Mei wiped the rainwater from her face.
More than a dozen Rain shinobi lay dead at her feet, their bodies scattered across the alley.
Her Lava Release had proven devastating in such a narrow space. Before the Rain shinobi could even react, molten lava swallowed them whole. They never even had time to scream.
She glanced back at Teizawa, a hint of confusion in her voice.
"If this is all the enemy has, aren't we making a much bigger deal out of this than necessary?"
Teizawa leaned against the wall with both hands tucked into his sleeves.
Rainwater dripped from the edges of his dark golden robe, gathering into tiny streams around his feet.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly as he shook his head.
"The average Rain shinobi certainly isn't anything impressive. They're worse than trash. But that doesn't mean every Rain shinobi is worthless."
He gestured ahead with his chin.
"Look. Your opponents are here."
Mei followed his gaze.
Her pupils abruptly contracted.
At the end of the street, enormous shadows slowly emerged from the curtain of rain.
A colossal lobster appeared first, its shell covered in vicious spikes. Its massive pincers swung through the rain, bringing down a wall with every strike.
Behind it came a chameleon as large as a hill. Its tongue shot out, wrapped around a Mist ANBU, and dragged him into its mouth.
Crunch. Crunch.
The creature chewed him to pieces.
A rhinoceros followed, its entire body covered in skin as thick as iron armor. Its four hooves pounded against the ground, making the entire street tremble as it charged forward like a runaway heavy truck.
Even more summoned beasts emerged from the smoke.
Some flew through the air. Others ran across the ground or crawled through the water.
They were everywhere, an endless horde that resembled an army sent straight from hell.
"These things…"
Mei's face turned slightly pale.
She was not particularly skilled at dealing with gigantic summoned beasts.
Both Lava Release and Boil Release were wide-area attacks. They were more than enough to overwhelm ordinary shinobi, but their effectiveness would drop significantly against massive creatures with thick hides.
Worse still, there were simply too many of them.
Her chakra was limited. She could not afford a prolonged battle of attrition.
Teizawa sighed, sounding faintly disappointed.
"They still aren't taking me seriously. They sent nothing but cannon fodder to deal with me."
He turned toward the silent figure standing behind him.
"Gaara, you handle this. Show them what a tailed beast really is."
Gaara nodded.
He stepped out from the group and calmly walked forward.
He wore a dark Sunagakure combat uniform, with a massive gourd strapped to his back. His posture was straight, and his steps were steady. Every footfall landed with solid, measured force.
Rain struck his face and streamed down his cheeks.
There was no emotion in those green eyes. They looked like a pair of bottomless pools.
Mei frowned and tugged lightly on Teizawa's sleeve.
"Hey, aren't you worried that sending a jinchūriki into battle will make him lose control?"
She kept her voice low, unable to hide her concern.
Teizawa's lips curved upward.
"Don't worry. That one wouldn't dare."
Mei froze.
"That one?"
She could not tell whether Teizawa meant Gaara or the tailed beast.
What exactly did he mean by "wouldn't dare"?
Why would Gaara be afraid to do anything? He was a jinchūriki and one of Sunagakure's strongest shinobi.
Or was Teizawa referring to the One-Tail?
Before Mei could give the matter any more thought, the situation on the battlefield changed.
Gaara stopped several dozen paces from the summoned beasts, brought his palms together, and closed his eyes.
Sand poured from the gourd on his back.
It spread slowly in front of him, forming an enormous curtain of sand.
It was not an attack.
It was a defense.
The claws and fangs of the summoned beasts slammed into the sand curtain, only to sink into it as though they had struck an enormous wall of cotton. Once trapped inside, they could not pull themselves free.
Then Gaara opened his eyes.
His green irises had turned golden, with vertical pupils like those of a reptile or some primordial beast.
Strange markings appeared across his face, stretching from the corners of his eyes to his jaw. They glowed dark red beneath the falling rain.
Sand began gathering around his body.
It covered his feet, then his calves, thighs, waist, and abdomen. Layer after layer accumulated, becoming thicker and denser with every passing second.
In the blink of an eye, a massive yellow figure rose from the ground.
Shukaku of the Sand.
It was a colossal beast resembling a tanuki. Yellow-brown armor made of sand covered its entire body, while a huge, furry tail swept back and forth behind it, sending clouds of sand billowing into the air.
Its eyes were golden, exactly like Gaara's.
Violence and madness filled those vertical pupils.
Shukaku opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp fangs, and released a deafening roar.
"Hahahahaha!"
Its rough, arrogant voice exploded through the rain, shaking the entire street.
"I'm finally out again! I was suffocating in there!"
Shukaku lowered its head and looked at the summoned beasts beneath its feet with all the contempt of someone staring at a swarm of ants.
"What the hell are these things? Is this all you've got?"
It stomped down.
The giant lobster's shell shattered beneath its foot. Fluids sprayed in every direction, and the creature died before it could even scream.
Shukaku swung its tail next.
The rhinoceros was sent flying through more than a dozen walls before disappearing deep into the ruins.
Shukaku was simply too enormous.
It towered several times higher than the summoned beasts.
It did not even need to use ninjutsu. Its sheer weight was enough to crush them.
Shukaku reached down and seized the giant chameleon, gripping it as casually as someone holding a chick.
Its claws tightened.
The chameleon's spine shattered inch by inch. Its body was squeezed between Shukaku's fingers, spraying blood across the ground.
When the flying summoned beasts tried to attack, Shukaku opened its mouth and inhaled.
The creatures were caught in the suction as though they had been dragged into a vortex. One after another, they disappeared into Shukaku's enormous maw.
Several others lost their nerve and fled into the distance.
Shukaku did not bother chasing them.
It merely spat a mouthful of sand toward their retreating backs.
The sand transformed into countless spikes in midair, skewering the fleeing beasts until they resembled pincushions.
Their corpses fell from the sky and crashed into the flooded street, throwing up huge splashes of water.
"Are there any more? Come on! Send me a few more!"
Shukaku waved its arms and danced around excitedly, looking like a gigantic beast finally allowed to run free.
Teizawa stood in the distance, watching Shukaku slaughter its way through the ruins.
A faint smile appeared on his face before he turned toward Mei.
"Let's go."
Mei finally came back to her senses. She tore her gaze away from Shukaku and looked at Teizawa.
"It… isn't going to lose control?"
Teizawa shook his head.
"No. That idiot may be insane, but it isn't stupid."
"It knows that if Gaara dies, it'll die with him. That means it won't allow anything to happen to Gaara."
He paused briefly.
"Besides, Gaara can already control Shukaku's power. His control isn't complete yet, but it's enough to stop Shukaku from taking over his body."
Mei's pupils contracted once again.
Sunagakure had already mastered the power of its tailed beast?
Her wariness toward Sunagakure rose another level.
She nodded thoughtfully.
The two of them turned away, circling around the ruins Shukaku was still ravaging as they headed toward the tower.
Behind them, Shukaku continued roaring and slaughtering, venting all the rage it had accumulated while sealed away.
The summoned beasts were decimated.
Corpses littered the ground, staining the entire ruin dark red.
The shadow of the tower loomed through the rain ahead of them.
Teizawa raised his head and stared at the structure piercing the clouds.
A cold light flashed through his eyes.
Nagato was there.
Konan was there as well.
Obito might be there too.
He quickened his pace, and Mei followed close behind.
The rain grew heavier, as though it would never stop.
(End of Chapter)
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