The Land of Wind was the largest of the Five Great Nations.
South of the Kikkō Mountain Range and north of the sea lay the endless desert.
Shukaku, freed from its seal and savoring its precious freedom, had not bothered to tangle with the Suna-nin and had retreated deep into the desert.
In fact, Shukaku had existed long before the Land of Wind, with Sunagakure only appearing in recent decades.
For over a thousand years, Shukaku had lived in the desert, one of the millennia-old myths of natural disaster passed down among the sands.
Travelers who strayed too deep into the desert would be killed for disturbing Shukaku.
It was the ever-expanding range of human activity that encroached upon Shukaku's habitat. Later, the First Kazekage of Sunagakure had even captured Shukaku.
The fact that the Suna-nin couldn't find Shukaku didn't mean Yōkō couldn't.
With Yōkō's strength, he found Shukaku in two or three days.
In the eastern part of the Land of Wind, the sea of sand was identical to everywhere else, with no distinguishing features.
Within the sandy sea, the earth slowly swelled upward.
Shukaku's eyes appeared through the cascading curtain of falling sand, fixed on a distant human figure that sent a tremor through its being.
The man wore a mask with a black background and a lightning pattern.
The crucial thing was his power, which made Shukaku instinctively uneasy.
"You, wearing a mask and playing mysterious games, who exactly are you!"
Shukaku's voice echoed through the desert night sky.
The sand on the ground was trembled and flowed with a rustling sound.
Yōkō said, "Shukaku, your power is too great. I cannot allow you to act as you please, nor can I hand you over to those with ill intentions."
"Ill intentions?" Shukaku opened its large mouth, its words creating gusts of fierce wind:
"There's only you here in this desert. It seems to me you are the one with ill intentions!
Wind Release: Air Bullets!"
Shukaku had a violent temper. At the slightest disagreement, it immediately attacked with Wind Release.
Yōkō looked at the curse marks on Shukaku's body, preparing to acquire some ability from the One-Tails.
The abilities of the One-Tail were certainly valuable.
A wind sphere dozens of meters in size rushed towards Yōkō, trailing a massive wake that whipped up a sandstorm.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Yōkō formed a single hand seal and spewed forth an enormous fire dragon.
In the distance, Pakura watched in shock as Kōji, using just an ordinary Fire Release technique, actually suppressed Shukaku's Wind Release.
While it was true that Fire Release could disrupt airflow through thermal convection, and that Fire Release countered Wind Release... this was Shukaku's Wind Release!
Seeing its first Air Bullet shattered head-on by the fire dragon, Shukaku's eyes changed. Knowing it had encountered a Fire Release master, it began slapping its fat belly repeatedly.
Three consecutive Air Bullets shot out.
Yet, this Wind Release, capable of destroying a town, was no match for the Fire Release.
The fire dragon, with terrifying might, smashed through the three Air Bullets one after another.
Upon the dragon's head, its mane of flames swayed in the wind, radiating waves of intense heat.
Shukaku had no choice but to leap high into the air to avoid the dragon.
"Who are you?! Why does a simple, unremarkable Fire Release technique become like a forbidden jutsu in your hands?!"
Yōkō said, "Use your other abilities. Wind Release is useless before me."
Shukaku glared at the ninja with the black and lightning mask. "You're looking for death!"
It opened its mouth, and red and blue chakra rapidly condensed before it.
"Tailed Beast Ball!"
Just as Shukaku was about to fire the Tailed Beast Ball, a giant wooden hand suddenly shot out from the ground, grasping at the half-formed sphere.
Shukaku was stunned—the unfinished Tailed Beast Ball had been crushed by a grab!
What kind of power was this?
Shukaku hastily retreated.
That damned Bunpuku! All he did every day was chant Buddhist scriptures, with no communication with his guard. This left Shukaku completely ignorant of the current state of the shinobi world.
Who was this person?!
Yōkō said, "Don't use Wind Release; it's too weak. Don't use the Tailed Beast Ball; it's too strong. I don't like either of those. Use something else."
Having jumped back, Shukaku stared at Yōkō, its spirit shaken.
Its tail slowly drifted forward.
The tip of its tail gradually thinned, transforming into a massive spear.
"Shukaku's Spear!"
The spear shot forth, flying straight at Yōkō.
This was a technique hailed as the hardest, absolute attack.
With sufficient distance, Yōkō waved his hand, deploying Absolute Resistance: Crystal Mist before him.
Faced with extremely high resistance, the deceleration of Shukaku's Spear was visible to the naked eye.
By the time the spear reached Yōkō, it had stopped completely.
Yōkō reached out and grasped the spear's tip. On the first try, he actually didn't crush it.
He nodded repeatedly. "Not bad. Worthy of being called the hardest attack technique."
On the second try, Yōkō applied force and crushed Shukaku's Spear.
Pakura, watching from afar, didn't understand what Yōkō's seemingly effortless grab represented, but Shukaku knew.
The man before it possessed Super Strength, crushing its spear with just his fingers.
No... wait. That strange, faint mist contained a vast amount of water, which had softened the spear.
Shukaku wasn't panicked yet.
The sand from Shukaku's Spear fell, dropping onto the sandy ground with soft puff sounds.
A few seconds later, Shukaku suddenly slammed both hands onto the ground.
"Sand Hand!"
Using the sand from its spear as a medium, a giant Shukaku claw suddenly appeared beneath Yōkō's feet.
The sand claw clenched shut, grabbing Yōkō in its palm.
Under the influence of Absolute Defense: Copper Light, the Sand Hand was instantly soaked by the large amount of water produced by the crystal mist.
The gushing Water Release burst through the Sand Hand. Like a collapsing seawall, a flood appeared in the desert.
Yōkō jumped free from the sand.
However, he suddenly felt the sky darken around him.
Behind him, above his head, to his left and right—four Sand Hands reached for Yōkō from different angles.
Overwhelming, with no blind spot.
Each sand palm was dozens of meters wide.
A dozen-meter-wide sand slap struck Yōkō.
Yōkō nodded repeatedly. This speed, this scale... it was worthy of being added to Yōkō's collection.
He dispelled all his defenses, allowing the sand to crush him to death.
[Monitoring that the host has died. The Mochizuki's Arc system is activating...]
Hearing the system voice after so long, Yōkō felt a bit nostalgic.
Waking again, Yōkō was back several days prior.
He was in a Kage-level suite constructed from Wood Release. Before he was Pakura's undulating, beautiful back.
Snapping his fingers, the ceiling above slowly moved aside, revealing a skylight.
Moonlight spilled through the skylight, falling upon Pakura's back, which reflected a hazy, silvery glow.
Pakura deliberately quickened her pace, making the moonlight struggle to keep up with the movement of her back.
Left with no choice, Yōkō enlarged the skylight, finally allowing the moonlight to envelop the mischievous Pakura.
After a period of enthrallment, both were thoroughly satisfied.
Waiting for Pakura to fall asleep, Yōkō sat by the window and selected the ability to gain from the system.
**[Mochizuki's Arc Activated!
The host has only one resurrection opportunity per month, reviving on the previous full moon night after death.
Reward: One draw opportunity:
1- Wind Release: Air Bullets;
2- Sealing Technique: Desert Layered Imperial Funeral;
3- Sand Release: Sand Manipulation Technique.]**
Wind Release: Air Bullets was useless. The Desert Layered Imperial Funeral seal was also not very useful compared to the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques.
The third technique, Sand Release: Sand Manipulation Technique, allowed free control of sand.
This ability was somewhat useful for Yōkō. He decisively chose the third reward.
A breeze blew sand towards the window. Yōkō raised his hand, dispersing his chakra. The sand instantly received its command, obediently suspending itself before Yōkō, slowly rotating into a small pyramid of sand.
Yōkō thought to himself that he could now fly on sand like Gaara or Rasa.
The ability to freely manipulate sand was highly practical.
Furthermore, he could combine sand with other abilities to create even stronger techniques.
***
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(End of Chapter)