"Hizashi-senpai," Takeshi meowed, tapping the man's arm with a paw. "Lead the way."
Hizashi blinked, shaken from his thoughts. "Ah... Right." He nodded and broke into a run, leading them forward.
He was still trying to wrap his head around it. 'Just a few months ago,' he thought, 'I was the one recommending him for a promotion to Tokubetsu Jonin.' They had laughed and joked like any other senior and junior. Now, that same black cat was about to go head-to-head with a jinchuriki. It was hard to believe how quickly things had changed.
'Flying Thunder God alone can't stop a tailed beast,' Hizashi reasoned. 'So what other jutsu does he have? What is it that gives Tsunade so much confidence in him?'
He wasn't the only one wondering. Even Minato, who considered himself one of the people who knew Takeshi best, was at a loss. When Tsunade had asked him if the cat could handle it, he'd had no answer.
'It seems even my understanding of him is out of date,' Minato thought with a slight smile.
"Rasa and the jinchuriki just crossed the border," Hizashi explained, his voice low as they ran. "According to Orochimaru-sama's strategy, we'll intercept them nearby. Our forces are already in position, so it's going to be an ambush."
He directed most of his explanation to Takeshi, since Minato had already been briefed during the Jonin meeting with Tsunade and Orochimaru.
"Sensei," Kakashi asked, "how are we planning to separate the jinchuriki from the others?"
"Rasa will do it for us," Minato replied, glancing back at his team. "Once the jinchuriki transforms, Suna's own forces won't dare get too close. Our job is to protect Takeshi while he's engaged and make sure no one can launch a surprise attack on him."
This operation involved more than just Kakashi's team. Hizashi was accompanied by several reconnaissance and chunin squads, bringing their total numbers to nearly a hundred.
"Don't worry," Takeshi said with a confident flick of his tail. "I'm fast. Meow."
He could feel their doubt, but it didn't bother him. This was a chance to prove them wrong. He wasn't just facing a jinchuriki, he was facing Shukaku on his own. Whether it came to speed, control, or raw power, he knew he had the advantage. He couldn't see any scenario where he would lose.
They ran for a while longer before the sounds of battle reached them, the dull boom of explosions and the faint tremor of the earth beneath their feet. The fight ahead had already begun. Takeshi couldn't sense the jinchuriki's chakra yet, which meant the tailed beast hadn't been released.
"Orochimaru-sama has engaged the enemy," Minato said, increasing his pace. "Let's move."
Takeshi held back, waiting until he saw the familiar uniforms of the Konoha shinobi. He then leaped from Minato's shoulder, landing softly on the ground to quietly begin gathering nature energy.
By the time they arrived, Rasa and Orochimaru had already clashed. The sounds they'd heard were from that initial exchange.
"Where are Minato Namikaze and that black cat of yours?" Rasa called out, his voice edged with contempt. "Don't tell me they've gone to raid our main camp again."
A slow, serpentine smile spread across Orochimaru's face. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"It doesn't matter," Rasa said coldly. "As long as we win a direct confrontation, all your little tricks are useless."
"Ha! What a coincidence," Orochimaru replied, sensing Takeshi's arrival. "I was thinking the exact same thing."
In a blur of hand seals, Orochimaru threw a single giant fuma shuriken. An instant later, it multiplied into dozens, then hundreds, until a dark cloud of spinning blades filled the air, whistling as it descended upon the Suna ranks.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...*
The Suna shinobi reacted at once, throwing up defenses. Jutsu like Earth Release: Earth Shore Return and Earth Style Wall erupted from the ground, blocking the barrage of shadow clones. As the shuriken fell, the earth walls crumbled, and a torrent of wind blades swept out from the dust, powerful enough to shred anything in their path. Konoha's own earth release users countered, and for a moment, the battlefield was a storm of thrown kunai, shuriken, and exploding tags.
Then Rasa pressed his hands to the ground. A vast sea of gold dust rose into the air.
*Boom!*
The glittering sand surged forward like a tidal wave, crashing down on Orochimaru and the surrounding area.
Takeshi watched from the rear, waiting for his moment. Orochimaru and Rasa were evenly matched, their fight wouldn't end quickly. His gaze drifted and found Tsunade, also observing from a distance. She still looked pale, but she seemed far more stable than she had been. He almost wondered if she was exaggerating her condition, but he had no way of knowing.
"Hizashi-senpai, where's the jinchuriki?" Takeshi asked quietly. He scanned the enemy lines but couldn't spot his target. He did, however, notice a striking Suna kunoichi with orange-streaked hair. 'Pakura?'
"See the female Jonin from Suna with the unusual hair? That's Pakura," Hizashi murmured, his Byakugan active. "The jinchuriki is right beside her. Strange... it looks like he's meditating." Suna only had so many elite shinobi, and Pakura of the Scorch Release was one of their most famous. He didn't need to see the color of her hair to identify her.
"Scorch Release Pakura," Kakashi muttered. "But why would their jinchuriki be meditating?" He'd been on the battlefield since he was a child and knew Suna's key players. Pakura was one of them, her skills were formidable, and, well, a beautiful woman tended to stand out.
"Perhaps he has no wish to be here," Minato said with a soft sigh. "I've heard Suna's current jinchuriki is a monk named Bunpuku, apparently highly virtuous. It's a pity..." As someone who loved a jinchuriki, he knew the burden. Men like Bunpuku were often locked away their entire lives, never knowing a day of peace. The thought filled Minato with a quiet sorrow.
Takeshi didn't share the sentiment. He searched the Suna ranks for the meditating monk and, among a chaotic tangle of legs, saw him: a figure sitting cross-legged on the ground. 'Should I go now?'
He glanced around. Rasa and Orochimaru were locked in a furious battle. But near Bunpuku, something was wrong. Takeshi stared intently. The man was struggling, resisting something.
'They're releasing the seal.'
"Minato, now!" Takeshi shouted, not waiting for a reply. He shot forward, a black blur of motion that left a trail of afterimages. The speed was so incredible that even Hizashi's Byakugan could barely track him.
Rasa's head snapped up as he saw the streak of black. 'Damn it! What is that speed?'
"Damn it!" Rasa cursed, seeing the streak of black. How was anything that fast? As the Kazekage, his reflexes were superb. He instantly leaped into the air, gathering countless particles of gold dust into a storm of sharp, deadly spikes to intercept the cat.
But it was useless. Takeshi weaved through the barrage effortlessly. Besides, Rasa seemed to have forgotten he was already in a fight. As he focused on Takeshi, two massive snakes shot up from below, Orochimaru's Hidden Shadow Snake Hands wrapping around him while others opened their jaws to strike.
With Rasa occupied, Takeshi closed in on the main Suna formation. He instantly became the priority target. Kunai and shuriken rained down on him, and several bright orange fireballs materialized around Pakura. With a wave of her hand, they shot toward him, not in a straight line, but swerving and twisting through the air as if they had a mind of their own.
'Scorch Release,' Takeshi thought, a flicker of caution in his eyes. Those orbs were dangerous. His Needle Jizo could block the kunai, but not that. He could counter with Ice Release and force his way through, but it would drain his chakra, chakra he would need for Shukaku. Rasa was truly insane to unleash a tailed beast here.
Then again, this wasn't the Land of Wind. A rampaging Shukaku would cause plenty of damage to Konoha's territory.
'Too bad for him,' Takeshi thought. 'It's not going to go his way.'
Just as he prepared to push through, a yellow flash appeared at his side. "I'll cover you," Minato said, throwing several of his marked kunai.
"Knock them down!" Pakura ordered calmly. She had studied the Yellow Flash. His technique required those kunai. If they couldn't get close, neither could he. At her command, the fireballs changed targets, swarming toward Minato and Takeshi.
*Boom!*
The orbs converged and exploded into a raging sea of fire. But a second later, the black cat shot out of the smoke, completely unharmed. Minato was gone, only to reappear moments later, clearing a path and drawing the attention of the surrounding shinobi. He was the perfect wingman, giving Takeshi an unobstructed route straight to Pakura and the monk behind her.
'So fast!' Pakura thought in horror. She tried to block him again with her fireballs, but it was too late. He was nearly on top of her.
Just as he was about to reach them-
"ROAR!"
A deafening, inhuman roar ripped through the battlefield. Pakura's face went pale.
'Shukaku is out!'
"Scatter!" she yelled, leaping away. Her fireballs swarmed Minato, her only goal now to keep him occupied. The black cat was strong, but he was nothing compared to a tailed beast.
The Suna ninja fled from the area, clearing a space around the monk. Takeshi finally saw him clearly, an old man, sitting silently, his face a mask of pain as he tried to suppress the beast within. But Shukaku, enraged, cared nothing for his struggle. In an instant, sand erupted from the monk's body, and half of his form twisted into the shape of the One-Tail. A few seconds later, the transformation was complete. Shukaku stood in his place, its massive mouth open as it began to gather chakra for an attack.
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