Chapter 88: Grandfather Sun Eats a Banana (Third Update, Seeking First Subscription)

As for the crimson turtle, though his control over the jinchuriki had not yet reached perfection, he was still far beyond Han. After entering a half-tailed-beast form, he transformed into a huge, scarlet-furred gorilla and sent half of the tower flying with a single punch. Just as a small tailed-beast bomb began to condense in his mouth...

A French flag slowly rose from the broken tower top.

The white robes of the Hyuga clan were truly useful. They had always looked otherworldly and elegant, and it turned out they were just as convenient for surrendering.

Baimu slid down the tower wall holding up a white flag.

"Elder Sun, please put away your divine power. Everyone inside here is my prisoner."

The giant gorilla form breathed out searing, sulfurous hot air. As soon as he spoke, it nearly singed Baimu's eyebrows.

"Was it you who sent that girl to announce the attack?"

"Yes, yes, that's right. It's all settled here, so hurry up and withdraw. In a little while, Namikaze Minato will be back," Baimu urged.

"You mean to say this old man would be afraid of Namikaze Minato?" The gorilla snorted out a blast of sulfur through its huge nostrils.

"No, no, of course not. He's just a little blond fly flitting around everywhere. Lord Crimson Turtle certainly wouldn't fear him. I happen to have a kunai of Namikaze Minato's right here. I'll call him back at once, so you can fight to your heart's content," Baimu said, taking out the Flying Thunder God kunai he had stolen from Hyuga Hizashi and offering it with both hands.

"..." The crimson turtle stared at Baimu for ten full seconds, then withdrew his tailed-beast chakra and returned to his original form. "This old man happens to be a little hungry today, so I'll let that blond brat off for now."

"Please, sir, have some bananas." A Fei actually produced a huge bunch of bananas.

"???" Baimu tilted his head and looked at A Fei. Since when was he carrying bananas?

"As a White Zetsu, isn't it normal for me to carry two bunches of bananas on me?" A Fei tilted his head too, looking utterly sincere.

The crimson turtle stared at the bananas for a long time, and in the end actually took them, peeled one, stuffed it into his mouth, and waved a hand. "Thoughtful of you. We withdraw."

Baimu glanced at the Leaf shinobi in the watchtower. They still had enough strength to fight.

"Lord Hizashi, are you planning to resist to the end, or surrender quietly? This Lord Crimson Turtle is notorious for his foul temper. Think of your newborn child. If you don't want him to be born fatherless, choose your words carefully. I will certainly ensure your safety. We only want ransom."

"The old man will give you ten seconds to think it over." The crimson turtle normally gave only three seconds; the extra seven were courtesy of A Fei's delicious bananas.

"So even Neji knew about it..." Hyuga Hizashi looked at his clan members and the Leaf comrades behind him, drew a deep breath, and stepped forward. "We demand proper treatment for prisoners."

"Okay. Absolutely top-tier treatment. You'll be loath to leave," Baimu said with a sigh of relief. He had truly feared Hizashi would come at him with some martyr's resolve and hand over his own head.

"My youth... is over!" Might Guy was carried out in tears.

...

Baimu was about to toss Namikaze Minato's Flying Thunder God kunai somewhere at random. That thing was a noose of death; he had no intention of carrying it around.

"Chirp chirp, mutter mutter..." Suddenly A Fei whispered something into Baimu's ear.

"Huh... that works too?" Baimu's eyes widened.

A Fei gave a thumbs-up and nodded solemnly.

"Senior Crimson Turtle, where's the convenient place for you and your men to relieve yourselves?" Baimu asked awkwardly.

The crimson turtle gave him a sidelong glance. "Did you stuff some woman in your clothes? Real men just find a tree at random. Where can't you take care of business?"

He had no idea that on some other world, a great monkey sharing his name and surname had been imprisoned for five hundred years simply because he urinated outside the toilet.

"What I mean is..." Baimu lifted the Flying Thunder God kunai and gave a meaningful, wicked smile.

A Fei's idea was disgusting, but baiting Namikaze Minato was not a bad idea. Besides, he still had a prank-related task from Jinx on his shoulders.

"You filthy brat... interesting. I'm starting to like you," the crimson turtle said with a laugh as well. Every time he fought Namikaze Minato, he ended up furious to the core. It was time to make Minato taste a little setback for once.

...

An hour later, Baimu and the crimson turtle had already begun leading the prisoners toward the capital of the Land of Grass. The last watchtower had been cleared, and there was no longer any need to remain stationed here. What came next would be an even bloodier all-out war.

Even with his Sharingan activated, Obito was still destined for manual labor. He pulled a donkey cart back to the base by himself, the flatbed loaded with the unconscious escort squad.

Looking at the half-cooled lava, the collapsed watchtower, and the defeated remnants of the force, Kakashi was stunned. He had already been toyed with plenty on his own mission, and now, when he turned around, even the tower back in his homeland had been stolen.

"Ebisu... why did the tower fall? Where's Guy?" Kakashi asked, glancing at the dejected-looking Ebisu. He and Shiranui Genma had fled at the first sign of the crimson turtle's rampage.

"We were sleeping, and then suddenly smoke started rising from the top of the tower. After that there was a sudden explosion, and the Rock Shinobi launched an attack. We thought Lord Minato would return to reinforce us, but he never came back, even after everyone had been captured. Guy seems to have been taken too..." Ebisu said miserably.

"Even someone like Guy..." Kakashi fell silent.

"I don't know why either. He was carried out."

"Did you see the one who attacked the watchtower?" Kakashi already had a bad feeling about it.

"It was too far away. I couldn't see clearly. They were wearing a black cloak, anyway," Ebisu said.

"It was that bastard who calls himself the Clown!!! While we were away, he only used sneaky tricks. If I ever run into him again, I'll beat him properly and tear off his mask to see who the hell he really is!" Obito shouted furiously. Just thinking about how the Clown had made him experience the pain of personally killing Rin sent a jolt of agony through his heart.

"Idiot. Instead of yelling, why don't you practice using your Sharingan?" Kakashi rolled his eyes. On the way here, this guy had bragged about his three-tomoe Sharingan more times than he could count.

"Oh... I think I smell something delicious," Pakkun suddenly sniffed.

Not far away, Namikaze Minato was approaching in an extremely awkward posture. With every step, he dragged his foot three times across the ground, as though he had stepped on something disgusting.

"Sensei!!! We were attacked by some clown called..." As soon as Obito saw Namikaze Minato, he ran over and launched into a nonstop account of everything they had experienced, and at the end he still made sure to boast about his three-tomoe Sharingan.

"Sniff, sniff..." Pakkun circled around the sandals at Minato's feet and sniffed. "Oh... that sharp tang... awesome!"

Minato's expression was miserable. He had only wanted to return to the city. Who could have known that the moment he landed, his Flying Thunder God kunai would be stuck in a pile of filth, and even worse, there was a line of mockery carved into the tree in front of him:

"Namikaze Minato stepped in filth beneath this tree!"

"Don't let me find out who did this!" Right now he wanted nothing more than to grind that utterly shameless bastard into dust with a Rasengan and scatter him across the whole shinobi world with Wind Release.