There was no helping it.
A battle between tailed beasts was not something ordinary shinobi could participate in.
Now that the Two-Tails jinchūriki and the Seven-Tails jinchūriki were about to clash, the safest choice was to stay as far away as possible.
As Mabui retreated, she continued observing the battlefield carefully.
If Yugito failed to defeat the Seven-Tails jinchūriki, she would immediately order the Kumogakure shinobi hidden within Takigakure to swarm the Seven-Tails together.
At the same time—
Buzz! Buzz!!
Two terrifying chakra auras surged outward.
The chakra fluctuations around Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails jinchūriki, and Fū, the Seven-Tails jinchūriki, grew increasingly overwhelming.
Yugito, thanks to her perfect control over the Two-Tails, had already completely transformed into her full tailed-beast form.
Fū, however—
perhaps because she had not yet fully mastered the Seven-Tails—
had not entered a full transformation.
Because of this, Yugito's overwhelming aura faintly suppressed Fū's presence.
"Damn it! Let me out and I'll crush that insolent little kitten!"
Inside Fū's mindscape, sensing her aura being suppressed, the Seven-Tails roared furiously.
"Only if you release me completely can you defeat the Two-Tails!"
"Shut up."
Fū took a deep breath, her expression firm.
"I'm not letting you out."
She knew the monster inside her very well.
If she completely released the Seven-Tails, the entire Takigakure might be destroyed.
"Fine. Suit yourself."
The Seven-Tails flapped its wings and sneered cruelly.
"But if you lose, don't blame me for taking over your body."
"That won't happen."
Fū frowned slightly.
Feeling the immense tailed-beast chakra coursing through her body, she said confidently,
"Even just a portion of your power is enough."
"Suit yourself."
The Seven-Tails simply watched coldly.
It wanted to see how this so-called host intended to defeat a perfect jinchūriki like Yugito.
"Attack!"
Meanwhile, Yugito—now a massive blue cat demon—had no intention of waiting.
Her fully transformed body released an overwhelming surge of chakra.
Buzz!!
But just as Yugito and Fū were about to clash—
Without warning—
A terrifying pressure descended upon Takigakure.
It was an overwhelming aura that seemed capable of forcing heaven and earth themselves to submit.
This was none other than the Conqueror's Haki of the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren.
Now that Ren had reached the Six Paths level, the sheer might of his Conqueror's Haki had become unimaginably terrifying.
The instant it erupted—
Both the Two-Tails jinchūriki and the Seven-Tails jinchūriki froze in place.
If one looked closely, disbelief could be seen in the eyes of both Yugito and Fū.
The pressure seemed to be specifically targeting jinchūriki.
Their minds trembled violently as a deafening ringing filled their heads.
"Six Paths… aura?"
"Did that old man from the Six Paths make a move?"
"That can't be right. Didn't he already stop interfering with the shinobi world?"
Inside Yugito and Fū, the Two-Tails and Seven-Tails were equally stunned.
As tailed beasts, they were extremely sensitive to oppressive auras.
Yet this overwhelming pressure crashing down upon them made even the tailed beasts themselves tremble uncontrollably.
Something like this—
was completely abnormal.
"Th-this… such terrifying pressure…"
"I feel like I can't hold on…"
"I'm going to kneel…"
Meanwhile, the most shocked people of all were the Kumogakure and Takigakure shinobi who had already retreated.
They had been waiting to watch the battle between the Two-Tails and Seven-Tails.
Instead—
an aura descended that felt capable of forcing heaven and earth to submit.
Fear flooded their hearts.
Their minds gradually collapsed under the pressure.
Thud.
Thud.
The sound of people dropping to their knees echoed everywhere.
In less than a few seconds—
every Kumogakure shinobi and Takigakure shinobi present had uncontrollably fallen to their knees.
The scene was utterly shocking.
Anyone observing Takigakure at that moment would see—
Every shinobi kneeling on the ground.
Even the Two-Tails jinchūriki and the Seven-Tails jinchūriki—
in their tailed-beast forms—
had been forced flat against the ground by the pressure.
The sight looked almost absurd.
"Boring."
Whoosh!!
A figure suddenly descended.
Uchiha Ren appeared in the center of the plaza.
With a calm expression, he glanced at the Two-Tails jinchūriki and the Seven-Tails jinchūriki.
"I only came to collect the Seven-Tails."
"But it seems the Two-Tails jinchūriki has delivered herself as well."
Boom!!
The moment everyone saw him—
especially the distinctive Hokage robe he was wearing—
all the Kumogakure and Takigakure shinobi kneeling on the ground froze in shock.
Even Yugito and Fū stared at him in shock.
After all—
none of them had expected that the God of the shinobi world, the Fifth Hokage, would appear in Takigakure.
This was the man said to have surpassed the legendary shinobi Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.
More importantly—
the current Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, was considered an unbeatable existence in the shinobi world.
So why…
Why had he come to Takigakure?
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