Chapter 255: Slicing the One-Tail in Half
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
After regenerating his head, Shukaku no longer acted arrogantly. Instead, he instinctively leapt back three times, widening the distance between himself and Li Yao's Wind Clone.
"Who… are you really?"
Gone was the overbearing presence of the so-called Lord Shukaku. The human in front of him made him afraid.
He hadn't sensed the attack at all before his neck had been sliced clean through.
If not for his special body, being decapitated would've meant death.
If it had been that damn fox, the Nine-Tails, losing its head would've caused its chakra to collapse instantly, and it would've had to slowly reconstitute its chakra somewhere else to regenerate.
What kind of attack was that?
Who was this human really?
He, Shukaku—known for his absolute sand defense—had been decapitated by this human with ease.
And worst of all, he hadn't even sensed it.
Facing such terrifying power, Shukaku was now afraid. Even after regenerating, he refrained from attacking recklessly.
He wasn't stupid. He knew how to judge the situation.
Li Yao's Wind Clone smiled and said, "Who I am doesn't matter. Come on. Go ahead and use your Tailed Beast Bomb—I want to see the true power of Shukaku."
And, in his mind, he added: Let's also test the limits of Wind Release – Slash.
With that, he accelerated past Shukaku and positioned himself behind him so that when Shukaku fired the Tailed Beast Bomb, it wouldn't strike Sunagakure.
"Are you serious?"
Shukaku turned around. His beady tanuki eyes glinted slyly. "Don't just talk big."
Oh?
Trying to goad him now?
Li Yao's Wind Clone simply smiled. "Go on, use your Tailed Beast Bomb. I won't interrupt this time."
Die!
Without hesitation, Shukaku tilted his head back and began forming a Tailed Beast Bomb.
In no time, the dark chakra sphere was complete.
This time, Shukaku was smarter. He formed the Tailed Beast Bomb as fast as possible. Though it wasn't at full power, he didn't believe any human could withstand it head-on.
Before now, even among those powerful humans who had sealed him, no one had ever dared take a Tailed Beast Bomb head-on. They either dodged or disrupted it before it could be fully fired.
Even if this human possessed terrifying slashing power, he surely couldn't stop a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Die, brat!"
Shukaku fired the bomb and cursed at the same time.
"Wind Release – Slash Wave!"
Even though this Tailed Beast Bomb was only the size of a water tank—a mini version—Li Yao's Wind Clone responded with a full-powered Slash Wave.
Shing!
Sssst!
At the heart of the transparent slash wave was a razor-thin edge, sharp enough to cut through molecules. It sliced through the Tailed Beast Bomb, its cutting edge dividing the sphere in two.
In a flash, the bomb was split into halves midair, flying past either side of Li Yao's Wind Clone.
Boom! Boom!
Two fireballs exploded far behind him, like twin miniature suns rising from the ground. Even the midday sun was eclipsed by the white-hot radiance.
BOOOOM…
The shockwave rolled across the land and into Sunagakure.
Back at the village, Chiyo and the others had taken military rations and briefly recovered some chakra. When they heard the explosion, they turned toward the direction of the blast.
Even the hundred-meter-tall stone wall couldn't block the intense light of the Tailed Beast Bomb explosion.
Everyone felt the sheer destructive force—and their own powerlessness.
"Hurry, brother, go get the Black Jar. I'll go support Windwalker. We must help seal Shukaku quickly—if this continues, Windwalker can't hold out without Magnet Release," Chiyo urged.
Magnet Release made a huge difference. With it, they could control iron sand to restrain Shukaku, making it easier to use the sealing jutsu and trap him inside the Black Jar.
"Yes, sister." Ebizō left at once to retrieve the jar.
The Black Jar was said to be a sealing tool passed down from the Sage of Six Paths. It was used to seal Shukaku before there was a jinchūriki.
"You few, come with me."
Chiyo summoned several jonin who had recovered a bit of chakra and headed toward the battlefield where Li Yao and Shukaku were fighting.
"Let's go!"
"We're going to support Lord Windwalker!"
Ye Yi and her sister Pakura arrived just in time to see Chiyo and her group departing. Ye Yi shouted to her sister and rushed ahead.
Pakura sighed and followed.
"We're going too."
"I'm in as well."
All around the village, those who had come to stop Shukaku followed after Chiyo's group.
"No way!"
"No way a mere human could stop my Tailed Beast Bomb!"
Even Shukaku, the tanuki beast, wore a stunned expression. He repeated his disbelief again and again.
Li Yao's Wind Clone rolled his eyes. Shukaku had clearly never seen Hashirama catch the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb with his bare hands. Nor had he seen the Wood Golem hold Kurama like a baby chick, gently squeezing it as if afraid he might crush it by accident.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be spouting things like "a mere human."
"That's all you've got?"
Li Yao's Wind Clone flew up to Shukaku again and provocatively said, "This time, you can gather all your chakra for a full-powered Tailed Beast Bomb. I won't stop you."
Now that he had a clear understanding of his Wind Release – Slash, he knew that even high-density chakra spheres like the Tailed Beast Bomb couldn't withstand it.
With that, Tailed Beasts had no advantage over him.
He, the Wind Clone of Li Yao, could handle them with ease.
"Screw that! I'm not playing your games!"
"You can play by yourself!"
Shukaku shamelessly turned and ran. He wasn't some mindless beast—hell, even wild animals flee when they know they're outmatched.
This damned human could slice through his Tailed Beast Bomb. Even if he formed a bigger one, it would be sliced just the same.
This cunning human just wanted him to waste all his chakra forming another bomb, leaving him defenseless and making it easier to be sealed in that damn black jar again.
No way he'd fall for that.
"Smart creatures really are different—not so dumb."
Shukaku's sudden retreat left Li Yao's Wind Clone momentarily speechless. He hadn't expected a tailed beast, with its notorious hatred for humans, to simply run away.
"But… using jumps to flee with a body that massive—is that really your best idea?"
Li Yao's Wind Clone smiled, flicked his right hand, and lightly tapped with his index finger.
Sssst!
A slash tore through the air, slicing across Shukaku's belly mid-leap.
"Huh?"
That familiar sensation returned. Shukaku felt a chill around his waist, and then lost all connection to the lower half of his body.
In midair, his massive form split in two—the legs and tail fell behind, while the upper body and arms were thrown ahead.
This moment was witnessed by Chiyo and the others just as they reached the stone wall.
"That…"
"Shukaku…"
"Was sliced in half!!!"
Everyone gawked, jaws agape, stunned by the sight of Shukaku's severed form. Their hearts nearly stopped from the shock.
"That bastard's way too strong!"
Pakura 's pretty face was frozen in disbelief. That was the One-Tail Shukaku, famed for his absolute defense—yet he had just been bisected.
Was that bastard's Wind Release – Slash really that terrifying?
With an enemy so powerful… was there even any point in going to support him?
She had heard Shukaku's voice clearly earlier.
Even Shukaku feared that bastard and had tried to flee.
Did he really need their help?
In that instant, not just Pakura , but everyone who had witnessed Shukaku being sliced in two had the same thought:
Did Windwalker really need backup?
Absolutely not!
In that fleeting moment, everyone had their answer.
They might as well stay put and enjoy the show. When Windwalker finally beat Shukaku down, then they could move in to seal him.
If they joined now, they'd only distract Windwalker and become a burden.
(END CHAPTER)
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