A vast mass of sand surged into a tidal wave in the blink of an eye, its sheer scale and speed enough to leave anyone stunned. Even Black Zetsu, facing the rushing sand head-on, froze for a moment before realizing what was happening.
"To be able to use Shukaku's power at this age without losing control..."
"It seems Kazuyama Gekkō trained him as a jinchūriki on purpose, just in case?"
Reaching an understanding with a Tailed Beast at such a young age and borrowing its power—Gaara shouldn't have been able to do that. The only explanation was that Kazuyama Gekkō had taught him after taking him as a disciple.
Black Zetsu quietly pondered Kazuyama Gekkō's schemes. Ever since learning that the other three Tailed Beasts were in the Land of Snow, many things had started to make sense. Kazuyama must have learned about Akatsuki's plan to capture the Tailed Beasts. Otherwise, he wouldn't have deliberately focused on protecting them and their jinchūriki. Taking Gaara as his disciple had been entirely because he was the One-Tail's jinchūriki.
Black Zetsu didn't know when Kazuyama had formed ties with the Two-Tail and Four-Tail jinchūriki, but the Five-Tails was definitely sent to the Land of Snow by him. After all, the Five-Tails had originally appeared near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass.
The Sand Waterfall was already sweeping forward like a roaring tsunami. Black Zetsu calmed himself, and countless roots sprouted from around his body, stabbing firmly into the ground ahead. He smirked.
Attack him? Black Zetsu had countless ways to avoid being hit.
"Wood Release: Mayfly Technique."
He would never fight head-on. If he could dodge, he would dodge—that was how he had survived all these years. He used the roots as cover and slipped underground.
"Even if you can borrow Shukaku's power, so what? You're not escaping today."
"At the end of the day, you're still just a kid. Even with Shukaku, you're nothing."
Gaara felt his chakra draining rapidly. To boost the Sand Waterfall's power, he had poured everything he had into it. Fortunately, Shukaku's support within him made controlling a sandfall of this size possible—otherwise, it would have been nearly impossible.
"Shukaku, can you find where the enemy is?"
"What? Don't kid me. With a sandfall this huge, where am I supposed to look? Still... it should hold him off. Gaara, pull your chakra back. Get ready to run."
Shukaku might have Magnet Release, but Gaara was the one actually fighting. Without that damn Nine-Tails' sensory ability, what could he possibly detect? Rather than worrying about that, it was better to run. That pitch-black thing the enemy used didn't feel like anything good.
Gaara nodded. He knew the enemy's target was him—if he didn't retreat now, when would he? And the rapid drop in chakra was no joke. Better to stop while he still could. He began withdrawing his chakra, then turned to flee.
But at that moment, as the sandfall weakened, Black Zetsu burst up from underground, lunging straight for him.
"Trying to run? Not happening!"
He slammed his palm onto the ground; countless roots erupted again, this time in overwhelming numbers.
"Wood Release: Cutting Technique!"
Determined to take Gaara down as fast as possible, he launched his attack without hesitation. A jinchūriki had unbelievable vitality thanks to the Tailed Beast inside—he wasn't worried about accidentally killing Gaara.
A storm of wooden spikes rained down on Gaara's position.
"Didn't block it?"
"Sand Shield!"
A thick sand shield instantly formed in front of Gaara, looking solid and imposing. But against Wood Release, it was practically useless. The wooden spikes shredded through it like tearing paper. Gaara's hastily formed shield broke apart completely.
"Gaara! Watch out!"
Shukaku roared wildly, but it was already too late. The wooden spikes were too fast, and with Black Zetsu launching a surprise attack, Gaara had no time to protect himself.
"So careless! My junior brother!"
Just as Gaara and Shukaku braced for the last resort—a Tailed Beast transformation—a displeased voice and a piercing crash of lightning suddenly exploded through the air.
A burst of violent lightning appeared between Gaara and the wooden spikes. Two fists struck out at once, each blow carrying a heavy crack of thunder. Under the roaring thunderclaps, every wooden spike aimed at Gaara was crushed into powder.
"Hey, Kakashi, your attack's way too over the top."
"You even hit me—huh? These wood chips..."
Not far behind Kakashi, space warped and twisted. Three figures stepped out one after another. It was the Uchiha trio.
The moment Obito landed, he clicked his tongue in annoyance. Kakashi didn't even look back. The four of them immediately positioned themselves in front of Gaara.
"Senior Brother Kakashi, Senior Brother Obito."
Gaara, who had been ready to risk everything, instantly relaxed when he saw Kakashi and the others. A faint smile appeared. This was what it meant to share the same master—when he was in danger, his senior brothers came one after another to save him.
"Damn that black thing!"
"You won't shake me off, not Kitsuchi!"
"Earth Release: Golem Technique!"
Another furious roar came from nearby, and a massive stone golem lumbered into view with Kitsuchi standing atop it. Having been messed with by Black Zetsu, Kitsuchi was already boiling with rage. His glare at Black Zetsu practically burned.
"Black Zetsu, huh? Think you can lay a hand on Gaara? Not happening."
Kakashi stood squarely in front of Gaara, his solid frame blocking even Black Zetsu's line of sight. At the same time, he signaled to Uchiha Obito.
Obito nodded and turned to Gaara.
"Little junior brother, relax. Don't resist."
"Senior Brother's taking you somewhere safe."
The very next moment, Kamui activated. Before Gaara even understood what was happening, he vanished.
Sensing the spatial distortion, Black Zetsu knew at once that things had gone wrong. The roots around him erupted wildly, lashing out at everyone in sight.
"Oh? Still want to fight?"
"Too bad—I don't do battles with monsters. Kakashi, he's yours. I'm going to find sensei."
Obito knew the situation clearly—only by getting Gaara to Kazuyama Gekkō could they truly be at ease. As for Black Zetsu? Kakashi and the others could handle him.
"Damn it... the Mangekyō's ability, huh..."
"At this point, staying here is pointless..."