Outskirts of the battle.
The Naruto shadow clone felt the chakra, now incomparably abundant, coursing through his body.
"You guys take this Sand ninja and get far away. The upcoming battle is not something you can interfere in."
Kiba and Lee were just about to retort but were immediately suppressed by the terrifying surge of chakra erupting from Naruto.
"Let's go," Shikamaru said, hefting Temari onto his shoulder and addressing the two. His own chakra was already depleted; staying here would only make him a burden.
"Shikamaru, come here!" Naruto extended a fist.
"What do you mean?" Though puzzled, Shikamaru still bumped fists with him.
"Sorry, I can't give you too much. Dealing with that big guy requires quite a bit of chakra," Naruto said softly.
"…This is already enough." Shikamaru suppressed all his astonishment deep within his heart. Sharing chakra with others? This kind of ninjutsu…
After the others had vanished from sight, Naruto let out a slow, turbid breath. When was the last time he had faced an enemy of this size…? As he pondered, a crimson chakra began to slowly envelop his body. Behind him, three crimson chakra tails gradually materialized.
"Tsk, this level of defense… Jinchuriki are truly monstrous…" Naruto gripped the blade of Kusabimaru with his left hand and made a deliberate slash across his arm. Under the protection of the Tailed Beast cloak, the blade didn't even touch his skin. This Tailed Beast shroud not only drastically increased his defensive capabilities, but he could even feel his physical energy become much more plentiful.
[No, it's not more plentiful; my recovery speed has been enhanced!] Naruto thought to himself, feeling the fatigue gradually dissipating.
Compared to human chakra, Tailed Beast chakra was more condensed, more resilient. Of course, it was also far more volatile… Naruto was inwardly alarmed. If this chakra hadn't been willingly shared by Kurama, he might have already been overwhelmed by the sheer mental energy contained within it.
"Tch…" As if sensing Naruto's surprise, the reposing Kurama let out a disdainful snort. This is nothing. He's already this astonished after enduring less than a tenth of my power. What a foolish jinchuriki.
"One-Tail Shukaku, let me experience the power of a Tailed Beast firsthand!" The battle spirit that had long lain dormant within Naruto surged through his heart once more. Having fought for a lifetime, how could he not crave battle with the strong? To draw his sword against even stronger foes, to constantly hone his own skills—this was the teaching Isshin Ashina had imparted to him with the Ashina Style, and he had always kept it firmly in mind. But since reincarnating into this world, his sphere of activity had been confined to Konoha; where could he find such opportunities? The passage of time had not cooled his heart. On the contrary, that yearning for powerful opponents, that thirst for battle which had always been suppressed deep within, had only grown more intense.
"Kanshin-ryu: Crescent Moon!"
An immense amount of crimson chakra condensed upon Kusabimaru's blade and was unleashed by Naruto's swing. A blade beam, approximately six meters long and one meter wide, slashed towards the constantly roaring Shukaku in the distance. Kanshin-ryu was a sword style he had created by drawing from the strengths of a hundred schools and combining them with his own experiences. It might not be the strongest sword style, but it was the one most suited to him.
ROAR!
Atop Shukaku's head, Gaara could clearly sense the threat approaching from behind. He had the desire to evade, but constrained by his inability to freely control Shukaku's massive body, he could only brace himself to take the full force of the attack.
"This kind of attack?!" Beneath Shukaku, Sasuke's pupils constricted.
"Feigning Sleep Technique!" Realizing he couldn't possibly control Shukaku's body to engage an enemy of this caliber, Gaara decided to release his own consciousness and let Shukaku's own will take over its form.
"Gyahahaha! I'm finally out!!" Shukaku's tone abruptly changed, like that of a deranged madman, dancing and gesticulating wildly. "This aura?" Shukaku's gaze swiftly focused, staring intently at Naruto, who stood atop a tree, or rather, staring intently at Kurama within him. "Damn fox! Just seeing you pisses me right off!"
"Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullet!"
The ninjutsu unleashed by the One-Tail Shukaku was a completely different beast compared to what Temari could produce. Temari's at best could be considered a large gust of wind; Shukaku's Wind Style was a veritable natural disaster! It was utterly unavoidable.
Naruto gripped his sword with both hands. From bottom to top, another narrow, focused slash flew towards Shukaku.
"You call that ninjutsu?!" Far in the distance, Kiba and the others struggled to hold onto a massive tree trunk to avoid being blown away by the oncoming gale. They were relatively lucky; Uchiha Sasuke, caught in the center of the clash between the two, was blown far away along with the uprooted trees.
Thwack… A piece of splintered wood grazed his arm, instantly carving out a wound so deep the bone was visible. Sasuke's expression was grim, almost numb. In the span of a single short month, he had experienced the cycle of recognizing his own weakness, then believing he had become strong, and now, feeling utterly weak once more.
Whoosh! Just then, a piece of debris the size of a washbasin flew rapidly towards his position. Sasuke's face changed, and he quickly leaped from the flying tree trunk he was on. He had every reason to believe that if he remained in that spot any longer, he would die. With a deafening 'CRASH', the spot where he had just been standing, along with the flying piece of debris, was obliterated into even smaller fragments.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! The relentlessly blowing wind slapped against his cheeks, making them sting, but Sasuke had no mind to think about such things now. If he didn't find a suitable place to land soon, falling from this height would leave him dead or, at best, crippled.
"Get out of here, quick!" Shikamaru estimated the force of the wind and shouted loudly to his companions not far off. Kiba and the others quickly followed. They had already understood: they didn't even have the qualifications to be spectators in this battle.
"Gyahahaha!" Shukaku looked down at the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, so tiny it was almost invisible, and let out a wild laugh. "Damn fox, you've got so many tails, don't you? I'll show you 'many tails'! I'll show you!" Several massive paw-slams rained down consecutively. Naruto, relying on the enhanced physical prowess provided by the Tailed Beast cloak, dodged one after another.
Kurama taunted through Naruto's body, "You can't even beat my jinchuriki."
The instant Kurama's words fell, the surrounding earth transformed into countless fine grains of sand—a creation of Shukaku's chakra. The scene was spectacular, but Naruto felt utterly helpless. Fighting such a behemoth, this was the most frustrating part. Its basic attacks were comparable to your ultimate moves.
Rustle, rustle, rustle…
Countless grains of sand surged up from the ground. Naruto had nowhere to dodge and was instantly enveloped tightly by the yellow sand. This move by Shukaku was very similar to Gaara's Sand Waterfall Funeral, but for Gaara, it might be a killing blow; for Shukaku, it was likely just a matter of varying the force applied.
"Damn fox, you've pissed me off!" Shukaku clenched its front paw forcefully. Anyway, that bastard can't die. Rather than being imprisoned in a jinchuriki's body, it's better to let me vent some of this anger.
BOOM!
A crimson figure burst through the yellow sand, leaping several times to land directly on Shukaku's body. Naruto, wielding Kusabimaru, unleashed a blade beam over ten meters long. As the beam swept past, it directly severed one of Shukaku's hind legs.
"It hurts like hell!" Shukaku instantly yelped and jumped about in pain.
Whoosh! Seeing the tail whistling towards him, Naruto quickly curled into a ball. Shukaku's tail struck him like a tennis racket hitting a ball, smashing him violently towards the ground. Naruto's figure, wherever it passed, carved out a trail of dust several meters high.
"He's not dead, is he?" Kiba's eyelids twitched uncontrollably as he watched this scene.
"I don't know if Naruto's dead or not, but I know if we don't run now, we definitely will be!!!" Shikamaru's face paled drastically as he saw the visibly condensing chakra in Shukaku's mouth.