Then Shukaku began showing off his usual antics, firing off Tailed Beast Bombs like a maniac and goading Saya with everything he had.
He even used Gaara's body to stick his butt out and slap it twice for effect.
Hard. His fists were hard.
Originally, Saya hadn't planned to go overboard. Summoning the complete form of Susanoo had just been on a whim—to intimidate these kids into backing off and also to test her own limits a little.
But Shukaku's behavior made her realize she had been too soft. Too merciful.
At that moment, a certain teaching from Uchiha Hikaru suddenly came to mind.
"If the kid won't listen, beat the crap out of him. He's not yours anyway, so don't hold back. If you can't kill him, then beat him to death. That's the way of the shinobi world. And when it's over, make sure he thanks you for it…"
Saya narrowed her eyes.
"Looks like Hikaru was right. I shouldn't have been so gentle. I might've actually hurt you by holding back. Why drag this out?"
Naruto, overhearing this, felt a sudden chill creep down his spine. The atmosphere was getting...weird.
"Uh… Sister Saya… this raccoon has nothing to do with me. He's Gaara's tailed beast, not mine."
"If you've got a problem, wait for Gaara to wake up and yell at him, okay?"
Saya just shook her head and looked at Naruto like a disappointed parent watching their kid fall in with a bad crowd.
"What nonsense. Gaara is your friend. And Shukaku is the Tailed Beast inside Gaara. Right now, you're using both of their chakra."
"Saying things like that... don't you think you're hurting both of them?"
"Let me correct your ignorance."
Her Mangekyō Sharingan flared—and her gaze snapped directly to the golden form of the Nine-Tails. Specifically, to the writhing tails and the sand armor wrapped around them.
"Amaterasu."
Naruto's instincts screamed at him. He leapt to the left on reflex.
But Kurama didn't react in time—because the killing intent was directed solely at Naruto, not him. The brief delay was all it took.
Naruto tumbled sideways midair. His tails were left exposed.
Black flames erupted.
The Mangekyō Sharingan's immortal black fire engulfed the sand-covered tails—the same ones tipped with the Shukaku Spears.
Ochre and crimson fused sand ignited in an instant.
The moment Shukaku saw the flames take hold, he jolted up straight. Then, like an unhinged gremlin, he bent over with his back to Saya, raised both middle fingers to the sky, and shouted:
"WOOHAHA~!!"
"You IDIOT! Fire? Against sand?! What kind of dumbass uses fire on sand?! Don't you know sand puts out fire?!"
"Puh—!!" 凸( •̀_•́ )凸
Saya: (▼皿▼#)
…Very good, Shukaku. You're very brave. Let's see how long that smirk lasts~
A few seconds passed. Shukaku slowly gave Saya a shaky thumbs-up from inside Gaara's subconscious and muttered nervously:
"Very good… you've lasted three seconds against my seal… I concede... Kouya"
"Sorry, sorry, that was too loud… let's go again…"
"I still call it the strongest fire technique!" (voice cracking)
Ten seconds in, Shukaku started to panic.
Why… why was the black fire still burning?
Why was it getting bigger?
Why was his Shukaku Spear disintegrating!?
Kurama twitched. His tails were starting to feel… warm.
Naruto blinked. "Is it just me, or is my ass on fire?"
They both looked back—then screamed in unison.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!! IT'S ALL ON FIRE!!"
Man and fox turned and shouted together:
"SHUKAKU!! WHAT THE HELL?!"
Gaara—who had been standing quietly with his eyes open—immediately collapsed like a ragdoll. His neck slumped sideways and he resumed unconsciousness.
Shukaku had fully retreated back into the seal, muttering to himself in despair.
Why… why didn't it work? That fire shouldn't be able to burn through a sealing technique…
It doesn't make any sense…
I'm screwed… next time Kurama sees me, he's gonna kill me…
Back outside, Kurama and Naruto were now in full panic mode. They started wildly smashing their tails against the trees and ground, trying to snuff out the fire.
But no matter what they did, the black flames only grew more ferocious.
Saya watched calmly.
With the sand armor now mostly disintegrated, she extended a hand.
"Kagutsuchi."
The flames of Amaterasu twisted and folded back inward, drawn by her will until they dissipated into embers.
"There. No more annoying armor to protect you."
"Now—final move."
"If you can handle this next strike, I'll let you walk away. I won't take your scroll."
Naruto's ears perked up at that.
"Really?!"
"Okay! Let's settle this with one last move, Sister Saya!"
Standing atop Kurama's head, Naruto pressed his palms together and mirrored the same hand seal Kurama was using.
The golden Nine-Tails lifted its head high. Its mouth opened wide. From all around, chakra began gathering like a storm—dark and light, blue and red, positive and negative.
A small black sphere began forming between its jaws. It pulsed ominously, absorbing even more chakra.
From Naruto's body, glowing orange-yellow streams poured out, joining the black orb. These were the last reserves—chakra from Kurama, Chōmei, Kokuō, Isobu, and Shukaku—all flowing into one.
Then… boom.
A golden-black Tailed Beast Ball began spinning. It shimmered with radiant light, surrounded by a glowing pale-gold halo, like a miniature sun.
It shot toward Saya's Susanoo like a comet.
In front of Susanoo, her wings and hands folded inward. Her chakra, eye power, and the strange energy of the Dragon Vein spiraled toward the center.
A blood-red magatama formed, radiating with overwhelming intensity.
Three types of chakra—eye power, normal chakra, and Dragon Vein chakra—swirled together in a fragile equilibrium. The slightest disruption would cause catastrophic detonation.
As the Tailed Beast Bomb approached, Saya narrowed her eyes.
"Combined Tailed Beast Bomb."
"Yasaka no Magatama."
One was dark gold.
One was deep crimson.
The moment they collided, all light vanished.
A moment of stillness.
Then—BOOM!!
A sphere of annihilation exploded outward.
The pressure wave consumed everything within hundreds of meters. Susanoo. The Nine-Tails. All of it vanished in a blinding storm of destruction.
Even Sasuke, who had been watching from a full kilometer away, saw the light coming—and immediately threw himself over Sakura behind a massive tree trunk.
BOOM!!!
The sky—already dim with dusk—flared like midday.
Somewhere at the outskirts of Konoha, roosters looked up at the light and began to crow instinctively:
"Cluck, cluck, cluck…"
Then the sound caught up with the light.
A thunderous boom rocked the entire Hidden Leaf Village.
In the Hokage's office, Uchiha Hikaru suddenly froze.
Oh no.
That might've… gone a bit out of control…
Now what!?
Emergency—need help—online now!!
ヽ(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ
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