The Clash of Giant Beasts / Evolve, My Summoned Beast!

"What about Naruto?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"Let's get out of here first. Naruto will be fine." Keiichi turned and started walking away.

"What exactly is that thing?" Sasuke was clearly concerned about the wrong thing.

"That's a summoned beast, a powerful creature summoned from another dimension. Like humans, they can gather chakra. They can even learn ninjutsu and speak like people." Keiichi explained as he led Sasuke away from the battlefield.

"A summoned beast..." Sasuke muttered, as if weighing something in his mind.

Keiichi saw right through him. He summoned Magikarp and said, "Summoned beasts come in all shapes and sizes. For example, you know what this one of mine can do."

"Magikarp, Magikarp!" The summoned beast seemed to understand and voiced its displeasure.

"What are you yelling about? Look at the others, then look at yourself. Can't you learn a thing or two?" Keiichi lectured Magikarp in the tone of someone chiding the neighbor's kid.

Magikarp twisted its body, making it clear that it refused to accept this.

"How can Naruto summon such a powerful creature?"

"Because he has a good teacher named Jiraiya, of course. He's one of the legendary Sannin. He's got all kinds of good stuff." Keiichi explained offhandedly.

Keiichi hadn't meant anything by it, but Sasuke took his words to heart.

So the reason I'm progressing so slowly is that I haven't found a good teacher? If only I had a summoned beast like that...

While everyone desperately fled the battlefield, a gigantic monster, every bit as large as Gamabunta, took shape as though grains of sand were piling up into a tower.

In appearance, the monster looked like an enormous, plump tanuki.

"Hm? Could that be...?" Gamabunta narrowed his eyes, as if he'd thought of something.

Shukaku of the Sand from Sunagakure?

What was it doing in Konoha?

Could that kid I just squashed have been Shukaku's host?

Chapter 83: The Clash of Giant Beasts

Gamabunta's expression grew more serious. He knew this was no time to joke around with Naruto.

As it happened, Mount Myoboku and Konoha had a close relationship, like that of allies. That was why Jiraiya had been able to reverse-summon himself to Mount Myoboku.

If Shukaku went on a rampage in Konoha while he stood by and did nothing, the Great Toad Sage would surely blame him...

Damn Naruto. Couldn't he learn a thing or two from his teacher, Jiraiya?

He'd only signed the contract a few days ago, and already he'd gotten Gamabunta into this much trouble!

"Naruto, this guy's no pushover. You'd better hold on tight." As he spoke, Gamabunta drew the short sword at his waist and held it across his body.

It was called a short sword, but it was over ten meters long. A single blow could shake the earth.

The battle between the two giant beasts reached its peak in an instant.

Keiichi soon regretted it. He realized he'd still underestimated just how terrifying a battle between two giant beasts could be. One massive gust of wind after another roared overhead, and trees were sliced in half by the blades of wind in less than a second. Their power was simply unbelievable.

If the ninjutsu they'd used so far was already this terrifying, how powerful would a Tailed Beast Bomb be?

So this was a Tailed Beast?

Even the aftershocks of the battle were more than ordinary people could withstand.

No wonder Jinchuriki undergoing Tailed Beast Transformation could serve as ultimate weapons on the battlefield. It seemed only another monster who was also a Jinchuriki could stand against one.

During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Keiichi's battlefield had been some distance away from the main one. He'd only seen the nine Tailed Beasts fighting in the distance, shaking the heavens and earth, and hadn't felt much.

But now a real Tailed Beast was bouncing around right over his head. The feeling was as exhilarating as it was terrifying.

Getting crushed to death the next second without even knowing what had happened would have been perfectly normal.

The other three weren't doing much better. They were wholly focused on escaping, all the pride of being geniuses gone. They didn't even dare speak loudly, as if afraid of attracting the attention of the two giant beasts.

Were we really just fighting monsters like these?

That was like lighting a candle in an outhouse. We were asking to die!

Keiichi was shaken, but he managed to stay calm. He kept an eye on the battlefield from time to time, and he could tell that Gamabunta was truly losing.

Shukaku had completely taken control of the fight. It tossed out Wind Style techniques with ease, and with its vast reserves of chakra behind it, Gamabunta couldn't even get close. He was completely pinned down by its barrage.

Aside from being evenly matched in size and mouth, Gamabunta was at a disadvantage in every other way.

At this rate, he wouldn't be able to hold out for long.

Still, it was strange. The other Tailed Beasts didn't use ninjutsu; they just hurled Tailed Beast Bombs at each other. So why was Shukaku so knowledgeable?

Could it have studied under some Sand Ninja in the past?

Gamabunta seemed to realize that he was bound to lose if things continued this way. Suddenly, he leapt high into the air, his whole body soaring upward.

The force of his jump left four enormous footprints in the ground. All four of them could have stretched out comfortably inside one.

Gamabunta tucked in his arms and legs and plummeted toward Shukaku, his short sword pointed straight down.

Shukaku had let its guard down. It hadn't expected Gamabunta to fight back.

"Ascending Dragon Slash!"

A streak of white light flashed down over Shukaku's enormous body.

Clang!

With his back to Shukaku, Gamabunta calmly slipped his short sword into its sheath. It made a crisp metallic click.

In the next instant, one of Shukaku's arms was severed and crashed to the ground. If it hadn't dodged quickly, it might have been split in two.

"Boss Gamabunta, you were so cool!" Naruto never missed a chance to flatter him.

"Of course!" Gamabunta said smugly.

"Wind Release: Air Bullet!"

Shukaku flew into a rage. It slapped its belly and blasted a tremendous gust of air from its mouth. It didn't even need to prepare, so the attack came incredibly fast and slammed into Gamabunta's back.

It hit a vital spot. Super effective!

"Ow..."

"Boss, why are you showing off at a time like this?" Naruto almost got shaken off. He looked utterly wronged.

"Th-this is unsportsmanlike..." Gamabunta could barely catch his breath, and he'd thrown out his back, too.

Then came a string of complaints about picking on the elderly, launching a sneak attack, and "sauce for the goose," among other things no one could make sense of.

Clutching his back, Gamabunta was forced entirely onto the defensive. Shukaku kept beating him until he was battered and bruised, unable to raise his head.

"This isn't going to work. Naruto's still going to lose." Keiichi suddenly stopped and blurted out his conclusion.

"You're not wrong, but we can't help him. Against a monster like that..." Sakura tried to force herself to stay composed, but couldn't hide her fear.

"Damn it... I've used up almost all my chakra. If only I could still use Chidori..." Sasuke's frustration was written all over his face.

"With all this commotion, Konoha should send someone over soon," Neji analyzed calmly.

"You guys go on ahead. I'm the only one here who can still fight, so I'll stay." Keiichi stopped walking and turned toward the battlefield instead, leaving them with a resolute, self-sacrificing figure.

But Sasuke and Neji weren't buying it. They both stepped in front of him.

"No, you can't go!" they said in unison.

"Even if you go, you'll just get yourself killed," Sakura added, coolly twisting the knife.

"No. I'm sure I can help Naruto."

"How?"

Keiichi smiled faintly and pointed to Magikarp, whose eyes were brimming with wisdom.

The other three stared at him in bafflement.

Are you planning to send it over to make that giant tanuki laugh itself to death?

"Boss, what do we do now? I have a feeling you're going to lose," Naruto asked anxiously.

"Who said I'm going to lose? I'm catching my breath and saving my strength for the next attack!"

"Then can you do that move again? What was it called—Ascending Dragon Slash?"

"I can't do it again. It's on its guard now. Can't you see it keeps changing its position? That tanuki's sharp!"

"Then what do we do?"

"To get the same result as last time, we'd need something to hold it in place for a while!"

Naruto's expression immediately darkened. No matter how many Shadow Clones he summoned, they couldn't hold back a monster that enormous.

For a moment, the man and the toad both shook their heads and sighed.

On the other side, Shukaku continued its relentless assault. It kept slapping its belly and firing Air Bullets with tremendous penetrating power, wreaking havoc across the forest.

It had finally woken up, and now it had such a fine punching bag to vent on. What could be more fun?

It didn't matter where the thing had come from. First, it would beat it half to death!

As for the arm that had been cut off, Shukaku didn't care. It was made of chakra, after all. It would grow back sooner or later.

Just then, a little creature suddenly stepped in front of it. It spread its tiny fins as if trying to stop Shukaku from attacking the giant toad.

Shukaku didn't give it a second thought. It brought one foot down on the creature. What was this thing to butt into their fight?

That poor little fool had no idea what it was up against, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. It must have been nothing but a smear of fish flesh by now, right?

But as soon as the thought crossed Shukaku's mind, an unbelievable force pushed back from beneath its foot. At the same time, a strange light shone from underneath it, making its eyes fly wide open.

Chapter 84: Evolve, My Summoned Beast

Meow, meow, meow?

What was going on?

In all its years alive, Shukaku had never encountered a little creature it couldn't crush underfoot.

Smack!

The light beneath its foot flared brightly, and a force pushed back so hard that Shukaku had no choice but to lift its foot. No matter how hard it tried, it couldn't press it down again.

"Show yourself, Gyarados!" Keiichi watched the ball of white light from a distance and murmured to himself.

After witnessing so many high-level battles, Magikarp had finally gained enough combat experience to reach level 20 and unlock the path to evolution.

As the saying went, when a carp leaped through the Dragon Gate, it would emerge on the other side transformed, and everything would be different.

"Roar!"

A dragon's cry rang out from within. Both giant beasts widened their eyes as a monster dozens of times larger emerged from the light. Its presence was no weaker than theirs.

The creature's origins were a mystery. It had no wings, yet it could fly through the air. Its long, python-like body glided nimbly across the sky.

Many people might mistakenly think Gyarados was a Water and Dragon type, but it was actually a combination of Flying and Water.

In the Shinobi World's terms, that meant Wind and Water!

This summoned beast wasn't particularly large, but the dragon cries that rang from its mouth filled the two giant beasts with the pressure of a creature at the top of the food chain. Their strength fell by a third for no apparent reason.

Ability: Intimidate activated!

"Keiichi, is that your strange fish?" Sasuke pointed at Gyarados in disbelief, staring at it in a daze.

I want one too...

"That's right. I told you not to underestimate it. Did you really think I summoned it to make a joke?" Keiichi said earnestly.

Sasuke was even more frustrated. If Keiichi had summoned a monster like this during the Chunin Ninja Exams, would Sasuke have stood a chance?

Why...

Why did everyone have such powerful summoned beasts?

Why was he the only one without one?

As soon as Gyarados appeared, both sides abruptly stopped fighting. They couldn't tell which side this summoned beast that had suddenly entered the battlefield belonged to. It would be a real disaster if they attacked one of their own.