"Gulp. One punch... and half his head was smashed to pieces?"
"As expected. This man may be young, but he's terrifyingly strong!"
"I knew it would turn out like this."
"His head—it's smashed! That's the fully transformed Shukaku! A Leaf shinobi smashed half his head to pieces with one punch?!"
Nearby, Temari watched the scene, feeling her hands and feet go cold.
Her hands trembled as she gripped the Three-Star Fan.
She could barely hold on to it.
The fan she'd considered a weapon now made her want to throw it away.
It was as if doing so might let her fool herself into thinking the two sides weren't fighting.
In other words, she couldn't even summon the courage to fight anymore.
If she'd looked down on the Leaf before, now all she felt was fear.
"B-blown up?"
She wasn't the only one. Rasa, watching from a distance, stared wide-eyed.
"Half of Shukaku's head was blown off? How is that possible?!"
His voice grew shrill.
It was as if he'd witnessed the most incredible thing in the world.
As one of the people responsible for suppressing Shukaku when the One-Tail rampaged, he knew all too well how powerful the tailed beast was.
And Shukaku was a tailed beast with both strength and intelligence!
Even an ordinary Kage Level shinobi would struggle to defeat him.
Thud!
But just as Rasa stood there stunned, a staff suddenly jabbed toward him.
"Now's not the time to stand around in a daze!"
The Third Hokage panted lightly, both hands gripping the Adamantine Staff.
He had more reason to worry about himself than Shukaku.
He didn't believe that thing could cause any trouble in the village.
Not unless Uchiha Jin wasn't there.
"Pfft! Hahaha! Serves you right, you ugly thing!"
At the same time, inside