Drip.
Drip.
At some point, a light rain had begun to fall from the sky.
The droplets landed cool and refreshing upon the skin.
Yet within the heart of Kirigakure, before those raindrops could even touch the ground, they were blasted away by an overwhelmingly scorching aura.
"ROOOOAR!"
"ROOOAAARRR!"
Very quickly, torrents of chakra powerful enough to tear through the heavens erupted from Yagura's body like a volcanic eruption.
BOOM!
CRACK—BANG!
In an instant, the bluestone pavement covering the area shattered apart.
The earth beneath was exposed.
The already ruined buildings left behind by the battle were instantly blown apart by the violent energy.
A colossal chakra hurricane shot into the sky from the center of Kirigakure.
"Not good! It's rampaging! The Three-Tails has completely lost control!"
"Retreat! Retreat! Everyone retreat!"
Seeing this, Mei Terumi's expression changed dramatically.
The seductive green eyes that usually carried confidence now contained nothing but panic and worry.
This was the center of the village, not some remote wilderness.
Even with Kirigakure's barriers, there was no guarantee they could stop a rampaging Three-Tails.
And—
A fully transformed Tailed Beast was dangerous.
But a rampaging Tailed Beast was worse.
A rampaging beast knew only destruction.
It didn't think.
It didn't plan.
It simply destroyed.
For a ninja village, that was a catastrophe on the level of annihilation.
Without even a second thought, Mei grabbed the still-dazed Ao.
While warning him, she coated herself in Lava Release chakra and hurled him away.
"Go find Elder Genji!"
"Lady Mei—!"
Ao's shout echoed through the air.
Emotion told him he couldn't leave Mei behind in the center of the battlefield.
But reason told him he would be useless here.
No matter how much he strained the Byakugan, it could only serve a supporting role.
Against a completely rampaging Three-Tails—
It meant nothing.
After a brief hesitation, he clenched his teeth and sprinted toward the village.
Reinforcements.
They needed reinforcements.
Immediately.
Meanwhile, at the center of the chakra storm, Yagura's body continued expanding and twisting amidst endless blue chakra.
CRACK—RIP—
His small frame split apart inch by inch.
The sounds of bones breaking and flesh tearing made everyone's skin crawl.
Very soon, a gigantic crimson turtle claw covered in spikes and slime tore through the human shell.
The claw radiated destruction.
Without hesitation, it slammed directly toward the closest target—
Uchiha Kai.
No one expected it.
The claw bypassed everyone else and struck straight at Kai.
BOOM!
Even the air exploded under the force of the attack.
"Look out!"
"Move!"
"That's the Three-Tails' true body!"
Mei Terumi's heart nearly stopped.
Seeing Kai standing motionless, she assumed the boy had been frightened into place.
Anxiety surged into her chest.
Would that mysterious little brat be flattened into a bloody smear?
Almost certainly.
As a native of Kirigakure, she understood better than anyone how terrifying a rampaging Three-Tails truly was.
This wasn't merely power.
This was primal power.
The most ancient and violent force in existence.
Even Kage-level shinobi struggled against it.
To ordinary ninja, it was something to fear.
Something to avoid.
Something that could reduce them to ashes.
Yet Kai acted as if he hadn't heard her warning.
He merely turned his head slightly and nodded toward her.
Then he lazily raised his eyes.
He didn't even glance at the world-destroying claw descending upon him.
Instead, he looked toward the massive chakra mass still expanding within the storm.
His expression remained completely calm.
"The Three-Tails, huh?"
"I was planning to see whether I could copy a few Traits from Yagura."
"Looks like you owe me a Trait now, Three-Tails."
His lips curved upward.
A smile slowly appeared in his eyes.
After all—
He wasn't robbing anyone.
The reason had already presented itself.
He was merely collecting a debt.
A perfectly reasonable and legal debt.
With a thought, an invisible edge sharp enough to cut through space quietly unfolded three feet before him.
Kai's exclusive domain.
Three Feet Before Me.
There was no earth-shattering explosion.
No dramatic declaration.
No flashy display.
Only absolute silence.
"Hm?"
Nearby, Future Sasuke sensed Kai's intention.
The power of his Mangekyō Sharingan quietly receded.
Manifesting your true Tailed Beast form in front of his second brother?
And doing so while rampaging?
Did the Three-Tails think his Mangekyō was decorative?
Still, after remembering what happened to Killer B, Sasuke silently gave up the idea of interfering.
Instead, he looked at the Three-Tails with pity.
Whether it would help or not was unclear.
But one thing was certain.
His second brother was absolutely going to squeeze it dry.
Whoosh—
The next instant, the mountain-sized turtle claw stopped exactly three feet above Kai's head.
As though it had struck an invisible wall.
An indestructible barrier no one could see.
Sizzle—
Violent chakra currents spread from the claw, attempting to corrode the unseen obstruction.
Yet the moment they entered that three-foot zone—
They vanished.
Every trace disappeared.
Even the shockwaves tearing through the air ceased to exist.
Everything.
Everything was forcibly halted at that invisible boundary.
The claw could not advance another inch.
The Three-Tails seemed unwilling to accept this.
It raised its claw and smashed downward again.
BOOM!
Another deafening impact echoed across the battlefield.
Yet the result remained unchanged.
The violent chakra and colossal claw resembled furious waves crashing against a reef.
Apart from creating ripples of chaotic energy—
Nothing happened.
The invisible barrier remained untouched.
To be more precise—
The Three-Tails couldn't even touch a single strand of Kai's hair.
"ROOOAAARRR—?"
Within the chakra hurricane, the rapidly expanding mass suddenly froze.
Its movements became stiff.
A confused roar escaped its throat.
As though it couldn't understand why two consecutive attacks had failed.
Within the storm, a gigantic crimson eye emerged.
Partially concealed.
Yet unmistakably staring toward Kai.
In response, Kai merely raised his small hand.
Toward the monstrous claw many times larger than his entire body.
Then—
He flicked a finger.
Whoosh!
Ding!
A crisp sound rang out.
Like jade striking crystal.
CRACK!
In the next moment, spiderweb-like fractures erupted from the exact point where Kai's fingertip had landed.
They spread wildly across the massive claw.
The hardest part of the Three-Tails' body—
Had cracked.
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