Ninja Response, One-Tail Shukaku's Terror!

Bellflower Mountain City battlefield.

The cries of battle from the Ninja still rose and fell without cease.

But Orochimaru had little attention to spare for those Ninja now.

Haruki Hyuga's urgent message filled his mind.

As Konoha's commander, Orochimaru naturally knew the movements of the Tailed Beasts among the various ninja villages.

The One-Tail Shukaku's jinchūriki was currently on the Bellflower Mountain City battlefield.

Iwagakure Village's two jinchūriki were being relentlessly targeted by their own village due to internal power struggles among its upper ranks. It was already remarkable that they had not defected.

Expecting them to appear on the battlefield?

What a joke.

So what exactly was this Tailed Beast Ball Haruki Hyuga had reported incoming?

Could Kumogakure have deployed its own jinchūriki to the battlefield?

Though confused, Orochimaru reacted swiftly.

As Konoha's commander, he needed to verify the urgent message as quickly as possible.

They were in the middle of a battlefield. There was no time for Konoha's sensory barrier unit to investigate.

Orochimaru suddenly clapped his hands together.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Huge plumes of white smoke appeared across the battlefield.

From within the smoke, enormous pythons only slightly smaller than Manda swiftly burst through and charged toward Chiyo.

Facing Orochimaru's Summoning Beasts, Chiyo had no choice but to abandon control of the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu. She grabbed Bunpuku, who was still meditating, and quickly retreated.

After forcing back Chiyo of the Sand Shinobi, Orochimaru's neck suddenly shot outward at tremendous speed, and his head rose into the air.

Soft Body Modification Technique.

At this point in time, Orochimaru had already begun his forbidden experiments in pursuit of immortality.

His research into Living Corpse Reincarnation and body modification was already beginning to bear fruit.

Orochimaru himself stood atop Manda's head. With his neck extending over ten meters, his head just cleared the heavy walls of Bellflower Mountain City.

"What is that...?"

Looking down from above, Orochimaru gazed toward the front of Bellflower Mountain City, and his slit pupils suddenly contracted.

To the southeast of Bellflower Mountain City, a gleaming white Energy Blast was charging toward the city with unstoppable force.

"Tailed Beast Ball!!!"

Feeling the terrifying fluctuations from the white Energy Blast, Orochimaru could not help widening his eyes.

As Orochimaru the Cold Lord, one of the Three Ninja, he rarely showed any emotion beyond coldness.

Yet as he sensed the white Energy Blast rapidly approaching, Orochimaru showed utter shock for the first time.

His battle instincts as a Ninja told him that if he could not leave Bellflower Mountain City immediately, he would die!

Orochimaru trusted his instincts completely.

Therefore, before he could even retract his neck, he shouted in a rare loss of composure, "All Konoha Shinobi, retreat immediately!!"

The Konoha Shinobi were stunned upon hearing Orochimaru's order.

After all, Konoha had only just managed to gain the upper hand.

With a little more effort, they could break through the Sand Shinobi's defenses and claim final victory.

Yet Lord Orochimaru had issued a retreat order at such a moment. How could these Konoha Shinobi not be shocked?

Still, they were Ninja. Though astonished, they faithfully carried out Orochimaru's command.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Konoha Shinobi began rapidly withdrawing. To prevent pursuit by the Sand Shinobi puppet forces, every Konoha Shinobi began unleashing ninjutsu without regard for the cost, blocking the puppet forces' advance.

Explosions rang out continuously across the battlefield.

Though the Konoha Shinobi did their utmost to hold back the Sand Shinobi, the retreat had been too hasty. Many Konoha Shinobi perished together with Sand Shinobi puppets while covering the retreat.

Chiyo at the center of the battlefield also saw the Konoha Shinobi falling back.

However, the self-assured Chiyo merely believed that Orochimaru feared Sunagakure Village's One-Tail Shukaku.

"Trying to retreat only now? Too late." Chiyo was high-spirited, completely shedding the frustration of having been suppressed by Orochimaru earlier.

She turned to Bunpuku, who sat cross-legged on the ground and remained in meditation, and gave her order. "Bunpuku, release Shukaku. I want to leave every Konoha Shinobi on this battlefield and avenge my son."

"Chiyo, hatred has blinded you."

The elderly Bunpuku glanced at Chiyo and warned her.

"Stop talking nonsense. Release Shukaku, now." Chiyo directly cut him off and ordered coldly.

"Fine, fine, I understand." Bunpuku nodded helplessly, then slowly closed his eyes.

Bunpuku's consciousness appeared before an enormous cage.

Looking at the giant tanuki within the cage, Bunpuku revealed a warm smile. "Tanuki, you can go out now. Remember not to get too carried away."

"Old monk Bunpuku, why aren't you dead yet?!" A shrill roar came from within the cage.

The massive form of One-Tail Shukaku appeared inside the cage.

However, Bunpuku had already fallen asleep and could not hear One-Tail Shukaku's voice at all.

"Ha ha ha! That old fool Bunpuku has finally fallen asleep. This great lord is getting out!"

As One-Tail Shukaku laughed excitedly, dense violet markings appeared across Bunpuku's body, and then his body rapidly expanded.

The next second, a gigantic Tailed Beast dozens of meters tall stood upon the battlefield.

One-Tail Shukaku had entered the fray!

"This great lord is finally out! Kill you all! Kill all Ninja!" One-Tail Shukaku roared at the sky.

However, just as One-Tail Shukaku was preparing to unleash a massacre,

A massive sonic boom came from the southeast of Bellflower Mountain City.

The sudden sonic boom made One-Tail Shukaku instinctively turn his head.

The pursuing Sand Shinobi and retreating Konoha Shinobi all stopped and looked toward the source of the sound.

Rumble!

Under everyone's gaze, the walls of Kikyō Castle, which bore a century of Ninja World history, shattered into dust.

A fist-sized white Energy Blast entered everyone's sight.

Boom!

A surging air shockwave formed a hurricane that swept across the entirety of Bellflower Mountain City.

Before this hurricane, like a natural disaster, every Ninja on the battlefield was blown stumbling in every direction.

Even though Ninja could use chakra to cling to the ground, they were still forcibly ripped from it.

"Such terrifying chakra... What is that thing?"

"You've got to be kidding. The shockwave from its flight alone created such a terrifying hurricane?"

"Tailed Beast Ball... That is definitely a Tailed Beast Ball!"

The sight before them overturned the understanding of Ninja everywhere.

The suddenly arriving white Energy Blast was simply too terrifying.

The shockwave generated by its flight alone was enough to leave these Ninja helpless.

If the Ninja on the battlefield were shocked,

Then One-Tail Shukaku, who had just emerged from his jinchūriki, was utterly terrified.

As a being formed from concentrated chakra, One-Tail Shukaku could clearly sense the horrifying energy contained within the rapidly approaching white Energy Blast.

Before that energy, even his body, dozens of meters tall, felt as tiny as dust.

Seeing the white Energy Blast hurtling straight toward him, One-Tail Shukaku's fur stood on end as chakra surged wildly through his body.

He would die!

If he could not stop it, he would die!

"Damn it, Bunpuku! If I survive this, I'll definitely kill you!"

One-Tail Shukaku roared furiously, then opened his mouth and began frantically gathering a Tailed Beast Ball.

Under the pressure of death, One-Tail Shukaku swiftly condensed a purple Tailed Beast Ball covered in violet markings.

"Stop it for me, Tailed Beast Ball!"

Boom!

One-Tail Shukaku planted all four limbs on the ground, sinking deep into the earth. A purple Tailed Beast Ball instantly blasted from his mouth and shot toward the white Energy Blast ahead.