain itself for about sixteen hours before collapsing and becoming irreparably damaged.

By then, Takara would be far away, with a new bijuu sealed within him.