Boom!
Shukaku's severed head slammed heavily onto the ground.
At last, it had fallen.
After a brutal, hard-fought battle, the two great snakes fighting for Konoha had emerged victorious.
From within Kikyo Castle, the Konoha forces erupted into cheers.
"They won… Orochimaru-sama and Shimizu," Inoichi Yamanaka said quietly.
"…Yeah, I know," Shikaku Nara replied, though his brows remained furrowed in thought.
"Still thinking about the poison from Sunagakure?"
"Tsunade-sama still hasn't stabilized…" Shikaku said gravely. "And now more than half of our forces here have been affected."
"If this keeps up… we may be wiped out entirely."
Inoichi understood the severity of the situation all too well. With so many Konoha shinobi unable to mold chakra, reduced to relying solely on taijutsu and basic weapons, their overall combat strength had plummeted.
Under such conditions… how could they possibly defend Kikyo Castle?
After a brief pause, he added, "But this is something only the medical corps can handle… there's nothing we can do to help."
"Meanwhile, Sunagakure's offensive is only getting fiercer. If we can't resolve this soon, we won't be able to hold the city," Shikaku muttered, a headache forming as the pressure mounted.
Suddenly, a commotion broke out among the troops outside.
The two immediately stepped out—
Only to see that the massive sandstorm that had engulfed Kikyo Castle was now being drawn away, as if pulled by some unseen force, drifting steadily beyond the city limits.
Within moments, the raging sands vanished completely.
Yet before the Konoha forces could celebrate the sudden disappearance of the storm, a new unease gripped their hearts.
Because the destination of that immense sand vortex…
Was exactly where the two snakes and Shukaku were.
In just a few breaths, the storm rapidly shrank in both size and intensity—until it disappeared entirely.
Along with it, the poison carried within the sands was gone as well.
And yet… not a single person felt relieved.
Because such a phenomenon could only mean one thing—
"DIE!!"
A shrill, piercing voice echoed from afar.
…
......
.........
The moment the sandstorm began to move and the strange disturbance in the air appeared, Shimizu reacted immediately.
He leapt back onto Garaga's head and ordered him to circle behind the gradually reforming mass of sand.
He had recognized it instantly—
This was Shukaku.
He had seen far too many arrogant "bosses" in stories who died because they talked too much… and far too many foolish heroes who waited politely for their enemies to finish charging their ultimate attacks before acting.
He had no intention of making either mistake.
So the instant Shukaku began to reform, Shimizu had already leapt from Garaga's head—landing directly on its back.
At that very moment, Shukaku roared:
"DIE!!"
A second black-and-violet Tailed Beast Bomb rapidly began to form.
Its target—
Kikyo Castle.
Shimizu's chakra reserves were nearly exhausted. He couldn't even muster enough to cast another A-rank jutsu.
But…
He still had his Wind Release chakra blade.
Without hesitation, Shimizu poured every last trace of wind chakra into the blade, then drove it down with all his strength into Shukaku's back.
Shhk!
The blade pierced straight through the sand body.
"AAARGH!!" Shukaku screamed in pain, the sudden shock disrupting the formation of the Tailed Beast Bomb.
But Shimizu didn't stop there.
Gripping the blade with both hands, he dragged it along Shukaku's spine, carving upward toward its head.
In an instant, the wind-enhanced blade tore open a massive gash—nearly half a meter deep and stretching dozens of meters across its back.
"AAARGH!!" Shukaku howled, the pain finally overwhelming its control. It could no longer hold the attack—
The Tailed Beast Bomb fired prematurely.
BOOM!!
The trajectory was thrown off, veering slightly off course. It grazed past Kikyo Mountain and shot into the distance…
Yet even that slight brush was enough—
In the blink of an eye, half of Kikyo Mountain was vaporized.
So that settles it… this grudge is carved in stone now.
"You're already this scared over just the One-Tail?" Shimizu muttered.
If this was how he reacted to Shukaku… then what would he do when facing the Nine-Tails someday?
Surrender on the spot?
Lose half by admitting defeat?
"Shukaku only has less chakra compared to the others… but in terms of actual strength, it definitely ranks among the top of the nine Tailed Beasts," Garaga argued, sounding almost indignant on Shukaku's behalf.
"Don't flatter it."
"I'm serious! Shukaku isn't weak—it's actually very strong… it just never got the chance to show its true power," Garaga insisted. "With the way you kept ambushing it… no one could withstand that!!"
Thinking back carefully, Shimizu realized that all three times they had brought Shukaku down, it had been through sudden, unexpected attacks…
"Still… it felt like Shukaku couldn't take much of a beating."
"The more powerful the Tailed Beast Bomb is, the greater the backlash when something goes wrong," Garaga explained. "That last one wasn't fully formed before it was released… the remaining energy probably detonated inside its own body."
Just imagining that kind of destructive force erupting internally sent a chill down his spine.
"I see… no wonder it went down after just one more strike," Shimizu said, finally understanding. "Alright, we need to head back to Kikyo Castle immediately. Are you coming or not?"
Before Garaga could answer, a weak voice came from the side—
"Orochimaru… don't summon me again for at least a month…"
"And don't forget what you promised me…"
With a poof, Manda disappeared.
"Shimizu… I'll need time to recover too. Those chakra blasts from Shukaku were no joke…"
Another poof, and Garaga vanished as well.
"Heh… two overgrown bugs," Shimizu muttered, though there was no real irritation in his tone—just a casual jab as he let the matter drop.
After all, both snakes had given everything they had in that battle. As summoned beasts, their performance had been nothing short of flawless.
But defeating Shukaku didn't mean the war was over.
From their distant vantage point, they could already see the forces of Sunagakure pushing into Kikyo Castle.
Since when did they become this aggressive?
Without massive summons like Garaga and Manda to hold the front, even the psychological pressure of the battlefield felt different.
And now, his chakra was nearly depleted… and judging by appearances, Orochimaru wasn't in much better shape.
"Uzuki-kun… your courage and decisiveness are just as impressive as they were back then," Orochimaru said, offering genuine praise.
Shimizu knew exactly what he meant—the time he had dared to stand before Hanzo the Salamander as a mere chunin.
But the two situations weren't the same.
Back then, he had acted boldly because he knew how the war would end.
This time… he had faced Shukaku head-on purely out of confidence in his own strength.
Glancing at Orochimaru—who looked just as worn down as he felt—Shimizu suddenly had a realization.
Perhaps… he was no longer beneath the legendary Sannin.
Perhaps he now stood on the same level as them.
"Orochimaru… Shukaku isn't dead, is it?" he asked quietly.
"It escaped."
"You saw it?" Shimizu frowned. His own perception hadn't detected anyone leaving.
"It fled using Earth Release."
"Then… we'll definitely meet again."
"Your tactics were effective," Orochimaru said with a faint smile. "But next time… they likely won't work."
After all, Shukaku had been caught off guard three times in a row—each time falling victim to Shimizu's ambushes.
The next time they faced each other…
It wouldn't give him the chance to get close so easily again.
..
Drop some POWERSTONES to push the story forward!
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin