Akimichi Choza showed no fear.
His long staff whirled with incredible speed, displaying traces of the Sarutobi Clan's staff techniques. Seizing the perfect moment, he struck the Tailed Beast under its chin, sending its Wind Release Ninjutsu spiraling into the sky.
The remaining large men sprang into action—some grabbing the tail, others wrapping their arms around its head from behind, and a few pulling at its limbs. They resembled a group of hospitable hosts forcibly dragging an unruly guest, the Tailed Beast, out of the village.
Ino tied her hair back into a ponytail and stood at the front, stepping back while keeping her eyes locked on the frenzied roars of the One-Tail Shukaku.
It had to be said—she was exceptionally skilled at drawing hatred, and the One-Tail Shukaku remembered her well.
That little brat stole my chakra before! It hurt like hell—I'd recognize her even if she turned to ashes!
Old grudges and new grievances flared up at once.
Ignoring the dozen or so large men clinging to its body, the One-Tail opened its massive maw once more.
"Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!"
The Tailed Beast's chakra condensed into a colossal sphere of wind, howling as it hurtled straight toward Ino.
She swiftly formed hand seals.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
Ino's Vacuum Great Sphere was considered fast and powerful among ninja techniques, but compared to a Tailed Beast's Wind Release Ninjutsu, it was nothing.
The moment the two collided, the Vacuum Great Sphere shattered into fragments.
She barely managed to leap out of the way, narrowly avoiding the devastating air bullet.
Seeing the massive crater left where she had stood, she felt a surge of dread. Tailed Beasts are on another level—even a casual attack like that carries terrifying power.
Her Wind Release wasn't strong enough—she had to rely on Water Release!
Noticing that the dozen large men were starting to tire, she signaled for them to clear the front while rapidly forming hand seals.
"Water Release: Super Exploding Water Shockwave!"
A massive surge of water materialized out of nowhere, a roaring flood that crashed forward with overwhelming force, attempting to sweep the One-Tail Shukaku away.
A fully manifested Tailed Beast was an entirely different beast compared to when it was sealed within Gaara.
Before Ino's Super Exploding Water Shockwave could even reach the Tailed Beast's feet, endless waves of yellow sand erupted from thin air, relentlessly attacking the oncoming flood. The water was rapidly depleted, while more and more sand surged forth.
Within mere seconds, a stalemate formed—to the east, a churning sea of scorching yellow sand, its violent and oppressive heat palpable even from dozens of meters away.
To the west, towering waves of water, silent yet brimming with power.
Ino's chakra reserves far surpassed those of an average ninja, but against a Tailed Beast, the difference was painfully obvious.
The One-Tail Shukaku's sand clashed fiercely with Ino's Super Exploding Water Shockwave. As torrents of water and waves of sand collided, the sky rained down thick droplets of mud, soon hardening into fist-sized clumps of yellow sludge.
The sand pressed forward aggressively, swirling and rolling in the air, growing denser by the second. Ino poured more chakra into her technique, but her water was steadily losing ground.
Shiranui Genma was also on the scene. He unleashed two Fire Release Ninjutsu in succession, hurled over a dozen kunai in all directions, and even spat out the senbon he had been holding between his teeth—all in an attempt to divert the Tailed Beast's attention.
But the beast's defenses were monstrous. The cursed seals covering Shukaku's body provided formidable protection, and it didn't even spare Genma a glance, wholly fixated on crushing Ino.
The Konoha princess was being pushed to her limits—her water now confined to an increasingly narrow space.
At the critical moment, Sasuke dashed across the water's surface, charging in from the side.
The Chidori, accompanied by a sharp buzzing sound, viciously pierced into the Tailed Beast's rear.
Sasuke moved with incredible speed. The Chidori stabbed deep into the beast's massive backside, sinking his arm up to the elbow. Lifting his left foot, he stomped hard against the Tailed Beast's rear, using the momentum to flip backward like a drawn bow. With a swift yank, he pulled his arm free and retreated, gathering Lightning Release chakra once more. With a shout, he charged again, delivering another Chidori strike to the same spot.
Two consecutive Lightning Release ninjutsu attacks forced the Tailed Beast to turn its head, eager to see which pesky fly was daring to provoke it.
Just then, the Akimichi Family's hefty warriors rushed in, pummeling it relentlessly.
With their constant distraction, the Nara Family ninja finally seized their opportunity to strike.
This time, it was Nara Shikaku, the clan head himself, who took action. His shadow shot out like an arrow, swiftly merging with the Tailed Beast's shadow from the side.
The Nara Family's Jonin, Chunin, and Genin—including Shikamaru—all extended their own shadows like fishbones, layering them left and right into Shikaku's shadow. The black tendrils coiled and spread, rapidly covering the Tailed Beast's entire body from its feet up. Its movements grew sluggish, and though Shikaku trembled slightly under the strain, bolstered by his clan's support, he managed to restrain the beast's movements.
"No good—the Tailed Beast's resistance is stronger than I anticipated! You all need to wound it—quickly, use whatever techniques you have!" Through Inoichi's Sensing Transmission, his thoughts reached every ninja on the battlefield, even Naruto and Sasuke, as well as Shiranui Genma.
This was Naruto's first encounter with such a bizarre ninjutsu. He scratched his head, wondering if he was hallucinating.
Sasuke, however, remained grim-faced, preparing to hit the One-Tail with another Chidori.
"Can your hand even handle another Chidori? Take a break—let me handle this." Ino stopped him.
Using Chidori repeatedly had left Sasuke's right hand nearly charred.
But she had her own high-powered ninjutsu.
To drive back the Tailed Beast, she unveiled a trump card—a technique of her own creation.
With a sharp cry, Ino formed two Shadow Clones. Her main body continuously converted chakra into toxins, while one clone used Water Release and the other Wind Release.
Drawing from the knowledge she'd gained under Jiraiya and Asuma, the hand seals for these three techniques were entirely different, yet they flowed together seamlessly.
Ino first spewed a cloud of poison, then the Water Release clone transformed it into toxic water. Finally, the Wind Release clone expanded the poisonous mist to its maximum range.
"Compound Ninja Art: Poison Pufferfish!"
The purple toxic water rapidly condensed before being propelled by the Wind Release, scattering like a dense rain of needles straight toward the Tailed Beast.
The One-Tail, currently in its full form using Gaara's body, retained some of Gaara's abilities—including the Sand Shield.
The Nara Family's Shadow Imitation Technique had only restrained its body, not the sand itself.
Faced with the poisonous rain, the beast hastily raised its Sand Shield in defense.
The incredibly thick Sand Shield was instantly riddled with holes by the toxic rain. The corrosive power of the toxins far exceeded that of the previous water bubbles—droplets the size of spit could blast fist-sized holes through it. Behind the Sand Shield were the Sand Armor and Sand Clone, but all three layers of defense were shattered. The remaining toxic water struck the Tailed Beast almost entirely.
The toxins even breached the Tailed Beast's sand-formed body, inflicting severe damage to Gaara within.
Gaara, who had been knocked unconscious by the Tailed Beast's terrifying killing intent, slowly regained consciousness. All he felt was pain—excruciating pain, worse than when the Five Elements Seal was applied or when the Tailed Beast Chakra was extracted.
Through the Tailed Beast's eyes, he finally got a clear look at his enemy. Holy shit, why is it you again? What kind of grudge do you have against me?