A golden spear of sand shot toward Kyūsei with a piercing whine as it tore through the air.
Yet despite its terrifying power and speed, Kyūsei merely tilted his head—and the attack brushed past him harmlessly.
The true value of Kagura's Mind Eye wasn't limited to reconnaissance.
In combat, its effects were even more pronounced.
The flow of chakra.
The way chakra was formed.
The direction of attack.
The conversion of chakra nature.
All of it lay fully exposed within Kyūsei's perception.
Especially against a ninjutsu-type shinobi like Rasa—his attack was already decided the moment his chakra began to move. In Kyūsei's eyes, Rasa was like someone stripped bare, every move visible at a glance.
That was why fighting Kyūsei with ninjutsu alone was meaningless.
Only taijutsu could truly contend with him.
Genjutsu? Kyūsei and Kurama could dispel it together.
Ninjutsu? Completely laid bare by Kagura's Mind Eye.
Unless it was something like Ōnoki's dust release—an instant-kill technique—ordinary ninjutsu users simply weren't on the same level as him.
Rasa's expression remained calm as he continued manipulating his gold dust, preparing his next attack.
His personality dictated that he wouldn't waste words on an enemy.
But facing Kyūsei, even he felt pressure.
This was the strongest opponent he had ever faced.
Every attack—seen through.
Every move—anticipated.
The other side hadn't even attacked him yet, and still had the leisure to observe the wider battlefield.
To Rasa, that was the deepest humiliation.
Kyūsei glanced toward Orochimaru, who was struggling under the combined assault of over a thousand shinobi.
As for Manda?
That unreliable snake had already retreated back to Ryūchi Cave after being bombarded by countless ninjutsu, leaving Orochimaru behind.
At this point in time, Orochimaru wasn't yet the near-unkillable monster of later years.
With Manda gone, he could only continuously summon lesser snakes from Ryūchi Cave to barely hold the line.
Enough playing around.
Kyūsei's gentle crimson slit pupils turned back to Rasa.
Just that single glance sent a wave of danger crashing over Rasa's entire body.
He's going to move.
The thought surfaced unbidden.
"Magnet Release · Great Burial of Gold Dust!"
Rasa hadn't wanted to use this technique.
Its range was too large—and this was inside the village.
The risk of collateral damage was enormous.
Countless streams of gold dust surged up from beneath the ground, forming a colossal golden tsunami that roared toward Kyūsei. Buildings in its path collapsed like sandcastles, reduced to rubble in an instant.
Kyūsei watched the oncoming flood calmly.
A massive guandao appeared in his hands.
This blade was different from before.
Past manifestations of Bowie God weapons had been formed solely from Kyūsei's own chakra.
This time—
He infused it with the Nine-Tails' chakra.
The golden-red guandao radiated a chilling, dangerous aura.
Kyūsei charged straight into the golden torrent and brought the blade down with full force.
A dazzling golden-red arc of light cleaved forward—
Like a hot knife through butter, it split the overwhelming technique in two!
Kyūsei burst through the collapsing wave of gold dust, momentum unbroken, and shot straight toward Rasa!
Bad—!
Rasa's heart sank. He instinctively tried to retreat.
But he wasn't a taijutsu specialist.
And compared to Kyūsei's speed—
Too slow.
Far too slow.
The guandao swung again, golden-red blade light flashing as it descended without mercy toward the nearly defenseless Rasa.
Kyūsei was the natural nemesis of ninjutsu users—especially stationary artillery types like Rasa. And Rasa's techniques simply didn't carry enough threat to stop him.
Facing a blade-wielding Kyūsei charging head-on—
What could he possibly use to fight back?
"Die."
The slash fell.
The blade light stretched dozens of meters.
Rasa stared in horror as the terrifying arc passed right by him. Cold sweat drenched his body.
Just moments ago, he had nearly been cut in half.
"Old man," Kyūsei said coldly, turning his gaze to the bald elder who had appeared out of nowhere,
"you're this old—why aren't you staying home and enjoying retirement?"
Rasa's expression changed sharply as he looked at the man beside him.
This person was Sunagakure's One-Tail jinchūriki.
But—
He wasn't a perfect jinchūriki.
He could lose control at any moment.
Completely incomparable to the Nine-Tails jinchūriki standing before them.
"Sigh… this old monk never wanted to fight again," the man said softly.
Bunpuku—the One-Tail jinchūriki—looked around at the sand-filled village, a complicated emotion flickering in his eyes.
"But this is still my home."
"Esteemed benefactor," he said gently,
"please spare Sunagakure."
So this is him…
Gaara's predecessor—the monk named Bunpuku.
"I spare Sunagakure," Kyūsei replied coldly,
"then who's going to spare Konoha?"
"Old man, who do you think you are?"
"Or do you think that beast inside you is enough to stop me?"
Kyūsei didn't waste words.
For once, he formed seals with both hands.
His crimson pupils locked onto the elderly monk.
"I am not skilled in combat," Bunpuku said quietly.
"Shukaku… I leave this to you."
The moment his words fell—
A shrill, arrogant laughter echoed across Sunagakure.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Old Bunpuku!"
"You should've let me out long ago!"
"Today, Lord Shukaku is going to have some fun!"
An enormous body emerged—
Covered in yellow sand, etched with mysterious purple markings, coin-shaped pupils gleaming, a massive tail swaying behind it.
The One-Tailed Beast—
Shukaku had arrived.
"I can feel that fox's chakra!"
"Where is he?!"
"WHERE IS HE?!"
Shukaku roared wildly, his gaze quickly locking onto Kyūsei in Nine-Tails mode.
"It's you!"
"You're the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki!"
"Hahahahaha!"
"So even that fox has bent the knee to humans!"
"As expected—"
"Lord Shukaku is the strongest!"
Inside Kyūsei, Kurama glanced coldly at the roaring tanuki.
"…Idiot."
Kyūsei smiled faintly at the towering beast, his seals complete.
"The One-Tail, Shukaku… right?"
"Yeah! That's me!"
"Kid, hurry up and release the Nine-Tails—I want to fight him!"
Shukaku squatted down, glaring excitedly at the tiny figure before him.
"Sorry," Kyūsei said apologetically.
"I've got things to do right now."
"So I can't let Little Nine play with you."
"Please return to your jinchūriki."
"Sealing Technique · Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
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