Elder Chiyo's puppet descended in a vicious arc, its blade singing through the air. Tsunade rolled aside with practiced grace, and the weapon cratered the earth where she'd stood a heartbeat before. The ground split open like a wound, a massive boulder erupting upward.
She kicked it square at the puppet.
The construct deployed its blue chakra shield, managing to block—but barely. The impact sent pieces scattering. The puppet convulsed, its movements becoming sluggish and uncoordinated.
Chiyo's teeth ground together.
That brat Seiran had forced her hand. She'd been compelled to replace nearly all the metal in the puppet—weapons, joints, everything. The result was catastrophic. Her puppet's strength had plummeted. A hit like that would have left it unmarked before. Now it was half-destroyed.
Tsunade saw it immediately. A smirk tugged at her lips.
Chiyo wasn't fighting at full power.
More than that—Tsunade could see the hesitation in how she moved, the careful precision replacing raw strength. Her hemophobia hadn't fully healed. Without Seiran's constant intervention and psychological conditioning, the old woman was operating at a fraction of her true capability. Reaching peak strength would require time.
Time Tsunade wouldn't give her.
"Still got it, Chiyo?" Tsunade taunted, her voice sharp. "I have to say—I'm not impressed."
"Sharp-tongued brat!" Chiyo's eyes flashed red. She snarled and manipulated the puppet into another strike, this one aimed at the peak above them.
---
Elsewhere on the battlefield, the Fourth Kazekage remained hidden among the Sand shinobi, sensor ninja surrounding him in a loose perimeter. He'd restrained himself, launching gold dust attacks only when necessary. Patience. That was the strategy.
Except patience was beginning to fray.
"Why haven't you found him yet?" Rasa's voice was low, tense. His jaw clenched.
Everything hinged on this. His duel with Seiran would determine the war's outcome. He'd even sacrificed the opportunity for a full-scale assault to preserve his strength, to seize the perfect moment and eliminate that bastard cleanly.
But Seiran had caught on. The brat hadn't shown himself once.
"Status," Rasa demanded.
The sensor ninja behind him wiped sweat from his brow. "Nothing. We've covered most of the battlefield. No sign of him anywhere."
Rasa's eyes narrowed. That arrogant Hyuga whelp. By hunting him, Rasa had been forced to limit his movements, to avoid the large-scale attacks that were the Kazekage's strength.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru had seized the opportunity. Snakes erupted from his form in a writhing tide, carving through the regular Sand shinobi like a scythe through wheat. The battle was becoming one-sided.
Rasa took a sharp breath. His expression hardened.
"Chiyo has failed," he muttered. "I can't rely on her anymore." His eyes turned cold as winter. "Pass the order. Execute the Tailed Beast release plan."
The sensor ninja's face paled, but he didn't hesitate. "Yes, Lord Kazekage!"
---
On the opposite flank of the battlefield, another sensor ninja's eyes snapped open.
"Lord Kazekage has given the order. Prepare for Tailed Beast deployment."
"So soon?" The elite jonin beside Bunpuku exchanged a glance with the old monk. "Preparations are almost complete. I'm... I'm sorry, Lord Bunpuku."
Bunpuku's weathered face remained serene, his hands clasped before him. "I understand. This is the path I chose." He gazed out at the distant chaos—the blood, the corpses, the screams. "If this ends the war sooner, fewer will die. I have no regrets."
He had volunteered to become Shukaku's vessel decades ago, sealing himself away in the temple to contain the beast. This day had always been inevitable. He'd made peace with it long ago.
The sealing-class ninja surrounding him began their work, methodically lifting the seals that bound Shukaku within him. Violent chakra began leaking free, the air itself growing thick and distorted.
Bunpuku remained still, accepting.
Then the chakra erupted.
"HAHAHAHA! This uncle is free! FINALLY FREE!"
Shukaku's voice tore across the battlefield—jagged, maniacal, drunk on liberation. The specialized squad felt their hearts hammer in their chests. Even prepared as they were, the raw presence was suffocating.
"Run!" someone screamed. "Shukaku is waking!"
"Move, move, MOVE!"
They didn't wait for the beast to fully manifest. The recovery operation was secondary. Escape was survival.
A massive shadow fell across the battlefield, eclipsing the sun itself. Konoha shinobi froze mid-movement, their pupils shrinking as they stared upward.
"What... what is that?"
"So huge..."
"Is that—is that a Tailed Beast? Did Sunagakure really deploy one?"
Fear rippled through the Leaf forces like a stone through water.
"You all die! Hahahaha!" Shukaku's voice was pure, unfiltered chaos. Its massive tail whipped through the air—no jutsu needed, just raw physical power. The sweep created a pressure wave that threw shinobi like ragdolls, crushing bodies beneath its passage. Konoha and Sand alike were caught in its indiscriminate rampage.
Rasa watched from his vantage point, a cold smile spreading across his face. Tailed beasts cared nothing for faction. As long as Konoha's losses exceeded theirs, victory was assured. And Shukaku was positioned perfectly—on Konoha's flank, where their forces clustered thickest.
The beast slapped its round belly with a sharp laugh, and air cannons exploded outward. They were devastating. Shinobi were torn apart by the force, bodies scattered like broken dolls, blood painting the sand.
"Is this... is this the power of a Tailed Beast?" one Konoha shinobi whispered, staring at the distant carnage in blank horror. "Any technique it uses... it's a disaster."
"DIE! DIE! ALL OF YOU DIE! HAHAHAHA!"
Shukaku's maniacal laughter echoed across the entire battlefield. Air bullets screamed outward in endless volleys, sweeping through the ranks. Shinobi scattered in panic as that massive, irregular tail swept back and forth, crushing bodies to paste with casual, devastating ease.
The area around Shukaku became a graveyard.
Only killing brought the Tailed Beast joy. For something that had existed for centuries in isolation, war was the first entertainment it had ever known.
Shukaku smiled, and the slaughter continued.
---
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