Chapter 247: Fierce Battle with Shukaku
Thirty kilometers south of the Sand Village lay a desolate, uninhabited canyon. It was a place of wind and sand, and whenever a strong gust blew through, it would create a series of sharp, piercing whistles, like the wails of a vengeful spirit.
Kyosuke and his team had finally arrived. According to the intel, the One-Tailed Shukaku was sleeping within.
Gulp. Staring at the abyss-like entrance to the canyon, even the usually fearless Anko couldn't help but swallow nervously. She stared at the darkness, half-expecting some kind of monster to come rushing out.
Sensing their apprehension, Kyosuke smiled. "Stay on your guard, and don't get too close to the battle."
"Right!" they all replied in unison.
He instructed the Sand shinobi who had accompanied them to watch over his students, then took the Flame Fan from his back and walked into the canyon.
Inside, a tanuki covered in dark, cursed seal markings was lying comfortably, enjoying the feel of the sand blowing over its body. Anyone who didn't know better would think the Tailed Beasts weren't so terrifying after all. But any shinobi with even a modicum of sensory ability could feel the immense, slumbering chakra within it.
Though Shukaku was the weakest of the nine Tailed Beasts, if it were to unleash its full power, it could level the entire canyon in a matter of minutes. And it was the only Tailed Beast that was also a master of sealing jutsu. A direct confrontation was out of the question. Victory would require a degree of strategy.
...It's so nice not to be sealed away, Shukaku thought, idly swatting away the accumulating sand with its long tail. That old monk Bunpuku wasn't so bad, though. If every Jinchuriki was... no. Even so, I never want to be sealed again. The thought of its previous Jinchuriki, the one who had managed to subdue it, filled it with a familiar sense of rage.
Just then, its keen senses detected the approach of a human with a massive amount of chakra.
A chakra of this level... this one is strong. Is it that brat Rasa again? No... this feels different. Shukaku's small eyes fixed on the canyon entrance, where a man with a giant fan on his back was now walking toward him.
That fan... could it be?! The sight of it brought back a flood of unpleasant memories.
Many years ago, shortly after the founding of Konoha, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha had set out to "collect" the nine Tailed Beasts that had been terrorizing the world for so long. Shukaku had been faced with Madara at the peak of his power. The man had merely looked at it, and with his powerful dōjutsu, had brought it under his complete control. The feeling of utter helplessness was something Shukaku had never forgotten.
"Brat! Who are you?!" Shukaku's booming voice echoed through the canyon, dislodging loose rocks from the cliffs. It began to gather its chakra, preparing for the coming battle. Even if this brat wasn't Madara, he was clearly an Uchiha. Shukaku would not make the same mistake twice. It would not give him the chance to use his genjutsu.
Kyosuke's answer was a roaring dragon of fire.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
The fiery dragon slammed into Shukaku's rising form, sending it crashing back to the ground with a deafening roar.
"Damn you! Die!" Shukaku roared, remaining on the ground. It raised its massive head and spewed a compressed ball of wind at Kyosuke.
"Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!"
The attack, with its immense power and wide area of effect, would have been difficult for an ordinary shinobi to dodge. But for Kyosuke, a master of speed, it was a simple matter.
However, he wanted to test the Flame Fan's abilities. He planted the nearly man-sized fan in the ground before him, preparing to meet the attack head-on.
"Hahaha! Arrogant brat!" Shukaku laughed. The Drilling Air Bullet struck its target, but the expected explosion never came. Shukaku's eyes went wide.
"Cough, cough." Just as it was debating its next move, a series of coughs came from the dust-filled crater.
Kyosuke used the fan to support himself, a wry smile on his face.
"Careless..."
The Flame Fan could indeed absorb ninjutsu, but its capacity was limited. It had absorbed the part of the attack that had struck it directly, but unlike the Rinnegan, it could not absorb the entire jutsu. The attack had been wider than the fan, and the resulting shockwave had still hit him.
But a single Drilling Air Bullet was not enough to defeat him.
He brushed the dust from his clothes and, with a burst of chakra, shot toward Shukaku's massive form.
Sensing his approach, Shukaku raised its giant arm and brought it crashing down.
BOOM!
"You've got to be dead this time," Shukaku muttered, a sneer on its face. But the figure that appeared above its head made the words catch in its throat.
Damn it! When did he...?!
Before it could react, Kyosuke's fan slammed down on its head.
"Uchiha Reflection!"
An attack containing eighty percent of the power of its own Drilling Air Bullet exploded on Shukaku's head. Even with a Tailed Beast's durability, the sudden, powerful blow left it stunned and disoriented.
With Shukaku dazed, Kyosuke used the fan to propel himself onto its back.
"It's over," he said with a cold smile. With a wave of his hand, a storm of exploding tags appeared, wrapping themselves around Shukaku's massive body.
With the preparations complete, he used his Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport back to the crater, where he had left a marker.
"It's time for you to lose, Shukaku!!!"
"Secret Technique: Multi-Shadow Clone Exploding Tags!"
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