Lightning lit up the dark night as high-pressure air currents successfully shattered the wall made of gold dust.
The flame-like Ukaku erupted from Simu's back, boosting his speed to the absolute limit. With a single Body Flicker Jutsu, he vanished through the crumbling dust and turbulent air, reappearing directly in front of Rasa.
With a clean, decisive slash, Rasa's head easily fell to the ground.
A Sand Clone...
Simu turned his head to look at his feet.
As expected, the head that hit the ground instantly dissolved into sand. Simultaneously, an arm reached out from the earth, firmly gripping Simu's ankle.
"I told you, do not underestimate the Kage of the Hidden Sand Village."
The ground beneath Simu's feet rapidly turned into quicksand. Under the forceful pull of that sudden arm, he began to sink quickly into the depths of the shifting grains.
The flowing fine sand rubbed against itself, releasing an incredibly terrifying pressure.
Rasa released all of his power.
He was now certain of one thing: he had to use his full strength to deal with this masked brat!
Massive power surged from Rasa's wrists, and the surrounding sand cooperated perfectly, swarming upward to wrap Simu in a tight cocoon.
However, this level of pressure was not enough to leave Simu helpless.
To be safe, countless formulas representing Sealing Jutsu crawled onto the gold dust enveloping Simu like chains. A powerful sealing power was released instantly, trapping Simu securely!
Having finished this, Rasa exhaled a heavy breath.
His chest heaved violently, showing that the battle with Simu had cost him a significant amount of chakra.
I used a lot of chakra, but I finally managed to seal this guy for now.
Rasa felt a sense of relief. If he hadn't risked his life to lure Simu into attacking, it would have been hard to say if he could have won.
Nevertheless, with this side temporarily handled, the next thing to deal with was...
Rasa shifted his gaze away from the "pyramid" trapping Simu and looked toward Shukaku, who was continuously destroying the village.
Due to its massive size, its rate of destruction was far too fast. A single random movement could cause the loss of numerous houses and the deaths of many civilians.
Of course, the ninjas of the Hidden Sand Village were not useless. Under their distractions and constant attacks, numerous wounds had already appeared on the surface of Shukaku's body.
As for the price of such efforts, it was the sacrifice of many ninjas.
Having regained its freedom, Shukaku appeared incredibly violent. Combined with Gaara's deep-seated hatred for the Hidden Sand Village, Shukaku's desire for destruction was greatly stimulated.
"Everyone... just die!"
A piercing voice rang out as Shukaku opened its mouth. A massive amount of chakra transformed into air currents, compressing within its giant maw.
Then, as if to pour out all the rage it had accumulated over the years, it fired everything in one breath!
The violent, high-pressure air current blanketed everything, unstoppably destroying whatever stood in its path.
Houses were pulverized in the gale, the ground was easily torn open, and ninjas who couldn't dodge in time were instantly turned into a bloody pulp.
The Wind Style: Air Bullets tore a deep scar through half of the Hidden Sand Village, stretching from the center of the village to the very edge.
"Is this the power of a Tailed Beast..."
Everyone was shocked by the power Shukaku displayed.
Thick fear flickered in the eyes of some ninjas. If they weren't worried about being punished later, half of them might have fled in terror.
There was no helping it; the pressure a Tailed Beast exerted through its size, chakra volume, and ninjutsu was simply too overwhelming.
Supported by massive amounts of chakra, any ninjutsu a Tailed Beast released could achieve world-destroying effects. Combined with their extra-large size, they were essentially super weapons on the battlefield.
Perhaps this was why Tailed Beasts were treated as strategic weapons. Without a sufficiently strong force to seal them, it was very difficult for ordinary ninjas to wear down a Tailed Beast possessed of such vast chakra.
Just as the participating ninjas were beginning to feel despair, their hero finally appeared.
Countless cracks suddenly surfaced on the ground beneath Shukaku's feet. Immediately after, a large amount of gold dust flew out from within, binding Shukaku tightly like countless ropes.
The appearance of the gold dust instantly energized everyone.
"It's the Fourth Hokage!"
"Lord Rasa has finally made his move!"
"Great! With Lord Rasa taking action, sealing Shukaku will be easy."
Rasa's appearance quickly boosted the morale of the ninjas.
"Damn you, Rasa!"
Shukaku cursed the man who had sealed it as it struggled, trying to break free from the gold dust's restraints.
"As I thought, relying on that guy to stop Rasa was completely unreliable!"
Shukaku then turned its curses toward Simu.
By this time, Rasa was already floating in front of Shukaku, standing upon a cloud of gold dust.
As the Kazekage, Rasa was very experienced in dealing with a rampaging Shukaku. After all, his large-scale gold dust attacks served as a perfect counter to Shukaku.
"Shukaku, go back."
As Rasa's voice fell, he raised his hands abruptly. Even more gold dust surged from the ground, instantly turning the Hidden Sand Village into a sea of gold.
At this moment, Shukaku felt as if it had stepped into a swamp. No matter how it struggled, that vast quantity of gold dust held it firmly.
Having finally broken the seal, how could a dignified Tailed Beast like Shukaku be willing to go back so obediently?
"Die, all of you!"
Shukaku let out a shrill scream, and everyone on the scene immediately felt a terrifying pressure that made it nearly impossible to breathe.
Rasa looked up, his pupils trembling slightly. It's that move!
Shukaku opened its mouth, continuously condensing light blue Yang Style chakra and dark red Yin Style chakra. These two types of chakra fused under Shukaku's control, gradually forming a terrifying dark purple sphere that was nearly pitch black.
The moment the sphere took shape, a heavy sense of doom weighed down on everyone's hearts.
Rasa, who had extensive experience fighting Shukaku, quickly recognized the technique.
"It's a Tailed Beast Bomb! I must stop it!"
Rasa's expression was grim. If he allowed Shukaku's Tailed Beast Bomb to land in the Hidden Sand Village, at least half... at least half of the village would be destroyed!
As for the aftershocks of the explosion, they could potentially sweep away the entire village.
He had to stop it!
With that thought, less than a second had passed in real time.
As the aura of destruction grew heavier, Rasa finally acted at this critical moment.
"Magnet Style: Gold Dust Waves!"
The gold dust beneath Shukaku's feet suddenly surged, forming a terrifying wave that slammed heavily into Shukaku, knocking it down.
Because its stance was unstable, the Tailed Beast Bomb in Shukaku's mouth shifted direction, flying directly into the sky...
"BOOM!"