Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

After Nagato and the others left, a White Zetsu clone emerged in a hidden corner, silently gazing at the final devastation of Taki-nin Village before melding back into the ground and disappearing.

This time, Nagato had revealed more of his abilities during the battle, and the White Zetsu clone needed to find Ye Zi as soon as possible to deliver this intelligence.

However, even with the Mayfly Jutsu, White Zetsu couldn't keep up with Nagato and his group.

Several days later, while White Zetsu was still on the way, Nagato gathered the core members of Akatsuki.

In the same dimly lit underground cave, twisted black silhouettes appeared around the ever-burning lamps.

As each person appeared, their gaze fell on the large, ancient jar in front of the lamps.

Is that…?

Nagato said calmly, "This is the artifact that contains the sealed Seven-Tails."

Everyone fell silent upon hearing this. The leader had captured the Seven-Tails without a word?

Ye Zi's eyes narrowed slightly. He had no knowledge of Nagato's plan to capture the Seven-Tails and hadn't received any information from White Zetsu.

He relied on gathering information about Nagato's abilities and didn't want to miss any of Nagato's battles.

He wondered if White Zetsu had missed this one—if so, that would be unfortunate.

Although Kakuzu hailed from Taki-nin Village, that was long ago, and he held no sentiment for the village.

"The next target is the Jinchūriki of the Five-Tails," Nagato said calmly.

"I'll go," Ye Zi volunteered.

During an invasion of Iwa Village, he had devoured a boy's soul and extracted some of his memories, which he had tucked away.

Among those memories were fragments about the Five-Tails Jinchūriki, including the memory of the boy's parents being killed by the out-of-control Jinchūriki, leaving him with deep hatred.

Unfortunately, the boy's potential was too poor. Even if he wanted revenge, he likely would have never achieved it.

Being chosen by Ye Zi was both his misfortune and his fortune.

At least Ye Zi had the power to avenge him, to ease the lingering memories in his mind.

So, Ye Zi willingly took on the mission to capture the Five-Tails Jinchūriki.

Nagato looked at him and nodded slightly. "Very well, but it's best to act when the Five-Tails Jinchūriki leaves the village."

"Of course," Ye Zi replied, knowing he wouldn't be reckless enough to directly attack the Five-Tails Jinchūriki inside Iwa Village. The Seven-Tails Jinchūriki had been in Taki-nin Village, meaning Nagato and Konan must have faced the entire Taki-nin Village and still managed to capture the artifact without any losses.

Seeing Ye Zi volunteer for the next mission, the others said nothing; capturing Jinchūriki was not an enjoyable task.

"After capturing the Five-Tails, we'll pause the plan," Nagato added.

"Why?" Ye Zi's expression and tone were calm. After realizing the gap in strength between him and Nagato, he was no longer in a hurry for the Jinchūriki-capturing plan. Instead, he was focused on closing that power gap.

Still, even though he wasn't impatient, he wanted to know why Nagato would halt the plan.

"The timing for the remaining Jinchūriki is not ideal, especially those in Konoha and Kumo," Nagato explained, glancing at him.

The Five-Tails Jinchūriki had lost control multiple times and killed several Iwa-nin, so the people of Iwa didn't particularly like him. They might even let him die if he were in danger.

Still, it wasn't wise to go straight into Iwa Village to capture him; they could only wait for him to leave the village.

If they succeeded, only the Two-Tails, Six-Tails, Eight-Tails, and Nine-Tails would remain.

The remaining Jinchūriki wouldn't be easy targets.

The Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, who could control their tailed beasts, were valuable assets for Kumo Village. Losing either one would be unacceptable for Kumo.

Moreover, due to their alliance, they couldn't act against Kumo Village anytime soon.

Konoha's Jinchūriki didn't have full control over the Nine-Tails, but he wouldn't lose control either. If they went after him, Konoha wouldn't sit back and let it happen.

As for Kiri, it seemed they were preparing the Six-Tails Jinchūriki to take on the role of Mizukage. Having already targeted the previous Mizukage, attacking the new Mizukage shortly after his installment would surely provoke Kiri.

Besides the Nine-Tails, which was reserved for last, Akatsuki would not miss any opportunity to capture the Two-Tails, Six-Tails, or Eight-Tails if they left their villages.

Ye Zi gave a slight nod at Nagato's explanation, saying nothing further.

Everyone present understood the significance of Konoha and Kumo as formidable villages.

"Let's begin."

With Nagato's words, the ritual to seal the tailed beast began.

Each person took their place on the fingers of the Gedo Statue, and the three-day process to seal the Seven-Tails within the jar commenced.

Three days quickly passed, and the sealing was complete.

The Gedo Statue opened another eye, and its chakra reserves surged.

After the sealing, Nagato ended the Illusory Projection Jutsu, and the black silhouettes disappeared into the underground cave.

As consciousness returned, each member of Akatsuki felt weary and immediately opted for rest.

Kotoe and Shin both wanted nothing more than to fall asleep after each sealing, and this time was no exception.

After bidding Ye Zi farewell, they left his room and headed to their quarters to rest.

Compared to them, Ye Zi wasn't exhausted to the point of needing immediate sleep. He quietly sat in his room, waiting for White Zetsu to arrive.

He believed White Zetsu should have been tracking Nagato and likely observed his battle to capture the Seven-Tails.

After waiting in the room for half a day, Ye Zi noticed a faintly emitted presence.

"He's here…"

As the thought crossed his mind, a movement appeared in the corner of the wall, revealing White Zetsu's clone.

"Did you get the intel?" Ye Zi looked at the White Zetsu clone.

The White Zetsu clone nodded silently, stepping away from the wall and approaching him.

"Good," Ye Zi said with a cold smile. He hadn't missed the opportunity after all.

"Let me see how you captured the Seven-Tails."

Murmuring to himself, Ye Zi's spirit form emerged from his shoulders, flying toward the White Zetsu clone, who remained calm and offered no resistance.

The spirit form entered the White Zetsu clone's head, and a moment later, it reemerged.

As the spirit form left, the White Zetsu clone collapsed to the ground, turning into a pile of wood.

Ye Zi withdrew his spirit, closed his eyes, and let the memories of the White Zetsu clone flood his mind.

Compared to having the White Zetsu clone recount events, extracting its chakra memories with Spirit Transformation Jutsu was a simpler and more direct method.

Through the White Zetsu clone's perspective, the scenes it had witnessed replayed in Ye Zi's mind like images flashing by continuously.

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Currently on Chapter 403 - Violation of the Ancient Rules