Whoever Runs Is a Coward

Inside the giant water sphere, Shukaku leaped and bounded joyfully, its massive body causing the water to surge and churn. It raised its hand that held Taiichi, while its other hand slapped wildly across the water's surface, the beast frolicking freely in the water.

But gradually it also realized something was wrong: the insect was dead, yet the vast body of water hadn't collapsed.

Shukaku, somewhat incredulous, retracted its raised claws, carefully opening each claw one by one. But when all the claws were released, its claws were empty. Undeterred, it repeatedly searched its claws, wondering if it had squeezed too hard and accidentally crushed someone into its hands.

Finally, after checking with his left and right paws, he was certain that he hadn't caught the little bug.

"Hey, where are you, you damn bug? Where did you hide?"

Shukaku angrily waved its arms, causing the entire body of water to surge and crash.

Meanwhile, Taiichi was on a large tree at the edge of the water, the location of a Flying Thunder God Kunai that Minato had previously set up.

Just now, taking advantage of the turbulent waves, he created a Shadow Clone in front of himself, while his main body used the Flying Thunder God to get away from the scene.

Originally, it was just a precaution, but I didn't expect that Shukaku, who is arrogant and conceited, also had the intention of fishing. If his real body had really gone there just now, facing such overwhelming damage, even with the life-saving secret Fire Transformation Technique, he would probably not have been able to escape death.

Through his Chakra Perception, Taiichi clearly saw Shukaku there, raging in a helpless frenzy. Above his head, the Kunai that he had used with the Flying Thunder God was stuck diagonally, not attracting its attention at all. After all, that small Kunai was too insignificant to it.

Just as Shukaku finished venting his anger and began to gather the Tailed Beast Bomb again, Taiichi knew that this time the opportunity had truly arrived.

On his right hand, a Rasengan began to form, and under Taiichi's superb control, a large amount of Chakra continuously poured in, but its size remained unchanged, only its brightness continued to increase.

With his Chakra Perception locked onto Shukaku's Tailed Beast Bomb, Taiichi's figure instantly appeared above its head a split second before it was fully formed. He pressed down with his right Rasengan and then Body Flicker teleported away again.

The moment Taiichi left, the Rasengan that Taiichi had tampered with began to explode. A normal Rasengan could blast a crater two or three meters deep into the ground, but this one was different.

For once, fear appeared on Shukaku's yellowish-brown Raccoon Dog face. The upper half of its head first began to twist, and then, as if a bomb had exploded inside its brain, it instantly turned into a cloud of yellow sand that scattered in all directions.

That wasn't the worst of it. After the upper half of his brain disappeared, the Tailed Beast Bomb that was about to take shape in Shukaku became unstable due to the violent impact of the explosion. The spherical surface twisted violently, but it only froze for a second before an even bigger explosion occurred.

This time, it wasn't just half a head that was gone; half of Shukaku's body also disappeared in the explosion.

In Taiichi's perception, Shukaku's originally violent Chakra fluctuations disappeared immediately after a pause, and in his Soul Vision, the ball of soul light that belonged only to Shukaku also quickly dissipated at this moment.

Unlike ordinary people whose souls are extinguished like candlelight, Shukaku's soul merges into the world. This may be the reason why the Nine Tailed Beasts are immortal. After they die, their souls will reunite somewhere in the world and be resurrected as time goes by.

As Shukaku's soul dissipated, the remaining half of its body quickly turned gray, making it clear that it was lifeless. Then, its massive body collapsed rapidly under the influence of gravity, turning back into yellow sand that filled the entire body of water.

The death of Shukaku was truly unexpected by everyone. No one could have imagined that such a monstrous beast would die at the hands of Taiichi.

It's important to understand that Shukaku isn't a mindless beast. Although it's impulsive and easily angered, its intelligence is in no way inferior to that of humans. If it really can't win, running away is always an option.

But the truth is, it didn't even have a chance to run away; it was taken down in one fell swoop by Taiichi attack and defense.

This scene wasn't only witnessed by Jiraiya and Rasa, who were nearby; that 50-meter height was clearly visible even to the Sunagakure Ninja and Konoha Ninja fighting from three or four kilometers away.

Although Shukaku had previously unleashed a number of Air Bullet at the Sunagakure Ninja under Taiichi's guidance, which was a major reason for their current disadvantage, all the Sunagakure Ninja knew that the Tailed Beast was on their side. As long as they could free their hands, dealing with Konoha would be a piece of cake. So they persevered, relying on this last bit of faith to fight against the people of Konoha.

But at that moment, as that 50-meter-tall behemoth collapsed, the pillar of the Sunagakure Ninja's unwavering spirit also crumbled.

"He's dead! The Jinchuriki is dead! Konoha's 'White Reaper' has arrived!"

It's unclear who shouted this, but many Sunagakure Ninja who witnessed Taiichi's battle with Shukaku followed suit, adding to the fact that their own village had previously advertised that encountering Taiichi meant abandoning the mission without punishment!

Under multiple stimuli, a large number of Genin lost their composure, and this trend spread like dominoes, one after another, faster and faster. In just a few minutes, Sunagakure was in a state of collapse on the main battlefield.

Many Konoha Ninja were still wondering how Sunagakure have suffered such an unexpected defeat, but a defeat is a defeat. The morale of the Konoha Ninja immediately took a three-stage leap, rising once, rising again, rising a third time, until their morale was unstoppable and large numbers of Konoha Ninja began to chase and cut down Sunagakure Ninja.

The situation changed too quickly; not only the ordinary ninjas, but even the high-ranking officials on both sides were caught off guard. But now there's no more time for them to think.

Chiyo and Ebizo of Sunagakure immediately organized their forces. With their prestige, they quickly gathered a group of ninja around them. Using this as a base, they fought and retreated, constantly gathering the scattered Sunagakure Ninja. This preserved a lot of Sunagakure's strength, but most of them were like headless flies, fleeing in all directions.

On the Konoha side, led by Minato, Shikaku, and other skilled fighters, they swept across the area, striving to eliminate as Sunagakure forces as possible.

On Taiichi's side, when he confirmed Shukaku's death, he was somewhat disappointed. It wasn't that he was disappointed that Shukaku was eliminated so quickly, but rather that he was disappointed that he hadn't been able to extract any of Shukaku's Chakra, so that he wouldn't have any materials to use for his future research on Shukaku.

Composing himself, Taiichi his gaze to Jiraiya and Rasa, who were engaged in a fierce battle not far from the water.

Half of the ground there was covered in Magnet Release Gold Dust, while the other half was a muddy swamp. Taiichi recognized it at a glance as the effect of Jiraiya's Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld. Jiraiya intended to use Swamp of the Swamp of the Underworld to suppress Rasa and create more Magnet Release Gold Dust, but judging from the current effect, it can only be described as half and half.

The Magnet Release Gold Dust in Rasa have reached a considerable scale; it is unclear whether they were created temporarily or prepared in advance.

Watching the clash between the Magnet Release Gold Dust and Fire Release Ninjutsu, with Shadow Clone occasionally unleashing Toad Oil Flame Bullet, Jiraiya was suppressing the Fourth Kazekage in the overall battle.

Taiichi saw this and knew he had no reason not to kick a man when he was down. He quickly maneuvered the water to get closer to the battlefield.

Without the need to restrain the Tailed Beast, he relinquished control of the waters. The massive volume of water instantly transformed into a flood, rushing towards Rasa. Wherever it passed, gold and silver sand were all submerged in the water.

Before they even got close, Taiichi's mocking voice rang out. "Lord Kazekage, weren't you so formidable last time, chasing after us? Don't try to run away this time!"

Meanwhile, Jiraiya firing his Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet, not even trying to harm Rasa, just to keep him occupied. At the same time, he chimed in with Taiichi, "Rasa, you're such a grown man, why are you bullying a child? If you've got the guts, fight me to the death today! Whoever runs away is a coward!"

Rasa furious. Those bastard Konoha Ninja not only ganged up on him, but also made sarcastic remarks. Especially that Jiraiya Taichi Matsushita, is he even a child? What kid can kill Shukaku single-handedly?

Moreover, his current situation is also very bad. It was already difficult to deal with Jiraiya, and now there is Taichi Matsushita. In addition, the entire battlefield is now flooded, making it even more difficult for him to control his Magnet Release Gold Dust.

Heaven knows where Taichi Matsushita got so much Chakra. How could he not be killed by the backlash of such a secret technique?

Cursing in his heart, Rasa still had to carefully deal with Jiraiya's attacks. He knew that the battle on the front lines was beyond saving at this point. The death of the Tailed Beast had dealt a huge blow to morale. Not to mention the ordinary ninjas, even he himself almost lost his composure.

Seeing that Taichi Matsushita was about to arrive, if he delayed any longer and the two of them got entangled, he might not be able to escape either. Rasa didn't delay any longer and instantly condensed most of the remaining Magnet Release Gold Dust into a wide-range Gold Dust Shower, which he launched at the charging Jiraiya.

While Jiraiya was using his Needle Jizo to defend against the Magnet Release Gold Dust attack, Rasa had already Magnet Release Gold Dust a pile, leaped up, and once again transformed into an aerial acrobat, soaring into the sky.

"You little brat, are you trying to run away already?" Jiraiya cursed from below. He couldn't actually hit him, but he could still get a verbal advantage.

Taiichi, who had rushed close, watched as Rasa took off again and flew away. He was furious. How many times had this happened? Just because she can fly doesn't mean she's so great.

He quickly Hand Seals and then slammed his hands into the water as if to vent his frustration.

Water Style: Water Severing Wave.

Water Gun fired in succession from all around the water, attacking Rasa, which had just taken off. The "whoosh" sound of water jets piercing through the air echoed continuously, forcing Rasa in the sky to sway and dodge constantly.

A recent Water Gun pierced right through his Magnet Release Gold Dust, cutting off a small portion of the ground he was standing on. Unfortunately, the angle was wrong, allowing him to escape a section; otherwise, at least one foot would have been left intact.

Seeing that Rasa was flying higher and higher, Taiichi had no choice but to stop continuing his spell and stand up straight again.

However, he was greeted by Jiraiya's large hand and hearty laughter, "Good lad, I never expected your strength to have reached this level. Even I was taken aback."

Taiichi chuckled awkwardly, feeling the warm, large hand rubbing his head, and unconsciously backed away.

Jiraiya took the opportunity to withdraw his hand. He'd only just experienced the feel of it; anything more wouldn't be appropriate. This kid was now a top-tier fighter.

"It's not as exaggerated as you think, teacher. My strength is all thanks to my Chakra Quantity and the prior preparation of the Yin Seal, not my own power. Moreover, this time, the Chakra stored in the Yin Seal has been completely depleted, and I won't have this kind of power later."

In fact, only half of the Chakra in the Yin Seal was used up. This was just to reassure some people, though it wasn't much. After this First Shinobi World War, even without a sufficient amount of Chakra, Taiichi's strength was enough to place him among the top ninjas.

After speaking, Taiichi immediately Hand Seals. After a series of complex hand seals, the Curse Mark patterns all over his body began to converge towards his forehead, and finally all shrank back into the Rhombus Mark. If his Headband were removed, it could be seen that the mark was still shining brightly, without dimming or disappearing.

Jiraiya kept his eyes on Taiichi's movements, his gaze following the Curse Mark to Taiichi's forehead. He smiled, neither believing nor disbelieving Taiichi's nonsense. A ninja should always keep some trump cards up his sleeve; he wouldn't pry into his apprentice's secrets.

"Alright, things are settled here. My Shadow Clone just sent word that we also won a great victory on the main battlefield. You're fast, so get to the rear immediately and bring back the logistics and Medical Ninja to prepare for treating the wounded."

Jiraiya immediately switched to Commander mode and began issuing orders to Taiichi.

"Yes!"

Taiichi was pleased to hear of the great victory on the main battlefield, but his face immediately darkened when he thought of Yohei, Kakashi, and the others whom he had abandoned.

Looking back on my actions, I feel ashamed of myself. I wonder how Yohei and the others feel, but I'm sure they don't feel good about it.

"What's wrong, Taiichi? Did you overexert yourself? Why does your complexion look so bad all of a sudden?" Jiraiya carefully examined Taiichi and asked with concern. The change was so drastic that he couldn't help but have some doubts.

"No—it's nothing, it's just—I was thinking about some unpleasant things!" Taiichi tried to explain, but the more he spoke, the less confident he became. He simply said, "I'm leaving now!" Flying Thunder God Technique.

Jiraiya was left standing there bewildered, but he didn't care. He shook his head, jumped onto a big tree, and checked the movements in the distance. After confirming the location, he set off to get there.

Although the major battle has ended, small-scale skirmishes have not decreased at all. He can still offer some assistance, boost morale, and reduce casualties.

Taiichi didn't go very far with his Flying Thunder God. Flying Thunder God calming himself down briefly, he used it again and this time he finally returned to a temporary Camp near the border of Konoha.

Taiichi appeared beside Director Fujita. This was a Flying Thunder God Kunai given to the chief before the battle, for the purpose of rapid communication now.

"Taiichi, how is it!" As soon as Director Fujita saw Taiichi arrive, he asked the question that everyone present wanted to ask.

Taiichi looked around and saw that everyone present was a high-ranking official from logistics and medical departments. They were all staring at him, waiting for his answer.

"Victory! A resounding victory!"