"Hey! You damn humans, do you think I don't exist?!" Shukaku's furious roar made the surrounding yellow sand tremble.
Takuno and Rasa's conversation, as if no one else was there, was like a cold needle piercing deeply into its pride as a Tailed Beast.
They treated it like a piece of cargo to be traded and appraised at will, completely ignoring its massive and fierce presence!
Takuno only gave a faint glance at Shukaku's rage, his eyes calm and rippleless, as if passing over a speck of dust.
The passage of three years had long since polished him into someone far beyond who he used to be.
At this moment, his strength had already firmly set half a foot into the Super Kage, and the power surging within his body was far from comparable to the past.
Even when facing those recognized as Super Kage powerhouses, he had the means and confidence to fight them!
Perhaps he couldn't win, but he could at least escape easily.
Seemingly sensing Takuno's disdain, Shukaku's anger instantly broke through the dam of reason.
Its giant beast claw, covered in ancient symbols, slammed into the sandy ground, and its massive body let out a roar that shook the heavens.
Its bloody maw opened wide, and instead of whistling wind blades, it was replaced by a terrifying Chakra fluctuation enough to slightly distort space!
Crimson and deep blue violent Chakra condensed and compressed frantically like a vortex; it was the ultimate weapon of a Tailed Beast, the Tailed Beast Ball, symbolizing pure destruction, taking a hideous shape!
"Hmm?" Takuno's eyes finally took on a hint of seriousness.
The Tailed Beast Ball, a power formed by the fusion of pure Yin and Yang Chakra, contained a level of destructive energy that even a true Super Kage powerhouse would not dare to face head-on.
Its threat far exceeded any Ninjutsu Shukaku itself could release.
His gaze swept over Rasa, who was still weighing his options nearby with an uncertain expression, and a nearly imperceptible curve formed at the corner of his mouth.
A mere Kage level? In the face of absolute power, any of the opponent's wishes had lost their weight; he was no longer qualified to dictate terms.
"Zzzzt, boom!"
In the next instant, a blinding flash of electricity tore through the air!
Takuno's entire body was instantly enveloped in rampaging thunder, blue electric arcs jumping and exploding like living things, forming a majestic and overbearing armor of lightning!
A violent Chakra aura swept out like a storm.
"What?! This is the Hidden Cloud's Lightning Release Chakra Mode?!" Rasa's pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints, his face filled with unbelievable horror.
He could never mistake it! This was clearly the supreme Taijutsu secret of Kumogakure!
The opponent could not possibly be from the Hidden Cloud—
Then, the identity of this mysterious "The Collector" and the secrets hidden behind him instantly became even more profound and unpredictable.
Rasa's thoughts were still churning, and he didn't even have time to catch Takuno's figure.
That figure clad in thunder had actually completely disappeared from his sight as if teleporting!
"Where is he?!" Rasa's exclamation had not even finished.
"BOOM!!!"
A deafening impact accompanied by Shukaku's heart-wrenching wail suddenly exploded!
Takuno's speed was fast to an unfathomable degree, like a blue lightning bolt tearing through the sky, easily bypassing the Tailed Beast Ball that was still charging and emitting an aura of destruction, appearing directly in front of Shukaku's giant head with a trajectory that exceeded the limits of vision!
In Shukaku's bell-like beast eyes, the tiny human figure emitting a terrifying pressure was clearly reflected.
The electric arcs jumping on that lightning armor contained a power that made even it feel palpitations!
Its mind went blank, and its massive body had no time to make any reaction; it could only watch as that fist, wrapped in thunder and insignificant compared to its size, slammed into the center of its forehead with a momentum that could crush everything!
"BANG!!!"
Devastating power suddenly erupted!
Shukaku's massive upper body was like a sand sculpture struck by a giant hammer, completely disintegrating in a loud crash!
Countless fragments of yellow sand sprayed in all directions like a burst dam, blotting out the sun!
The huge impact did not stop, carrying Shukaku's remaining lower body and smashing it into the ground like a meteorite!
"BOOM!!!"
The sandy ground shook violently, and a bottomless, giant crater was instantly formed!
The surrounding quicksand made a loud sucking sound, pouring frantically into the bottom of the pit, trying to completely bury Shukaku's broken body.
If not for the fact that a Tailed Beast's essence is an aggregation of Chakra with near-immortal regenerative abilities, Takuno's world-destroying punch would have been enough to completely erase it from this world!
The yellow sand writhed and gathered.
A moment later, a shaken Shukaku reconsolidated into its complete form.
However, its size had shrunk by more than one size, and its aura was nowhere near as violent and powerful as before.
It looked in fear at Takuno, who was hovering in mid-air with thunder still flickering around him; its massive body even trembled slightly, letting out painful whimpers.
In those beast eyes, only a faint trace of fear remained.
That kind of overwhelming power, even Kurama, whom it disliked the most, seemed to have never given it such a feeling of despair!
At this moment, Takuno's figure seemed even taller and more terrifying than the Nine-Tails!
"How can a human possibly rely on themselves to master such terrifying power?!" Shukaku's consciousness struggled amidst stormy waves.
It had lived through long years, witnessed the First Hokage Hashirama's god-like Wood Release, and seen Madara's world-disdaining Mangekyo Sharingan.
But it knew that the core of those two's power originated from the bloodline inheritance of the Sage of Six Paths; it was the destiny power of the reincarnations of Ashura and Indra.
Their strength was still within the ancient "rules" understood by the Tailed Beasts.
However, on Takuno, it couldn't feel any familiar aura belonging to those two; there was no power of a Sage Body, and there seemed to be no Sage Eyes.
The opponent was wrapped in lightning armor, making it impossible for it to see clearly.
This person, had he actually stepped into this nearly invincible realm solely by his own talent?!
In Shukaku's long-standing perception, this was a miracle that was almost impossible to happen!
Reality allowed it no more time for thought. Deep-seated fear coiled around its core like a cold poisonous snake.
Run! I must run! This thought was stronger than ever! It only wanted to immediately shrink back into the safe sealing space of the Jinchuriki Gaara!
As if seeing through all its thoughts, Takuno gave it no chance to breathe or escape.
The thunder flashed again! He had already descended like a ghost in front of Shukaku's enormous head.
A palm wrapped in thunder, carrying an irresistible will, pressed lightly yet incomparably heavily onto Shukaku's forehead, which was covered in sealing symbols.
"Wuh?!"
Instantly, countless mysterious ink-black incantations, like living snakes, spread frantically from the point of contact with Takuno's palm!
They rapidly crawled over Shukaku's massive body, emitting a terrifying power that suppressed everything and sealed its origin!
The Chakra inside Shukaku's body fell into a dead silence the moment these incantations touched it!
In the center of this desolate land, a conflict had just come to an end.
The Fourth Kazekage Rasa gazed forward with a complex expression at the figure completely enveloped in the wildly jumping blue-white lightning armor.
At this moment, Takuno seemed to be focusing all his attention on performing some powerful Sealing Jutsu.
He saw him forming hand seals, Chakra halos flowing from his fingertips, as invisible power precisely cut into the massive and hideous body of Shukaku nearby, like the sharpest blade, forcibly cutting and stripping away the Tailed Beast's Chakra origin.
Throughout the process, Shukaku let out deafening roars of pain, frantically twisting its giant body made of sand and kicking up sandstorms that blotted out the sun, trying to break free from this bone-deep agony.
However, in the face of Takuno's overwhelming power, its struggles appeared so futile and insignificant, like a small boat in a stormy sea.
Rasa's heartstrings were tightened to the limit.
A thought quietly slithered into his mind like a poisonous snake: Now! This is the moment his concentration is most focused; it's the best time for a sneak attack!
However, this thought only existed for an instant before being completely crushed by a deeper fear.
His mind uncontrollably replayed the heart-stopping scene from just now: the Tailed Beast Shukaku, powerful enough to destroy a Village, was beaten so badly by a single punch from Takuno that it even developed the idea of escaping this place at all costs!
"My strength, even at full effort, is only enough to suppress Shukaku using the convenience of Magnet Release; wanting to kill it is a pipe dream—and this Collector, the power he displayed—that is simply not a level I can understand or contend with!"
Rasa's palms seeped with cold sweat; that realization of the absolute power gap completely froze his courage to sneak attack.
He had reason to believe that even if Takuno was distracted by the sealing, he definitely had the spare energy to instantly neutralize any attack.
Once the sneak attack failed and annoyed this monster... Rasa dared not think further; the consequence would surely be his total annihilation.
Another voice sounded in his heart, with a hint of luck and self-persuasion: "He only wants a portion of the Tailed Beast Chakra, he's not taking Shukaku away from Sunagakure entirely, so in that case, just give it to him. Besides—"
Rasa bitterly tried to find a silver lining, "If Shukaku's power is weakened a bit, perhaps it's not a bad thing for the Village? At least it will be easier to seal and control?"
He repeatedly chewed on this thought, trying to use it to soothe his humiliated and terrified heart.
Although Takuno was focused on stripping Shukaku's Chakra, his powerful perception always kept a thread active, precisely capturing every subtle movement and Chakra fluctuation from Rasa.
He didn't care at all about Rasa's possible sneak attack; that didn't pose the slightest threat to him.
What he was watching was Rasa's final choice: would he recognize the gap and painfully back down, or fight to the death for so-called dignity?
Based on Takuno's limited understanding of Rasa, especially thinking of how he could be cold-hearted enough to repeatedly send people, and even personally plot to assassinate his own biological son, Gaara, for the sake of so-called "testing" and "control."
That poor child, betrayed by his closest kin and growing up in the fear of endless assassination and the torment of Shukaku, his childhood could be called the darkest hell among all Jinchuriki.
Under such double torment of body and spirit, it would be completely understandable even if Gaara became a true madman.
As a bystander, few people could understand why Rasa would do this, why he would be so cruel to his own son.
There was also Sunagakure's hero Pakura, who was heartlessly discarded as a political sacrifice—
"Such a person whose bones are inscribed with pragmatism, coldness, selfishness, and calculation." Takuno sneered in his heart, his three-tomoe Sharingan faintly visible under the thunder light.
"In the face of absolute power, is there any other way besides bowing and compromising? Hmph, what's even more ridiculous is that this kind of person could eventually reach a so-called 'reconciliation' with Gaara; it's truly absurdly ironic."
Takuno's disdain for Rasa was almost palpable; he felt that Rasa's later silent death at the hands of Orochimaru and Kimimaro, dying without a ripple, was simply the most appropriate ending.
Soon, Takuno precisely cut off the portion of Tailed Beast Chakra he needed.
As he withdrew his hand, Shukaku's massive body, full of fear and relief, let out a dull whimper and instantly collapsed like a deflated giant sandbag.
The yellow sand fell like rain, finally revealing a small figure curled on the ground with striking short red hair: Gaara.
Shukaku's consciousness completely retreated into the depths of the seal; it would rather endure the long loneliness of the seal than come out to face this terrifying "monster" Takuno again.
The three-tomoe Sharingan swirling with eerie power in Takuno's eyes quietly faded, returning to a deep pitch black. He breathed a light sigh of relief; the extreme speed under the dual enhancement of "Lightning Release Chakra Mode" and Wind Release secret techniques was a huge challenge for his current neural reflexes.
If not for the dynamic vision and insight of the Sharingan's assistance, he would have found it difficult to perfectly master this terrifying speed.
How to independently use Lightning Release to effectively stimulate and strengthen neural reflexes remained a delicate subject he needed to overcome.
And he had already activated the three-tomoe Sharingan when using the Lightning Release Chakra Mode; unfortunately, Shukaku did not see these eyes through his lightning armor.
Otherwise, it probably wouldn't have been so surprised by the strength Takuno displayed.
After finishing all this, Takuno, with a playful smile, shot his gaze like a sharp arrow toward Rasa, who was still frozen in place, his tone filled with undisguised mockery.
"Oh? Your Excellency Kazekage, it seems your backbone is nowhere near as stiff as your words suggested."
These light words, however, were like a whip lashing across Rasa's face.
Rasa's face instantly turned ashen, his chest heaving violently from suppressed rage, and the veins on his clenched fists bulged.
He almost had to grind his teeth to pieces before he managed to squeeze out cold words from between them.
"Your Excellency Collector! The Tailed Beast Chakra you wanted is in your hands! Now, can I ask you to leave Sunagakure's territory immediately?"