Plans Change Again and Again

The explosions ceased, the shockwaves dissipated, and as the dust settled, a massive crater two kilometers in diameter appeared in the forest.

A rustling sound arose as streams of yellow sand converged, and the body of Shukaku began to constantly reshape itself.

Crack...

In the center of the giant crater, a sphere composed of Gold Sand gradually shattered, revealing Rasa inside, gasping for air.

He looked up at the recovering Shukaku, unable to stop himself from gritting his teeth.

That stupid tanuki, not only did it cause such a massive commotion, but it didn't even spare itself!

Under the blast of that Tailed Beast Bomb, because the distance was too close, Shukaku's own body had been blown to pieces.

However...

Rasa looked around, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.

"That brat is finally dead!"

And he was the type to be left without even a corpse.

This is the consequence of working with Shukaku!

How could beasts like Tailed Beasts ever be truly tamed?

Only by suppressing them with strength and beating them up every few days would they barely deign to listen.

Just as he thought this, a hand suddenly poked out from the soil not far away, causing Rasa's smile to stiffen.

"You've got to be kidding me!?"

Sen Chisato propped himself up with one hand, crawled out from underground, and patted his chest. "That was close, that was close. You really scared me to death."

After saying that, he looked at Rasa's dumbfounded expression and grinned.

This caused Rasa's smile to vanish instantly.

Seeing this, Sen Chisato's smile grew even brighter.

He knew exactly what this guy was thinking.

He wanted him dead?

In his next life!

Don't look at his "survivor" expression; in reality, none of this had been that dangerous in his eyes.

The Tailed Beast Bomb was indeed terrifying, but it wasn't as if he had no way to deal with it.

When the Tailed Beast Bomb exploded, all it destroyed was his Shadow Clone. As for his real body, he had long since hidden underground.

When the Tailed Beast Bomb detonated, he had already used Wood Release to protect himself perfectly underground.

At this moment, Shukaku had also recovered.

It lowered its head to look around, and upon seeing Rasa and Sen Chisato, its beady eyes nearly popped out. "Huh???"

"You two aren't dead?!"

"Hey, you stinky tanuki, I'm on your side. I just helped you get free, is this how you repay me?" Sen Chisato spread his hands, feigning dissatisfaction.

"Tch, does this great one need help from a human?" Shukaku looked disdainful, completely disregarding such an act of returning kindness with enmity.

Not only that, it opened its mouth wide again, and chakra began to gather.

A Tailed Beast Bomb gradually took shape!

"Don't think it's over just like this. Since you didn't die, then eat another attack from this great one!"

With a roar, the Tailed Beast Bomb aimed at Sen Chisato and Rasa.

"Hey, hey, hey, no way, this isn't how my plan was supposed to go." Sen Chisato sighed helplessly and slammed his hands together.

He hated people and things that ruined his plans the most.

He had originally intended to let Rasa and Shukaku keep fighting while he provided support, guiding them unconsciously toward the main battlefield for a grand entrance and harvest.

But he hadn't expected Shukaku to be so treacherous and fickle.

Since that was the case, he had no choice but to use his full strength to finish them off right here!

Sen Chisato gathered his chakra, preparing to use Wood Release to give this man and this cat a sound beating before burying them.

At this moment, Rasa suddenly spoke up: "Hey, brat from Konoha."

"What?" Sen Chisato asked, glancing sideways.

"You understand the current situation. How about we put aside our prejudices and work together to subdue the One-Tail?" Rasa said with a serious face.

Although this brat was very young, he acknowledged his strength!

If he could, he would definitely try every possible means to kill this brat. But right now, resealing the disobedient One-Tail was more important.

He was certain that with the intelligence and big-picture perspective this brat had shown, he would definitely not refuse.

After a moment of contemplation, Sen Chisato said decisively: "You're right, but I refuse!"

As expected!

Rasa smiled triumphantly. "Since that's the case, then we... wait! What did you say?!"

He felt as though he hadn't heard correctly; this brat had actually refused!

"I said, I refuse," Sen Chisato repeated.

Since everything had to be cleaned up anyway, why bother cooperating with Rasa? Burying them all together would be far more efficient.

Rasa's expression darkened.

"Hahaha, you humans really are a bunch of hypocritical, insidious, and untrustworthy creatures!" Shukaku, having finished condensing a Tailed Beast Bomb, mocked them without reservation.

Even at a time like this, they were still probing and guarding against one another, unable to place any trust in each other.

"Stop struggling and just die for me!"

Shukaku leaned back slightly, assuming a charging posture.

Rasa stopped trying to persuade him and waved his hand, sending a massive wave of Gold Sand surging upward.

Sen Chisato also finished condensing his chakra.

The two men and one beast were all prepared to strike.

But just then, an aged voice suddenly rang out: "Alright, Shukaku, you've vented enough, haven't you?"

Shukaku's movements came to an immediate halt, and he said with dissatisfaction, "Don't joke around, I haven't had enough fun yet."

Poof!

The yellow sand atop Shukaku's head suddenly parted, and an old monk emerged from within, smiling with a hint of indulgence: "If you keep making a scene, I won't let you out next time."

"Tch, I'll listen to you then, how annoying!" Shukaku looked disgruntled, yet he still dispersed the Tailed Beast Bomb.

"Bunpuku!" Rasa's eyes lit up, and he let out a long sigh of relief. "You're finally awake."

"In fact, I was never unconscious," the monk Bunpuku said with a benevolent smile.

Rasa frowned. "That means you knew everything Shukaku was doing just now... why didn't you stop him!?"

"That was an agreement between Shukaku and me; after all, it has been sealed for too long. Besides, I only agreed because I knew the Kazekage could handle it with ease."

Rasa certainly couldn't accept such an explanation, but even if he were dissatisfied, now was not the time to argue about it.

He turned his head toward Sen Chisato and commanded, "The mission has failed; let's finish off this brat first!"

It was one thing to fail the surprise attack on the Konoha Base Camp, but if he let this Konoha brat retreat safely, he would never be able to forgive himself.

"Oh, well!"

Sen Chisato unclenched his hands and looked helpless. "The world is truly unpredictable."

Despite his words, he felt not a shred of panic in his heart; on the contrary, he was secretly delighted.

It seemed the plan could continue to unfold... although the process had some twists and turns, the result was in line with his expectations.

"Hey, Bunpuku, what do you intend to do? That Magnet Release user is telling you to kill someone." Shukaku slowly turned his head to look at Sen Chisato, his face filled with malice and schadenfreude.

Although Bunpuku had earned his recognition after their long time together, that didn't stop him from wanting to see the monk make a fool of himself.

Bunpuku looked at Sen Chisato and sighed, "In order to end the war as quickly as possible, I have no choice but to wrong this child."

Once those words were spoken, his decision was clear.

Sen Chisato sneered, "Don't act so high and mighty. This war was initiated by the Sand Hidden in the first place. You are no different from those other Sand Ninja; everything is merely for the sake of profit!"

Sen Chisato would never allow anyone to be so hypocritical in front of him!

In this world, having one person as hypocritical as himself was quite enough.

But to Sen Chisato's surprise, Bunpuku did not offer a defense, instead admitting it quite directly: "That is true. After all, I am also a person of the Land of Wind. Even after practicing until this age, I still cannot treat all people in the world with equality."

With that, Shukaku let out an excited roar and charged toward Sen Chisato.

"Tch, no wonder you could earn the recognition of a Tailed Beast; it turns out I'm the only hypocrite here." Sen Chisato turned and fled without hesitation, while simultaneously mocking himself in his heart.

"That direction... are you trying to survive by seeking help from the Konoha ninja on the front lines?"

Rasa immediately manipulated his Gold Sand and chased after him alongside Shukaku.

"Don't think you can escape!"