The Battle Against Shukaku

"Hahahahahaha!! You fool! You're dead!! Hahaha!!!"

Seeing that Yusuke hadn't dodged his attack, Shukaku—confident in the power of his Air Bullet—burst into crazed laughter.

Amid the yellow sand kicked up by the Air Bullet's powerful impact, Yusuke created four Fire Clones. Each carried a scroll as they rushed toward four positions surrounding Shukaku.

As the flying sand gradually settled, Shukaku realized that not only had his enemy survived, he had also created four clones, apparently intending to surround him.

Yusuke's four Fire Clones weren't there to gang up on Shukaku. They were meant to stop him from escaping while Yusuke used them to cast a barrier ninjutsu.

The four clones spread their scrolls out on the sand and swiftly formed Hand Seals. When they finished, each pressed a right hand against the blank center of a scroll.

"Barrier Ninjutsu: Four Purple Flame Formation!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, purple barrier walls extended from each scroll in both directions. The walls joined together, forming a cubic barrier that enclosed Yusuke and Shukaku.

In the original story, Orochimaru had used the Four Purple Flame Formation to trap the Third Hokage. Its upgraded version, the Four Red Yang Formation, had even been able to contain the Ten-Tails. Clearly, this series of barrier ninjutsu was quite reliable.

Yusuke also had another remarkable technique for trapping enemies besides the Four Purple Flame Formation: Fire Enclosing Wall, from Ryujin Jakka.

However, with Yusuke's current abilities, using a powerful technique like Fire Enclosing Wall would nearly exhaust all the Yin Release Chakra in his body and in the Cursed Seal.

Even if he managed to trap Shukaku with it, Yusuke wouldn't have enough strength left to subdue and seal him. So he chose the highly effective Four Purple Flame Formation, which consumed far less Chakra.

The moment Shukaku realized Yusuke had trapped him in a barrier, he was reminded of his miserable life as a raccoon dog sealed inside a Jinchuriki. He instantly flew into a rage.

"Aaargh!!"

Shukaku roared several times, and a Tailed Beast Ball far more powerful than an Air Bullet began slowly forming in his mouth.

A Tailed Beast Ball was a unique attack formed by a tailed beast compressing Yin and Yang Chakra in a ratio of 2:8. Yusuke's Phantom Crow Clone couldn't nullify an attack infused with Yin Release Chakra like this one.

There was hardly any room to dodge a powerful Tailed Beast Ball inside the relatively small barrier, so Yusuke could only find a way to defend himself with ninjutsu.

Yusuke retreated to the corner of the barrier and swiftly formed Hand Seals.

"Scorch Release: Single Purple Flame Array."

Yusuke erected a purple flame barrier in front of himself. Together with the purple barriers on either side and behind him, it formed a sealed space that protected him.

"Die!!"

The Tailed Beast Ball finished forming and shot from Shukaku's mouth. But Shukaku didn't aim it at Yusuke; instead, he blasted the wall of the Four Purple Flame Formation, hoping to break through the barrier first.

When the Tailed Beast Ball struck the barrier wall, a violent shockwave erupted inside the enclosure.

However, the Four Purple Flame Formation was extremely sturdy, and Shukaku's Tailed Beast Ball wasn't enough to break it. The resulting blast couldn't spread horizontally in all directions, so its energy was forced upward!

In an instant, a cloud of sand nearly a hundred meters high filled the entire barrier, and the sandy ground sank far deeper than the land outside it.

The Tailed Beast Ball really is a devastating weapon. Its power is incredible! Yusuke watched the destruction it had caused and marveled inwardly.

Yusuke felt as if the ground itself were shaking. Without the purple flame barrier sealing him off, his body—which was no stronger than an ordinary ninja's—would have been pulverized by the violent impact.

Once the shockwave from the Tailed Beast Ball subsided, Yusuke dispelled the Single Purple Flame Array protecting him, released Ryujin Jakka's Shikai, and slowly walked toward Shukaku.

The dust slowly cleared. Shukaku saw that his Tailed Beast Ball had failed to break through the purple barrier and that his opponent was completely unharmed. Shaken and filthy from the blast, he began to panic.

He knew that plenty of ninja in the Ninja World were stronger than the tailed beasts. And when one of those ninja captured a tailed beast, there was an eighty percent chance it would be sealed inside a Jinchuriki, losing its freedom forever.

For Shukaku, who had only just managed to escape, being sealed inside a Jinchuriki again was absolutely unacceptable!

"Wind Release: Sand Scattering Bullets!"

Shukaku opened his mouth and launched another wide-ranging ninjutsu attack at Yusuke. Countless sand bullets sprayed from his mouth like a fine rain, hurtling toward Yusuke.

The bullets were densely packed, making them impossible to dodge, and they had tremendous penetrating power. If they struck a person, they would pierce right through, leaving holes the size of fists.

As the rain of sand bullets rushed toward him, Yusuke raised his hand and swung his blade, carving a long streak of flame through the air to block every bullet.

The flames' intense heat burned the sand bullets away, leaving only wisps of black ash in the air.

Yusuke had now undone the Two-Yang Cursed Seal. Black markings covered his body as Yin Release Chakra continually flowed into him.

After blocking Shukaku's Sand Scattering Bullets, Yusuke sheathed his sword and took a quick-draw stance.

"Nadegiri!"

Using Reiatsu simulated with Yin Release Chakra, Yusuke drew Ryujin Jakka in an instant and slashed toward Shukaku's head at incredible speed.

To Yusuke's surprise, Shukaku was remarkably agile despite his enormous size. He leaped high into the air, narrowly avoiding the slash.

As soon as Shukaku landed from his leap, he alternately pounded his belly with his hands. Five or six Wind Release Air Bullets shot from his mouth toward Yusuke in succession.

But the Air Bullets posed no threat to Yusuke. Thanks to the intangible Phantom Crow Clone, he was immune to all damage.

After several exchanges, Shukaku realized that his enemy was extremely difficult to deal with. He had used every attack at his disposal, yet he still couldn't hurt Yusuke.

"Who are you? Why are you picking on me?"

Shukaku forced down his anger and aggression, then asked Yusuke warily.

"I want your power, of course."

"Your attacks are too limited to hurt me. If you let me seal you without a fuss, you'll spare yourself a beating."

Yusuke spoke calmly as he looked at the enormous raccoon dog before him.

At Yusuke's words, Shukaku's barely suppressed temper flared up again. "Bullshit! So what if I can't kill you? Do you really think you can seal me all by yourself? You'd better give up on that idea!"

"Let's wait and see," Yusuke replied coolly, rapidly drawing Yin Release Chakra from the Nine-Tails inside the Cursed Seal and continuously increasing Ryujin Jakka's power.

After being infused with a large amount of Yin Release Chakra, Ryujin Jakka's flames turned a brilliant gold-red. A long trail of fire streamed from the tip of the blade, forming a gold-red Flame Wheel behind Yusuke.

This was the same form Yusuke had used when he fought Shisui. Only in this form could he use certain techniques associated with Ryujin Jakka's Shikai.

Looking at Yusuke, who seemed like a fire god come down to earth, Shukaku showed clear fear. He could feel that the gold-red flames were incredibly hot and posed a serious threat even to him.

Under normal circumstances, tailed beasts couldn't truly die. Even if they suffered fatal injuries, their Chakra would gather somewhere in the Ninja World and form a new tailed beast, unless they were struck by the Power of All Creation. One-Tail Shukaku would revive right here in the Nara Desert beneath their feet.

But being killed and having to gather themselves together again was no pleasant experience for a tailed beast.

Seeing that Yusuke was determined to seal him, Shukaku said nothing more. He began forming another Tailed Beast Ball, preparing to blast his opponent.

From their earlier exchanges, Shukaku had realized that only a Tailed Beast Ball could cause Yusuke any trouble.

To defend against the Tailed Beast Ball, Yusuke hadn't used his intangible Crow Clone to evade the attack. Instead, he had created a barrier to withstand it. That proved the Tailed Beast Ball could still hurt him.

Seeing Shukaku begin to form another Tailed Beast Ball, Yusuke decided not to keep defending. Instead, he would take the initiative and attack.

A flash of fire—and Yusuke appeared beside Shukaku's mouth as he gathered the Tailed Beast Ball.

With a streak of gold-red light, Yusuke beheaded Shukaku in a single slash. Flames roared along the severed edges of his head and body. The Tailed Beast Ball he'd been forming was interrupted and vanished into the air.

"Aaargh!!!"

A piercing scream came from Shukaku's fallen head. Tailed beasts weren't ordinary living creatures; they were monsters formed from Chakra. Even if their heads were severed or they were hacked to pieces, they wouldn't die. Once their Chakra gathered again, they could immediately return to their original form.

Shukaku didn't rush to rejoin his head and body. Instead, he rolled around in the sand, trying to extinguish the flames clinging to him like an inescapable curse.

But he never imagined that the gold-red flames on Yusuke's Ryujin Jakka weren't ordinary fire. Rolling around didn't put out the flames burning along the severed edges of his head and body. Instead, it caused the fire to spread across even more of him.

"Damn you!!"

Shukaku roared. His body and head turned into sand infused with powerful Chakra and gradually disappeared into the ground. Then he abandoned the parts that had caught fire and gathered himself back into the shape of a raccoon dog.

Yusuke noticed that Shukaku, after reforming, was slightly smaller than before. Of course, the reduction in his size wasn't permanent. Given some time, Shukaku's body would return to its original size.

"Aaargh!!"

After re-forming, Shukaku howled furiously at the sky and raised a massive arm, ready to strike Yusuke with all his strength. But when he saw the blazing sword in Yusuke's hand and the gold-red Flame Wheel behind him, his raised arm froze in midair.

Seeing that Shukaku had run out of options, Yusuke decided to stop slowly wearing him down. He would stop holding back his Chakra, use a finishing move to subdue his opponent quickly, and then begin the sealing process.

After all, the Nara Desert was within Sunagakure's sphere of influence. It would be bad if Sunagakure's ninja found them after the fight dragged on too long.

Yusuke sheathed his sword. All the flames on Ryujin Jakka disappeared into its scabbard as he once again took a quick-draw stance.

But in Shukaku's eyes, even though Yusuke had hidden his flames, his presence seemed to have grown even stronger. He was clearly preparing some powerful technique.

At that moment, as Yusuke and Shukaku faced off, neither of them noticed the pair of cold eyes watching them from beneath the sand inside the barrier.