[99] : The Third Kazekage's Plan—Tailed Beasts Are Just Toys!

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Shin and his team had just arrived at the medical tent when they heard a series of explosions.

"What's going on? Is Suna attacking?"

Shin used his Mind's Eye of Kagura to sense the situation. It was indeed Suna.

He was puzzled. Why were they attacking now? Had they received reinforcements?

Tsunade emerged from the medical tent, followed by Konan.

"What's happening? Is it an enemy attack?" Tsunade asked.

"Let's go see. Konan, stay here. Don't wander off."

Shin patted Konan's head.

"Okay." Konan nodded obediently, though her eyes held a hint of disappointment.

Shin wasn't worried about leaving Konan alone. He had implanted his Mangekyō Sharingan abilities in her eyes with the Transcription Seal.

He and Tsunade arrived at the edge of the Konoha encampment. Sakumo Hatake was leading the Konoha Shinobi in a 'Standoff' against the Suna forces.

"What's going on? Why is Suna attacking?" Shin asked Jiraiya, who had recovered from his injuries.

"Our commander, Sakumo, killed Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, so she's here for revenge," Jiraiya explained.

Shin's expression turned odd. Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law? Weren't they Sasori's parents? So Sasori's parents died during the Second Shinobi World War...

"Sakumo Hatake! I'll kill you!" Chiyo glared at Sakumo with pure hatred. If Ebizo wasn't holding her back, she would have charged at Sakumo.

Sakumo's expression remained neutral. Killing enemy Shinobi was part of his duty; he wouldn't hesitate.

The Third Kazekage sighed. He hadn't wanted to attack Konoha now, but Chiyo had already mobilized the troops. He had no choice but to go along with it.

Chiyo's influence in Suna was almost equal to his.

"Ebizo, take care of Orochimaru and Jiraiya. Chiyo, Tsunade is yours—try to keep your anger in check."

The Third Kazekage said, his voice serious. Although this attack was unplanned, he still had a strategy.

"Sister, once we defeat Konoha, you can do whatever you want with Sakumo," Ebizo said, trying to appease Chiyo.

"I know. I'll handle Tsunade." Chiyo turned away from Sakumo, suppressing her rage. She couldn't let her emotions control her.

"Attack!"

The Third Kazekage looked at the monk beside him. This was Bunpuku, the One-Tails Jinchūriki.

Bunpuku sighed. He didn't want to kill, but he had to fight for Suna.

He charged towards the Konoha Shinobi, a layer of Tailed Beast Chakra cloaking his body.

The Tailed Beast Cloak enhanced the Jinchūriki's strength, defense, and speed.

Only those who were acknowledged by the Tailed Beast could use this ability. Bunpuku had clearly earned Shukaku's approval.

With the protection of the Tailed Beast Cloak, the Kunai and Shuriken thrown by the Konoha Shinobi couldn't harm Bunpuku.

"Ichibi, come out!"

Bunpuku communicated with Shukaku in his mind, then let the Tailed Beast take over.

Shukaku's massive form appeared on the battlefield, causing fear among the Konoha Shinobi.

"That damned tanuki again," Kushina muttered, glaring at the beast.

"I'm surprised to see Shukaku here," Shin said.

He had sealed Shukaku into Bunpuku with the Four Symbols Seal. Shukaku shouldn't be able to break free on its own.

He suspected Suna had broken the seal.

He was right. Suna had spent a long time researching ways to forcibly break the Four Symbols Seal. It wasn't a gentle release; Bunpuku had suffered.

"Attack!"

The Third Kazekage, seeing Shukaku's appearance, immediately targeted Sakumo.

"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle!"

He unleashed a torrent of Iron Sand, forming thousands of senbon that rained down on the Konoha Shinobi.

Sakumo drew his White Light Chakra Sabre and deflected the senbon, then charged towards the Kazekage.

His sword now had a special coating that negated the effects of Magnet Release.

Ebizo also attacked, facing Orochimaru and Jiraiya alone.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya were only at quasi-Kage level. Ebizo could handle them both.

Chiyo, following the Kazekage's plan, attacked Tsunade with her puppets, occasionally targeting other Konoha Shinobi as well.

"These puppets are so annoying!"

Tsunade punched a puppet, destroying it, but another one immediately took its place.

Sakumo was occupied with the Third Kazekage, Orochimaru and Jiraiya with Ebizo, and Tsunade with Chiyo.

And now Shukaku had appeared. Only Shin could handle it.

Furthermore, Hanzō hadn't appeared yet.

This was the Third Kazekage's plan: to keep Konoha's strongest occupied while Hanzō led the Ame Shinobi in a sneak attack from behind and destroy their supplies.

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"Shukaku, haven't I beaten you up enough? Still baring your teeth at me?"

Shin looked at Shukaku, who clearly showed fear in its eyes. It wasn't completely unafraid of him.

Shin had indeed given it a thorough beating last time.

"I'll kill you!"

Shukaku, feeling insulted, opened its maw and formed a Tailed Beast Bomb.

"A Tailed Beast Bomb? You can use that too? I thought you didn't have enough Chakra."

Shin was surprised.

But it made sense. All Tailed Beasts could use Tailed Beast Bombs. Just because Shukaku had less Chakra than the others didn't mean it couldn't use it.

But it was taking a while to charge. That was understandable, though. It was a powerful attack, capable of destroying an entire village.

That was the destructive power of a Tailed Beast. That was why, even if someone was individually stronger than a Tailed Beast, their impact on the battlefield was less significant.

For example, Hiruzen could defeat Shukaku, but Shukaku's destructive power was far greater.

The Yin and Yang Chakra mixed and compressed within Shukaku's mouth, then finally fired outwards. Shukaku felt a sense of satisfaction.

It could finally kill this annoying brat.

But it was too optimistic. As the Tailed Beast Bomb approached, Shin used his Sharingan. The attack vanished before it could even reach him.

After evolving into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, his abilities had become even stronger.

Yomotsu Hirasaka consumed less Chakra and was more potent. He could open portals at will.

Tenmomei could now affect other objects and people, and the time rewind wasn't limited to three minutes anymore.

Shin had experimented and found he could rewind time by an hour within a hundred-meter radius. But the cost was immense.

It would deplete all his ocular power and Chakra.

He could also choose to rewind the time of a single object or person, and the duration would be longer. The length of the rewind depended on how much Chakra and ocular power he used.

Perhaps with enough Chakra and ocular power, he could even rewind time by a thousand years. But that was just speculation.

He had used Tenmomei on the Tailed Beast Bomb, rewinding its time by three minutes. Three minutes ago, the Tailed Beast Bomb hadn't even been formed yet. So it simply vanished.

Compared to its previous limitations, Tenmomei was far more versatile now.

In a battle against a true powerhouse, he could use Tenmomei to negate their attacks.

But for now, Shukaku was confused. It rarely used Tailed Beast Bombs, but it didn't expect its attack to be completely nullified.

It quickly realized that the human brat must have done something.

But Tenmomei's ability was time manipulation; there was no trace of it. Shukaku couldn't understand what Shin had done.

...

Boom!

An explosion from the direction of the Konoha camp wiped the smile off Shin's face.

"So that's why Hanzō wasn't here."

Seeing the flames rising from the Konoha camp, Shin understood Suna and Ame's strategy.

He had known that Chiyo was seeking revenge for her son, but he hadn't thought much about Hanzō's absence.

Chiyo's revenge had nothing to do with Amegakure. They might be allies, but Hanzō wouldn't participate in a battle that offered no benefits to him.

Shin had assumed Hanzō simply didn't want to get involved in Chiyo's personal vendetta.

But it seemed the Third Kazekage and Hanzō had another plan.

"Looks like I can't play with you anymore, Shukaku."

Shin activated his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and took control of Shukaku. Shukaku's eyes turned into three-tomoe Sharingan.

With the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Tailed Beasts were just toys. Even with Bunpuku as its Jinchūriki, Shin could easily control Shukaku.

He glanced at Kushina and Mikoto, who were fighting. They were doing well together.

And with the Transcription Seal, he didn't have to worry too much about them. He left the battlefield and headed back to the Konoha camp.

Konan was still there. Although she had the Transcription Seal, he didn't want her to get hurt.

And he also had to deal with the Ame Shinobi who were attacking the supply depot. If they destroyed all the supplies, it would put Konoha at a disadvantage.

It could even lead to their defeat.

He found Konan hiding in their tent. She was unharmed.

"Konan, are you alright?"

Shin asked.

Konan sighed in relief, then rushed towards Shin and hugged him. She had been terrified by the sounds of battle.

"I'm fine," she said, shaking her head.

"That's good." Shin took her hand and left the tent, his Kusanagi sword in his other hand.

There were no Ame Shinobi here. They were all at the supply depot and the medical tent.

They knew what was most important: destroying Konoha's supplies and killing their medics.

Hanzō was personally leading the attack. Shin could see the giant salamander wreaking havoc.

"Konan, are you scared?" Shin asked.

"No."

Konan shook her head firmly. She had been scared when she was alone, but now that Shin was here, her fear vanished.

Shin smiled and led Konan towards the area with the most Ame Shinobi. He cut down every one he encountered.

Konan watched, her fear fading. As a war orphan, she had seen death before. She was becoming desensitized to it.

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