Jiraiya turned his gaze toward Yuki Seisui, then looked back at Chiyo and the others.
"Planning to rescue the One-Tail?"
"Impossible!"
"Then we'll take you out first!" Pakura's eyes burned red with rage.
The sudden deaths—the Third Kazekage, Rasa, the casualties Seisui caused during his night raid on the Sand ninja camp, and now the One-Tail being powerless against him—had all stacked up.
These successive blows finally erupted the long-suppressed hatred in Pakura's heart.
"Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder!"
She charged straight at Jiraiya, surrounded by fiery orbs that danced up and down with her movements.
Scorch Release fireballs could evaporate a human's internal moisture on contact—information Jiraiya and Tsunade were well aware of.
Seeing Pakura's rush, Chiyo and Ebizo exchanged a glance. Chiyo, having lost several of her puppets from the Chiriku Ten-Strong, still had others, but as puppeteers, both she and Ebizo needed a place to hide their true bodies.
Chiyo decisively abandoned her puppet, sending Ebizo to find a suitable hiding spot while she formed a chakra scalpel with her own chakra and lunged at Tsunade.
The battlefield erupted in chaos, Sand and Leaf ninja clashing in the midst of blood and carnage.
Every second was a moment of slaughter.
Karura hid in a secluded spot, watching Shukaku struggle against Seisui. She clasped her hands together, gathering sand already prepared on the ground toward Shukaku.
Seeing the situation go wrong earlier, she came immediately, controlling the sand as if Shukaku were manipulating it himself.
Now was the perfect opportunity for a sneak attack on Seisui.
Sand Manipulation—originally developed by the Second Kazekage from observing Shukaku—made this feasible.
It was only natural for Shukaku to control sand.
"Your opponent is me."
Just as Karura sent the sand surging toward Shukaku, a three-pronged kunai landed in front of her, and Minato suddenly appeared.
Picking up the kunai, Minato held two kunai—one forward, one reversed—in his hands.
With a slight wrist motion, two blindingly fast wind-style slashes flew toward Karura.
Seeing Minato's movement, Karura formed a sand shield around herself. She knew his capabilities; this wasn't their first encounter.
The wind-style slashes struck the sand shield, sending ripples across its surface, but the shield quickly returned to its original state.
"Namikaze Minato…"
"Then let's deal with you first!" Karura's eyes burned with hatred.
Rasa had died at Seisui's hands, and everyone knew the bond between Minato and Seisui in the major ninja villages.
Now seeing Minato intervening, Karura's hatred for Seisui shifted toward him.
"Sand Waterfall Funeral!"
She raised her hands, and the sand seemed to obey her will, swelling like a tidal wave.
Feeling the shift beneath her feet, Minato's face changed. He vanished, reappearing on a large nearby tree.
Surveying the sandstorm, he reached behind and drew ten kunai engraved with the Flying Raijin Seal.
"Ninja Art: Kunai Volley!"
An improved version of Jiraiya's technique to throw all kunai at once. Now, perfectly synchronized with Minato's abilities, it was deadly efficient.
Three of the kunai shot at Karura from tricky angles.
Karura stood, sand swirling protectively around her like Gaara's mother, following the original story.
The three kunai struck the sand shield almost simultaneously, but before the shield could fully consume them, Minato appeared beside her.
The three-pronged kunai cut a golden streak as a blue slash followed toward her.
Karura's attention shifted to Minato. Smirking, her sand shield blocked the slash, absorbing it safely.
Predicting her moves, Minato vanished again, this time appearing behind her. The sand shield partially obscured her, allowing him to throw another three-pronged kunai.
Karura sensed the threat and dodged instinctively. The kunai grazed her neck, leaving a shallow wound.
The sand at her feet seized Minato's legs, but he was undeterred.
Summoning a Rasengan in his left hand, he struck—but Karura had already moved aside. The Rasengan just grazed her thigh, leaving a bloody scratch.
Time seemed to slow. The Rasengan slid along her leg, leaving a Flying Raijin Seal.
Minato smiled and vanished. The sand collapsed around him, and he reappeared atop the initial tree.
Karura crouched, glaring at the tree, frustrated. Most ninjas immobilized by sand could not act—but Minato, empowered by Flying Raijin, was untouchable.
Pointing at her with a kunai, he said: "You're a worthy opponent, but now it ends!"
He then threw the kunai toward her while shouting:
"Seisui! Slash!"
Seisui glanced at Shukaku approaching, then slashed his golden blade toward Minato.
Minato smiled. Karura, confused, raised her sand shield instinctively, blocking both the kunai and the incoming blade.
"Flying Raijin: Guided Thunder!"
He directed white light to the blade, absorbing it, and redirected it toward Karura.
Seisui's eyes widened. Minato had developed Flying Raijin: Guided Thunder—a jutsu capable of redirecting Tailed Beast Balls.
Even so, Karura's sand shield seemed unbreakable.
Minato instantly teleported a previously blocked three-pronged kunai in front of the redirected blade.
"Now is the moment to confirm my plan!"
"Flying Raijin: Guided Thunder!"
He grasped the kunai and the blade simultaneously.
Karura's eyes widened, and in the next instant, the upper half of her body was severed at an angle from her thigh, while a golden crescent-shaped slash shot skyward.
She seemed to be falling to the ground.
"Is this… my fate?"
She understood instantly but it was too late.
"Perhaps… this is the outcome I deserved."
BOOM!
Karura's upper body hit the ground. The sand calmed instantly, as if without support.
The sand shield fell, powerless.
Lying on the ground, her lips quivering and eyes staring at the moon, Karura whispered:
"Perhaps… after Rasa's death… I… I am no longer myself."
"So be it."
Her eyes closed forever.
Karura—Dead!
Minato stepped forward over the sand, unaffected by her final words.
This was a ninja's destiny and end—but it also strengthened his hope for the world Seisui spoke of: a peaceful world.
"Could it really become such a world?" he murmured, then clenched his fists with resolve: "It will!"
"Minato?"
Uchiha Haru appeared, bloodied but alive, holding her Uchiha war fan.
Minato paused, then nodded.
"Seisui is still fighting the One-Tail. Go see if you can help."
"Understood!" Haru smiled and nodded, running toward the black Nine-Tails and restrained Shukaku.
"You go ahead, I'll help Jiraiya-sensei and Tsunade-neesan."
"Got it."
This area, near the two Tailed Beasts, was free of both Sand and Leaf ninja—a reason Karura chose it for her sneak attack.
Fewer people, cover, close to two Tailed Beasts, and plenty of sand—ideal for a Sand user's ambush.
Haru walked across the sand, glanced at Karura's severed half, but did not falter.
She leapt along Kurama's hind leg to reach Seisui.
Seeing her, Seisui exhaled slowly:
"You arrived just in time."
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