Gaara's heart sank.
The fact that the other party knew so much about Shukaku was deeply unsettling.
"What are you here for?"
"To discuss a deal."
Kai raised a single finger.
"Hand over control of Sunagakure and acknowledge the authority of the Divine Court."
"In return, I will allow your village to continue existing."
"And if I refuse?"
"Refuse?"
Kai smiled.
There was almost pity in that smile.
"It seems you still don't understand the situation."
"This isn't a negotiation."
"It's a notification."
"Arrogant bastard!"
Kankurō could no longer contain himself.
He immediately drew Karasu from behind his back.
But in the next second—
Neither he nor his puppet could move.
An invisible force wrapped around his body.
Not even a finger could twitch.
"Kankurō!"
Temari's expression changed dramatically.
She instantly unfolded her giant fan.
"Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel Technique!"
A violent storm surged toward Kai.
Yet the moment it entered a three-meter radius around him—
It vanished.
Completely.
As though it had never existed.
"So this is your resistance?"
Kai didn't move an inch.
"Pathetic."
Gaara's expression became extremely serious.
The gourd on his back opened automatically.
An enormous amount of sand erupted forth like a tidal wave.
"Sand Waterfall Funeral!"
One of Gaara's most powerful techniques.
Powerful enough to crush steel into powder.
Yet just as the sand was about to reach Kai—
Everything stopped.
Every grain froze in midair.
The furious torrent became completely motionless.
Gaara's eyes widened.
He suddenly realized something horrifying.
His connection to the sand had been severed.
Forcefully.
By a power far greater than his own.
"You control sand because Shukaku's chakra altered your body."
Kai slowly raised his hand toward Gaara.
"But I control all chakra."
His fingers moved slightly.
Gaara's gourd suddenly trembled violently.
The sand inside—
The sand that had protected him for years.
The sand that had never betrayed him.
Burst outward.
It gathered into a gigantic hand.
And lunged directly toward its master.
"No!"
Gaara desperately tried to regain control.
It was useless.
His sand had abandoned him.
The enormous sand hand wrapped around his throat.
Cold grains scraped against his skin.
A strange, painful sensation spread through his neck.
His feet slowly lifted from the ground.
"Its impossible..."
Gaara struggled desperately.
The suffocating pressure grew stronger.
"Gaara!"
Temari and Kankurō shouted simultaneously.
Both rushed forward.
Yet an invisible wall blocked their path.
No matter how hard they pushed—
They couldn't move an inch closer.
Gaara gripped the sand hand tightly.
Trying to tear it apart.
Trying to reconnect with the sand that had accompanied him throughout his life.
But no matter how much chakra he poured into it—
Nothing responded.
The sand felt cold.
Foreign.
Obedient only to another master.
"Still struggling?"
Kai's voice carried faint amusement.
"How pitiful."
"To be betrayed by the thing you trusted most."
"How does it feel?"
Gaara's face had turned red from lack of oxygen.
Yet his sea-green eyes continued glaring at Kai.
Filled with defiance.
"Give up."
Kai spoke as if stating an undeniable truth.
"Before absolute power, your will means nothing."
He slowly raised his other hand.
The surrounding sand began to surge once more.
This time, however, it moved with purpose.
It gathered in midair.
Gradually forming a gigantic shape.
Moments later—
A massive tanuki emerged.
Purple markings.
A grotesque grin.
The unmistakable appearance of the One-Tail.
Shukaku.
Except this version was made entirely of sand.
"ROOOOAAARRR!"
The Sand Shukaku released a silent roar.
A terrifying mental shockwave struck everyone present.
Gaara's head throbbed violently.
"You..."
He barely managed to force out a single word.
"I told you."
Kai's expression remained indifferent.
"I control all chakra."
"Tail Beast chakra included."
"The chakra you use to control sand included."
"Your power."
"Your weapons."
"Your defense."
"They are all merely my toys."
The instant he finished speaking—
The Sand Shukaku swung one enormous claw toward Gaara.
"Stop!"
Temari attacked the invisible barrier with her fan in desperation.
The barrier remained unmoved.
The giant claw descended.
Then—
A figure suddenly rushed forward.
Using his own body as a shield.
It was Kankurō.
Somehow he had broken free from the restraint.
BOOM!
The claw struck him directly.
Blood erupted from his mouth.
His body was launched through the air like a broken kite.
He crashed into the ground and stopped moving.
"KANKURŌ!"
Gaara's pupils contracted violently.
For the first time in years—
Pure rage exploded from the depths of his heart.
Yet Kai seemed completely uninterested.
He casually snapped his fingers.
The sand hand around Gaara's neck vanished.
But at the same moment—
An ocean of sand erupted from every direction.
It gathered around Gaara.
Forming an enormous pyramid.
One designed to bury him alive.
Desert Layered Imperial Funeral.
Gaara's own ultimate technique.
Now being used against him.
Despair filled his heart.
Then—
A loud and arrogant voice suddenly echoed across the sky.
"Hey, hey, hey!"
"You down there pretending to be some kind of god!"
"Don't go touching my prey without permission, yeah!"
Everyone looked upward.
A gigantic white clay bird circled overhead.
Two figures stood atop it.
One was a young man with long blond hair and an intoxicated smile.
The other was a hunched figure encased within a strange puppet shell.
"Akatsuki..."
Temari's face darkened further.
"Deidara... and Sasori!"
Why were they here?
"Hey, Sasori-danna."
Deidara grinned while looking down at Kai.
"Don't you think this guy is way too full of himself, yeah?"
"He actually dared steal an Akatsuki target."
"Talk about a death wish."
From within the puppet shell came Sasori's hoarse voice.
"Stop wasting time, Deidara."
"Our target is the One-Tail Jinchūriki."
"Finish this quickly."
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
Deidara eagerly reached into his clay pouch.
"Let's show this guy true art!"
He tossed several clay spiders toward the massive floating fortress above.
"Art is an explosion!"
"HA!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Massive explosions erupted across the fortress.
Flames engulfed the sky.
The shockwaves echoed across the desert.
Yet when the smoke cleared—
The fortress remained untouched.
Not a single scratch marked its black surface.
"What?!"
Deidara's grin froze.
"Not even a dent?!"
"Impossible!"
On the ground below—
Kai finally looked up.
He didn't even bother checking the fortress.
His gaze simply settled on Deidara and Sasori.
The gigantic sand pyramid surrounding Gaara froze in place.
Motionless.
Kai stared at the clay bird.
Then frowned slightly.
"More flies."
His calm voice echoed throughout the battlefield.
His eyes settled on Deidara.
Then he spoke.
"Your art..."
"Is too loud."
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> [email protected]/SorenSwiftTL (replace @ with a)