The Silhouette

Not far from the Rain Village, Yunito stared at the massive mushroom cloud in the sky, her mind utterly frozen in shock.

The events of the past few days had been far too strange and twisted, so much so that even Matatabi, the being inside her, was stunned.

First, she had planned to ambush the battle between Fuma and Shukaku, hoping to eliminate this vital force of Konoha. But then, she found Shukaku seemingly dead.

Thinking she might check out the Rain Village's situation instead, she arrived only to find the entire village had been blown sky-high.

Wherever Yunito went these days, something big would happen that shook the entire shinobi world.

Calling out to Matatabi inside her, Yunito asked helplessly, "Big Cat, you've seen a lot. What do you think we should do now?"

Matatabi lazily turned over, indifferent to the "we" language. As for Yunito, her jinchuriki, Matatabi didn't feel too close to her—just neutral, at best.

However, the series of huge events over the past few days had piqued Matatabi's interest.

These incidents, which shook the shinobi world, greatly enriched its otherwise dull time being sealed. Like a reader following a novel, Matatabi was eagerly waiting for the next chapter.

"What else can you do? I suggest you run."

"I can sense the chakra of that tanuki again, though it's deeply buried under a thick layer of bloodlust, making it less noticeable."

Yunito was startled and quickly asked, "Big Cat, you can still sense Shukaku's chakra? Didn't the One-Tail die?"

"And isn't that strange bloodlust supposed to be from Fuma Uchiha's kekkei genkai? How could it be mixed with Shukaku's chakra?"

Matatabi mused for a moment and said, "I don't know if that tanuki is still alive, but its chakra has definitely reappeared."

Yunito fell silent. Bloodlust combined with Shukaku... What in the world had happened? Could Fuma Uchiha have become a jinchuriki? Did that man also know sealing techniques?

Her mind raced as she tried to piece the situation together.

Coming from the Hidden Cloud Village, Yunito thought of a horrifying possibility.

"Could it be... Fuma Uchiha ate Shukaku?"

Her predecessors from the Hidden Cloud, the Gold and Silver Brothers—once hailed as the twin lights of the village—had eaten the flesh of the Nine-Tails twenty years ago, gaining its chakra.

Eating a tailed beast? Hidden Cloud Village had practically invented that idea in the shinobi world.

Matatabi smirked, adding in a teasing tone, "The chakra I sensed from Shukaku is quite full. If Fuma really did eat Shukaku, he must've had a big meal."

"So, if we encounter him later, don't expect me to go full tailed beast mode. You're on your own."

Hearing Matatabi's words, Yunito fell into silence, already regretting her reckless infiltration.

Konoha... definitely a village that deserves to be destroyed.

Why on earth was there a ninja who could eat most of a tailed beast?! That was a tailed beast, not some grilled beef from the Hidden Cloud!

Recalling the overwhelming bloodlust she had sensed a few days ago, Yunito felt a shiver of fear.

Matatabi shook its head and sighed inwardly, "Just when I found a decent jinchuriki, it looks like I'll be going back to sleep soon."

Matatabi had already made up its mind: if Fuma Uchiha showed up, it would rather stay sealed inside Yunito's body than come out, even if it meant dying there.

A flicker of madness appeared in Yunito's eyes. She was deep behind enemy lines and couldn't afford to die in vain.

In a pleading tone, she asked, "Big Cat, you're supposedly the pet of the Grim Reaper, right? Can you sense any injured shinobi around? I have to do something for the Hidden Cloud."

Matatabi rolled its eyes dramatically. The Grim Reaper's pet? What idiot human came up with that name?

In ancient times, Matatabi had fierce clashes with the Uzumaki clan.

Those red-haired lunatics had once tried to summon the Shinigami to seal Matatabi, though they had failed.

Looking at the helpless Yunito, Matatabi softened a little. After all, this jinchuriki treated it with respect. Slowly, it spoke, "I can't sense injured shinobi, but I can smell the scent of the Uzumaki."

"Those red-haired maniacs—if you want to kill them, I'll help you."

A cold smile appeared on Yunito's face. The Uzumaki clan? If there were some surviving members of that clan, they must be prized geniuses of Konoha, right?

Then, killing them would be a worthy contribution to the Hidden Cloud.

A fierce, dark blue and black chakra enveloped her body as her pupils turned an eerie white, and scorched marks began to appear on her skin.

Going full tailed beast mode was still quite taxing for her.

Gritting her teeth, Yunito shouted, "Big Cat, don't hold back! Lend me your power!"

"Let's go full tailed beast mode! And if that Fuma jerk shows up, you can retreat into my body!"

A massive cat demon appeared on the ground, opening its wide mouth and spitting out a black core.

Around the black core, granules of yin and yang chakra gathered and compressed, producing an unsettling sizzling sound. A terrifying Tailed Beast Bomb took shape.

Matatabi continued charging up, pouring chakra into it. Killing the Uzumaki was something every tailed beast wouldn't mind helping with.

After all, the Uzumaki clan was the origin of the jinchuriki idea!

The Tailed Beast Bomb grew larger and larger as Matatabi poured more and more chakra into it, preparing to unleash its full might.

"Take this, you Uzumaki bastards, and taste the wrath of a thousand years!"

The enormous Tailed Beast Bomb shot forward with devastating power, hurtling toward the hidden location of Kushina and her group.

A faint smile of satisfaction appeared on Matatabi's face.

At the same time, the resting Minato, Orochimaru, and others immediately sensed the overwhelming, destructive chakra. Their faces turned pale with fear.

Matatabi had charged this Tailed Beast Bomb for so long that it now carried nearly as much chakra as a serious attack from the Nine-Tails!

Orochimaru stood up, mustering his remaining chakra to try summoning a "Rashomon" to block the bomb.

Minato's face grew grim as confusion filled his mind.

He had carefully chosen this valley as a hiding spot. How had they been discovered so easily?

What he hadn't accounted for was the deep-rooted grudge between the Uzumaki clan and the tailed beasts.

For once, Minato, who prided himself on being meticulous, found himself panicking. He didn't have enough chakra to save everyone here.

Was he going to have to abandon his comrades?

Gritting his teeth, Minato scanned the group—Kushina, Nawaki, Tsunade, and, not far off, Jiraiya and Orochimaru. It was an excruciating decision.

"I'll have to try that jutsu… Never thought someone as cautious as me would end up in the front line."

This was a new technique Minato had been working on—using the Flying Thunder God technique to transfer an enemy's attack. But he had never practiced it before.

Just as he prepared to rush toward the Tailed Beast Bomb, a sturdy and reassuring figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Relax kiddo, I will take it from here."

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