Over where Shikamaru's group was, Karin had just finished treating Choji.
She withdrew her hand from Choji's chest, let out a long breath, sweat beading on her forehead.
"Alright." She stood up and clapped her hands.
"This big fatty is fine. I've repaired the damage to his internal organs using the Mystical Palm Technique. He'll need to rest for a few days when he gets back, and not eat indiscriminately. In three to five days at most, he should be able to move around."
As soon as she finished speaking, Choji, lying on the ground, his eyelids flickered a few times, and he slowly opened his eyes.
He looked blankly at the Adamantine Sealing barrier, blinked, and then—
"S-so... hungry..."
A weak but clear voice sounded in the silent barrier.
Ino: "..."
Shikamaru: "..."
The corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched.
Hinata couldn't help but 'pfft' laugh.
Ino staggered and almost fell. She glared at Choji, who had just woken up, wanted to punch him, but remembering that Choji had been injured protecting her and Shikamaru, she forcibly held back.
She took a deep breath, squeezed out a smile: "Choji, as long as you're alright..."
But those words, 'as long as you're alright', somehow sounded like they were spoken through clenched teeth.
Shikamaru pulled a pack of military ration pills from his ninja tool pouch and stuffed them into Choji's hand.
"Eat these to tide you over. When we get out, I'll treat you to some barbecue."
Choji took the military ration pills, his eyes immediately lighting up. Without a word, he stuffed them into his mouth, crunching loudly.
Although the taste of military ration pills wasn't great, they really filled the stomach.
Shikamaru rubbed his temples, somewhat with a headache.
He looked at Karin, who was standing up, hesitated for a moment, then spoke: "Thank you..."
Although Choji had been injured by Gaara just now, and they were still trapped in the barrier by the other side, the other party had taken the initiative to treat Choji. Shikamaru couldn't ignore this goodwill.
It's just...
He couldn't help feeling it was a bit awkward.
Karin waved her hand, nonchalantly saying: "It's all Gaara's fault for being too heavy-handed. Actually, we just wanted you to stay."
Gaara glanced at her expressionlessly, saying nothing.
After speaking, she skipped and ran back to her teammates Kurotsuchi and Ranmaru. Passing by Hinata, she deliberately made a face at her.
"Little brat!" Hinata instantly got bristled, clenched her fist, looking ready to rush over and punch her.
"Don't think I won't hit you just because your surname is Uzumaki!"
Karin stuck out her tongue, retorting tit for tat: "Anyway, you can't get out right now. How about we have a little match here? Whoever loses has to leave Menma-kun."
"Fine, let me teach you a lesson..." Hinata was grinding her teeth in anger, her fists cracking.
Shikamaru, watching the short-tempered Big Sis Hinata and Karin seem about to fight, felt that sense of foreboding in his heart growing stronger and stronger.
He had a feeling... something big was about to happen.
Boom—!!!
A vast wave of Chakra, like a tsunami, swept in from the direction of the arena's center!
The violence and hatred contained in that Chakra instantly penetrated the Adamantine Sealing barrier, enveloping everyone inside!
"What?!" Shikamaru suddenly turned his head towards the direction the Chakra came from, his expression drastically changing.
"That's... the direction Menma left in?"
Kumogakure's Karui shuddered, her dark skin instantly breaking out in goosebumps.
"This Chakra..." Her voice trembled.
"It's Tailed Beast's Chakra!"
As a disciple of the Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki, Killer B, she was more than familiar with Tailed Beast's Chakra!
Omoi, with the lollipop in his mouth, also stared dumbfounded at Samui, nearly dropping his lollipop.
"Sa-Samui-senpai, th-this Chakra..."
Samui's expression was grave as she nodded, her golden short hair slightly stirring under the impact of the Chakra.
"No mistake, it's Tailed Beast's Chakra, and... extremely powerful!"
She had experienced the Chakra of the Eight-Tails up close many times and was very familiar with the aura of Tailed Beast's Chakra.
The violence level of this Chakra before her was in no way inferior to the Eight-Tails!
Kirigakure's Ao was the first to use his Byakugan to look in the direction of the Chakra Eruption.
When his gaze pierced through the layers of buildings, seeing the dark red Chakra shooting into the sky in the center of the arena, and the ten dark red tails dancing like tentacles, his face instantly turned as pale as paper.
"Te-Ten tails..." Ao's voice was hoarse, carrying unbelievable shock.
"How is this possible... a Ten-Tailed Beast..."
Suigetsu's cheek twitched: "No way? Ten tails?"
On the other side, Sasuke, who had been staring in the direction Menma had left since he departed, was also the first to sense that Chakra Eruption.
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan tried to see clearly in that direction, but the distance was too great... he couldn't see anything.
He could only feel that Chakra, vast enough to suffocate, full of violence and malice.
'What was that?'
'Was it Menma?'
'Or... something else?'
Just then, the corner of Sasuke's eye suddenly caught a trace of abnormality.
He suddenly turned his head, looking at Naruto beside him!
Naruto stood there, head lowered, his entire body trembling slightly.
And on his body surface, wisps of red Chakra were slowly emerging!
That Chakra, like burning flames, seeped out from within Naruto, slowly flowing and condensing on his skin!
"Naruto?!"
Sasuke's pupils contracted!
Sai and Shigaraki reacted even faster!
Almost instantly, the two teleported in front of Sasuke, one left and one right, shielding him behind them!
Shigaraki's voice was extremely grave: "Damn! The Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki appears to be running rampant!"
His voice was very low, but everyone present was a Ninja, with hearing far beyond ordinary people.
The air inside the entire barrier seemed to instantly solidify!
Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Hinata, Sasuke...
Kirigakure's Ao, Suigetsu, Chojuro, Honoka...
Kumogakure's Samui, Omoi, Karui, Atsui...
The Land of Stars' Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Kurotsuchi, Ranmaru, Karin...
Everyone's gaze, at this moment, simultaneously focused on that blonde-haired boy.
Kirigakure's Ao was the first to turn his Byakugan towards Naruto!
"No way!"
Ao's voice carried unconcealable shock!
"This kid... is Konoha's Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki?!"
His Byakugan clearly saw, inside Naruto, a mass of red Chakra, as vast as the sun, surging wildly!
And at the core of that Chakra mass, a giant sealing array was trembling violently!
As if it could collapse at any moment!
A flicker of sweat also appeared on Samui's cool face.
She suddenly looked up, towards that equally violent Tailed Beast's Chakra in the sky above the arena!
'If this kid was Konoha's Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki...'
'Then whose was that Tailed Beast's Chakra in the sky above the arena?!'
And she vaguely heard Ao from Kirigakure say... ten tails?
'Is there a Ten-Tailed Beast among the Tailed Beasts?'
Under everyone's gaze, Naruto's body began to change.
Wisp after wisp of red Chakra, like mist, seeped from his body, rapidly enveloping his skin. More and more, thicker and thicker, gradually forming a semi-transparent red Chakra Cloak on Naruto's body surface.
At the edges of the cloak, the faint afterimage of a fox could be seen.
Naruto's expression gradually turned ferocious. His azure blue pupils were replaced by crimson red, and in the center of the pupils, a black vertical pupil slowly emerged.
The six whisker-like marks on his face grew deeper, like beast markings.
At the corners of his mouth, two sharp upper canines slowly grew out.
"Ugh... ah..."
A low, painful roar was forced from Naruto's throat.
He slowly raised his head, his crimson beastly pupils sweeping over every person inside the barrier, his eyes full of violence, hatred, and madness.
Shikamaru exclaimed in shock: "Naruto... you..."
Before he could finish…
Naruto, on the verge of running rampant, suddenly raised his head, looking towards the sky above the arena!
Those blood-red eyes stared intently in that direction!
When that crimson red Chakra erupted from within Naruto like boiling magma, the air inside the entire Adamantine Sealing barrier seemed to freeze.
The oppressive pressure of the Tailed Beast's Chakra, like a tsunami, impacted every corner of the barrier.
Kirigakure's Ao had veins bulging around his right eye, his Byakugan firmly locked onto Naruto, his wrinkled face turning ashen.
"The Nine-Tails... it really is the Nine-Tails' Chakra!" His voice was dry, carrying unbelievable shock. "This kid is Konoha's Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki!"
Suigetsu gripped the hilt of the Long Sword Nuibari tightly with both hands.
"Wh-What the hell..." He muttered loudly, a drop of cold sweat sliding down his forehead.
"There's already a One-Tail's Jinchuriki here, and now two Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki pop up? What the hell is going on?"
Chojuro's hand holding his sword trembled slightly.
Although he was a genius who had survived the Bloody Mist era, this was his first time facing a rampaging Tailed Beast's Chakra this close.
"A-Ao-senpai... we... what should we do?"
Ao didn't answer.
His gaze was firmly locked on Naruto, while he used his peripheral vision to glance at Gaara on the other side of the barrier.
The One-Tail's Jinchuriki.
'Now, the only one who might be able to stop a rampaging Jinchuriki was perhaps another Jinchuriki.'
On the other side, the four from Kumogakure were also on high alert.
Karui's right hand had already grasped the hilt of the sword at her waist, her breathing rapid, fine cold sweat appearing on her forehead.
"This feeling... is even more intense than B-sensei's half-Tailed Beast transformation..."
Omoi bit through the lollipop in his mouth with a 'crack', fragments mixed with saliva sliding from the corner of his mouth, but he was completely unaware.
His eyes, always tinged with pessimism, were now wide open, the crimson red Chakra constantly expanding on Naruto's body reflected in his pupils.
"It's over, it's over, it's over..." He muttered incoherently: "A Jinchuriki running rampant in this kind of confined space, we'll all die! We'll be torn to pieces! Our bodies won't even be recoverable! And after death, we'll be treated as casualties of the conflict between Konoha and the Land of Stars, we won't even get survivor's benefits, my mom will cry herself to death at home, I haven't married yet, I don't want to die—"
"Shut up, Omoi." Samui interrupted him coldly.
This blonde female Ninja's expression was equally grave, but compared to the others' panic, she could at least keep a calm head.
"Now is not the time for complaining." Her gaze swept over everyone inside the barrier, finally fixing on Gaara.
"Now it depends... whether the One-Tail's Jinchuriki will take action or not."
If Gaara didn't take action, or only protected the Land of Stars' own people, then everyone else present, including this Konoha kid's teammates, could die at the hands of the rampaging Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki.
Gaara didn't answer.
He just quietly watched Naruto, watching the faint afterimage of a fox within that crimson red Chakra, watching those crimson pupils gradually being consumed by bestial nature.
The gourd on his back trembled slightly, fine sand constantly seeping from the gourd's opening, slowly flowing at his feet, forming a thin sand shield.
He was hesitating.
Not fear, but...
"Gaara." Temari lowered her voice, her three-star fan already unfolded.
"Should we take action?"
Kankuro's puppets, Karasu and Kuroari, also guarded him left and right.
"That kid's condition is off." Kankuro's voice carried vigilance: "It looks like he's been... stimulated by something."
After all, he had witnessed several of Gaara's rampages and knew that Jinchuriki rampages were often triggered by extreme stimulation.
This sentence awakened many present.
Shikamaru's brain worked rapidly, his gaze looking outside the barrier, towards the towering dark red Chakra in the center of the arena.
'Was that Chakra stimulating the Nine-Tails within Naruto?'
'Like... resonance between the same kind, or... provocation?'
"Sasuke." Shikamaru spoke in a low voice, his gaze still locked on Naruto: "What do you think?"
Sasuke didn't speak.
His right hand was already on the hilt of the Ninja Sword at his waist, the crimson red Chakra constantly expanding on Naruto's body reflected in his Sharingan's pupils, along with the faint afterimage of a third Chakra tail.
'No, more than three tails.'
The afterimage of a fourth tail had already begun to condense behind Naruto.
Once the fourth tail fully formed, Naruto's consciousness would be completely devoured by the Nine-Tails. Then, no one could say for sure what would happen.
"Hinata." Sasuke suddenly spoke.
Shikamaru immediately understood, turning his head to look at Big Sis Hinata.
At this moment, Hinata's Byakugan had veins bulging around it, fixedly staring at the flow of Chakra within Naruto.
Her hands were held as palms, assuming the Gentle Fist's starting stance, but the fine sweat on her forehead revealed her inner nervousness.
"Hinata!" Shikamaru raised his voice: "Is there any way?!"
Hinata bit her lower lip, her white pupils rapidly scanning Naruto's Chakra Pathway System.
The Nine-Tails' Chakra, like a breached flood, was madly assaulting the seal.
Under the impact of the Tailed Beast's Chakra, the Eight-Trigrams Seal seemed like it could snap at any moment.
"No..." Hinata's voice carried a tremor: "The Nine-Tails' Chakra is too furious. There's no way my Gentle Fist can seal Naruto's Tenketsu! And I don't know any Sealing Techniques, unless—"
Her gaze suddenly turned to the other side of the barrier, towards the red-haired girl hiding behind Gaara, who was watching the scene with a look of anticipation.
"Karin!" Hinata raised her voice, shouting loudly: "You should know this guy is Menma's little brother, right?!"
This sentence, like a thunderclap, exploded in the silent barrier.