The alarm sounded at dawn.
A crimson mist crept over the Spiritfolk village as the corrupted spirit beast emerged from the eastern forest. Towering at nearly twenty feet, its body pulsed with corrupted chakra, and its blackened fur was streaked with glowing red fissures. Its multiple eyes burned with hatred and madness.
Villagers scrambled to evacuate the outer homes as spiritfolk warriors clashed with the beast, their elemental attacks barely scratching its hide. The creature roared, releasing a wave of corrosive chakra that sent several fighters flying.
Jon stood atop one of the elevated walkways, his Sharingan glowing, sensing the tailed beast chakra inside the monster—this wasn't a normal spirit beast. It had absorbed dark fragments of Gyūki's chakra that had leaked from Jon's body.
He clenched his fists, knowing what he had to do.
Jon (to himself):
"If I don't stop it… they'll all die."
He closed his eyes. Blue chakra flared around him, violently, before turning to a deep, dark red. Tails of chakra began forming from behind—one, pulsing and volatile. Bones creaked beneath his skin, and steam hissed from his arms.
Jon (gritting his teeth):
"Gyūki… lend me your power. Just this once."
The One-Tail Chakra Cloak enveloped him fully—his skin glowing red, with bubbling chakra armor over his limbs. Black markings formed across his body, and his speed became inhuman.
With a roar, he vanished and reappeared in front of the beast, slamming it in the face with a chakra-coated punch that cratered the earth.
The battle was savage. Jon ducked under slashes, summoned shadow clones, and unleashed taijutsu enhanced by Gyūki's power. Fire and lightning crackled from his fingertips. The corrupted beast howled in agony but fought back with venomous strikes, tearing through the village's perimeter.
Satsuki rushed to help the villagers escape, while Asha, despite her pregnancy, stood at the rear, helping with healing salves and barriers.
Then, something went wrong.
Jon, overwhelmed by Gyūki's malevolent chakra, began to change. His chakra tail thickened, a second one half-formed. His eyes turned bestial. He roared—not like a man, but a tailed beast. The corrupted creature had been struck down—but now, Jon was the real threat.