Why was the Nine-Tails so formidable? High attack power, thick skin, bottomless endurance, lightning-fast speed, and most importantly - the damn thing was unkillable. (I heard the Nine-Tails died in Boruto, but this story doesn't reference that.)
It was like a perpetual motion machine, capable of continuously outputting damage forever. No helping it - the Sage of Six Paths was way too fond of this arrogant fox. When the nine tailed beasts sat in a row to divvy up power, the Nine-Tails got about half of it. Sure, all children are precious, but some are more precious than others - the Nine-Tails was definitely the apple of the Sage's eye.
In this era, the powerhouses capable of subduing the Nine-Tails had mostly withered away (except for one decrepit Uchiha Madara). The new generation of Otsutsuki clan members hadn't reincarnated yet. So in this transitional period, if you set aside Kushina Uzumaki's Adamantine Sealing Chains, the Nine-Tails really stood unchallenged at the peak of this era's power ceiling.
So purely in terms of combat ability, Jinghang's "Gundam" and Rasa's "golden giant" combined weren't a match for the Nine-Tails.
But they couldn't handle Jinghang's sleazy tactics.
You're strong? You're fast?
He refused to face it head-on, relying on slick positioning and flexible maneuvers to be slippery as an eel, making every attack miss while wasting the Nine-Tails' stamina. He'd throw in sneaky counterattacks, leaving the Nine-Tails with power but nowhere to use it - even several Tailed Beast Balls went completely to waste.
This pirate-style fighting had been perfected through years of cooperation between Jinghang and Rasa even before Jinghang became Kazekage. Jinghang would lure enemies head-on while Rasa sneak-attacked from behind. Back in the day, they'd taken down countless ninja world powerhouses above their level, earning fearsome reputations. Otherwise, how do you think Jinghang climbed the ranks so fast? How do you think he got that villa in Hidden Sand Village?
The tactic sounded pretty underhanded, but hey - ninjas weren't exactly known for fighting fair. Not poisoning you was already being honorable.
But even so, the chakra consumption was terrifying. The Nine-Tails had been tormented for a full day and two nights. Though it was panting heavily, it still fought on with claws bared. Jinghang and Rasa had nearly exhausted their chakra enhancement pills.
"What time is it?"
Jinghang asked, somewhat breathless.
Rasa checked his watch.
"1:03 AM."
An hour earlier than scheduled.
"Mm."
Jinghang nodded.
"Pack up your gold sand. Time for the next wave."
The Nine-Tails was about to charge forward when it saw the golden and iron giants "melting" like ice cream in a microwave, visibly dissolving until only two small figures remained.
What scheme were they plotting now?!
Having been thoroughly traumatized, the Nine-Tails didn't rush forward impulsively but watched the two with deep suspicion.
"Kurama, we've been at this for a day and night. I'm hungry, so I'm going to grab some food. Someone else will play with you now."
Jinghang waved flirtatiously at the Nine-Tails while Rasa pulled out a signal flare from his chest and aimed it skyward.
WHOOSH - BANG!
Red fireworks bloomed in the sky.
Jinghang put his arm around Rasa's shoulder.
POOF - they vanished in white smoke.
That was it?! After all that torment, they just ran away? But Jinghang's parting words made the Nine-Tails' heart pound.
"Someone else?"
Who?
Then the Nine-Tails heard an icy voice by its ear.
"Do you know pain?"
Holy shit!
The Nine-Tails jerked its head up. A figure in a red cloud robe had somehow appeared floating beside its ear.
Just hovering there in midair.
Huh! Those eyes looked familiar.
Before the Nine-Tails could react, the figure extended five fingers.
"Almighty Push!"
A tremendous force struck, sending the Nine-Tails flying backward uncontrollably.
This... would it ever end?!
...
"Lord Wind Shadow, Lord Rasa, you've worked hard!"
Guren obediently offered water bottles and food. Konan also stood quietly nearby.
Rasa immediately grabbed the food and wolfed it down. After a day of fierce battle without food or water, he was truly starving.
Jinghang wasn't in such a hurry to eat.
"Where are Aotu Tailuo and Kazama Xu?"
Guren quickly explained,
"Leader Pain said he could handle the Nine-Tails alone - more people would just get in the way. He sent them to help Tsukigami Koichi."
"Oh."
Jinghang responded, then started opening canned food and compressed biscuits.
"What? Tsukigami Koichi can't take down Minato Namikaze? I laid such good groundwork for him."
Guren explained,
"It's not going smoothly anyway. Seems like he took some losses."
Jinghang shook his head helplessly.
"Still too young."
He said no more and focused on eating.
Then Sasori and Yugito approached, politely bowing to Jinghang and Rasa. Jinghang nodded in acknowledgment while Rasa just kept scarfing down food.
"Lord Wind Shadow, can Leader Pain handle the Nine-Tails alone?"
Yugito looked toward the battlefield with concern.
Jinghang smiled and swallowed the biscuit in his throat.
"Don't worry. We've already consumed most of the Nine-Tails' chakra. Pain can handle the cleanup alone."
Hearing Jinghang say this, a rare smile appeared on Konan's iceberg-like face.
"Lord Wind Shadow is right."
By then Rasa had demolished all the food in his hands and grabbed the water bottle for another long drink, letting out an impressively loud burp that made all the women giggle. Jinghang disgustedly scooted away from him.
"I've fought for over ten years, and this battle was the most exhausting. Boss, how is the Nine-Tails so damn resilient? Look - it's still going strong even now."
Jinghang chuckled.
"Come on, that's the Nine-Tails! You need food, water, and sleep - it doesn't. Being able to fight it for a day and night is enough bragging rights for a lifetime. You'll have something to be proud of when you tell the story. I'm building up your reputation as the Fourth Kazekage here! Get it?"
Rasa quickly expressed his gratitude, then looked at the battlefield again.
"Pain's methods are sophisticated, but the Nine-Tails is incredibly powerful. Should we go help out later?"
Jinghang waved dismissively with a smile.
"Don't worry. The Nine-Tails is at the end of its rope too - it won't last much longer. You'd better eat more. The sealing process over the next few days will be the real ordeal."
Hearing this, Rasa looked at Guren, who promptly handed him another beef can.
...
While everyone had been battling the Nine-Tails for a day and two nights, Tsukigami Koichi and Minato Namikaze had likewise been fighting for a day and two nights. The battlefields weren't far apart - just a Body Flicker away for Minato.
But after calm analysis, he didn't rush to support the Nine-Tails, instead focusing wholeheartedly on the burly opponent before him.
He knew that since Kushina had completely released the Nine-Tails, what was out there was the pure Nine-Tails with no connection to his wife whatsoever. Going there wouldn't help much. Besides, he had absolute confidence in the Nine-Tails' combat ability. Rather than getting in the way, he'd be better off taking down this guy in front of him - that would actually reduce pressure on the Nine-Tails.
But as the fight continued, he discovered this burly man wasn't so easy to deal with.
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