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Fine sand drifted.
The moment Bunpuku made his decision, the enormous amount of Tailed Beast Chakra, compared to that of a human, burst forth in an instant, spreading in all directions at an extreme speed, and a thin layer of sand armor simultaneously formed on the surface of his body.
Sawara Kiri narrowed his eyes slightly.
Unlike Gaara, who forcibly controlled the Tailed Beast Chakra with the 'Feigning Sleep Technique' in the original work, Bunpuku at this moment showed almost no signs of sensing the surrounding Chakra; all actions within his body were completely carried out by Shukaku, who had already acknowledged him.
At this moment, in this vast desert of the Land of Wind, where sand was the main battlefield, Shukaku's power was almost invincible.
Their eyes met.
"Clap!"
Bunpuku's hands suddenly clapped together, making a crisp sound.
"Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!"
A surging, storm-like breath began instantly and quickly ceased. Bunpuku's shriveled chest expanded into a huge arc, and he violently exhaled forward.
"Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump—!"
The wind bullets, invisible in shape but cutting through the air at supersonic speeds, creating paths of vacuum, were incredibly dense and violent.
However, in Sawara Kiri's Six Eyes, they appeared with vivid Chakra colors.
His figure flickered, tracing a clear arc across the sandy ground, and then he immediately charged forward.
Dense, arm-like grains of sand continuously surged out from the ground beneath his feet, reaching and grasping towards him, but every single arm was far slower than his footsteps.
In the blink of an eye, Sawara Kiri's figure had already rushed to Bunpuku's front.
He threw a punch!
However, Bunpuku seemed to have merged with the Tailed Beast's sense of danger, and the advantage of a perfect Jinchuriki was suddenly displayed to its fullest extent. His seemingly shriveled and thin figure actually leaned to the side at an extreme speed.
"Whoosh—"
The wind roared.
The long beard on the old man's chin swayed in the wind, and the fine sand at his temples showed slight cracks, but at this moment, his reaction and speed had reached an unimaginable limit for ordinary people. In the state of a perfect Jinchuriki, his physical condition had reached an unprecedented peak.
He stepped forward, pushing upwards.
His footsteps stirred up dust.
His seemingly withered hands clasped together and moved upwards, striking directly at Sawara Kiri's jaw.
However, it suddenly stopped just an inch from his body, unable to advance any further.
Sawara Kiri's reaction was not as instantaneous as his opponent's, but his absolute speed was far superior to Bunpuku's. Almost the instant Bunpuku raised his arm, Sawara Kiri's other hand had already gripped his wrist, and he used the momentum to leap into the air for a knee strike.
"Bang!"
The sand in front of Bunpuku, at this moment, seemed to gain sentience, extending forward like a hand just before the knee strike arrived, firmly blocking it.
However, under this immense force, it still instantly disintegrated.
"Whoosh—"
But even this brief moment was enough for Bunpuku's body to react.
Fine sand rapidly flowed over the surface of the arm that was gripped. His lean figure arched backward in an iron bridge stance to evade the heavy blow, then rolled up with his hands on the ground, stepped forward, parried a sudden incoming attack with one hand, and immediately followed up with a sharp elbow strike.
Within this extremely short distance, Bunpuku, with decades of honed Taijutsu, stayed firmly pressed against Sawara Kiri's body.
After just one or two rounds of attacks, the old man had already discerned that Sawara Kiri needed to create some space to unleash powerful Taijutsu like he had just demonstrated.
Therefore, a continuous barrage of close-quarters attacks immediately followed in a rapid exchange. His seemingly withered and frail figure, covered in a sand-dust armor, for a moment seemed to be completely glued to Sawara Kiri's body.
At the same time, the violently surging Tailed Beast Chakra continuously spread and flowed outwards. Under Shukaku's control, it attempted to penetrate Sawara Kiri's almost impenetrable spatial defense. Every move and every technique involved countless spreading sand particles, seemingly trying to stick to his body with his breath, but it was all in vain.
"Bang bang bang bang bang—!"
The series of Taijutsu attacks between the two was incredibly fast. Sawara Kiri, under the old monk's Taijutsu, which could be called that of a Taijutsu Immortal, was even slightly at a disadvantage—the advantages brought by the Tailed Beast Chakra, such as increased attack intensity and range, heightened speed, restored stamina, and healed injuries, were far beyond what an ordinary person could imagine.
Every move Bunpuku unleashed far exceeded the space his body could reach.
Furthermore, with the neural reaction boost provided by being a perfect Jinchuriki, the short-range reactions he could execute also far surpassed the limits a human could reach.
However, an advantage is an advantage.
Under the 'No-Damage Zone' brought by the Limitless, Sawara Kiri almost completely disregarded Bunpuku's attacks landing on him, focusing wholeheartedly on landing heavy punches on the old man in front of him.
Every seemingly effortless punch actually contained a 'leap' within an extremely short range, using extremely precise Jutsu manipulation to compress space between his arm and fist within a range of perhaps less than a meter, thereby creating a critical strike powerful enough to shatter rock.
"Limitless: Full Power."
The three-minute countdown had begun.
Although Bunpuku already possessed considerable Taijutsu prowess and the absolute Chakra and reaction advantages brought by being the perfect Jinchuriki of Shukaku, under these space-compressing heavy punches, one or two still landed on him. Every heavy punch he barely managed to block with his arm also placed an extremely heavy burden on his body.
Even with the super-speed recovery boosted by the Tailed Beast Chakra cloak, his consumption was quite severe.
However, after truly experiencing the strength of this young Konoha Ninja, the old man had long since put his own life and death out of his mind, so why would he care about mere physical exhaustion?
On the contrary, upon realizing this disadvantage, he even further increased the output of the Tailed Beast Chakra.
Dust flew, and rocks splattered.
Namikaze Minato stood rooted in place in the distance, staring in astonishment at this unprecedented fierce battle.
It was merely a Taijutsu exchange, merely an initial probe and opening act before the true climax, yet the intensity of their output had already reached a level he could not comprehend.
'Perhaps even Jiraiya-sensei… No, even Hokage-sama could only reach this level, right?'
'Is this the power of those who stand at the pinnacle of the Ninja World?'
Namikaze Minato unconsciously thought this, gazing at Sawara Kiri's back from afar, watching as the ground beneath their feet continuously sank from the shockwaves of their rapid exchange and footwork, forming a large, sunken sand pit. The strong will to catch up to him burned like a flame.
Compared to them, the most surprised was Sawara Kiri himself.
To be honest, before the battle began, he hadn't paid much attention to this obscure Jinchuriki of Shukaku.
In the original work, whether it was Gaara during his Jinchuriki period or Shukaku's main body, the strength they displayed was mostly unremarkable; even a summoning animal like Gamabunta could barely contend with them.
Throughout the entire arc, Shukaku's most shining moment was merely injuring Uchiha Madara through a relatively clever method, controlling him for a while with a Sealing Technique, and single-handedly catching a Susanoo Stage Four slash from a blind Uchiha Madara.
Compared to other Tailed Beasts and Naruto, the perfect Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed, the strength they displayed could only be described as decent, certainly not exceptionally strong.
But now, as Sawara Kiri personally engaged in combat with this old monk, the old man, who had coexisted with Shukaku for a lifetime, was actually radiating a presence almost comparable to that of the original protagonist.
Even though he was a perfect Jinchuriki acknowledged by Shukaku, even though he was rapidly burning away his already short life, even though he carried the heavy burden of thousands of lives behind him...
Sawara Kiri couldn't help but be surprised by this.
"Boom—!"
Another heavy punch collided.
The two figures simultaneously separated in opposite directions.
Almost the instant they created distance, Bunpuku felt a premonition of danger and immediately clasped his hands together. Shukaku within him also immediately yelled:
"Stupid monk! Work with me!"
"Alright."
The moment Bunpuku replied, the fine sand and Tailed Beast Chakra that had covered his body almost solidified, and a sandy tail covered in purple markings swayed behind him.
In front of him, two special Chakras, one extremely dark and one extremely bright, continuously converged forward. Bunpuku also opened his mouth like a true Tailed Beast.
"Biju Bomb."
He inhaled, then exhaled.
Accompanied by a momentary dimming, the sky, already covered in sand and dust, seemed to be swallowed by the light that burst forth at that moment.
Minato in the distance could only feel a terrifying Chakra reaction converge into a single point, then suddenly streak across the night sky.
Hundreds of meters of distance were traversed in the blink of an eye before the 'light', a terrifying force like a celestial torrent, directly tore through the sand.
"Rumble—!"
A deafening explosion, mixed with dazzling fire, engulfed everything visible before them, affecting areas hundreds, even thousands of meters away.
The entire desert in front of Sunagakure's main gate seemed to be overturned by this terrifying blow, raising dust that obscured all vision.
However, it wasn't over yet.
As the dust, like a curtain spanning heaven and earth, enveloped their entire vision, Bunpuku, guided by Shukaku, suddenly extended his withered arms forward.
"Wind Release: Sand Hail!"
Almost at the same moment this sound fell, countless sand particles floating in the sky seemed to freeze instantly.
Following that, the fine dust began to converge from all directions, finally forming clustered sand grains, each at least larger than a finger, floating in the sky in an unnatural manner.
And then, they rained down like bullets.
The concentrated bombardment, like a storm, caused the area where Sawara Kiri was located to collapse and sink several meters deep in a short instant. The power contained in each sand hail bullet was enough to penetrate metal, and when it landed in the desert, it was unstoppable, completely blasting the hundreds-of-meters-wide area into a fine honeycomb pattern.
However, once the dust quickly settled under Shukaku's control, No one was seen in the sunken giant pit.
Bunpuku's brow couldn't help but twitch.
Shukaku also seemed to suddenly sense an extremely terrifying presence and roared in his mind:
"Dodge!"
At the same time, a deep red star gleamed behind the old man.
Sawara Kiri stood there, his fingers shaped like a pistol pointed at his back, his azure Six Eyes gaze profound.
"Cursed Technique Reversal."
"Hmph!"
The moment the words fell, Bunpuku's body abruptly shifted half a meter to the side, barely pulled by Magnet Release, dragged by Chakra, and moved by his own efforts.
"Bang—!"
Even with such evasion, that deep red star-shaped light still left a circular hole in his lower back, almost shattering and piercing through his right kidney and intestines.
Bunpuku's body tumbled and slid over ten meters away, Tailed Beast Chakra covering his body, rapidly filling the hole shattered by Sawara Kiri.
The clothes on his already withered body surface were torn, and a smoke resembling acid mist steamed from the edges of the pierced wound.
At this moment, Sawara Kiri's appearance was not so good.
He continued to step towards Bunpuku, reaching out to tear off his own Konoha-style vest, which was already in tatters, revealing the close-fitting black long-sleeved shirt underneath, its edges faintly stained with some ashes.
Even he was quite surprised by that series of attacks just now.
He had initially thought he could completely withstand the Biju Bomb with Limitless, but due to its extremely excessive energy density, it actually consumed a significant amount of his Chakra in an instant—in terms of the total Chakra contained within it alone, it was even far more terrifying than Uchiha Hikari's Susanoo attack.
Fortunately, with the magnification brought by 'Energetic Beast,' he ultimately managed to withstand it.
However, in response, under the barrage of sand shrapnel that followed, he had no choice but to compress the 'space' defensive circle to the surface of his skin.
As a result, this Konoha vest, which he quite liked, was completely shattered.
Sawara Kiri slowly rolled up his sleeves as he walked towards him:
"That last one wasn't bad; it helped me discover some minor issues I hadn't noticed before."
"Continue."
Bunpuku seemed to let out a somewhat helpless bitter laugh, propping himself up with his arms on the ground.
However, Shukaku inside him seemed to keenly sense something, suddenly speaking loudly in his mind, excited:
"Stinky monk, don't stop! Keep increasing the output!"
"This little bastard's total Chakra has dropped significantly from before!"
"His move isn't invincible!"
Hearing this, Bunpuku couldn't help but feel a shock in his heart, looking up at the young man in front of him, whose expression remained calm.
When that series of continuous attacks just now failed to have any effect, even with his composure, he couldn't help but have a momentary thought of giving up.
But Shukaku's voice made his will revive, and the wound in his lower back rapidly healed under the enhancement of Tailed Beast Chakra.
"Alright."
So, he responded.
If he wanted to hit him with a Biju Bomb, the first thing he needed to do was...
"Hmph!"
Bunpuku suddenly bent down, placing both hands on the sand.
Tailed Beast Chakra, far beyond what a normal person could imagine, rapidly poured into the ground beneath his feet, driven jointly by Bunpuku and Shukaku.
Sawara Kiri's Six Eyes seemed to perceive something, and he couldn't help but reveal a smile.
The next moment, this vast desert, most common in the Land of Wind, immediately surged and roared like a stormy sea, covering sand within hundreds to thousands of meters, boiling violently at a range far exceeding what Gaara could control in the original work, suddenly expanding the enclosed area to a level capable of resisting an entire Ninja army.
"Sand Waterfall Imperial Funeral!"
The moment the words fell, the sand current surged, immediately rising from the ground towards the sky, completely sealing off all possible movement for Sawara Kiri.
After completing this technique, Bunpuku raised one hand again, continuing to bring it down.
"Desert Imperial Funeral."
A technique derived from Shukaku's instinct, continuously summoned distant sand and dust from the air to this location, stirring up clouds of flying dust in the sky, while also heavily obscuring the tightly sealed area like a giant lid descending from the heavens.
Compress!
"Boom—!"
At this point, Namikaze Minato no longer had the qualifications to merely observe, and had no choice but to run as fast as possible in a more distant direction, otherwise he might become a burden during Kiri-kun's fight.
However, even after running nearly ten kilometers, standing on a small hill in the middle of the desert, he still couldn't see the end of this technique's range.
Rather than saying two Ninja were fighting there, it was more like a battle between two Tailed Beasts.
As he was thinking this, he suddenly saw a huge void abruptly collapse in the center of the distant sandstorm, as if some invisible entity had slammed a palm down hard in the center of that desert, pressing the originally uneven desert plain downwards into a concave hemisphere affecting hundreds to thousands of meters.
Faintly, the earth trembled.
At this moment, it wasn't just Namikaze Minato, the sole spectator, who was watching this scene unfold.
The battle, with its overly violent repercussions, now made both sides fighting in Sunagakure involuntarily turn their gazes.
If before, perceiving the distant battle required a certain level of Chakra sensing ability.
Then the battle currently taking place there was like a fire near a street, the extremely rising high temperatures, heat, and even light forced everyone to avert their gaze, involuntarily awed by that power.
Both Konoha and Sunagakure truly understood one thing.
The battle happening there at this very moment would completely determine the victory or defeat between their two sides.
Hatake Sakumo felt that incredibly violent and unbelievably powerful Chakra, and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows high.
No way.
How are you so strong, kid?!
"Buzz—!"
Even though the desert before him had been compressed into a valley, Bunpuku's movements still hadn't stopped.
Or rather, the Chakra and crisis perception enhanced by Shukaku still allowed him to sense an unimaginable deterrent, like a blade held to his neck, emanating from beneath that desert.
Bunpuku could clearly feel...
That young man from Konoha was preparing something.
So, he also opened his mouth without hesitation, a massive amount of Tailed Beast Chakra continuously pouring out of his body, rapidly converging before him like a diamond.
Bunpuku's aged body was almost unable to support it, his skin continuously cracking and healing, yet the infusion of Chakra did not stop for a moment.
The pitch-black Biju Bomb continuously condensed before him.
One, two, three...
To ensure victory, Bunpuku could no longer worry about the threat a minute later; he could only exert his maximum effort to ensure the power of this current attack.
A total of five Tailed Beast Balls, like black steel beads, were crammed one by one into his mouth, sinking into his throat.
Squeezed into a single mass.
The target was directly the valley opposite, where Sawara Kiri was sealed.
"Biju Bomb Five-Shot!"
In an instant, on the earth under the night sky, a light like a rising sun appeared.
Continuous beams of light, with terrifying and unbelievable power, pierced through the entire visible range, one after another, blasting towards the target compressed an unknown number of meters underground.
"Fwoosh—!"
The scorching high temperature and boundless brilliance seemed to completely engulf the entire valley where he was located in an instant.
Great sound is silence.
However, at the same time.
"Nine Ropes."
"Polarization."
"Crow's Declaration."
"Between Inside and Out."
The ultimate of cursed energy is also the ultimate of subtraction.
When it comes to Chakra, this principle remains unchanged; those with sufficiently large Chakra can omit hand seals.
So, when the situation is reversed, one naturally has to strictly follow the rules.
Two hundred meters underground, in a small space expanded by infinite space.
The surrounding sand, continuously compressed, had even solidified into an almost crystalline state, yet it did not affect his movements in the slightest.
Sawara Kiri formed the 'Child' hand seal, tucked at his waist, softly chanting the corresponding magnification incantations, to perform the ritual for Limitless.
Incantations, hand seals, divine dance, sacred music.
The latter two could not be forced, so naturally, he could only achieve completeness in the former two.
Thus reaching the limit he could currently pursue.
Sawara Kiri's Six Eyes burst forth with extreme dazzling brilliance.
He seized the momentary opportunity just before Bunpuku unleashed the Biju Bomb barrage, and stretched out his hand forward.
"150% Output."
The moment he unleashed this attack, Sawara Kiri's entire Chakra seemed to burn and rapidly deplete.
He extended his hand forward in a playful flicking gesture, like a child.
"Hollow Technique: Purple."
The crimson-purple brilliance instantly broke through the unimaginably thick and heavy seal formed by multiple sandstorms, and everything blocking its path, whether the surface of the sand body crystallized under extreme pressure, or the two-hundred-meter-deep sandstorm itself, or the rocks, minerals, and desert creatures interspersed within it...
Nothing could stop it.
The forward and reverse rotations of the spatial technique merged at this moment, forming a hypothetical mass that did not exist in this world and would vanish in an instant.
However, during the time it existed, any matter blocking its path would inevitably be converted into 'nothingness'.
Just a flash.
'How is that possible?'
Shukaku, with its extremely strong danger perception ability, didn't even have time to notify Bunpuku, and while still maintaining the posture of spewing Tailed Beast Balls, it had already irresistibly manifested its true form.
Its massive body, entirely constructed of sand and talismans, expanded from its original spot at the fastest speed, transforming into a complete Tailed Beast body, and using its body to unleash all its Chakra, making the already powerful Biju Bomb even thicker by a large margin in that instant.
However, within its field of vision.
That crimson-purple light was still advancing without pause.
The impact from the Biju Bomb seemed to have no effect whatsoever on this technique.
It continuously surged upwards against the current of Chakra, the technique formed by hypothetical mass crushing everything that stood in its way!
"Buzz—!"
Suddenly, an invisible wave seemed to spread out.
Heaven and earth fell silent.
Shukaku's incredibly massive body still stood in place, maintaining the stunned posture of opening its mouth wide and spewing Tailed Beast Balls.
However, when Namikaze Minato fixed his gaze upon it.
A front-to-back, tunnel-like void appeared on the surface of its gigantic body.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for dozens of advance chapters for over a dozen fics | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter