Dealing with the One-Tail was not particularly difficult for Yuji.
His eye technique and the Ope Ope no Mi could both completely suppress this single-tailed beast. But the reason he had not used either of those abilities directly was that he wanted to see what level of strength a Tailed Beast actually operated at in practice.
The other reason was to use this as a training exercise, to see whether he could seal a Tailed Beast relying on his own abilities alone.
Sealing a Tailed Beast took two basic forms.
The first was individual sealing, accomplished through personal strength alone.
The second was suppression first, rendering the Tailed Beast incapacitated, then sealing it collectively with a group working together.
Sealing a Tailed Beast single-handedly was obviously far more difficult than either approach done conventionally.
Looking at the current situation, Yuji could manage it. Because as long as the Tailed Beast was thoroughly suppressed and rendered unable to resist, the actual sealing that followed was relatively straightforward.
When everything was reduced to fundamentals, a Tailed Beast was nothing more than a mass of energy.
"You wait! I will not forget this! Once I get free..."
Mei and the others stepped forward in sequence, their sealing techniques manifesting as enormous chains that wrapped tightly around Shukaku and dragged it toward the prepared clay vessel waiting nearby.
Shukaku's consciousness had been disrupted for only a brief moment by Yuji's eye technique, but by the time it recovered, its body had already begun converting into pure energy form and was being drawn step by step into the container.
Realizing it was about to be sealed again, Shukaku cursed at Yuji with furious parting words.
But before it could finish speaking, it was completely stuffed into the clay vessel in energy form and the lid was closed.
"Let us go."
The matter was concluded. Yuji dusted his hands off with unhurried ease and said with a quiet smile.
Mei and the others were still recovering from the lingering shock in their hearts.
They had been called to assist and had ended up doing essentially nothing to help the Kazekage. It had felt more like watching a heart-stopping performance from the audience. And yet even so, the sheer power released by the Tailed Beast's casual movements had still made every one of them feel the smallness of being human.
Although the Fourth Kazekage had already earned the reputation of strongest Kazekage in history, the target had still been a Tailed Beast. None of them had imagined he would accomplish it so cleanly.
Mei in particular, being proficient in Sealing Jutsu herself, understood better than anyone else how difficult it was to seal a Tailed Beast single-handedly.
It required completely suppressing the Tailed Beast through the comprehensive force of individual ninjutsu power and chakra volume simultaneously, while maintaining binding control throughout.
She had also been able to see clearly that Yuji's Sealing Jutsu had incorporated an extraordinarily powerful Yin Release force fused within the Blood Release application, combined with a specific form of technique transformation.
Yuji had occasionally discussed Sealing Jutsu questions with Mei as well as visiting Bunpuku at the ninja temple. But this was the first time Mei had witnessed the true depth of Yuji's sealing ability in action.
Developing an original Sealing Jutsu required specialized innate talent. It was distinctly different from opening a path in conventional ninjutsu.
The more widely known Sealing Jutsu methods in the current ninja world were fundamentally built on five-element and eight-trigram seal transformation principles.
But Yuji's sealing technique operated through Yin and Yang force transformation.
Using blood as the foundation, the Yang force, then using the blood as a medium through which Yin force sealing patterns expanded, creating a convergence of Yin and Yang that produced enough binding power to restrain a Tailed Beast.
Even acknowledging that this particular technique had not been opened through Yuji's individual capability alone and that a substantial portion of the credit belonged to the late monk Bunpuku, the fact that Yuji had been able to execute it and successfully seal a Tailed Beast was already extraordinary beyond ordinary imagination.
Shortly after, the group returned to the Sand Village.
The clay vessel containing the sealed Tailed Beast was temporarily housed within the ninja temple under specialist supervision.
Yuji then personally attended Bunpuku's funeral alongside several of the village's senior figures. He also arranged for a gilded statue to be constructed within the ninja temple in Bunpuku's honor as a memorial and final farewell to this remarkable monk.
After resolving this matter, the following day Yuji went to find Karura.
He made his way to the village's orphanage.
At this time, the orphanage staff were almost entirely young Sand Village women, most of whom were rushing about without a moment to spare, with barely enough time to exchange a greeting with the visiting Kazekage. His appearance drew very little particular attention from them.
On one side, story characters like Deidara and Kimimaro needed tending to. On the other side, the Sand Village was in the middle of welcoming what could only be called a baby wave. Although very few families within the village had been directly affected by the war to the point of producing orphans, the sheer volume of newborns was simply enormous.
Combined with the Land of Rain campaign, which had resulted in some personnel losses, the number of children requiring the orphanage's care was still considerable.
Everyone understood that taking care of small children was not exactly easy work. This had resulted in every caretaker in the orphanage developing a noticeably short temper. Even the Kazekage himself would face a stern lecture if he carelessly got on their bad side. Yuji genuinely did not dare provoke them.
"Lord Kazekage. Have you come to inspect the work?"
After a while, Yuji entered the director's office and had a brief encounter with Karura.
He knew she was extremely busy and her time was limited.
In private, Karura regarded Yuji somewhat like a younger brother. Their relationship was not an ordinary one. But on the surface, Karura still addressed him formally as Kazekage.
"Oh," Yuji said, settling into a seat as Karura brought him a cup of tea. Before he could drink it, he felt a gaze filled with unmistakable hostility directed at him.
A small girl with golden hair was standing behind Karura, wiping her mouth, and appeared very unwelcoming of his presence.
The girl was adorable, with chubby rosy cheeks and a head of bright blonde hair.
This was Temari, already four years old.
In a cradle nearby, Gaara lay sleeping soundly.
"Temari. That is not how we behave," Karura said, gently touching her daughter's hair with a smile. "This is Lord Kazekage. He is practically your uncle."
"Hmph!"
Temari heard this, turned her head to the side, and gave Yuji her back.
From this small child's perspective, all she understood was that her mother never had time to look after the three of them, that she worked herself exhausted every day, and that it was all because this Kazekage kept finding things for her to do. Every time Yuji appeared, her mother ended up tired for a stretch of days afterward.
Yuji saw this and felt the corner of his mouth twitch.
"It seems our little Sand Village princess has quite a few complaints about me," Yuji said with gentle amusement.
"Good that you know," Temari said with undisguised displeasure.
"Then I should apologize to you," Yuji said with a smile.
"I do not want your apology."
Karura gave Temari a few words of guidance and then let her go outside to play on her own. She understood the situation clearly. For the Kazekage to come find her personally given how much the village had going on at this moment meant something important was on his mind.
"Please do not mind her," Karura said once Temari had gone, offering an apologetic smile.
"If anyone should be apologizing it is me. You had barely recovered from giving birth to Gaara before you were back at work. You have genuinely not had time for your family. Temari having opinions about me is perfectly reasonable," Yuji said quietly.
"It is not something I think of as work. I genuinely enjoy being around children," Karura said with a warm smile.
Yuji's gaze drifted briefly toward Gaara sleeping in his cradle nearby, then he looked back at Karura.
"Chiyo has already spoken with you about this, I would guess?"
"Yes," Karura said with a slight nod.
She had already sensed that this visit was about the same matter.
The Tailed Beast Jinchuriki situation.
Within the village right now, only three people were suitable to become a Jinchuriki: herself, Mei, and the recently born Gaara.
Bunpuku's passing was already known throughout the village.
"I want to make Gaara the Ichibi Jinchuriki. Although both you and Mei are qualified, Mei is ultimately an Uzumaki clan member. Even though she belongs to our village now, the senior leadership's feelings toward her are still somewhat complicated."
Karura's eyes flickered quietly.
"As for you, you are the orphanage director and one of the people responsible for the village's future education system. The general population still holds some stubborn views about Tailed Beast hosts. If you became the Jinchuriki, it might affect how people perceive your work."
"Gaara has the potential to become a truly ideal Jinchuriki. And with me here, nothing will go wrong for him. I will make sure Gaara does not face any discrimination in the village because of this. You have my word on that."
"Most importantly, Gaara is also my nephew in a sense. I trust he has what it takes."
Yuji took a sip of tea and met Karura's expression with a calm smile.
"Of course, I am not demanding your agreement. I simply wanted to hear your thoughts and Rasa's. If you have genuine concerns, the Jinchuriki matter can be set aside for now. The village is not in a hurry and does not need to rely on a Tailed Beast's strength."
"What about the future?" Karura said suddenly, her voice quiet but direct.
"I heard from Chiyo that in the future, the next ninja war might have the other hidden villages joining forces against us."
"That is not something you need to worry about. As long as I am here, the Sand Village is safe," Yuji said, slightly surprised by the directness of her question.
Then he spoke sincerely.
"Making Gaara the Jinchuriki is simply my personal preference and one possible choice. It has nothing to do with the village's strategic situation and is not a necessity."
"The reason is simply that when I look at this child, he seems unlike ordinary children. He has the qualities to become an ideal Jinchuriki."
"That is all. Do not overthink the rest of it."
"You and Rasa are his parents. Whatever I think, I must have your agreement and your willing acceptance. And whatever you both decide, I will understand and respect it."
Yuji said this with complete sincerity and emphasis.
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