"Damn it!"
Sasuke stared at Shukaku's hulking form as it lumbered away, a bitter fire rising in his chest. As a member of the Uchiha clan, being dismissed like this by a creature, no less was a slap in the face. His pride couldn't take it.
But the truth stung worse: Shukaku was terrifyingly powerful. Even the massive toad Naruto had summoned hadn't been a match. Charging in would be nothing but suicide.
Shukaku inched closer and closer to the village, its power rolling out in waves, the oppressive chakra blanketing Konohagakure like a storm cloud. In that moment, dread settled over the village like a lead weight.
Elsewhere, Neji had only made it halfway back when he suddenly sensed Shukaku's chakra closing in. His face froze.
Shukaku? Wasn't Naruto supposed to have dealt with him? What was he doing here?
In the next second, he understood.
That damn Naruto... completely unreliable as always.
No doubt about it he'd been flattened.
"Damn it, Naruto... you really are full of surprises," Neji muttered through gritted teeth.
Weighing his options, he made his decision in an instant and veered toward Shukaku.
Hiruzen Sarutobi might be old, but he was still the Hokage. He wasn't going to die so easily. But if Shukaku made it into the village, then Konoha would be reduced to rubble.
"Konoha... you owe me big time for this one."
By now, Shukaku had reached the village's outer wall. Though Konoha was already torn apart by battle, the devastation only seemed to heighten his glee.
"You little bugs better be ready to welcome the great Shukaku!" he cackled, lifting both arms like a child throwing a tantrum. He patted the village wall with a massive hand, making the whole thing shudder.
Even worse, his every movement stirred up clouds of sand, slowly turning the outskirts of Konoha into a wasteland.
This was a tailed beast. With a thought, they could reshape the land.
Atop the wall, Konoha's shinobi stood shoulder-to-shoulder, watching with tense faces. Seeing Shukaku up close only deepened their fear. How were they supposed to stop something this huge?
"No matter what, we can't let him enter the village," one ANBU agent said.
"We just have to hold him off until the Hokage breaks free!"
"Attack!"
At the command, they launched their assault. Fireballs, exploding tags, and all manner of ninjutsu rained down on Shukaku, but he had already anticipated it. He let the attacks hit him without resistance.
To him, it felt like nothing more than a breeze.
"Yahahahaha..."
More and more shinobi arrived, hurling themselves into the fray.
They were afraid, but not cowards. If they could survive the Nine-Tails' rampage, what was one tail to them?
"Fire Style: Great Fireball!"
"Shadow Possession Jutsu!"
"Expansion Jutsu!"
"Secret Technique: Insect Cyclone!"
Ninja from every clan unleashed their abilities. The Aburame clan sent swarms of insects to eat away at the armor of sand coating Shukaku's body. The few Nara still standing coordinated with the Akimichi, who had grown massive with their Expansion Jutsu, working together to restrain the beast.
"Hahaha! You think this is all I've got?" Shukaku howled, delighted.
To him, this was just the last, pitiful resistance of insects beneath his feet.
Most of the jonin were still occupied elsewhere, battling enemy elites. Here, only two remained to lead a desperate band of chunin against Shukaku and they were utterly outmatched.
Despite being a one-tailed beast, Shukaku ranked third among all the tailed beasts in overall strength.
The strain on Konoha's forces quickly showed. Their shadows flickered, ready to snap. The Akimichi's massive forms began to shrink. Everyone was exhausted.
And still, they had done no real damage to Shukaku.
"Damn it... we're losing control!"
"Hold on!"
"Why is this thing's defense so impenetrable?!"
"Know your place, bugs!" Shukaku bellowed.
Then, with a single leap, he broke free of their bindings. With a wave of his hand, a barrage of sand pillars erupted, smashing the Akimichi fighters into the distance.
Watching Konoha's shinobi crumble only made Shukaku more elated.
But just as he reveled in his triumph, his eyes widened.
A fist filled his vision.
Boom!
Shukaku staggered backward from the impact, nearly losing his balance.
"Who?! Who dares to attack the great Shukaku?!"
He glared furiously at the village wall, where a lone boy stood in white robes.
That punch had come from him.
The realization burned like acid. To be pushed back by some punk-utter humiliation.
With a roar, he swatted at Neji Hyuga.
Neji vanished in a blur, reappearing in mid-air.
"Eight Trigrams Air Palm!"
Boom!
His chakra strike hit dead-on, denting the sand armor. It wasn't much, but the fact that it left a mark at all was a disgrace in Shukaku's eyes.
"You little brat... You dare challenge me?! You're dead!"
He flicked his fingers. Dozens of sand pillars shot toward Neji like spears.
With no time to dodge, Neji activated his rotation technique.
"Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation!"
He spun like a cyclone, deflecting the sand spikes, then vanished again, leaping straight for Gaara atop Shukaku's head.
He understood now he couldn't beat Shukaku in a fight.
But that wasn't the point.
If he could just wake Gaara up, Shukaku would vanish.
But Shukaku wasn't a fool. He saw through Neji's plan instantly and wrapped Gaara in a shell of sand.
"Haha! You think I'll just stand here and do nothing?!"
"Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullet!"
Shukaku let out a roar. A barrage of compressed air bullets shot from his mouth, screaming toward Neji.
He had finally broken free and someone wanted to send him back? That was unforgivable.
Neji didn't flinch. Weaving signs as he dodged, he shouted, "Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
The sky lit up as the two techniques clashed. The air bullets tore through Neji's earth jutsu, and the shockwave blasted every shinobi nearby off their feet.
Neji barely managed to deflect the remaining force with another Air Palm. Even then, the wind sent him skidding across the ground.
"Too close... Looks like I'll have to rely on taijutsu."
He crouched low, then kicked off the ground, rocketing toward Shukaku.
"Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists!"
Chakra surged around his hands, forming two massive, snarling lion heads.
Smack!
The blow landed hard but Shukaku only lost a bit of sand.
His defense was absurd.
Neji briefly considered using Dust Release to end it all, but Shukaku suddenly spoke.
"You're interesting, kid. You actually took my Air Bullets head-on."
He stared down at Neji with amusement, as if he'd discovered a rare treasure.
"Well? Wanna be my sidekick?"
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