"Releasing Shukaku!"
The thought of such a possibility flashed through Rasa's mind, and the dark lines around his eyes tightened. Regardless of whether his suspicion about this unknown figure was true, he absolutely couldn't let him get near the altar that sealed Shukaku!
Magnet Release: Gold Dust!
A stream of dark gold sand shot up from the ground, splitting into several strands and speeding toward Ye Zi in an attempt to bind him.
The sand moved quickly, but since it was launched after Ye Zi had already acted, the timing was off. Sometimes, missing by even a second, or less, could lead to consequences no one wanted to see.
Ye Zi paid no attention to the sand rushing up from behind. He dashed up the steps of the altar, heading directly for the tea kettle at the top.
The Gold Dust missed its target, scattering across the ground, with some grains falling just millimeters away from Ye Zi's shoes. However, they were powerless to stop him as he charged toward the tea kettle.
The scattered grains of sand slowly fell, mirroring Rasa's sinking heart.
"Stop him quickly!" A sudden sense of dread filled Rasa as he shouted at Ye Zi's retreating back, his voice urgent, trembling with fear.
But this order wasn't directed at the Sand ninja pursuing Ye Zi. Instead…
Four figures suddenly sprang up around the tea kettle, rushing to intercept Ye Zi.
They were four middle-aged men dressed in brown robes, their heads wrapped in layers of white cloth, with simple brown markings painted on their faces.
These were the Sand shinobi guarding the altar, appearing just in time as Ye Zi approached.
"You won't succeed!" The four Sand guards extended their arms, which were covered in black sealing patterns, and moved to intercept Ye Zi from all sides. It seemed to be a variant of a sealing jutsu.
"You want to engage me up close?" Ye Zi's trajectory didn't change. His eyes briefly flicked around, catching the movements of the four men. With a quick gesture, he fired four thin beams of lightning that pierced the hearts of the four Sand guards with precision.
Their hearts pierced by the lightning, the altar's protectors fell from the sky with shocked expressions.
"How is this possible!?"
Behind Ye Zi, the Sand ninja, including Rasa, were filled with disbelief and fear. They could only watch as Ye Zi raised his lightning-coated sword, Chijin, and slashed down at the tea kettle.
"That person really is…!"
Rasa's heart seemed to stop for a moment, as if gripped by sudden suffocation. In that instant, he realized the terrifying consequences of what was happening, his face twisting in horror.
Not only Rasa, but all the Sand ninja present could already imagine the terrifying scene that was about to unfold.
The village… with only twenty percent of its forces remaining due to the war!
Shing!
The sword's light flashed.
A fine black line appeared on the surface of the tea kettle, stretching from the upper right to the lower left.
Feeling the blade cleanly slice through the kettle, Ye Zi quickly formed hand signs and vanished from the scene using the Body Flicker Technique.
The Sand ninja present, no longer focused on pursuing Ye Zi, stared in shock at the tea kettle. The top part of the kettle slowly began to tilt and fall away.
"Damn it!"
Rasa let out a roar of rage, which was abruptly cut off.
Whoosh!
A massive cloud of white smoke suddenly erupted from the tea kettle, like steam spraying in all directions. Seeing this, Rasa immediately stepped back, suppressing his fury, and shouted, "Retreat! Jonin, stay here! Everyone else, help guide the civilians to the shelters, now!"
With the command issued, the Chunin and Genin quickly left, while the Jonin remained by Rasa's side.
"Notify Chiyo as fast as possible," Rasa ordered one of his personal guards.
"But, right now…" The guard hesitated, his face twitching.
Rasa glared at him fiercely and growled, "Now!"
"Yes!"
The guard trembled, then turned and quickly ran off.
Watching the guard leave, Rasa's expression grew even more grim as he stared at the still-smoking tea kettle. He could no longer afford to wonder who the cloaked, masked intruder was.
Of all times…!
Boom!
From within the cloud of white smoke came a deafening explosion, sending a powerful gust of wind that pushed the smoke outward. It swept past the gathered Sand ninja and surged through the streets of Sunagakure.
Immediately after, a large figure emerged from the destroyed tea kettle, growing rapidly as it smashed through the altar. The figure appeared out of nowhere, standing menacingly in the village.
"Yahaha! Finally, I'm free!"
A sharp, excited voice echoed from the massive body, resonating throughout Sunagakure.
Hearing this manic laughter, both the ninja and civilians in the village turned their gaze toward the enormous yellow monster.
Its bloated, yellow body was covered in irregular black markings. Its large head sported a pair of pointed black ears, and its terrifyingly large mouth was filled with sharp, triangular teeth. Despite the size of its mouth, its eyes were comically small. Up close, even the smallest onlookers could see the round pupils inside those tiny eyes.
"This is… Shukaku?!"
Overwhelmed by the immense pressure, many people in the village couldn't help but fall to their knees.
"Yahaha!" Shukaku swung its spiked tail, leveling the buildings behind it into rubble.
"You dared to imprison me in that tiny space…!"
Its sharp laughter gradually subsided, and its raccoon-like face twisted into an expression of cold malice.
"As thanks, I'll kill you all!"
Shukaku's massive stomach suddenly swelled.
Seeing this, Rasa's expression changed dramatically. He waved his arm and shouted, "Stop Shukaku's attack! The civilians haven't all been evacuated yet. We can't let it destroy the village!"
Before Rasa could finish speaking, Shukaku's bloated belly rapidly contracted, and it fired three massive balls of chakra-laden wind toward the village's buildings. There were still many civilians in the process of evacuating, with a portion of them in the path of the attack.
Shukaku had clearly targeted them, demonstrating its intent to kill.
Magnet Release: Gold Dust Wall!
"Argh!" With a grim expression, Rasa clasped his hands together, summoning a massive wall of gold dust that shot up to intercept the wind bullets.
"Naive." Shukaku's small, round eyes narrowed into a mocking grin.
The middle wind bullet bumped into the other two, sending them veering off to the sides, avoiding the gold dust wall entirely.
"What?!" Rasa's heart skipped a beat as he watched the two wind bullets soar toward the village, his eyes trembling with fear.
Boom!
The first wind bullet smashed into the gold dust wall, successfully blocked. However, the other two sped past, too fast for the Jonin present to react.
"Not bad. But too bad! Yahaha!"
Shukaku laughed mockingly, then gleefully turned its gaze toward the distant buildings, ready to enjoy the destruction it had unleashed.
Boom!
It extended its massive arms outward and playfully mimicked the sound of the impending explosions.
Boom!
The two wind bullets hit their targets, detonating with massive force. Like hurricanes on steroids, the explosions tore through buildings and people, ripping them to shreds.
In an instant, blood and debris were scattered everywhere, mixing with sand and stone. The explosions echoed through the night sky, and in the aftermath, two vast, empty spaces were left where buildings and people had stood moments before. All that remained were fragmented bodies strewn across the ground.
The civilians and ninjas who weren't caught in the blasts stared in horror at the scene, many of them frozen in shock, their faces blank with disbelief.
"Whoa, what power!" Standing atop the protective mountains surrounding Sunagakure, White Zetsu watched as the civilians and Sand ninja were caught in the wind bullets, and he let out a whistle of admiration.
"Rough estimate: that killed around 300 people instantly," White Zetsu said, glancing at Ye Zi with a smirk. "Just a single strike caused all this destruction."
"…"
The mask covering Ye Zi's face stood as a wall between his inner emotions and the outside world. His eyes, hidden in the darkness behind the mask's holes, watched the scene unfold in silence.
Ye Zi observed the devastation quietly.
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