Shukaku was stunned.
A body that size… like Gamabunta? That massive toad? It seemed roughly the same size as him, but still—what was it with this brat comparing him to toads?
Though Shukaku had no particular concern for such things, he was a creature who had lived for thousands of years. What didn't he understand?
Just the thought made his chakra stir with disgust.
"Vile. Absolutely vile."
Fury surged within the One-Tail, and he roared, "You damn brat! If you insult this great lord like that again, I swear—I'll make sure your death is slow and unbearable!"
But Kawaki Aoba showed no fear. He stood tall, unaffected by the beast's rage.
Shukaku's words made it sound like he was the one in control.
But is death really something to fear? Aoba thought. Death… is simply rebirth. Especially when you've seen the God of Death with your own eyes.
If that time ever came, if Kawaki Aoba's body died… he was sure Shukaku would be in for a surprise.
"You're rather emotional," Aoba said lazily from above. "Not a fan of the toads of Mount Myōboku, are you? What about the snakes from Ryūchi Cave—say, a few like Manda? I hear they have a lot of them over there."
He continued with a smirk, "If you're interested, I could even cover the cost. Maybe I'll get you ten or eight snakes to serve you. Sound good?"
Shukaku's rage flared hotter, but Aoba wasn't finished.
"Maybe I'll even host a grand wedding for you," he teased. "The Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki can be the witness. A once-in-a-lifetime event, don't you think?"
Shukaku froze.
The disgust flooding through him overwhelmed the anger. A wedding? With toads? Or snakes? And the Nine-Tails watching?
No. No way.
If something so humiliating actually happened, Shukaku would rather seal himself away forever.
His anger fizzled, replaced by a chilling silence.
"Brat," he said through clenched teeth, "do you believe I won't just kill myself here and now to spite you?"
He wasn't bluffing. As a Tailed Beast, death was not the end—his chakra would simply disperse and reform over time.
But the boy wasn't trying to kill him. He'd had many chances. That could only mean one thing—this boy wanted something from him. Probably wanted to hand him off to Konoha's Sealing Corps.
Now he was resorting to this kind of psychological torture? Shukaku was starting to realize just how dangerous this brat really was.
"Believe it?" Aoba raised a brow. "Of course I believe it. Death means little to a Tailed Beast like you. But do you believe that once you're reborn, I'll send a team of elite Konoha Sealing Ninjas into every corner of the desert to find you?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"You won't be able to hide. And once I catch you… get ready. The Nine-Tails will personally attend your wedding. Every. Single. Day."
Shukaku was speechless. The brat was dead serious. And that terrified him more than anything else.
After a long silence, Shukaku finally muttered, "What do you want?"
He'd given in.
Kawaki Aoba grinned. No need to pretend now.
"Chakra. I want your chakra."
"That's all?" Shukaku grumbled. His swollen eyes narrowed in suspicion, though the swelling made it hard to see at all.
Being a chakra-based lifeform didn't make him immune to pain. Despite what most humans thought, tailed beasts could be injured—and clearly, this brat had done just that.
Aoba nodded. "That's right. Give me your chakra. Once I have enough, I'll release you. Whether you hide away in the desert or get captured by Sunagakure again… that's your business, not mine."
The word "release" made Shukaku flinch.
Still, the saying goes: Even a beast must bow beneath the eaves.
He had no choice. Kawaki Aoba's methods were too cruel. If he ended up humiliated in front of Kurama and the others…
He wouldn't be able to live it down for centuries.
With a sigh, Shukaku finally nodded. "Fine. I'll give you my chakra. But you must keep your word. You'll release me."
"Naturally," Aoba replied. "I'm not the kind of person who needs to lie to someone like you."
Shukaku felt insulted—but didn't protest.
He said nothing more, pretending to ignore the smug tone.
Kawaki Aoba stepped down from the protection of his Hyakumon Kannon—his golden, many-armed avatar—and slowly approached Shukaku.
"I'm going to use a sealing technique to extract your chakra and store it in a scroll," Aoba said calmly. "Don't resist."
Shukaku hesitated.
Should I kill him right now? he thought. The brat was close. Too close. One swipe, and he could end him. The Hyakumon Kannon wasn't within striking range to react fast enough.
But…
He gritted his teeth.
The price for failure would be too high. He couldn't afford it.
And this brat wasn't stupid. He wouldn't make a careless mistake like that.
In the end, Shukaku stayed still.
And the extraction began.
Compared to the possibility of the other party being careless, this felt more like a trap specifically designed for him.
Shukaku didn't resist at all, and the process of Kawaki Aoba extracting chakra was incredibly smooth, but the result was disappointing.
Shukaku's chakra was far too little, so little it was unexpected. Much like the large sealing scrolls created for containing Tailed Beast chakra, the chakra extracted from Shukaku barely filled half of it.
Even then, Shukaku kept yelling, "It's gone, it's gone, there's really not a drop left..."
Kawaki Aoba estimated that even at Shukaku's peak, its chakra reserves wouldn't be enough to fill a large sealing scroll.
Though this amount of chakra would be considered immense for a regular ninja, Kawaki Aoba found it pitiful for a Tailed Beast—so little that it was almost absurd.
Shukaku, that guy, was really embarrassing the Tailed Beasts.
Looking at Shukaku's injured and exhausted state, Kawaki Aoba's expression soured.
To only extract this little chakra, what could this sacrifice be worth?
Manipulating the Hundred-Type Guanyin to move forward, two golden arms stretched out, grabbed Shukaku from the bottom of the pit, and prepared to lift it away.
Seeing this, Shukaku panicked and began to shout, "Hey, kid, what are you doing? Don't you want to keep your promise? Damn it, I knew you ninjas couldn't be trusted!"
Kawaki Aoba, hearing this, immediately rebuked impatiently, "Shut up, what's with all the noise? Since I promised to let you go, I won't break my word. The condition I stated was that if you provide me with enough Tailed Beast chakra, I'll let you go. But look, how much chakra did you provide?"
"Only a measly hundred or so 'cards,' and you're still a Tailed Beast? I really feel ashamed for you."
Shukaku: ...
Eight Gates Release Formation - Death Gate, Open!
Although Shukaku didn't know what "100 or so cards" meant, it clearly felt the disdain in Kawaki Aoba's words.
Besides anger, Shukaku was filled with shame and annoyance. 'Is it my fault that I have so little chakra?'
Who knows what that old man was thinking when he distributed the chakra back then? Could it have really been based on the number of tails?
Then why are the total chakra amounts of the Six-Tails and Seven-Tails almost the same?
But why does mine have the least? It's so biased.
Every time this chakra issue came up, that bastard Kurama would ridicule him, even claiming he was the weakest of the Tailed Beasts. Ridiculous. He, Shukaku, was the only Tailed Beast besides Gyūki, the Eight-Tails, who dared to challenge and snarl at Kurama.
As for whether he could win or not, that wasn't important.
At that moment, Shukaku, who was being carried by the Hundred-Type Guanyin, realized a serious problem. He couldn't help but shout, "Hey, kid, what's this 'sufficient amount of chakra' you mentioned? You can't just keep saying it's not enough and expect me to keep providing chakra, right?"
Kawaki Aoba glanced at Shukaku. It seemed that this guy hadn't been completely beaten senseless, but since he was only asking now, he must have really been stunned earlier.
Kawaki Aoba casually replied, "I don't need much, just fill up six of these sealing scrolls for me, and that should be enough."
Shukaku fell silent. He somewhat disliked the large size of the sealing scrolls in Kawaki Aoba's hands. To fill up six of those big things, he'd need to recover his chakra more than ten times.
If it were that guy Kurama, it wouldn't be so troublesome. He could fill all six of these large scrolls in one go.
Damn it, why did I think of that bastard Kurama again? Why does he get all the good things?
Shukaku began to feel bitter.
Seeing that Shukaku was no longer speaking, Kawaki Aoba, after answering the other party's question, ignored him.
He manipulated the Hundred-Type Guanyin on his own, carrying Shukaku straight toward the main battlefield.
Now Shukaku's injuries and weakness were fully stacked, and Kawaki Aoba didn't worry at all that it would cause trouble when they arrived at the battlefield where a large number of ninjas were concentrated.
As for his subordinates who went to pursue the thousand or so Sand Village ninjas, Kawaki Aoba wasn't concerned.
With roughly the same number of people and the enemies mostly poisoned and weak, if they still couldn't win the pursuit battle, Kawaki Aoba might as well handle it himself and wipe them all out.
Moreover, his subordinates were not weak. They were all ruthless characters who had survived on the battlefield with Orochimaru. Useless people had already perished.
Without encountering any obstacles along the way, Kawaki Aoba quickly arrived at the battlefield where the frontal conflict was taking place.
Even before Kawaki Aoba arrived, the entire battlefield had quieted down.
The hundred-meter-tall Hundred-Type Guanyin was too dazzling. Anyone who wasn't blind could see it. This giant was heading straight for the battlefield. How could any ninja not be frightened?
And now, upon seeing the full appearance of the Hundred-Type Guanyin, as well as Kawaki Aoba piloting it and the One-Tail Shukaku being carried like a house cat, the Leaf Village ninjas were excited, while the Sand Village ninjas were desperate.
Now even the monster like the Tailed Beast has been defeated, what can they fight with?
The hearts of the three Sand Village high-ranking officials sank to the bottom of the valley. Chiyo and Ebizo were fine. They were used to losing to the Leaf Village and could withstand another blow after many defeats.
But Rasa was experiencing this kind of thing for the first time. Seeing Shukaku's miserable defeat and even being captured alive by the enemy, he stood frozen in place.
As Rasa's opponent, Minato Namikaze's eyes lit up. This was what he had been waiting for.
He had previously teleported to observe the battle on Kawaki Aoba's side and already knew what was happening. The reason he hadn't revealed himself earlier was that he was waiting for this opportunity to make Rasa lose his composure.
Now, this moment had finally come.
Minato threw the Flying Thunder God Kunai, and the sound of cutting through the air snapped Rasa back to reality. Realizing something was wrong, he quickly manipulated the gold sand to erect a wall in front of him.
In the next moment, the gold sand wall trembled and was blasted out by a big hole from the other side. That was Minato's Rasengan.
The gold sand quickly gathered and filled the hole.
Looking at the complete gold sand wall in front of him, Rasa couldn't help but feel a rush of fear. If he had been even a second too slow, the best outcome would have been a severe injury.
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