Whether it was Yakumo, Kakashi, and the others in the fray, or Neji and Kimimaro watching from the sidelines, everyone instantly deduced Hiruko's intentions.
Shion shouted, "This is bad—he's absorbing One-Tail's chakra!"
"We have to stop him!"
Yakumo made her decision and began forming hand signs.
Soon, with Yakumo's chakra infusion, the scattered vines in the field sprang to life, surging toward Shukaku and Hiruko atop its head.
Seeing Yakumo unleash Wood Release, Kakashi and the other Hidden Leaf shinobi also sprang into action, rushing toward Shukaku to thwart Hiruko.
Faced with the roiling sea of vines and the Hidden Leaf shinobi attacking from all directions, Ranmaru gritted his teeth and activated Transparent Release, concealing himself once more.
At the same time, he gathered his strength and used his dojutsu to create more Hogan shadow clones.
"Everyone, be careful—the enemy has Transparent Release!"
As Kakashi charged, he hurled a barrage of kunai toward Ranmaru's direction.
These kunai weren't meant as attacks. As they scattered through the air, small orbs tied to their ends exploded, releasing fine powder.
Ranmaru, caught in the powder, soon realized his Transparent Release chakra couldn't quickly assimilate it, and his vague outline became visible in the dust.
Not only Kakashi's tools but, almost simultaneously, the sensory team activated a detection barrier, quickly revealing Ranmaru's silhouette under Transparent Release.
To everyone's shock, neither Kakashi's powder nor the sensory barrier detected just one target—there were seven or eight!
Kakashi's mind raced. "Could it be Shadow Clones?"
Now close to the first target, he saw its faint outline in the dust. Not daring to be careless, he formed hand signs and unleashed Raikiri.
With his chakra levels, using Raikiri so frequently was a massive strain on his body, but against such a formidable foe, he had no choice but to go all out.
Swish.
In an instant, Kakashi, wielding Raikiri, passed through the dust-covered figure!
"How is this possible!?"
In that fleeting moment, Kakashi's pupils constricted.
He realized the figure had no substance, like a puff of air, yet the dust clinging to it suggested something was there.
Whoosh.
A whistling sound came from behind. Kakashi whipped around to see the figure he'd passed through forming hand signs, unleashing a Fire Release ninjutsu at him.
With no time to think, Kakashi dodged sideways.
Though he evaded in time, the Fire Release scorched his left arm. Seeing the extensive burns, he knew this was no genjutsu!
Others weren't as sharp as Kakashi. Many Hidden Leaf shinobi were struck down by Ranmaru's Hogan shadow clones in a single exchange.
"What kind of technique is this!?"
Watching his fallen comrades, Kakashi was filled with grief and rage.
If these clones had no substance, they shouldn't be coated in dust or able to cast ninjutsu independently. But if they were like Shadow Clones with physical form, they shouldn't have passed through him like air!
Even Kakashi, the renowned "Hidden Leaf's First Technician," couldn't discern the peculiar nature of Ranmaru's Hogan shadow clones.
These clones weren't entirely without substance; their form was a small mass of chakra framed by Ranmaru's Hogan dojutsu. Light as air, they could pick up airborne dust but couldn't engage in taijutsu.
As Kakashi stood stunned, Hiruko's new sealing technique, Ghost Bud Extinction—a fusion of Dark Release and the Ghost Bud Technique—rapidly drained Shukaku's tailed beast chakra.
One-Tail's massive, dozens-of-meters-tall body shrank visibly. In moments, Shukaku was reduced to a mere two or three meters, resembling an overweight giant cat!
As Shukaku's form dwindled, Gaara's body gradually emerged from within.
Half of Gaara's body exposed, he gripped one of the ghost buds piercing Shukaku. "Stop… stop it!"
Hiruko laughed. "Give up. Let me seal you quietly, and you'll suffer less!"
Though utterly weakened, Gaara clung to the ghost bud. "You bastard, let go of Shukaku!"
"Overestimating yourself!"
Hiruko snorted, intensifying the sealing technique.
Soon, Shukaku was reduced to a small mass. Most of Gaara's body was freed, connected to Shukaku only by his right hand, while dense ghost buds pulled at Shukaku from the other end.
Now standing on the ground, Gaara tugged back.
Like a tug-of-war, he leaned backward, with the shrunken Shukaku as the rope and Hiruko, casting the sealing technique, as the opposing force.
In his weakened state, Gaara was no match for Hiruko. After a brief struggle, he began to lose ground.
Just as Gaara and Shukaku were about to be pulled entirely by Hiruko's ghost buds, several vines shot out, wrapping around Gaara and pulling him back.
Simultaneously, chakra threads attached to Gaara's limbs, aiding the pull.
Gaara glanced sideways, seeing Yakumo manipulating Wood Release and a heavily injured Kankuro lending aid at this critical moment.
Whoosh.
A mass of sand sped across half the battlefield, rushing toward Gaara. This sand, left behind when Gaara went berserk, now raced to protect him upon his emergence from Shukaku.
"Damn it, all of you interfering!"
Hiruko grew furious.
With Yakumo's Wood Release, Kankuro's chakra, and the troublesome sand, he found his ghost buds couldn't fully absorb Shukaku and Gaara in the short term.
Noticing F and G approaching from the sidelines, Hiruko knew time was running out. He steeled himself and abandoned sealing Gaara. With One-Tail in hand, the jinchuriki was expendable.
With a ruthless decision, he stopped trying to absorb Gaara alongside Shukaku, instead seizing only Shukaku. He then retracted the ghost buds and vanished with a flash.