One-Tail Shukaku-What's That?

Holding a Short Sword, Taiichi faced the charging Sand Village Ninja without dodging or avoiding, and directly slashed at him with the momentum as if the person opposite him had killed his father and mother.

Such a fierce aura truly startled the Sunagakure Ninja on the other side, who could only instinctively parry the attack.

The instant the sword clashed with the Kunai, a tremendous force struck him, and without any resistance, he was knocked off balance.

Taiichi didn't even glance at him, passing right by the Sunagakure. But Yohei, who was right beside him, seized the opportunity, wielding a kunai across the neck of the Sunagakure Ninja who was still Kunai on his feet, and then passing right past him without stopping.

That's how the battlefield is; there's not much time for you to adjust yourself. The slightest mistake can lead to your death.

And this is even more true when dealing with a well-coordinated team like Taiichi's.

Taiichi spearheaded the attack, constantly weaving through the Sunagakure Ninja's ranks. He didn't aim for a fatal blow; as long as he could disrupt their rhythm, his comrades would naturally help him deal with the rest.

As the killing continued, some people in Sunagakure recognized Taiichi, and then shouts of "White Reaper!" rang out all around.

Any Sand Village Ninja heard this title, the Jonin didn't care, but the Genin and Genin really believed the rumors. One by Taiichi, they were already three points weaker in terms of sheer momentum.

I wonder if the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, would be so angry he'd vomit blood if he knew about this.

Just as Taiichi was wreaking havoc among the Sunagakure Ninja, a group of five people arrived at the riverbank from the other side of the stream, escorted by many Sunagakure Ninja. They were Shukaku 'Jinchuriki and the four sealing ninjas.

As they reached the designated location, the four sealing ninjas immediately Hand Seals and tore off the iron chains around the Jinchuriki's neck.

With a clanging sound of chains hitting the ground, the Jinchūriki, who had been keeping his Jinchuriki down, slowly raised it. At this moment, his eyes were no longer human pupils, but the eyes of Tailed Beast.

The leading sealing ninja pointed to the opposite bank and said without any politeness, "Ryosuke, now it's your turn to serve the village. Don't worry, the village will take good care of your family. Now, go and kill all those Konoha Ninja!"

After saying that, he took three steps back, waved to the people around him, and quickly left the area.

Only Jinchuriki, the Ryosuke, remained in place. Seemingly no longer needing to suppress his killing intent, low, suppressed laughter escaped his lips, gradually growing louder as his body began to tremble.

Ryosuke's figure began to slowly change, his body gradually expanding as if he were getting fat. Fine sand from the surrounding land transformed and clung to his body. At his tailbone, a yellow tail began to grow, slowly becoming thicker and longer.

At the same time, intense Chakra fluctuations began to spread outwards, and the Jinchuriki's body completed the transformation into Partial Tailed Beast Transformation. Then, Ryosuke his head back, his half-beast, half-human face filled with madness. He opened his mouth wide, and specks of black light gathered in front of his mouth from all directions. After a full five seconds, he spat forward, and a Tailed Beast Bomb shot straight ahead as the smoke dissipated.

When the distinctive Chakra fluctuations of the Tailed Beast were felt, Jiraiya reacted immediately on the city wall behind him. Pointing in the direction of the Chakra fluctuations, he loudly ordered, "Send the special forces forward! Engage the Shukaku Jinchuriki all costs! Sealing Team, prepare for the sealing!"

Then Jiraiya turned to his prized disciple, "Minato, take four Jonin and go help!"

"Yes!" Without further ado, and there was no need for further words at this point, Minato led the four Jonin down the city wall and headed in the direction from which the Tailed Beast's energy wave was coming.

Just as Jiraiya was about to give a startling order, before he could even speak, the Sensor Ninja beside him, his face pale, shouted a warning, "We've sensed an extremely high-energy Chakra gathering—it's Tailed Beast Bomb, and its target is us!"

"Quickly, come down from the city wall with me!"

After saying that, Jiraiya was the first to jump off the city wall, and the other ninjas followed suit.

While the person was still in the air, Jiraiya formed hand Hand Seals, and by the time the person landed on the ground, his Hand Seals were complete.

Earth Style: Earth Cage

Centered on Jiraiya, a thick, circular Earth Wall rose up, transforming into a hemisphere that enveloped the landing crowd below.

The moment the Ninjutsu was completed, a Tailed Beast Bomb pierced through the smoke on the river surface, passed through the first wall on the bank, and crashed into the wall where Jiraiya and the others had just been standing.

"Boom!"

A huge explosion rang out, and the shockwave swept across everything around it. The tall city wall immediately crumbled, and dirt and rocks flew everywhere.

Those hiding in the earthen cage clearly felt the tremor. The crackling sounds, along with the cracks that kept appearing on the semi-circular wall and being repaired by the infusion of Chakra, made everyone clearly understand the power of the Tailed Beast Bomb.

When the tremors subsided, the earthen cage, under Jiraiya's control, retracted from the center to both sides, revealing a circular crater twenty meters in diameter before everyone. Their position was precisely the only protruding part of this crater.

The sound of swallowing saliva could be heard one after another. This was the first time they had faced an attack from Tailed Beast Bomb, and its power was clearly beyond their expectations.

If they hadn't taken refuge under Jiraiya's Ninjutsu and had instead fled, the aftershocks of that Ninjutsu alone would have been far more difficult for them to handle.

"Alright, stop standing there, push forward quickly, don't let the ninjas ahead think something's happened to us."

Jiraiya's voice rang out, and at the same time, a series of orders were issued.

"Fire a white Signal Flare to notify the front lines to continue the offensive."

"Sensor Ninja, report the Jinchuriki's location and notify the Sealing Team."

When the Jinchuriki was released from the seal and began to transform, the unique Chakra fluctuations of the Tailed Beast not only alarmed Jiraiya and the others behind them, but were also first sensed by Taiichi, who was fighting on the front line.

With a single slash, Taiichi cleaved through the Sand Village Ninja blocking his path, stopped in his tracks, and looked up in the direction from which the Chakra fluctuations were coming, his eyes revealing an unprecedented gleam of excitement.

The five-person team behind him stopped as Taiichi stopped, surrounding him and deflecting the Kunai and Shuriken that kept flying at Taiichi.

"Taiichi, is there a problem with that Chakra fluctuation?" Yohei approached Taiichi and asked, puzzled. This was a battlefield, and stopping here like this was very dangerous.

"That's Tailed Beast, the One-Tail Shukaku!" Taiichi's voice was filled with excitement. "Just like Tailed Beast Two-Tails Matatabi we encountered on the Northern Battlefield!"

Yohei and Saori's expressions changed, both recalling the embarrassment of their helplessness when facing that giant beast. They never expected that Sunagakure would have something similar, and even deploy it on the battlefield.

"Yohei, you're in charge now. I'll be right back!"

Without waiting for their reply, Taiichi used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished from his spot. The next moment, two Sunagakure Ninja blocking his way 10 meters away were cleaved in two with a single slash. His figure continued to rush towards the direction from which the Chakra fluctuations were coming, and in just a few blinks, he disappeared into the enemy formation.

Holy crap!

Didn't we agree to maintain formation? All those reminders and instructions about the importance of formation, turns out that when something interests you, all of that is just bullshit.

This idea is definitely not just shared by Yohei; Kakashi and Saori must also have the same thought.

At this moment, everyone's eyes turned to their current Captain, Ichiyo Yohei, awaiting his next instruction.

What could Yohei do? He was helpless. He wanted to give that irresponsible guy a good scolding, but the guy had already disappeared without a trace.

"Saori, Rin, you're on my right. Kakashi, Obito, you're on my left. Keep up the formation, let's keep charging!"

Yohei spoke with a tone that even he himself lacked confidence, instructing his companions to maintain formation. Fortunately, there were no outsiders present, otherwise, they would definitely have questioned Yohei's orders. There was nothing they could do; their Captain had set a bad example!

Taiichi charged forward, killing enemies directly when there were few of them and throwing Kunai at those with many, then using Flying Thunder God Technique to bypass them.

When Taiichi finally saw the Jinchuriki after passing through layers of obstacles, the Jinchuriki was just about to unleash Tailed Beast Bomb.

Following the direction of the Tailed Beast Bomb, Taiichi turned his head and looked over. In just a moment, a dazzling burst of light came over, followed by a loud "boom".

That direction was the location of the Command Post. Although they believed that Jiraiya and the others wouldn't die quietly because of a Tailed Beast Bomb, worry was inevitable.

On the entire battlefield, it wasn't just Taiichi who was drawn to this massive explosion; all the Konoha Ninja and Sand Village Ninja witnessed it.

Immediately, Sunagakure erupted in a huge cheer, and their morale soared to its peak in an instant.

On the other hand, Konoha was in a completely different situation. Their own Command Post had been destroyed, so how could they possibly fight this war?

Fortunately, before everyone's spirits could dampen, three white Signal Flare rose up from the rear, informing the ninjas at the front that there was no danger in the rear and that they could continue fighting.

On the battlefield, the intensity of the battle between the two sides immediately escalated to a new level.

But none of this mattered to Taiichi. As the explosion occurred, Taiichi's fist hardened. He sheathed his sword on his back and Body Flicker rushed towards the Tailed Beast.

At this point, the Jinchuriki's body had swelled to over 5 meters tall, and he no longer appeared human. At this height, the Short Sword posed no threat to his body; it was better to use his fists directly.

Taiichi's charge was too fast and too sudden. Just as the Jinchuriki finished releasing the Tailed Beast Bomb and relaxed, a fist slammed hard into the Tailed Beast's chest.

With the Chakra Enhanced Strength, the Tailed Beast's chest immediately caved in, and the entire beast was sent flying like a cannonball by Taiichi's punch, leaving only a large amount of sand flying in all directions.

This scene was truly awe-inspiring. A tiny person, just over a meter tall, punched a giant object more than five meters tall away. The sheer contrast created a powerful and intimidating effect that was no less than that of the Tailed Beast Bomb.

Many people witnessed this scene, and due to their location, the vast majority of them were from Sunagakure. Their previously high morale was momentarily dampened; while it didn't completely collapse, it certainly stopped rising further.

"Bastard! Bastard! Bastard! I'm going to kill you! Kill you!"

An angry roar came from not far away. The Jinchuriki stood up in anger, and in just a short while, his chest had fully recovered, and his height had increased to more than six meters.

With a flick of his arm, a large number of Sand Shuriken flew towards Taiichi.

Taiichi Jinchuriki. As expected of a Jinchuriki, even the One-Tail Beast is not so easy to deal with.

Without backing down, he charged straight at the Sand Shuriken, Water Bullet constantly condensing around him to deflect the Shuriken that could harm him. As for those that he couldn't block, he simply shifted his footing slightly and easily dodged them.

Rushing to the Jinchuriki, Taiichi, Taiichi height now only reached the Jinchuriki's calves, didn't hesitate and threw a punch. However, having learned his lesson, the Jinchuriki was prepared, and the area hit by the punch became soft, greatly reducing the destructive power of Taiichi's punch.

However, this was not unexpected for Taiichi. If one punch wasn't enough, he would throw two punches, and if two punches weren't enough, he would throw three.

In the blink of an eye, Taiichi unleashed five Chakra Enhanced Strength Fist in a row, shattering even the softest sand and mist.

The broken leg clearly disrupted the balance of the Jinchuriki, and his massive body crashed to the ground, which benefited Taiichi.

He quickly circled around to the head of the Jinchuriki and swung his fist down again.

Perhaps his true form was hidden here. When Taiichi attacked his head, the Jinchuriki panicked completely. His arms thrashed wildly at his head, seemingly without any strategy, but combined with his massive size, it forced people to back away.

Taiichi, who had stepped back, finally understood. This Jinchuriki of Sunagakure possessed immense power, yet he had absolutely no experience in applying it. It was likely that he had never used Shukaku's power since becoming Jinchuriki.

With his current mediocre physique and complete lack of combat experience, he was able to be pinned down and beaten by Taiichi for so long. But regardless, his strength was indeed astonishing; even Taiichi dared not be hit by a single casual attack from him.

The Jinchuriki, now standing up again, was beyond furious. He kept shouting "Kill you, kill you!" His eyes were fixed on Taiichi, and his hands swung wildly, sending a barrage of Sand Kunai flying towards Taiichi.

Unlike before, as their size continues to increase, these Sand Kunai are also getting bigger; now each Sand Kunai is as thick as a person's arm.

The Kunai above, and the situation below was equally turbulent. Large amounts of sand, controlled by the Jinchuriki, swirled towards Taiichi, forcing him to constantly run to evade the attacks.

Seeing that the Jinchuriki was becoming more and more accustomed to his power, Taiichi no longer hesitated. Seizing the opportunity, he shot Flying Thunder God Kunai upwards towards the Jinchuriki. When it reached its highest point, his figure vanished instantly. On the spot, Kunai and Sandstorm rushed over at the same time, but unfortunately, they missed.

Three meters above the Jinchuriki, Taiichi's figure appeared out of thin air. At this moment, his hands had already completed the Hand Seals, and a fire dragon was spewed from his mouth.

Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.

At a distance of only three meters, the Bright Gold flames erupted and instantly engulfed the Jinchuriki's entire body. Under the scorching heat, the sand around the Jinchuriki immediately melted and flowed down his tall body.

"Ah--ah"

A series of shrill screams emanated from inside the giant beast's body below, it was unclear whether the Jinchuriki's physical body had been injured.

The battle here naturally attracted the attention of many people, especially the high-ranking officials in Sunagakure, who focused 80% of their attention on the Jinchuriki.

Initially, they didn't take Taiichi's challenge to the Jinchuriki seriously. After all, without a relatively effective Ninjutsu, dealing with a behemoth like Tailed Beast would be extremely difficult. However, their mindset changed after Taiichi defeated the Jinchuriki one after another.

Especially after that Fire Style, a loud shout came from their mouths.

"Quickly, stop Taichi Matsushita!"