Hiruzen snapped back to himself and scanned the battlefield ahead.
Good—Sand was being suppressed. If they seized the right moment and punched through the Sand's defensive ring, the One-Tail Shukaku problem could be solved.
"Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu (Feigning Sleep Technique), huh?"
He lifted his gaze toward Shukaku.
The counter was simple: force the Jinchūriki (tailed-beast host) awake, and the Shukaku issue would be resolved.
Without Shukaku as a pillar, the Sand were fish out of water in Hiruzen's eyes—no longer a true threat.
What he couldn't read was Orochimaru's current behavior.
As Orochimaru's former teacher—
Hiruzen had to admit the man's power was terrifying. Even he didn't know how many secret arts Orochimaru had mastered.
If Orochimaru summoned a giant familiar right now, it might not flip the battle—but it would absolutely rekindle the Sand's fighting spirit.
Yet Orochimaru hadn't done it. He might as well have been phoning it in.
That was the one thing Hiruzen couldn't puzzle out.
Does Orochimaru still care about the Leaf?
Hiruzen shook his head. If that were true, none of this would be happening.
Just then—
A thunderous roar rolled up from behind Hiruzen.
His face changed—behind him lay the village center.
At once, eyes everywhere swung toward the source of the sound.
A colossal turtle bristling with jagged spines and trailing three massive tails loomed into view.
The Three-Tails!
From the Mist!!
Faces across the Leaf side went ashen.
The moment Isobu appeared, he stretched his body and let his power flood out. With a casual sweep of three tails, a swath of buildings vanished.
"As expected—this form is the most comfortable," Isobu thought with dark delight. But the next instant, Yuto's face flashed through his mind, and his neck reflexively shrank.
He lowered his gaze to the panicked, terrified leaf shinobi below; a bloodthirsty glint kindled in his eyes.
Yuto hadn't told Isobu to do anything specific—there was no need. With bulk like his, even random motions were cataclysmic.
"Oi! Didn't think it'd be you, Isobu! Gya-ha-ha!!"
Shukaku, off in the distance, threw his head back in wild laughter.
It had been too long since he'd cut loose like this!
His voice drew Isobu's attention immediately.
Isobu's eyes narrowed. He opened his jaws toward Shukaku; chakra rushed to his maw in a thick torrent.
"Not good! He's forming a Bijūdama (Tailed Beast Bomb)!"
A leaf shinobi cried out from the crowd.
"Damn it! The Mist and the Sand are using tailed-beast power outright!"
Hiruzen couldn't help swearing.
His face was black as soot now. Two tailed beasts rampaging inside the Leaf—if not for decades of restraint, he'd be cursing the streets blue.
"Chō Harite (Super Open-Hand Slap)!"
A shout rang from beneath Isobu.
Isobu's bulk lurched; the forming Bijūdama wobbled under the impact.
Boom!
The Tailed Beast Bomb detonated prematurely, bursting in front of his snout. Isobu roared in pain.
"Chō Baika no Jutsu (Super Multi-Size Technique)!"
Another shout—then a figure swelled like a rising hill, looming into view.
In a few blinks, he was nearly Isobu's size.
"Great—it's Lord Choza!"
For a heartbeat the leaf ranks stared—then cheers erupted.
"Shikaku, Inoichi—get civilians clear of the area, now!"
Choza turned and bellowed to Shikaku and Inoichi behind him.
They traded a look, nodded, and split off with their clan nin to evacuate the surroundings.
They knew full well: against a behemoth like a tailed beast, the Akimichi secret arts were the best fit.
Roar!
Seeing an opponent nearly his size suddenly appear, Isobu bellowed in fury. He feared Yuto—but that didn't mean he feared anyone else.
He thundered forward on all fours toward Choza.
The ground shuddered like an earthquake beneath his charge.
Choza's face tightened. For all his size, it was still a technique bolstering his frame.
To take a tailed beast's full-body tackle head-on—unthinkable.
He moved first, hurling his bulk to meet Isobu.
He had to strike before Isobu's mass gathered maximum inertia, blunting the incoming force as much as possible.
Thud!
A heavy impact boomed across the district.
Isobu spat a thick pillar of water; it hammered into Choza and drove him stumbling back several steps.
Choza countered immediately, but against the three-tailed turtle's iron shell, his blows barely scratched.
After a few tries, he shifted tactics and targeted the head and limbs.
Still, the effect was slight—among the nine beasts, Isobu's defense was near the top.
With no better option, Choza surged in and wrapped both arms around Isobu's neck.
Risking a savage bite, he heaved with all his might, trying to drag Isobu toward a sparsely populated sector of the village.
But Isobu's strength outstripped his by far. No matter how Choza strained, the Three-Tails barely budged.
More than once, Choza nearly took a crippling hit.
"Don't forget about us, Lord Choza!"
At some point, rooftops around the clash had filled with Akimichi clansmen, grinning down at him.
A heartbeat later, a chorus of shouts thundered as one:
"Chō Baika no Jutsu (Super Multi-Size Technique)!"
"Chō Baika no Jutsu (Super Multi-Size Technique)!"
"…!"
Rumble—rumble—
In the blink of an eye, seven or eight hill-sized figures rose around Choza.
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