One-Tailed Shukaku

Everyone was stunned. It was over—Xiao Yun was truly finished this time!

No one had ever escaped Gaara's three-hit Sand Style combo. Even if someone had, it was not something a Genin could accomplish.

Moonlight Izakaya fell deathly silent. Some were grief-stricken, some inexplicably thrilled, and some delighted in his misfortune. In the luxurious private room, the Hokage pulled his Hokage Straw Hat lower over his head. He did not want to watch a once-in-a-generation genius fall.

In the end, he muted the television, turned away, and drained the Niu Er liquor from his flask in one gulp. Endless regret flashed through his cloudy old eyes.

He regretted it. If he had not overthought things back then, if he had simply followed Konoha's rules, anyone who made the Chakra Detector ring nine times should have been personally trained by the Hokage.

Then Xiao Yun could have stayed by his side. He could have hidden him away, carefully nurtured him. Why would there have been so much bullshit?

"This old man has failed Konoha..."

A trace of tears flashed in Hiruzen Sarutobi's aged eyes. He pulled the young secretary beside him into his arms and began to sob.

"Ah, Lord Hokage, you..." The secretary stared at the Third Hokage in sheer terror, clearly badly frightened.

"Waaah!"

Thinking of a peerless genius about to perish, Hiruzen Sarutobi cried even harder, held her tighter, and buried his head deeper.

The secretary's mind went blank. She stood there in a daze, never expecting such a resolute man as the Third Hokage to have such a vulnerable side. Her heart ached for him.

The sobbing continued. The Third Hokage rocked his head back and forth as he cried, rubbing against her clothes, leaving the secretary utterly at a loss.

"L-Lord Hokage, look!"

Just as the secretary was panicking, her eyes suddenly widened as she stared at the screen in disbelief.

"What is there to look at? Let this old man rub a little longer, I..."

Before the Third Hokage could finish, the corner of his eye caught the television. His eyes instantly widened like bronze bells as he stared fixedly at the screen.

On the screen, at the very instant Xiao Yun was dragged underground, orange-red Chakra erupted all over his body.

The Third Hokage stopped what he was doing, snatched the remote from the secretary's hand, and turned the volume all the way up.

Then they heard Xiao Yun roar,

Eight Inner Gates, First Gate—Opening Gate, open!

Eight Inner Gates, Second Gate—Gate of Healing, open!

Boom!

A violent explosion rang out. Like a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon, Xiao Yun suddenly leaped out from underground.

Green vapor fused with the Nine-Tails' orange-red Chakra, forming an eerie green Chakra membrane that covered the surface of his body.

That was right. Xiao Yun had broken through in battle. The Second Gate, which he had been unable to open for so long, had finally opened. Powerful strength surged through his entire body, greatly increasing his own power.

More importantly, Xiao Yun felt some of his consciousness returning. He no longer wanted only to quietly become a killing machine like before.

So strong!

Gaara's mouth twitched. This aura was no weaker than that watermelon-headed guy's from before.

"Gaara, you are not her opponent," Shukaku said coldly.

"Tch, isn't she just borrowing the Nine-Tails' Chakra? What's so great about that?" Gaara said disdainfully.

Shukaku: ...

"If you want to defeat him, you must hand your body over to me completely," Shukaku said.

"Hand it over to you?"

Gaara instantly became extremely alert. Wasn't that nonsense?

If he handed control of his body over to Shukaku, wouldn't Shukaku break the seal and burst free? As the host, he would definitely be dead as dead could be.

Gaara instinctively shook his head. But if he did not let Shukaku control his body, he would be unable to defeat the man before him. Then what awaited him would likely still be death.

Damn it, either way he was dead. Screw it!

"Shukaku, I can give you at most four percent of my body," Gaara gritted his teeth and said viciously as he glared at Xiao Yun.

"Forty percent is too little," Shukaku said.

"I'll give you forty-nine percent at most. If you refuse, then we'll die together."

Gaara refused to yield in the slightest. Fifty-one percent was his limit. It was like Gaara and Shukaku starting a company: fifty-one percent of the controlling shares was the key condition for absolute control of the company.

"Fine!"

Shukaku had no choice but to agree.

"Okay, Gaara!"

"Right, got it!"

×@^≮&￥%

One man and one Tailed Beast chanted a rhythmic incantation at the same time. Who knew what they were babbling about? To Xiao Yun, it sounded like the cheerful funeral music played when the old men and women in his village passed away.

A milky-white light flared up instantly, then gradually faded after several seconds.

Xiao Yun sucked in a sharp breath. Before him, Gaara had completely transformed into the form of the One-Tailed Shukaku. His body had not grown larger—he was still the size of a normal adult—but his appearance differed somewhat from the original work.

Xiao Yun remembered Shukaku being an animal. Why did it have two hills formed from condensed sand on its chest, with a pistol equipped below? It possessed both male and female characteristics at once.

Especially those yellow, black, and white eyes—they actually revealed three parts sorrow, six parts madness, and seven parts cold indifference.

"Yoo-hoo, this great lord can finally come out for some fresh air! As thanks, I'll only beat you half to death!"

A scalp-crawling voice rang out as Shukaku stared excitedly at Xiao Yun.

Strike first for the advantage!

Xiao Yun's gaze sharpened. This battle had to end quickly, or he would fall into endless madness. With that thought, Xiao Yun shot straight at Shukaku like a cannonball.

"Hehe, you're fast, and your strength looks decent. Too bad you're only at the level of that watermelon head from before. You can't hurt this great lord, yoo-hoo!"

Shukaku pointed one hand toward the sky. Five clones instantly appeared around it, surrounding the original body in a tight circle.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The five clones simultaneously fired countless thin needles condensed from sand from their mouths toward Xiao Yun. Xiao Yun immediately dodged on instinct. He could clearly sense that these sand needles were anything but ordinary.

"You noticed? Too late! Sand Style: Great Black Sand Heaven!"

Shukaku let out a cold laugh.

In the empty space around Xiao Yun, a square yellow box appeared. Looking closer, it was actually condensed from sand, enclosing Xiao Yun inside.

The six faces of the cube were each marked with the large red character "Burn."

"Sayonara."

The corners of Shukaku's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a sinister smile. It formed a strange hand seal and pointed at the cube.

The sand cube suddenly began to burn eerily. Blazing flames lit up the night sky.

"To die beneath this great lord's move, you can consider yourself to have died a worthy death, yoo-hoo!"

Shukaku looked proudly at the burning cube.

"Your flames are very strong. I wonder how they compare to mine?"

Wood Release: Fire-Wood Killing Technique