When Shukaku's massive sand manifestation appeared, the overwhelming pressure forced everyone to retreat and scatter. Even those capable of fighting a tailed beast would struggle to match its sheer power directly—except perhaps Mizuki, who had entered Sage Mode, might have stood a chance. Even Kakuzu's monstrous strength was no match for it.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Gaara controlled the tailed beast's enormous body. After several attempts, he finally broke through the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier. The shockwave from the shattered barrier burst outward, sending purple-black flames flying as the wall collapsed, completely destroying the trap that had ensnared them all.
"Did the trap disappear?"
The previously dire situation finally showed signs of improvement thanks to Gaara's efforts as the One-Tail Jinchuriki. What had seemed like an imminent total defeat was now slightly turning around.
The greatest benefit of breaking the barrier and traps was about to become apparent. No matter how strong Kakuzu and Hidan were, they were still just two people. There were more than one or two ninjas in the group capable of challenging them. Their numerical advantage was actually quite effective—at least for now, Kakuzu and Hidan weren't yet powerful enough to ignore the number of Jonins present.
"Gaara, you temporarily keep them restrained and don't let them get close."
Maki, realizing too late the cost of using tailed beast powers, already deeply regretted his decision. In Sunagakure's elite-focused policy, each loss was significant—particularly that of a Jonin. And this Jonin specialized in the rare Sealing Technique.
Gaara silently nodded. Fully transformed into the tailed beast's form, resisting Shukaku's encroaching will was extremely difficult. But at this point, they desperately needed the tailed beast's strength to buy everyone a breather. Therefore, Gaara gritted his teeth and summoned his enormous sand clone. He pushed Hidan and Kakuzu back with the sand clone and unleashed Shukaku's natural command of sand-based techniques in relentless attacks. This kept Kakuzu and Hidan too occupied to target others. Especially Hidan—his slower body made him vulnerable to the fast-moving sand strikes. Fortunately, his Immortal Body rendered him immune to pure physical damage; if he were ordinary, he'd have been critically injured long ago.
Still, this incident served as a reminder to the Suna ninja—the fact remained that not only sealing techniques but also any powerful restraining Ninjutsu could be quite effective against Hidan. Although he possessed an immortal body, it didn't mean he could instantly recover from severe injuries right on the spot. At least in this moment, he couldn't instantly heal from serious injuries like some kind of miracle.
"If only Gaara could freely control the tailed beast... Shukaku's abilities include [Wind Release], sand manipulation, [Magnet Release], and even sealing properties. It's such a shame pushing Gaara into battle at this level is still too early."
Unlike during the Konoha Destruction Plan, where Gaara's usage hadn't cared whether Shukaku lost control or not—in fact, better if he did awaken fully—an uncontrollable tailed beast unleashing destruction among enemy forces had been seen as favorable back then.
"But we don't have that kind of condition right now. Almost everyone nearby is our own ninja or allied forces. Whether Gaara can effectively suppress Shukaku's willpower and continue fighting is extremely important."
Seeing Gaara had driven off the enemy, Baki hurried forward to check Maki's condition where she had collapsed on the ground. Maki had fallen sideways with her arm injuries being secondary concerns. The critical wound was in her abdominal area, blood already thoroughly staining the ground beneath her. Even without a large wound, losing this much blood would've killed an ordinary person long ago. Although ninja possessed slightly stronger survivability, even so, her situation was probably dire.
Baki felt a wave of frustration wash over him as he took in the sight.
"This mission has put us at a serious disadvantage," Baki squatted down carefully turning Maki over onto her back to examine her wounds. "Isn't there any solution at all? Our medical ninja isn't even here. What a damn shame..."
"Are you talking about me, that bastard medical ninja?" Just as Baki helplessly contemplated the situation, a voice sounded out before Mizuki appeared beside him.
"Jonin Mizuki..." Baki stood up politely, saying, "You sure know how to make jokes. Can you check Maki's injuries?"
Without wasting time, Mizuki immediately walked over to examine Maki's condition.
Soon enough, Mizuki shook his head regretfully, saying, "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do..."
"How could this happen?" Although he already had a premonition deep in his heart, watching a compatriot dying right in front of him still felt difficult to accept. "The vital areas weren't hit. Shouldn't there still be a chance to save her?"
"Hmm..." Mizuki sighed, saying, "Vital areas aren't only the brain and heart, Jonin Baki. I understand your feelings, but it's already too late to save her."
There are so many critical organs in the human body—while the head and heart are the most directly critical, other vital organs would also become equally fatal if injured and slightly delayed for treatment. Plus with this much blood loss, her body had already collapsed completely. There wasn't access to modern treatments like blood transfusions right now. Even if Tsunade were present, whether or not she could save Maki remained uncertain. Even using Omnipotence pills wouldn't work anymore. If they'd stopped the bleeding promptly and used Omnipotence pills along with Medical Ninjutsu earlier, maybe they could've restored her chakra. Using them now would be a death sentence, draining what little chakra remains.
"Yes, sorry. I lost my composure just now," Baki, somewhat excited previously, realized his words had been inappropriate.
"No problem, Jonin Baki. The enemy hasn't been repelled yet. Please keep pushing yourself later. Hopefully, there won't be another sacrifice."
"Yeah. Thank you for your trouble."
Although the deceased wasn't a Konoha ninja, witnessing an ally's death still made Mizuki very unhappy. However, originally he had come over just to find out why Sunagakure risked everything by releasing the tailed beast. Now having clarified the situation, there was no need to get too close to the tailed beast. Though during battle, ninjas of Mizuki's caliber specializing in sealing techniques getting too near other villages' jinchuriki and tailed beasts would always provoke wariness from others.
As Mizuki turned to leave, he brushed past Maki and suddenly remembered something. He casually said to Maki without drawing attention, "Be careful around Yura..."
"Yura?" Hearing Mizuki's words, Maki felt a jolt in his heart. He seemed slightly disbelieving of what Mizuki implied. When he wanted to ask Mizuki for clarification, Mizuki had already walked far away.
"Careful, huh?" Maki didn't believe that Yura, who had been involved in many important affairs within Sunagakure for years, could be problematic, but it wouldn't hurt to be more cautious. Some things were like a thin sheet of paper—you just had to look at them directly to find answers.
Shoving Mizuki's warning to the back of his mind for now, Maki needed to drive off the enemies before Gaara lost control completely. If the tailed beast fully rampaged, containing it would become impossible. As for their original plan, even thinking about it now felt like a cruel joke.
["Capturing Sasori? We really overestimated ourselves,"] Baki thought bitterly.
The strength Sunagakure had invested—truthfully, surrounding and killing someone like Sasori might have worked, but capturing him? Probably not. But reality was just so frustrating. Plans often couldn't keep up with changing circumstances. Before even coming into contact with Sasori, they had already lost one Jonin—not merely a valuable fighter, but a compatriot who once stood shoulder-to-shoulder in battle.
Meanwhile, Mizuki had also figured out the situation after leaving. Besides the loss of a Suna Jonin, everything else seemed relatively stable. The barrier and traps didn't deliver strong direct damage. Before Kakuzu and Hidan could unleash their full strength, [Shukaku]'s appearance had disrupted everything. For now, the situation had returned to a state of equilibrium. Their numerical advantage still gave the three great villages a tactical edge.
[Shukaku]'s enormous activity range makes it unsuitable for us to rely on numerical advantage. So our priority should be to finish our battle quickly—we can't waste too much time dealing with Red Sand of the Desert.
As the battle intensified, its scale kept expanding outward. Eventually, large-scale offensive Ninjutsu would inevitably come into play. Standard combat-trained ninja wouldn't be able to contribute anymore—this level required specialists. Without a unique jutsu or special training, no ordinary ninja could hope to join this battle.
"You're back? Mizuki? What's happening on the Suna side?" Aoba asked, noticing Mizuki had left briefly before rushing back.
"Just releasing [Shukaku] like that—how do we deal with the aftermath? Are we going to make Maki clean up this mess?"
Mizuki shook his head solemnly. "That Maki is practically dead already."
"No way?" It was hard to believe a Jonin could die so fast—faster than Mizuki's Medical Ninjutsu could save him.
"Putting that aside, where's Sunagakure's Yura now?"
"He said not long ago that he'd return for support during the tailed beast conflict. Just went back—didn't you see him?"
"Support?" Mizuki smiled slightly before turning to Neji Hyuga. "Can you locate him?"
Activating his [Byakugan], Neji carefully scanned the area before replying, "He definitely went back to Sunagakure's side. He's engaged in battle with enemies right now."
"Huh?"
This situation certainly caught Mizuki off guard. He originally thought the traitor would stay close to help Sasori out while he was in trouble. Unexpectedly, he was sent over to Shukaku's side instead," Mizuki said, glancing toward the sand manifestation relentlessly attacking enemies like swatting bugs. "If that's the case, never mind. Do you notice anything unusual with him?"
"No," Neji Hyuga shook his head.
"That's strange then. Why deliberately avoid me during a normal operation? It doesn't make sense. Could there be some reason I don't know about?"
Mizuki glanced back toward the Suna ninja, deep in thought. [Could they be targeting the tailed beasts? Trying to quickly eliminate these influential tailed beasts before they settle into battle?]
Both sides had targets they wanted to take down. It all came down to which side could break through first.
"Mizuki, we're almost ready here. It's time to go," Aoba Yamashiro said, looking at the battle where Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi were assisting against Red Sand of the Desert.
"Iwagakure's fighting style is completely unsuitable for countering Iron Sand Body techniques. To be precise, without you, no one here can handle Red Sand of the Desert anymore..."
"It can't be helped," Mizuki said helplessly. The suppression effect of Iron Sand Body was simply too powerful. Even with Chakra Shield - something Mizuki had practiced for months - combined with Sage Mode, he could barely counter it. Plus, just like Mizuki, if Sasori wasn't restricted, he wouldn't fear being surrounded.
"Then let's go. Iwa ninja have great stamina - perfect as partial shields. Be careful and stay behind them while providing support. I'll handle the front."
Mizuki then whispered as he addressed Neji Hyuga and Shino Aburame. "You two keep an eye out for any hidden enemies, and track Yura's movements as well. Report back to me the moment anything happens. Lastly, if Shukaku goes Rampage, don't hesitate - run as far as you can."
"Understood. That won't be a fight we can handle currently," Shino Aburame and Neji Hyuga nodded.
"Good." Mizuki then gestured toward Temari and Kankuro, who were nervously watching Gaara from a distance. "Later on, we can try working with them. They understand Shukaku's every move better..."
...
After assigning tasks to his subordinates, Mizuki immediately joined the battle against Red Sand of the Desert with Aoba Yamashiro.
This time, Mizuki didn't want to drag things out. When facing Sasori alone previously, opportunities might have been difficult to grasp. But now it was four against one. True, Kurotsuchi's overall power was rather low, but her powerful advanced techniques could maximize their effectiveness under others' protection without exposing her low overall capabilities. Especially her rare kekkei genkai-based ninja technique, [Lime Glue Jutsu], was a terrifying method that caused tremendous trouble once it made contact. For a Puppet Master like Red Sand of the Desert whose original body became extremely vulnerable once mobility was restricted, it posed a significant threat.
In the fierce battle, since Sasori was determined to pursue something, he failed to retreat in time. Soon enough, he found himself surrounded and unable to break free.
Akatsuchi, who possessed the toughest body, could mostly withstand even the Iron Sand Drizzle—Sasori's Iron Sand Body technique. If not for the extremely troublesome toxic nature of the iron sand, Akatsuchi would actually have made a decent tank. Even so, the Earth Release-created Rock Shadow Clone had already provided tremendous help. Impervious to pain and resistant to toxins, the rock clone kept forcing Sasori into tighter and tighter spaces. Combining Kurotsuchi's elemental techniques with Aoba Yamashiro's Fire Release attacks, they kept creating perfect opportunities for Mizuki.
"Now! Everyone scatter!"
The encirclement was complete. Mizuki swiftly formed hand seals and unleashed a Dragon Fire Jutsu that blossomed outward like scattered blossoms, engulfing a vast area around Red Sand of the Desert. The fire technique, enhanced by natural energy, exploded one after another before Sasori. Forced to place the human puppet of the Third Kazekage in front of him, Sasori barely managed to block the assault using an additional layer of iron sand.
[This time, you won't get away.]
Before the flames even died down, a giant palm erupted from underground, grabbing the human puppet and crushing it into pieces.
Just as Mizuki prepared to follow up and deal with Sasori's original body the same way, Neji Hyuga suddenly shouted behind him: "Captain Mizuki, dodge now!"
Although Mizuki barely understood what was happening, he instinctively threw up a chakra shield behind him with every ounce of strength he had. By the narrowest of margins, a massive Wind Release Chakra Sphere struck him head-on.
[Is that a tailed beast? Did Gaara lose control already? What a pain.]
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