The Gedō Statue had abilities of its own. For instance, Nagato could sense one of its jutsu — chakra absorption. Moreover, it seemed to have a deep craving for tailed-beast chakra, urgently trying to draw the tailed beast chakra out of his body. Nagato forcefully suppressed it. Who knew where it came from? After being taught by Kanda Kyoichi for so long, if he were still as naïve and unguarded as a blank sheet of paper, then Kyoichi’s efforts would have been wasted. Nagato even felt that this thing ought to be sealed away. It was far too dangerous! The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚑𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⚑𝕟𝕖𝕥 "What now? Madara didn’t show up." Tsunade turned to Kyoichi. Before, when it came to Madara, fear was there, yes—but more than that, they wanted to draw him out, to force a decisive battle. Now... Madara wasn’t engaging them at all. Although Tsunade had spoken lightly before, in truth, she herself didn’t know what to do. But she couldn’t show weakness before the others. If the ones at the front lost their calm and direction, how could the others hold on? The best approach was to first stabilize the situation. And if nothing worked... Then they could only resort to the simplest method. A battle of attrition. See who could outlast the other. There was no doubt about it. Kyoichi was just over eighteen—still young, with years ahead of him. Madara, no matter how many body parts he replaced, would still face inevitable decline. Kanda Kyoichi, in his current state, was still far from his peak. As long as he lived, his strength would only keep rising. Tsunade firmly believed this. It was precisely because she trusted Kyoichi’s power that she saw this as their last resort. She too would have preferred to end things quickly. "No need to rush. By the way, what’s this thing called? Maybe its name will give us a clue. Also... it seems to contain immense life force, yet is itself a dead object." Kyoichi, who already knew part of the answer, feigned deduction. Nagato didn’t hesitate. Kyoichi frowned, deep in thought. Tsunade couldn’t link it to anything, her brows knit. The thing was a troublesome enigma—no matter how she thought of it, nothing seemed right. Nagato continued: "It can absorb chakra from others. Yet inside it there is no chakra at all—it’s like an empty shell." "A Gedō Statue, connected to the Rinnegan... Look at its head—doesn’t it have nine eyes?" Kyoichi pointed at the massive skull. Tsunade and Nagato nodded together. Those eyes were tightly shut, paired with its posture of holding its hands forward, giving the statue a profoundly eerie presence. And the number of eyes—exactly nine. Rinnegan. The Statue. Nine eyes. Tsunade and Nagato both seemed to grasp something. Especially Nagato—he had once heard Kyoichi tell the tale of the Sage of Six Paths creating the tailed beasts with yin–yang release, that the tailed beast were aggregations of chakra... Tsunade only voiced suspicion, but Nagato was already utterly convinced. Yes—the tailed beasts! The chakra of the tailed beast very likely came from this Statue. That explained its connection with the Rinnegan. Once seen this way, everything aligned. Tsunade fell silent for a long while, incredulous. After pondering, she said, "Then why didn’t Madara... Well, it makes sense. His original body must have been very old. Those special beings might have been created later." "The key was that back then there were still many strong figures. Mito-hime, the Second Hokage, and beyond the village, many shinobi in their prime." Kyoichi explained. Though Uzumaki Mito alone might not rival Uchiha Madara in raw strength, her mastery of sealing techniques was unmatched, and with the Nine-Tails’ power, she could stand firm. Madara in his prime wouldn’t have feared her—but in old age, with injuries and hidden ailments, even Hashirama’s cells couldn’t restore him fully. And many great powers of that era still lived: Senju Tobirama, the Second Mizukage, and more. In his prime, Madara could look down on them. But in old age? Seizing all the tailed beast wouldn’t have been so simple. The shinobi of the second generation—few among them were weaklings. That included Sunagakure. The foundation of Sunagakure’s puppet techniques and Magnet Release were perfected by the Second Kazekage. Before him, their ninjutsu had been fragmented and scattered. The Second Tsuchikage, Mū— A genius who developed the kekkei tōta, Dust Release. Famous throughout the shinobi world as both strategist and politician, no less than Senju Tobirama himself. If Madara had made a move then— What awaited him would have been the combined assault of the entire shinobi world. Kyoichi knew another layer of truth: Madara likely hadn’t fully mastered the Rinnegan back then. He was still researching and developing it. Of course, that detail was not to be spoken aloud. Too many specifics would draw suspicion. That the tailed beast came from the Gedō Statue— That alone was enough to make Tsunade take it seriously, and enough to account to the village. Tsunade clearly realized the same. She clapped her hands. "Then there’s no need to worry about the old man anymore. Come on, back to the village! We’ll deal with the rest there. As for this thing... you should get it settled first, right?" "Mm. I’ll take it to Orochimaru." Splitting up—that was their unspoken understanding. If Kyoichi had to deal with the elders himself... it would be a headache. Better for Tsunade: her age, status, and authority allowed her to stand firm, unlike him, too young and too easily dismissed. Dealing with Orochimaru was much easier. He left a clone behind, then used the Flying Thunder God to head for Orochimaru, coordinating with Mitokado Homura about where to store and seal the Statue. The thing was enormous. Homura was cooperative. His ability in governing the village was among the weakest, but in supervision he excelled. Under his watch, the Research Institute generally operated by the rules, with very few researchers sneaking around. Kyoichi soon found a suitable site: a newly dug cavern, well concealed. He sent a note by Flying Thunder God. Not long after—Nagato was brought over. "Here?" Nagato asked. "Yes. This is the most hidden area of the Institute. Outsiders won’t easily get in. Not even Earth Release would break through." Kyoichi was satisfied. The area was woven with Wood Release, roots crisscrossing into a dense network. Even White Zetsu, if it tried to infiltrate, would be noticed by Kyoichi. As for Black Zetsu... Even if it did sneak in, it couldn’t do much. As a creation of yin–yang release, it could remain hidden and survive long, but besides its talk, it had little actual strength. *************************** Read advanced Chapters ahead of everyone else on my P@treon.