Chapter 418: 362. Chapter 355: The Shadow War of the Black and White Beauties

362. Chapter 355: The Shadow War of the Black and White Beauties

In the ruins of the Wind Temple, Uchiha Gin expressionlessly enjoyed the torment of the black and white silk-clad legs. Unable to change this cruel reality, he unworthily chose to compromise, letting the two women, who were locked in a contest, do as they pleased.

Sigh~ At most, he would lose a pair of trousers; his meager savings could still afford that.

"Crunch~"

Pulling out the sunflower seeds he carried with him, Uchiha Gin stared with dull, dead-fish eyes, watching Shamon display his might in the depths of the sand prison in the distance.

He hadn't expected the plain-looking Shamon to actually comprehend a new Magnet Release technique in a desperate situation, slapping the Tailed Beast in the face. Sure enough, anyone capable of becoming a Kage had a few tricks up their sleeve.

"Tsk! The One-Tail is getting serious."

Before he could cheer for Shamon's brilliant maneuver, the next to appear was the murderous Shukaku!

"Kehehe, baldy, you have thoroughly angered me." Don't hit a beast in the face!

The blown-apart mouth began to slowly recover. In Shukaku's tiny, coin-like eyes, the previous playfulness was gone, replaced by malice that felt almost tangible.

At this moment, it decided to end this cat-and-mouse farce and let the human before it realize the chasm-like gap between them.

Having said that, to Shamon's shock, Shukaku, who had just been trapped in the Sand Waterfall Funeral, easily lifted its foot and walked out.

He hurriedly channeled his Magnet Release technique, only to find that the sand beneath his feet no longer obeyed his commands, instead flowing in unison toward Shukaku.

"Sand Waterfall Funeral!"

Refusing to believe it, Shamon once again refined his remaining chakra and poured it into the ground, but it was like a stone sinking into the ocean, receiving not the slightest response. For a moment, his expression turned incredibly grim.

"I am the master of this desert. Did you think that by stealing a bit of my authority, you could use it to defeat me?"

Shukaku's shrill voice carried a thick layer of mockery, making Shamon's scalp tingle.

Magnet Release could actually fail?

Grasping a handful of fine sand, Shamon vaguely saw profound runes within the wind-blown dust, strikingly similar to the patterns on Shukaku's body.

Is this a sealing jutsu?

Sensing that he could no longer communicate with the sand, Shamon stood up with a furrowed brow. Now that his strongest means were banned and his internal chakra was nearly exhausted, was he really going to miss out on the title of Knight?

Just as Shamon was searching for a way to break the deadlock, the sand beneath his feet suddenly began to turn violent.

Familiar with this method of attack, he immediately leaped high into the air. He saw dozens of sharp sand spears sprout in the blink of an eye where he had just been standing.

"You run fast enough. Let you taste the flavor of sand, too!"

Failing the first strike, Shukaku was not discouraged. It pressed its two giant claws onto the ground, and the sand for several miles around began to move simultaneously.

"Whoosh!"

Having just landed, Shamon immediately side-stepped, narrowly dodging a sand blade that erupted from the ground, but he was still grazed on the cheek by the sharp shockwave. The gushing blood stained the Azure Dragon tattoo on his face.

Rumble!

With no time to wipe away the blood, the four sand walls that suddenly rose around him made Shamon's heart tighten. His hands began to form hand seals rapidly, his mouth puffed out, and he spat a Vacuum Great Sphere—his most proficient technique—at one of the encroaching sand walls.

"Bang!"

A hole was punched into the sturdy sand wall, and Shamon flashed through it, while the damaged wall quickly recovered as if nothing had happened.

"Huff, huff..."

Having just regained his freedom, Shamon discovered that the sunlight above his head was blocked by a shadow. With alarm bells ringing in his heart, he didn't even look up, fleeing the spot as if his feet were winged.

The next moment, the giant claw pressed down.

BOOM!!!

"Hmph~ As expected of a bug."

Shukaku curled its lip in disdain, then retracted its sharp claws with slight disappointment. Shamon, caught by the shockwave, landed in a sorry state; the blood on his face had seeped into his eyes, affecting his vision.

For a ninja, losing a sense is roughly equivalent to losing one's life.

"Master!"

Ebizo, watching the battle, couldn't help but scream when he saw this. Unable to let his master be killed, he reached back to draw the scroll on his back, preparing to go and provide support.

"Hold your horses!"

Chiyo, equally anxious, recalled the master's previous words and grabbed her younger brother to stop him.

"Sister, Master is going to die!"

The hand pulling the scroll was held firmly by Chiyo. For the first time, a look of ferocity appeared on the usually timid Ebizo's face. Shamon was the master he regarded as a father; no matter what, he could not watch the other party be slaughtered by a Tailed Beast.

"Trust the master."

Chiyo gritted her teeth, veins bulging on her fair hands. She saw Shamon's miserable state, but as a disciple who understood her master's character,

she knew deeply that before Shamon actively asked for help, she must never do anything to disturb this battle of fate.

"Lord First!"

Stopped by his sister, Ebizo had no choice but to cast his gaze toward Reto, who was standing silently to the side, hoping he would intervene.

"So rash. How can you expect me to entrust the future of the Hidden Sand Village to you?"

Reto, arms crossed, had a faint glimmer in his aged eyes. He could feel the indomitable fighting spirit from Shamon on the battlefield.

"Your master, he hasn't lost yet!"

Even though he was injured and his chakra was nearing exhaustion, the Second Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, Shamon, had not lost his fighting spirit; in fact, it was gradually rising.

"Huff, huff..."

His vision had turned into a sea of blood-red. The tearing sensation in his chest when he breathed kept his dizzy brain from shutting down.

"Eh?"

Looking up at the "scarlet" giant raccoon before him, he was surprised to find that he felt no cowardice, despite the fear he should have been experiencing.

In the dark, a force was soothing Shamon's otherwise anxious heart, allowing him to enjoy a calmness rarely felt in normal times.

"Boring~"

Shukaku, spoiled by the Sage of Six Paths, was just like this: once it got a new toy, it would get bored after playing with it twice, then go off to snatch those of other Tailed Beasts.

"This lord doesn't want to play with you anymore."

In Shukaku's eyes, Shamon, who had been circling it for so long, had lost its appeal. Aside from Magnet Release, this human had provided no further surprises. Thus, this unqualified toy should enter the Pure Land recycling station and wait to be melted down and remade.

Having said that, Shukaku raised its hands, and countless sand grains gathered in the air, turning into giant sand spheres floating in mid-air.

【Sand Hail】

As Shukaku waved its large hand, the giant sand spheres in the sky began to fall at high speed. Accompanied by a rumbling sound, many large craters several meters in diameter were smashed into the soft sand.

And Shamon, at the very center of the impact zone, was likely in grave danger.

"Gin, aren't you going to make a move?"

Although she was competing with her sister-in-law, Uchiha Hikari hadn't stopped watching the battle. Seeing Shamon covered by the sand sphere barrage, she couldn't help but ask Uchiha Gin.

"Ptooey~ Ah!"

Uchiha Gin apologetically flicked away the sunflower seed shell he had just spat onto his sister-in-law's white-silk-clad thigh. The soft, firm rebound against his fingertips made his heart flutter.

"Sorry~"

Before he could savor it, he felt two distinct gazes, so he hurriedly apologized, then solemnly shook his finger, which still held some warmth.

"It's not over yet, wait a little longer~"

"Hmph! Aren't you and that baldy brothers? Or are you just fair-weather friends putting on a show?"

Uchiha Hikari snorted coldly. Taking advantage of the gap in questioning, she moved her thigh upward imperceptibly, dispatching her experienced black-jade-foot general with the intent to launch a surprise attack on Uchiha Gin's triangle zone and capture the final tower without anyone noticing.

"Your eyes are nothing more than that."

Under the Byakugan, all small movements were laid bare. Otsutsuki Tsukihime sneered and brazenly followed suit by lifting her leg.

Triangle zone: Danger!

"What do you mean by that?"

Not only were her small movements exposed, but she was also mocked for having poor eyesight, which infuriated Uchiha Hikari, a master of ocular jutsu.

If she weren't worried about the triangle zone being occupied by the white side, she would have jumped up and given this hateful Byakugan woman a kitchen knife.

Otsutsuki Tsukihime continued to sneer, a look of triumph on her beautiful face, as if she knew some unknown secret.

"Alright, alright, stop arguing, put your feet down first~"

Uchiha Gin hurriedly spoke up to stop the two women's outrageous actions, otherwise, the censors would be taking action soon.

"Hmm? Sit still!" *2

However, things went against his wishes; verbal resistance only invited further aggression. Just as the triangle zone was reduced to a tiny patch of land, the three felt a violent tremor from the earth beneath their feet, as if something was scurrying underground.

"What happened?"

Uchiha Hikari blinked in surprise, withdrawing her black-side jade-foot general and temporarily abandoning the attack on the final line of defense of the triangle zone.

"There's actually more, and such a large amount?"

Otsutsuki Tsukihime also ceased her efforts, and the black and white sides temporarily called a truce. She opened her beautiful white eyes, looking quite surprised at the blue dragon surging through the earth.

"What exactly did you see before?"

This was one of the differences between the Sharingan and the Byakugan. Although the Sharingan could see some chakra flow, its visual penetration was far weaker than the Byakugan, which was why Uchiha Hikari hadn't discovered any clues.

"Under that baldy's feet, there is a wisp of chakra assistance that doesn't belong to him. I previously thought it was some secret technique, but now it seems something is helping him."

Since Uchiha Hikari had asked so sincerely, Otsutsuki Tsukihime decided to be merciful and tell her, then recounted what she had seen when the sand spheres fell.

"Gin, do you know its origin?"

Looking at the triumphant Otsutsuki Tsukihime, Uchiha Hikari turned her eyes to Uchiha Gin, who was celebrating the successful defense of the triangle zone.

"Uh, I know a thing or two~"

Facing Hikari's questioning, Uchiha Gin scratched his face and replied with an inexplicable tone.

"Fine, fine, so I'm the only one being kept in the dark, right? Take this!"

Feeling isolated, Uchiha Hikari was suddenly filled with anger. Taking advantage of Uchiha Gin's distraction while scratching his face, she commanded her black jade-foot general to launch a surprise attack.

"Huh?"

"Despicable woman, how dare you sneak away!"

Kaguya Otsutsuki narrowed her eyes, her white jade-like feet preparing to enter the fray.

"Master!!!"

Looking in despair as the sand spheres indiscriminately covered the entire battlefield, Ebizo's eyes were filled with tears of remorse, while Chiyo beside him lowered her purple head to her chest, crystalline tears flowing along her collarbone and merging into her scar.

"Sigh."

Silent, Reto looked up at the sky-filling yellow sand kicked up after the sand spheres landed, letting out a long sigh; his already weary eyes became even dimmer.

"You two, there is no need to blame yourselves too much; this was all Shamon's own choice."

The pillar of support was gone, but life had to go on, didn't it?

Reto suppressed the sorrow in his heart, his gaze wandering between the two young people, seemingly choosing who would become the new backbone of the Hidden Sand Village.

Ebizo? No, this kid was too cowardly and could not handle the responsibility.

As for Chiyo, a woman serving as Kazekage—there didn't seem to be a precedent for that.

"Let's go, return to gather the troops and come back to strangle Shukaku; it will serve as a tribute to Shamon's spirit in heaven."

Since it could no longer be sealed, Reto, adhering to the philosophy that one shouldn't let one's own resources go to outsiders, decided to bring a large force to crush Shukaku directly, and then, while waiting for the resurrection cooldown, research a new sealing method.

He absolutely could not let it run wild; if it were snatched up by another country, their Hidden Sand Village would be completely finished.

"Yes."

Wiping the tears from their faces, the red-eyed siblings gritted their teeth and nodded in unison.

"Huh? How are you not dead?"

Just as the three turned around, a sharp, surprised cry suddenly rang out from the battlefield obscured by yellow sand.

"Plop~"

Hearing this, the three stopped simultaneously and turned their heads in disbelief, their eyes fixed intently on the yellow dust that had yet to disperse, wanting to see what was happening.

"Wind Style: Dragon Vein Vacuum Great Sphere!"

A familiar voice rang out, and expressions of joy appeared on the faces of Chiyo and the others.

"Whoosh!"

The next moment, a vacuum wind sphere comparable to Shukaku's Air Sand Bullet tore through the sky-filling yellow sand, letting everything return beneath the sunlight.

"It's Master! He's not dead!"

Lying on the ground, having dodged the aftermath of the wind sphere that carried yellow sand, Ebizo ignored the sand covering his head, stood up, pointed at the reflective figure standing in the field, and excitedly announced it to the world.

"That is..."

Reto, who had stood up afterward, looked at the unscathed Shamon with great surprise, discovering that the conspicuous deep blue chakra on his body contained power that was extremely ancient and profound.

"First Kazekage, what is that wrapped around Master?"

Chiyo, who also noticed the anomaly of the chakra on Shamon's body, hurriedly asked the knowledgeable Reto.

"Uh... if I'm not mistaken... that is the power of the Dragon Vein."

After pondering for a moment, Reto spoke thoughtfully to explain.

"Power of the Dragon Vein? Is that the protective power of our hometown that Father spoke of?"

Chiyo blinked in confusion, and then, with memories from years of slumber being awakened, the stories her father told her about their hometown, Loulan, when she was a child, sprang to mind.

"Wasn't that just a bedtime story?"

Ebizo had also heard his father tell stories about the Dragon Vein many times, but even now, he believed it was just a legend of their hometown, Loulan.

"No, the power of the Dragon Vein is real, and furthermore..."

Reto shook his head; as someone who had once been fortunate enough to witness the Dragon Vein, he naturally knew this was not a legend.

"... your master, besides being the Kazekage, has another identity." (End of chapter)