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Shin and his team had just arrived at the medical tent when they heard a series of explosions.
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"What''s going on? Is Suna attacking?"
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Shin used his Mind''s Eye of Kagura to sense the situation. It was indeed Suna.
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He was puzzled. Why were they attacking now? Had they received reinforcements?
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Tsunade emerged from the medical tent, followed by Konan.
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"What''s happening? Is it an enemy attack?" Tsunade asked.
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"Let''s go see. Konan, stay here. Don''t wander off."
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Shin patted Konan''s head.
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"Okay." Konan nodded obediently, though her eyes held a hint of disappointment.
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Shin wasn''t worried about leaving Konan alone. He had implanted his Mangekyō Sharingan abilities in her eyes with the Transcription Seal.
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He and Tsunade arrived at the edge of the Konoha encampment. Sakumo Hatake was leading the Konoha Shinobi in a ''Standoff'' against the Suna forces.
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"What''s going on? Why is Suna attacking?" Shin asked Jiraiya, who had recovered from his injuries.
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"Our commander, Sakumo, killed Chiyo''s son and daughter-in-law, so she''s here for revenge," Jiraiya explained.
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Shin''s expression turned odd. Chiyo''s son and daughter-in-law? Weren''t they Sasori''s parents? So Sasori''s parents died during the Second Shinobi World War...
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"Sakumo Hatake! I''ll kill you!" Chiyo glared at Sakumo with pure hatred. If Ebizo wasn''t holding her back, she would have charged at Sakumo.
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Sakumo''s expression remained neutral. Killing enemy Shinobi was part of his duty; he wouldn''t hesitate.
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The Third Kazekage sighed. He hadn''t wanted to attack Konoha now, but Chiyo had already mobilized the troops. He had no choice but to go along with it.
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Chiyo''s influence in Suna was almost equal to his.
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"Ebizo, take care of Orochimaru and Jiraiya. Chiyo, Tsunade is yours—try to keep your anger in check."
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The Third Kazekage said, his voice serious. Although this attack was unplanned, he still had a strategy.
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"Sister, once we defeat Konoha, you can do whatever you want with Sakumo," Ebizo said, trying to appease Chiyo.
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"I know. I''ll handle Tsunade." Chiyo turned away from Sakumo, suppressing her rage. She couldn''t let her emotions control her.
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"Attack!"
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The Third Kazekage looked at the monk beside him. This was Bunpuku, the One-Tails Jinchūriki.
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Bunpuku sighed. He didn''t want to kill, but he had to fight for Suna.
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He charged towards the Konoha Shinobi, a layer of Tailed Beast Chakra cloaking his body.
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The Tailed Beast Cloak enhanced the Jinchūriki''s strength, defense, and speed.
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Only those who were acknowledged by the Tailed Beast could use this ability. Bunpuku had clearly earned Shukaku''s approval.
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With the protection of the Tailed Beast Cloak, the Kunai and Shuriken thrown by the Konoha Shinobi couldn''t harm Bunpuku.
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"Ichibi, come out!"
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Bunpuku communicated with Shukaku in his mind, then let the Tailed Beast take over.
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Shukaku''s massive form appeared on the battlefield, causing fear among the Konoha Shinobi.
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"That damned tanuki again," Kushina muttered, glaring at the beast.
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"I''m surprised to see Shukaku here," Shin said.
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He had sealed Shukaku into Bunpuku with the Four Symbols Seal. Shukaku shouldn''t be able to break free on its own.
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He suspected Suna had broken the seal.
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He was right. Suna had spent a long time researching ways to forcibly break the Four Symbols Seal. It wasn''t a gentle release; Bunpuku had suffered.
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"Attack!"
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The Third Kazekage, seeing Shukaku''s appearance, immediately targeted Sakumo.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
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"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle!"
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He unleashed a torrent of Iron Sand, forming thousands of senbon that rained down on the Konoha Shinobi.
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Sakumo drew his White Light Chakra Sabre and deflected the senbon, then charged towards the Kazekage.
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His sword now had a special coating that negated the effects of Magnet Release.
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Ebizo also attacked, facing Orochimaru and Jiraiya alone.
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Orochimaru and Jiraiya were only at quasi-Kage level. Ebizo could handle them both.
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Chiyo, following the Kazekage''s plan, attacked Tsunade with her puppets, occasionally targeting other Konoha Shinobi as well.
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"These puppets are so annoying!"
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Tsunade punched a puppet, destroying it, but another one immediately took its place.
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Sakumo was occupied with the Third Kazekage, Orochimaru and Jiraiya with Ebizo, and Tsunade with Chiyo.
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And now Shukaku had appeared. Only Shin could handle it.
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Furthermore, Hanzō hadn''t appeared yet.
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This was the Third Kazekage''s plan: to keep Konoha''s strongest occupied while Hanzō led the Ame Shinobi in a sneak attack from behind and destroy their supplies.
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"Shukaku, haven''t I beaten you up enough? Still baring your teeth at me?"
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Shin looked at Shukaku, who clearly showed fear in its eyes. It wasn''t completely unafraid of him.
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Shin had indeed given it a thorough beating last time.
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"I''ll kill you!"
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Shukaku, feeling insulted, opened its maw and formed a Tailed Beast Bomb.
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"A Tailed Beast Bomb? You can use that too? I thought you didn''t have enough Chakra."
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Shin was surprised.
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But it made sense. All Tailed Beasts could use Tailed Beast Bombs. Just because Shukaku had less Chakra than the others didn''t mean it couldn''t use it.
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But it was taking a while to charge. That was understandable, though. It was a powerful attack, capable of destroying an entire village.
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That was the destructive power of a Tailed Beast. That was why, even if someone was individually stronger than a Tailed Beast, their impact on the battlefield was less significant.
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For example, Hiruzen could defeat Shukaku, but Shukaku''s destructive power was far greater.
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The Yin and Yang Chakra mixed and compressed within Shukaku''s mouth, then finally fired outwards. Shukaku felt a sense of satisfaction.
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It could finally kill this annoying brat.
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But it was too optimistic. As the Tailed Beast Bomb approached, Shin used his Sharingan. The attack vanished before it could even reach him.
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After evolving into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, his abilities had become even stronger.
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Yomotsu Hirasaka consumed less Chakra and was more potent. He could open portals at will.
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Tenmomei could now affect other objects and people, and the time rewind wasn''t limited to three minutes anymore.
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Shin had experimented and found he could rewind time by an hour within a hundred-meter radius. But the cost was immense.
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It would deplete all his ocular power and Chakra.
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He could also choose to rewind the time of a single object or person, and the duration would be longer. The length of the rewind depended on how much Chakra and ocular power he used.
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Perhaps with enough Chakra and ocular power, he could even rewind time by a thousand years. But that was just speculation.
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He had used Tenmomei on the Tailed Beast Bomb, rewinding its time by three minutes. Three minutes ago, the Tailed Beast Bomb hadn''t even been formed yet. So it simply vanished.
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Compared to its previous limitations, Tenmomei was far more versatile now.
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In a battle against a true powerhouse, he could use Tenmomei to negate their attacks.
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But for now, Shukaku was confused. It rarely used Tailed Beast Bombs, but it didn''t expect its attack to be completely nullified.
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It quickly realized that the human brat must have done something.
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But Tenmomei''s ability was time manipulation; there was no trace of it. Shukaku couldn''t understand what Shin had done.
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...
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Boom!
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An explosion from the direction of the Konoha camp wiped the smile off Shin''s face.
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"So that''s why Hanzō wasn''t here."
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Seeing the flames rising from the Konoha camp, Shin understood Suna and Ame''s strategy.
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He had known that Chiyo was seeking revenge for her son, but he hadn''t thought much about Hanzō''s absence.
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Chiyo''s revenge had nothing to do with Amegakure. They might be allies, but Hanzō wouldn''t participate in a battle that offered no benefits to him.
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Shin had assumed Hanzō simply didn''t want to get involved in Chiyo''s personal vendetta.
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But it seemed the Third Kazekage and Hanzō had another plan.
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"Looks like I can''t play with you anymore, Shukaku."
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Shin activated his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and took control of Shukaku. Shukaku''s eyes turned into three-tomoe Sharingan.
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With the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Tailed Beasts were just toys. Even with Bunpuku as its Jinchūriki, Shin could easily control Shukaku.
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He glanced at Kushina and Mikoto, who were fighting. They were doing well together.
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And with the Transcription Seal, he didn''t have to worry too much about them. He left the battlefield and headed back to the Konoha camp.
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Konan was still there. Although she had the Transcription Seal, he didn''t want her to get hurt.
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And he also had to deal with the Ame Shinobi who were attacking the supply depot. If they destroyed all the supplies, it would put Konoha at a disadvantage.
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It could even lead to their defeat.
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He found Konan hiding in their tent. She was unharmed.
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"Konan, are you alright?"
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Shin asked.
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Konan sighed in relief, then rushed towards Shin and hugged him. She had been terrified by the sounds of battle.
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"I''m fine," she said, shaking her head.
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"That''s good." Shin took her hand and left the tent, his Kusanagi sword in his other hand.
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There were no Ame Shinobi here. They were all at the supply depot and the medical tent.
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They knew what was most important: destroying Konoha''s supplies and killing their medics.
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Hanzō was personally leading the attack. Shin could see the giant salamander wreaking havoc.
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"Konan, are you scared?" Shin asked.
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"No."
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Konan shook her head firmly. She had been scared when she was alone, but now that Shin was here, her fear vanished.
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Shin smiled and led Konan towards the area with the most Ame Shinobi. He cut down every one he encountered.
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Konan watched, her fear fading. As a war orphan, she had seen death before. She was becoming desensitized to it.