Chapter 167: Running on Empty
With the Tailed Beast's chaotic interference—and not just any interference, but devastating, wide-range attacks—fighting within Shukaku's line of sight became virtually impossible. And this kind of meaningless chaos was really just the result of some temporary maneuvers by Mizuki. However, dragging things out like this was not to Mizuki's advantage.
Kakuzu and Hidan had, in the past, relied on their immortality to drag many strong enemies into hopeless battles of attrition and wear them down to death. Mizuki had absolutely no intention of becoming their next victim.
The destructive power of Shukaku's Drilling Air Bullets was increasing by the minute. Earlier, Mizuki could still tank a few hits with his Chakra Shield activated, but now doing so would be far too risky.
"Nothing useful from Maki's side either? Figures… with Jun dead, there's not a single sealing jutsu user left. Other than Aoba Yamashiro, there isn't even anyone proficient in genjutsu over there. There's no way they can wake Gaara."
The truth was, if Mizuki hadn't been drawing Shukaku's aggro, the battlefield would already be a bloodbath.
Maki, at her wit's end, watched as her most promising student lost control after releasing Shukaku, unable to resist the beast's will. Now that the full form of the Tailed Beast had emerged, there was no one left to subdue it. Only Maki herself might be able to buy some time. Even Iwa's Akatsuchi wouldn't be up to the task—his style was completely ill-suited to fighting such a massive opponent.
Still, was it really wise to approach Shukaku now and draw its attention? A rampaging Tailed Beast using ordinary ninja as targets for venting its rage… even among the elite, few could withstand such a threat.
As Maki racked her brain for a strategy, she suddenly noticed someone missing.
"Temari, do you know where Kankuro went?" The disappearance of even a single genin-level student in a battlefield like this made Maki tense.
"He said he was going to clean up the battlefield… to see if any useful pieces were left behind…"
"Useful? You mean the shattered puppet fragments? That's ridiculous." Maki's tone was tinged with exasperation. "What is he thinking, wandering off at a time like this?"
Just then, the missing Kankuro casually emerged from the shadowy grove behind them.
"I'm back." Completely unaware of the anxiety he'd caused, Kankuro seemed oblivious to how dangerous his actions had been.
Suppressing her frustration, Maki spoke sternly, "Good. You're back safe. But this isn't the time for independent action. Kankuro, did you find anything?"
"Only some scrap pieces of puppets. Most of them were incinerated by that massive Fire Release technique. They're totally useless." Kankuro shook his head with visible regret.
"I see." Maki nodded noncommittally. "Stop wandering around. Our top priority now is getting Gaara back and containing Shukaku…"
"About that—I heard from the Iwa side that they were debating whether or not to assist Mizuki. In the end, I think they sent that female ninja along with some Leaf shinobi to help out."
"Reinforcements?" Maki nodded thoughtfully. "To be honest, their targets are us—and possibly Iwa's prisoner, Deidara. Technically, this has little to do with the Leaf. That they're trying so hard is commendable. I suppose we should provide some support too. But…"
She shook her head in frustration. "If Jun were still alive…"
In an S-rank battlefield like this, leaving behind sub-jonin level ninjas was practically sentencing them to death. How did Obito "die"? How did Kakashi get his Sharingan? It was because Minato couldn't be everywhere at once and the enemy seized the gap. Iwa at least left Akatsuchi behind to guard their support unit and sent Kurotsuchi to the frontlines—that was their show of goodwill in return for Konoha's efforts.
But Suna… Suna had fallen short this time. Jun's death, and Yura's mysterious demise, left them with no capable manpower to send.
Jun's loss left Maki grieving. But Yura's death left her deeply disturbed. Mizuki had warned her about Yura—and not long after, Yura had mysteriously died. Upon inspecting the body, Maki found abnormalities in Yura's brain. Combined with the timing of his death, it became obvious: Yura was a mole, likely affected by Sasori's death. A hidden sleeper agent.
"To think a high-ranking ninja like him was an enemy plant all along… and it took an outsider to warn me? Has Suna really fallen to this level of danger?"
"We simply have no one left to support them. And we have to keep watch over Shukaku too. I believe Mizuki will understand." Maki said with a bitter expression. It was humiliating for one of the Five Great Nations to stand idle while their allies fought—and worse, possibly even caused more trouble than help.
As she spoke, Shukaku, who had been steadily firing Drilling Air Bullets, began to shift. Infuriated by its failure to hit Mizuki even once, Shukaku's rage boiled over. It crouched low, claws digging into the ground, body coiling, muscles tightening for a pounce.
Seeing this posture, Maki's jaw dropped in disbelief. She turned to Temari.
"You really don't know what Mizuki did to Gaara? Why does Shukaku hate him so much?"
"I honestly don't know. Back then, we were completely unconscious. I've even tried casually asking Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura, but… they all claimed to know nothing."
"There's no way this is something just anyone could pull off. To make Shukaku hate someone this much, and cover their tracks so well that no one noticed anything… if Gaara hadn't gone berserk, we never would've suspected anything was wrong."
Maki gave a bitter smile.
"What's the point of saying this now? Against a sealing master of that level, we're completely powerless. In the end, we may still need his help to reseal Shukaku and save Gaara."
…
Around the same time, the same question was being asked by another.
"You bastard… what the hell did you do to that Tailed Beast? It's like it's hellbent on killing you!" Hidan finally snapped. A coincidence once or twice was understandable. But this level of relentless pursuit?
Even Hidan—whose brain wasn't exactly the sharpest—could tell.
Shukaku wasn't just fighting Mizuki because he was close. It wanted him dead.
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