Chapter 417: 361. Chapter 354: This move doesn't do much damage, but it's extremely insulting

361. Chapter 354: This move doesn't do much damage, but it's extremely insulting.

"Grandson! Come over here~"

Shukaku was very angry now. As a Tailed Beast of the "So-Pa-Sai-Q" level, it was actually being led around in circles by a human, and the other party kept making all sorts of mocking gestures at it.

"Despicable bald head!"

The inner rage transformed into massive Air Bullets. Shukaku opened its giant maw and fired frantically at the agile Shamon. The wind bullets slammed into the sand dunes, kicking up dust and stirring a massive sandstorm that dyed the entire sky yellow.

"Is it really too much to ask?"

Shamon narrowly dodged an Air Bullet, but his inner anxiety grew heavier. He had already exhausted most of his chakra just to lure Shukaku away, and the yellow sand beneath his feet showed signs of collapsing.

"Baldy, did you think my Magnet Release was that easy to master?"

Seemingly sensing Shamon's weakness, Shukaku grinned cruelly and shouted in a shrill voice, its tone filled with unconcealable schadenfreude.

"Huff, huff."

Shamon, panting slightly, furrowed his brows into a "chuan" shape. He clenched his fists tight, doing his utmost to refine the little chakra he had left in his body.

The only way now was to escape. He hoped Mr. Gin could evacuate safely, and he wondered if Chiyo had protected them well.

"Just die obediently! Baldy!"

"Hmph!"

Facing the encroaching Shukaku, Shamon gritted his teeth and raised his hands; the sand beneath his feet began to stir once more.

"Master!"

Just then, a pretty figure came sprinting from not far away. It was Chiyo, her face full of worry. Seeing that Shamon was unharmed, she clearly let out a sigh of relief, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

"You're not dead~"

"If you don't know how to talk, you can donate your mouth."

Shamon, who was preparing to release the Sand Binding Prison, stopped the supply of chakra, and the surrounding sand instantly fell silent.

"Why are you here? Did Mr. Gin and the others evacuate safely?"

"I'm here to deliver equipment!"

The violent aura of Shukaku not far away pulled Chiyo back to the cruel reality. She carefully opened her ninja tool pouch and took out a silver card shimmering with a faint halo.

"Mr. Gin succeeded!"

Shamon trembled with excitement. This transformation card he had dreamed of was something he had waited over ten years for.

"This was made by Uncle Gin at the risk of his life for you, Master. Please do not let his expectations go to waste."

Handing the blank Tailed Beast card solemnly to Shamon, Chiyo wore an expression of relief.

Feeling the warm aura radiating from the card, Shamon was moved to tears. He felt that the most correct thing he had ever done in his life was becoming friends with Uchiha Gin.

"I will win."

Wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes, Shamon gripped the Tailed Beast card in his hand, his gaze firm and sharp.

"Master, I'll come help you too!"

Chiyo couldn't bear to watch her master face the ferocious Tailed Beast alone, so she drew two useless sticks, preparing to join the battle, but was stopped by Shamon with one hand.

"Do not disturb a sacred battle. Brother Decade once said that only those who defeat a Tailed Beast alone can use a Tailed Beast card to seal it."

Recalling the Knight's Guide deeply branded into his mind, the blood in Shamon's body was boiling.

If one wants to bear the name of a Knight, one must have the courage to face fear alone.

"There's actually such a rule? I understand!"

Looking at his master's firm face, Chiyo slowly put down the useless sticks in her hands and nodded gently.

"Shamon! I've come to assist you!"

Suddenly, a booming voice rang out from not far away. The First Kazekage, Reto, with graying temples, came running as if the wind were beneath his feet, followed closely by Ebizo, who had gone to deliver the news.

"First Lord!"

In the blink of an eye, Reto stood before Shamon. Their gazes passed over the master and apprentice and landed on the restless Shukaku.

"It wasn't supposed to break the seal for another half a month. What did you do?"

Even though he had stepped down, Reto still couldn't let go of his official airs. Looking at Shamon, whom he had raised himself, he asked coldly.

"Lord Reto, we didn't do anything. As soon as we entered the temple gate, it ran out."

Facing his old leader, Shamon still gave him plenty of face, acting like a humble student.

"Forget it, where is the tea kettle?"

Compared to the truth behind Shukaku's seal breaking, Reto wanted to know the status of the tool for sealing the Tailed Beast.

"Uh... it's shattered."

"Shattered?"

"That's right, shattered into pieces that can't be put back together."

The sudden bad news left Reto speechless. Their Hidden Sand Village hadn't found any other container that could hold a Tailed Beast yet. The human sealing research from before had long been halted by Shamon, who had shifted all efforts to researching transformation tools.

If they had followed the original plan, they might have already researched a method to seal a Tailed Beast into a human body by now.

"Then we can only prepare for the worst."

Reto narrowed his old eyes, emitting a chilling light. His aged voice carried a tone of cruelty.

"Shamon, you and I shall join forces and kill Shukaku!"

With that, he clasped his hands together, and sharp Wind-style chakra surged. It seemed this old guy hadn't slacked off on his training after retirement; maintaining such combat power at this age was truly not easy.

"Hahahaha, human, are you trying to laugh me to death? Just relying on a few old, weak, sick, and disabled people like you, you want to kill me? You really think you're something, huh!"

Shukaku heard their conversation clearly. After hearing Reto's arrogant words, it was angered to the point of laughter. It figured that if the Eight-Tails were placed in front of this old man, that stupid ox could be blown away on the spot.

"Lord Reto, please let me handle this."

Shamon's eyes flashed with an inexplicable light, and he spoke to Reto, who was preparing to strike, in an extremely serious tone.

"Shamon, what do you mean?"

Furrowing his aged brows, Reto lowered his hands, which were forming seals, feeling very puzzled and wanting to hear the other's explanation.

"I want to... become a Knight!"

Looking at the blank Tailed Beast card in his hand, the desire that had been suppressed in Shamon's heart for many years finally found release.

"That is... has that detestable curly-hair come?"

Reto naturally recognized the Tailed Beast card and knew who the only person in the ninja world capable of making one was. His withered face instantly turned incredibly dark.

Back during the Five Kage Summit, he had been teased by Uchiha Gin quite a bit. Although their relationship couldn't be called a blood feud, it was definitely at the level of not giving each other a good look when they met.

"Uh... thanks to Mr. Gin's help, I am only one final step away from being a Knight."

"Shamon, don't play games at a time like this. If you die, the backbone of the Hidden Sand Village will be broken!"

Seeing that the successor he had worked so hard to cultivate wanted to fight a Tailed Beast one-on-one, the usually cautious Reto naturally wouldn't agree. After all, Shamon was currently carrying the future of the entire village.

"Lord Reto! Please believe in me!"

Shamon shook his head firmly. As a fine man of the Land of Wind, how could there be any reason to retreat in the face of battle?

"But..."

"Rumble~"

Reto wanted to persuade him a bit more, but Shamon had already turned around. With wind beneath his feet, he charged toward Shukaku's massive body like a gleaming missile.

Seeing this, Reto immediately stretched his legs, preparing to chase after him to help, but as soon as he lifted his foot, he was blocked by Chiyo, who had been waiting for a long time.

"Little Chiyo, move aside!"

Even though he had always doted on the woman before him like his own granddaughter, Reto still ordered in a stiff tone.

"Sorry, First Lord, please do not interfere in this battle."

Knowing that her master's battle could not be disturbed by any outside factors, Chiyo shook her head, holding the two useless sticks in front of her chest, her eyes filled with determination.

"Huff... you two, your wings have hardened, haven't they? Ebizo, stop your sister for me."

Not expecting the two who were usually respectful to him to defy him at such a critical moment, Reto waved his hand with a cold face.

Ebizo, who was standing behind him in a daze, woke up instantly upon hearing this. After hearing this difficult order, he pouted and blinked fiercely at Chiyo, looking completely helpless.

Chiyo glared at her younger brother. Upon seeing this terrifying look, Ebizo instantly wilted, then lowered his head and stood in place without moving, as if he had turned a deaf ear to Reto's order.

"He has already made his choice. First Lord, please give Master a little more trust, okay?"

All doubt comes from a lack of firepower.

The reason Reto was so insistent on participating in the battle was that he knew exactly how much Shamon was worth.

As the ninja second only to him in the Hidden Sand Village, Shamon's strength could be said to be the best in the Land of Wind, but Reto knew this was just picking the tallest among the short.

If Shamon's strength were placed in the other major nations, he might not even be able to rank in the top five. It was only because the overall level of ninjas in the Land of Wind itself wasn't high that he was able to stand out.

"Sigh... but your master's strength..."

Reto looked at Chiyo, who was blocking his path, and sighed powerlessly.

"Master Shamon is the strongest man in the Land of Wind!"

Unlike the pessimistic Reto, Chiyo had absolute confidence in her master. She had always believed that Shamon was the child of destiny who would lead the Hidden Sand Village to rise.

"Huff... fine."

Looking at the light flashing in Chiyo's eyes, Reto suddenly fell silent. Indeed, when people get old, they become hesitant. Recalling his own forward-charging spirit in his youth, his mind suddenly became clear.

Back then, he wasn't the strongest man in the Land of Wind, but he had never feared battle. Facing enemies stronger than himself, he still met the challenge head-on. It was by relying on this drive that Reto successfully defeated one invincible enemy after another, unified the ninja world of the Land of Wind, and established the Hidden Sand Village, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

"Shamon, I hope you do not bring shame to the name of Kazekage."

Watching Shamon's retreating back, Reto muttered to himself, his graying eyes bursting with a dazzling luster.

"Baldy, are you here to die?"

Shukaku touched its head in confusion. Was there something wrong with Shamon's brain? He actually dared to rush over alone to find it—was he tired of living?

"Shukaku, next, I will go all out and have a fair and square 1v1 man-to-man battle with you."

Standing before Shukaku's massive body, Shamon looked as tiny as a grain of reflective sand, yet there was no fear in his eyes, only intense fighting spirit; the blue dragon tattooed on his face seemed to shimmer with a faint light as his emotions surged.

"1v1? Did you take the wrong medicine, daring to challenge me to a duel?"

It had lived this long and never seen such an arrogant human; of course, this was all thanks to the protection of the tea kettle, which allowed Shukaku to avoid the Tailed Beast capture competitions of the past, and having never personally experienced the brutal beatings from wooden golems or giant robots, it could spout such nonsense.

"Sand Waterfall Imperial Funeral!"

Shamon ignored Shukaku's foul mouth and slammed his hands onto the ground; the calm sand dunes erupted as if boiling water had been poured over them.

The battle declaration had been made, and now there was nothing left but to fight.

"You're serious!"

Feeling the sand beneath its feet suddenly become incredibly loose, Shukaku widened its eyes and shouted in disbelief.

"Always fighting!"

Straining to manipulate the vast desert, beads of sweat seeped from Shamon's shiny bald head, dampening the blue dragon on his face; ordinary Wind Style could not harm Shukaku, and his only remaining trump card was Magnet Style.

"Damn it! Sand Hand!"

Due to its own weight, Shukaku sank extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, half its body was buried; infuriated, it raised a claw, and the floating gravel instantly transformed into several sharp claws, swiping toward Shamon on the ground.

"Sand Shield!"

If he dodged, the Sand Waterfall Imperial Funeral would be interrupted; facing the ferocious claws, Shamon gritted his teeth and silently deployed the Sand Shield for defense, a thick wall of sand appearing out of thin air to block his front.

Boom!

Boom!!

Boom!!!

Explosions rang out, each more muffled than the last; Shamon felt his limited chakra draining away rapidly, but for now, the only way was to restrict Shukaku's movements first so he could use a one-hit-kill jutsu to complete this battle of the underdog overcoming the superior.

"Hmph! Thinking you can trap this lord with this, what a pipe dream!"

After struggling in the soft, sticky sand for a long time, Shukaku snorted coldly, opened its foul-smelling maw, and a black sphere of light gradually condensed.

"Ah! It's a Tailed Beast Ball!"

The few people watching the battle felt their hearts jump into their throats when they saw the black sphere of light emitting terrifying energy in Shukaku's mouth; if he took this hit head-on, Shamon wouldn't have enough lives to die even if he had nine.

"Human, give my regards to the old man for me!"

With the Tailed Beast Ball ready, Shukaku's eyes were full of triumph; although its Tailed Beast Ball had the lowest purity among all the Tailed Beasts, it was still a Tailed Beast Ball, wasn't it?

Sizzle~ Sizzle~

The black Tailed Beast Ball was about to be fired; feeling the threat of death, Shamon's adrenaline surged wildly, and recalling the Sand Hand Shukaku had just used, he raised one hand, frantically constructing it in his mind.

Trace on?

"Huh? What is that above Master's head..."

Chiyo, watching with worry, stared wide-eyed at the giant wrist manifesting in the sky and exclaimed, covering her mouth.

"Uh... my hands are on my body, aren't they?"

Shukaku, who also saw the giant wrist, took a moment to glance at its own hands while holding the Tailed Beast Ball in its mouth, finding them both still there.

Then, whose was that giant hand that appeared out of thin air?

"Sand Strange Arm!"

"Slap!"

Just as Shukaku was puzzled, that giant hand, identical to its own arm, was raised high and, with lightning speed, slapped down fiercely; the sound of the massive palm echoed across the sky.

"Boom!"

The Tailed Beast Ball, which hadn't been fired yet, exploded in front of the stunned Shukaku, and the destructive power generated could be clearly felt even from several miles away.

As the smoke cleared, Shukaku, its entire face unrecognizable, just stood there blankly in the posture it had been slapped into, as if it had lost its soul.

After a long while, Shukaku slowly turned its head, its two coin-like pupils staring fixedly at Shamon, and its trembling voice actually carried a hint of grievance.

"Even... even the old man never hit me!"

PS: As expected of the legendary forbidden drug, the side effects are terrifying; my whole body aches as if I've been played with by the G-Force for seven days and seven nights. Can't take it anymore, homies! (End of chapter)