Chapter 164: The One-Tail Shukaku

Chapter 164: The One-Tail Shukaku

The highly corrosive poison caused Gaara's body to rapidly decompose.

When a Jinchuriki dies, the tailed beast within them doesn't truly die. It will eventually reappear somewhere else in the world. However, at that time, its personality and memories will be completely reset, essentially returning it to its original state, much like when the Sage of Six Paths first separated them. In a way, this can be considered a form of death. As intelligent beings, they certainly don't want to be reset.

The One-Tail Shukaku had no choice but to use its own chakra to heal Gaara's body.

Even the tailed beast with the smallest amount of chakra is still a formidable tailed beast.

Their healing abilities and the speed at which they can mobilize chakra are unmatched by ordinary ninjas.

It healed quickly and broke free from Shikaku's Shadow Imitation Technique with surprising force.

Fortunately, Ino's Poisonous Pufferfish, which combined Water Release characteristics with Gaara's blood, possessed a stubborn quality. The poison penetrated rapidly and deeply, making it difficult to eliminate quickly.

Gaara's screams continued. At first, the sound was muffled, coming from inside Shukaku's body. But as the Poisonous Pufferfish created hundreds of small holes in the tailed beast's form, his voice became clear and distinct.

Pain! He had never experienced such agony before!

This was completely different from anything he'd felt before. In the past, he was afraid to sleep due to the madness and mental torture. But now, it was pure physical pain and destruction.

He never imagined his body could hurt this intensely.

Temari and Kankuro, who had been following quietly, were thrown into a panic. Their slight hesitation betrayed their presence, and they were immediately captured alive by the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, who quickly surrounded them.

Seeing that the Poisonous Pufferfish hadn't defeated the One-Tail and that its recovery speed was much faster than anticipated, Ino was left with no choice but to use her ultimate trump card.

Using this technique would leave her body extremely vulnerable. Usually, she prioritized avoiding mistakes over achieving great feats, always worried about the danger of being weakened.

Ninjas have powerful attacks but often lack strong defenses. There are countless examples of ninjas being ambushed and defeated.

Now that she was surrounded by her clan's elite, she felt much safer.

At this moment, her clan was her greatest source of support, and the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance was a reliable shield.

"Everyone, get out of the way!" she shouted. The Akimichi clan's large figures retreated swiftly. Her hand seals were incredibly fast.

She created a Water Clone. Then, similar to how Naruto's Shadow Clones helped him create the Rasengan, she simplified the steps for the Steam Impetus Explosion. Two Shadow Clones appeared – one added water, and the other added oil! Coordinating with her main body's hand seals, Fat Ino appeared in less than two seconds.

"Let that little raccoon see our art! We'll blast him to pieces!" With a pointed finger, Fat Ino began to accelerate, crashing into the One-Tail Shukaku, who was standing still and constantly expelling poison from its body.

The water-based chakra within Fat Ino's body rapidly heated up, and scorching steam poured from her entire form. Once the heat inside her reached its peak, she slammed into the One-Tail Shukaku.

Faced with the suddenly charging Fat Ino, even the One-Tail was caught off guard. Instinctively, it knew this wasn't a playful attack.

With the expulsion of poison and the breaking free from the Shadow Imitation Technique nearing completion, the One-Tail had to draw some of Gaara's chakra for defense. There's always a trade-off. If it takes the host's chakra, it must relinquish some control of the body.

The One-Tail used Gaara's chakra mixed with its own to tightly compress the surrounding sand, forming a sand statue wearing a straw hat that strongly resembled the One-Tail itself.

This was its strongest defensive ninjutsu, known as the Shield of Shukaku.

At this moment, the One-Tail Shukaku made the same mistake Orochimaru had made before: assuming Fat Ino wouldn't change direction!

Along with Ino's shout of "Click!"

Like a collision between Mars and Earth, Fat Ino bypassed the Shield of Shukaku and slammed directly into the tailed beast.

The shockwave ripped through the area. Trees, bricks, street-side houses, and various debris were blasted into fragments. The steam erupted into a massive pillar of gas, and the sand melted by the hot oil sprayed in every direction. A fire broke out, accompanied by thick smoke.

Inoichi used a Wind Release ninjutsu to clear the smoke, and everyone looked towards the site of the explosion.

They saw a circular pit in the ground, more than ten meters in diameter and over a meter deep.

The One-Tail Shukaku, with its round belly, looked utterly disheveled. It was injured, and hot oil covered half of its body, constantly burning.

The tailed beast's blood flowed freely.

Injured by a ninja, it was nearly driven insane. Its massive mouth slowly opened, as if in slow motion. Enduring the Nara clan's Shadow Imitation Technique, it slowly gathered chakra, preparing to unleash a powerful Tailed Beast Ball.

"One more time! Hurry!" Shikaku strained, struggling to maintain the technique. The Nara clan ninjas all had their eyes tightly shut, veins bulging on their foreheads, desperately supporting their leader's Shadow Imitation Technique.

"Protect me," Ino shouted to the Yamanaka clan ninjas, and then formed hand seals again.

Her chakra surged, and the speed at which she could recreate the Water Clone also increased significantly. The temperature dropped rapidly, and the fat Water Clone quickly reformed.

The One-Tail Shukaku's eyes burned with killing intent as it watched Fat Ino charge towards it again.

Ino shouted "Click!"

A deafening "boom" echoed.

The One-Tail Shukaku emerged from the smoke, covered in injuries. Ino shouted "Click!" again.

Fat Ino crashed into it once more.

Having been blown up three times in a row, the One-Tail Shukaku didn't have Orochimaru's tricky Substitution Technique. It endured three solid Steam Impetus Explosions. Ino was so exhausted that she was drenched in sweat, and the One-Tail couldn't withstand any more.

The One-Tail's chakra was severely depleted. Its consciousness slowly faded, and Gaara reverted from his complete Tailed Beast form back to his Jinchuriki state.

Its body, which had been over ten meters tall, shrunk to the size of a normal person. Only its face and right hand still bore a resemblance to the tailed beast.

Shikaku, supported by his clan members, firmly maintained control of its body.

"The Shadow Imitation Technique is a success. Now it's up to you."

Ino immediately used the Mind Body Switch Technique to enter Gaara's inner world.

This guy Gaara was much simpler than Naruto. His inner world didn't have a bunch of "idlers" playing mahjong. Ino only saw his androgynous uncle, Yashamaru, in his memories. He was the kindest person to Gaara, without a doubt. Unfortunately, the Fourth Kazekage, who had a strange habit of digging sand and collecting trash, messed things up and destroyed this bond for the sake of a so-called test.

Gaara personally killed his beloved uncle Yashamaru and then fell into endless self-blame and pain. After his emotions reached a breaking point, they began to swing in the opposite direction. He hated this world and everyone in it.

Ino couldn't recall how Naruto in the original timeline used his Talk no Jutsu on Gaara. Their upbringing was different, their experiences were different, and she didn't truly understand his emotions. She couldn't empathize at all. She could only use her own words.

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