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The massive water sphere churned violently as Shukaku bounced around inside it like an excited kid. Its enormous body sent waves crashing in every direction. One clawed hand held Taiichi high while the other slapped at the water, the beast celebrating its victory with pure, savage glee.
Then it noticed something was off. The annoying little bug should've been dead by now, yet the giant sphere of water still held together.
Shukaku brought its hand closer and carefully pried its fingers open one by one. Nothing. It checked again, then again, growing more agitated. The hand was empty.
"Where the hell are you, you little shit?!" Shukaku roared, thrashing its arms and turning the entire sphere into a raging storm.
Taiichi stood on a large tree at the water's edge, right where one of Minato's marked kunai had been planted earlier. He'd left a shadow clone behind at the last second and used Flying Thunder God to get clear. The clone had bought him just enough time.
He'd only done it as a precaution, but watching the arrogant, overconfident Shukaku rage helplessly made him glad he'd played it safe. If he'd stayed in that thing's grip, even Fire Body might not have saved him from being crushed.
Through his chakra sensing, Taiichi watched Shukaku throw its tantrum while the marked kunai sat unnoticed above its head. To something that size, the tiny weapon was nothing.
Shukaku started gathering another Tailed Beast Bomb. That was the opening Taiichi had been waiting for.
He formed a Rasengan in his right hand and poured in a massive amount of chakra. The orb stayed the same size but grew blindingly bright.
The second Shukaku's Tailed Beast Bomb was about to finish, Taiichi teleported directly above the beast's head and slammed the enhanced Rasengan down. Then he flashed away again.
The Rasengan detonated inside Shukaku's skull. The beast's face twisted in sudden fear. Half its head exploded outward in a spray of yellow sand. The unstable Tailed Beast Bomb in its mouth went off right after, blowing away even more of its upper body.
In Taiichi's perception, Shukaku's violent chakra signature flickered and vanished. Through Soul Vision he watched the beast's soul light scatter and dissolve into the world. That was how tailed beasts worked. They didn't die the same way people did.
The remaining half of Shukaku's body went dull and lifeless. Gravity took over and the massive form collapsed back into sand, flooding the entire water sphere.
No one had expected this. Not Jiraiya. Not Rasa. Not the Sand or Leaf forces fighting miles away. A fifty-meter-tall monster of pure destruction had just been killed by one kid.
Sand's front line broke the moment the giant body fell. Someone screamed first.
"The jinchuriki's dead! The White Death killed it!"
The panic spread like wildfire. Lower-ranking Sand ninja who'd already heard the rumors about Taiichi started breaking. Within minutes the entire Sand front was in full retreat.
Leaf forces didn't understand what had just happened, but they didn't need to. Their morale skyrocketed. They charged after the fleeing Sand shinobi with renewed fury.
Chiyo and Ebizo quickly gathered what loyal forces they could and started a fighting withdrawal, trying to salvage something from the collapse. Most Sand ninja just ran.
On the Leaf side, Minato, Shikaku and the other elites led clean-up operations, cutting down as many retreating enemies as they could.
Taiichi stood in the water, staring at the collapsed sand with a disappointed frown. He hadn't managed to extract any of Shukaku's chakra. That was a missed opportunity for later research.
He shook it off and looked toward the ongoing fight between Jiraiya and Rasa.
The battlefield was half gold sand and half swampy mud from Jiraiya's Swamp of the Underworld. Rasa had a huge amount of gold sand gathered, probably prepared in advance. Jiraiya was keeping him busy with fire dragons and occasional Toad Oil Bullet combos from his shadow clones.
Taiichi wasn't about to let Rasa escape again. He rode a wave of water straight toward them.
"Kazekage-sama!" he called out, voice dripping with mockery. "You were pretty damn cocky last time when you were chasing us. Don't run away this time!"
Jiraiya kept hammering Rasa with fire jutsu while grinning. "Rasa, you're a grown-ass man bullying kids? How about you stay and fight me properly? Whoever runs is a coward!"
Rasa's jaw clenched so hard it hurt. Two against one, and they still had the nerve to talk shit. Especially that loudmouth Jiraiya. Taiichi wasn't a kid anymore. The little bastard had just solo-killed Shukaku.
Worse, the entire area was now flooded. Controlling his gold sand had become much harder.
He cursed under his breath and focused. He couldn't afford to get pinned down by both of them. Most of his remaining gold sand gathered into a wide-area Gold Sand Drizzle aimed at Jiraiya. While Jiraiya defended with Needle Jizo, Rasa used the rest to form a platform beneath his feet and shot into the sky again.
"You running already, you coward?!" Jiraiya shouted after him.
Taiichi's temper snapped. This was how many times now? The bastard just kept flying away.
He flashed through seals and slammed his hands into the water.
Water Style: Water Severing Wave.
Dozens of high-pressure water spears launched upward, forcing Rasa to twist and dodge mid-air. One came close enough to slice through part of his gold sand platform. Rasa kept climbing until he was out of range.
Taiichi stopped and straightened up, breathing hard.
A large hand landed on his head and ruffled his hair roughly. Jiraiya's booming laugh followed.
"You little shit. I knew you were strong, but killing Shukaku? Even I didn't see that coming."
Taiichi gave an awkward laugh and tried to duck away from the hand. Jiraiya let him go after a moment. The kid wasn't a student anymore. He was a top-tier fighter in his own right.
"It's not as crazy as it sounds," Taiichi said. "I had the Yin Seal stocked up. Most of it was just raw chakra volume. After this fight the seal's basically empty anyway."
He formed the release seals. The diamond mark on his forehead glowed as the intricate patterns across his body flowed back into it. The mark stayed bright.
Jiraiya watched but didn't push. Every ninja kept some cards close to the chest. He respected that.
"Alright, this area's handled. My shadow clone just reported we won big on the main front. You're fast. Get back to the rear and tell the logistics and medical teams to move up. We're going to have a lot of wounded."
"Understood."
Taiichi felt a flash of guilt the second he heard the order. He'd ditched Yohei, Kakashi, and the others without a second thought when Shukaku showed up. Now that the adrenaline was fading, it felt pretty shitty.
Jiraiya noticed the sudden change in his expression. "What's wrong? You burn through too much chakra?"
"No… it's nothing. Just remembered something annoying." Taiichi forced a smile, then muttered, "I'm heading out," and vanished with Flying Thunder God before Jiraiya could ask more.
Jiraiya shook his head, then leapt into the trees to check the distant fighting. Even with the big battle over, there were still plenty of small skirmishes. He could help reduce casualties and keep morale up.
Taiichi made one short jump to collect himself, then used Flying Thunder God again and reappeared in a rear-area camp near the Leaf border.
He appeared right next to Director Fujita. She'd been given one of his marked kunai before the battle for exactly this kind of fast communication.
"Taiichi, how bad is it?" she asked immediately. Everyone in the command area turned to stare at him.
Taiichi looked around at the senior logistics and medical staff. They were all waiting.
"We won," he said. "Big win."