Yes, it was gold.
"It's fortunate the Kazekage's Magnet Release can control gold sand; otherwise, the village's financial crisis would be insurmountable,"
Maki mused, observing the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, diligently working to extract gold from the sand.
Sunagakure, already impoverished due to its desert environment, had been further devastated by the recent war.
While other villages had suffered, Sunagakure was struggling to survive.
To exacerbate the situation, the Land of Wind had drastically reduced its financial support to Sunagakure at this critical moment.
This desperate situation forced Rasa, the Kazekage, to utilize his Kekkei Genkai to generate income for his village. The irony was bitter.
Kekkei Genkai are incredibly rare and powerful abilities; to use such a thing for mere economic gain was a stark display of Sunagakure's plight.
Swish, swish, swish!
Suddenly, several Sunagakure ninjas appeared beside Rasa using Body Flicker Technique.
One of them reported urgently, "Kazekage-sama, bad news! Shukaku has revived!"
"What?! Just at this moment?!"
Both Rasa and Maki's expressions changed drastically.
Shukaku's jinchuriki, Yūkimaru, had been deceased for over two years, and Shukaku, sealed within him, had seemingly died as well.
However, tailed beasts, being lifeforms composed purely of chakra, possess the ability to revive after death.
The revival time, however, is only approximate; the exact moment remains unpredictable.
Based on past experience, Shukaku's revival was anticipated within the year.
Ideally, Rasa should have been in the village, personally overseeing the situation and prepared to suppress Shukaku, as he was the only one capable of controlling the rampaging beast.
However, the village's financial crisis demanded immediate attention, compelling Rasa to temporarily abandon his duties and focus on gold extraction.
Regarding Shukaku, Rasa could only silently pray that the beast wouldn't revive while he was away from the village.
Fate, however, had other plans.
"Return to the village!"
Faced with this critical emergency, Rasa immediately abandoned his gold-panning efforts and rushed back to Sunagakure with all possible speed.
Upon their return, however, they found only widespread destruction; Shukaku had already vanished without a trace.
"What's that commotion?"
"I sense an immense power emanating from the forest ahead. What could it be?"
Kouki, having completed his tasks and preparing to return to Konoha, was suddenly drawn to a powerful, inexplicable disturbance.
Boom, boom, boom!
The ground trembled violently, as if some colossal force was repeatedly striking the earth.
Looking towards the forest, Kouki observed trees being violently uprooted and felled by an immense force.
Crack!
A large tree was snapped in two by a shadowy figure, and a gigantic beast burst from the forest.
"That's… Shukaku?" Kouki instantly recognized the rampaging creature.
"No, to be more precise, it's Shukaku in a state of uncontrolled rage,"
Kouki mused internally, shaking his head. While finding the situation unusual, he decided against intervention. It wasn't directly related to his current objectives.
Boom, boom, boom!
The ground continued to tremble. Shukaku, having just revived and been attacked by Sunagakure ninjas, was in a state of furious rage.
In this state, any ninja within its line of sight would be instinctively targeted for destruction.
"Special check-in event activated!"
"Special check-in event: One-Tailed Shukaku has appeared. Simply restrain Shukaku in a single location for over thirty minutes to create a new check-in location—Shukaku's location."
Just as Kouki was about to leave using Kamui, a prompt appeared in his mind from the check-in system.
Kouki paused, then a look of excitement spread across his face.
The unique nature of tailed beasts in the Naruto world was well-known. Previously, Kouki had considered checking in at a tailed beast's location but found it impossible; there were no such locations in the ninja world.
All the tailed beasts were securely sealed within their respective jinchuriki.
It was clearly not feasible to check in near a jinchuriki.
Kouki hadn't anticipated that this problem would one day be resolved.
"Restrain a tailed beast for thirty minutes?"
Kouki smiled. Even before, he had been capable of controlling tailed beasts using genjutsu.
Now, with his newly acquired Sage Art, he could utilize powerful sealing techniques like
Sage Art: Gate of the Great God to subdue even a tailed beast.
Tailed beasts, considered terrifying monsters by most ninjas, were no longer a significant concern for Kouki.
Boom, boom, boom!
In the blink of an eye, Shukaku charged towards Kouki, its massive claws raised to strike.
However, the attack passed straight through Kouki, who had activated Kamui's intangibility.
Shukaku, losing its momentum, stumbled and slammed its claw into the ground, creating a massive crater.
Shukaku, even more enraged, turned and charged again.
Kouki had initially considered using genjutsu to subdue Shukaku, but changed his mind. He wanted to test the Sage Art: Gate of the Great God sealing technique.
____________________
For more advance Chapters Visit Patreon.com/Yayie
For 10$ - 20 Advance Chapters
For 20$ - 40 Advance Chapters
For 40$ - 60 Advance Chapters