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After waking up, Yagura spent a week recovering in the hospital.
His grandfather tore into him.
Mangetsu and the other two came to visit.
Even his parents, who’d been out on missions, managed to rush back.
His father, Karatachi Natsuhiko, had the same personality as his son.
Seeing the kid was fine, he spent the entire visit roasting him.
His mother, Karatachi Hiyori, was an angel, but even she lost her temper when she saw what Yagura had done to himself.
Even his old man didn’t bail him out this time.
Yagura’s distress signals went completely ignored.
Serves you right, you little brat!
Yagura had no defense.
He could only nod and nod and keep nodding, admitting he was wrong and swearing he’d never do it again, then agree to a whole list of rules his grandfather and mother laid down.
His attitude was appropriately contrite.
They let him off the hook.
His parents couldn’t stay long.
After two nights, they headed back out to the Land of Water’s border.
Yagura could finally breathe.
Thank god they’re gone!
One other person visited during his hospital stay.
Munashi Jinpachi.
They barely exchanged words.
He seemed to be there only to confirm Yagura wasn’t dead or crippled.
Once satisfied, Munashi Jinpachi left.
The whole visit lasted maybe five minutes.
“Finally! Home!”
The moment Yagura stepped into his familiar living room, he dropped onto his personal soft sofa.
The sofa and the rest of the room’s decor weren’t just mismatched.
They were aggressively incompatible.
Because Yagura had bought it himself, for himself.
Grandpa Karatachi sat stiff-backed on his mahogany sofa, poured tea, and slid a cup across.
“Drink.”
“Thanks, Grandpa.”
Yagura blew on the surface to cool it, took a sip, and made conversation.
“Why couldn’t Mom and Dad stay longer? Is the border really that tense?”
Grandpa Karatachi knew the usual brush-off, ‘kids shouldn’t ask so many questions,’ wouldn’t work on Yagura.
So he ignored the question entirely and drank his tea.
“…” So it is tense.
Yagura shrugged.
He took the silence as confirmation.
He remembered.
In just a few years, the Third Shinobi World War would begin.
But as long as the root causes remained unresolved, the war would happen regardless.
With or without Sasori.
Yagura set down his cup and looked his grandfather in the eye.
The shift in his expression made Grandpa Karatachi’s heart skip.
What’s this kid planning now?
Let me swallow this tea first.
Yagura didn’t dive straight in.
No need to give his grandfather a heart attack.
“Grandpa, our village’s tailed beasts. The Three-Tails and Six-Tails. Where are their jinchuriki?”
“Have you forgotten about Mangetsu and the others?”
Grandpa Karatachi knew everything.
Yagura’s declaration about becoming Fourth Mizukage, beating Mangetsu’s group into submission, promising them spots in the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
The ninja assigned to shadow Yagura had reported it all.
So when Yagura asked about the jinchuriki, Grandpa Karatachi’s first thought was that those two were Yagura’s next targets for recruitment.
It took Yagura a moment to figure out why his grandfather brought up Mangetsu.
He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but kept his face neutral and waited.
“Unfortunately, you’ll be disappointed. The Hidden Mist doesn’t have jinchuriki in the strict sense right now.”
Grandpa Karatachi continued, “The Six-Tails jinchuriki has been chosen, but he’s still a child. Too young. The village decided to wait a few years before sealing the Six-Tails inside him.”
Utakata.
Right.
Yagura nodded internally.
That kid was even younger than him.
“There’s no candidate for the Three-Tails jinchuriki. The Three-Tails is currently held in the village under guard by elite ninja. I told you this before when you asked about our tailed beasts. Forget?”
He hadn’t.
Yagura’s steady gaze conveyed that clearly.
And once the Three-Tails came up, the desire and heat in Yagura’s eyes became impossible to hide.
Grandpa Karatachi sensed where this was heading.
Yagura straightened.
His voice was solemn, utterly resolute.
“Grandpa, I want to become the Three-Tails’ jinchuriki.”
The Three-Tails jinchuriki.
That was why Yagura had sat down for tea.
Grandpa Karatachi nearly slammed the table.
He almost roared “Absolutely not!” at his infuriating grandson.
But he had self-control.
Age brought that much, at least.
So he calmly took a sip of tea.
A few seconds of silence.
Then: “Yagura.”
Yagura nodded eagerly.
“How about we discuss the border situation instead.”
“…”
The Three-Tails jinchuriki.
Grandpa Karatachi considered it seriously.
So far, Yagura had charted his own training path.
Every decision had been his own.
And he’d never been wrong.
Grandpa Karatachi knew Yagura’s full strength and capabilities better than anyone in the shinobi world.
Bar none.
The Karatachi clan’s Coral Palm.
Lightning Release chakra rivaling the Raikage’s.
That Lightning Release blade technique, Thunderclap Flash.
And his completely unique approach to Water Release development…
If Yagura’s chakra reserves were sufficient for high-level Water Release, it would already be one of his trump cards.
“Is it the chakra?”
Grandpa Karatachi connected the dots instantly.
Yagura paused.
“Not entirely. Becoming a tailed beast jinchuriki would give me inexhaustible chakra, yes. But more importantly, it raises my upper limit.”
“You think being a jinchuriki is easy? You think you can just use a tailed beast’s power however you want?”
Grandpa Karatachi’s frown deepened.
He was deeply dissatisfied with Yagura’s reckless optimism.
Throughout shinobi history, there had been countless cases of jinchuriki losing control.
The tailed beast would burst free and rampage.
Even if the beast was eventually sealed again, the jinchuriki died.
“I wouldn’t say ‘however I want.'”
Yagura leaned forward, hands on the table.
“But I’m confident.”
Grandpa Karatachi said nothing.
“As proof, I know the Three-Tails’ name.”
Yagura smiled.
“The Three-Tails is called Isobu. And for the record, the Six-Tails is Saiken. The Sage of Six Paths told me in a dream.”
The conversation ended amicably enough.
Grandpa Karatachi just really wanted to hit his grandson.
Why did his son and daughter-in-law have to leave so quickly?
If they were still home, they could’ve delivered a proper three-on-one beatdown.
“I’ll ask the Third Mizukage’s opinion. The village has been searching for a suitable jinchuriki candidate.”
Grandpa Karatachi pulled on his coat and stood at the door.
“Rest at home. Don’t get your hopes up. The Third may not agree.”
From various rumors and channels, Yagura knew exactly what state the Third Mizukage was in.
He understood perfectly.
“Got it.”
➤ Next: The Third Mizukage