Chapter 178 : Shukaku : He Has More Chakra Than Me!
Guy thought about it and felt that what Riku said made sense. Right now, Sunagakure definitely wouldn’t dare lay a hand on Riku—if they did, they wouldn’t be able to withstand the wrath of Konoha.
So Guy looked at Riku and said, "Be careful."
Asuma looked at Guy, clearly disagreeing with the idea of Riku leaving with the three Sand shinobi.
But Guy simply said, calm and firm, "I know Riku’s strength better than anyone. And Sunagakure has no reason to harm him now."
Hearing this, Asuma gave up on trying to stop them. He thought for a moment and said with a wry smile, "Alright."
Even though Kurenai was also worried, with both Asuma and Guy having agreed, she didn’t insist any further.
Riku followed Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro toward the outskirts of Sunagakure.
He wasn’t impatient and remained silent the entire way until they reached the edge of the village, where a small tea house stood—one of the few that existed in the Hidden Sand.
The three Sand siblings knelt before Riku, and Temari spoke first, her tone respectful.
"I don’t understand why someone like you, Riku-san, would be assigned as a Genin team leader. With your level of strength, this kind of task doesn’t suit you."
Riku took a sip of tea and smiled. "You can speak normally. I’m only sixteen—I’m younger than all of you. Just call me Riku."
Temari froze for a moment, then gave a small nod, though her gaze remained fixed on him.
She hadn’t expected Riku to be so casual and easygoing.
After a short while of quiet tea-drinking, Riku said calmly, "The truth is, I’m just a special jōnin. So what makes you think I’m not qualified to lead a Genin team on this mission?"
"With my rank and status, being the team leader actually makes sense, doesn’t it?"
He looked at the three of them, his gaze lingering especially on Temari.
He could tell that among the three, Temari was the one calling the shots.
Gaara might be the strongest, but he was indifferent to most things.
Kankuro followed Temari’s lead entirely.
And as their older sister, Temari had gained Gaara’s respect over time. He hadn’t listened to her in the past, but after Naruto changed him, he had become a much more obedient little brother.
Temari felt a slight pressure in the face of Riku’s calm demeanor. Despite being three years older and a seasoned kunoichi, she knew how terrifyingly strong he was—she had only seen a glimpse of his power, and that alone had shocked her.
"That’s true," she said after a pause. "But your name carries weight in the shinobi world. Your presence here in Sunagakure puts a lot of pressure on the village. The elders are very wary of you. Personally, I don’t believe you’re that kind of person, but I’d still like to hear it from you directly."
As she finished speaking, Gaara and Kankuro quietly began gathering chakra, prepared to act if necessary.
Riku leaned back in his chair, one leg crossed over the other. He took another sip of tea and smiled slightly.
"With your intelligence, I’m sure you can figure out whether I have any intentions of attacking Sunagakure."
"Don’t bother gathering chakra. You two aren’t my match. I truly have no intention of using force against the Hidden Sand. Mainly because... I have no reason to."
He looked them over calmly.
"I don’t understand why your village thinks I’d act against you. What would I gain from it?"
"Your leaders are jumping at shadows."
Gaara and Kankuro didn’t lower their guard—if anything, they grew even more tense.
Inside Gaara, the One-Tail—Shukaku—shuddered in fear as it sensed the massive chakra within Riku.
It was a chakra even greater than that of the Nine-Tails.
The last time Shukaku had sensed such a terrifying chakra was from the Sage of Six Paths.
Of all the shinobi it had ever seen, only Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki—or perhaps Indra—had possessed more chakra than what it now sensed in Riku.
Shukaku hadn’t personally encountered Hashirama Senju. Back when Hashirama was capturing tailed beasts, the only one left uncaught was Shukaku, sealed away in a shrine in the Land of Wind. At the time, Sunagakure didn’t care much for tailed beasts—they wanted land and money instead.
Now, though, it was clear to Shukaku: Riku’s chakra was second only to the Sage of Six Paths and Indra. And that was terrifying.
In over a thousand years of existence, Shukaku had never encountered a human with chakra like this.
It even surpassed that of Kurama, the Nine-Tails. Despite their rivalry, Shukaku was deeply aware of just how immense Kurama’s chakra was—easily greater than any of the other eight tailed beasts.
Kurama was the strongest among the nine.
Yet now, this human—Riku—had chakra greater than even Kurama’s. It was absurd.
Shukaku urgently spoke to Gaara from within.
"Hey, kid. Don’t provoke that guy. You’re no match for him. His chakra is bigger than mine. If you don’t want to die, don’t make him your enemy."
Since Shukaku had been freed once before, Gaara had spoken to him during that time, and their relationship had improved since then.
Hearing Shukaku’s warning, Gaara’s wariness turned into visible panic.
"What? More chakra than you? That’s impossible. You’re a tailed beast."
He couldn’t believe it. How could Riku, a human, possess more chakra than a tailed beast?
"Are you sure you’re not mistaken?"
Shukaku glared internally.
"Mistaken? We tailed beasts are far more sensitive to chakra than any human. Our perception exceeds that of humans by hundreds of times."
"I’m telling you this for your own good. Whether you listen is your choice. But I’ll say this: even if I were fully unsealed, I still wouldn’t be his match."
Gaara fell silent, thinking it over. "I heard he suppressed the Three-Tails by himself. His strength is real. But to have more chakra than you... I still find that hard to believe."
Shukaku grumbled, "No wonder. He’s so young, yet has chakra on this scale and no tailed beast inside him. That tells you just how terrifying his strength and training must be."
A shinobi’s chakra grows through years of cultivation—through body strengthening and spiritual discipline.
Before Naruto trained seriously, he only had a modest amount of chakra on his own. While still more than most due to his Uzumaki lineage, it paled in comparison to the Nine-Tails.
Only after years of rigorous training did Naruto’s chakra output grow to rival, and eventually equal, Kurama’s.
But Riku—he had achieved a massive chakra reserve at an even younger age, and without the help of any tailed beast.
That meant his training had been unimaginably intense. His body incredibly refined.
And his strength? Likely monstrous.
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