Chapter 253: Confronting Shukaku – He's Still Acting
"Yahaha!"
"I'm finally out!!!"
Shukaku, in his complete form, howled to the sky like a husky that had been locked up in a dark room for too long, his entire being surging with destructive energy.
His tail—the largest among the nine tailed beasts—lashed about like a wild dog, pounding furiously in every direction.
Boom!
Boom!
The already cratered ground, devastated by Li Yao's clay birds, suffered a new wave of destruction.
Atop the Kazekage Building, Chiyo and the others stared blankly at the rampaging Shukaku in the distance, speechless.
"How is this possible?"
"How did Shukaku get out?"
"Where's Bunpuku?"
Chiyo's face changed drastically, but no one answered her. Even Ebizō, usually calm, had lost his composure.
Watanabe and the others looked hopeless, completely at a loss.
"Why… why now of all times?"
Pakura staggered, sensing how little chakra remained in her body. She turned and ran, heading for her sister.
At this moment, all she wanted was to find her sister and get her far away from Shukaku.
As for that bastard Windwalker—he was on his own.
"Shukaku… he's out!"
"Hurry, you younger ones, into the shelters! Everyone else, follow me!"
"Quick, we have to drive Shukaku out of the village!"
Someone finally reacted, ordering the young to retreat into the shelters while the older shinobi rushed to stop Shukaku, trying to force him out of the village.
If Shukaku were to fire off a Tailed Beast Ball in the village, even the shelters wouldn't protect them. Everyone would die.
Despite being nearly out of chakra, the older shinobi didn't hesitate.
It had to be said—every hidden village had those who were willing to sacrifice everything for their home.
"Where's Rasa?"
"I remember that brat Rasa learned Magnet Release from the Third Kazekage. Where is he?"
Suddenly, Chiyo realized something and shouted to those around her.
"Go get him, quickly!" Chiyo commanded.
"Yes, Lady Chiyo! We'll find Lord Rasa immediately!"
Three Anbu quickly took off.
Magnet Release, aside from being a puppet master's nemesis, had another crucial function—it could suppress Shukaku's sand manipulation powers.
It could even be said—
Magnet Release was developed while researching how to counter Shukaku's sand control.
The Third Kazekage had once used Magnet Release several times to subdue and reseal a rampaging Shukaku.
"It's no use, Sister."
At that moment, Ebizō shook his head and said, "Even setting aside that Rasa only recently mastered Magnet Release, after the previous battle, how much chakra could he possibly have left?"
Indeed, when Rasa saw Shukaku emerge, a wave of helplessness washed over him.
If he had enough chakra, he might try.
But now, he was powerless.
"Then what do we do?" Chiyo asked in frustration.
Ebizō didn't answer. He simply looked at Li Yao's Wind Clone. Chiyo followed his gaze, but facing a behemoth like Shukaku, Li Yao's Wind Clone's big move—which took three minutes to charge—seemed far too clunky.
And they no longer had the chakra to buy those three minutes for him.
"There you are—you bastards!"
"I'll kill you all!"
The wildly excited Shukaku finally noticed the humans and quickly locked onto the group atop the Kazekage Building—especially Chiyo and Ebizō.
He harbored deep hatred for those who had once participated in sealing him.
"Wind Release – Drilling Air Bullet!"
Like a shinobi casting a jutsu, Shukaku's belly swelled before he smacked it with his hand.
Boom!
A massive wind bullet, saturated with terrifying chakra, blasted from his mouth toward the Kazekage Building.
Boom!
Everything in its path—whether buildings or terrain—was obliterated. Nothing could stop Shukaku's chakra-laced wind bullet.
"This is bad!"
"Sister, get down!"
Ebizō called out for Chiyo to dodge as he leapt to one side. The others all turned pale and made their own desperate evasive moves.
"Damn it!"
"It's too late!"
With their chakra depleted, their physical response times were sluggish. And Shukaku's attack was too fast, too wide—they simply couldn't escape.
Just as everyone's faces filled with despair, Li Yao's Wind Clone knew—
It was time once again for him to save the day.
Whoosh!
He instantly appeared at the rooftop's edge. Facing the oncoming massive chakra wind bullet, he raised his right hand.
"Wind Release – Storm Shatter!"
Sharp Wind Release slashes crisscrossed and formed a fine mesh, like a tennis racket, spreading from the palm of his hand to block in front of the Kazekage Building.
Screee!
When Shukaku's massive wind bullet collided with the fine mesh of Wind Release slashes, it was instantly shredded—like tofu sliced apart by steel wires—disintegrating into countless wisps of wind.
Even the immense chakra inside the wind bullet was torn apart, unable to hold its form, and scattered into a raging storm.
Boom!
The furious winds surged past the Kazekage Building, scattering in all directions and kicking up clouds of dust.
Unable to see clearly, Shukaku thought his attack had hit and burst into maniacal laughter.
But compared to a direct hit from the wind bullet, these scattered winds were nothing.
"We're saved!"
"It's Lord Windwalker!"
Everyone on the rooftop saw that it was Li Yao's Wind Clone who had intercepted Shukaku's attack, and they burst into cheers.
"Incredible!"
"He even stopped Shukaku's power!"
Everyone looked at the young figure standing with his back to them, and in that moment, he overlapped in their minds with the legendary Third Kazekage.
Reliable.
Reassuring.
A mix of awe and calm filled their hearts.
"Windwalker, your chakra…"
Chiyo hadn't lost her senses. She immediately voiced her concern.
Such terrifying jutsu, while powerful, consumed equally terrifying amounts of chakra.
Like Ōnoki of the Third Tsuchikage—his Dust Release was formidable, but the chakra it consumed was staggering.
In a full battle, he could only unleash a few large-scale Dust Release attacks before being too drained to use the technique again.
It was this "non-weakness" weakness that prevented Dust Release from dominating every war.
Otherwise, if Ōnoki could use Dust Release like a basic Fire Release technique, who could stop him?
Even the God of Shinobi might have struggled.
So Chiyo understood—after killing that mysterious clay explosion ninja and blocking Shukaku's wind bullet, Li Yao's Wind Clone must have consumed an enormous amount of chakra.
Now wasn't the time to let him take risks.
If necessary, they could retreat, recover chakra, and return to seal Shukaku.
Though it would involve sacrifices, it was better than sending Li Yao's Wind Clone to his death.
However, in the face of Chiyo's concern, Li Yao's Wind Clone simply stood with his back to her and declared resolutely:
"Don't worry, Lady Chiyo. Even if it costs me my life, I will stop Shukaku."
With that, a terrifying chakra burst forth from him.
But as this chakra surged, his black hair instantly turned white.
Seeing this, Chiyo and the others realized—Li Yao's Wind Clone had exchanged his lifespan to generate the chakra needed to attack Shukaku again.
Chiyo's eyes grew moist.
What a noble person—he was truly worthy of the title of Kazekage.
The others were likewise moved by his self-sacrificial spirit.
"Lady Chiyo, I leave the village to you all."
"I'll lure Shukaku out—I won't let him endanger the village."
Without waiting for Chiyo's reply, Li Yao's Wind Clone activated his Wind Armor and vanished from the rooftop, flying straight toward Shukaku in the distance.
(END CHAPTER)
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