"You're only acting arrogant because of your huge size, huh? But did you know that a jinchūriki's full Tailed Beast transformation isn't much smaller than you?"
Watching from afar as the massive white creature resembling a five-tailed elk slammed the Colossal Titan to the ground, Nara Shikaku couldn't help but curl his lips into a faint smile.
Originally, his plan was for Akimichi Chōza and Orochimaru's summoned Manda to temporarily restrain Akashō, then have Han and Rōshi unleash their long wind-up Tailed Beast Bomb to decide the battle in a single strike.
Of course, during this time, he also had Yamanaka Inoichi continuously directing the surrounding shinobi from both sides to retreat to a safe distance. This was also preparation for a backup plan in case Akashō couldn't be killed in one blow.
And that backup plan… was Han's full Tailed Beast transformation.
Among the current jinchūriki, there was no such thing as a perfect jinchūriki yet. But full transformation and being a perfect jinchūriki were two entirely different concepts.
Han was someone capable of full transformation. Although once he entered that state, barely any of his rationality remained, it was the only option.
With all allied shinobi already withdrawn from the battlefield center, Han no longer had any concerns and could unleash his power freely.
"Among the nine Tailed Beasts, the Five-Tails is known for its raw strength. Even if it's slightly smaller than that monster, it's clearly more than enough to completely crush it."
"Then once that monster is dealt with… what do we do about the rampaging Five-Tails?" Yamanaka Inoichi asked.
Nara Shikaku calmly crossed his arms.
"That's Iwagakure's problem. What does it have to do with Konoha?"
Yamanaka Inoichi's mouth twitched slightly, silently mourning the Iwagakure shinobi for three seconds.
...
On the other side, Akashō was pierced through the waist and slammed into the ground, causing the earth itself to tremble.
Only then did he clearly see what had suddenly stabbed him through the side.
Looking at the five tails behind the creature, Akashō raised an eyebrow. Could this be the true form of the Five-Tails?
Before he could think further, the Five-Tails snorted out two streams of white vapor and roared, pushing Akashō across the ground for hundreds of meters, scraping off an entire layer of earth.
"Ugh…"
Akashō coughed up a mouthful of blood. Even the Colossal Titan, with such immense weight, was pushed this far—just how strong was the Five-Tails?
Looking down at his waist, it was nearly severed completely. Combined with a broken arm and a mangled head, this body was practically beyond repair.
A ruthless glint flashed in Akashō's eyes. With his remaining arm, he hooked onto the Five-Tails' head, and the sparse steam around him suddenly surged violently, enveloping both of them.
However, faced with steam hot enough to boil a person alive, the Five-Tails seemed completely unaffected and continued ramming into Akashō's midsection with full force.
"Tch… useless, huh."
Seeing the high-temperature steam had no effect, Akashō decisively abandoned the body and crawled out from the Colossal Titan's nape.
But the moment he emerged, the lingering steam scorched his skin, sending waves of stinging pain across his body.
At that moment, the Five-Tails noticed Akashō standing atop the Titan's head. It immediately shifted targets, pulling out its two long horns and charging at him.
"A thing that's been imprisoned as a war weapon… dares to act this arrogant?"
Facing the charging Five-Tails, Akashō showed no fear. He leapt straight toward it, landing squarely on its head.
As he soared through the air, he bit into his thumb again, which had already healed.
Crackling with pale golden lightning, Akashō laughed wildly. "Come on… Colossal!!!"
From afar, the observing shinobi saw only a streak of golden lightning descend from the sky, striking into the mist-like cloud of steam.
"BOOM!!!"
The familiar explosion erupted again. This time, however, everyone was far enough away to avoid being affected, aside from the powerful shockwave that made it hard to keep their eyes open.
"ROAR!!!"
"MOO!!!"
Two earth-shaking roars rang out simultaneously. As the smoke and steam cleared, the Five-Tails lay prone on the ground, while the Colossal Titan stood over it, one foot pinning it down as its fists rained down relentlessly.
"What!?"
Seeing this, Nara Shikaku's eyes widened. It wasn't just because the Colossal Titan had fully recovered from its injuries or the sudden reversal of the situation—it was because beside the Titan that was currently beating down the Five-Tails… lay another broken Colossal Titan!
Judging from its condition, it was the one that had been heavily injured earlier.
Then what… was this newly appeared Colossal Titan?
Compared to the shock and fear of the other shinobi, Nara Shikaku only felt a splitting headache.
Wasn't that giant monster supposed to be Bertholdt Hoover's transformation? Why was there another one? A shadow clone? No… that didn't make sense.
Could it be there were two Bertholdt Hoovers?
He couldn't figure it out—couldn't make sense of it at all!
...
At the center of the battlefield, Akashō was wildly hammering his fists into the Five-Tails' head.
"It took a transformation explosion head-on and barely got hurt… are all Tailed Beasts this ridiculous?"
For a moment, Akashō couldn't help but feel curious—how were these things even captured in the first place?
After all, defeating, killing, and capturing were three entirely different levels of difficulty. Who could possibly have that kind of power?
In his brief distraction, the Five-Tails roared and violently lifted its head, throwing off Akashō's footing. He staggered back a few steps and fell onto the ground.
The Five-Tails then opened its massive mouth, as an immense amount of red and blue chakra rapidly condensed.
A Tailed Beast Bomb?
Akashō recalled the one Han and Rōshi had used earlier in their partial transformations.
That one had only been the size of a basketball and already so powerful. This one was nearly as big as his head—if it hit, wouldn't he be blown to nothing?
His expression tightened. Without hesitation, he lunged forward, shoved the Tailed Beast Bomb back into the Five-Tails' mouth with one hand, then mounted its neck, wrapping both arms around its jaw and forcing it shut.
The Five-Tails began struggling violently, thrashing and jumping wildly. But no matter how it moved, Akashō clamped down on its neck, locking its jaw tight, refusing to loosen his grip even slightly.
...
Check out my new interesting story "Naruto: Starting by Possessing Kimimaro." A transmigrator appears in Kimimaro's body, inheriting a powerful bloodline limit.