"You won't get out of here unless you kill me, Sensei Sarutobi!"
"Kazama! Konoha's future rests with you now!"
As the Third Hokage clashed fiercely with Orochimaru, Kazama had already reached the location of Shukaku, the One-Tail.
"Damn it! I clearly warned Gaara before, so why is he still helping Orochimaru attack Konoha?"
Gaara was the Jinchuriki of Shukaku, the One-Tail.
Since Shukaku had now appeared, it was obvious that Gaara had used the Feigned Sleep Technique, unleashing the full power of the One-Tail.
"Gaara's under a genjutsu!"
At that moment, Kankuro and Temari arrived beside Kazama.
"Gaara told us what you said to him," Temari explained. "But when he went to ask the Fourth Kazekage about it, the Kazekage had already been killed by Orochimaru. Gaara stayed behind to cover our escape, but Orochimaru used a genjutsu to control him."
"So that's how it is. Orochimaru really will stop at nothing!" Kazama said, his voice laced with disgust.
"What do we do now?" Kankuro asked. "The Fourth Kazekage is dead, and the Third Hokage is tied up fighting Orochimaru. Without a Kage-level ninja, we can't hope to contain Shukaku's rampaging power!"
As Gaara's older siblings, Kankuro and Temari were all too aware of the terrifying strength of the One-Tail.
"Since Gaara has unleashed Shukaku, I have no choice but to transform into Shukaku myself and face him head-on," Kazama said. "If I can absorb some of Shukaku's attack power in the process, it'll boost my own strength and help me unlock the Fallen Heart Flame faster!"
With that, Kazama began gathering chakra, preparing to transform into Shukaku.
Because he had previously absorbed some of Naruto's Nine-Tails chakra, he had gained the ability to transform into the One-Tail.
"What are you doing?" Temari asked, bewildered as she watched Kazama focus his chakra.
"Don't tell me you're planning to take on Shukaku one-on-one!" Kankuro blurted out.
"What? You think I can't handle it?" Kazama shot back.
"Come on! That's a Tailed Beast we're talking about!" Temari protested. "Even if it's just the One-Tail, it's way beyond what any ninja can handle. No matter how strong you are, you can't fight a Tailed Beast!"
"Yeah, save your energy!" Kankuro added.
"If you've got time to lecture me, you'd better get out of the way!" Kazama snapped.
"Why—"
"Holy crap!"
Before Kankuro could finish, he was suddenly blasted hundreds of meters away by the sheer force of Kazama's unleashed chakra.
"Come forth, Shukaku!"
With Kazama's roar, two identical Shukaku appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Orochimaru, you madman! You actually created *two* Shukaku?!"
The Third Hokage's furious shout rang out, but Orochimaru himself was just as confused by the situation.
*What the hell is going on? Why are there two Shukaku?* he wondered, stunned.
But to keep up his façade in front of the Third Hokage, he forced a cold smirk and resumed their battle.
"I'm not seeing things, am I? Sanada Kazama's a Jinchuriki for Shukaku too?!"
Kankuro, still reeling from being blasted back, rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
"Idiot! There's no way there could be two Shukaku in this world!" Temari snapped.
"Then why the heck can Sanada Kazama turn into Shukaku?!" Kankuro demanded, even more confused.
"How should I know? That Sanada Kazama's always been a freak. It's not *that* surprising he can transform into Shukaku!" Temari retorted.
But despite her words, Temari was just as shocked as Kankuro deep down.