Kakashi and Uchiha Kaede's sudden retreat immediately alerted the Sand Ninja. He shouted loudly behind them, "Hey! Where are you two going? Deserting your post now is a capital offense!" As he spoke, he formed hand signs and launched a flare.
In an instant, the brilliant flare exploded in the sky, standing out prominently amidst the chaos of Shukaku's rampage. The surrounding Sand Ninja glanced over, instantly realizing that something unusual was happening.
"Stop those two! They might be spies!" The Sand Ninja, still focused on Gaara, shouted loudly upon seeing his comrades arrive, his voice clearly audible over the noisy battlefield.
Hearing the shouts behind them, Kakashi and Uchiha Kaede inwardly cursed their bad luck. They knew that once they were surrounded by numerous Sand Ninja, escaping would become incredibly difficult.
However, several Sand Ninja had already quickly flanked them from the front, forming a blockade.
There was no choice. "Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" Uchiha Kaede reacted swiftly, forming hand signs and spitting a series of small fireballs toward the Sand Ninja ahead.
The small fireballs shot out like meteors, forcing the Sand Ninja to temporarily halt and dodge.
Kakashi seized this opportunity, pulling several Shuriken from his Ninja tool pouch and forcefully flinging them at the Sand Ninja on the flank.
The Shuriken cut through the air, leaving trails of cold light, and accurately flew toward the enemies.
The Sand Ninja quickly swung their weapons to block, and for a moment, the sound of clashing metal filled the air.
But the Ninja of the Hidden Sand Village were well-trained after all, and they quickly recovered from the brief attack, continuing to tighten the encirclement.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" A Sand Ninja expelled a powerful stream of air from his mouth, which swept directly toward Kakashi and Uchiha Kaede.
Just as they were struggling to stabilize themselves, several more Sand Ninja leaped down from the rooftops, wielding sharp blades and charging straight at them.
Kakashi quickly switched to his original form and activated his Sharingan; the tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, instantly allowing him to see the enemies' attack trajectories.
He dodged a Sand Ninja's straight thrust with a sidestep, while simultaneously using his Kunai to parry a sword slash from another Sand Ninja.
Uchiha Kaede, though attacked from both the front and back by two Sand Ninja, still seemed to handle them with ease. These Sand Ninja were likely just two Chunin, perhaps even slightly lower quality than Konoha's Chunin.
Just then, the commotion from Shukaku's direction grew louder. The rampaging Shukaku recklessly destroyed the buildings of the Hidden Sand Village, raising blinding clouds of sand and dust.
While Kakashi and Uchiha Kaede were dealing with the Sand Ninja's encirclement, a figure swept in from the distance like a gust of wind—it was the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa. His expression was stern, his eyes serious, and he instantly arrived at the site of Shukaku's rampage.
He looked at the chaotic scene before him, his expression growing colder. "Everyone disperse! Leave the Tailed Beast to me! The rest of you, go capture the spies!"
Following his command, the few Sand Ninja who had been restraining Gaara also let go and all headed toward Kaede and the others.
Seeing this situation, Uchiha Kaede looked at Kakashi, who was fighting the Sand Ninja to a standstill not far away, and felt speechless.
Then a Kunai appeared in his hand. In an instant, his figure seemed to trace a phantom light, disappearing from his spot at a speed unimaginable to ordinary people. The two Sand Ninja opposite him only felt a blur before their eyes before they fell straight down, not even having time to scream.
After instantly killing the two Sand Ninja, Kaede immediately appeared beside Kakashi, grabbing his shoulder and quickly retreating. After putting some distance between them, he casually threw a Great Fireball.
On the other side, Shukaku's partial energy overflow was caused by Gaara losing control of his emotions again, and the seal had loosened slightly.
Rasa rapidly formed hand signs, and powerful Magnet Release Chakra surged out. The sand on the ground instantly seemed to be imbued with life, rising up and converging into massive sand flows. Precisely controlled by the Magnet Release, these sand flows twisted like agile giant pythons, surging toward Shukaku.
Just as Rasa was preparing to cast another Ninjutsu, another figure appeared from a different direction—it was Grandma Chiyo. She leaned on her cane; although her steps were slightly unsteady, her gaze was exceptionally sharp.
"Rasa, this old woman will lend you a hand," Grandma Chiyo said while quickly forming hand signs. "Puppet Technique: Collection of Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu!"
In an instant, ten exquisite puppets flew out from behind her, quickly arranging themselves into a formation in the air and lunging toward Shukaku. These puppets were highly agile, their weapons flashing cold light in the sunlight as they attacked Shukaku's vital points.
Although the energy overflowed by Shukaku was not as powerful as its complete form, it was still extremely destructive.
The tanuki-like phantom it formed constantly struggled and roared. Every time it swung its claws, it could whip up a fierce gale, sending surrounding buildings and debris flying everywhere.
However, Rasa and Grandma Chiyo cooperated seamlessly. Rasa continuously strengthened his Magnet Release control over the sand, making the sand flows wrapped around Shukaku's energy tighten further, gradually restricting its range of movement.
Grandma Chiyo, meanwhile, used the agile attacks of the puppets to constantly interfere with Shukaku, preventing it from concentrating on breaking free from the restraints.
Before long, Shukaku's overflowing energy was finally consumed.
The previously surging energy fluctuations gradually subsided, and the tanuki phantom grew fainter and fainter until it completely vanished.
"What exactly happened? Why has Gaara become so unstable?" Chiyo asked, looking at Gaara lying on the ground.
"We'll talk later. Chiyo, please watch over Gaara. I still need to deal with the intruders!" A sharp glint flashed in Rasa's eyes.
Having said that, Rasa's figure flickered, turning into a sand shadow, and he chased after the direction Kakashi and Uchiha Kaede had fled.
"Kaede, I feel like the Tailed Beast's power has disappeared." Kakashi looked at the pursuing Sand Ninja, a bad feeling rising in his heart.
"It's probably been suppressed," Uchiha Kaede replied, not overly surprised. It was only Shukaku's energy overflowing, and a Kage-level expert could certainly suppress it.
"But what were the Sand Ninja thinking, just leaving the Jinchuriki right out on the street like that!" Kakashi couldn't help but complain.
Kaede gave Kakashi a strange look and didn't answer him.
Just then, a powerful sense of oppression came from behind. Kakashi looked back and saw the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, pursuing them like a ghost.
Wherever Rasa passed, the sand on the ground surged like a tide, sweeping toward Kakashi and Uchiha Kaede.
"How is he so fast!" Kakashi inwardly cried out that things were bad.
"It looks like we can't escape, Senior Kakashi." Uchiha Kaede also sensed the danger behind them.
"Hmph, let's see where you can run now!" Rasa said coldly, his eyes displaying an air of authority.
He waved both hands, and the surrounding sand instantly condensed into two massive sand hands, reaching out to grab Kakashi and Uchiha Kaede.
The two stopped. Kakashi quickly formed hand signs and slammed his hand onto the ground. "Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
At the same time, Uchiha Kaede was not idle. His figure flickered, and he instantly used Shisui's Body Flicker Technique to disappear from his spot.
Rasa was slightly startled, not expecting the brat's speed to be so high, but he was a Kazekage seasoned in battle, and he instantly regained his composure.
Rasa quickly formed hand signs with both hands. The surrounding sand seemed to be summoned, rapidly converging into a sand wall, blocking his front.
The moment the sand wall appeared, Uchiha Kaede used the Body Flicker Technique to appear on Rasa's flank.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Fang!"
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