246. Oversight

Standing atop the ferocious Eight-Tails, arms crossed, Uchiha Madara gazed down at Senju Hashirama, who leaped toward him. Despite his efforts, he couldn't suppress the grin forming at the corners of his mouth.

“Hashirama, how many did you catch?”
Madara raised his chin and asked, fully knowing the answer.

This feeling of victory was something he hadn't tasted in years—it deserved to be savored.

Hashirama, undisturbed by the question, scratched the back of his head with an honest smile.
“I caught three.”

In his view, he had captured the Five-Tails, Six-Tails, and Nine-Tails. The giant beetle? That didn’t count as a tailed beast—after all, it lacked tails.

“Three, you say?”

Among the spectators, Uchiha Gin quietly observed, munching on sunflower seeds. At Hashirama’s claim, his hand froze mid-crack, his usually vacant gaze now tinged with doubt. Gin clearly sensed the presence of four tailed beasts behind Hashirama. How did it become three?

“Then, this time, I win!”
Madara suppressed his inner joy and looked down at Hashirama, who appeared slightly dejected. He announced with a loud, clear voice.

“I lost,” Hashirama admitted candidly.
Honest and forthright, he was a man who always took responsibility and never schemed in the shadows.

The surrounding onlookers were shocked by Hashirama’s words. Members of the Shinobi Alliance began calculating how to build good relations with the Uchiha clan, their gazes turning toward Uchiha Gin.

“We’ve all spent money on gacha games before—doesn’t that count as offerings to the Uchiha clan? Maybe they’ll go easy on us?” whispered Shimura Kenichi anxiously to his comrades.

“It’s hard to say, Kenichi,” replied Sarutobi Sasuke, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

Meanwhile, Gin frowned slightly but remained silent. Beside him, Uchiha Izuna clenched his fists excitedly. Watching Hashirama bow his head to Madara, Izuna felt immense satisfaction.

“If only Tobirama would bow to me,” he thought gleefully.

“Cousin, does this mean we Uchiha have it all?”
Izuna turned to Gin with anticipation.

“I don’t know about having it all, but someone’s definitely not happy,” Gin replied with a sigh.

Standing on the Eight-Tails, Madara’s long black hair flowed in the wind. The joy of defeating Hashirama eclipsed even the thrill of becoming Hokage.

“Madara, I’ll personally design your Hokage monument! It’ll look amazing!”
Hashirama leaped atop the Eight-Tails, smiling sincerely at his old friend.

“Hmph, make sure it’s slim-faced,” Madara quipped, feeling more satisfied than ever.

“Wait!”

Before everything could be finalized, a blue blur flashed into view—Tobirama. Gritting his teeth, he confronted his older brother.


“Brother! The Hokage position is of utmost importance. The contest isn’t over yet, and declaring a winner now is premature!”

“But I already lost,” Hashirama replied, embarrassed.

“No way!” Izuna chimed in, loudly defending Madara.

Tobirama scoffed. “There’s still one tailed beast unaccounted for. If Madara captures it, then he rightfully earns the Hokage title. But if my brother captures it, we need to reconsider.”

“That’s absurd!” Izuna’s eyes flared red, and a faint yellow aura began to take shape behind him.

“Enough!” Hashirama’s voice boomed as purple chakra radiated from his body, silencing the argument.

“I admit my defeat. Let’s end this honorably,” he said with a smile to Madara, ignoring Tobirama’s protests.

Madara smirked. “I’m used to his antics.”

The Shinobi Alliance marveled at Hashirama’s grace and integrity. Meanwhile, Gin glanced at the four imprisoned tailed beasts in the distance, scratching his head in confusion.

“Is Hashirama faking this loss? Those are some pretty obvious tailed beasts.”

“Madara, remember catching bugs in the forest when we were kids?”
With the Hokage seat no longer a concern, Hashirama began reminiscing with Madara.

“Of course! My beetles were always the strongest,” Madara replied with a rare smile.

“Well, on my latest trip, I caught an incredibly fierce bug. I thought I’d show it off to you,” Hashirama said sheepishly.

“How fierce?”
Madara’s curiosity was piqued.

Hashirama pointed toward one of the wooden cages. “It’s as fierce as a tailed beast! I’ll gift it to you as congratulations for becoming Hokage.”

Madara leaped over to the cage. Inside was a giant beetle with a tough exoskeleton, a massive horn, and sharp mandibles. His eyes gleamed with admiration.

“This... is amazing!” Madara exclaimed, his joy unmistakable.

Tobirama, standing off to the side, muttered under his breath, “Immature fools…”


“Are you sure you want to give this to me?”
“Of course~”

That’s the Seven-Tails!

As the only one in the entire crowd who knew the truth, Uchiha Gin stared expressionlessly at the Seven-Tails Chomei, who was curling its wings into a ball.

Who would’ve thought? Among the nine tailed beasts, the smartest one turned out to be a caterpillar.

Disguising itself as a harmless beetle to fool others—it was truly despicable!

“Big Brother! I told you to catch a tailed beast, and you bring back this thing?”

Looking at the two calmly chatting individuals, Senju Tobirama was almost shaking with anger.

Wasting time catching such a useless creature during such an important competition, causing him to lose the Hokage title—this was unforgivable!

“Uh, I caught it along the way!”

Feeling his brother’s rage, Senju Hashirama shrank his neck and explained pitifully, “I swear, I found this beetle by chance while looking for the Seven-Tails in the Land of Waterfalls.”

“And the Seven-Tails?”

“I didn’t find it. Maybe it went out to play~”

Though slightly disappointed, Hashirama seemed ready to move on.

“ROAR!!!”

Before the group could continue, a thunderous roar exploded from the ground, carrying a terrifying pressure that shook the crowd to their core. The weaker ones even felt faint.

“Despicable humans! Release me at once!”

In the wooden cage created by Hashirama, a fiery red figure arched its back, its foul-smelling mouth wide open as it spoke human words filled with resentment.

“Ah! Tailed beasts can talk?”

Unaffected by the Nine-Tails' oppressive aura, Senju Itama asked curiously, tugging at Uchiha Gin’s sleeve.

“Inuzuka’s dogs can talk. Why wouldn’t a tailed beast? That’s species discrimination.”

Uchiha Gin rolled his eyes and clarified. Then, he glanced at the now-awake Nine-Tails with his dead-fish eyes, a hint of confusion flashing through them.

Why had the Nine-Tails woken up?

“Despicable humans, let us go!”

The Five-Tails and Six-Tails also regained consciousness, their violent temperaments immediately flaring. However, afraid of the chakra-absorbing properties of Hashirama’s wooden cage, they could only bark in frustration.

Chomei: I’m just a caterpillar...

Unlike the others, the Seven-Tails remained calm. Pretending to be unconscious, it planned the perfect escape in its mind, staying still as the other tailed beasts roared.

“Hashirama, need my help?”

Confident in his ability to handle tailed beasts, Uchiha Madara smugly offered assistance.

“No need. They won’t escape.”

Hashirama, trusting his wood-style cage, smiled and declined.

“Wake up, you idiots!”

The Nine-Tails, after multiple failed attempts to escape, realized the wooden cage completely nullified its power. Resigned, it stared at the free tailed beasts outside and shouted.

“Look at their eyes!”

The Five-Tails, still calm despite emitting steam, pointed out something unusual.

“Damn it, even after death, these two brothers are a nuisance!”

The Nine-Tails cursed upon realizing the truth.

“Hashirama, let’s catch the last one. It doesn’t feel right leaving one out.”

Madara, ever the perfectionist, suggested.

“I thought the same, but I didn’t find the Seven Tails in the Land of Waterfalls.”

Hashirama spread his hands helplessly.

“Maybe we can interrogate the tailed beasts. They might know each other.”

Recalling an earlier interaction between the Five-Tails and Six-Tails, Hashirama speculated.

“Great! Ask them quickly!”

Excited by the idea, Hashirama urged Madara.

Madara’s red eyes gleamed as he focused on one tailed beast, his sinister aura spreading.

“The last tailed beast—where is it?”

The targeted tailed beast, Saiken (the Six-Tails), blinked and replied, “In the Land of Wind.”

“The Land of Wind? Why would it go there?”

Both Madara and Hashirama were puzzled.

“Ask for more details.”

“The tailed beast is hiding in a temple, among monks and incense.”

“What?! A tailed beast became a monk?”

Hashirama and Madara were utterly baffled.

“Shut up, you dumb turtle!”

The Nine-Tails cursed in frustration, furious at the betrayal.

“Don’t worry. Once we catch the Seven-Tails, we’ll deal with you all properly.”

Madara coldly declared, ignoring the Nine-Tails' protests.

At that moment, the Nine-Tails noticed something strange. “Wait... you said you haven’t caught the Seven-Tails?”

The realization hit. It stopped forming its Tailed Beast Bomb and looked around, its eyes landing on the pretending-to-be-dead Chomei.

“Wait a minute... this bug is the Seven-Tails!”

The revelation stunned everyone.

Madara and Hashirama exchanged confused glances. “The bug... is the Seven-Tails?”

“HAHA! Both sides have equal tailed beasts now. On to the next round!” Tobirama gleefully declared.