The weight of the Eight-Tails' warning hung heavy in the air around Cloud Thunder Gorge, creating a moment of terrible clarity that cut through the chaos of battle like a blade through silk. Killer Bee stood at the center of the devastated crater, his massive form wreathed in the red chakra of his tailed beast while his mind raced through possibilities that all led to the same grim conclusion.
"But..." Killer Bee's voice carried the internal struggle of someone forced to choose between conflicting loyalties and equally unacceptable outcomes.
The tactical situation was brutally simple in its implications. If he committed everything to escape—if he abandoned his human concerns and focused solely on preserving the Eight-Tails—he might be able to outrun even someone with Nagato's incredible abilities. The tailed beast's chakra could provide the kind of sustained speed and endurance that would make pursuit difficult even for the Rinnegan's wielder.
But such an escape would require him to abandon the five Cloud ninja who had responded to the alarm and were now injured and helpless in the crater around him. Their loyalty had brought them here to defend him, and ninja tradition demanded that he honor that sacrifice. To flee while they died would mark him as a coward whose word could never again be trusted.
Yet if he chose to stay and fight, the outcome was equally predetermined. Just as the Eight-Tails had observed, facing an enemy with the Rinnegan offered no realistic chance of victory. The power gap was simply too vast to bridge through determination or tactical skill alone.
"Give up the struggle and hand over the Eight-Tails," Nagato's voice carried across the battlefield with the cold authority of divine judgment.
He hovered above the crater with the casual confidence of someone who viewed the outcome as already decided. His words weren't a request or even a demand—they were a statement of inevitable fact, delivered with the kind of certainty that brooked no argument or resistance.
"Are you targeting Gyuki, you stupid bastard?" Killer Bee muttered, his distinctive speech patterns betraying the nervous energy that was building within him.
Despite the overwhelming odds, despite the tactical impossibility of victory, despite every rational consideration that argued for retreat or surrender, something fundamental in his character refused to accept defeat. He raised his head to stare directly at Nagato, his scarlet eyes burning with defiant determination.
"I am the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Killer Bee!" he declared with ringing conviction. "How can I listen to you so easily, you idiotic bastard!"
BANG!
The explosion of chakra that erupted from his body was like a hurricane given physical form, a crimson maelstrom that transformed the very air around him into something dense and powerful. The energy condensed into a beam of pure light that shot skyward with enough force to illuminate the entire gorge system, turning shadows into blazing clarity.
"Bee, you...!" The Eight-Tails' voice carried shock and dismay as it realized that its jinchūriki had chosen defiance over survival.
The tailed beast had hoped that its warning would convince Killer Bee to prioritize escape over heroics, but it should have known better. In all their years together, the human had never chosen the safe path when duty or friendship demanded sacrifice.
"I'm sorry, Gyuki," Killer Bee's internal voice carried genuine regret for the position he was putting his partner in. "I really can't abandon them."
The admission was simple but profound, representing the fundamental difference between someone who viewed power as a tool for personal advancement and someone who understood it as a responsibility to protect others. No matter what the cost to himself, he couldn't live with the knowledge that his cowardice had resulted in the deaths of comrades who had trusted him.
Pause.
Inside the mindscape they shared, the Eight-Tails was silent for a long moment as it processed not just the decision but the character it revealed. Then, slowly, a rumbling sound that might have been laughter emerged from the great beast's throat.
"Although I know this is the stupidest choice possible," Gyuki observed with the kind of fond exasperation that spoke to deep understanding between partners.
"But this is indeed who you are, Bee. If that's the case, then let's do this thing properly!"
"Thank you!" Killer Bee's response carried gratitude that went far beyond words.
The perfect synchronization between human and tailed beast that followed was the kind of harmony that most jinchūriki spent their entire lives trying to achieve. Chakra waves that had been powerful before now became truly awesome in their intensity, shaking the very foundations of the stone formations around them.
The red beam of light expanded exponentially, growing from a focused column into a crimson aurora that stretched across the sky. When it enveloped Nagato's hovering form, the sheer pressure of contained energy was enough to make the air itself seem solid.
Feeling the tremendous chakra emanating from Killer Bee's transformed state, Nagato's eternally calm expression showed the first hint of genuine interest he had displayed since the battle began. His analytical mind immediately began cataloguing the power levels involved and adjusting his tactical approach accordingly.
Although the Eight-Tails' chakra reserves weren't quite as vast as those of the Nine-Tails sealed within Uzumaki Kushina, the difference was marginal enough to be essentially meaningless in practical terms. Both beasts represented power on a scale that could reshape landscapes and alter the course of wars.
More significantly, Killer Bee's mastery of his tailed beast's abilities was extraordinary even by the standards of successful jinchūriki. The level of integration he had achieved between human consciousness and beast chakra was something that most hosts never approached, let alone surpassed.
Among all the members of the Akatsuki organization, only Nagato himself possessed the capabilities necessary to capture such a powerful and well-synchronized jinchūriki. Anyone else would have been overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of force that Killer Bee could bring to bear.
The energy concentration was so intense that it began to behave like a physical substance, flowing around Nagato's position in patterns that defied conventional understanding. The dark red light seemed to recognize him as an obstacle, separating beneath his feet and continuing its upward rush along both sides of his body without actually making contact.
Nagato's gaze shifted downward, and his eyes widened slightly as he detected movement within the crimson maelstrom below. Chakra was condensing into more structured forms—claws of pure energy that reached toward him with obvious predatory intent.
"Do you think you've identified weaknesses in my abilities?" he observed with what might have been amusement.
The question referenced intelligence that Fourth Hokage Minato had shared with the entire ninja world following the Akatsuki's previous assault on Konohagakure. That information had included detailed analysis of each organization member's capabilities, including specific limitations and potential countermeasures.
The chakra claws that materialized around him moved with lethal precision, each one designed to exploit the brief intervals between his defensive techniques. For the first time since the battle began, Nagato was forced to actively evade rather than simply negating attacks through raw power.
Even as he maneuvered to avoid the energy constructs, more claws continued to form from the abundant chakra that surrounded them. The assault was relentless and increasingly sophisticated, suggesting that Killer Bee was adapting his tactics in real-time based on Nagato's responses.
But while the spectacular aerial combat unfolded above, Killer Bee was also executing a more subtle strategy at ground level. The five tentacles that had been protecting the injured Cloud ninja suddenly converged, gathering the wounded men into a protective cluster.
Within the dark red light column that marked his partial transformation, Killer Bee extended his hand toward his subordinates. The appendage immediately began to expand and change, taking on the distinctive characteristics of the Eight-Tails' massive limbs until it could encompass all five ninja in a single grasp.
"Run quickly and inform Big Brother about what happened here," his voice resonated from within the transformation, carrying the kind of absolute authority that made it clear this was a direct order rather than a suggestion.
The message was intended for Fourth Raikage A, whose political and military leadership would be essential for coordinating Kumogakure's response to this unprecedented threat. If the village was going to have any chance of surviving what was clearly a coordinated assault by the Akatsuki organization, they needed to understand both the scope of the danger and the capabilities of their enemies.
"Do you intend to protect others while they escape?" Nagato's observation was delivered with clinical detachment as he continued to evade the chakra claw attacks.
His enhanced perception had immediately identified Killer Bee's dual strategy, recognizing the tactical sophistication involved in maintaining both offensive pressure and protective operations simultaneously. It was the kind of advanced multitasking that spoke to genuine mastery of tailed beast integration.
He raised his arms with deliberate purpose, and the air around him began to distort as invisible forces gathered in response to his will.
"Shinra Tensei!"
The repulsive force that erupted from his position was like a controlled explosion, radiating outward in all directions with enough power to shatter mountains. The chakra claws that had been converging on him were not merely deflected—they were completely destroyed, their energy dispersed so thoroughly that reformation became impossible.
Without pausing to assess the results, Nagato rotated in mid-air and extended his palms toward Killer Bee's position. The mechanical arms that emerged from his back began to glow with the distinctive purple energy that marked his most destructive techniques.
BANG!
The combination attack that followed was devastating in its complexity and power. Black gravitational energy erupted from his palms while purple energy beams shot out from the mechanical appendages, creating a multi-vector assault that would have been impossible for any ordinary opponent to counter.
Killer Bee's response was immediate and spectacular. His partially transformed state suddenly shifted into something far more dramatic as the dark red light column that had surrounded him shattered like glass.
What emerged from the destruction was no longer recognizably human in any conventional sense. The Eight-Tails stood in its full glory—a massive creature whose bull-like head and eight writhing tentacles spoke to power that predated human civilization by countless centuries.
GYUKI!
The gravitational forces and energy beams struck the Eight-Tails' enormous body simultaneously, but the beast's response demonstrated why tailed beasts had been feared and revered throughout history. Even as gravity pulled at his massive frame, Gyuki swung his arms with tremendous force, hurling the five Cloud ninja clear of the battle zone with enough velocity to carry them to safety.
"Yo! Let's GO!" The Eight-Tails' voice boomed across the landscape with primal enthusiasm that spoke to the joy of finally being able to fight without restraint.
His eight massive tentacles unfurled to their full length, each one capable of independent action as they reached toward Nagato's aerial position with crushing intent. The sheer size and power of the appendages was such that avoiding them required more than simple speed—it demanded the kind of three-dimensional maneuvering that few beings could achieve.
Facing an opponent who had achieved complete tailed beast transformation, the conventional abilities that comprised Pain's Six Paths were indeed of limited utility. The overwhelming physical presence and chakra density of a fully manifested tailed beast required responses that operated on a fundamentally different scale.
Nagato suddenly accelerated upward, gaining altitude that would provide more room for maneuvering while simultaneously reducing the Eight-Tails' ability to leverage its massive physical advantages.
Buzz!
But Killer Bee had anticipated exactly this response. The Eight-Tails' enormous mouth opened wide, revealing an interior that glowed with concentrated chakra as energy particles began to gather and condense in front of the creature's maw.
The process was mesmerizing to watch—streams of pure chakra flowing together from all directions to form a sphere of energy so dense that it seemed to bend light around its periphery. The technique was one of the most feared abilities in the arsenal of any tailed beast, representing destruction on a scale that could reshape entire landscapes.
"Tailed Beast Bomb!"
In just a few seconds, what had been scattered energy particles became a weapon of almost incomprehensible destructive potential. The Eight-Tails' massive head drew back slightly, compressed air creating a visible shockwave, and then the Tailed Beast Bomb shot skyward with the force of a falling star in reverse.
The projectile moved with deceptive speed for something so large, its trajectory calculated to intercept Nagato's position regardless of his attempts at evasion. The energy contained within the sphere was sufficient to vaporize everything within several kilometers of the detonation point.
"Preta Path!" Nagato's response was calm and immediate, his hands moving into position as he prepared to demonstrate why the Rinnegan was considered the most powerful dōjutsu in existence.
A transparent film of energy formed in front of him, seeming almost fragile compared to the massive destructive force bearing down on his position. But appearances were deceiving—the barrier represented one of the Rinnegan's most fundamental abilities.
BOOM!
The moment of contact between the Tailed Beast Bomb and Nagato's absorption technique created a spectacular explosion that lit up the entire sky. The detonation formed a perfect sphere of energy in mid-air, its surface roiling with contained destruction that should have been sufficient to eliminate any conceivable target.
"Nagato..." From her distant observation point, Konan's voice carried concern that was both personal and professional.
She didn't truly believe that a single Tailed Beast Bomb could threaten someone with her partner's abilities, but the sheer scale of the explosion was impressive enough to give anyone pause. The fact that Killer Bee had been able to form such a technique so quickly spoke to capabilities that went beyond what their intelligence had suggested.
Within the circular energy field that marked the explosion's boundaries, a tiny black dot appeared with absolute suddenness. The darkness seemed to absorb all light that came into contact with it, creating an area of such complete void that it hurt to look at directly.
The black spot behaved exactly like a miniature black hole, its gravitational field so intense that even photons couldn't escape its influence. Any energy that touched its event horizon simply vanished, consumed by forces that operated beyond conventional understanding.
"Chibaku Tensei!" Nagato's voice carried across the battlefield with the cold finality of absolute judgment.
The black core of condensed gravity began to rise slowly into the air, its presence warping not just light but space itself. The very atmosphere around it seemed to twist and distort as fundamental forces were manipulated on a scale that bordered on divine intervention.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The gravitational field that erupted from the rising core encompassed the entire Cloud Thunder Gorge region with crushing force. The towering stone mountains that had stood for millennia began to crack and crumble as their molecular bonds were overwhelmed by forces they had never been designed to withstand.
Lakes and seas that had been placid moments before began to boil as their surfaces were pulled upward against every natural law. The water didn't simply evaporate—it was torn from its basins and drawn inexorably toward the source of the impossible gravity.
The area around the Eight-Tails became the epicenter of destruction as massive chunks of landscape broke free from their foundations and began their inevitable journey skyward. The beast's enormous body, despite its incredible mass and strength, was among the first casualties of the technique.
"It seems the Fourth Hokage's information was indeed accurate," Killer Bee observed with grudging admiration as he felt his massive form being pulled inexorably upward. "This guy really is abnormally powerful, you stupid bastard!"
The admission carried particular weight coming from someone who had initially questioned the intelligence reports that Minato had shared with the entire ninja world. Many villages had suspected that Konoha was exaggerating the threat level in order to gain political advantages during the subsequent period of uncertainty.
But experiencing Nagato's capabilities firsthand made it clear that the reports had actually understated the danger rather than inflating it. Minato Namikaze had genuinely attempted to warn the ninja world about an enemy whose power transcended normal understanding.
"According to the Fourth Hokage's information, all we need to do is destroy the core," the Eight-Tails observed with the kind of tactical clarity that came from centuries of combat experience.
The creature's mouth opened once again, chakra particles beginning to gather for another Tailed Beast Bomb. If they could target the gravitational core before it gained sufficient mass and momentum, there might still be a chance to disrupt the technique.
"I won't give you another opportunity," Nagato's declaration came from an unexpected source.
From within the energy field that had yet to fully dissipate, his figure emerged completely unharmed. Not only had he absorbed the Tailed Beast Bomb's destructive force, but he had simultaneously prepared and executed one of the most complex techniques in existence.
"He took a direct hit from the Tailed Beast Bomb and emerged unscathed..." Killer Bee's voice carried genuine shock as he processed the implications.
The feat went beyond simple durability or defensive capability. It demonstrated perfect mastery of abilities that allowed someone to not just survive such an attack, but to turn its energy to their own advantage while maintaining enough focus to execute additional techniques.
"Animal Path!" Nagato's hands moved through seals with practiced efficiency.
BANG! BANG!
The summoning technique that followed brought forth creatures that were as impressive as they were unexpected. Two enormous birds materialized in the air around him, their bodies marked with the distinctive rippled pattern of the Rinnegan that indicated their nature as extensions of his own power.
SCREEEECH!
The summoned creatures dove toward the ascending Eight-Tails with predatory intensity, their massive wings and razor-sharp talons designed specifically for aerial combat against large opponents. Their presence served multiple tactical purposes—disrupting any attempts at additional Tailed Beast Bombs while also accelerating the beast's upward momentum.
The Eight-Tails' massive body shuddered under the combined impacts, the partially formed Tailed Beast Bomb in its mouth destabilizing and dispersing harmlessly. With both gravitational forces and active harassment preventing proper concentration, the beast found itself unable to mount effective resistance.
High in the sky, where the air grew thin and movement became increasingly difficult, the Eight-Tails could barely raise its massive head. The combination of reduced atmospheric pressure and overwhelming gravitational force made even basic functions a struggle, let alone the complex chakra manipulation required for its most powerful techniques.
At a certain altitude, Nagato dismissed his summoned creatures with casual efficiency. Their purpose had been served—the Eight-Tails was now too high and too disoriented to pose any meaningful threat to the technique's completion.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Massive chunks of stone and earth continued to be drawn upward by the irresistible gravitational force, each impact adding mass and momentum to the growing sphere. The Eight-Tails found itself at the center of an increasingly dense collection of debris, its enormous form gradually disappearing beneath layers of compressed rock and soil.
The entire Cloud Thunder Gorge, which had stood as a natural wonder for countless generations, was systematically dismantled and reconstituted into a single massive sphere suspended impossibly in the sky. The transformation was both beautiful and terrifying, representing power on a scale that few beings in history had ever wielded.
When the gravitational forces finally began to subside, their work was complete. The body of the Eight-Tails had been completely buried within the artificial moon that now blocked out the sun. The beast's legendary strength and endurance had been rendered irrelevant by forces that operated beyond the normal constraints of the physical world.
Dense clouds of white origami suddenly gathered beside Nagato, the individual pieces flowing together with liquid grace to form the familiar figure of Konan. Her technique allowed her to maintain observation and provide support from virtually any distance, making her the perfect partner for someone whose battles could reshape entire landscapes.
Nagato stared up at the stone sphere that hung motionless in the sky above them, its massive bulk casting shadows that would persist for days or weeks until natural forces gradually pulled it back toward earth. The artificial satellite was both prison and monument—a testament to power that approached the divine.
"Gyuki, captured," he announced with the calm satisfaction of someone who had successfully completed exactly what he had set out to accomplish.
The words carried finality that marked not just the end of a battle, but another significant step toward goals that would reshape the entire ninja world. The Eight-Tails' capture represented more than the acquisition of another tailed beast—it was proof that even the most powerful forces in the world could be overcome through sufficient preparation and absolute commitment to one's objectives.
The coordinated assault on multiple tailed beasts was proceeding exactly according to plan, and soon the Akatsuki organization would possess the kind of concentrated power that would make their ultimate ambitions not just possible, but inevitable.