Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha lacks motivation.

"Snapped!"

After hearing the story of the Nine-Tails' castration, Madara Uchiha immediately frowned in disgust, threw the Tailed Beast Card aside, formed hand seals to summon a ball of water, and vigorously rubbed his hands until his fingertips turned white before stopping.

"Human! That's my mother, Shengkun! How dare you throw it on the ground!"

Still immersed in grief, Kurama was immediately displeased to see that the Tailed Beast Card, which was probably made by Kurama himself, was being discarded by Madara Uchiha like a worn-out shoe. His huge fox face was full of indignation.

"Tsk!"

Madara Uchiha, his face dark, wiped his hands clean and ignored the Nine-Tails' tantrum. His cold eyes were fixed on the Tailed Beast Card stuck in the ground.

The card, shimmering with silver light, held a deadly allure for Madara Uchiha, who craved victory.

After a fierce internal struggle, Madara Uchiha took out a handkerchief, carefully wrapped the Tailed Beast Card, and then put it into his bag.

"Human, I've even told you this secret that should have been kept to myself, where's my food?!"

The Nine-Tails, who had just given birth and was sulking, rubbed its shrunken belly and yelled at Madara Uchiha, who was rummaging through his backpack.

"Okay, okay!"

Madara Uchiha stuffed the Tailed Beast Cards, which were wrapped in layers, into the bottom of his backpack. After hearing Kurama's request, he looked at the storage scroll that had been gathering dust at the bottom of his backpack for several years and then took it out.

Looking at the high-quality storage scroll in his hand, Madara Uchiha felt a surge of warmth in his heart. The earnest words of his older cousin, who had accompanied him for ten miles when he left Konoha, still echoed in his mind.

"Hey! Human, what are you grinning about? Hurry up, I want to eat chicken!"

"You'll get your share."

This slightly foul-mouthed Nine-Tailed Fox in front of him was a crucial asset in his victory over Hasi Hot Mom, so he'll tolerate it for now and deal with it properly after he wins!

"Whoosh~"

Madara Uchiha, who had already planned out Kurama's future in his mind, casually unrolled the scroll given to him by Gin Uchiha. It was covered in densely packed, tadpole-like spatial incantations. He glanced at it briefly and found it no different from a regular storage scroll. He then placed one hand on it, and chakra slowly seeped into it.

"untie!"

"Bang!"

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~"

As the hand seals were completed, Madara Uchiha was immediately enveloped in a huge cloud of white smoke. Just as he was wondering why the storage scroll was making such a loud noise, he suddenly heard a clattering sound like raindrops.

"Human, what are you playing at?"

A startled roar from Kurama followed. A puzzled Madara Uchiha was about to dispel the smoke when, as soon as he raised his hand, he felt a hard wall appear in front of him. Alarmed and fearing a trap, he immediately retreated to create distance.

"Thump!"

As a result, a wall appeared behind him without his knowledge, and Madara Uchiha, caught off guard, crashed straight into it, instantly raising a large red bump on the back of his head.

"Who?!"

Clutching his wound in pain, Madara Uchiha gritted his teeth and unleashed a Wind Release technique, dispelling the smoke around him. His eyes turned crimson as he vowed to make this sneaky attacker pay the price.

"Blanch my eyes!"

However, the moment the smoke completely dissipated, dazzling golden rays suddenly burst forth, instantly piercing Madara Uchiha's eyes, who had his dynamic vision maximized. The intense shock caused him to clutch his eyes and roll on the ground.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

A agonizing wail instantly resounded through the sky. Nine-Tails, who was curiously examining the suddenly appearing pyramid, heard the familiar wail emanating from within and couldn't help but feel a sense of empathy.

It screamed just as loudly when Kun Kun was nerfed before~

"Huff~ Huff~ Huff~"

After tumbling on the ground for a long time, Madara Uchiha gradually recovered. His eyes were still the same scarlet color, but the bewitching patterns were gone, proving that they were now just ordinary eyes that were bloodshot from swelling.

"Human, are you alright?"

Hearing Kurama's voice, Madara Uchiha staggered to his feet. His eyes, now adjusted to the golden light, could barely see. He then realized that he was inside a gleaming golden tower, its walls made entirely of solid gold bricks.

After a quick thought, Madara Uchiha reached out and touched the golden wall, discovering that it was not an illusion and that these gold bricks were real.

"Big cousin, you're even closer to me than my own brother!"

Recovering from his brief shock, Madara Uchiha looked at the familiar-looking gold bricks and instantly understood. These were travel expenses specially given to him by his older cousin, who was worried that he would go hungry and cold on the road. They were probably Uchiha Gin's life savings, given to him so generously. What a level of love this was!

Thinking of this, Madara Uchiha couldn't help but shed tears, and it was definitely not because of the strong light.

"Huh? What's that?"

Just as Madara Uchiha was deeply moved, he suddenly noticed an exquisite briefcase placed at the top of the pyramid. As if by some unseen force, he stepped forward and took it down.

This is a silver suitcase with a fan pattern engraved on the lid, clearly containing Uchiha-exclusive items.

"Crunch~"

Since it wasn't locked, Madara Uchiha opened the briefcase without any hindrance. The familiar items he saw made his expression freeze instantly, leaving him speechless for a long time, and his restless heart couldn't calm down for a long time.

"How could that be?"

Madara Uchiha closed the briefcase with a strange look in his eyes, his expression becoming quite interesting. He had been thinking about how to get his hands on this thing, but he never expected that it had been with him for so many years.

In Madara Uchiha's mind, the value of the contents of the box far surpassed the mountain of gold bricks piled up in front of him. He then gripped the box tightly in his hand, muttering to himself,

"Thank you, cousin!"

Achoo!!!

Uchiha Gin, who had just hung the damp banshee's veil on the clothesline, suddenly sneezed loudly. Knowing full well that he was not prone to catching a cold, he rubbed his nose in confusion, guessing that someone must have been talking about him.

"Is that Biluo? It's been a long time since I've been online~"

"Oh? You're thinking about those two sullen women again?"

As soon as Uchiha Gin finished speaking, a ghostly voice came from behind him, startling him so much that his waist immediately contracted, and he instantly broke out in a cold sweat. He turned around shakily, a hint of fear on his face.

"Oh, it's Xiaoguang! What are you talking about? You must have misheard me!"

"Looks like we haven't used it enough. Wash it clean tonight and wait for me to give you another go."

"It's Asia Pacific!"

"Human, you've finally figured it out."

The Nine-Tails, which had been obediently waiting outside the pyramid, finally saw Madara Uchiha emerge after a long time. Looking at the human carrying a briefcase, it patted its belly and grumbled...

"I'm starving! Could you please give me a proper meal?"

Upon hearing this, Madara Uchiha raised his head, looked at the tall and fierce Nine-Tails, and his eyes showed a complex expression. He slowly nodded, took out the storage scroll he had taken out earlier, and used a spell to put the pyramid made of gold bricks into it.

If the accuracy of the first summon is not grasped, the next time he summons, he will be able to selectively summon only a few pieces for purchase.

"Besides chicken, what else would you like to eat?"

After carefully storing the storage scroll close to his body, Madara Uchiha asked the well-behaved Kurama, "I'll definitely make sure Kurama eats its last meal well."

"Huh? Roast chicken is fine. As for the other dishes I like to eat, you humans probably don't know how to make them."

Kurama isn't stupid. If it said it wanted to eat grilled pork belly, Madara Uchiha would consider himself very tight-lipped if he didn't beat the shit out of it.

"Okay, you wait here, I'll be right back."

Although Madara Uchiha hadn't spent much time with Kurama, he still had a certain fondness for this somewhat foul-mouthed fox. Kurama's movements and mannerisms were very similar to the little dog he and Izuna had raised when they were children.

Although they like to bar their teeth, the meat is delicious and leaves a lingering fragrance in your mouth.

After instructing Kurama to stay put and not move, he went to buy several cartloads of roast chicken. Then, Madara Uchiha flew towards the town he remembered and soon found a fairly prosperous town.

This time, Madara Uchiha had plenty of money, so he wasn't flustered at the restaurant. He stood up straight, didn't even look at the menu, and told the owner to arrange everything. Then, before the owner could say anything, he threw a gold brick at him, instantly silencing him.

As the steaming dishes were served, Uchiha Madara, who had been starving for days, disregarded his image and immediately began to devour them. In a flash, the entire table of delicacies was completely wiped out.

Madara Uchiha, having eaten his fill, leisurely picked his teeth. The restaurant owner, his face full of flattery, approached, rubbing his hands together with a slightly embarrassed expression.

"Distinguished guest, we really don't have change for the gold bricks you gave us."

The restaurant owner was just an ordinary person; he wouldn't dare cut the complete gold brick given to him by Madara Uchiha, but he didn't have enough money to make change, so he had to come and negotiate.

"Oh? No rush. Go and pack up all the roast chickens in the whole town. I want to take them with me."

Selling his father's land without a second thought, the wealthy and powerful Uchiha Madara waved his hand without batting an eye, instructing the anxious restaurant owner to make arrangements.

"The whole town's roast chicken?"

Upon hearing this, the restaurant owner scratched his ear in confusion, indicating that he hadn't heard clearly.

"I'm in a hurry, you'd better hurry up."

Madara Uchiha said he was in a hurry and really needed roast chicken.

"I'll kill you~ I didn't expect my customer to have such sharp eyes that he could see through my side business."

Seeing Madara Uchiha's impatient expression, the restaurant owner, having understood, immediately ordered his men to go out and find high-quality roast chicken, causing a great stir throughout the city.

"Sir, I have found all the most famous roast chickens in town for you. May I ask which household they are to be delivered to?"

About an hour later, the restaurant owner, rubbing his hands together, approached Uchiha Madara, who was resting with his eyes closed. His tone was slightly hurried.

"Huh? That was pretty fast. No need to deliver it, I'll take it with me."

Unexpectedly, the shop owner was so efficient, preparing the roast chicken he needed so quickly. Uchiha Madara stood up, shook his head at the owner, and...

"Oh~ Of course, this kind of thing needs to be kept secret, I understand, I understand~"

The owner, who had prepared a full-service package, instantly understood after hearing Madara Uchiha's words and immediately smiled ingratiatingly.

"Let's go, take me to the roast chicken place."

Seeing the restaurant owner's strange expression, Madara Uchiha was a little puzzled, but since Kurama was still crying for food in the wild, he didn't delve any further. He followed the owner through a few turns and arrived at the restaurant's backyard.

"Sir, the finest roast chickens are all over there. Would you like to inspect them?"

The restaurant owner pointed to several carriages parked in the backyard and asked Uchiha Madara,

"That's all?"

Looking at the few flimsy carriages, Madara Uchiha felt a bit suffocated. With so little, let alone filling their stomachs, it probably wouldn't even be enough to fill the gap between the Nine-Tails' teeth.

"Sir, we live in a small place, and it's already quite an achievement that we've managed to gather this many roast chickens."

Sensing the oppressive aura emanating from Madara Uchiha, the shop owner wiped the fine sweat from his brow and hurriedly explained.

"What's that smell? It's so pungent!"

Seeing that the boss's expression didn't seem fake, Madara Uchiha, frowning, decided to trust him this time. However, his keen sense of smell suddenly detected a strange odor mixed with several eerie fragrances, and he immediately questioned him.

"Wow~ this tastes just like roast chicken!"

The boss thought Uchiha Madara was pretending to be stupid, so he chuckled and replied...

The roast chicken in this town has a rather unique seasoning!

Madara Uchiha had never tasted roast chicken like this before. Driven by curiosity, he casually lifted the curtain of a carriage, wanting to see the roast chicken for himself. However, the scene inside the carriage shocked him, and his Sharingan almost fell to the ground.

"Wow, the customer who ordered food is quite a handsome guy!"

"Ah! Sisters, we're in for a treat!"

"Hehe, let me see!"

"."

A series of sweet, giggling laughs drifted from the carriage. Madara Uchiha, his face ashen, lowered the carriage curtain, sealing away the heavily made-up, scantily clad women once more. Turning to his smiling boss, his eyes blazing with fury, he nearly summoned a Gundam.

"Is this the roast chicken you prepared for me?"

Suppressing his murderous urge, Madara Uchiha pointed at the carriage behind him, still emitting giggles, his expression terrifyingly dark.

"Oh? Sir, you're not satisfied? These are the top-notch izakayas in our town, the best roast chickens ever. They may not be as good-looking as the famous ones in the capital, but everyone who's tried them says they're incredibly delicious!"

Seeing that Madara Uchiha's expression wasn't good, the boss assumed he was dissatisfied, so he quickly explained that when eating chicken, you can't just look at the appearance; the experience is the most important thing.

"I don't want this kind of roast chicken, I want the kind that I can actually eat!"

Madara Uchiha, enraged to the point of almost vomiting blood, exuded a chilling aura that nearly scared the unsuspecting boss into wetting himself.

"Huh? Isn't this the roast chicken that you can eat until there's not a bone left?"

Even when facing certain death, the boss still insisted on his roast chicken theory, which is truly commendable. I would call him the strongest chicken boss.

Look me straight in the eyes!

Having lost interest in explaining further, Madara Uchiha used a hypnotic genjutsu on the shopkeeper, ordering him to quickly purchase roast chicken from the town.

"Is that all?"

After another considerable delay, the boss, who was under the influence of the illusion, didn't cause any more trouble this time. He finally breathed a sigh of relief as several fragrant carriages were wheeled into the backyard.

"Yes, sir, we didn't even spare the fertilized eggs; we burned them all."

The boss nodded stiffly.

"Well, it's better than nothing."

Since that was the case, Madara Uchiha stopped worrying about it. He casually took out a storage scroll and sealed all the roast chickens inside. Then, he glared at the boss who was standing there dumbfounded, and disappeared from the spot in a flash.

"what?"

The boss, whose illusion had been dispelled, looked at the empty backyard and immediately shuddered. He quickly reached into his pants and found that the gold bricks he had stuffed inside were still there. He immediately smiled with relief.

"Boss! We're here to pay for the roast chicken!"

Just then, a group of people rushed into the restaurant, clamoring for payment for the chicken. The owner scratched his head in confusion.

When did I order the roast chicken?

"Gurgle~"

The hungry Nine-Tailed Fox had been waiting for most of the day. Several times it had the thought of running away, but when it thought of the blue Gundam that was a head taller than itself, it shrunk back and could only lazily sway its nine tails, looking as bored as could be.

"Whoosh~"

Just then, Madara Uchiha emerged from the woods. The moment Kurama (the Nine-Tails) saw him, it instinctively stood at attention, its previous languid demeanor vanishing instantly.

"Where's my roast chicken?"

Nine-Tails swallowed hard, its two enormous beastly eyes fixed on Uchiha Madara, scrutinizing the roast chicken's whereabouts.

"Here it is~"

Without saying a word, Madara Uchiha pulled out the scroll filled with roast chicken from his pocket, clapped his hands, and unsealed it.

"Bang!"

As the white smoke from the psychic summoning dissipated, a small mountain made of golden roasted chickens appeared before the Nine-Tails.

"Wow!"

Having been starving for a long time, the Nine-Tails burst into tears upon seeing food again. Before Madara Uchiha could say anything, it plunged into the chicken coop and began to devour the food.

"Crunch~ Crunch~"

The roast chicken, weighing several kilograms, was like golden sesame seeds in Nine-Tailed Fox's mouth. Accompanied by a series of ear-piercing chewing sounds, Nine-Tailed Fox ate with such gusto that it completely forgot itself.

"Nine-Tails, eat slowly, this is your last meal, savor it~"

Standing to the side, Madara Uchiha watched Kurama devour his meal with a touch of melancholy, a strange emotion stirring within him.

"ha?"

Kurama, who was savoring the roast chicken, raised her head in confusion upon hearing this. She looked at Madara Uchiha, who had a strange expression, blinked, and then lowered her head to continue eating.

What's wrong with this human? He keeps saying things I don't understand. But eating is the priority. I'll have a go at it after I'm full.

While Kurama was eating his last meal, Madara Uchiha took out the Tailed Beast cards from the bottom layer of the package, which were covered with layers of paper. Looking at the Kurama depicted on them, he recalled the method of sealing the Tailed Beasts described in his older cousin's mission report.

Defeat or Recognize

Recognition is out of the question. Madara Uchiha doesn't have the time to cultivate a relationship with Kurama. His immediate priority is to defeat Hasi-la-ma and prove his strength to the villagers so that he can rightfully assume the position of the Second Hokage.

"Phew~ I'm so full!"

The truckloads of roast chicken weighed at least a thousand pounds, and with the boss's half-baked roast eggs, it probably amounted to about two thousand pounds. Even though Jiuwei ate slowly, it only took her about ten minutes to finish the whole thing.

Madara Uchiha looked up at the Nine-Tails, who was clutching its belly and burping contentedly. He slowly walked over, pulling out a Tailed Beast Card—the kind used to seal Tailed Beasts—from his handkerchief along the way.

"Humans, if you're in a hurry, wait a moment. The old man taught us that it's not good to exercise after a full meal. Lie down for a bit first."

Completely oblivious to the impending danger, Kurama (the Nine-Tails) squinted, savoring the delicious roast chicken, not even glancing at Uchiha Madara.

"Excuse me, Nine-Tails, may I come in?"

Madara Uchiha flashed to the tip of Kurama's nose, raised the Tailed Beast Card in his hand, and asked in a mysterious tone,

"Huh? What nonsense are you talking about?"

Only then did it realize something was wrong. The Nine-Tails flipped over, landing on all fours, its eyes fixed intently on Uchiha Madara, who remained standing atop its nose.

"I want to become a Tailed Beast Rider."

Holding up the card, Madara Uchiha's eyes were filled with determination. Kurama's pupils constricted instantly upon hearing the word "knight"—those two words were its current nightmare.

Every time Kurama closes its eyes, its mind is filled with images of Kinkaku and Ginkaku after their transformations. Those two culprits who turned it into a female fox are the Tailed Beast Knights that Madara Uchiha mentioned.

What if I say no?

When it comes to freedom, Kurama decides to stand firm.

"So."

As expected, Kurama would not easily give in. Uchiha Madara, who had anticipated this, suddenly conjured a tall blue giant behind him. He retreated and landed in the control room between Susanoo's eyebrows, looking down at the fully alert Kurama from a superior position.

"How about this?"

"Tailed Beasts. Never to be slaves!"

Nine-Tails gritted its teeth. As the only tailed beast that was still relatively free, it didn't want to be shackled and mocked by the other beasts in the chat room, even if it meant death.

"What a pity, I thought we had a good relationship~"

Madara Uchiha shook his head, and the greatsword in Susanoo's hand slammed down in response.

"roar!"

"Boom!!!"

The battle began suddenly and ended just as quickly. The Nine-Tails was no match for even a single blow from a fully-formed Susanoo; Madara Uchiha didn't even use his eye techniques before easily capturing it.

"Sigh~"

After a regretful sigh, he used a Sharingan genjutsu and successfully subdued the Nine-Tails once again.

"Let's go in~"

Seeing the Nine-Tails being controlled by the Sharingan, Madara Uchiha raised the Tailed Beast Card high in his hand. With a sudden flash of silver light on the card, several thick chains surged out and rushed towards the Nine-Tails, which had given up resisting.

"Rip~"

In the blink of an eye, these thick chains bound the Nine-Tails tightly. Its enormous body slowly transformed into a wisp of crimson tailed beast chakra, which was pulled into the card by the chains at an extremely fast speed, and finally disappeared from the spot.

The last tailed beast has been successfully captured. (End of Chapter)