"!"
Seeing the demeanor of Imperial Lee.
Sanbi's entire body trembled, hurriedly shouting loudly:
"Wait! Wait! Let's talk this out. I surrender! You can't hit me! I'll go with you! I'll go with you!"
As it spoke, Sanbi immediately lowered its head, raising its three tails as a sign of surrender.
This attitude left all the Konoha onlookers in the distance nearly dropping their jaws in shock.
"Sanbi can talk…"
"It even surrendered… it's a Bijuu… a terrifying weapon of war… the fear of all!"
"So, Tang's power has far surpassed a Bijuu."
"Terrifying… is this the power of Martial Arts? Comparable to the power of a god?"
The hearts of all the Konoha ninja were far from calm.
"Great! No need to bully the weak then. Come with me, Sanbi!"
Lee grinned widely, then leaped and landed beneath Sanbi.
Under the bewildered gazes of Sanbi and all the Konoha ninja, he lifted Sanbi's shell with one hand and jumped back in front of everyone.
*BOOM!*
The ground exploded under Imperial Lee's leap.
All the Konoha ninja stared at the monster, thousands or even tens of thousands of times larger than Lee, with its limbs facing upward, lifted and handled at will—they were utterly speechless.
"Let's go! We need to head back! This time, Tsunade-sama should be quite satisfied with the speed of my mission, right?"
Imperial Lee grinned broadly, showing his large teeth.
"Of course… satisfied… no one could complete a mission better than you, Tang…" Shikamaru said with a stiff face.
"Uh… with Sanbi, you're just bringing it back like that? No need to seal it?" Shizune asked, her face pale.
"Bijuu really hate being sealed; it's an inhumane act. So, let it stay free like this. Once we reach Konoha, my friend can make it suitable for living." Imperial Lee smiled.
"…"
'Inhumane? Your actions are so humane. Lifting me like this? Where's my Bijuu pride?'
Sanbi was extremely frustrated but didn't dare move recklessly, its single eye gazing sadly at the sky.
As for the Konoha ninja, they were at a loss for words.
They followed Imperial Lee, beginning their return.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
In the distance.
Orochimaru, Sasuke, and Imperial Obito slowly revealed themselves, watching Imperial Lee's back as he carried Sanbi away.
"Not chasing? Sanbi's being taken?"
"He's a member of the organization." Sasuke said, his eyes trembling unconsciously.
Just moments ago, he and Imperial Obito had received a message from Orochimaru, saying someone was taking Sanbi and he couldn't handle it.
Sasuke had scoffed inwardly at Orochimaru's incompetence.
He had planned to step in, capture the opponent, and mock Orochimaru.
But who would've thought, upon arriving, he'd witness such a terrifying scene.
Fortunately, after clearly seeing the person's face, Sasuke felt relieved—this was a member of his organization!
"What? A member of the organization?" Orochimaru said, slightly shocked.
"Yes, a member of the organization. The three of us came to Konoha. Now that Sanbi's capture is complete, once we extract its power, if you want to see the Empire, you can come along. For now, it's best to head back."
After Imperial Obito finished speaking, he took Sasuke and left.
Only Orochimaru's cold, snake-like eyes remained, flickering continuously.
"So, an organization that can coexist with someone as powerful as Uchiha Shuji is filled with monsters… This person must be a product of biotechnology, right? I'm so curious—how far has the Empire's biotechnology advanced? If I join, can I also enjoy such modification privileges?"
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Konoha.
Just two or three days after Naruto and the others left the village.
The entire village remained peaceful as usual.
The guards seemed lazy; the village appeared calm and serene.
Until…
One of the Konoha guards yawned, spotting a massive monster with three upright tails approaching. He screamed in terror.
"Trouble! Trouble! A monster! A monster's coming!"
"Damn it! It's a Bijuu! A Bijuu's invading Konoha!"
The two gate guards shouted loudly, firing signal flares and warning shots into the sky.
Soon, all of Konoha was on edge.
Almost every ninja, including Tsunade, rushed to the village gate, staring in slight horror at the approaching giant Sanbi.
"It's really a Bijuu! A Bijuu's invading again!"
"Who exactly brought a Bijuu to our Konoha?"
"It must be Kumogakure. They tried to destroy Konoha before with Hachibi!"
"Damn them! They won't succeed! Tsunade-sama is still here!"
"Quick! Don't let the Bijuu get near the village! Everyone, go out and deal with it together!"
A group of Konoha ninja shouted.
Tsunade, however, furrowed her brow unconsciously.
"What's going on? Something's off about this Sanbi… it's upside down. And this time, I sent Tang to capture Sanbi. With his strength, he shouldn't have failed. But regardless, we can't let a Bijuu get close to the village."
While thinking, Tsunade led a group of ninja to confront it.
But the closer they got, the more the Konoha ninja felt something was strange.
Especially some sharp-eyed ninja, who, after spotting the person beside the upside-down Bijuu…
"It's Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, Shikamaru, and the others!"
"Didn't Tsunade-sama send them on a mission? Why are they with Sanbi?"
"This… it can't be…"
The Konoha ninja's hearts were filled with doubt and confusion.
As they got closer, they realized there was someone beneath Sanbi!
Someone was carrying Sanbi while walking?
But how was that possible?
A monster like that wasn't something a human could lift. But then, why was Sanbi in this state? Strange, too strange!
Forget it, they couldn't figure it out. Better wait for Kakashi and Naruto to arrive and ask.
"Everyone! We're back!"
From a distance, Ino began waving at the Konoha crowd.
"Mission accomplished! We've brought Sanbi back, Tsunade-sama!" Kiba shouted, laughing broadly.
Finally, as both sides drew near.
They realized the person carrying Sanbi while walking was indeed a human!
And this person was the one who trained with them, always joking like Guy and Lee, the ever-carefree Tang!
This made everyone gasp.
Guy even trembled with excitement.
"Blazing! Blazing! Blazing! Blazing! This is youth! This is spirit! Is this the limit of Martial Arts? Incredible!"
"So moving! To witness such powerful Martial Arts, to learn such powerful Martial Arts—it's truly moving! Guy-sensei! Tang! I feel like I'm in heaven!"
"Hahaha! This is still far from the limit of Martial Arts! Guy-oyabun! Lee-kyoudai! The key is to ignite your spirit and youth!"
Imperial Lee tossed Sanbi to the ground, then quickly dashed to Guy and Lee from the ninja world. The three embraced, moved to tears.
Seeing this, those around them couldn't help but twitch their eyes.
These three…
"By the way, was Orochimaru defeated? And Sasuke?" Tsunade asked at that moment.
"Sasuke… he wasn't with Orochimaru."
Naruto's already tired expression grew even more listless.
"Orochimaru should be defeated. He took a full-force blow from Tang…" Kakashi said.
Tsunade nodded.
'That slimy snake, hit by a monster like Tang—let's see if you're still alive this time.'
"By the way, why wasn't Sanbi sealed? This caused quite a commotion." Tsunade asked again.
"Because Tang felt sealing a Bijuu was somewhat inhumane, so… this is how it is. He also said his friend could handle the rest once we're back."
Kakashi spread his hands.
"Almost forgot something important!"
Hearing Kakashi's words, Imperial Lee suddenly realized.
After scanning the crowd for a moment, his eyes lit up.
"Shuji! Come here quick, Sanbi's all yours next!"
Everyone followed his gaze.
They saw Imperial Obito, with a disguised Sasuke, walking slowly.
"Got it."
Imperial Obito nodded lightly, revealing his Mangekyou, and glared at Sanbi.
Then, under the shocked gazes of all the Konoha ninja, Sanbi's massive body began to shrink.
Soon, it was only the size of a human fist.
"It shrank? How?"
"Does the Sharingan have this ability?"
Many asked in shock.
The disguised Sasuke also asked, "Is this your Mangekyou's ability?"
"No, just a normal technique, specific to Bijuu. Essentially, Bijuu are just clusters of life energy. Growing or shrinking is entirely possible." Imperial Obito explained.
His right hand pinched, and the tiny Sanbi flew into his palm.
Some women nearby, seeing the small Sanbi, had sparkling eyes.
"A tiny Bijuu… it's kind of cute."
"Can we touch it?"
As they spoke, they reached out toward Sanbi.
Sanbi was speechless.
In recent days, its pride as a Bijuu had been utterly shattered.
'Whatever! This is the fate of us Bijuu—caught like chickens with wooden puppets, stuffed into someone's stomach, lying helpless on our backs, or shrunk and held in a hand.'
"What do you plan to do with Sanbi next?"
Tsunade took a deep breath, calming herself, and asked.
"As per the agreement, of course, to let Hokage-sama visit our country."
A voice came from behind the crowd.
"Is that so… I've been looking forward to it."
Tsunade turned, looking at Imperial Neji, pausing briefly before speaking.
"It won't disappoint Hokage-sama." Imperial Neji said finally, taking the Sanbi puppet and leaving.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Inside the Empire trio's apartment.
Ryuji's shadow slowly faded.
Imperial Neji looked at Sasuke and said:
"His Majesty the Emperor has agreed. Next, you can go to the Empire with Tsunade and Orochimaru."
"I understand…" Sasuke said softly.
His eyes still held lingering shock.
What had he just seen? The monster called the Shinobi Emperor was dragging mountains to train his body.
What kind of monster was that? Compared to Imperial Lee, he seemed like nothing.
'The Empire… truly terrifying… It seems my decision to join them was right.'
'And… the Uchiha clan in the Empire—what's their status now?'
Sasuke's heart was filled with curiosity and excitement.
He didn't immediately ask the Empire trio, instead planning to see for himself in a few days.