Shukaku!! (Seeking Follow-up Reads!!)

Watching the Swamp of the Underworld appear before them, some Sunagakure Village ninjas who refused to believe it jumped straight in, only to meet an expectedly disastrous end.

After several stubborn fools were swallowed by the swamp in quick succession, the remaining Sunagakure ninjas backed away with looks of dread, desperate to skirt around the hazard.

"Chidori!!"

At that moment, a squad of over a hundred men charged out from the flank. Leading them was a youth with long silver hair and a black mask, his hand crackling with tangible lightning that emitted a sound like a thousand chirping birds.

This youth was none other than Namikaze Minato's disciple—Hatake Kakashi!

A genius ninja who had become a jonin at the age of twelve, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan glowed with a faint red light. He dove into the enemy ranks like a starving wolf into a pack, dispatching nearly ten Sunagakure ninjas in mere seconds.

Behind him, the hundred-strong force of Konoha ninjas charged at the main Sunagakure army without fear of death.

Beyond them, from the east, west, north, and south, various elite jonin-led teams were crashing into the main Sunagakure force.

These were elite ninjas returning from other fronts, every one of them a battle-hardened veteran. Like tigers descending from the mountains, they drove the Sunagakure ninjas into a steady retreat.

Seeing Namikaze Minato and the various elite ninjas return to reinforce the defense, the Konoha ninjas on the city walls grew ecstatic.

"All Konoha ninjas, listen up! It is time to launch our counterattack against Sunagakure!!"

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, removed his pipe and exhaled a slow wisp of smoke. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as his low shout echoed across the entire battlefield.

"Kill!"

The Konoha ninjas, faces flushed with excitement, leaped down from the city walls...

"Scorch Release combined with wind-style nature transformation—how on earth did he do it!"

At the end of the trench carved by the Scorch Release and wind-style jutsu, Ya stood with his clothes in tatters and half his beard singed off, staring fixedly ahead. He had tried to incorporate other nature transformations into his Scorch Release before, but he had failed every time.

Yet this ninja from the Uchiha Clan—how old was he? And he had already mastered it?

"Old man Ya, are you alright?"

Although Chiyo was a puppeteer, her mastery of Medical Ninjutsu was also quite remarkable. Seeing Ya injured, she rushed over immediately.

"Chiyo, I am fine, but looking at the situation, we may have to use that."

Ya looked ahead with a grave expression, waving his hand as he spoke.

"But if we use that, it will take some time."

Chiyo's expression was equally solemn; the situation on the battlefield had already become dire.

"I will buy that time!"

"I refuse to believe you have that much chakra!"

Gathering his chakra once more, Ya charged along the trench. He was gambling that this youth could not possibly have such an endless supply of chakra!

"Scorch Release—Scorching Dragon Bullet!!"

As four fireballs coalesced into a massive sphere, a fire dragon erupted from within and lunged straight at Uchiha Chen.

"I told you, that is not how you play with Scorch Release!"

"Scorch Release—Double Scorching Dragon Bullet!!"

Uchiha Chen pushed his hands forward, and two fire dragons emerged from his palms without warning. As they flew, their size grew increasingly massive.

The two ferocious fire dragons bared their sharp teeth, lunging with murderous intent toward the dragon Ya had unleashed.

"BOOM!!"

The collision of the two dragons created an explosion like blooming fireworks, scattering countless flames in every direction.

However, the second fire dragon Uchiha Chen had unleashed broke through the thick smoke and slammed into Ya at even greater speed!

"Scorch Release—"

The dragon was too fast, and because Ya had been charging toward Uchiha Chen, he had no chance to react before the fire dragon completely pierced through him.

"Agh!!"

In the blink of an eye, all the moisture in Ya's body was evaporated, and he collapsed to the ground, silent.

"ROAR!!!"

Just as Uchiha Chen struck Ya down, a terrifying roar erupted from the Sunagakure camp.

"Agh!!"

As the roar faded, a black blur, too fast to track, shot out from among the Sunagakure ninjas. Those who could not dodge were instantly slaughtered, blood splattering as one scream after another rang out from the Sunagakure ranks.

"Gahaha, kill, kill, kill!!"

The black blur reached Uchiha Chen in an instant, a yellow tail lashing out toward him. However, Uchiha Chen's speed was no less impressive; he dodged with a single shift of his body.

BOOM!

The already uneven ground was gouged by a trench several meters long where the tail had struck.

"Shukaku? A jinchuriki?"

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan glowing brilliantly, Uchiha Chen saw the true form of the shadow. It was a person—no, it could hardly be called human anymore.

Almost his entire body was covered in sand, his right hand transformed into a beastly claw, and a long tail dragged behind him, whipping back and forth...

Seeing this strange figure, Uchiha Chen immediately associated it with the jinchuriki of Gaara.

Although both were jinchuriki, this was definitely not Gaara, as Gaara had not even been born yet. It was highly likely a failed vessel for the One-Tail that preceded him.

This One-Tail jinchuriki had lost all sense of self and was clearly in a state of berserk rage.

"Oh no, it's the One-Tail jinchuriki!"

Seeing this, Jiraiya wanted to rush over to rescue Uchiha Chen, but just as he prepared to move, he noticed the calm expression on Uchiha Chen's face.

Could it be that Brother Chen is confident he can handle it?

Jiraiya rubbed his chin, pondered for a moment, and ultimately chose to trust Uchiha Chen.

What is going on with that guy Jiraiya? Does he actually think Uchiha Chen has the ability to deal with Shukaku?

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood atop the city wall, his heart filled with doubt.

"ROAR!!!"

The berserk jinchuriki let out a heaven-shaking roar and charged straight toward Uchiha Chen.

Using both claws and tail, it slammed down with immense force.

"Rasengan!"

Uchiha Chen remained unhurried, meeting the attack head-on with a Rasengan!

BOOM!!!

The berserk jinchuriki was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the ground. Some unlucky Sunagakure Village ninjas were caught in the crossfire, suffering severe injuries for no apparent reason.

"Argh!! Kill, kill, kill!!"

The jinchuriki sprang up from the deep crater, roaring in fury as its body underwent continuous transformations.

The jinchuriki had already taken on the form of Shukaku, its body swelling rapidly. The ninjas who had been fighting nearby stopped their battle upon seeing this, fleeing in terror in all directions... After a thick cloud of white smoke cleared, "Wahahahaha, I can finally come out!!"

"I've found the person I want to kill immediately!"

Whoosh!

A massive figure leaped from the white smoke. It was a tanuki covered in cursed seal patterns, its immense size blotting out the sky—it was the complete form of Shukaku!!