On the other side of Takuno, the exposed Shadow Clone's situation was also clear.
The Adamantine Sealing Chains behind him also shattered and disappeared, but his main body was not scorched by the Two-Tails' flames in the slightest.
Because at the moment the fire wave reached him, the sealing scroll held high in the Shadow Clone's hand had already unfurled, and the Fire Sealing Formula, which he had long prepared, was clearly inscribed upon it.
Like a giant whale sucking in water, it completely devoured the Tailed Beast's flames, which were powerful enough to melt rocks!
Its mission complete, the Shadow Clone vanished into a wisp of smoke as the earth trembled.
The dust covering the entire battlefield was like a thick curtain obscuring all vision, but for Takuno, who had activated Mind's Eye of Kagura, it was merely a transparent obstruction.
His perception clearly captured that the massive life force at the bottom of the pit, though fluctuating violently and weakening, was still stubbornly churning.
"Can it still fight?" Takuno hovered in mid-air, looking down, a cold arc forming on his lips. "Heh, that won't do—"
In his palm, a destructive storm began to gather, spin, and compress.
The violent energy spun, compressed, and spun again under his control!
A giant Chakra shuriken, tall enough for two people, instantly materialized, hovering above his palm!
Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!
Dazzling white light swirled at its core, and the high-speed rotating wind blades emitted a buzzing shriek that could tear souls apart! The minute wind needles that escaped easily tore through the air beneath Takuno's feet.
Its scale had already surpassed that of the normal version!
Although its immense size made it difficult to throw and hit agile targets, the giant beast at the bottom of the pit had just taken that ultimate punch. At this moment, its very thoughts were probably in chaos, and the instant rigidity caused by that massive injury was a fatal opportunity!
Takuno didn't even choose to throw it; he simply slowly opened his right hand.
The Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, carrying an ear-piercing death knell, slowly drifted down and gently landed on the defenseless head of Matatabi.
"Boom!!!"
The energy storm erupted suddenly, with the Rasenshuriken's landing point as its core!
Innumerable wind needles, compressed to the extreme, instantly spread, spun, tore, and cut!
Brilliant white light intertwined with frenzied pale green energy, completely engulfing Matatabi's massive body!
"Meow-awooo!!!"
Matatabi's earth-shaking roar twisted and changed pitch in extreme pain, becoming a tragic wail, like a common house cat thrown into a raging fire!
Its massive body was continuously torn and cut within the destructive storm!
Takuno hovered above the dust at the edge of the storm, his Wind Release Chakra pushing away the ashes. His figure appeared cold and majestic against the backdrop of the violent light and shadow storm.
He watched the struggling, dying giant beast below with indifference, not stopping there.
Golden light illuminated behind him.
Dozens of shining, incredibly sturdy Adamantine Sealing Chains once again shot through the air, precisely coiling around the giant beast's body, which was twisting and struggling in the storm—its limbs, neck, waist, and even its two giant flaming tails that were still weakly struggling!
This time, the chains easily pierced through the flesh, whose defenses had been completely destroyed by the Rasenshuriken, and locked it tightly!
Matatabi's massive body twitched violently twice, finally unable to withstand the continuous devastating blows and the Kekkei Genkai sealing suppression.
The frenzy in its crimson beast eyes faded, replaced by extreme pain and a profound sense of powerlessness.
It struggled slightly in the afterglow of the storm, then finally collapsed completely, like a shattered mountain, no longer having the strength to resist the golden chains that clung to it like maggots.
Takuno floated down, landing steadily on the ground, which was covered in shattered rocks from the giant pit.
He looked down at the giant cat's head, which was close at hand. Its skin was torn, its giant eyes dull, with only heavy breathing proving it hadn't completely perished.
Cold incantations, like living things, began to spread along the Adamantine Sealing Chains over Matatabi's massive body.
Throughout the entire process, the Two-Tails completely lost the will and ability to resist.
Struck in a vital spot by a monstrous punch capable of leveling mountains, and then directly taking a full S-rank Secret Technique, the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, head-on and undefended.
Even a Tailed Beast with immense vitality couldn't withstand this double devastating blow!
"After all," Takuno began to form complex hand seals, his indifferent voice echoing in the pit where the storm was subsiding, "not all Tailed Beasts have the strength of the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails."
The reason he dared to face the Two-Tails alone, which even Jiraiya had little means to deal with, naturally had his reasons.
In her non-Tailed Beast state, Yugito's strength could at most be considered quasi-Kage level. Only after fully transforming into a Tailed Beast could she barely contend with Jiraiya.
However, the problem was that Jiraiya didn't have a good way to deal with the Two-Tails, but that didn't mean Takuno didn't.
Each of his Adamantine Sealing Chains carried powerful Sealing Jutsu, making them perfectly counter the Tailed Beasts.
Therefore, the Two-Tails could display its maximum strength when fighting Jiraiya, but in front of Takuno, its strength was instantly weakened by a level.
And although Takuno had only tentatively exchanged blows with Orochimaru once before, he clearly understood his own strength.
Perhaps it wouldn't be much in the Fourth Ninja World War, but at this time, he was already one of the few top powerhouses!
Soon, a large number of eerie blue incantations radiating sealing power had covered most of Matatabi's body.
"Sealing Jutsu: Chakra Severance Technique!"
The incantations coiling around Matatabi's entire body suddenly erupted with dazzling light!
The light completely engulfed Matatabi's massive body, wrapping it into a giant cocoon of light!
Just a few breaths later, the light dissipated.
In front of Takuno, a sphere, countless times smaller in volume but containing an indescribably vast and pure Chakra, floated before him, emitting a faint, unique energy fluctuation belonging to the Two-Tails.
Takuno sensed the expected amount of Chakra within it, and a truly satisfied arc finally formed on his lips.
And Matatabi's body, which had previously occupied the giant pit like a small mountain, was now gone.
Only the human-shaped Yugito remained, covered in blood, her clothes tattered, her body riddled with terrible lacerations and scorch marks caused by the forced severance of Chakra, lying faintly breathing in the cold rubble and blood.
A heavy scent of blood mixed with the smell of earth permeated the ravaged battlefield.
Yugito lay weakly on her back beside shattered rocks and charred tree roots, each hurried breath pulling at the tearing pain throughout her body, as if her internal organs were dislocated.
Her vision began to blur. Just then, a pair of steady boots stopped in the shadows at the edge of her sight.
"Cough—cough cough—" Uncontrollable blood once again gushed from her lips, staining the front of her clothes.
She laboriously lifted her eyelids, seeing the masked man looking down at her, the man who was like a nightmare.
Takuno slowly crouched down, gently lifting Yugito's stubborn chin, forcing her to meet his bottomless eyes.
Yugito's chest heaved violently, her wounds burned as if by fire, but the flame in her eyes was not submission, but almost desperate rage.
"Either give me a quick end, or get lost!" Her voice was hoarse and broken, punctuated by pained grunts.
This was less a threat and more a dying person's last plea for dignity.
"Oh?" Takuno's eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly, his tone genuinely showing a hint of amusement and—curiosity?
"Actively seeking death? That's quite rare."
Yugito's cloudy pupils suddenly constricted, and a trace of unbelievable confusion flashed across her bloodless, pale face.
"You—you didn't intend to kill me?" Her voice carried a tremor she hadn't even noticed.
A low chuckle rumbled in Takuno's throat.
He withdrew his finger, casually brushing off the fine dust adhering to his fingertip, his posture relaxed.
"I just want to make a deal with you, your life for a small portion of the Two-Tails' Chakra. How about it, isn't that a great deal?"
Silence.
Yugito seemed to freeze instantly.
Her mind was blank, only Takuno's understated words buzzing in her head.
He actually only wanted a part of the Two-Tails' Chakra?!
This realization drowned her like icy seawater, chilling her to the bone.
Immense regret gnawed at her heart like a venomous snake.
If, if she had offered this insignificant price earlier, would her companions, whom she had fought to protect, still be standing in the sunlight now?
Without Takuno, this unpredictable and terrifying enemy, perhaps the battle situation between Kumogakure and Konoha wouldn't be so—
Yugito's thoughts struggled in disarray like fallen leaves in a gale.
However, cruel reason instantly pulled her back to the cold reality. Even if time flowed backward, knowing Takuno's existence and purpose, would someone as proud as her, as the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, burdened with the mission to protect Kumogakure, truly choose to compromise?
No! The answer would only be to gather the strongest Ninja, launch an encirclement, and vow to kill this dangerous fellow!
Just then, an absurd yet incredibly clear thought pierced through her chaotic mind!
"You!" Yugito's voice suddenly rose, "You're not from Konoha!!!"
All the inconsistencies connected at this moment!
Although he could use the iconic Rasengan, at that time she even wondered if he was the Fourth Hokage, yet he had never displayed the Flying Thunder God Technique, which was equally famous.
Later, the Adamantine Sealing Chains that firmly locked the Tailed Beast were clearly a unique secret technique of the Uzumaki Clan.
These clues all pointed to Konoha, which should have been unquestionable.
Yet this man before her, he intended to let her go? On a bloody battlefield, to let go of such a crucial enemy combatant?
No Ninja truly loyal to Konoha would ever commit such an absurd act, almost aiding the enemy! This violated the most fundamental laws of war!
"Hmm?" Takuno seemed amused by her sudden realization.
The playful smile on his lips deepened, and he casually raised his right hand, palm upward.
In an instant, an azure orb of light condensed out of thin air, precisely the Rasengan that had left her with such unforgettable pain!
"You determine my allegiance based on this?"
Seeing the familiar Rasengan, every muscle in Yugito's body trembled with alarm.
The memory of intense pain instantly broke through her weakened defenses, and cold sweat immediately drenched her back, as if she was terrified that this Rasengan would once again land on her.
Just then, Takuno put away the Rasengan, and then—
"Sizzle!"
The next instant, dazzling Lightning Release burst forth from around Takuno without warning!
Dense, interwoven azure electric arcs, like wild dancing spirit snakes, fiercely leaped and coiled over his body's surface, emitting a harsh crackling sound.
"Lightning Release: Chakra Mode?!" Yugito's pupils suddenly constricted to pinpricks, and she cried out in alarm!
How could this be?! This secret technique, even throughout the entire the Hidden Cloud Village, was a core secret that only a very select few elites were qualified to access! It was the pinnacle symbol of Kumogakure's power and speed!
She, of course, didn't know that the Lightning Release energy Takuno was emitting at this moment, though seemingly fierce and violent, was in fact like an elaborate facade, possessing only its flashy exterior without the true essence of the secret technique.
This was merely a "fake" he had meticulously mimicked based on fragments of memories from his previous life and his exquisite control over Chakra.
But in the eyes of a heavily injured, dying Jinchuriki whose senses were already dulled, this illusion was realistic enough!