Chapter 144: Shukaku's Daily Beating
Some things should not be said carelessly.
The relationship among the Tailed Beasts of the ninja world is very poor.
The relationship between the first-ranked Nine-Tails and the last-ranked One-Tail is even worse than that between the top student and the worst student at the Konoha Ninja Academy.
If Shukaku accidentally heard Jiraiya praising the gap between it and the Nine-Tails, it would definitely make a great effort to take care of Jiraiya until his old age.
Akihara Kagura is still young and doesn't have to worry about life and death, so he can speak without much concern: "The example given by Teacher Jiraiya doesn't quite work, I feel the gap between the One-Tail and the Nine-Tails might be even bigger than that between dogs and humans..."
When the Fourth Kazekage Rasa and Gaara arrived, they happened to hear the exchange between Akihara Kagura and Jiraiya, as well as Akihara Kagura's words.
Although the One-Tail of the Sand Village is indeed not strong enough...
Isn't it too much to insult their strategic weapon of the Sand Village like this?
"He is insulting me!"
"How could that fox be much stronger than me!"
"I will tear that bastard to pieces! Gaara, you brat, let me out quickly! I will tear him to pieces!"
Shukaku inside Gaara could hear Akihara Kagura's words and was instantly enraged by Akihara Kagura, causing a huge fuss in the sealed space, urging Gaara to let it out quickly!
Gaara's brows immediately furrowed!
Because the One-Tail inside him was desperately trying to break out, it was a bit troublesome to restrain the One-Tail's rampage with the strength of a young boy, especially when the One-Tail was in a bad mood!
"Let it out."
Akihara Kagura stood up, flexing his fingers.
"This is on you!"
Gaara's eyes suddenly became sharp!
The next moment!
This red-haired boy's body erupted with a burst of violent chakra, and Shukaku, whose chakra had already recovered, burst out fiercely!
"Let Shukaku teach you a lesson again!"
Shukaku's bulky body sat in the desert, with the wind and sand swirling around its body. The desert is its home field!
This time...
It would not be defeated as abruptly as yesterday!
"You brat..."
Shukaku raised its claws, as if making a ninja hand sign: "This time, let you know Shukaku's strength!"
However, this time Shukaku fared even worse.
Before Shukaku could show its prowess, Akihara Kagura couldn't wait to absorb its chakra. A vine root shot out from the ground!
This root quickly spawned a huge wooden figure that slammed Shukaku to the ground, tightly gripping the Tailed Beast's neck and absorbing its chakra!
Until Shukaku's chakra was absorbed by Akihara Kagura, it no longer had the strength to maintain its body and could only shrink back into Gaara's body...
The Fourth Kazekage Rasa watched this scene in silence for a long time.
The Tailed Beast, which had always been a huge threat to the Sand Village, was like a small kitten in the hands of Akihara Kagura, unable to stir up any wind or sand.
"The first day."
Akihara Kagura looked at the Fourth Kazekage Rasa carrying Gaara's body and continued: "It seems the experiment is useful. After beating it today, it seems to have become obedient."
"Perhaps."
The Fourth Kazekage Rasa couldn't really find any faults.
Because Shukaku obediently returned to Gaara's body, instead of causing a ruckus as it used to do even when suppressed.
"Remember to come again tomorrow."
Akihara Kagura checked the chakra absorbed by the Ten-Tails' husk within himself; this method was indeed effective.
The chakra of the Tailed Beasts is immense.
Moreover, these Tailed Beasts can also automatically absorb natural energy to restore their chakra, with a recovery efficiency far higher than that of human ninjas.
The next day.
Shukaku was still very active.
The fate of this Tailed Beast hadn't changed much; it was pinned down by a gigantic wooden figure and beaten up, its chakra completely drained...
On the seventh day.
Shukaku was not particularly active anymore.
However, the innate nature of the Tailed Beast made it still very aggressive, only its fate hadn't changed at all, being unable to move due to a vine tied around its neck.
On the twenty-ninth day.
Shukaku finally underwent some changes.
This Tailed Beast realized it might not be a match for Akihara Kagura.
Of course, Shukaku would never admit it itself, but after being beaten up by Akihara Kagura's Wood Release during the day, at night Shukaku called out to Gaara in the sealing space, demanding that Gaara must do something.
Inside the sealing space.
Shukaku, dragging Gaara, stared at the boy it despised: "Brat, do you want to take revenge on that bastard?"
"Of course!"
The red-haired boy frowned and said coldly: "But if you, this monster, can't beat him, what can I do?"
"That's because"
Shukaku, this chubby raccoon-like creature, paused for a moment, then immediately shifted the blame to Gaara: "Because I am inside your body, I can't exert my full power. Some powers can only be used by a brat like you!"
Shukaku proposed its plan: "From tomorrow, you will let me use your body to fight!"
"..."
Gaara was somewhat confused.
"You just need to obediently listen!"
Shukaku extended its paw and patted Gaara's head, still displaying its aggressive demeanor: "Leave the matter of revenge to me!"
The thirtieth day.
Outside the Sand Village.
The desert was still vast and endless.
When the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, took Gaara to meet Akihara Kagura, Shukaku unusually did not show itself directly but instead let Gaara and Akihara Kagura fight.
"Sand Hand!"
Under Gaara's control, a whirlwind of sand converged into a giant claw, just like Shukaku's, and directly grabbed at Akihara Kagura's body!
Because Shukaku was willing to provide chakra, Gaara's jutsu power was greatly enhanced!
However
This claw was dispersed with a punch by the wooden figure!
From a distance, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, noticed the change in his son, his eyes filled with surprise and joy: "Gaara... Is this using Shukaku's power... Has the Jinchuriki succeeded?"
"This method... Can it actually work?"
Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.
Is this method of taming really effective?
After all, Akihara Kagura's efficiency and frequency of beating up Shukaku far exceeded that of the previous Kazekage, maybe this method of taming could really work?
However
Changes quickly emerged on the battlefield!
No matter what, Gaara could never be a match for the wooden figure. The somewhat irritable Shukaku, the One-Tail, immediately revealed its true form, only to be caught by the head and beaten up by the wooden figure. The first joint effort of Shukaku and Gaara ended in an even more miserable defeat!
Late at night.
Inside the sealing space.
Shukaku and Gaara sat there.
This massively corpulent raccoon dog and the small red-haired boy both stroked their chins, presenting a somewhat endearing contrast.
"This won't do."
Shukaku was very dissatisfied with today's battle results, even going as far as to blame Gaara: "It's all because you, brat, are too weak to let Shukaku's great power manifest."
"..."
Gaara was at a loss for words.
As a child, Gaara had not learned much knowledge, let alone understood the specific details about Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki, and could only bear the blame Shukaku shifted onto him.
"What can we do then?"
Gaara frowned, unable to think of a solution.
"It seems Shukaku will have to use its brain to fight..."
Unable to come up with a solution, Shukaku could only plan to think of a way to set traps during the battle tomorrow.
Time flies.
The weather in the Land of Wind is still filled with blowing sand.
The villagers of the Sand Village gradually got used to one thing: Shukaku never rampaged in the village again, but was often beaten up outside the village.
Outside the Sand Village.
Gaara's progress was rapid!
The flowing sand on the ground surged, trapping the wooden figure in quicksand!
Supported by the chakra of Shukaku within him, Gaara's jutsu became increasingly powerful, along with the wooden figure being trapped in the quicksand!
Under Gaara's control, piles of sand transformed into a giant sandman, which crashed into the wooden figure controlled by Akihara Kagura!
During this time, Gaara and Shukaku became more resourceful in their techniques against the wooden figure, deliberately using the environment to set traps and limit the effectiveness of the wooden figure's techniques!
Even so, the sandman controlled by Gaara could not resolve the wooden figure, who directly flipped it over while trapped in quicksand!
Akihara Kagura, controlling the wooden figure, grabbed the sandman's head, directly turning it into flying sand, and then smashed its chest with a punch!
"Let the Shukaku inside you come out?"
As usual, Akihara Kagura called out for the Shukaku inside Gaara.
"..."
Without a word, Gaara raised his finger.
Shukaku suddenly revealed its true form, but its head was covered by a sand pit, wrapping Gaara's body. This form allowed them to fight together!
"This time it's different..."
Gaara raised his finger!
"I know it, too!"
Shukaku's palm fiercely hit the ground, and piles of flowing sand rolled up on the surface, covering Akihara Kagura's wooden figure, gradually forming a pyramid shape!
Black seals appeared on the pyramid!
This was Shukaku's sealing technique, capable of sealing away the target!
This battle was the best performance by Shukaku and Gaara in history. They used traps to control the wooden figure's movements, and even the sand person who was crushed by the wooden figure had its dispersing sand as part of a carefully planned trap!
Only with enough quicksand...
Could they support Shukaku in sealing Kagura's wooden figure!
As the black spell completely emerged on the pyramid, Shukaku finally completed the seal and burst into laughter, "Hahaha, let that bastard brat die inside, Shukaku the Great is invincible!"
Boom!
Just as Shukaku was laughing nonstop, even Gaara's lips showed a hint of a cold smile, a wooden figure's fist suddenly burst out from the pyramid!
The expressions of these two guys suddenly changed!
Kagura's wooden figure rapidly grew, becoming even larger than Shukaku's size, and placed its hand directly on Shukaku's head, like holding down a disobedient child, quickly absorbing the chakra inside it!
"How is this possible..."
Shukaku couldn't believe the hand pressing down on his head and desperately tried to struggle, "How could my sealing technique possibly fail!"
"It doesn't matter."
Gaara's body was still trapped inside Shukaku, he raised his head to look at the wooden figure as large as a mountain, and said in a deep voice, "You'll surely come up with another battle plan..."
"You little brat..."
Shukaku didn't want to admit the truth and lose face.
This was the best battle plan Shukaku could come up with, and it even progressed perfectly in this battle, but the reality turned out differently from what he imagined!
What should be done?
Was he destined not to defeat that guy named Kagura? Destined to be beaten by that guy every day?
In the distance.
On a sandstone rock.
Rasa and Jiraiya were still watching the battle.
The attitude of the Fourth Kazekage at this moment was completely different from the beginning, he sighed with some emotion, "Lord Jiraiya's disciple is truly powerful..."
"The Kazekage's son is not bad either..."
Jiraiya chuckled lightly, not stingy with his praise, "It looks like the past few months have yielded good results, Gaara and Shukaku's relationship has improved a lot, almost to the point of completely controlling the beast inside..."
Though they were not clear on the real relationship between Gaara and Shukaku, at least Gaara was able to use Shukaku's power, and Shukaku no longer rampaged through the village...
Though they didn't know that Shukaku couldn't rampage because its chakra was completely drained during the day and had to recover at night...
"Right."
The Fourth Kazekage Rasa was very satisfied with his youngest son's current situation, and casually brought up something, "Several bodies were found in the village, their faces gone. It's likely someone is using their identities, Lord Jiraiya, who wants to assassinate me?"
Jiraiya hesitated and did not speak.
Late at night.
The temperature in the Sand Village was very low.
Jiraiya lay on the bed in the inn, looking at Akihara Kagura who was still somewhat energetic next to him, and took the initiative to praise, "Kagura, how long have we been out of Konoha?"
"More than a year, I guess?"
Akihara Kagura thought for a while and began to calculate.
Akihara Kagura and Jiraiya hadn't been to many places yet, first turning around the Land of Fire to get a feel for the atmosphere of the ninja world, learning Sage Mode;
Then the two went to the Land of Rivers, Jiraiya teaching him to train while slowly learning the life of ordinary travelers, and incidentally destroying several of Orochimaru's experimental bases in the Land of Rivers, coincidentally encountering Orochimaru;
Later, they obtained some information about the Akatsuki organization from a waitress. Then, they made a trip to the Land of Rain to deal with the affairs of the Akatsuki organization and the Rain Village;
Finally, they arrived in the Land of Wind to resolve the assassination of the Kazekage. They stayed there, waiting for Orochimaru to appear while also taking the opportunity to beat up Shukaku, the One-Tail.
"I wonder how Nagato is doing..."
Jiraiya's thoughts were still with Nagato, whom he always believed to be the child of destiny. He sighed and said, "After this experiment of subduing the Tailed Beasts is over, I'll take you back to the Konoha Village and hand you over to the old man..."
"You have been training with me, yet I wasn't able to teach you much. I have taught you everything I could, and I even learned a lot from you..."
"Today, I will pass on to you my most precious knowledge..."
As Jiraiya spoke, he took out a magazine with a beautiful woman on the cover, his expression becoming extremely solemn: "How to correctly distinguish a real beauty!"
"..."
Akihara Kagura turned over and covered himself with a blanket.
Did he really need Jiraiya to teach him this?
After all, Jiraiya couldn't even tell the difference between White Zetzu and a beautiful woman!
Inside the Sand Village.
In Gaara's room.
The little redhead boy was sleeping soundly.
Ever since Shukaku had been returning to his body every day, exhausted and weakened from using up all his chakra, and with their relationship subtly changing recently, Gaara was able to sleep well without worrying about Shukaku suddenly going berserk.
Inside the sealing space.
Shukaku was pondering in confusion.
This plump raccoon cat, having no strategies left to deal with Akihara Kagura, finally chose to enter the space of Tailed Beasts' unique communication method remotely.
Shukaku believed that it lacked combat experience against Wood Release users and decided to ask its kind about it. It had heard that those guys had been captured by Hashirama, the First Hokage, more than once, so their experience must be richer than its own!
"Hey, you stinky fox!"
"How did you guys deal with Wood Release ninjas back then?"
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