A few days later, Yako once again brought Pakura to find Shukaku.
The sand dunes slowly rose, grains cascading down like waterfalls from all sides.
Between the flowing curtains of sand, Shukaku's savage, bloodthirsty eyes appeared.
Then, in the very next moment, those eyes seemed to clear slightly.
He saw a figure approaching in the distance, wearing a black mask patterned with lightning.
"Shukaku, hand over the Bunpuku Teapot and submit to sealing."
Shukaku instinctively sensed how dangerous this person was. But hearing such arrogant words, he burst into laughter.
The sound echoed within his massive body before tearing out of his throat, shrill and piercing.
"Oh ho ho! What did you say? You want me to obediently let you seal me? Who do you think you are—The old man?!"
Yako thought to himself: I may not be Hagoromo… but sooner or later, even he'll end up like you—taking a hit from me.
He formed a hand seal.
A concentrated stream of water burst from his mouth.
Shukaku froze for a moment.
Wasn't that the Second Hokage's Water Severing Wave? He'd seen it before.
It was a powerful Water Release technique—but against him, it shouldn't do much.
The next instant—
One of Shukaku's arms flew off.
Shukaku snapped his head around in horror.
His shoulder had been cleanly severed.
No—
This wasn't Water Severing Wave.
He could feel sand mixed within it.
It was a sand-infused water blade.
"The Second Kazekage! You bastard! You stole Magnet Release and Sand Release from me, and now you've spread it everywhere—everyone can control sand now!"
Yako nodded in satisfaction.
The new technique he had developed was excellent.
By mixing diamond sand into the Water Severing Wave, he had turned it into a cutting jet—like a sand-infused water blade.
He named it:
Golden Sand Severing Wave.
Judging by its power, it fully reached S-rank.
Sand writhed at Shukaku's shoulder, forming a new arm.
But before it could stabilize—
A second Golden Sand Severing Wave shot forward.
His shoulder split again.
His left arm was severed once more and sent flying.
Shukaku tried to control the sand within the water stream.
But it was too fast.
Even if he controlled the front portion, more sand followed behind in the flow.
Then his right arm was cut off as well.
Both arms slammed heavily onto the ground.
Shukaku immediately raised his head and began forming a Tailed Beast Ball.
Under pressure, it formed quickly and shot straight at Yako.
Yako could have caught it barehanded using his Wood Release avatar.
Instead, he formed a sand hand.
A massive claw appeared in front of him and intercepted the Tailed Beast Ball.
Boom!
The explosion erupted within the sand hand.
Shukaku finally caught his breath and roared:
"You can't stop it! You can't possibly stop it! I know how strong Sand Hands are—they can't withstand a Tailed Beast Ball!"
And indeed, the explosion shattered the sand construct.
A massive blast wave scattered sand everywhere, forming a towering mushroom cloud.
In the distance, Pakura was blown off her feet, tumbling backward before quickly pressing herself flat against the ground.
She looked up in shock.
So this… was the level of a battle between a tailed beast and a Kage-level shinobi.
Just the aftershock alone had sent her flying.
Her strength was only at elite jonin level.
Still far from Kage level.
Whether it was Golden Sand Severing Wave, Sand Hand, or Tailed Beast Ball—
none of them were things her Scorch Release fireballs could contend with.
From within the sand cloud, a shadow burst out, tearing through the dust.
Yako slid across the ground for a long distance before stopping.
Sand Release simply wasn't as strong as Wood Release.
Its advantage was flexibility—even more so than Wood Release.
It could erupt from anywhere at any time.
But its structure was loose, lacking durability.
After understanding its properties, Yako stopped holding back.
"Shukaku… you're too strong. To avoid attracting attention from the Sand ninja, I'll have to end this quickly."
Shukaku screeched, "You think you're stronger than the Second Kazekage? I refuse to believe—"
Before he could finish—
Yako rushed forward at incredible speed.
What kind of taijutsu level was that?!
Even if he had strong taijutsu…
Even if he had stolen Sand Release…
That could still be accepted.
But when the wooden dragon appeared—
Shukaku froze.
A massive Wood Dragon burst from the sand and slammed into his waist.
It coiled upward from his lower back and bit down on the back of his neck.
The most vulnerable point of a beast.
Many creatures, once bitten there, lost all ability to resist.
On top of that, the Wood Dragon was frantically draining chakra.
Even a tailed beast couldn't hold out for long.
Sand began collapsing.
Shukaku couldn't even maintain the shape of his own body.
Chunks of sand fell away, exposing the interior.
Shukaku had spent decades sealed with Bunpuku, cut off from the outside world.
He had no idea that the "fox" of Konoha possessed Wood Release.
"You… are you a descendant of Hashirama Senju?! This is Wood Release?!"
In the distance, Pakura was stunned.
Miqū… might actually be Konoha's Anbu Commander—"Fox."
In the entire shinobi world, only Konoha's Fox and one of Uchiha Madara's subordinates could use Wood Release.
And yet, after knowing him for six or seven years—
she still couldn't confirm his true identity.
As the sand fell away, a teapot became visible inside Shukaku's body.
Ignoring his collapsing form, Shukaku gathered his remaining chakra to form one last Tailed Beast Ball.
He fired it at point-blank range.
But—
a wooden hand erupted from the ground and grabbed it.
The Wood construct's suppressive power prevented the explosion entirely.
"Don't act recklessly. I'm here to seal you, not kill you.
Your body is already collapsing. If you take your own Tailed Beast Ball at this distance, you'll destroy yourself."
Another Wood Dragon appeared, biting down on the sphere.
The immense chakra inside was absorbed.
Shukaku, though Kage-level, was far weaker than Yako.
Neither Wind Release, Sand Release, nor Tailed Beast Ball could do anything.
Iron vines shot out and dragged the Bunpuku Teapot free.
Yako beckoned to Pakura.
She rushed forward and began performing the sealing technique she had learned.
Under the control of the Wood Dragon, Shukaku had lost all ability to resist.
"You damned humans! There's no way I, the great Shukaku, will be sealed into that cursed teapot!
Second Kazekage! Bunpuku! This is all your fault! Why create something made just to seal me?!"
Once the sealing was complete, Pakura turned to Yako—clearly angry.
"Why are you suddenly mad?" Yako thought for a moment. "Ah… because I hid my identity?"
"Who are you really? Konoha's Fox—or one of Uchiha Madara's subordinates?"
"You guess."
Pakura slung the teapot over her back and stepped close, lifting his chin with her forehead, glaring at him.
"I'm telling you—little fox… you're done for tonight."
Yako felt his legs tense slightly.
Another long night ahead…