Killer B's expression turned extremely ugly. Instinctively, he clutched his chest as the Eight-Tails' voice echoed within his mind.
"So it's as I thought. That woman wants to reclaim her power. B… it seems today will be the day we part ways."
Killer B rejected it outright.
"I will never hand you over!"
"B, this enemy is far beyond what we can deal with. I'll leave behind as much chakra as I can to protect your life. That way, at least you—and the village—can survive."
"Absolutely not!!"
"B! Now is not the time to act on impulse! Do you want to see your village destroyed?!"
"I…"
Killer B clenched his fists hard, his nails digging into his palms as bright red blood seeped out. His face was filled with struggle and agony.
...
At that moment, Carl—who had been quietly watching Killer B—suddenly spread his hands and spoke casually.
"I'm just helping my people retrieve her power. As for anything else, I'm not interested."
As he spoke, the demonic sword Muramasa in his hand turned into a streak of black light and sank into the back of his hand. He pointed at Killer B and said flatly,
"I don't see much fighting spirit left in you. Hand over the Tailed Beast."
Killer B's entire body trembled. Normally carefree and irreverent, he felt genuine fear for perhaps the first time in his life.
The enemy before him was impossibly strong. If he wanted to protect the village, he had to obediently hand over his closest companion. Resistance meant not only his own death and the death of his friend—but the complete destruction of the village as well.
No matter how he looked at it, this was not a choice he was allowed to make.
...
The Raikage lying on the ground didn't understand the full situation, but seeing two Jinchūriki react this way in succession, he grasped part of the truth. Watching Killer B suffer so intensely, his voice lost its earlier harshness.
"B… what's going on? Don't be afraid. Our Cloud Village—"
Before he could finish, Killer B shouted loudly,
"Don't say anymore!"
Under the shocked gazes of everyone in the Cloud Village, Killer B scattered all the weapons on his body and spread his arms wide, walking toward Carl as if offering his neck for execution.
The Raikage's eyes instantly turned red as he roared,
"What are you doing?!"
At this moment, Killer B instead became calm. He had already made his decision—to sacrifice himself to save the village.
"Big Brother, for the sake of the village, my sacrifice is necessary."
"Bastard! What nonsense are you talking about?! Since when has the Cloud Village needed one person's sacrifice just to survive?!"
"Big Brother, you don't know who they are. Of course… not knowing may actually be a good thing. I believe one day you'll understand."
...
By then, Killer B had resolutely arrived before Carl. He glanced at Yugito, who was being held in Carl's grasp, and said in a deep voice,
"Yugito… have you made the same resolve?"
Yugito clenched her teeth and nodded with difficulty. Carl immediately loosened his grip, and Yugito collapsed to her knees with a dull thud.
Seeing this, Carl joked,
"Doesn't landing like that hurt your knees?"
But at this moment, both Yugito and Killer B were already overwhelmed with despair. How could they still find it in themselves to laugh?
Carl first gestured to Kaguya behind him, signaling that she could come reclaim the Tailed Beasts. Then he turned back to examine Killer B and Yugito, chuckling softly.
"Looks like you've both gotten along quite well with the Tailed Beasts inside you. Especially you, Killer B. As the only perfect Jinchūriki, you really live up to the name—Eight-Tails Gyūki is willingly sacrificing itself for you."
Killer B remained silent.
...
The Cloud Village ninjas, however, could no longer hold back. They charged forward again, trying to attack Carl. If ninjutsu didn't work, they'd use taijutsu. Cloud Village ninjas were originally skilled in close combat. In their eyes, no matter how strong Carl was, he still only had two arms and two legs. With sheer numbers, they believed they could drown him.
Facing the encirclement, Carl's expression remained calm. He merely lifted his wrist slightly.
A flash of white light.
A low-output, instant Shinra Tensei erupted, instantly blasting away every Cloud Village ninja who rushed forward. Blood spilled from their mouths as they were slammed into the ground.
Killer B snapped out of it and roared,
"Everyone, stop!! Don't come any closer!!"
Carl didn't even glance at the groaning ninjas on the ground. To him, they were no different from ants.
"Sacrificing one person to preserve a village isn't exactly rare in the ninja world. Didn't your Cloud Village once force Konoha to hand over a Hyūga as a scapegoat? What—now that it's your turn, it suddenly hurts?"
The Raikage's face changed drastically as he exclaimed,
"You're from Konoha?!"
Carl gave him a sideways glance.
"I already said it. I'm not a ninja, and I don't belong to any village. If I must say—just a passerby."
...
By now, Kaguya had placed her hand on Yugito's head. Having already absorbed the Three-Tails and Five-Tails, she no longer needed to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. With just the basic ability of the Preta Path, she could forcibly extract the Tailed Beast.
However, before beginning, Kaguya looked at Carl and asked softly,
"Shall I spare her life?"
As soon as those words were spoken, everyone present froze.
Spare her life?
Could a Jinchūriki actually survive after having a Tailed Beast extracted?
Originally prepared to die, Yugito couldn't help but look at Carl. Knowing the capabilities of the three before her, she understood that the Rabbit Goddess absolutely possessed such power. Whether she lived or died now depended entirely on a single sentence from Carl.
Even so, Yugito knew the chances were slim. These three were not human beings, but gods in the truest sense. To them, human life was no different from that of ants—why bother protecting it?
...
Before she could think further, Yugito suddenly felt her body empty out. By the time she realized the Two-Tails was gone, Kaguya had already turned away and floated toward Killer B.
Yugito stared blankly at her own body.
She was alive.
Not only that—there wasn't even the slightest discomfort. Despite losing her Tailed Beast, her body felt perfectly fine.
Kaguya walked up to Killer B and once again placed her hand on his head, asking Carl as usual whether to spare his life.
Carl had always had a good impression of Killer B, so he naturally signaled that Killer B could be spared.
Unexpectedly, upon learning that he could live, not even a trace of joy appeared on Killer B's face. He suddenly raised his head and stared straight into Carl's eyes.
"Thank you for your kindness… but I don't need it. I want to stay with Gyūki."
Inside Killer B's body, the Eight-Tails was deeply moved by those words. But moved or not, seeing Killer B choosing death as well made it panic, roaring furiously,
"You bastard—live properly for me!!!"
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+80 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg