Chapter 224: The Ten Tails
"Borō, stop messing around. Let's hurry up and get rid of these brats."
Kawaki glanced at Shuyu and Sarada, and the two nodded slightly in response.
Although the plan was to cover Sarada as she approached the coffin to rescue Naruto using her Rinnegan, the most difficult part was getting past the line of defense formed by Code, Borō, and Amado. Kawaki had no idea how to manage that.
Even someone like Amado, who wasn't much of a fighter himself, was still a pain to deal with thanks to all his strange and bizarre scientific ninja tools.
Following a signal from Shuyu, both he and Kawaki began moving toward Sarada.
Shuyu pulled a smoke bomb from his ninja tool pouch and threw it to the ground. A thick cloud of white smoke immediately spread through the air.
"Oh? What an old-school ninja tactic," Code remarked, squinting at the trio now hidden in the smoke, a grin spreading across his face.
Ever since the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War and the advancement of scientific ninja tools, traditional items like smoke bombs had slowly faded into obscurity. Otherwise, Tenten wouldn't constantly be worrying about her shop's revenue.
Even though Tenten came from a wealthy family, being single and living independently meant she rarely relied on her parents for financial support.
As the smoke dispersed, the three figures charged at Code, Borō, and Amado from the left, right, and center respectively.
Shuyu went for Code on the right, Sarada dashed toward Amado on the left, and Kawaki lunged straight at Borō in the middle.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
"Not bad. You used to scoff at ninjutsu when you had the Kāma, and now look at you—casting ninjutsu like a pro after losing it." The fireball struck Borō but left not a scratch on him. "But it's not enough!"
Kawaki wasn't done. At the same time he launched the Fireball Jutsu, he pulled two shuriken from his pouch.
The two shuriken clashed mid-air. One flew toward Borō, while the other conveniently landed right beside the coffin sealing Naruto.
"That kind of attack won't work on me." Borō casually yanked the shuriken lodged in his side and tossed it aside, then charged at Kawaki. "Kawaki, looks like your cushy life in the Leaf has made you forget how to fight."
"I wouldn't say that," Kawaki suddenly replied—but the voice was female. "Amenotejikara!"
In a flash, Kawaki and the shuriken near the coffin switched places. No longer bothering to keep up the disguise, she released the Transformation Jutsu, revealing her true identity—Sarada.
Having missed his target, Borō spun around in alarm and shouted, "Sarada?! What are you doing?!"
"This is the last of my ocular power—come back, Seventh Hokage!"
As she spoke, Sarada reached out her right hand. Channeling the power of her Rinnegan, she opened a portal in the coffin, allowing Naruto's unconscious body to fall out.
Meanwhile, the Sarada who had been fighting Amado also released the Transformation Jutsu, returning to her true form—Kawaki.
"Seventh! Seventh!" Hearing Sarada's anxious call, Naruto slowly opened his eyes. "Sarada?"
"You're finally awake, Lord Seventh," Sarada said, tears of joy in her eyes.
"So what if you saved Naruto? All of you are going to die here today!"
Borō, furious at being outwitted by a bunch of kids, bellowed as he glared at Sarada, who was helping Naruto stand.
"I can't ignore a threat like that! I don't care who you are—if you dare threaten the people of the village, I'll never forgive you!" Naruto snapped, instantly entering his Sage Fox Mode. "Kurama!"
A surge of powerful golden chakra burst from Naruto's body, forming the image of a massive fox.
"Hmph, Ten Tails!" Code slammed a hand to the ground, summoning the Ten Tails. He let out a strange sound in its direction.
As someone fluent in the Ten Tails' language, Code was able to communicate with it.
The Ten Tails stared at the golden Nine Tails chakra, making a similar sound in response, its eyes brimming with greed.
"Such sinister chakra…" Naruto muttered as he looked at the Ten Tails.
"That's not all," Kurama said from within Naruto. "This one's different from the one in the Fourth Great Ninja War. That one was emotionless. But this one—this Ten Tails—has deep, complex emotions."
The Ten Tails charged toward the Nine Tails, shaking the ground with a thunderous rumble.
Kurama braced himself, stretching his arms forward to meet the charge, locking in a stalemate.
"Damn it!"
Kurama suddenly leapt backward, retreating.
The Ten Tails, unable to stop its momentum, crashed to the ground, cracking the earth and kicking up a storm of dust.
"Ah!" Sarada cried out. Naruto instinctively turned toward her. "Kurama!"
"I got it!" Kurama's tails quickly reached out and pulled Sarada, Kawaki, Shuyu, Tentō, and Shinki into his body. "Naruto! It's coming again!"
"Get out of the way, Kurama!"
"I know!" Kurama replied, jumping aside. "This Ten Tails is incredibly strong, but it doesn't seem particularly fast."
He pulled back, putting some distance between himself and the Ten Tails. Still, the earlier skirmish had left Kurama slightly wounded, and the golden chakra around him had dimmed a bit.
"I'm sorry, Lord Seventh. I've used up all my Rinnegan's power—I can't teleport everyone out of here anymore."
Sarada looked at Naruto apologetically.
"It's okay. Besides, without you all, I wouldn't have been able to escape that seal. And protecting the villagers—that's my duty as Hokage," Naruto replied without hesitation. "Also, I believe in Sasuke. He'll come for us."
As if to affirm that unshakable bond between Naruto and Sasuke, a space-time portal suddenly opened, and Sasuke stepped out.
"Naruto!"
"Sasuke, you're here!"
Naruto's previously grim expression brightened into a joyful smile.
Sasuke entered the Nine Tails' body and came to stand beside Naruto. "Why couldn't I sense your chakra in the village?"
Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. "I guess it's because I was sealed."
"Idiot," Sasuke muttered, scanning the enemies around them. "Looks like Evilmoku isn't here… Naruto, let's finish this and take them all down!"
"Yeah!"
Naruto nodded confidently.