Chapter 84 — Shukaku, the One-Tail
"Jiraiya-nii-san, where's Tsunade?"
Hatake Yusuke stepped into the command tent, his voice calm but laced with tension.
"You… you actually came." Jiraiya's words faltered, hesitation thick in his tone.
"What happened?" Yusuke frowned, his gaze sharp, voice unwavering.
"It's… it's nothing, really, just that—" Jiraiya paused, torn between softening the blow and speaking plainly. But there was no point lying. He knew Yusuke would sense the truth either way.
"Tsunade's been injured. She's still unconscious."
It hit like a hammer to the skull.
In that instant, a wave of pure killing intent burst from Yusuke's body. It wasn't chakra. It wasn't Conqueror's Haki. It was the primal rage of a man pushed too far.
Tents flapped violently. The air itself turned metallic—thick with the scent of blood. The sky dimmed ominously, as if the heavens recoiled. Yusuke's eyes blazed crimson, shrouded in a mist of fury. The weaker shinobi collapsed to their knees, paralyzed by the suffocating pressure.
"H-his killing intent… it's getting stronger. Just how many people has he killed in these past four years?" Cold sweat poured down Jiraiya's back.
Then—just as quickly—it was gone.
Like a tidal wave pulling back into the sea, the killing aura vanished without a trace.
"Take me to her," Yusuke said. His tone was even, emotionless. As if the storm just now had never existed.
That calm unsettled Jiraiya more than the rage.
He nodded. "Follow me."
They entered the medical tent. Tsunade lay still, her body wounded, her skin pale. Without wasting a second, Yusuke stepped forward.
"Blue Flames of Revival."
A soft green-blue fire ignited in his palm, flickering gently as he placed it over her chest. The flames seeped into her wounds, closing them one by one.
But her eyelids never fluttered. Her breathing remained shallow.
"What kind of wound is this?" Yusuke muttered, his brows knitting tighter.
"White Shura-sama," a medic-nin stepped forward, voice shaking. "We believe Lady Tsunade's been poisoned. A pathogen that eats away at chakra. That's likely why she hasn't regained consciousness."
"So as long as the poison's removed, she'll recover?" Yusuke asked, eyes still on her face.
"In theory, yes. But surgery of this level… only Lady Tsunade herself could perform it."
"I understand. Leave it to me."
"ROOM."
The moment he spoke the word, a hemispherical dome of energy expanded outward, cloaking the entire tent.
"Cardiac Shock."
"Gamma Knife."
The unnatural hum of Ope Ope no Mi powers filled the air. Yusuke's hands moved with absolute precision, separating the toxins from her organs as if reality itself bent to his will. Her heart—suspended for a moment in midair—continued to beat steadily.
Then, as smoothly as a clock reversing, everything returned to its proper place.
"Blue Flames of Revival."
This time, the flame was denser. It shimmered with pure life essence. As it flowed into Tsunade's meridians, her body visibly relaxed. Her eyelashes twitched—then slowly, her golden eyes opened.
"Are you alright?" Yusuke asked softly.
"…Yusuke… You're here. I thought… I wouldn't see you again," Tsunade murmured, reaching out and pulling him into a tight embrace.
"It's over now," he whispered, gently brushing her blonde hair back.
They held each other in silence.
No one around dared disturb the moment.
"Tsunade, your body still needs rest. Sleep."
He tapped her forehead lightly with two fingers. Peacefully, she drifted back to sleep.
"Jiraiya-nii, I'm leaving her in your care."
As she slumbered, the warmth faded from Yusuke's face—replaced by an icy calm that chilled the room.
"I'll come with you," Jiraiya offered.
"No need."
And then, Yusuke vanished.
Jiraiya clenched his fist, watching over Tsunade. The helplessness stung deeper than any wound. He hadn't done enough.
— — —
Meanwhile—
"Kazekage-sama, should we pursue? This is the perfect chance to crush Konoha!" a Suna shinobi barked, hunger for glory in his eyes.
"There's no need," Rasa replied flatly. "Tsunade has fallen, but Jiraiya still stands. We wait."
And then… a voice cut through the air.
"Sunagakure. Come out… and embrace your death."
It wasn't loud.
Yet every person heard it—as if whispered directly into their ears.
"So you're the White Shura of Konoha. Been a long time, boy."
Rasa looked up. There, floating above them—Hatake Yusuke stood in midair.
"…Rasa."
A pressure rolled outward from Yusuke's body. His killing intent rippled like a tidal wave. The very earth trembled. Even Rasa instinctively took a step back.
All around, Suna shinobi fell to their knees, gasping for breath.
"Damn it… this brat…" Rasa growled, teeth clenched.
"Tell me…" Yusuke's voice was low, dangerous. "Where did you find the courage to hurt what's mine?"
"Yasakani no Magatama."
Light burst from his body. It should've been golden—but his rage tainted it blood-red.
"Not good! Gold Dust: Absolute Defense!" Rasa shouted, raising a wall of shimmering sand.
Yusuke's attack tore through the battlefield like a scythe. Many shinobi were wiped out instantly—but the shield held, barely protecting a lucky few.
Unlike Borsalino's indiscriminate chaos, Yusuke's strikes were guided by Observation Haki—each one precise, calculated, unavoidable.
"You think that was it? How naive."
"Desert Sunflower!"
The sands around them twisted, blooming into swirling dunes that dragged enemies downward.
"Impossible! You're controlling the sand?!" Rasa was visibly shaken.
Yusuke didn't answer.
"Sandstorm!"
A colossal vortex of sand erupted, splitting the skies as it barreled toward him like a natural disaster.
"Gold Dust: Grand Sand Burial Storm!"
"Shield of Shukaku!"
Rasa and a cloaked elder summoned their layered defenses—barely enough to block Yusuke's next strike.
"You're the One-Tail's Jinchūriki, huh?" Yusuke said coldly, eyes unimpressed.
"Bastard! Everyone, attack now!" Rasa roared.
The Sunagakure shinobi unleashed everything they had—jutsu raining like hellfire.
"So the insects want to dance?" Yusuke sneered. "Pathetic."
"Airquake."
He clenched his fist. A thin veil of white light wrapped around it—then collapsed inward.
He swung.
The air cracked.
Reality itself split open, space fracturing like broken glass. A sliver of the world crumbled into chaos. And this time… the wound didn't heal.
"What kind of power… is this…?" one shinobi whispered, shaking with terror.
"Let me out! Let me out now! I don't want to die!!" a voice shrieked.
Shukaku. The One-Tail himself, howling from within the seal. He smelled Death—not chakra-death, not rebirth—but total, soul-erasing death.
"…Very well," came a calm reply.
Bunpuku, the monk… the Jinchūriki, made his choice.
He released the seal.
"Desert Layer: Absolute Defense!"
Shukaku emerged in full force. Towers of sand rose around him—his ultimate defense. Among the Tailed Beasts, Shukaku's sealing and shielding techniques were unmatched. Even Kurama would take time to break through it—especially in a desert, his domain.
After a tense pause, the fractured space slowly mended.
But the landscape was changed. The desert had collapsed—cracked open, broken, unstable.
"You're still alive, huh?" Yusuke exhaled lightly. Through his Observation Haki, he sensed only a few chakra signatures left. All Jōnin level. Less than one-tenth of the original force remained.
"Desert Layer: Grand Burial Seal!"
Shukaku raised his massive sand arm. Millions of grains whipped toward Yusuke from every direction.
Yusuke didn't flinch.
He folded his arms across his chest and stared into the eye of the storm.
Sand swallowed him whole. A massive pyramid formed, its surface etched with glowing black runes.
Laughter echoed through the battlefield.
"Ahahaha…!"
"Is that funny?" a quiet voice murmured.
And then the earth… throbbed.
The desert resonated.
The world began to tremble.
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