Chapter 154 – The Two-Tails
Under the bright daylight, a catlike cry began softly before rapidly swelling into a deafening roar.
The sound waves burst outward from Matatabi's mouth like a shockwave.
Taichi quickly regrouped with Yōhei and Saori, retreating to a distant ridge to observe the battlefield. Across from them, the two Kumogakure jōnin had done the same.
Both sides silently ceased fighting, their attention fixed on the massive beast at the center of the canyon.
"Damn it! That hurts! It hurts!"
"What kind of flames were those?!"
After thrashing wildly for a moment, Matatabi finally managed to extinguish the golden fire clinging to its body by forcing its own blue flames to suppress them.
Even so, the tailed beast was furious.
Its massive vertical pupils scanned the battlefield.
The Kumo and Konoha shinobi had all retreated over a hundred meters away.
From its towering height, Matatabi quickly found the tiny "ant" that had caused it such agony.
Its gaze locked onto Taichi.
With a furious roar, deep blue flames surged around its claws as Matatabi charged straight toward him.
---
The moment Taichi saw the Two-Tails staring at him, he knew things were about to go very wrong.
That stupid cat clearly held grudges.
His golden flames must have really burned it earlier.
The instant it regained control, it immediately targeted him.
"You two withdraw first!" Taichi shouted quickly to Yōhei and Saori.
"That cat's locked onto me. I'll draw it away. Meet at the place we rested yesterday!"
There was no time for further explanation.
The beast was too fast.
Even during those few exchanged sentences, it was already closing the distance.
Taichi vanished in a Body Flicker, sprinting away.
After gaining some distance, he even stopped briefly, turned back, and taunted the beast.
"Hey, big kitty! Over here!"
"Come chase me!"
He even fired several Phoenix Flower Fireballs for extra provocation.
That did the trick.
Matatabi roared in rage, ignoring everything else as it charged after him on all fours.
Along the way, mountains, boulders, trees, and brush—
Anything in its path was smashed into fragments.
---
Once Taichi confirmed he had successfully drawn the Two-Tails' hatred onto himself, he immediately stopped messing around.
He changed direction subtly.
Gradually steering toward the two Kumogakure jōnin.
His plan was simple.
Divert disaster onto them.
Even if it didn't fully succeed, at least they would suffer for it.
Taichi ran at full speed, leaving afterimages behind him.
Each burst of chakra under his feet cratered the ground.
He no longer cared about precise chakra control.
All he wanted was speed.
Behind him, the massive body of Matatabi rampaged forward, its blue flames blazing wildly.
Every so often it launched enormous fireballs at Taichi.
Explosions erupted all around him.
Whenever he could dodge, he dodged.
If he couldn't, he countered with Phoenix Flower Fireballs, forcing the attacks away.
So far, he managed to escape unharmed.
"Damn brat!" Matatabi roared.
"If you've got guts, stop running!"
"Weren't you arrogant earlier?!"
The beast was growing increasingly frustrated.
The little insect was too fast.
Too agile.
And his fire techniques were strangely powerful.
Its own fireballs barely worked on him.
---
In the distance, the two Kumogakure jōnin regrouped.
"Captain… Yugito has fully transformed into the tailed beast."
"We can't deal with that."
"Who said we needed to?"
The squad leader remained calm.
"Can't you see? The Two-Tails is chasing Matsushita Taichi."
"Let them wear each other down."
"I'll deal with the aftermath."
Hearing his captain speak so confidently, the other jōnin assumed Kumogakure had provided some kind of secret weapon.
He stopped questioning and continued observing the chase.
But after a moment…
He frowned.
"Captain…"
"Don't you think they're getting closer?"
---
As if to confirm his words—
Taichi suddenly changed direction and ran straight toward them.
What had once been a safe distance was now dangerously close.
For something as massive as a tailed beast…
That distance meant only a few leaps.
"Damn it!"
"That Konoha brat is trying to use us as shields!"
"Split up!"
The two jōnin instantly burst off in opposite directions at maximum speed, hoping to escape Taichi's proximity.
But Taichi had no intention of letting them succeed.
He locked onto the captain's position and chased him closely.
At the same time, Phoenix Flower fireballs formed around him.
This time they weren't aimed at the Two-Tails.
They were aimed directly in front of the Kumo captain.
The fireballs slammed into the ground and exploded violently.
Flames and debris blocked the captain's path, forcing him to halt abruptly.
---
Taichi had just demonstrated an excellent survival principle.
When fleeing a tailed beast—
You don't need to run faster than the beast.
You just need to run faster than someone else nearby.
Just like now.
Taichi flashed past the Kumo captain and easily slipped through the fiery barrier he had created.
As he did, he clearly saw the captain's face—
Full of rage.
And regret.
Why had they stood there watching earlier?
Why hadn't they stayed farther away?
Or at least stayed together?
Now he had to face the enraged Two-Tails alone.
---
Taichi didn't care what the Kumo ninja were thinking.
The moment he passed them, he created several Shadow Clones.
Multiple Taichis scattered in different directions.
He had no intention of dealing with the tailed beast anymore.
If Kumogakure dared to send Yugito out with only two jōnin escorts, they must have had some method to suppress the beast if things went wrong.
And right now—
Taichi had no chance against a tailed beast.
Escape was the smartest option.
---
As one shadow clone after another was destroyed, the returning memories confirmed his suspicion.
Matatabi's hatred for him was deep.
Even with Kumo ninja right in front of it, the beast ignored them and continued chasing him.
Fortunately, Taichi had prepared for this.
All the running figures were shadow clones.
His real body had already used Earth Release to slip underground.
Now he was quietly moving hundreds of meters away from the battlefield.
He didn't dare use chakra sensing.
One of the Kumo jōnin was clearly a sensor-type ninja.
From a distance, using only his eyes, Taichi watched the battlefield.
After his clones were destroyed, the Kumogakure captain seemed to pull out some kind of tool.
Moments later—
Yugito regained consciousness.
The Two-Tails was suppressed once more.
Seeing this, Taichi didn't linger any longer.
He needed to regroup with Yōhei and Saori.
Then return to camp immediately.
The appearance of the Two-Tails Jinchūriki in the Land of Hot Water was extremely important intelligence.
It could completely change the situation on the battlefield.
---
On a hill somewhere in the Land of Hot Water, Yōhei and Saori stood waiting anxiously.
They were more than ten kilometers away from the earlier battlefield. If Taichi had successfully shaken off the Kumogakure ninja and the tailed beast, he should be arriving soon.
Sure enough, they didn't have to wait long.
At the far edge of their vision, a small figure was racing toward them at incredible speed.
"He's coming!" Yōhei shouted in relief.
Saori placed a hand against her chest, letting out a quiet breath. The anxiety that had been weighing on her finally eased.
After all, this was the first time either of them had ever seen a tailed beast—a legendary disaster. Watching such a colossal monster rampage right before their eyes had left a deep impression on them. It was impossible not to worry.
Within minutes, Taichi reached them.
But instead of slowing down, he shouted immediately:
"Move! Back to camp! We can't stay here!"
Yōhei and Saori instantly understood. They turned and began running without hesitation.
Taichi caught up with them, and the three formed a triangular formation as they sprinted toward the Konoha camp.
After running for quite some time, Yōhei finally couldn't hold back his curiosity.
"So… what happened to the tailed beast?"
"What else?" Taichi replied without even turning his head. "The Cloud ninja sealed it back up."
"If they dared bring a tailed beast out, they definitely had countermeasures ready. Otherwise, if it went berserk and escaped, Kumogakure would lose the Two-Tails entirely."
"So we're heading back to report this?" Yōhei asked.
"Exactly."
Taichi glanced back at Saori and saw that the wounds on her arm had already scabbed over. Only then did he relax slightly.
"Two jōnin and a Jinchūriki. Their presence changes the balance of power between both sides. We have to inform Lord Orochimaru immediately. Otherwise we'll be caught completely off guard."
---
Just as Taichi predicted, once Orochimaru heard their report, he issued an order at once.
All Konoha teams currently operating in the Land of Hot Water were to return to camp immediately.
There were two reasons.
First, after several days of sweeping operations, very few Kumogakure ninja remained in the region.
Second—and more importantly—the appearance of a Jinchūriki drastically changed the situation.
The camp no longer needed to focus on offense.
Now the priority was defense.
Naturally, intelligence of this level had to be sent to the village immediately. At the same time, they also requested reinforcements.
What they had encountered so far was only the Jinchūriki squad. No one knew what additional forces Kumogakure might send next.
If they waited until the enemy launched a full offensive, it would be too late to ask for support.
---
By the time Taichi's team left Orochimaru's command tent, night had already fallen.
The three returned to their own tent to rest.
They lay inside their sleeping bags. The tent was quiet, filled only with the steady rhythm of breathing and the distant sound of patrol footsteps outside.
After a long silence—
"Taichi… are you asleep?"
Yōhei's muffled voice broke the quiet.
"No," Taichi whispered. "What's wrong? Something on your mind?"
He deliberately kept his voice low so he wouldn't disturb Saori.
"You saw that thing today… that monster."
"If we run into something like that again in the future… what are we supposed to do?"
"Can something like that really be fought with human strength?"
Yōhei's voice carried clear worry.
And beneath that, a trace of shaken confidence.
Encountering a tailed beast had clearly affected him deeply.
Especially now—when he had just awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan and his morale was soaring—being confronted by such overwhelming power was like having cold water dumped over his head.
"Yeah, Taichi," Saori's voice joined in.
"So there are more monsters like that?"
"And if we meet them on the battlefield someday… what then?"
Apparently, none of them had actually fallen asleep.
Hearing both of them, Taichi sighed and sat up.
Yōhei and Saori also crawled out of their sleeping bags.
In the dim darkness, two bright pairs of eyes stared at him expectantly.
Taichi lit the small lamp in the tent.
Then he casually set up a soundproof barrier seal to prevent anyone outside from overhearing.
Saori's eyes immediately lit up.
Taichi's sealing techniques… have already surpassed mine completely.
She couldn't help admiring him.
Taichi began calmly:
"In the entire shinobi world… there are nine tailed beasts."
A loud gulp echoed in the tent.
Taichi looked toward Yōhei and saw him scratching his head awkwardly.
Clearly, he knew that reaction had been embarrassing.
"These beasts once roamed freely across the world."
"But when Konoha was first founded, the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara captured them all."
"Gulp!"
This time two people swallowed.
Their eyes shone with excitement.
Having just witnessed the power of a tailed beast firsthand, learning that Konoha's founders had captured them alone filled them with awe and pride.
"But in order to maintain peace in the shinobi world," Taichi continued, "the First Hokage later distributed the tailed beasts among the major villages so that each would possess strategic deterrence."
"What?! Why would he do that?!"
Yōhei and Saori couldn't understand it at all.
If Konoha had kept such power for itself, what village would dare challenge them?
Truthfully, even Taichi couldn't fully understand the First Hokage's reasoning.
Maybe Hashirama had been too idealistic.
Or maybe Taichi's own political understanding was simply too shallow.
Either way, reality proved otherwise.
Not long after the First Hokage died, the First Shinobi War broke out.
Now the world had already reached the Third Shinobi War.
Instead of preventing war, the tailed beasts had become devastating weapons on the battlefield.
"But if we're talking about what can truly restrain a tailed beast," Taichi continued, looking at them,
"You two actually possess advantages."
Both Yōhei and Saori immediately perked up.
"So what works against tailed beasts?" Yōhei asked.
"Either overwhelming power like the First Hokage…"
"Or the Mangekyō Sharingan and powerful sealing techniques."
"Wait!" Yōhei interrupted.
"I have Mangekyō! But I didn't feel like I could control that giant monster at all!"
Taichi rolled his eyes.
Yōhei immediately shut up, smiling awkwardly.
"Genjutsu," Taichi said.
"Anyone who awakens the Mangekyō Sharingan experiences a qualitative leap in genjutsu ability."
"And that's exactly why the Mangekyō is one of the best counters against tailed beasts."
"Genjutsu…" Yōhei groaned.
Normally, the Sharingan gave enormous bonuses to genjutsu.
Even Uchiha who weren't talented in illusion techniques were still competent with the Sharingan.
Except—
Yōhei was a complete exception.
Back when he had the three-tomoe Sharingan, he had tried learning genjutsu seriously.
The result?
It wasn't that there was no improvement.
It was simply completely useless.
The Uchiha jōnin teaching him genjutsu had been so frustrated that he literally got sick and swore never to teach Yōhei again.
The incident caused quite a stir within the clan.
Even the clan head became involved.
In the end, Yōhei was officially labeled "hopeless at genjutsu."
It had become a notorious piece of his personal black history.
Taichi had once heard the story from Obito, and he had laughed for days.
Thinking about it now, Taichi struggled to suppress his smile and forced a serious expression.
"Don't worry," he told Yōhei.
"Once Mangekyō awakens, even someone with terrible genjutsu aptitude will improve significantly."
"You'll be able to learn it."
"Really?! That's amazing!"
Yōhei jumped up in excitement and nearly hit the roof of the tent.
But suddenly he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"…Wait."
"Taichi… do you know something?"
Taichi kept a perfectly innocent expression.
"What? I definitely didn't know you were a complete genjutsu idiot…"
Yōhei froze.
Then his face turned bright red.
Moments later he lunged at Taichi in embarrassment, trying to cover his mouth before he could reveal any more embarrassing stories.
After a short round of wrestling and laughter, the two finally settled down.
And Taichi continued his tailed beast lecture.