Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

"I'll take pity on you and send you to your death! Wind Release: Sky-Refining Bullet!!!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly.

Tailed beasts can actually use ninjutsu?

This is extremely rare; at least none of the tailed beasts he has seen seem to be like this.

Most of them rely on brute force, or the Tailed Beast Ball.

The next instant, a wind bomb compressed to its limit roared out, tearing the air along its path into countless white shockwaves.

Its power far surpasses any wind-style ninja Sasuke has ever seen, and even the high-ranking members of Sunagakure are far inferior.

But they were faced with a strike that would make even the strongest person pale in fear.

Sasuke simply raised his right hand calmly and casually swung it forward before the wind bullet hit him.

After a muffled bang, the wind-escape cannonball's momentum abruptly halted.

It was then sent flying like a ball, crashing heavily into the towering cliff face in the distance.

The terrifying explosion blasted a huge gap in the cliff, causing massive rocks to tumble down like a torrential downpour, and sending dust billowing into the sky.

Although Sasuke's movements were understated, judging from the condition of the cliff, Shukaku had not held back at all in this attack.

"..."

Shukaku's expression froze slightly.

"As expected, a beast that knows no manners."

Sasuke withdrew his hand and commented calmly, "I just freed you, and you're already indulging your desires without even saying hello?"

"That's not necessarily true..."

A deep voice echoed in Sasuke's mind; it was the Three-Tails, Isobu.

Sasuke's eyes flickered, and a voice echoed in his mind: "I wasn't talking about you."

Shukaku finally snapped out of its shock. It looked at Sasuke, then at its own cliff that had been completely flattened, and its cross-shaped pupils contracted sharply.

"Hahaha... Interesting, what an interesting brat!"

After a brief moment of shock came an even more intense frenzy: "I've decided! I'm going to tear you to pieces and make the best toys out of you!"

"Die with gratitude! Hahahaha!"

As soon as it finished speaking, its expression suddenly changed, and its nose twitched violently in the air.

Immediately afterwards, that crazed face was replaced by an emotion mixed with disgust and rage.

"You bastard!!!"

Shukaku stared intently at Sasuke, letting out a hateful roar, its voice shrill, "How come you smell like that stinky fox?! Tell me! What's your relationship with that guy?!"

"what?!"

The Nine-Tails inside Sasuke, who had been watching the show from the sidelines, instantly bristled upon hearing the words "stinky fox."

"Who are you calling a stinking fox?! You useless, good-for-nothing raccoon!!!"

The Nine-Tails' roar exploded in Sasuke's mental world, "Kid! Let me out! I'm going to skin this stupid raccoon alive today!!!"

"Quiet down." Sasuke's voice echoed in his inner world.

The Nine-Tails' roar abruptly ceased, but it still muttered resentfully, "Tch, fine, you can do it then, but you must strike it dead with lightning! Let it know who is the strongest of all the tailed beasts!"

"I know what I'm doing."

Sasuke and Kurama had a brief exchange in their inner world, but remained silent in the real world, which Shukaku saw as a tacit agreement.

"They really are in cahoots!" Shukaku's anger intensified. "Then you should die in place of that stinking fox!"

It was about to launch another attack, and the Nine-Tails inside Sasuke instantly perked up after seeing Shukaku's actions.

"Oh, oh, oh! Is it time to make our move?" it asked excitedly. "Kid, hurry! We must electrocute this stinky raccoon until it's charred black and blue!"

"I have no intention of taking action," Sasuke's voice echoed in his mind, rejecting Kurama's suggestion.

He calmly turned his head to the side and looked at Yoruichi on his shoulder.

Yoruichi instantly understood, reverted to human form, and stood in front of Shukaku.

"That's quite a boast."

Yoruichi crossed her arms and looked at the giant sand raccoon in front of her with great interest, a curious smile on her face.

"I have heard that there are nine powerful beings in this world known as Tailed Beasts. The most obvious characteristic is the difference in the number of tails you have."

She turned her head to look at Sasuke again, as if to confirm something, then turned back to Shukaku and asked seriously.

"So, according to common sense..."

Yoruichi tilted her head and pointed to the lone tail behind Shukaku.

"Does having more tails mean greater strength?"

"..."

The desert was shrouded in deathly silence.

Shukaku stared at her blankly, as if to confirm that he hadn't misheard.

Immediately afterwards, the raccoon's face, which had been quite fierce, turned a human-like red.

"Huh?!"

A sharp roar burst from Shukaku's throat.

"Are you an idiot?! Where did this stupid woman come from?!"

Shukaku's body trembled violently, and its huge single tail slammed into the ground, creating a huge crater in the sand.

"How dare you compare me to that stinky fox?! And you even say I'm weaker than it?!"

Its cross-shaped pupils were fixed on Yoruichi, the anger within them almost tangible.

"Listen up, you stupid woman!"

Shukaku was practically roaring as it explained to Yoruichi the truth that it considered common sense.

"The power of us tailed beasts has never been determined by the number of our tails!"

"Quite the opposite! The fewer the tails, the higher the chakra density! And the stronger the power!! You ignorant idiot!!!"

"I, the Great One! Shukaku! is the strongest!!"

"Did you understand?! You brainless, stupid woman!!!"

With that, Shukaku raised its claws high and slammed them down on Yoruichi's head, as if to crush her into dust.

Yoruichi's figure blurred, and she nimbly appeared dozens of meters away.

"What a temper!"

Yoruichi's voice carried a hint of amusement, full of effortless playfulness, "However, having a temper alone won't get you anywhere, you little tanuki."

"Being so easily provoked isn't the mark of a strong person."

"You bastard...!" Shukaku suddenly pulled out his Sand Claw, his pupils slightly contracting.

"Practice with blank rounds!"

Without making any further probes, it unleashed a barrage of wind bullets, each composed of compressed high-density chakra, towards Yoruichi.

Each of these wind-blown projectiles is enough to level a small mountain.

In an instant, the entire desert was shrouded in deafening roars and towering sandstorms.

But as the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, Yoruichi's figure remained standing unharmed in the same spot.

"Wow, what a spectacular sight."

She shook her head and commented in an extremely regretful tone, "What a pity, it seems to have no other use besides stirring up some sand."

Yoru turned his head to the side, taunting Shukaku.

"Is this the legendary power of the tailed beasts? It doesn't seem like anything special."

But these words did not make Shukaku continue to be angry. On the contrary, all the anger on the tanuki face that had just been grotesque and twisted suddenly disappeared.

Instead, a sinister grin appeared.

"...You've fallen for their trap, you stupid woman."

"Hmm?" Yoruichi raised an eyebrow slightly, a slight unease rising in her heart.

Almost at the same time, the sand beneath her feet suddenly softened and turned into a huge quicksand vortex.

Immediately afterwards, the yellow sand that had been blasted up by the wind bombs seemed to come alive, transforming into towering waves of sand that blotted out the sky and frantically surrounded Yoruichi at the center.

"Grand Burial in the Desert Layer!"

Accompanied by Shukaku's arrogant voice, all the yellow sand squeezed and condensed inward in an instant.

Ultimately, this resulted in a massive sand relief sculpture tens of meters high.

Yoruichi, on the other hand, was completely sealed in the very center of that sand tomb.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp—!!!"

Shukaku looked at his masterpiece and let out a maniacal laugh. "Foolish woman! Did you really think I could only use brute force?!"

"Now, I'll let you perish in this sea of ​​sand!"

It laughed wildly, as if it had already pronounced Yoruichi's death sentence.

Then, those cross-shaped pupils slowly rotated and locked onto Sasuke again.

"Alright, warm-up over."

Shukaku grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth. "Next, it's your turn, you stinking fox's lackey!"

However, Sasuke did not respond.

He stood there quietly, looking at the huge sand relief, with a hint of amusement on his face.

This calmness caused Shukaku's laughter to falter slightly, and a strange sense of unease welled up inside him.