"What is that?"
Tsunade, in her Hogyoku Mode, smashed an Iwagakure ninja's head into the ground with a punch. Her foot pressed against the cracked earth, a result of her monstrous strength, as she looked in shock at the fire pillars a hundred meters away.
Was it the Five-Tails?
The thought crossed Tsunade's mind, but she immediately shook her head.
Tailed Beasts had fairly simple attack patterns. Aside from their massive bodies, their most destructive move was the Tailed Beast Bomb.
The only exception was the One-Tail of Sunagakure, which had been known to use techniques resembling ninjutsu in battle.
Each of the Nine Tailed Beasts, besides their vast chakra reserves, also possessed unique abilities.
The One-Tail, for example, wielded Magnet Release, and the markings on its body were actually a type of sealing jutsu.
Sunagakure's expertise in Magnet Release and Sealing Jutsu largely stemmed from their research on the One-Tail, allowing them to replicate and master such techniques. The same applied to other villages that possessed Tailed Beasts.
Researching Tailed Beasts was an unspoken practice among all major shinobi villages. Many villages had indeed extracted useful knowledge from them, particularly in the study of Kekkei Genkai.
But the Five-Tails... It didn't have the ability to summon fire pillars!
And its Jinchūriki shouldn't have this power either.
Unless Iwagakure's Jinchūriki had just created this technique, there was no way they wouldn't have already used something this dangerous against Konoha's forces earlier in the battle.
Is it Kagetsu?
Tsunade couldn't be sure.
The ninjas that Iwagakure sent this time to eliminate her were indeed all powerful. Especially their teamwork, which was extremely coordinated.
If it weren't for her unexpected move, quickly and violently taking out two of them, it would have taken her some time to deal with the rest of the Iwagakure ninjas.
Within the cyan fire pillar, a massive white beast with horns on its head appeared, flickering in the scorching air that waved like ripples.
Five long tails swayed gently in the firelight.
Tailed Beast Transformation!
Tsunade instinctively wanted to rush forward to help Kagetsu, but the searing heat of the flames and the remaining four Iwagakure ninjas made her stop in her tracks.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!
An Iwagakure ninja, watching the Five-Tails dodge and weave within the fire pillar, quickly moved towards it while enduring the heat. He aimed to use the Water Release to carve out a path.
However, as soon as the water dragon appeared, it vanished before it could fully form under the intense heat. At the same time, the Iwagakure ninja who had rushed forward quickly retreated.
The temperatures at the center and edges of the fire pillar were completely different from what the ninjas on the outskirts were feeling.
Even though the outer temperatures made it feel like facing Lava Release, the edges felt as though they were within the flames of a Fire Release technique.
As for the center of the fire pillar, no one could imagine the temperature. But with such a large-scale Fire Release technique, it could at least be considered a forbidden-level jutsu.
"Shizune, Anko, you two evacuate the injured still in the camp," Tsunade turned and instructed the two who were by her side.
While she trusted Kagetsu wouldn't act recklessly, the feeling brought on by the cyan fire pillar was unsettling. For safety's sake, she planned to evacuate the injured first.
Fortunately, there had been a plan and measures in place from the start to deal with this kind of situation.
Once the order was given, the injured would naturally follow the plan and move toward the safe zone.
Boom!
Boom!
...
The blue fire pillar expanded from a cylinder into an ellipse, and then exploded one after another.
The surging heat wave and blue flames instantly covered the entire area within the range of the blue fire pillar.
The loud, painful cry of the Five-Tails rang out with the explosion of the fire pillar. It ultimately couldn't escape the fire pillar's range.
Although it seemed slow from the appearance of the fire pillar to the explosion, it only took a few breaths. As the flames spread, the air grew thin.
No one dared step into the area covered by the blue flames. However, in the glow of the fire, a giant beast could be seen rolling and struggling in the firestorm.
The spreading heat made Tsunade, in her Hogyoku form, retreat more than a hundred meters before she could breathe easily again.
Just moments ago, even she felt like her throat was burning with dryness and pain, and her body had lost a lot of moisture.
As for the four surviving Iwagakure shinobi, they realized the mission had failed.
Tsunade didn't suffer from Hemophobia—this was a trap! They not only lost soldiers here under Tsunade's command, but it also seemed like the Five-Tails Jinchuriki might either be captured or dead.
Seeing Tsunade, along with Uchiha Shisui, closing in, the Iwagakure shinobi, realizing the situation was hopeless due to the explosion of the fire pillar, exchanged a look before silently splitting up to disappear into the night and underground.
One of them attempted to use Earth Release to tunnel underground and approach the Five-Tails, hoping to either rescue the Jinchuriki or sense their life signs.
But as he got close to the target, an alien energy suddenly infiltrated his body, disrupting his chakra.
Almost suffocating underground due to a failed technique, the Iwagakure shinobi struggled to break free from the area near the target.
After a painful escape, he quickly traveled underground, managing to emerge and flee to safety.
"The life force of a Jinchūriki is truly astonishing! Does he still have consciousness?"
A shadowy figure, holding a wooden sword, walked up to Han, who had returned to his original form.
Looking at him lying on the ground, still wrapped in the chakra of the tailed beast, he couldn't help but marvel.
Han's condition was pitiful. His armor had melted into molten metal, and large areas of his body were severely burned.
If not for the Five-Tails desperately maintaining his life, he would have long been reduced to a pile of ash by now.
However, the Five-Tails, which had taken full damage from the explosion of the blue fire pillar, was in a terrible state itself.
Tailed beasts aren't immortal. While their vitality is strong, they've died countless times in the hands of others throughout the years. They only continuously revive due to the chakra mechanism.
So, even though they sensed the presence of Kagetsu, both Han and the Five-Tails had no strength left to resist.
"Has his consciousness already faded?"
Kagetsu sensed Han's life force. He didn't want Han to die just yet. At least, not before the Five-Tails inside him was properly contained.
"First, separate the natural energy!"
Kagetsu raised his wooden sword and slashed at Han's body. The blue fire pillars were created using his abilities while in the Hogyoku mode during his battle with Han, forcibly infusing natural energy into the area.
The power of the blue fire pillars depended on how much chakra and natural energy Kagetsu had stuffed into the surroundings.
His ability wasn't what Han had imagined, but rather allocation!
****
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