The mission briefing reported abnormal chakra fluctuations in a vast lake near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water, accompanied by unexplained flooding and missing persons. A squad led by Jonin Kakei Sumire was sent to investigate. Its members included Nadeshiko Haku, Hatake Lian, and Kazamatsuri Yamanaka.
Fog blanketed the lake, reducing visibility to almost nothing. The air was thick with moisture and carried a faint, unsettling hint of berserk chakra.
"Everyone, be careful. Something's wrong with the chakra here." Kakei Sumire warily surveyed their surroundings. Her sensory abilities let her detect the immense energy lurking deep underwater. Haku held a Senbon ready in her hand, her ice-blue eyes sweeping over the eerily calm surface of the lake. Lian had already activated his Sharingan, trying to see through the fog. Kazamatsuri, meanwhile, attempted to communicate with the aquatic animals in his range using the Mind Transfer Technique to gather information.
Suddenly! A deep, terrifying roar came from the heart of the lake! The entire lake seemed to boil, and enormous waves surged into the sky! A gigantic monster shaped like a turtle, covered in a thick shell and bearing three massive tails, burst through the water and bellowed at the sky! The Tailed Beast Chakra radiating from its body pressed against everyone's nerves like a tangible force!
The Three-Tails—Isobu! And it seemed to be in a wild state, utterly berserk!
"It's the Three-Tails! Retreat! Send an urgent request for help to the village!" Kakei Sumire's face changed dramatically as she issued the order. Their squad had no chance against a fully formed Tailed Beast!
But the Three-Tails seemed enraged by their arrival! It opened its massive jaws, and a pitch-black, highly condensed Tailed Beast Bomb began to form. Its target was the four of them on the shore!
"Not good!" Kakei Sumire immediately formed Hand Seals, preparing to use her strongest defensive jutsu to try to hold it back. But everyone knew it would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!
At that very moment!
Another sudden change!
A figure shot out of the forest at the side like a black bolt of lightning, heading straight for the Three-Tails!
The person had long, flowing hair, bandages wrapped around his face, and wore a purple Uchiha battle robe. The huge Gunbai on his back was unmistakable—he was the Konoha rogue ninja, Uchiha Sakuya!
His target was the Three-Tails too!
"Uchiha Flame Formation!" Sakuya slapped both hands against the ground. A massive barrier of flames sprang up—not to protect anyone, but to temporarily confine the Three-Tails to a certain area and keep it from running wild. It also shut out outside interference, including Kakei Sumire's squad.
Boom! The Tailed Beast Bomb slammed into the fiery barrier, triggering a violent explosion. The barrier shook fiercely but did not break!
"Sakuya?!" Haku and Lian cried out at the same time, staring at the figure who had suddenly appeared to face down the Three-Tails. Their feelings were more complicated than they could put into words!
Sakuya seemed surprised to encounter Haku's squad here too. His brow furrowed beneath the bandages, but he had no time to deal with them now. The Eighty Gods Mirror had locked firmly onto the Three-Tails, searching for a chance to seal or subdue it. Recovering the Tailed Beast was part of his plan, too.
His battle with the Three-Tails erupted in an instant!
Sakuya darted at high speed around the Three-Tails' enormous body, dodging the sweeps of its massive tails and attacks from its high-pressure water cannons. His Gunbai repeatedly deflected deadly blows, even reflecting some of the water cannons back at the beast. The Eighty Gods Mirror constantly analyzed the Three-Tails' attack patterns and chakra flow. Sakuya occasionally counterattacked with powerful Water Release or Earth Release jutsu he had copied. The sight was breathtaking!
Kakei Sumire's squad was shut out by the Uchiha Flame Formation and couldn't intervene at all. They could only watch the inhuman battle anxiously.
"We have to do something!" Haku bit her lip as she watched Sakuya face the terrifying Tailed Beast alone. Worry and an inexplicable flutter filled her heart.
But the Three-Tails was more berserk than they could have imagined! After failing to bring Sakuya down with a prolonged assault, it went completely mad!
It ignored Sakuya's attacks, abruptly tucked its massive body into its shell, and began spinning wildly at astonishing speed! Like a gigantic spiked wheel, it slammed into the Uchiha Flame Formation confining it!
Crack! The Uchiha Flame Formation was actually split open by the sheer force of the collision!
The Three-Tails' momentum didn't let up. It surged through the gap and out of the barrier! But it was hurtling straight toward Haku!
"Haku! Get out of the way!" Kakei Sumire and Lian shouted in terror at the same time!
But it was moving too fast! The enormous creature, covered in spikes and a thick shell, bore down like a mountain, and the shadow of death fell over Haku in an instant! She didn't even have time to make an effective move to dodge!
Haku was about to meet her end!
"No—!!!" Lian's eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he raced toward her, but he was too far away. He'd never make it in time!
In that fraction of a second!
Sakuya, who had been pursuing the Three-Tails, did something no one could have expected!
He abandoned all attack and defense, driving the ocular power of the Eighty Gods Mirror and his own chakra to the utmost! His speed exploded in an instant, and Kamui activated at its limit. With a flash of the swirling vortex, his purple-clad figure appeared in front of Haku, holding his Gunbai sideways!
He used his own body to take the full force of the Three-Tails' devastating charge!
Crack—!
Pfft—!
"Ugh—!"
The teeth-grinding sound of breaking bones rang out alongside Sakuya's muffled groan! He spat out a mouthful of blood, his body shuddering violently. The Gunbai on his back groaned under the strain, and his purple robe was instantly soaked in blood!
Yet with his Gunbai and his own body, he really did manage to slow the Three-Tails' charge by a tenth of a second!
That tenth of a second was enough!
Sakuya spun around. The light of the Eighty Gods Mirror in his bloodshot eyes blazed brighter than ever! His hands formed Hand Seals at a speed beyond the limits of sight. It was another dangerous, incomplete sealing formula he had mastered after studying the Book of Sealing. He had originally planned to use it to forcefully seal the Three-Tails, but now...
He yanked the stunned, wide-eyed Haku behind him, then slammed his bloodied hand, shimmering with eerie symbols, against her abdomen!
"Forbidden Technique: Pseudo-Jinchuriki Seal!"
Hummm—!!!
An indescribably powerful suction force burst from Sakuya's palm! The charging Three-Tails let out a terrified, unwilling roar as its enormous body was forcibly twisted and compressed, turning into a torrent of pitch-black, berserk chakra that was dragged into Haku's body!
"Ahhhhhhh—!!!" Haku screamed in excruciating pain as her body convulsed violently. The crimson, ferocious image of the Three-Tails flashed through her ice-blue eyes! The immense Tailed Beast Chakra rampaged through her body, almost bursting her apart!
The entire process happened in the blink of an eye!
By the time Lian and Kakei Sumire reached them, the enormous Three-Tails had vanished. Haku lay limp in Sakuya's arms, her body radiating unstable, terrifying crimson Tailed Beast Chakra as she writhed in agony, unconscious. A hastily constructed, extremely unstable Three-Tails sealing formula had appeared on her abdomen, looking as if it could break apart at any moment!
Sakuya was in terrible shape, too. After sustaining serious injuries, he had forced himself to use a forbidden technique, and his aura was now feebler than ever. His bandages were soaked in blood.
He glanced at Haku, suffering in his arms, then at Lian and Kakei Sumire rushing toward him. Without hesitation, he did the only thing he could.
He poured the last of his chakra into his right eye. Space began to twist violently as Kamui activated!
"Let her go!" Lian roared as he lunged at him!
But Sakuya held Haku tightly. Their figures quickly faded into the spatial vortex.
"Take care of your..." Before he vanished completely, Sakuya seemed to struggle to leave Lian a faint, indistinct message. Then he disappeared entirely.
All that remained by the lakeshore were a stunned, horrified Kakei Sumire, Lian, and Kazamatsuri, the terrifying chakra lingering in the air, and the wreckage around them.
The Three-Tails had vanished. Haku had been taken away. And the one who had rescued her and sealed the Tailed Beast inside her was none other than the rogue Uchiha, Sakuya.
It was all completely beyond anyone's understanding.
Lian drove his sword into the ground.
"Damn ittttt!!!"
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