Aside from the Kirigakure shinobi—
There was no way he was going to let the Three-Tails, which had delivered itself to his doorstep, slip away.
If it were the Takeshi from a few years ago, he would've definitely kept his distance from a Tailed Beast.
After all, the idea that a Jinchūriki dies if the Tailed Beast is extracted was terrifying—completely incompatible with Takeshi's dream of living peacefully as a wealthy man.
But now, after experiencing the baptism of war, Takeshi had too many things he wanted to do; and now that he knew that damn Madara had his eye on him, becoming stronger had become a necessity.
"Hit the masked man with Flying Thunder God's Kidney Strike, then use my strongest ninjutsu to wipe out the Kirigakure shinobi. In the chaos, unleash the Four Symbols Seal..."
Faced with this massive threat, Takeshi's mind worked at full capacity. In no time, he devised what he believed to be a flawless battle plan.
Meanwhile, the preparations inside the cave were nearing their end. Uchiha Setsuna walked excitedly toward Takeshi, ready to witness up close the moment the enemy got slammed by a Tailed Beast.
"Flying Thunder God's Kidney Strike!"
With Takeshi's shout, Setsuna had barely taken two steps when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his waist. Whipping his head around, he saw three shining senbon lodged deep into his side.
"Release!"
With a swift kick, Takeshi knocked away two Kirigakure seal team members, dispelling the genjutsu from his shadow clone. Then he pulled a smoke bomb from his ninja tool pouch and slammed it hard onto the ground.
"You damn brat!"
Realizing his genjutsu had been broken, Setsuna furiously scanned the area, trying to pierce through the smoke with his Sharingan.
The Kirigakure shinobi were also caught off guard by the sudden attack. Aside from the seal team who had to keep the Tailed Beast restrained, the rest immediately joined in the search effort.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Takeshi knew well that the smoke bomb would only obscure vision for a moment. The masked man with the Sharingan would soon see through it, so he didn't waste any time and followed the plan—activating the Shadow Clone Technique.
Five Takeshi clones appeared out of thin air, spreading out quickly to take positions at five key points in the cave.
In such a semi-enclosed space, this jutsu was the ideal choice.
And at the same time, it was also the most destructive technique Takeshi currently had in his arsenal.
"Five Elements: Great Bullet Barrage Technique!"
A power inherited from his mentor—time to let them feel it firsthand!
The collision of chakra from five different elements triggered a tremendous explosion.
In the ensuing shockwave, many Kirigakure shinobi had no time to react and were instantly obliterated.
Seeing through the devastation with his Sharingan, Setsuna didn't hesitate. He turned and bolted toward the cave entrance. But just as he was about to exit, a strange numbness overtook his body. His legs gave out, and he collapsed at the mouth of the cave, only to be blown away by the blast wave.
Even so, the explosion showed no signs of stopping. As massive amounts of energy accumulated within the cave, the manmade cavern could no longer bear the force. Its already-thin ceiling was blasted open, and a rain of falling rocks buried the Three-Tails, who had just managed to break free from the seal.
"Whew... as expected, using this jutsu in an enclosed space is way more destructive than in the open."
Feeling the emptiness inside his body, Takeshi sighed. To pull this off, he had poured nearly all of his chakra into that jutsu—leaving only enough to perform the sealing technique and teleport away with Flying Thunder God.
No time to confirm whether the area was safe—he knew this kind of explosion would draw in even more Kirigakure forces. As the roaring subsided, Takeshi dashed straight toward the largest mound of rubble.
That's where the Three-Tails was buried!
"Sealing Technique: Four Symbols Seal!"
Slamming his palm onto the exposed body of the Three-Tails, Takeshi guided a massive flow of pure chakra into himself.
An intense burning sensation like molten iron seared through his body. The sheer weight of the chakra nearly crushed him, making it almost impossible to maintain the sealing technique.
"Damn it, hold on, body!"
With a furious roar, Takeshi forced himself to stay conscious and keep the seal active. He had come this far—there was no way he could retreat now!
In that moment, countless memories flashed through his mind.
Among them were glimpses of Kakashi, the foolish face of Obito, and the familiar figures of Asuma, Guy, and Anko.
But the image that lingered... was the old woman in Amegakure who had lost her son.
"Tch, I'm way too soft-hearted. Why am I thinking about her at a time like this?"
Takeshi bit his lip hard—so hard that it tore open a deep gash—snapping himself out of his daze.
Fortunately, whether due to the seal quality or the shock from the explosion, the Three-Tails made no effort to resist, allowing the sealing process to continue smoothly.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it—speed it up already!"
Even so, the Three-Tails' massive form had only shrunk to a bit more than half its original size.
He had clearly underestimated the sheer volume of a Tailed Beast's chakra. If he'd known, maybe he should've let Setsuna subdue the beast first, have the Kirigakure shinobi complete the sealing, and then simply reinforced it with his own technique afterward.
Takeshi scoffed at himself for the thought.
No, that wouldn't work either—they'd probably embed some strange charm into his heart.
He had no idea how long had passed, but finally, the gigantic form of the Three-Tails vanished, transforming into a stream of chakra that flowed into Takeshi's body.
"Ugh... I'm dead tired—"
Just as Takeshi staggered and started to speak, he heard the unmistakable sound of a blade piercing flesh.
A gleaming blade had run straight through his abdomen, protruding visibly before his eyes.
"Hah... hah... hah... Damn Shimura brat... I really underestimated you."
Setsuna's venomous voice echoed from behind.
Takeshi turned his head with difficulty, catching sight of the other's pitiful state.
The trench coat Setsuna had worn was now just a few ragged strips clinging to his body. Half his body was scorched red from the intense heat, and his waist, where Takeshi had struck him, had lost most of its flesh. His intestines could be seen writhing inside, and as for his kidney—it had probably been blown halfway across the battlefield.
"You... just... won't... die... huh..."
The excruciating pain made it impossible for Takeshi to finish his curse. He could only watch helplessly as the blade slowly drove deeper into his body.
"Die!"
Seeing that just a bit more force would push the blade all the way through, Setsuna gritted his teeth and moved to strike.
But Takeshi slammed an elbow into his face.
"Old bastard... if you wanted me dead, you should've gone for the heart!"
With a bloodied smile, Takeshi coughed up a mouthful of blood. Using the last bit of his strength, he forced Setsuna's hand to release the hilt—and then activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.