I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 626 Reducing enemies and increasing friends can make life's path smoother.

Yekura radiated light from within, like the eerie red glow seen when shining a powerful flashlight on the palm and then on the back of the hand.

The tea pot transformed into a pool of water that gradually solidified, but on Yekura's stomach appeared branding marks, resembling a cauldron. Under the surge of Scorching Release chakra, the branding marks began to glow and deform.

It resembled the spreading of burn marks, or the writhing of a sealing spell. Luo Sha stood not far away, but he dared not move rashly at this moment.

Because Pakura's chakra had gone berserk, and Shukaku's chakra had also gone berserk. Under the stimulation of the extremely high temperature, Shukaku had lost his mind.

At this moment, Yekura was more like a powder keg, where even a small spark could ignite it, and Rasa, who was so close by, was not confident that he could avoid being harmed.

Rasa not only did not attack, but even began to retreat, cursing Yekura for being reckless. Even if Yekura were at her peak and Shukaku was rational, she might not be able to seal Shukaku with her body and become a Jinchūriki.

Moreover, given that he was seriously injured and Shukaku had gone berserk, Yoko's actions were undoubtedly suicidal, and Rasa felt a sense of uncertainty.

With Yekura's death, there was no one left to compete with him for the position of Fourth Kazekage. However, Yekura did not choose to seek help from Sakamoto Tatsuma, which also prevented Sunagakure from launching a public opinion attack on Konoha.

Moreover, with this turn of events, Shukaku will likely die along with Pakura, and for at least several years to come, the village will be without the protection of the tailed beast.

Unlike Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure, Sunagakure, like Konoha, only has one tailed beast and cannot rotate between two tailed beasts.

This is also one of the important reasons why Iwagakure and Kumogakure are superior to Sunagakure in the development of Jinchūriki, because the rotation of Jinchūriki training allows them to avoid an awkward period.

"Shukaku."

Within her mental world, Yekura watched as Shukaku melted away in the heat, venting her anger. However, due to the sealing technique of the Scorch Release, she was unable to vent her anger freely, and her rage could only accumulate.

She stepped forward, trying to wake Shukaku, but was met with Shukaku's savage and murderous gaze.

"Bang!"

The giant claw slammed down, and Yekura managed to dodge it without being hit. However, Yekura felt no relief, because if she couldn't awaken Shukaku and seal it away, then death would be the only possibility.

Yekura didn't know how much time she had left. Her body was being eroded by her own Scorch Release chakra and Shukaku's Tailed Beast chakra. Perhaps ten minutes? Or maybe five.

She desperately called out Shukaku's name, but to no avail; Shukaku showed no signs of waking up.

Finally, Yecang herself stopped and looked down. Her soul form's legs were now burning. She looked at Shukaku and found that Shukaku's body was also being burned.

Like porcelain cracking in a kiln, pieces of molten quicksand fall like porcelain shards. The more fiercely Shukaku struggles, the faster the quicksand peels away.

"I'm sorry, I dragged you into this."

Half of his body was engulfed in flames. Yekura calmly said to Shukaku, "I overestimated myself. I always tried to do things beyond my capabilities. Becoming the Kazekage, controlling you, and..."

Outside, Yekura's body had transformed into a human-shaped light bulb, with cracks crawling across her skin as if she were about to explode. Rasa was far away, with layers of gold dust protecting her.

The light within Yekura receded, and Rasa quickly increased his chakra output; an explosion was imminent!

But the light did not shine again, and a fingerprint gently appeared on Ye Cang's forehead.

"The hexagram Xun and Li signifies reform and innovation, discarding the old and establishing the new, correcting mistakes and moving towards goodness—truly a wonderful sealing technique."

Within her mental world, Yekura stiffly turned her head, and a familiar figure stood beside her. Tatsuma turned his head, sighed, and said, "The time for our reunion is earlier than I expected."

"So it was you who came that day, right? I even thought that you hadn't taken that scroll with you a long time ago, and that I just found it out of nowhere."

Yekura blinked, tears streaming down her face before being evaporated by the flames. Tatsuma didn't answer, but looked around and said, "But this fire is a fire without cause, and the wind is a lone wind. It needs wood as its base to burn and climb higher."

After he finished speaking, Yecang's mental world suddenly became much cooler. The abundant water vapor briefly took away the heat, and before the water vapor boiled, clumps of trees grew up.

The wind in the forest carried away the growing heat and humidity. The wind that rushed towards them gradually extinguished the flames on Yekura's body, and even Shukaku gradually calmed down. The quicksand that melted on his body turned into a glass bottle, holding Shukaku.

Wood Release chakra began to flow within Pakura's body, harmonizing the Scorch Release and Shukaku chakra.

As the cracks and marks on Ye Cang's body faded, Luo Sha frowned, sensing that things were starting to turn bad for him. He clapped his hands, and the remaining gold dust surged toward Ye Cang.

"Magnetic Escape! Alluvial Burial!"

Sand Gold bound Yekura's body. Just as Rasa exerted force, trying to crush Yekura, flames suddenly reappeared on her body, beneath which shimmered with a seven-colored, glassy luster.

All the gold dust clinging to Yekura's body melted away. Rasa frowned, increased his chakra output, and tried to crush Yekura and the melted gold dust together, but the gold dust gradually turned red.

In an instant, the sand gold turned into molten gold, flowing across the yellow sand. Rasa swallowed hard. Such a large-scale and high-intensity scorching release could be said to completely counter his magnetic release.

In her mental world, Yekura watched as Tatsuma's body gradually faded away, reaching out to grasp nothing. She could only ask, "Will there be another chance to meet?"

Tatsuma didn't answer, he just smiled, and his figure completely disappeared. The last bit of chakra transformed into a vibrant life force, completely healing Pakura's remaining injuries.

"What a despicable guy."

Ye Cang laughed and cried at the same time, wiping away her tears. She looked at Ruri Shukaku, who was staring at her with wide, beady eyes, and said with displeasure, "What are you looking at?! You bastard, do you know he was here that day?!"

"Of course, he can fool others, but he can't fool me, Uncle Shouhe."

Shukaku said proudly, admiring its new form, which seemed even more majestic than the Golden Shukaku!

If it ever gets to meet the Nine-Tails again, it will definitely make a grand appearance and make that bastard Nine-Tails jealous of it!

Why didn't you tell me?

Yekura wanted to question him, but she fell silent as she spoke. Wiping away her tears one last time, she looked at Shukaku again and said, "If I get the chance, I'll definitely settle the score with that bastard. Will you come with me?"

A flicker of instinctive fear flashed in Shukaku's eyes, but his mouth had its own ideas, and he retorted stubbornly, "I'm afraid you'll back down when the time comes!"

"I won't!"

Yekura refuted this, then smiled and said, "Fighting side by side, Shukaku?"

"Since you're so sincere, I'll..."

Shukaku extended its claws toward Yekura. Without Shukaku's instruction, Yekura raised her fist, though she didn't know why, but it seemed as if it was the right thing to do.

"boom!"

The sealing technique modified by Tatsuma was like the most solid chakra channel. Shukaku's chakra flowed into Pakura's meridians without any hindrance and with perfect precision, merging with Pakura's own chakra.

Not only the surrounding gold dust, but even the yellow sand on the ground was completely melted at this moment. Yekura opened her eyes, stood up from the glass magma, gently clenched her fist, and completely restrained her chakra, which was only attached to the surface of her body.

As if she were wearing a gauze dress made of glass, Yekura looked like she was radiating a seven-colored light. This was the form after Shukaku's chakra was fused with her scorching chakra.

As the flames subsided, the melted sand gradually solidified, turning into a glass platform that reflected a dazzling light so intense that it made it difficult for Rasa to open his eyes.

"Luo Sha, are you going to continue your stubborn resistance?"

Ye Cang looked at Luo Sha, who was hiding behind countless sand gold barriers, and asked. Luo Sha did not answer, but silently built the sand gold barriers higher and higher, completely covering his body so as not to be blinded by the light.

Seeing that Luo Sha had already answered with her actions, Ye Cang no longer hesitated. She pushed off the glass floor, causing spiderweb-like cracks to appear, and her body rushed towards the Sand Gold Barrier. The speed was so fast that even Ye Cang herself was somewhat surprised.

"Scorching Release! Glass Cutter!"

Ye Cang's right hand was covered in quicksand, which, under the scorching heat of the Scorching Release, turned into crystal glass. The moment she swung her right hand, the wind solidified the glass, turning it into a famous sword that slashed down.

The sturdy gold-plated barrier was as easy to cut as paper by Yekura. Before Rasa could even react, the shimmering glass blade was already pointed at his neck.

Dust and sand surged around Rasa's skin, as if trying to block Yekura's attack, but Yekura did not advance any further, and the dust and sand did not react any further.

But with the glass blade pointed at him, Rasa's breathing almost stopped. He never expected that Pakura would be so powerful after becoming a Jinchūriki, nor did he expect that she would adapt to the power of the Tailed Beast so quickly.

It was as if Shukaku had given his power to Yokura without even a symbolic resistance.

"Shall we continue?"

Yekura asked again, and Rasa gritted his teeth and said, "You've become a Jinchūriki, with such unstable power within you, how can you be qualified to become the Kazekage?!"

You and the Shukaku within you will only bring disaster to Sunagakure, utterly incapable of protecting the village! Moreover, having colluded with Konoha, what face do you have to be the leader of Sunagakure?!

"Rasa, think about your wife and children. I can kill you and become the only candidate for the Fourth Kazekage, but your wife will definitely object. What do you think I, who will kill you, will decide?"

"you"

"Stay here and keep an eye on me, who claims to control unstable forces and is colluding with Konoha. This is the best thing for the village to do, Rasa."

The glass in Yecang's hand melted again, revealing her hand which formed a reconciliation seal. She said, "Don't make the wrong decision again."

Luo Sha looked down at Ye Cang's outstretched hand, his heavy breathing gradually becoming steady. He gritted his teeth, his drooping hand swaying uncertainly, as if it were trembling.

Living in this way, he would likely face criticism for the rest of his life, but if he chose to die, Garuda would follow in his footsteps without wavering.

Thinking of that woman who didn't realize that the feelings she valued were initially just a facade created by others for their own benefit, Luo Sha lowered her head as if she had lost all strength, and her head drooped from being lowered to being completely slumped.

The hesitant hand slowly rose and formed a hand seal, resting on Yekura's hand.

(End of this chapter)