"You wretched Komushi, come out and face your death!"
Shukaku's voice was like the low rumble of a sandstorm, shaking the surface of the sand dunes.
As the ground cracked open, a repulsive odor emerged from it.
Three modified White Zetsu rose from the sand, forming a triangular formation that surrounded Shukaku in the center.
These three White Zetsu didn't even bother with disguises; they were just strangely pieced together!
What kind of monster is this?
Shukaku narrowed its star-shaped eyes. It was a steady Shukaku, unlike Nine-Tails, that reckless fellow.
" Drilling Air Bullet!"
You should still greet them when you meet!
It won't rush into hand-to-hand combat when faced with a strange opponent!
The first Lava Arm White Zetsu raised his hand, spewing out scorching molten liquid from his palm, shooting directly at the airborne Drilling Air Bullet!
The lava was forming a huge ball of magma, and the Drilling Air Bullet exploded into a rain of lava.
"An insect is an insect!"
Shukaku grinned, without even moving.
A sand wall automatically rises in front of it.
Lava rain crashes against the sand wall, and the high temperature is efficiently manipulated by controlling the sand to disperse it across the entire wall surface.
The sand grains turned reddish-brown as they were burned, but not a single grain melted.
The six ice crystal bone spikes on the back of the second White Zetsu shot out simultaneously, exploding into tens of thousands of ice needles in mid-air.
A chilling atmosphere pervaded the desert at night, still producing vast expanses of white mist.
Shukaku raised its right claw and gently patted the ground.
"What kind of monsters are you, daring to challenge Lord Shukaku!"
Sand Shower!
The ground shook violently, and countless grains of sand clumped together and shot into the sky.
More sand clumps than ice needles directly covered the aerial attacks, leaving no one unscathed.
"Idiot! You dare challenge Shukaku with such meager skills?"
Shukaku patted its bulging belly and grinned.
But the third White Zetsu had already completed its action.
The black Iron Sand on its chest surged out like giant pythons!
This is actually the Third Kazekage's Kekkei Genkai, the Iron Sand Technique!
Shukaku finally showed a nervous expression; this was a technique that had suppressed it many times before! Black Iron Sand!
However, it sensed something amiss when Shukaku manipulated the sand and black Iron Sand.
A strange suction force emanated from behind the three monsters.
The suction force does not act on matter, but directly on the Chakra flowing within it.
It's like countless invisible needles piercing its meridians, beginning to extract the most fundamental part of its power.
"I see... These are the enemies that Mukai was talking about."
A glimmer of human-like understanding flashed in Shukaku's golden beast eyes:
"You despicable rats, prepare to die!"
"Let me show you my true power!"
Its enormous body began to expand again, Chakra erupted like a tsunami, causing all the sand in the dune to levitate.
"Let me show you the power of Shukaku of the Sand!"
" Magnet Release -- Sand Burial, Sealed!"
Under the control of Shukaku's Chakra, the entire sand dune became like a living sand monster, clashing with the sky full of black Iron Sand.
Fortunately, these monsters only possess a portion of the power of the Iron Sand and do not have the terrifying suppressive force of the Third Kazekage.
Shukaku is stronger than before!
What's more, this time it doesn't need to win, it just needs to put on a show!
The sand swirled even more violently, with enormous sand arms flying everywhere!
"Now..."
Shukaku grinned, revealing a truly ferocious smile:
"Steal all you want, I have plenty of Chakra!"
"Let's see how much Chakra you can steal from me!"
Inside the Sunagakure monitoring room, Mukai stood in front of the projector, the screen showing the live battle on Shukaku's side.
These images were transmitted directly from the Sky Eye satellite, the "puppet eye" of the aerial satellite system.
Scorpion stood beside him and said:
" Shukaku is using his full power as planned, Chakra has already begun to be absorbed."
The signal characteristics of the black cube have been recorded, and the reverse tracing program is running.
The underground spore nodes in the Land of Wind have been marked, and then the movement can be used to accurately locate the seventeen underground spore network nodes.
Preliminary assessment indicates that all of these nodes are located within the Land of Fire.
"Where is Madara's base? Have you found it yet?"
Mukai asked.
"Right now we only have the estimated location; we'll see where the Tailed Beast Chakra will ultimately end up."
"One of them is underground in the Land of Rain."
"The other two locations are, one in the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools, and the other, roughly estimated, in the northern part of the Land of Fire."
"That's enough. Let the Space Fortress start charging up, and have the flying Wind Release team control the clouds above these three locations."
My attempt to contact Shukaku has been temporarily unsuccessful.
These Tailed Beast Chakra have been incorporated into a deep resonance beacon by Shukaku's own body, and these characteristics can be monitored at any time.
They will eventually enter the final base and become our permanent locators.
Mukai transmitted the predetermined signal to Shukaku by activating and then interrupting the Summoning Contract.
The scorpion beside him said worriedly:
" Mukai, do those enemies really want to revive the Ten-Tails you mentioned?"
The process of gradually collecting the Chakra of the Tailed Beast, starting with the One-Tail, will likely take a very long time.
Why are we in such a hurry to finish building the Space Fortress?
Mukai waved his finger:
"Now that we know the order in which they collect the Tailed Beast, why should we follow their lead?"
I'm not that stupid.
We're playing chess, and there's a special way to win...
Death Desert Dunes
The White Zetsu didn't know what had happened; they only saw the black cube's absorption efficiency suddenly surge.
Shukaku's Chakra surged in like a burst dam. Within fifteen seconds, the cube was full—a full 15% of Shukaku's total chakra.
"Mission accomplished!"
Lava White Zetsu Roar:
"Retreat! Retreat now!"
The three White Zetsu simultaneously unleashed their Kekkei Genkai.
The collision of ice and lava produced a violent explosion.
Meanwhile, the Iron Sand White Zetsu unleashed its full power to activate the black Iron Sand, creating a massive black tornado!
The black tornado tore apart Shukaku's Sand Waterfall Seal.
It also blocked all sight of the scene.
Amidst the exploding black and yellow sand, visibility was almost zero!
Shukaku's true form was completely enveloped by the thick Shield of Shukaku, and it huddled discreetly hidden in the thick sand, not revealing a single part of its body.
" Mukai should be quite satisfied with my performance, right?"
Amidst the sandstorm, White Zetsu grabbed the cube and sank into the ground, disappearing from sight.
Shukaku acted as if it knew nothing of what was happening, simply hiding inside its Shield of Shukaku and not emerging until the sandstorm subsided, nor did it give chase.
Once the storm subsided, it shrunk back to its smaller form, lay down beside the flattened sand dune, and continued to scratch the sand with its claws.
However, a cunning glint flashed deep within its golden beastly eyes.
"Steal it, steal it... Why are Shukaku so much?"
My master Mukai, is incredibly vengeful!