Immortality begins with the ninjas of Konoha.

Unlike those in Konoha, the Jinchūriki of Iwagakure have mastered the power of most of the Tailed Beasts after perfecting the sealing techniques.

The Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Roshi, was in his prime. Due to disagreements with the Tsuchikage, Onoki, he moved to a valley outside the village.

Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, actively contributed to Iwagakure. After discovering the power of the Tailed Beast, he approved of the village's policies and actively used "talk-no-jutsu" to persuade his companions.

As evening fell, Han, known as the "Steam Ninja," dressed in red armor, made his routine visit to Lao Zi. Just as he was about to complain about the recently famous AB duo, Lao Zi suddenly stood up.

"You've let your guard down, someone's come to visit us!"

"It seems our companions on the periphery have all been dealt with; now is not the time for idle chatter."

With the openwork mask fastened to his chin, Lao Zi solemnly called to his companions to prepare for battle. Han, after carefully sensing the surroundings, also narrowed his eyes, put the red mask back on his face, and said:

"We've been underestimated! Are they Cloud Village ninjas? What are they up to now?"

"..."

After a brief exchange, the two took the initiative to attack. As Jinchūriki, they made no attempt to conceal their chakra, and a tail appeared behind them as they ran.

On the other side, in Jiraiya's squad that was accelerating, Minato Namikaze suddenly gave a serious reminder:

"Two powerful streams of chakra are moving towards us at an extremely fast speed."

Because the terrain inside the valley was flat and offered virtually no cover, Jiraiya thought for a moment and then loudly commanded:

"Take the initiative and cover me!"

"The Art of Disordering Lion's Mane!"

The two teammates behind him responded immediately. Just as the two sides were about to meet head-on, Jiraiya's white hair suddenly grew longer, and the front of it turned into a giant mouth, which bit directly at the opponent.

Bound by the white hair, Old Purple made no extra movements. His chakra suddenly became scorching hot, and a wisp of flame emerged from his body.

"Bang..."

The man, whose body was suddenly enveloped in white smoke, accelerated abruptly and rushed in front of the three members of the team. He kicked the fat, dark-skinned man away in one move and was about to give chase when Minato Namikaze immediately blocked him with a kunai.

"Earth Release·Yellow Spring Marsh!"

Jiraiya unleashed a large-scale ninjutsu to alter the terrain, and both sides simultaneously created distance between themselves. Minato Namikaze approached his teacher from behind and whispered a reminder:

"This is very troublesome; they must have already unearthed the power of the Tailed Beasts."

Seeing the chakra tail swaying behind the Jinchuriki, Jiraiya frowned slightly; one tail was clearly not the opponent's limit.

"Konoha ninja, Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin! You've finally started taking the initiative!"

"It seems that Onoki has put tremendous pressure on Konoha, which is why he sent you here."

Han, arms crossed, calmly provoked, seemingly not taking his opponent seriously at all. In contrast, Lao Zi, standing to the side, looked grave and interrupted his companion's verbal sparring, speaking first:

"Another war? Looks like I need to teach you a lesson!"

"Han, stop talking nonsense! End this battle immediately."

As soon as they finished speaking, the tailed beast chakra on the two of them erupted in full force, and to the astonishment of Jiraiya and the other three, huge monster figures and swaying tails appeared one after another.

From within the mouth of the giant red ape, Lao Zi crossed his arms and looked at his opponent, saying in a deep voice:

"Stop making pointless probes; the only one who can stand against us is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!"

From within the enormous mouth of the white dolphin-faced man, Han glared and roared:

"Die, you Konoha scum!"

The pitch-black energy rapidly formed a giant sphere, and the tailed beast chakra unleashed by the two caused cold sweat to break out on the foreheads of Jiraiya and the other three.

"Tailed Beast Ball! It's gotten to this point! Minato, let's retreat!"

Upon hearing Jiraiya's instructions, Minato Namikaze immediately reminded his two teammates to quickly unleash their chakra and execute the Flying Thunder God Technique in the face of the overwhelming attack of the Tailed Beast Balls.

"boom!"

After a flash of white light, a loud explosion erupted in the valley, and the shockwave spread rapidly, wiping out all the nearby sentry posts. The Tailed Beast Ball demonstrated its immense destructive power to the Konoha ninja.

On the outskirts of the valley, four people suddenly appeared, staggering. The fat, dark-skinned man who had fallen to the ground murmured in fright:

Are we dead?

"Open your eyes, Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique to help us escape."

The teammate, with her effeminate demeanor, responded weakly. Jiraiya, standing in front of them, wiped the cold sweat from his brow and whispered to his disciple:

"That was dangerous! I almost died there. I never imagined they had developed the Tailed Beasts to this extent."

Minato Namikaze felt a pang of anxiety when he thought of the earth-shattering power he had just witnessed. He began to worry that Kushina would be forced to appear on the battlefield after the outbreak of war.

"call out..."

Furukawa Osamu and the Dark Army Captain appeared before the four of them immediately. Jiraiya was slightly taken aback when he saw the armor wounds on the two of them.

Before he could ask, Furukawa Osamu spoke up to remind him:

"With that level of chakra, we need to retreat as soon as possible, Minato-kun. Do you need to replenish your energy?"

Sensing the two Jinchūriki moving at high speed, Minato Namikaze, without bothering to ask what happened during the "cleaning," decisively spoke up:

"Teacher, we have to go! Hold on to me!"

As Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique again, the group began to retreat quickly.

During the journey, Furukawa replenished Minato's chakra, and with the help of a secret medicine, the two Jinchuriki quickly lost track of the group's movements.

Old Zi and Han, who had stopped at the edge of the valley, remained silent upon seeing their companions slaughtered. Finally, Han spoke in a deep voice:

"Is that the ninjutsu mentioned in the intelligence report? It's more troublesome than I expected."

"Onoki is right. Konoha always produces genius ninjas, and they are the biggest threat."

Old Purple remained silent. His act of displaying the Tailed Beast Ball was a warning to the other party not to act rashly. He had no interest in being used as a tool in the war.

-

At the end of October, the group, having entered the Land of Fire and approaching the outskirts of Konoha, finally relaxed completely. Minato Namikaze even enthusiastically shared his insights on sealing techniques during the journey:

"Sealing techniques and summoning techniques have some things in common; they both involve space."

"The function of sealing techniques is to lock the tailed beast's chakra within a space and draw it out at any time. If the technique is performed correctly, it can even break free from the meridian system."

"..."

After explaining, Furukawa Osamu, having removed his mask, nodded. Seeing Minato's still-interested expression, he continued to ask:

"Does controlling the chakra within the sealed space require immense spiritual power? Or do the tailed beasts control this power on their own?"

Minato Namikaze scratched his head awkwardly. Seeing his disciple's expression, Jiraiya laughed and took over the conversation, saying:

"Minato would find it difficult to give a definite answer to this question. Although Shu is very talented in sealing techniques, he is not a Jinchūriki after all."

"I am better at spirit communication. Advanced sealing techniques are very difficult to learn. You can exchange ideas more often in the future."

"..."

When the group arrived at the village gate, they completely relaxed. Minato's two teammates even cheered, realizing that going on missions with Jiraiya was far too dangerous.

No one asked about the "sacrificed" Root members. Jiraiya greeted the Chunin guarding the gate with a grin, and Minato also showed his bright smile.

The Dark Squad leader remained silent the entire way, but now, as they were about to part ways, he patted Furukawa Osamu on the shoulder and said:

"Shu, your talent is even more outstanding than everyone expected. Please give my regards to Lady Tsunade!"

The mask concealed the other person's expression, but Furukawa Osamu knew that this person who recruited him for the mission meant that he had chosen a side; someone in the direct Anbu wanted to continue serving the "Hokage."

"Thanks to the captain's care, I learned a lot along the way!"

Osamu Furukawa responded modestly, and the two formed a "life-or-death bond" after joining forces to kill the Root ninja, much to the satisfaction of the ANBU captain.

Minato Namikaze, walking ahead, keenly sensed the "unexpected changes" in the mission, but he didn't want to think about them right now. Seeing the Tailed Beast Ball only increased his worry for his beloved:

"Kushina, so that's the power the monster inside you possesses."

"..."