When Shisui Uchiha used his Sharingan to locate the One-Tail's jinchūriki, Shimizu Uzuki had been genuinely surprised.
A village's strategic weapon…
And yet, barely after returning, he had been thrown straight into a prison.
He had just fought for Sunagakure—even if there was no merit to speak of, there should at least have been acknowledgment of his effort.
It seemed that within Sunagakure, the fear and hatred toward the One-Tail had long since seeped into people's very bones.
Only when Shimizu arrived in person—standing before the massive iron cage, surrounded by layers upon layers of seals and barriers—did he truly realize something far more disturbing.
They had never treated the jinchūriki as human.
…No wonder their "pet" kept going berserk.
Honestly—
they had it coming.
"Are you here to kill me?" the old monk, Bunpuku, asked calmly.
He had caused significant losses at Kikyo Castle. It was only natural that Konoha shinobi would harbor resentment and pursue him across such a great distance.
From that perspective, it made sense.
Shimizu let out a faint breath, his tone turning dismissive. "To hunt you down personally? Don't overestimate yourself. You're just a jinchūriki who wastes the tailed beast's chakra…"
There had been a time when others had said similar things to him—that as a mere civilian-born ninja, he had no right to attract the attention of important figures.
And now…
How ironic.
The tides had turned so completely that he could now look down on a jinchūriki.
Bunpuku fell silent.
Against ordinary opponents, his power might indeed have been overwhelming.
But before true experts, that crude and flawed tailed beast transformation of his was little more than a paper tiger.
Shimizu had already sensed it during their earlier clash—this old man had virtually no combat experience. It was as if he had never even attended a ninja academy.
His fighting style was primitive, rough, almost instinctive—so unrefined that it was arguably worse than that of an average person.
And combined with the prison before him…
A thought began to form.
Shimizu stepped forward and ran his fingers lightly across the iron bars of the cage, which rose dozens of meters high. His hand came away coated in rust—the unmistakable mark of long, unrelenting years.
"How long have you been locked up here?" he asked.
"For… a very, very long time."
So long that even Bunpuku himself could no longer remember.
All he knew was that, since the moment his memory began, he had been here.
Shimizu slowly lowered his sword, a trace of regret flickering in his eyes. "As a jinchūriki, you've been stripped of your freedom. As a member of your village, you've been treated like a beast in a cage."
"I thought you had gone out with Chiyo and the others… when I heard you were back in the village, I even imagined you resting comfortably somewhere."
He let out a quiet, self-mocking chuckle.
"Seems I was mistaken."
A vital military asset of an entire village—
And yet he was confined here, buried beneath layers of seals and restrictions, trapped in a dark, damp place devoid of even the faintest trace of life or hope.
"I won't claim Konoha is perfect," Shimizu continued, his tone softening slightly, "but at the very least, our only jinchūriki is currently enjoying life—he's even in a relationship. Give it a few years, and he might be married with children."
The old monk slowly shook his head, his voice calm but unwavering. "Everyone has their own fate. If this is mine… then I accept it willingly."
"Spare me," Shimizu scoffed lightly. "I used to think your village just had a talent for jokes—losing a Kazekage and blaming it on Konoha…"
He gave a faint, cold smile.
"But it seems you're even better at them than I thought. You can't even manage your own jinchūriki."
"…And the disappearance of the Third Kazekage—does that truly have nothing to do with you?" Bunpuku asked quietly.
That incident had always been a thorn in his heart.
The strongest Kazekage… a figure of ambition and power—
Vanished without a trace.
Hearing this, Shimizu lost any remaining interest in continuing the conversation. Without another word, he turned to leave.
The heavy layers of seals around the cage suppressed Shukaku and prevented any outside interference. Now that he had confirmed the jinchūriki posed no further threat to Konoha's operation, there was no point in lingering here any longer.
"Don't pin everything on Konoha," Shimizu Uzuki said coldly as he turned away. "It was your own Sasori who killed your Third Kazekage. And yet you took your internal mess and dumped it on Konoha's head…"
He let out a faint scoff.
"This war was senseless from the very beginning. But since it's already started… we might as well see it through to the end."
Then, as if recalling something, he added almost casually, "Oh, right—the gold Sunagakure paid as reparations to Konoha has gone missing. That money was bought with my subordinates' lives…"
His gaze flicked briefly toward the massive cage.
"You're lucky. These seals saved your life."
A faint pause.
"As for the rest of your village… I'll be sending them to hell soon enough."
Before the last word had fully settled, his figure vanished without a trace.
…
…Old monk, that brat is so arrogant even I can't stand it, Shukaku growled darkly within Bunpuku's mind. Makes me want to crush him outright…
"…Tonight," Bunpuku murmured inwardly, his expression calm yet heavy, …may well become a disaster for Sunagakure.
And you're still thinking about those ungrateful fools? Shukaku sneered. Isn't this about pride and payback now?
"Shukaku…"
…What?
"…Thank you."
A sudden shift—
Hey! Old monk—don't do anything stupid! Shukaku's tone changed abruptly as he sensed Bunpuku's life force beginning to fade. You're not seriously thinking of breaking through these seals, are you?!
…This is my final wish, Bunpuku endured the pain, his thoughts steady despite the strain. …Help me. Help me protect this village.
…
.........
............
"Uzuki-senpai!"
Shimizu reappeared among his forces just as the report came in.
"Is everything ready?" he asked without wasting a moment.
"Fifth Battalion hasn't finished placing the explosive tags yet, and the Sixth Battalion is still searching," Arai reported quickly.
Shimizu's eyes swept over the assembled shinobi. Barely over a hundred present here—and yet, more than forty of them were jōnin.
What an overwhelming concentration of power.
"In that case, we'll—"
Before he could finish, a furious shout tore through the stillness of the night.
"Enemy attack!!"
The cry came from within the inner district of Sunagakure.
"It's Konoha!!"
In the span of a single breath, piercing alarm whistles echoed throughout the entire village. Sunagakure sprang into motion almost instantly, its defenses activating at full speed.
"Looks like the Seventh Battalion's operation has been exposed… but they've already done well enough," Shimizu said, his tone steady.
For a mission as difficult as systematically eliminating every outer watch post, lasting this long without detection—
That was already impressive.
Especially here.
In the heart of the enemy's stronghold.
The rest…
would be up to them.
"Switch to contingency plan two," Shimizu ordered decisively. "Third and Fourth Battalions—assist the Fifth immediately in completing their objectives. I'll lead the First Battalion, and Orochimaru will lead the Second. We'll secure the two main routes in front of and behind the Kazekage building and support the Sixth Battalion's operation!"
The Fifth Battalion was currently scattered throughout the inner village, placing explosive tags on dozens of critical targets. Without immediate reinforcement, once Sunagakure gathered enough forces to counterattack, the mission would likely fail before completion.
As for the Kazekage building—
That was the Sixth Battalion's primary focus.
And the most obvious target.
Within it lay the accumulated secrets of Sunagakure over countless years—hidden techniques, classified records, bloodline limits, forbidden knowledge, and countless dark archives that were never meant to see the light of day.
"Move fast. End this quickly."
"Yes, sir!" the shinobi answered in unison.