Water Release, Water...

The wind has stopped!

The turmoil on the plains did not cease; instead, the flames of war burned even more fiercely.

The girl was as resilient as a reed; after the storm, she straightened her back again, her slender body leaping above the undulating waves, dodging the sand bullets shot from the sky.

With continuous acceleration, even ordinary sand-made shells possess astonishing destructive power.

The Shadow Clone disappeared one after another, and soon there were only a few clones draped in pale red Tailed Beast Cloak left on the water's surface, but they were still rushing toward Shukaku at an incredible speed.

Closer!

Closer!

Just a little closer!

Kushina screamed inwardly, her main body moving with all her might, constantly creating Shadow Clone to rush forward and draw Shukaku's fire, trying to get the clones as close to Shukaku as possible. Once they were within range, she could use that... to severely injure Shukaku.

Her heart pounded like a drum, and beads of sweat dripped from her forehead, falling like raindrops into the water at her feet. Kushina felt waves of dizziness wash over her, and a sudden wave of exhaustion overwhelmed her clarity, blurring her consciousness.

Oh no! It's Shadow Clone...

With a hazy consciousness struggling to make a judgment, a large number of Shadow Clone were destroyed, and the accumulated fatigue and exhaustion piled up on the main body in an instant. Under normal circumstances, this level of mental impact would not be a problem for her, but now she was really exhausted.

The previous battle had drained her of too much energy. While she still had plenty of Chakra, the mental exhaustion was nearly crushing her will...

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

"... This is really... well, I didn't expect this! Whew! Whew!"

A trickle of bright red blood slid down Kushina's lips, and tears welled up in her eyes. Biting her tongue hurt so much!

Although her tongue hurt so much that she was stuttering, it had at least temporarily suppressed the exhaustion that was almost overwhelming her. Now was not the time to rest.

At this moment, on the protruding rock behind.

"This is bad, this is bad! At this rate, even Kushina won't last long. Her Chakra is being depleted too quickly. Minato, what should we do? Should we make a move?"

Otoha strained to open his eyes wide, his Sharingan barely able to make out Kushina as she moved at high speed; the violently fluctuating Chakra was particularly vivid in his eyes.

"... It's not the right time. If Kushina can't defeat that tanuki, even if I bring Kushina back now, it will only delay our deaths." Minato was tense, and his mood was somewhat heavy.

He was used to fighting people, so much so that the techniques he had mastered were basically for dealing with humanoid objects. He hadn't given much thought to how to fight a behemoth like Tailed Beast. He didn't have a well-formed theory in mind for the time being about how to fight such a large enemy.

In other words, having exhausted all other options, they could only rely on Kushina, who was also Jinchuriki, in the hope of suppressing the giant tanuki.

As for Jiraiya and Lord Orochimaru, Minato didn't have high expectations. The fact that the three of them left showed that the battle situation wasn't very optimistic, and it wouldn't be easy to wait for them to be free.

On Black Tail Mountain.

"Smack!"

Makita smashed the Stone Ninja's head with a single punch, like cracking open a ripe watermelon, his hands covered in red and white filth.

Shouts of battle echoed everywhere. The Stone Ninja's vanguard broke through the suppression and advanced step by step, forcing even Makita, the commander, to take action. Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade were in a similar situation, barely managing to balance the battle with their combined strength, but this meant they were temporarily unable to spare any troops.

As for the Jinchuriki, for now we can only rely on those few people. Hopefully... they can hold on!

The wish in my heart was instantly suppressed; the enemy charged again...

"Almost there, almost there, we're almost there!"

Kushina's senses were firmly locked onto one of her Shadow Clone, the one that was charging at the Shadow Clone.

"Arrive!"

Kushina excitedly pumped her fist, her three fox tails trembling wildly behind her, showing how excited and anxious she was; success or failure depended on this one move.

Her Shadow Clone was close enough to Shukaku that she could see Shukaku massive, mountain-like body as she looked up, and the oppressive force of his body fell on her shoulders.

"Water Release, Water Severing Wave"

The Shadow Clone remained calm, successfully completing the Hand Seals. Then, it opened its mouth and violently spat out a thin, ultra-high-pressure jet of water, sweeping horizontally like a guillotine, cleanly slicing open Shukaku's legs. It felt as easy as slicing a block of solidified butter with a red-hot knife.

The thin, high-pressure water jet vanished in an instant; all that remained in my memory was its pale color and its indestructible sharpness!

It feels like it can cut off anything.

"Awooooooo!!!!"

Shukaku roared madly, its legs severed, and its heavy body lost its support, falling backward uncontrollably. When its body crashed heavily to the ground, it felt like a powerful earthquake had occurred.

"It's a success!"

Kushina clenched her fist, her excitement overflowing.

"Uh... damn, am I getting too excited?"

Her knees buckled and she knelt down, the Chakra beneath her feet dissipating, and she sank into the water with a splash. Fortunately, a Shadow Clone was quick-witted and grabbed her, scooping up cool water and splashing it on her feverish head, finally bringing her back to her senses.

"Oh my! Oh my, this is really something. I didn't expect to see you again, little girl from Konoha."

Suddenly, golden quicksand surged from the ground, rising into the sky from the waves. The churning golden sand pushed aside the water, and a brown-haired boy stood atop the quicksand, staring at Kushina with icy eyes.

Have we met before?

Kushina looked at the brown-haired boy with confusion, took a step back warily, and inwardly cursed herself for her carelessness in ignoring the enemy underground. She had really lost her mind.

"... Don't you remember? That's really unpleasant!"

Rasa's face was frozen, cold and filled only with killing intent.

"Magnet Release: Gold Sand Shuriken"

With a wave of his hand, the golden sand beneath his feet began to writhe as if alive, spitting out golden Shuriken and launching a barrage of attacks.

"Water Release, Water Wall."

Three rectangular water shields appeared in the hands of the Shadow Clone, joining together to firmly protect the main body in the center, intercepting all the Shuriken.