Yamanaka Inoichi nodded firmly.
Right...no matter what happened, they were partners.
The Third Kazekage didn't care that his jutsu had been blocked.
He threw a glance toward the battlefield where Shukaku and Shiki were clashing, and said proudly:
"The final victory of this war will belong to Sunagakure."
"Not necessarily."
Shikaku shrugged lazily, completely unconcerned by Kazekage's bluster.
As long as he was alive, he would not let the Third Kazekage interfere with the other fronts.
"Tch…"
The Third Kazekage clicked his tongue.
This man was far too calm.
Their teamwork was airtight—so tight that even he, the strongest Kazekage in history, couldn't find an opening.
He tried provoking them, hoping they'd slip.
But Shikaku saw through it instantly.
The Kazekage grew even more annoyed.
"Enough! Just die already!"
He attacked again, frustrated beyond belief.
But Shikaku merely tightened his seal, shadow stretching.
"Trust him."
His voice was calm, steady.
Inoichi and Chōza exchanged glances, then nodded deeply.
There was nothing they could do but believe in Shiki now.
--
"Go to hell, you little ant!!"
Shukaku finally completed his Tailed Beast Bomb.
A dense sphere of black chakra spun violently—unstable, destructive, and filled with malice.
Shiki didn't retreat.
Instead, pitch-black Armament Haki surged up his arms, coiling around his twin blades like living ink.
Golden-lion aura roared around him.
He crossed his blades before him, lifting his chin with that familiar arrogant smile.
"I'm Shiki—
the one who would stand above the clouds.
I'm not dying here, not ever."
His voice carried across the entire battlefield.
Shukaku roared.
"Die!!!"
"BOOOOM!!"
The enormous Tailed Beast Bomb launched like a meteor, tearing the air apart as it rushed straight toward Shiki.
Under the shadow of that apocalyptic chakra sphere, countless shinobi on both sides whispered the same thing:
"He's insane…"
"Is he trying to kill himself?"
"No one survives a Tailed Beast Bomb—!"
But Shiki didn't dodge.
He charged straight into it.
Under that crushing pressure, his voice rang out:
"Lion Might — METEOR SLASH!!!"
A golden arc burned into existence—bright as a falling star.
Fuwa-Fuwa Fruit power.
Armament Haki.
Observation Haki.
Swordsmanship at the level of a master swordsman—
Everything Shiki possessed erupted at once.
The light was so intense that many shinobi instinctively closed their eyes.
And in that blazing light…
"Chop."
A calm whisper reached everyone's ears.
"—!!"
When the glare faded…
Every eye widened.
The Tailed Beast Bomb
...was cut in half.
Split open cleanly by twin blades.
"BOOOOOOOM!!!!"
The divided Tailed Beast Bomb shot past Shiki, flying far into the distance before exploding in twin eruptions that shook the earth.
Wind pressure blasted Shiki's clothes wildly, but he didn't flinch.
He simply smiled down at Shukaku.
Shukaku froze.
His large, coin-shaped eyes shook violently.
"W-W-What…?
He—cut my jutsu?
My Tailed Beast Bomb!?"
A tailed beast—stunned speechless.
"Lion Might…"
Shiki's voice echoed in the sky.
Shukaku felt real fear for the first time.
"BEAST KING SLASH!!!"
A massive golden slash, shaped like the roaring head of a lion, shot toward Shukaku's arm with overwhelming force.
"Aaaaagh—!!"
Even though a tailed beast couldn't truly die, the pain was very real.
Shukaku's massive tanuki arm was severed cleanly, crashing to the ground in an avalanche of sand.
He howled, chakra surging wildly as sand swirled around him, rapidly rebuilding the lost limb.
But this time—
Shiki didn't give him the chance.
He dropped from the sky like a falling star, slamming one blade into the ground.
"Earth Scroll—Four Divine Beasts!"
"ROOOAR!! ROOOAR!! ROOOAR!! ROOOAR!!"
Out of the churning sand burst four colossal figures...
Seiryū, Byakko, Suzaku, and Genbu—four colossal avatars of sand and chakra—rose into motion under Shiki's Lion Might, sustained by the raw, still-developing power of the Fuwa-Fuwa Fruit.
Even if his fruit mastery wasn't perfect, at this range...
it was more than enough to devour a weakened tailed beast.
"You ants! You damn little ANTS!!"
Shukaku swung wildly with his newly-formed arm, smashing one Divine Beast after another into clouds of sand but every time one collapsed, new sand reformed it immediately.
As long as Shiki's stamina held, these manifestations wouldn't dissipate.
Seeing the tailed beast thrashing inside the storm of sand and beasts, Shiki narrowed his eyes.
He yanked his blade free, stepped once—
BOOM.
Sand erupted around Shukaku's feet, rising like pillars.
More and more streams of sand swirled upward, merging with the Divine Beasts, spiraling around Shukaku until they wrapped him in a massive, layered cocoon of sand.
Only his head was left exposed.
"LET ME OUT!! YOU DAMN ANT, LET ME OUT! I'LL KILL YOU—!!"
"Idiot."
Shiki raised both blades—
the surviving sword in one hand, and the broken remains in the other.
"Lion Might — Severing Polar Wave!"
The world flashed gold.
"BOOOOOOOM!!!!"
The explosion ripped across the battlefield.
Every shinobi—Leaf or Sand—shielded their eyes from the blinding light and shockwave.
When the dust slowly settled…
Shukaku's towering body was gone.
Only a massive crater remained—deep, clean, and smoking.
At the bottom...
Shiki landed lightly, walking toward the fallen form lying amid the sand.
It was Bunpuku, the One-Tail's jinchūriki.
Unconscious.
Barely breathing.
All chakra drained.
"It looks like… that's my win."
Even as a jinchūriki, Bunpuku's personal strength was nothing notable.
Once Shukaku was forced out and defeated, Bunpuku's body couldn't withstand the recoil.
Shiki exhaled, lifting what remained of his blade.
The entire sword had shattered from the clash with the Tailed Beast Bomb.
Only the hilt and a few jagged fragments remained.
"Tch… knew a normal ninja blade wouldn't last."
He tossed the useless hilt away.
Bunpuku lay motionless.
Shukaku was gone—returned to pure chakra, scattered into the desert.
The tailed beast would eventually re-form somewhere, but for now...
Shiki had completely defeated Ichibi.
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