Naruto: The Hyuga Mastermind

Chapter 161: Shukaku: I Want Freedom!

"Will that guy interfere as well?"

Obito's gaze shifted to his left, where a familiar figure emerged from the shadows—it was Black Zetsu, returning after monitoring Ōtsutsuki Shinichi.

"No, the Moon God is heading directly for the Daimyō's residence. His purpose is unclear."

"Oh?" Obito's eyes narrowed behind his mask as he turned to look behind him. "In that case, we only need to deal with her for now."

From behind him, blazing fireballs shot toward him, only to phase harmlessly through his body.

Obito slowly turned to face the attacker. "Were you one of the ANBU before?"

Hovering in the air, Pakura stared coldly at Obito without responding.

Though she had anticipated Obito's interest in this area, his timing was unexpected—no, perhaps it made sense.

The Daimyō of the Land of Wind had recently withdrawn loyal ninjas to his side to guard against assassins from Sunagakure who might resent him. Worried about Fire Country making a move, he had also stationed numerous shinobi at the borders.

With no powerful ninja left in the village, Sunagakure was now in an incredibly fragile state.

A single powerful intruder releasing Shukaku could plunge the village into chaos.

No one had seen this coming, and why would they?

Sunagakure, despite being the weakest of the Five Great Nations, was still too arrogant to anticipate such an attack.

Now, with Shukaku no longer sealed within a jinchūriki, Sunagakure faced a dire situation. Without a jinchūriki to suppress Shukaku, the village could only attempt to seal the tailed beast—a task that would demand a significant sacrifice.

Finding a suitable jinchūriki had already proven difficult for Sunagakure. Even more, they lacked any shinobi capable of rivaling Rasa's strength. Their only means of containing Shukaku would be to throw countless lives at the problem.

Pakura couldn't help but feel disdain. The situation had deteriorated to such a degree that, had Rasa returned to the village earlier, she might have been able to kill him in front of everyone and still walk away unscathed.

Falling this far... Sunagakure should be removed from the list of Great Nations!

As the sun began to set, Shukaku rampaged through the background, while Pakura and Obito stared each other down. Finally, she decided to act first, launching an attack.

---

"HAHAHA! So, that scumbag Rasa is dead, huh?"

Shukaku's laughter boomed as it glared at the Sunagakure shinobi with hatred.

"You pathetic little worms! Who among you can stop me now?"

They hated him? They had no right!

It was humanity that had imprisoned him for his power. And now that they could no longer control him, they wanted to blame everything on him?

Laughable.

If anything, they were the ones who deserved hatred!

He had been imprisoned, forced to lend his strength. The one time he met a kind-hearted monk who treated him with compassion, that monk had been locked away in Sunagakure until death.

The monk might have forgiven them, but Shukaku could not.

Live in harmony with humans?

Peace is just a foolish dream, old man. Humans repeat their mistakes endlessly without ever reflecting on their actions.

The only fate they deserved was to perish in terror!

Shukaku's thunderous laughter echoed across the desolate ruins. His massive form cast a vast shadow in the sunlight, and the surrounding Sunagakure jōnin looked on in terror.

"Where's the sealing squad? Why aren't they here yet?"

A middle-aged jōnin barked, suppressing his fear. "Without the Fourth's gold dust, the only way to deal with Shukaku is sealing techniques. What are they doing?!"

A fellow shinobi beside him pointed toward two corpses nearby and said grimly, "Two of them came earlier. They tried to prepare the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier, but Shukaku noticed and killed them before they could complete it."

Unlike most tailed beasts, Shukaku was a unique case. He had mastery over various jutsu, including sealing techniques.

When he noticed the formation of the barrier, he immediately targeted the sealing team, obliterating them without a second thought.

The middle-aged jōnin narrowly avoided a barrage of sand bullets and clenched his fists.

Compared to Konoha, Sunagakure's sealing techniques were lacking. Aside from the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier, they had no better option.

However, that particular sealing technique—acquired from an exchange program with Konoha—had a critical flaw: it telegraphed its activation too clearly, allowing Shukaku to target it in advance. Someone had to suppress Shukaku long enough for the technique to activate.

"…Call back the chūnin and genin evacuating civilians. Use their numbers to buy us time!"

The surrounding Sunagakure shinobi froze at the order.

The chūnin and genin had been sent away precisely because they were no match for Shukaku. Calling them back now would effectively turn them into sacrificial pawns.

"Do it!" the jōnin snapped. "This is not the time to hesitate. Afterward, I'll take full responsibility before Elder Ebizō."

As the squad leader, he had to shoulder this burden.

Sending the responsibility to Elder Ebizō, a founding member of the village, would only create further chaos.

"Yes!"

A few shinobi departed to relay the orders.

Seeing this, the jōnin instructed four others, "Gather every scroll we have for the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier and distribute them in squads. Even if we have to pile up bodies, Shukaku must be sealed today!"

"Yes!"

The four scattered to follow the orders.

Meanwhile, Shukaku grinned maliciously at the desperate actions of the Sunagakure shinobi.

"Come on! Let Sunagakure be reduced to rubble under my wrath today! Wind Release: Air Bullet!"

Shukaku opened his mouth, releasing a massive wind sphere that tore through buildings, reducing them to rubble. Dust and debris filled the air, while unfortunate shinobi caught in the blast were reduced to pools of blood.

"Sand Burial!"

Following the wind blast, Shukaku unleashed a sea of sand, flooding the area with relentless attacks.

The tailed beast spared no expense in its assault, using wide-range jutsu to wreak havoc and claim lives.

For Shukaku, this was a rare opportunity—a chance to finally escape Sunagakure and its oppressive chains.

---

On Pakura's side, the battle raged on. She darted past Obito, her body phasing through his as he attempted to grab her shoulder.

Anticipating this, Pakura activated her Scorch Release chakra cloak. The intense heat forced Obito to halt his attempt to materialize, narrowly avoiding being dragged into her devastating flames.

The two exchanged positions mid-air.

Obito, observing the searing cloak of Scorch Release around Pakura, clenched his fists, his brow furrowing.

Though he hadn't fully materialized, he still felt an oppressive heat emanating from her—a sensation unlike any conventional temperature.

This wasn't just extreme heat. It was the very moisture in the air evaporating.

Obito recognized the technique.

Scorch Release... So that's what it is.

(End of Chapter)