Three days later.
Inside the Jinchūriki prison, Shukaku's voice rang out.
"Three different groups came to see you today. There was even a medical ninja among them—someone you haven't seen in decades.
They're all waiting for you to die, old monk.
The entire Sunagakure, top to bottom, is waiting for you to die. Ahahaha, what a joke!"
Bunpuku slowly rose to his feet.
He had gone three full days without food or water.
Unsteady, he began walking toward the outside of the prison.
The guards panicked at once.
"Hurry! Inform the Kazekage!"
Two sand beast claws appeared and tore open the prison.
Bunpuku stepped outside.
One of the Sand ninja who had guarded the prison for over five years stared in horror.
So the Jinchūriki had always been capable of leaving whenever he wanted.
For more than thirty years, he had simply been playing along with their little make-believe prison.
"We can't transfer the seal inside the village. Let's go outside."
Bunpuku began walking toward the entrance of Sunagakure.
At the Kazekage building, Rasa quickly left with the Barrier Team, following after Bunpuku.
From atop Sunagakure's wall, Pakura saw the Jinchūriki, Bunpuku, and immediately used the Phantom Blood Shadow Technique of the Three Gods Faith to notify Wind of the Calamity Organization.
Out in the desert, Minato—leaning against a rock to shield himself from the sand—slowly stood up.
It was starting.
Sunagakure was about to turn the Tailed Beast into a weapon.
Bunpuku walked across the desert, savoring the feeling of sand beneath his feet.
The prison had been miserable, but once death came, even a miserable prison would be gone.
The night wind of the desert was bitterly cold, just like the Sand ninja following behind him, all waiting for him to die as soon as possible.
After walking for a long time, far enough away from Sunagakure, Bunpuku finally stopped.
Rasa used Body Flicker and appeared before him, setting the Bunpuku Tea Kettle on the ground.
"I leave it to you, Master Bunpuku!"
Rasa did not know Bunpuku well, but the secret scrolls left behind by the Second Kazekage had said one thing clearly:
Master Bunpuku was absolutely reliable.
Inside Bunpuku's mind, Shukaku shouted, "He's asking you to die for him, old monk! That brat's no good!"
Bunpuku pressed his palms together, then opened them toward Rasa.
"Kazekage-sama, when Shukaku gains a new Jinchūriki in the future, pass this character on to that person.
When living alongside Shukaku, don't rely on sealing techniques. Rely on understanding... and love."
Rasa nodded and agreed.
He thought the old monk was naïve.
How could anyone possibly rely on love when dealing with a weapon like Shukaku?
Rasa asked, "Master Bunpuku, I inherited Magnet Release secret arts from the Third Kazekage. Do you need my help?"
Bunpuku shook his head.
"If no one interferes, I can complete the Tea Kettle Seal by myself."
"Then I leave it in your hands, Master."
Inside his mind, Shukaku roared, "If they extract me, you'll die!"
Bunpuku folded his hands again.
"Life and death are matters of the greatest importance. Nothing is more important than death.
I am fortunate to be able to choose how I die, and to die for Sunagakure."
Bunpuku looked toward the Sealing Team in the distance and gestured for them to retreat even farther.
The Sand ninja all watched him from afar.
This Sealing Team had been assembled in a hurry. Every shinobi in the village with any sealing knowledge had been brought in.
Bunpuku set the tea kettle down and sat across from it.
Then he formed hand seals.
Silence spread all around them.
Only the sound of the night wind brushing over the dunes could be heard.
No one knew how long the stillness lasted. Maybe two minutes, maybe three.
Then sand suddenly began appearing around Bunpuku.
It was not ordinary sand.
Black curse markings covered every grain.
Rasa had never seen Shukaku in person, but according to the records, Shukaku was a bloated tanuki whose body was covered in curse patterns.
Shukaku could not only manipulate sand—he could use sealing arts as well.
More and more marked sand poured out until an oval mass formed behind Bunpuku.
The mass split open—
And a tanuki's mouth appeared.
A piercing scream ripped through the night sky.
"I'm out! I was locked up for more than thirty years, and now I'm finally out!"
Shukaku did not get to celebrate for long.
A powerful force of chakra seized the sand mass.
Before Shukaku's body had even fully formed, the sand began pouring into the tea kettle.
"Old monk! You can't be this cruel!"
Bunpuku ignored the shouting and continued sealing Shukaku with steady precision.
More and more sand surged out behind him. In the air, it twisted and writhed, each cluster barely taking the shape of some part of a tanuki before being dragged into the tea kettle.
Shukaku kept screaming, kept raging, but he could not stop Bunpuku.
A fierce wind swept across the desert, lifting the veils of the Sand ninja.
Beneath one of those veils were Minato's blue eyes.
He stared fixedly at Bunpuku, searching for the right moment to act.
"Old monk! Bunpuku! A Jinchūriki dies if their Tailed Beast is extracted! Wouldn't it be better for both of us to live a few more days?"
Minato's eyes widened slightly.
It was the first time he had ever heard that removing a Tailed Beast would kill the Jinchūriki.
Kushina's life as a Jinchūriki was even harsher and more dangerous than he had thought.
"Old monk! Stop! Your chakra can't seal me forever!
If you don't stop now, then once I break free, I'll kill every last Sand ninja here! I'll destroy your village!"
Hearing Shukaku's threat, the Sand ninja all instinctively shrank back.
Minato copied them and stepped back half a pace.
Bunpuku opened his eyes and looked up at the floating sand mass in the air.
"Shukaku, don't let hatred blind you. You won't deliberately slaughter the Sand ninja... will you?"
"Shut up! They kept me locked up for over thirty years! Why shouldn't I hate them?!"
In the midst of his struggle, Shukaku suddenly formed one arm.
The massive claw slammed downward.
Rasa reacted immediately, striking both palms to the ground.
Gold Dust burst up from below and surged skyward, blocking Shukaku's arm.
"Thief! That bastard Second Kazekage used my body for experiments and stole my secret arts!"
Shukaku grew even more violent, pounding furiously against the Gold Dust.
The scene descended into chaos, and the speed at which Bunpuku was sealing Shukaku's sand began to slow.
Seeing that, Rasa shouted, "Sealing Team! Move! Support Master Bunpuku!"
Several Sand shinobi threw out long cloth bands.
"Sealing Art: Cloth Binding Technique!"
It was one of Sunagakure's secret sealing techniques, a method of restraining opponents with cloth strips.
Even Maki, who had only graduated from the Ninja Academy not long ago, was among the Sealing Team.
As her cloth strip shot out, Maki found herself wondering why Pakura-sensei was not here for something this important.
Then, through the gaps between the flying cloths, a kunai shot out.
It was a distinctive three-pronged kunai.
Using the cloth as cover, it flew straight toward Bunpuku.
Bunpuku tilted his head slightly and noticed the strange kunai embed itself in the ground beside him.
Why was this kunai shaped so strangely?
"Flying Thunder God!"
In the next instant, Minato's figure flashed into existence before Bunpuku.
"Tail Release Seal!"
It was a supreme sealing art developed by the Uzumaki clan specifically for Jinchūriki.
Used properly, it could help a Jinchūriki release Tailed Beast chakra safely.
Fox-sama had mastered this technique and used it to let Kushina freely release the Nine-Tails' chakra.
But if used improperly, it could instantly destroy a Jinchūriki's seal and cause the Tailed Beast to rampage.
The Uzumaki clan had always secretly longed for a Tailed Beast of their own, instead of merely sharing the Nine-Tails with Konoha.
Right now, Minato did not care in the slightest about using the technique properly or improperly.
He used it with full power.
Bunpuku stared in shock at the Sand ninja before him.
Beneath the headcloth and face covering, he saw blond hair and blue eyes.
Looking down, he saw strange sealing markings spread over his abdomen—an unfamiliar sealing art unlike anything he had ever encountered, one that directly overwhelmed his Tailed Beast seal.
Shukaku's chakra exploded outward.
Inside a violent sandstorm, Shukaku's frenzied voice echoed out.
"Hahaha! Bunpuku! You're too old! I got out in the end—every last bit of me got out!"
Minato grabbed Bunpuku by the shoulder and vanished with Flying Thunder God.
When he reappeared, he was already standing in the same sand pit where he had first arranged to meet Pakura.
Pakura was waiting there for Wind.
Minato said, "I've broken the transfer seal for Shukaku. Now it's your turn to salvage the situation. Follow Leader Thunder's plan—use the achievement of sealing Shukaku to rise into Sunagakure's upper ranks."
Pakura nodded and headed toward Shukaku's location.