Windfall?
Boom!
A massive explosion shook the battlefield.
The Fourth Raikage, A, was sent hurtling from mid-air and crashed into the ground with a thunderous impact, carving a deep crater into the earth. Smoke billowed out in all directions, obscuring the aftermath.
"Lord Raikage!" Xi shouted, alarmed, as he and Darui dashed from Sarutobi Hiruzen's side toward the fallen A.
They hadn't expected Xu Fan to unleash such a devastating Lightning Release technique. The sheer force of it stunned even the most seasoned shinobi.
Xi knelt beside A, his hands already moving to check his vitals. The Raikage's chakra was still present—he was alive.
But...
A's eyes were shut tight. He hadn't even had time to react to Xu Fan's jutsu. The Fourth Raikage—once hailed as one of the fastest shinobi alive—had been knocked unconscious in a single blow.
Seeing Xu Fan's overwhelming power, Xi quickly realized the brutal truth: neither he nor Darui could stop this monster alone.
"Darui, take Lord Raikage and retreat. I'll hold him off."
Xi's voice was firm, decisive. The smoke hadn't cleared yet, giving them a narrow window. His words weren't so much a plan as they were a sacrifice—he would buy time while Darui escaped with the Raikage and waited for him to awaken.
"...Sorry." Darui gritted his teeth, his gaze lingering on A's motionless form. For the first time, he truly felt the weight of his own inadequacy. If only he were stronger...
But just as they moved to carry out the plan, a surge of violent chakra erupted from behind them.
"This chakra—!" Xi's eyes widened as he opened his sensory perception to its fullest. He immediately recognized it.
Yugito Nii.
The Two-Tails' perfect Jinchūriki.
Even though Xu Fan had temporarily restrained her with Wood Release, the sight of her Raikage collapsing unleashed an emotional explosion. Her connection with the village—and with A—ran too deep.
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
Her roar was bestial, feral.
Empowered by raw emotion and tailed beast chakra, Yugito shattered the wooden bindings restraining her. Her form shifted rapidly—blue flames danced across her body, chakra cloaking her in the shape of a giant, fiery feline.
She was transforming.
Fully.
"Take Lord A and go!" Yugito shouted as her transformation completed. Even in her tailed beast state, she retained consciousness—a true mark of a perfect Jinchūriki.
A massive claw slammed into the ground, clearing away the last of the smoke.
Xu Fan narrowed his eyes as he observed her beastly form.
"So you're going full form," he muttered.
The Two-Tails—Matatabi—was a sleek, blue-flamed cat with two lashing tails, chakra radiating like wildfire.
Xi and Darui exchanged looks. They knew Yugito was loyal, gentle at heart. But now, she was enraged—and someone needed to stay behind to hold off Xu Fan.
The consequences of losing A were unimaginable for the Hidden Cloud.
"Understood."
Darui nodded grimly, hoisting A onto his back. Xi kept his senses sharp as they fled without looking back.
Mifune, watching from a distance, swallowed hard.
"Sarutobi..." he muttered, his voice heavy.
As the general of the Land of Iron's samurai, he couldn't risk his men joining a battle between a Jinchūriki and a Wood Release user. It would be suicide.
Instead, he turned to the Third Hokage, placing his hopes in him. But before Hiruzen could act, Yugito—now in full-tailed beast form—leapt forward, claws extended toward Xu Fan.
"No helping it," Xu Fan muttered.
The electric aura of Lightning Release around his body dispersed, his glove morphing back into the form of his Zanpakutō and returning to his waist.
Still, Xu Fan didn't consider this a setback.
Clap!
As the enormous claws neared, he pressed his hands together and performed a hand seal.
"Wood Release: Wooden Golem Jutsu!"
Boom!
The ground beneath Xu Fan trembled and erupted as a massive tree sprouted, shifting and reshaping into the form of a colossal humanoid—the Wooden Golem.
Fueled by immense chakra, Xu Fan's golem towered even larger than the transformed Two-Tails.
Mifune and the surrounding samurai gasped audibly.
Even though they knew Xu Fan had inherited the Wood Release bloodline of the Senju Clan, seeing the legendary technique of Hashirama Senju—the First Hokage—recreated before their eyes was something else entirely.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened in disbelief.
"That's... the Wooden Golem Technique of Lord Hashirama…"
He recalled telling Yamato (Tenzo) about it, hoping the ANBU prodigy might one day reproduce the technique.
But the chakra demands were far beyond what most shinobi could achieve.
Xu Fan had done it effortlessly.
"The true successor of Hashirama Senju..."
Even Yugito was briefly stunned—but she had no time for hesitation.
She opened her massive feline maw, chakra concentrating into a dense black sphere laced with violet energy.
Tailed Beast Bomb.
"All Tailed Beasts use this…!" Hiruzen muttered.
"Die, brat!!" Yugito's voice fused with Matatabi's, thunderous and united in fury.
To her, Xu Fan was a threat that could destroy Kumogakure itself.
But—
"Impressive power."
Xu Fan stood atop the golem's shoulder, gazing down at the beast with calm eyes.
Xi and Darui were gone. The rest didn't matter to Yugito.
If the blast took Hiruzen or anyone else, so be it.
Yet…
Even without Sage Mode, Xu Fan wasn't concerned.
The power of a Tailed Beast depended on the number of tails—but he had Wood Release, the ultimate counter.
"It ends here, Yugito."
Boom!
The Wooden Golem stretched out its hand and caught the Tailed Beast Bomb mid-air, forcing it back into Yugito's mouth before it could detonate.
Then, the other hand lunged forward, massive wooden fingers wrapping around Matatabi's neck.
Crash!
With a roar, the golem tackled her to the ground, pinning her beneath its weight.
Then came the final blow—Xu Fan channeled sealing properties through the wood, suppressing her chakra completely.
The beastly form dispersed, chakra vanishing into the air as Yugito collapsed, unconscious.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
"Did I just... capture the Two-Tails?"
Xu Fan looked down, his tone more curious than boastful.