Three-Tails Appears

The mission briefing indicated that a vast lake region at the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Water had recently experienced abnormal chakra fluctuations, accompanied by unexplained flooding and missing persons. A squad led by Jonin Kakei Sumire was dispatched to investigate, with members including Nadeshiko Haku, Hatake Lian, and Kazamatsuri Yamanaka.

The lake area was shrouded in thick fog, with visibility extremely low; the air was saturated with heavy moisture and a faint, unsettling trace of violent chakra.

"Everyone, be careful. The chakra here is very wrong." Kakei Sumire observed the surroundings vigilantly, her sensory abilities detecting a massive energy source lurking deep beneath the water. Haku held senbon in her hands, her ice-blue eyes scanning the eerily calm surface of the lake. Lian's Sharingan was already active, attempting to pierce through the mist. Kazamatsuri attempted to communicate with aquatic animals within his range using the Mind Transfer Technique to gather intelligence.

Suddenly! A dull, terrifying roar erupted from the depths of the lake! The entire lake seemed to boil, sending massive waves surging into the sky! A colossal monster, covered in a thick shell and sporting three massive tails, violently broke the surface and let out a heaven-shaking roar! The Tailed Beast chakra radiating from its body pressed against everyone's nerves like a physical weight!

The Three-Tails, Isobu! And it appeared to be in a wild, extremely berserk state!

"It's the Three-Tails! Retreat! Request reinforcements from the village immediately!" Kakei Sumire's expression changed drastically as she issued the order. Facing a full-power Tailed Beast, their squad had no chance of winning!

But the Three-Tails seemed enraged by their appearance! It opened its massive maw, and a pitch-black, highly condensed Tailed Beast Ball instantly began to form! Its target was the four people on the shore!

"Oh no!" Kakei Sumire immediately formed hand seals, preparing to cast her strongest defensive ninjutsu to attempt a block, but everyone knew this was akin to a mantis trying to stop a chariot!

At this critical, life-or-death moment!

A sudden change occurred!

A figure like a black bolt of lightning shot out from the forest to the side without warning, charging straight toward the Three-Tails!

The man had long, flowing hair, bandages wrapped around his face, and wore a purple Uchiha battle robe, with a massive fan clearly visible on his back—it was the Konoha missing-nin: Uchiha Sakuya!

His target, surprisingly, was also the Three-Tails!

"Uchiha Flame Formation!" Sakuya slammed his hands onto the ground, and a massive flame barrier instantly rose up. It was not to protect anyone, but to temporarily trap the Three-Tails within a certain range, preventing it from running wild while also isolating external interference (including Kakei Sumire's squad).

BOOM! The Tailed Beast Ball slammed into the flame barrier, triggering a violent explosion; the barrier shook intensely but did not shatter!

"Sakuya?!" Haku and Lian exclaimed in unison, looking at the figure who had suddenly appeared to confront the Three-Tails, their emotions complex to the extreme!

Sakuya did not seem to have expected to encounter Haku's squad here; his brows beneath the bandages furrowed slightly, but he had no time to deal with them now. The "Eighty Gods Mirror" had already locked onto the Three-Tails, searching for an opportunity to seal or subdue it. Recovering the Tailed Beast was also part of his plan.

His battle with the Three-Tails erupted instantly!

Sakuya's figure darted at high speed around the Three-Tails' massive body, dodging the sweeping giant tails and high-pressure water cannons. The fan parried lethal attacks time and again, even reflecting some of the water cannons back. The "Eighty Gods Mirror" continuously analyzed the Three-Tails' attack patterns and chakra flow, while Sakuya occasionally unleashed powerful Water or Earth Style ninjutsu he had copied to counterattack; the scene was heart-stopping!

Kakei Sumire's squad was isolated outside the Flame Formation, unable to intervene, and could only watch this inhuman battle with anxiety.

"We have to do something!" Haku bit her lip, watching Sakuya face the terrifying Tailed Beast alone, her heart filled with worry and an inexplicable tremor.

However, the Three-Tails' berserk state exceeded all imagination! Unable to secure a victory after a prolonged assault, it fell into a complete frenzy!

It ignored Sakuya's attacks, its massive body suddenly retracting into its shell, and then it began to spin wildly at an astonishing speed! Like a giant, spiked wheel, it slammed into the flame barrier that held it!

CRACK! The Uchiha Flame Formation was actually cracked open by this sheer force!

The Three-Tails' momentum did not diminish, and it rushed out of the barrier along the fissure! But the direction it lost control in happened to be exactly where Haku was standing!

"Haku! Get out of the way!" Kakei Sumire and Lian screamed in terror!

But the speed was too fast! The behemoth, covered in spikes and a thick shell, crushed forward like a mountain, and the shadow of death instantly enveloped Haku! She didn't even have time to make any effective evasive maneuver!

It looked as though Haku was about to perish!

"NO--!!!" Lian's eyes split with rage as he rushed over frantically, but the distance was too great; it was far too late!

In that one-ten-thousandth of a second!

Sakuya, who had been pursuing the Three-Tails, made a move that no one expected!

He abandoned all offense and defense, pushing the ocular power of the "Eighty Gods Mirror" and his own chakra to the absolute limit! His speed exploded instantly, and the activation speed of "Kamui" reached its peak. With a flash of swirling space, the purple figure appeared in front of Haku, holding his fan horizontally!

He used his own body to forcibly withstand the Three-Tails' devastating collision!

CREAK--!

PUFF--!

"Ugh--!"

The bone-chilling sound of cracking bones and Sakuya's suppressed groan of pain rang out simultaneously! He spat out a mouthful of blood, his body trembling violently, his fan emitting a groan of unbearable strain, and his purple robe was instantly soaked through with blood!

Yet, he had actually managed to forcibly slow the Three-Tails' momentum by a tenth of a second using his fan and his own flesh!

That tenth of a second! It was enough!

Sakuya spun around violently, the light of the "Eighty Gods Mirror" in his blood-stained eyes shining with unprecedented intensity! His hands formed seals at a speed that transcended the limits of vision—it was a dangerous, incomplete sealing technique he had mastered after studying the Book of Sealing, originally intended to forcibly seal the Three-Tails, but at this moment...

He pulled the stunned and wide-eyed Haku behind him, then slammed his hand, which was dripping with blood and flickering with eerie runes, hard against Haku's abdomen!

"Forbidden Technique: Pseudo-Jinchuriki Seal!"

HUM--!!!

An indescribably powerful suction force instantly erupted from Sakuya's palm! The violently charging Three-Tails let out a terrified and unwilling roar; its massive body was forcibly twisted, compressed, and transformed into a pitch-black, violent torrent of chakra, which was then forcibly dragged and poured into Haku's body!

"AHHHHHHH--!!!" Haku let out a scream of extreme agony, her body convulsing violently, and the scarlet, violent shadow of the Three-Tails flashed in her ice-blue eyes! The massive Tailed Beast chakra rampaged within her, nearly bursting her apart!

The entire process occurred in the blink of an eye!

When Lian and Kakei Sumire rushed to the scene, they only saw that the massive Three-Tails had vanished, while Haku lay collapsed in Sakuya's arms, her body radiating unstable, terrifying scarlet Tailed Beast chakra, lost in intense pain and unconsciousness. On her abdomen, a temporarily constructed, extremely unstable Three-Tails sealing formula flickered, as if it could shatter at any moment!

Sakuya's condition was also dire; having forcibly used a forbidden technique while already severely wounded, his aura had withered to the extreme, and his bandages were soaked through with blood.

He glanced at the agonizing Haku in his arms, then at the approaching Lian and Kakei Sumire, without a moment's hesitation.

He injected his remaining chakra into his right eye once more, and space began to twist violently; "Kamui" was activated!

"Let her go!" Lian roared as he lunged forward!

But Sakuya held Haku tightly, their figures rapidly fading within the spatial vortex.

"Take care of your..." Before vanishing completely, Sakuya seemed to struggle immensely, leaving behind a blurred, indistinct sentence in the direction of Lian, before disappearing entirely.

All that remained were the stunned and horrified Kakei Sumire, Lian, and Kazamatsuri by the lakeside, along with the terrifying chakra lingering in the air and the scene of utter devastation.

The Three-Tails had vanished. Haku had been taken away. And the one who had rescued her, only to seal the Tailed Beast within her body, was none other than the rogue Uchiha Sakuya.

Everything that had transpired was completely beyond anyone's comprehension.

Lian drove his blade fiercely into the ground.

"Damn it all!!!"