Chapter 25: Shukaku of the Sand  

The competition went on as usual. Naruto relied on his tenacious willpower and persuasive skills to successfully defeat Neji's body and mind in the first match of the official competition.

"Naruto won? Damn, I lost money this time," Kakashi muttered a little regretfully, although he was happy for Naruto's growth. He had bet against Naruto.

"It seems that I can't buy the limited edition of 'Intimate Paradise' this month."

The death of Moonlight Gekko had not yet been discovered. The Konoha Anbu had sent people to look for him, but it would take some time to confirm his death. By the time they found out the truth, he would no longer be in Konoha.

Sasuke held his katana and smiled in the direction of the Third Hokage. The old man thought that the person chatting with him was the Kazekage, but he didn't know it was his most beloved disciple.

Time passed bit by bit. Sasuke knew it was time for him to appear, and he had some dessert before the main meal.

"Gaara vs. Uchiha Sasuke."

Many nobles and celebrities in the audience looked over. Many people had come just to see the prowess of the Dark Uchiha. Although the Uchiha clan had been exterminated, his reputation in the ninja world endured.

"Is that Uchiha Sasuke? He is handsome and domineering, and he truly deserves the name of a genius," a white-haired old man spoke, praising Sasuke.

"Do you have any different opinions?"

"What the seniors said is absolutely true."

"Me too."

"If you like to watch, watch carefully," Sasuke sneered and walked into the arena.

Gaara had been waiting for a long time, and the aura in his body made him look like a monster. Seeing this, Sasuke immediately lost interest. A beast that lost its mind could not pose any threat to him at all, nor would it bring any excitement. So Sasuke decided not to play with him and release Shukaku in the fastest way.

"Darkness Technique."

Depriving Gaara of his five senses, Sasuke calmly gathered chakra. He wanted to ensure that Gaara was severely injured without killing him. This was a test of skill.

"Big Ball Rasengan."

The two-meter-long Rasengan rushed straight towards Gaara. Feeling the sense of crisis, Gaara's hair stood on end, and he instantly used the earth to form a large sphere around him.

"It's useless," Sasuke shook his head, his eyes fixed on the circle of earth. How could the defense formed in an instant possibly block the high-level ninjutsu with strong range damage such as the Rasengan? Gaara's strength was far inferior to Sasuke's.

The Rasengan only paused for two seconds before drilling into the sphere, shattering the sand armor on the surface of Gaara's body. Feeling the threat to his life, Gaara's last bit of reason disappeared.

"False Sleep Technique."

"Swallow him! Shukaku."

"Jie jie jie..."

"I'm finally out."

"Ahahaha."

The sharp and piercing sound made Sasuke want to draw his sword and cut down everyone. The dust dissipated, and Shukaku's huge body filled the venue. The giant tanuki with purple stripes all over his body was skilled in using wind and magnetic fields.

"Wow, what a big cat."

Immersed in freedom, Shukaku's ears twitched, and his original laughter suddenly stopped as he fired a wind bullet towards the audience stands. The venue immediately lost a corner, and chaos broke out completely.

Orochimaru stood up and stopped the Third Hokage from leaving, saying, "Where do you want to go, Third Hokage? We haven't finished talking yet!"

The Third Hokage replied coldly, "Lord Kazekage, we must control the tailed beast first! I can't let it wreak havoc in Konoha."

"That won't work," Orochimaru said, removing the disguise on his head and smiling sinisterly. "If we don't talk now, you, teacher, will have no chance to talk."

"You..." The Third Hokage's eyes widened. "Orochimaru, it's you."

"Did you kill the Kazekage?"

Orochimaru tore off the human skin mask without hesitation, revealing a feminine face. "Teacher, this is my current appearance. I have found the path to eternal life."

The Third Hokage looked at Orochimaru's body, and an ominous premonition came to his mind. "The Reanimation Jutsu... you actually mastered it."

"Hahaha." Orochimaru's calm demeanor wavered as he saw the surprised and horrified expression of his former mentor. "Teacher, to chat with you calmly, I prepared a gift for you, hoping to catch your eye."

Before Orochimaru could speak further, Tayuya, Jirobo, Sakon, Ukon, and Kidomaru occupied the four corners of the area.

"Four Purple Flame Formation."

The purple-red light curtain connected in the four directions of east, west, south, and north, instantly locking Orochimaru and the Third Hokage inside. Orochimaru patiently explained, "The Four Purple Flame Formation is powerful. Even you, teacher, will take some time to break it."

"But I won't give you that chance." As Orochimaru spoke, he attacked the Third Hokage with the Kusanagi sword in his mouth. The battle between the two began.

Kabuto, who had been lurking below, did not activate the illusion as planned because it was unnecessary. Everyone was busy dealing with Shukaku, and he joined the fleeing crowd.

As the crowd dispersed, Sasuke jumped onto a high tower, looked at Shukaku who was throwing wind bullets everywhere, and said, "Shukaku, you won't forget what you're doing here, right?"

"Well, human, haha, I'll come over and crush you to death."

Shukaku remembered that it was this man who made Gaara, the brat, suffer so much that he finally released it on his own initiative.

"You are a raccoon dog that can't be helped. No wonder you're no match for the Nine-Tails." Sasuke's words were deliberate, intended to provoke Shukaku.

Shukaku hated others mentioning the Nine-Tails in front of him the most, and this guy even dared to mock him as a raccoon dog. "I'm so angry."

"Wind-Style: Air Bullets."

In a rage, Shukaku fired huge air bullets at Sasuke. Sasuke's chakra was concentrated in his pleura, and he chose to take them head-on. The powerful impact allowed Sasuke to penetrate several buildings in a row. Shukaku saw this and patted his chest triumphantly.

"Weak human, this is the fate of insulting Uncle Shukaku."

Sasuke spit out a mouthful of blood and walked out of the ruins. It's not that he was confident, but he had taken the same air bullets in the virtual space before.

This attack was far less powerful than the Tailed Beast Ball. If the Nine-Tails released a Tailed Beast Ball and hit him without any defense, Sasuke believed that he would most likely be seriously injured. This was because he had been taking strengthening drugs since he was a child and had a great physique.

If it were a normal human, being hit by the Tailed Beast Ball would be fatal. Of course, this was just a hypothesis. Sasuke was not an idiot; he would not willingly resist the Tailed Beast Ball.

"Little raccoon dog, why don't you use the Tailed Beast Ball?"

"Is it because you don't have enough chakra?"

Shukaku's face darkened. The human in front of him was truly disgusting. He hated Sasuke because everything this guy said was right. The Tailed Beast Ball was the signature ninjutsu of the tailed beasts, and its power was enough to flatten a mountain. But it also had disadvantages: it took a long time to charge and consumed a huge amount of chakra.

As a tailed beast with the lowest chakra, Shukaku rarely used the Tailed Beast Ball. The consumption was too great, and he would be exhausted after a few shots.

"Shut up, stinky human." Shukaku kept releasing air bullets to vent his anger.