The Battle with Shukaku

Fuma's immense strength shattered Shukaku's "absolute defense" with a single blow. If it weren't for Bunpuku's mastery of his unique Fuinjutsu, that strike could have sent him straight to the Sage of Six Paths.

The purple chains wrapped around Bunpuku's body snapped one by one, the exclusive sealing technique dissipating the fatal impact.

"Hey, Bunpuku, what's going on? Pull yourself together! You're Shukaku's Jinchuriki, after all!"

Even Shukaku hadn't reacted in time to the earlier scene, where Bunpuku was sent flying, almost dying on the spot.

"I... I can't hold on much longer, Shukaku."

"Well then, it's your turn now. Be careful."

For someone Bunpuku's age, this severe injury was nearly impossible to withstand. He was about to release Shukaku with the "Feigned Sleep Technique," but instead, he fell unconscious.

Fuma's blow had unexpectedly induced a rapid sleep effect.

Shukaku grinned widely; now that Bunpuku was out, there was no one left to restrain him.

He was ready to have some fun!

Massive amounts of sand gathered at a rapid pace, and pale yellow chakra danced in the sky, coalescing into a giant tanuki.

The land, eroded into a desert, gradually began to restore itself as the sand converged around Shukaku. Shukaku was gathering all the resources he could to strengthen himself.

After all, it had been bound by Hashirama, then sealed in a teapot, and later kept inside Bunpuku at the temple for over thirty years—it was all unbearably dull.

For Shukaku, this was his first appearance in a hundred years, and it had to be a grand entrance!

"Hee hee hee!!!"

A gigantic, rotund tanuki appeared on the ground, its nearly 100-meter-tall figure deeply shocking the distant Konoha ninja.

The Tailed Beasts had long vanished from the battlefield, and such a terrifying presence exceeded the understanding of many ninja.

Sakumo Hatake furrowed his brow, gripping his sword as he planned to support Fuma. At least, with two people, there'd be a better chance of escape.

But then he witnessed something that he would never forget.

Fuma glanced at the One-Tail. Facing such a colossal beast was a new experience for him.

"Whoosh!"

In a flash, Fuma moved behind the One-Tail, braced his legs, and grabbed the beast's thick tail.

"Ah, what a perfect grip."

Fuma's muscles bulged all over his body, his legs dug into the earth, and the intense concentration of muscle power caused his skin to gradually turn a strange shade of black.

Shukaku, still reveling in its newfound freedom, only ever feared two humans. Proudly turning around to look for Fuma, it found its tail being forcefully yanked.

Shukaku was puzzled, but before it could react, it was swung violently into the air, spinning wildly.

Fuma unleashed his full power, relishing the feeling of being able to go all out without restraint, something he had longed for.

He hurled Shukaku high into the air, then leaped up and unleashed his full strength, delivering a punch to Shukaku.

The kinetic energy from the descent, combined with Fuma's immense strength, caused the punch to trigger an earthquake across the entire region.

"BOOM!!"

The ground split open, and the powerful shockwave destroyed the forest for miles around.

Sakumo silently sheathed his sword, looking at the scene before him, deep in thought.

"I heard from the vegetable seller that the First Hokage had an illegitimate son. Does the timeline match with Fuma's birth?"

Faced with this absurd scene, even the usually stoic Sakumo temporarily chose to escape reality, pondering the truth of the gossip.

Shukaku shrank in pain, its sand-formed body reducing in size by nearly a third.

Fuma narrowed his eyes, contemplating the Tailed Beast's resilience.

"If I keep punching it like this, could I actually beat Shukaku to death?"

"Hey, you jerk! Why are you hitting me?" Shukaku shrieked.

This overwhelming strength was something Shukaku had only felt from the Five-Tails, leading it to instinctively think that the Five-Tails had come to attack.

But as Shukaku looked closely, it comically jumped back a step, confused by what it saw.

"Another evil Uchiha? Why isn't this clan wiped out yet?"

Once it calmed down and looked at Fuma's still significantly smaller figure, Shukaku felt a hint of confusion.

Decades ago, the Susanoo that captured it was far larger! Haunted by ancient memories, Shukaku cautiously asked, "You... are you related to Madara Uchiha?"

Meanwhile, Madara, watching the scene through White Zetsu's live broadcast, smiled nostalgically. Nagato, beside him, looked at him with admiration.

The scene resembled a kind grandfather reminiscing about his past glories with his grandson.

Fuma chuckled. Over the past few days, he'd been figuring out this old predecessor's tricks.

Nagato's disappearance, the sense of being watched before he developed his bloodline limit—these were undoubtedly all Madara's handiwork.

Fuma cleared his throat and loudly declared, "Who's Madara Uchiha? I don't know him. Is he the one who failed to become the First Hokage?"

As if that weren't enough, he added, "Oh, I remember now. He's the one the Second Hokage chased out of Konoha, right?"

Madara's face darkened, his eyes flicking to a confused Nagato. He sighed and began to explain softly.

Shukaku was baffled, not understanding Fuma's words. It had no idea about Konoha's intricate politics.

"You must be messing with me!" Shukaku roared, swinging a thick arm toward Fuma, kicking up a cloud of sand.

Fuma's calm voice echoed, "Too slow. Not good enough."

Shukaku glared at the figure, furiously attacking all around, while Fuma leisurely dodged from side to side, inwardly sighing.

"These Tailed Beasts really don't have much battle intelligence."

As the dust settled, Shukaku was about to let out a victorious roar when it saw that figure still standing quietly, even sighing at it.

"Are you mocking me?!"

With a slap of its belly, Shukaku unleashed countless vicious mouths that spewed a torrent of Wind Release at Fuma.

"Wind Release: Infinite Sand Cloud!"

The violent wind bullets engulfed the entire battlefield, turning it into a scorched wasteland.

Yet Fuma continued to nonchalantly critique Shukaku's attacks, a teasing smile on his face.

"Too weak. Still not good enough."

"I'm really curious, why don't you use the Tailed Beast Bomb?"

"Or... can you not use it?"

Shukaku was beyond furious. The reason it didn't use the Tailed Beast Bomb was to show off its intellectual superiority among the Tailed Beasts.

A thousand years ago, when the Sage of Six Paths taught them, only Shukaku had paid full attention!

Among the Tailed Beasts, Shukaku was the only one who mastered ninjutsu, sealing techniques, curses, and even proper hand seals!

Who would use such a commonplace Tailed Beast Bomb?

Shukaku's eyes gleamed with malice as its massive body turned into a vast desert. Mysterious black seals covered the area where Fuma stood.

Fuma's expression changed slightly. This seemed to be the sealing technique that could even temporarily restrain Madara Uchiha.

Leaping up, he saw the desert quickly reform into a giant tanuki's head, which lunged at him with a heavy bite!

As it snapped its jaws shut, Fuma was swallowed whole.

Although Shukaku found Fuma's lack of evasion suspicious, it theatrically swallowed, triumphantly shouting, "This is what happens when you underestimate me!"

However, inside Shukaku, Fuma chuckled quietly as he examined his surroundings.

"It seems Shukaku hasn't heard the story of the Gold and Silver Brothers."

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