"How is it? Has the news been leaked?"
Inside the Sand Ninja camp, deep within a heavily guarded room, Chiyo looked expectantly at Rasa.
Rasa nodded. "Konoha should have received the news."
Chiyo frowned, a hint of concern in her voice. "All traces have been cleaned up, right? This matter must absolutely not be linked back to us; otherwise, the Kazekage will execute us for treason."
Rasa smiled with absolute confidence. "Rest assured. Under my arrangement, Sakai Takanori was the one captured. With Konoha's interrogation methods, they will undoubtedly extract the intelligence from him."
He puffed out his chest, looking rather smug. "Hehe. Sakai Takanori is a direct subordinate of the Kazekage. What does his leak have to do with us? If someone is to be punished, the Kazekage would have to punish himself first."
Chiyo nodded in satisfaction. "Good! Lately, Pakura and her apprentice have been showing off everywhere in this war, hoarding all the prestige. The Kazekage is relying on them more and more, which threatens our interests. This time, we must get rid of Chisuke!"
Rasa thought of a glaring flaw in their plan. "If Konoha receives the news, they will definitely kill Chisuke. But if Chisuke dies, what happens to the Ichibi? We still need its power to win the war."
Chiyo gave a soft, raspy chuckle.
"Don't worry. After a Jinchuriki dies, the Tailed Beast will temporarily die as well. But we only need to wait. The Ichibi's Chakra will follow its instincts and be reborn somewhere in the desert. We can just capture it again when the time comes."
After revealing her ruthless logic, Chiyo pulled out a heavy scroll and handed it to Rasa.
"This contains all the research materials on Magnet Release. Go back and study it thoroughly. If you can master Magnet Release to rival the Kazekage, you will face far less resistance when you inherit the title in the future."
Rasa accepted the scroll with trembling hands, overwhelmed with excitement. This gesture meant Chiyo's powerful faction would fully back his bid to become the Fourth Kazekage.
In the Konoha camp, the Third Hokage stared at the intelligence report in his hands, his expression remarkably grave.
"According to the Analysis Squad, the Sand Ninja are dispatching the One-Tails Jinchuriki to wreak havoc in our rear," he announced to his advisors. "What are your thoughts on this?"
Homura Mitokado pondered for a moment. "The war has entered its most critical stage. We cannot afford any unrest in our supply lines. We must dispatch an elite strike force to suppress the Jinchuriki immediately!"
Nara Shikaku voiced a more cautious approach.
"This could be false information deliberately leaked by the Sand. It might be a ploy to disperse our frontline combat strength so they can launch a surprise attack. We must factor that in."
Orochimaru looked around the room and laughed, a raspy, unsettling sound.
"We are launching an attack tonight anyway. If the Sand Ninja haven't deployed their Jinchuriki on the front lines by then, it basically confirms the intelligence is accurate. Once we confirm his absence, we send people back to intercept. We must eliminate their ultimate weapon!"
The council discussed it further and ultimately agreed. Orochimaru's plan would likely result in heavy casualties initially, but it was the most efficient and decisive course of action.
At the foot of Elephant Head Mountain, Aburame Shibi had no intention of backing down. As a ruthless operative who regularly acted alone in war zones, he wasn't about to run, even from a Jinchuriki.
Maintaining his chilling composure, he secretly initiated his attack.
Deep underground, an ocean of insects surged forward, forming a deadly perimeter around Chisuke.
"Secret Technique: Insect Tornado!"
Countless Kikaichū erupted from the earth, forming a towering, black tornado that swallowed Chisuke whole, instantly beginning to gnaw at his chakra and flesh.
"Shukaku! Use your ultimate move!" Chisuke yelled over the buzzing roar. "I wondered why I felt like someone was tailing me! It's an Aburame—their bugs are truly a nuisance!"
The moment the bugs made contact, Chisuke entered Tailed Beast Mode.
Golden sand erupted outward. With a deafening roar, the massive form of Shukaku materialized, dispersing the Kikaichū tornado with a single, sweeping slap.
"Kid, stay hidden inside me this time and don't show your face!" Shukaku's booming voice rattled the earth. "This lord is going to have some fun; don't hold me back again!!"
The giant raccoon immediately started complaining. Being sealed away by Orochimaru during their last outing had left Shukaku bitter and deeply dissatisfied.
"Oh man, I'm being looked down upon by my own Tailed Beast!" Chisuke muttered weakly. "I'm just a kid! It's not my fault I couldn't beat a Sannin!"
Despite his complaints, Chisuke obediently sank deep into Shukaku's colossal sandy body. The power of a Tailed Beast was immense, and Chisuke felt a bit embarrassed for always dragging Shukaku down.
"The enemy is too powerful! Quickly, spread the word: there's a Jinchuriki here!" Ogawa Tomohiro yelled to his men. "Elephant Head Mountain will fall! Organize a retreat; I'll do my best to buy you time!"
Seeing Shibi holding his ground, Ogawa desperately wanted to stay and fight. However, facing a literal force of nature, he knew his ninjutsu was useless. Staying would only make him a burden.
"You... take care!" Ogawa shouted, filled with guilt as he led his squad in a frantic retreat.
"Don't even think about leaving!" Shukaku roared. "Tailed Beast Ball!"
Thrilled to finally cause some massive destruction, Shukaku inhaled sharply, instantly condensing a sphere of impossibly dense, black-and-purple chakra. He prepared to wipe out the fleeing Konoha shinobi in one shot.
"Damn it! With this level of Chakra concentration, it's impossible to defend against!" a retreating ninja screamed.
"How did this monster even cross the front lines?!"
The Konoha forces looked back in absolute terror as the Tailed Beast Ball took shape. They were completely defenseless.
"Don't think you'll succeed! Kidaichū: Insect Decay!"
Aburame Shibi calmly formed hand seals, activating a specialized breed of insects that had secretly infiltrated Shukaku's sandy armor.
These parasitic bugs gorged themselves on Shukaku's pure chakra, rapidly expanding to the size of small houses. They violently burst out from Shukaku's neck and belly, tearing two massive holes in his form as tons of sand cascaded to the ground.
BOOM!
Because his neck was blasted open, Shukaku's aim jerked wildly. The Tailed Beast Ball missed the fleeing ninja entirely, grazing right over their heads and impacting the mountainside behind them.
The resulting explosion was catastrophic. A massive chunk of Elephant Head Mountain vaporized, and an avalanche of falling boulders reshaped the landscape in seconds.
"Hey, Shukaku, you're too weak!" Chisuke poked his head out from the massive crater in Shukaku's neck. "Your body is so flimsy that a bug easily punctured it. You disturbed my rest!"
Chisuke had genuinely intended to take a nap inside the beast while it ran wild. After all, they were deep in the Land of Fire—there was no risk of friendly fire.
Hearing Chisuke's snark, Shukaku was absolutely furious.
"If you weren't so incredibly weak, limiting this lord's true strength, I wouldn't be in such a sorry state! Stay put and shut up!"
With a violent thrash, Shukaku used its massive claws to physically pluck the giant insects from its body, crushing them into paste.
"Secret Technique: Insect Cloud!"
A dense, suffocating black cloud of insects poured out from Aburame Shibi's coat, swarming upward to completely blanket Shukaku's towering form.
Shibi knew his bugs couldn't kill a Tailed Beast. His only goal was to blind the monster and buy his comrades the precious seconds they needed to escape.
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