Natsuki's voice rang out, instantly easing Tenten's worries.
That's right—while Natsuki's Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) wasn't yet fully mastered, he could still use it in emergencies. If it came down to it, he could always run away. Even if he got injured, he had Senzu Beans for recovery.
So there was nothing to worry about.
Shino quickly asked, "Tenten, does Natsuki have a technique for staying alive?"
Tenten gave him a reassuring look. "Natsuki will be fine. Let's deal with our enemies quickly and get out of here. This area is too dangerous—we'll get caught up in the fight and just become a hindrance to Natsuki."
Since Tenten said so, Shino felt reassured and increased the intensity of his attacks.
Neji and Sasuke, who had been worried and shocked just moments ago, also relaxed and focused back on their battles.
Genma was briefly stunned, but a look of joy flashed in his eyes. He more or less guessed what Natsuki and Tenten were hinting at. Natsuki hadn't used Hiraishin yet because it wasn't stable enough for combat, but it should be reliable enough for escape.
With this realization, Genma also felt relieved.
"Truly impressive, kid… I didn't expect you to actually master it!"
Meanwhile, Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai, and the other jōnin were still battling Kabuto's Otogakure forces. Seeing Gaara fully transform into a tailed beast, they couldn't help but panic.
"I didn't expect Gaara to be a jinchūriki. This is bad!" Kakashi's expression was grave.
"Should we hold the line while you go assist?" Kurenai suggested.
"No. Natsuki is there, so we don't have to worry—at least not yet. Our priority is to finish the battle here and then go help," Kakashi replied, anxious but not as panicked as one might expect.
"Exactly! With Natsuki there, we're fine!"
Guy and Rinya both showed complete confidence in Natsuki.
After all, Natsuki was someone who had fought Orochimaru to a standstill. If even someone like him couldn't handle a tailed beast, there wasn't much the rest of them could do anyway. Besides, Natsuki hadn't run away at the sight of the tailed beast—he clearly had a trump card, maybe even opening the Sixth Gate of the Hachimon Tonkō (Eight Gates Release Technique) or something.
Hearing this, the other jōnin also relaxed a bit. Natsuki's strength was no secret—everyone had heard at least some of the rumors.
However, Kabuto looked displeased.
"Oi, oi, Konoha jōnin, aren't you placing too much faith in that kid named Natsuki? That's a tailed beast. Aren't you afraid he'll get himself killed?"
Aoba's voice turned icy.
"If that's the case, then hurry up and die—I'm eager to go help my student!"
With that, the battle resumed, full-force.
Meanwhile, Shikamaru's team was also worried.
Naruto stared dumbfounded at Shukaku, muttering under his breath, "So… Gaara is like me… He has a monster inside him… Maybe I understand him…"
"Don't just stand there, Naruto! Get that injured chūnin to Sakura, now!" Shikamaru shouted.
Naruto snapped out of it and rushed off with the unconscious chūnin on his back, but his gaze kept drifting toward Shukaku, as if he wanted to go over there.
"Gaara… Maybe I do understand him… because I'm the same…"
At that moment, Shukaku came crashing down from the sky, landing squarely in the arena and creating a massive crater. The resulting shockwave sent smoke and debris flying. If the arena weren't large enough, the sheer impact could have killed half the audience.
Then Shukaku's eyes locked onto Natsuki, who was floating in the air—the one who had dared to drown him in the Water Prison.
"Haha! I found the one I want to kill! Watch this, from the great Lord Shukaku! Fūton: Renkuudan! (Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullet!)"
Shukaku actually formed hand seals, then opened his mouth and fired a massive wind bullet straight at Natsuki.
The worst part? Natsuki couldn't dodge—behind him, a little farther back, were the spectators.
But Natsuki wasn't afraid of some mere wind bullet.
He quickly formed hand seals and spat out a huge water sphere.
"Suiton: Suidan! (Water Style: Water Bullet!)"
Boom!
Because he pumped in a huge amount of chakra, his water sphere was massive, matching Shukaku's wind bullet in size. The two orbs collided midair and exploded, shaking the arena. The impact sent a shockwave through the stadium, knocking spectators over and making their ears ring—but thankfully, no one was seriously hurt.
"Oho! Not bad for an ant! Fine then! Lord Shukaku will fight you in a chakra battle—let's see who runs out of juice first! Hahaha!"
Shukaku seemed to find a new game, spreading his arms wide and laughing maniacally. He prepared to form hand seals again.
But Natsuki wasn't about to give him the chance.
He used Raishunshin, flashing to Shukaku's belly, and spread his hands.
Two massive water disks, each five meters in diameter, formed in his palms.
Zzzzz! Zzzzz!
The water disks spun rapidly, distorting the air around them as if space itself were being torn apart.
"Shukaku! Take this! Super Water Circle Slash!"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The water disks moved so fast that Shukaku didn't even have time to finish forming hand seals. They struck his hands in an instant—two clean, crisp slicing sounds echoed, and Shukaku's massive arms were severed on the spot, crashing to the ground.
Shukaku froze, stunned, eyes wide in disbelief.
Then, a blood-curdling scream erupted from his mouth.
"AAAAAHHHHH! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! YOU DAMN HUMAN! HOW DARE YOU CUT OFF LORD SHUKAKU'S ARMS! I'LL KILL YOUUUU!!!"
His scream seemed to tear through the sky itself, heard even beyond the arena.
Everyone heard it.
Everyone looked at Shukaku in utter disbelief—and saw that yes, Shukaku's arms had really been cut off.
That was a tailed beast.
And Natsuki had cut off a tailed beast's arms.
Was there anything more absurd than this?
The Suna ninja were all stunned.
They had grown up being tormented by the rampaging tailed beast, and in their minds, the tailed beast was an unstoppable force—a nightmare made flesh. They had brought the jinchūriki to Konoha specifically to let the tailed beast wreak havoc and help destroy the village from within.
Yet now, the tailed beast's arms had been severed by a Konoha genin.
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
"Kai… it seems we've all underestimated Natsuki. He's already surpassed us," Kakashi murmured in awe.
"Hahaha! So full of youth! That kid didn't let us down!" Guy burst out laughing.
"He's my student," Aoba declared proudly.
The other jōnin couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy.
Damn it! Just half a student like that would be enough for us! How did Aoba get so lucky to have Natsuki as his team member?
Even Kabuto was dumbfounded.
Just a moment ago, he'd mocked the Konoha jōnin for placing too much faith in that little brat Natsuki—but now, the slap to the face came so fast it almost left a mark.
Sure, Natsuki had fought Orochimaru to a standstill in the Forest of Death, which was impressive enough. But this—this was on a whole other level.
Clearly, Orochimaru hadn't mentioned that little detail to Kabuto, or the man wouldn't have thought this way.
(End of Chapter)
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