Partial Tailed Beast Transformation

"Back off a little. He's already started drawing on the Four-Tails' chakra.

"This next fight is beyond your ability to interfere in."

Pakura, whose good intentions had only made things worse, knew that if she kept interfering, she'd only cause trouble for Rasa. She obediently retreated to the side.

It was hard to say whether Scorch Release or Lava Release was the superior Kekkei Genkai, but there was no doubt Pakura was no match for Roshi. She wouldn't be any help here.

He constrained the molecules within the metal, rapidly cooling it. Some metals with higher melting points and greater hardness were placed on the outside, specifically to withstand Roshi's Lava Release.

Roshi roared, transformed his entire body into magma, then concentrated the heat in his fist. He leaped at Rasa and threw a punch.

Rasa controlled a giant metal sphere to block Roshi's fist. The recoil didn't exceed what he could withstand. The sphere's surface temperature rose, but it showed no sign of melting anytime soon.

It seemed Roshi's strength hadn't reached superhuman levels yet. Rasa could hold out for now.

Rasa made his assessment. When Roshi tried to circle around the metal sphere and charge again, Rasa controlled a metal rod like an arrow, accelerating it to supersonic speed before sending it straight into Roshi's chest.

"Boom! Crack!"

The Lava Armor on Roshi's chest shattered. The metal rod's remaining force still sent him flying backward, tumbling into the vast desert.

"There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people's hearts, but there's only one Sun Wukong in everyone's eyes.

"If you were the real Sun Wukong, I'd turn around and leave this instant, without the slightest desire to fight.

"Too bad you're not."

Though Sixth Teacher's reputation had taken a hit in his later years, the Sun Wukong he'd portrayed was certainly iconic. The Four-Tails' appearance borrowed heavily from Sun Wukong, so this was a sort of tribute.

Rasa stood motionless as a giant metal sphere and metal pillars revolved around him in orderly three-dimensional orbits. He looked down at Roshi in the distance.

In the desert, Roshi shook his head and climbed to his feet. He glanced uneasily at the metal pillar beside him. The attack had been plain and simple, yet incredibly powerful. His Lava Armor couldn't be much weaker than the Third Raikage's Lightning God Armor, and yet this thick, hard rod had still broken through his defenses.

"So, what do you think? Like the rod I gave you?" Rasa asked with a smile.

"It's nothing."

Roshi feigned disdain, grabbed the metal pillar beside him, gathered all his strength, and hurled it at Rasa with tremendous force.

The Tailed Beast's tail behind him slapped the ground violently. He opened his mouth and roared, then added a few more magma fireballs, switching to a long-range attack.

"Metal isn't something you can play with as you please."

Rasa pointed a finger, stopping the metal pillar flying toward him. It spun rapidly around its midpoint, forming an airtight barrier that pulverized every magma fireball.

He again controlled several metal spheres nearby, using Electromagnetic Force to give them an initial velocity. He shaped some metal fragments into chains, attaching one end of each chain to a sphere.

He swung the metal chains rapidly for several rotations, building up momentum in the spheres. When it felt like enough, he used Electromagnetic Force to accelerate them further.

Swinging the flail, he sent it crashing straight at Roshi. The sound of it breaking the sound barrier exploded through the air, and Roshi's instincts screamed in alarm.

He spat out several magma fireballs. They struck the metal sphere and burst apart, but did nothing at all. By the time he tried to dodge, it was already too late.

He could only draw on more of the Four-Tails' chakra, don a Tailed Beast Cloak, and punch the metal sphere with both fists.

Even then, he couldn't stop it completely. His arms hurt as if they'd shattered, and half his body was driven into the desert like a nail.

Different opponents called for different strategies. When mowing down weak enemies, he could play around with finesse; when facing a tough opponent, he could go all out with brute force.

Chakra transformed into Gold Dust and gathered into a Gold Dust Throne. Rasa sat in it at an angle, lightly tapping the back of the chair with his index finger as he sent a metal pillar crashing toward Roshi.

That nonchalant attitude enraged Roshi completely. He threw back his head and howled, bent his knees, and shot into the sky.

Magma blazed across his body. Just as he was about to hurl another fiery meteor at Rasa, a metal sphere struck him and sent him crashing back to the ground.

"Get back down there!"

Rasa gave a quiet command and pressed his advantage, using Electromagnetic Force to propel even more metal pillars and spheres at Roshi. Flails filled the sky.

"Clang! Clang! Clang..."

Even Pakura, watching from a distance, could clearly feel the tremors beneath her feet. The metal objects Rasa created were heavy.

Their speed was astonishing, and their immense force was only to be expected.

So strong.

Pakura marveled inwardly. He was even stronger than the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand Technique. Iron Sand was very hard, but it was still just a loose mass of particles; it wasn't suited to breaking through tough defenses.

Meanwhile, Roshi, being mercilessly pummeled, could only draw more and more on the Four-Tails' chakra to replenish his Tailed Beast Cloak and Lava Armor. He was still badly injured.

He spat out several mouthfuls of blood. His internal organs and bones throughout his body had sustained varying degrees of damage.

This time, Rasa was attacking with blunt weapons. Armor could block blunt force, but it couldn't cancel the impact. Internal injuries were inevitable.

Smoke and dust billowed everywhere. Roshi, battered like a radish, grew increasingly dazed. Realizing he couldn't go on like this, he finally crossed the line he'd been holding back from.

Vast, volcano-like chakra surged out, enveloping Roshi's entire body and taking the shape of a gigantic, shadowy Four-Tails ape. Chakra currents raged across its surface.

From this stage onward, a Jinchūriki could truly be called a weapon of war.

Pakura was stunned. This was her first time seeing a Jinchūriki undergo a Partial Tailed Beast Transformation. Bunpuku was always kind and gentle, and Shukaku had never gone berserk.

At this point, Roshi still couldn't fully control the Tailed Beast's power. He'd lost some of his reason, and his mouth opened as he unconsciously gathered Yin and Yang chakra.

The chakra gathered in his mouth in a 2:8 ratio, forming a rapidly spinning, highly condensed black energy sphere: a Tailed Beast Bomb.

The energy sphere quickly shrank a little, and Roshi swallowed it. An aura capable of destroying everything spread through the air.

Just as Roshi, in his Partial Tailed Beast Transformation, was about to open his mouth, a metal pillar came crashing down from above and struck him on the head. His mouth, which had just opened, snapped shut again.

The energy of the Tailed Beast Bomb had nowhere to go and ran wild in his mouth. It burst through the weak point of his mouth and swept across the desert, blasting a small dune flat.

Pakura shuddered with lingering fear. No wonder they called Jinchūriki weapons of war. Now she understood.

Their chakra far exceeded that of ordinary Kage Level shinobi, their recovery and durability were off the charts, and even if they couldn't win, they could go berserk and enter the Tailed Beast Transformation.

One Tailed Beast Bomb, and everything was nuked to oblivion.

Pakura glanced at Rasa. That Red-Hair really was devious—what a nasty trick, striking someone right when they were powering up.

"A Jinchūriki is nothing special. You've got three minutes. If you can't put on a performance that satisfies me, you can leave the stage."

Rasa lightly tapped the back of the chair again.