The question of how the Nine Tailed Beasts ranked in strength had existed since their very birth. For thousands of years in the ninja world, it had never truly been settled.
This long standing debate eventually formed two opposing camps. One was the Tail Number Theory, and the other was the Equilibrium Faction.
The most vocal supporter of the Tail Number Theory was Kurama. From its perspective, a Tailed Beast's power was directly tied to the number of tails it possessed.
Shukaku firmly rejected this idea.
As one of the leading voices of the Equilibrium Faction, it argued that all Tailed Beasts were fundamentally equal in strength, with no one truly above the others. At the very least, it claimed it stood on equal footing with Kurama.
However, this theory never gained strong acceptance.
Especially after the battle at the Valley of the End, where Uchiha Madara chose to rely on the Nine-Tailed Fox as his external force against the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, instead of Shukaku. That moment alone seemed to settle the argument in favor of Kurama.
At the very least, it showed that in the eyes of those legendary figures, the Nine-Tails was in a class of its own.
Otherwise, there would have been no reason for Uchiha Madara to select Kurama instead of Shukaku when wielding his complete Susanoo.
From that point on, the Nine-Tails was widely accepted as the strongest among them.
Afterward, a new question arose in the ninja world. How many of the other Tailed Beasts could the Nine-Tails fight at once?
Hayashi had once casually asked Kushina about this, allowing the Nine-Tails to respond through her.
Inside its cage, Kurama lazily raised a finger and said it could handle eight at once.
When asked why not ten, it simply replied that there were only nine Tailed Beasts.
Whether that was arrogance or confidence, Hayashi could not fully tell. Later, when he encountered Shukaku, he "unintentionally" mentioned Kurama's claim.
The result was immediate.
Shukaku flew into a rage.
In its own words, it had never been weaker than anyone or anything in its entire existence.
Hayashi believed it.
And now, that belief was being tested in reality.
Since Shukaku was that strong, then dealing with the so called Four-Tails should not be difficult at all.
The battlefield reflected that moment.
Two fully transformed Tailed Beasts now stood in direct confrontation.
Elsewhere, the chaos of battle continued, yet every shinobi on the field found their attention drawn here, whether they intended to or not.
One-Tail against Four-Tails.
Shukaku versus Son Goku.
It had been far too long since a battle like this had been witnessed.
A deafening roar erupted.
Shukaku locked its gaze onto the Four-Tails with murderous intent, as if it wanted to tear it apart on the spot.
However, the Four-Tails had no personal desire to fight Shukaku. Among the Tailed Beasts, relationships were far less hostile than outsiders believed. Even Shukaku and Kurama, despite their usual arguments, rarely escalated beyond verbal conflict.
But this Shukaku was different.
With its consciousness suppressed and influenced by the Sharingan, it would not recognize any of that.
Following its roar, Shukaku began gathering chakra for a Tailed Beast Ball.
A dark purple black sphere formed above it, radiating a terrifying pressure that distorted the air around it.
Inside the Four-Tails, Roshi's voice rang out urgently.
"Son Goku, don't hesitate anymore or we will both die."
A brief silence followed before the Four-Tails responded.
"I understand."
It had no intention of submitting without resistance.
A second Tailed Beast Ball began forming in front of it, equally dense and destructive in nature.
But that brief delay meant it was slightly slower than Shukaku.
Shukaku released its attack first.
The Tailed Beast Ball tore through the battlefield, erasing everything in its path, whether lava or rock.
Just as it was about to reach the Four-Tails, its own Tailed Beast Ball was finally released.
The two massive spheres crossed the battlefield like collapsing stars, carving deep trenches into the ground before colliding head on.
A deafening explosion followed.
A pillar of light surged upward, thick as a mountain, engulfing everything within a one mile radius.
From a distance, Orochimaru, who was engaged in combat with Fūga, turned his gaze toward the blast. Even from afar, he could see a faint black line splitting the light and the ground, as if space itself had been torn apart.
The force radiating from it was enough to make even seasoned shinobi instinctively tense up.
Many others turned away, unable to withstand the blinding intensity.
The shockwave continued to echo across the battlefield.
The ground trembled repeatedly, proving just how catastrophic the clash between the two Tailed Beasts truly was.
The Four-Tails had been slightly slower to react, and the explosion had struck closer to its position.
Four massive tails rose instinctively, forming a defensive barrier that absorbed most of the impact.
When the light finally faded, scorch marks and injuries were visible across its body. However, such damage was not enough to truly threaten a Tailed Beast. Recovery would only take time.
At the center of the explosion, a crater over a kilometer wide had formed. Water was already beginning to fill its depths.
The sight alone caused countless Iwagakure ninja to inhale sharply.
Even an S rank technique would struggle to achieve such destruction.
Tailed Beasts were on an entirely different level.
If the Four-Tails fell here, Iwagakure would once again face a disaster they could not control.
For a moment, despite their fear of jinchūriki, many of them silently hoped for its victory.
The Four-Tails, however, paid no attention to their thoughts.
Its eyes locked onto the young shinobi standing atop Shukaku.
Its killing intent was no longer directed at Shukaku alone, but at Hayashi.
To it, this entire conflict had been triggered by him.
Especially those eyes, the Sharingan.
Inside it, Roshi's voice spoke again.
"What do you intend to do?"
The Four-Tails answered immediately.
"Get close to Shukaku and break the genjutsu."
Roshi frowned internally.
"The Mangekyō Sharingan is not so easily dispelled, and there is no jinchūriki inside Shukaku right now."
"Then there is no other option. We close the distance first."
With that, the Four-Tails slammed its foot down and launched itself forward. The force of the leap shattered the ground beneath it into a web of cracks.
Shukaku responded instantly.
Wind Release, Sand Buckshot.
Compressed sand projectiles shot forward at high speed, enhanced by wind chakra to pierce flesh and disrupt movement.
The Four-Tails did not hesitate. Lava chakra surged around its body, forming a hardened layer of protection that intercepted the attack midair.
It continued forward, closing the gap in a series of powerful leaps.
Within moments, it arrived beside Shukaku.
A furious roar erupted as it drew back its fist and struck toward Shukaku's head.
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