The dust had barely begun to settle when the tremors drew attention from all corners of Sunagakure.
With Zeldris at the epicenter of the chaos, the shockwaves of destruction spread far and wide. The explosion and crumbling buildings had alerted the entire village.
Sunagakure was under attack.
Moments later, sand ninjas came flooding in from every direction, alarmed by the rising plumes of smoke and the overwhelming chakra surging through the air.
As they approached the source, the scene that unfolded before them left them speechless.
There, half-buried beneath the rubble, was the Fourth Kazekage himself—bloodied and barely conscious.
Dead silence.
Disbelief washed over the group like a tidal wave. Murmurs broke out.
"What… What happened here?!"
"Is that… Lord Kazekage?!"
And then their eyes landed on the boy standing alone at the center of it all—Zeldris.
One man. Alone.
That couldn't be right.
Was he the intruder?
Just one person?!
The sheer absurdity of it made some want to laugh. But no one was laughing.
Because the Fourth Kazekage—one of the most powerful shinobi in the desert, the man who could manipulate gold dust with devastating force—had been defeated.
The air grew cold.
An oppressive silence weighed heavy on everyone present. The kind of silence that came with fear.
Who was this man?
What kind of power could crush a Kage like that?
Then, just as panic began to set in, a surge of chakra snapped everyone's attention back to the battlefield.
A small figure stood before the invader—his red hair unmistakable.
"Wait… Is that Gaara?!"
Another wave of chakra erupted—thick, wild, untamed. The very ground trembled beneath it.
An invisible pressure swept across the desert, freezing every ninja in their tracks.
Zeldris narrowed his eyes, finally showing something close to interest.
"So this is… a tailed beast, huh?"
The aura alone was enough to silence the crowd. Everyone in Sunagakure recognized that terrifying feeling.
It was happening again.
Panic rippled through the gathered shinobi.
"He's going to lose control!"
"Damn it, not now…!"
"Shukaku… it's Shukaku again!"
Faces went pale. Old wounds reopened. Memories of destruction, chaos, and …and sleepless nights flooded back into the minds of every Sand shinobi.
Meanwhile, Rasa—barely able to lift his head from the rubble—watched with wide, dazed eyes. His lips trembled as he took in the terrifying chakra swirling violently around his son.
This wasn't what he wanted.
He had called out to Gaara hoping to awaken the jinchūriki's power—to weaponize it under control.
But instead…
Shukaku had taken over completely.
Gaara's body stood stiffly, arms limp at his sides, head tilted down. His eyes were hidden beneath his brow, but the sheer malice radiating from him told everyone: it wasn't Gaara anymore.
The beast had taken the wheel.
Far across the battlefield, Chiyo and Sasori had momentarily stopped fighting, their senses flaring at the ominous chakra flooding the air.
Chiyo's wrinkled face twisted in shock. "That chakra… No way… Is Shukaku going berserk again?!"
Sasori narrowed his eyes, a small grin tugging at his lips. "Heh. Looks like Sunagakure's about to have a real bad day."
Still, there was a flicker of unease in his gaze.
Their mission was to capture a jinchūriki—not to get flattened by a rampaging tailed beast.
He glanced briefly toward Zeldris.
I hope you're ready, mercenary.
Back in the heart of the chaos, Zeldris stood tall, unfazed, as if the monstrous chakra washing over him was little more than a breeze.
Even as the winds whipped and the sands howled, he kept that same calm smirk on his face.
Then it happened.
A deafening roar shattered the night.
"ROOOAARRR!!!"
Chakra exploded from Gaara's body like a cannon blast, surging straight into the sky.
A shadow began to take shape, massive and terrifying.
And within seconds—a towering raccoon-shaped beast covered in deep black seals emerged in full form.
One-Tail Shukaku had arrived.
The ground shook beneath its weight. Its very breath kicked up tornados of sand. With another roar, a shockwave burst outward, blasting dozens of shinobi off their feet.
Buildings groaned and crumbled.
Still, Zeldris didn't flinch.
He raised his gaze, locking eyes with the tailed beast for the first time.
"…So that's you. Shukaku."
A chuckle escaped his lips.
"Finally… something interesting."
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