One-Tail Shukaku

Not far from the sea of golden sand, Sen Chisato emerged from the earth.

When it came to survival skills, he was no slouch.

Looking up at the Third Eye floating in the sky, Sen Chisato offered a smug smile.

I've been discovered... No, this brat discovered me a long time ago! Rasa's heart sank.

If that were the case, what was the point of everything this brat had done before?

Sen Chisato gave him the answer with his actions.

"Move!"

At his command, Sen Chisato instantly formed hand seals: "Earth Style: Earth Splitter Palm!"

Including his Shadow Clones, ten people struck at once. With the support of a massive amount of chakra, the power and range of this technique reached its absolute limit.

Rumble!

The earth shattered, mud and rock collapsed, and the entire area where the Sand Ninja were positioned crumbled away.

The surprise attack unit, having been briefed beforehand, also sprang into action, each unleashing ninjutsu to either block the Sand Ninja from escaping or to accelerate the collapse of the ground.

Cries of agony erupted from the Sand Ninja as over thirty of them plummeted into the canyon along with the debris!

The collapse happened so fast that even Rasa couldn't react in time.

"Magnet Release: Sand Cushion." A mass of Gold Sand coalesced in mid-air, catching him.

At the same time, he struck repeatedly, manipulating the Gold Sand to grab the surrounding Sand Ninja, but even so, more than half of them fell into the canyon.

Under the sunlight, the Gold Sand refracted a dazzling light, and at this moment, Rasa's expression turned incredibly grim.

I've been played! He finally understood the purpose of the brat's constant attacks earlier.

Everything had been done to use him!

Every time he extracted Gold Sand from the earth, the area beneath his feet became increasingly fragile. Combined with the immense weight of the Gold Sand pressing down on the ground, it was no wonder the collapse was so rapid once the brat finally made his move!

Realizing this, Rasa looked up with a cold face, catching sight of Sen Chisato standing at the edge of the canyon, with Konoha ninjas emerging one after another behind him.

"Water Style."

Sen Chisato gave a simple order and then quickly formed hand seals: "Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"

The other Konoha ninjas capable of Water Style immediately stepped forward, each spitting out streams of water.

More than a dozen streams poured down, ten of which were exaggeratedly large, resembling actual waterfalls.

Rasa's pupils constricted, and he immediately controlled the Gold Sand to pull the remaining dozen or so people to his side. The Gold Sand shifted shape, eventually forming a massive sphere that protected everyone inside.

As soon as he finished, the water crashed down.

Boom!

With a muffled thud, many Sand Ninja fell over inside the sphere. Everyone could feel that they were plummeting rapidly.

However, protected by Rasa, they didn't panic too much.

Just then, a Sand Ninja suddenly spoke up: "Kazekage-sama, the monk Bunpuku..."

Before he could finish, Rasa cut him off: "Don't worry about him. Even if we die, he won't."

As he spoke, through the Third Eye outside, Rasa watched the bottom of the canyon, manipulating the Gold Sand sphere to constantly slow their descent.

The Gold Sand sphere dispersed, and the surviving Sand Ninja finally saw the light of day again, their faces etched with the relief of those who had narrowly escaped death.

At the same time.

Boom!

A terrifying surge of chakra erupted from nearby, followed by a shrill roar: "I, the Great One, have finally broken free!"

"Hmph!" Rasa gave a cold laugh.

Above the canyon, Sen Chisato closed his eyes, sensing the situation below.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and took two steps back, simultaneously dispelling his Shadow Clones and withdrawing his chakra.

The next second, a gale whipped up by chakra swept out from the bottom of the canyon, followed immediately by that chilling roar.

The ninjas of the surprise attack unit retreated in a hurry, shielding their faces with their arms, their expressions grave.

"Captain, what is going on?" someone asked.

Everyone looked toward Sen Chisato.

After the previous battle, their trust in Sen Chisato had reached its peak.

"Nothing, just a raccoon dog out for a stroll," Sen Chisato answered calmly, eyes narrowed as he stared fixedly at the bottom of the canyon.

"A raccoon dog?" The ninjas of the surprise attack unit exchanged bewildered glances.

What kind of raccoon dog could let out a roar like that?

The next second, they found out.

A massive shadow lunged from the canyon, crashing into the ground with such force that the earth shook, nearly triggering a secondary collapse.

The ninjas of the surprise attack unit turned around instantly, their gazes gradually turning vacant.

"Gulp." Someone couldn't help but swallow hard, their face turning pale as fear filled their eyes.

What met their eyes was a fifty-meter-tall giant monster, its body covered in violet-like patterns and seemingly constructed entirely of sand.

Even without sensing the massive amount of chakra contained within it, its sheer size alone was enough to strike terror into anyone.

Is this thing supposed to be a raccoon dog?

Aside from the appearance, how is it anything like one?!

"Hahaha, this lord has finally emerged! Damn old monk, damn Sunagakure, I'm going to slaughter every last one of you!"

Having regained his freedom, Shukaku was incredibly excited, leaping about joyfully and destroying vast swathes of forest wherever he stepped.

"Cap-cap-captain!"

A ninja beside Sen Chisato felt his legs go weak, unable to even speak clearly. "What kind of monster is this?"

"Ah, One-Tail Shukaku... a Tailed Beast, that is," Sen Chisato said calmly.

"A Tailed Beast?!"

Upon hearing those two words, the light faded from the eyes of every ninja present.

They were elite ninjas of Konoha; naturally, they knew what a Tailed Beast was.

But it was precisely because they knew that they understood the terror those two words represented. To be honest, they didn't even have the heart to resist anymore.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this guy. You all go first," Sen Chisato said with a light chuckle.

He was truly happy at this moment.

By burying ninjas, he could obtain their chakra, ninjutsu, Kekkei Genkai, and more.

But what about burying a Tailed Beast?

Even if a Tailed Beast couldn't truly be killed or buried, what about the Jinchuriki who served as its vessel?

He was incredibly curious about all of this, and today, he would finally be able to verify it for himself!

Seeing the smile on their captain's face, the ninjas of the surprise attack unit felt deeply encouraged and mustered their courage.

"How could we abandon our captain and leave?"

"That's right, it's just a Tailed Beast, what's the big deal!"

"At worst, we die together!"

"Hey, don't say such discouraging things!"

"..."

Everyone chimed in, acting as if they were ready to live and die with Sen Chisato, leaving him speechless.

The fact that I didn't take the opportunity to bury you all is already me considering how to harvest positive reputation later so I can fleece more from Konoha... no, that's already my greatest mercy and benevolence.

Don't force me to do what I want to do!

Just as he was about to say something, Sen Chisato turned his head to look behind him.

Golden waves of sand surged out from the canyon, with Rasa and over a dozen Sand Ninja standing atop them.

Patting the shoulder of the ninja beside him, Sen Chisato said, "You'll only hold me back if you stay. If you want to help, hurry back to the Konoha Base Camp and have my teacher come to save me."

The ninjas of the surprise attack unit fell silent.

The words were harsh, but they made perfect sense.

"We understand, Captain. Hold on!" The ninjas of the surprise attack unit cast a grateful look at Sen Chisato and quickly bolted toward the Konoha Base Camp.