Yako slammed both palms onto the tree trunk beneath him.
Wood Release chakra surged through the entire Tree World Emergence forest.
In an instant, countless iron-thread vines erupted around Han.
They wrapped tightly around his body.
From a distance, it almost looked like the massive man had been swallowed by writhing tentacles.
The vines immediately began draining Han's chakra.
Han's chakra reserves were enormous.
Several vines burst apart under the pressure, shattering instantly.
But there were simply too many of them.
When the Tailed Beast Ball finally fired, it had shrunk from the size of a fist to the size of an egg.
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"
Layers of curved wooden plates appeared around Yako, enclosing him like a giant egg.
The shrunken Tailed Beast Ball exploded against the barrier.
The wooden wall didn't even crack.
As the Wood Locking Wall dispersed, Yako saw the Five-Tails Jinchūriki Han gasping for breath.
Leave professional work to professionals.
When dealing with a Jinchūriki overflowing with chakra… Wood Release is the professional.
Yako ignored Han and turned toward another squad of Iwa shinobi.
These shinobi lacked the strength to break free from the iron vines.
They were completely helpless.
Dozens of wooden spikes shot forward.
They pierced through the Iwa shinobi's backs—
Exploding outward like thorny branches.
Another beast-like roar echoed behind him.
Han had finally released the fifth tail.
The two Iwa battalion commanders felt their hearts sink.
Their intelligence had told them to attack Evergreen Divine Mountain and deal with Konoha's guardian forces.
If Han went berserk here…
How were they supposed to complete the mission?
But Wood Release was simply too overwhelming.
Tree trunks were everywhere.
Vines that drained chakra covered the battlefield.
Meanwhile, the chakra of the Tailed Beast surged violently.
Yako turned back to face Han seriously.
The two battalion commanders immediately took the chance to rescue their comrades trapped in the vines.
Watching the fox-masked figure's back, one commander felt a chill run through him.
So this is the strength of Konoha ANBU's vice commander?
When he decided to slaughter ordinary shinobi…
They had absolutely no ability to resist.
The captured shinobi hung helplessly in the air.
And he killed them at will.
Copper Fox displayed all the classic traits of ANBU—
Cold and efficient.
In less than a minute he had killed over fifty people without hesitation.
Yako stared at Han, now fully manifesting five tails.
A hint of regret crossed his mind.
This month's resurrection was already used to rewind time.
Otherwise, dying to a Five-Tails Jinchūriki would have been perfect.
It could have granted him more Kage-level chakra.
Yako slammed his hands onto the tree trunk again.
Iron-thread vines shot forward toward Han.
But Han's power had skyrocketed.
His five tails lashed wildly.
Every vine was smashed apart.
The iron vines were no longer strong enough.
Han charged forward.
Yako thrust his palm outward.
A thick wooden spike erupted from his hand.
It struck directly at Han's chest.
But the Tailed Beast cloak was incredibly tough.
The spike shattered against it.
Not bad strength…
The next instant—
Han kicked him.
The limbs of the Five-Tails Jinchūriki were not claws.
They were hooves—like a horse.
The kick sent Yako flying like a cannonball.
He smashed through several massive tree trunks in succession.
One of the Iwa commanders felt a surge of excitement.
Is Copper Fox not a match for Han?
But his expression soon darkened.
A spiraling serpent of Water Release chakra wrapped around Yako's body.
Each time he collided with a tree trunk, huge bursts of water erupted.
The water absorbed the impact.
The collisions looked violent—
But they caused almost no damage.
The commander watched helplessly as Copper Fox calmly stood up.
Yako brushed wood splinters from his clothing.
A faint flash of copper-colored skin appeared briefly.
That was Absolute Defense: Bronze Light.
What a nightmare opponent…
Wood Release for offense.
A secret technique for defense.
How could anyone kill someone like Copper Fox?
Han charged again, hooves pounding the ground.
This time, Yako had no intention of taking the hit.
He formed seals with one hand.
Earth Substitution Technique.
Han's hooves crushed nothing but a puddle of mud.
The nearby Iwa commander cursed inwardly.
A berserk Han was stronger—
But he had almost completely lost his rational mind.
Copper Fox didn't need to clash head-on.
Simple techniques like Substitution were impossible for Han to distinguish now.
Han's advantage lay in overwhelming attack power.
But after two charges that hit nothing but mud…
Even his battle instincts grew irritated.
Han threw his head back.
A Tailed Beast Ball the size of a human head began forming.
Wood vines surged forward again.
While Han remained still during the charging process, they drained some of the Tailed Beast chakra.
But even with the five-tailed state weakened slightly—
The Tailed Beast Ball remained terrifying.
Yako considered using the Body Flicker Technique.
Then he dismissed the idea.
The explosion radius would be far too large.
Instead, he sank into the earth.
Once underground, he immediately switched techniques.
Mayfly Technique.
This allowed him to travel over a hundred meters in a single second.
The Tailed Beast Ball detonated inside the Tree World Emergence forest.
In an instant—
Blinding light filled the battlefield.
The intense brilliance stabbed into every shinobi's eyes.
The Leaf Monkey squad was far away and could escape.
But the Iwa shinobi trapped in the forest…
Were doomed.
The explosion killed more than thirty remaining shinobi.
When the dust slowly cleared—
The forest was gone.
The grasslands were gone.
Only bare yellow earth remained.
Across from Han was a massive crater.
Inside it—
Nothing.
A Hidden Stone forehead protector fell from the sky.
Some unlucky shinobi's headband had been blasted high into the air.
Now it landed beside Han's hooves.
Han lowered his head.
The metal surface reflected his dolphin-like face.
Shock.
Just like when he was taken as a child.
Back then, he had also killed his own villagers.
Yako slowly rose from the ground.
"Steam Ninja Han."
"You killed more than thirty shinobi from the Hidden Stone Village."
"That wasn't me."
He shrugged.
"We each take credit for our own kills."
"The ones I killed are mine."
"The ones you killed are yours."
"Don't steal my achievements."
In the Tailed Beast cloak, Han's eyes were nothing but blazing circular holes.
He turned his dolphin-like head slowly.
The two Iwa commanders stood in the distance with barely forty survivors.
All of them stared at him with complicated expressions.
Even in his berserk state—
Han instinctively realized he had done something terribly wrong.
After a series of furious roars—
His body began to change.
He was no longer human-sized.
Even greater chakra surged out.
Along with it came thick clouds of steam.
The white vapor rose hundreds of meters into the sky.
Dark, ominous chakra spread outward.
Yako raised a hand.
The Leaf Monkey squad immediately retreated farther away.
He remained where he stood, watching the steam cloud.
The two Iwa commanders exchanged glances.
They immediately made a decision.
"Send for reinforcements!"
"The Five-Tails has emerged!"
A massive hoof kicked aside the steam.
Then—
A gigantic leg appeared.
The steam burst outward violently.
And the creature revealed itself.
A white monster stood before them.
A dolphin's head with five horns.
A white horse-like body.
Five enormous tails.
The Five-Tails had fully appeared.
Yako formed seals.
Then slammed his hands together.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
His tactical goal had already been achieved.
The Five-Tails had been forced out.
But he still wanted to test something.
How big is the gap between me… and a Tailed Beast?
A colossal wooden dragon erupted from the earth before him.
It was over ten meters thick and nearly a hundred meters long.
The dragon lunged forward at terrifying speed.
It coiled around the Five-Tails' neck.
The beast struggled to break free.
But the dragon's claws and body tightened like a giant python.
The Five-Tails had only just escaped its seal.
It had barely experienced freedom again.
Barely tasted fresh air.
Barely regained control of its own body.
Then suddenly—
Its chakra began draining.
Looking at the wooden dragon biting its neck—
The Five-Tails remembered something from long ago.
The First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, had once captured it exactly like this.
But after a brief moment of panic—
It calmed down.
The wooden dragon before it was nothing compared to Hashirama's.
Its five tails lashed wildly.
Each one reinforced by boiling steam chakra.
The tails slammed into the dragon again and again.
Wooden scales shattered.
Within seconds—
The dragon's forelimbs were destroyed.
The earth trembled violently.
Yako frowned slightly.
My chakra reserves are still far below a Tailed Beast.
At my current strength…
I can stall a Tailed Beast for about two minutes.
He still had other techniques—
Deep Forest Emergence: Hands Technique to capture the beast.
Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees — Suppression Technique to seal it.
But there was no need.
Forcing the Five-Tails out was enough.
Yako sent one final surge of chakra into the wooden dragon—
Then turned and walked away without looking back.
Like a man who had enjoyed the moment and left without even cleaning up afterward.
He reached the Leaf Monkey squad and shouted,
"Run! The Five-Tails is out!"
Leaf Monkey stared at the massive beast in the distance.
Then at the wooden dragon restraining it.
Lord Fox really is terrifying…
He forced a Jinchūriki into this state.
Meanwhile, the two Iwa commanders felt bitter despair.
The Five-Tails had fully emerged.
The mission had completely failed.
And it was all because of Danzo.
Everyone said Danzo loved internal power struggles.
But this time he had ruined them completely.
Now the Iwa shinobi faced a nightmare.
The Five-Tails could not be allowed to rampage into another country.
It could not enter major cities.
And it absolutely could not vanish without a trace.
Konoha's ANBU had arrived.
Wrecked everything.
And left.
But the Hidden Stone shinobi had to deal with the aftermath.
At this moment, the commanders even hoped the wooden dragon would hold longer.
Draining more of the Five-Tails' chakra.
Several minutes later, the Five-Tails finally broke free.
All it saw nearby…
Were Hidden Stone shinobi.
"You!"
"You Iwa shinobi!"
"Where is that bastard Ōnoki?!"
"How long does he plan to seal me?!"
The remaining Iwa Jonin felt despair.
This beast was a devastating weapon on the battlefield.
But with their current forces…
They had no chance against it.
The Five-Tails lifted its head.
A massive Tailed Beast Ball formed.
This one was enormous—
More than ten meters in diameter.
The air itself seemed to freeze.
The battalion commander understood the situation clearly.
Until reinforcements arrived…
Their only option was to track the Five-Tails and not lose it.
"Scatter!" the commander shouted.
"Observe the Five-Tails from a distance!"
"The sealing squad will restrain it!"
They had brought a sealing squad.
That team could suppress Han when he manifested five tails.
But against the actual Five-Tails…
That was pure fantasy.
At this moment, the commander felt overwhelming hatred toward Konoha's Copper Fox.
Is something wrong with that man's brain?