Boom!
Ai's iron fist slammed into Uchiha Fugaku's Susanoo skeleton, the impact unleashing a thunderous surge of air that swept through the battlefield like a shockwave.
Behind the layers of spectral ribcage, Fugaku was driven back several meters. Dust rose in clouds around his feet, but within Susanoo's dark ribs, he remained unharmed.
"What a tough shell!"
Ai's jaw tightened, his teeth grinding audibly. The Uchiha's Susanoo was far stronger than he'd expected. Breaking through that defense head-on was not going to be easy.
He turned his head to scan the battlefield below, and the anger in his eyes burned hotter.
The Kumo Ninja force was faltering.
Their formation was collapsing, their lines steadily pushed back.
Despite their numerical advantage, the Kumogakure soldiers were completely outmatched by the Uchiha wielding technological ninja blades. Every clash of metal sparked arcs of blue lightning, and every Uchiha strike carved through armor as if through parchment.
Only their numbers had kept the Kumo force from disintegrating entirely.
The Uchiha's near-suicidal courage combined with overwhelming weapon superiority turned every melee into a massacre.
"Damn it! What's that rock-head Kitsuchi doing?"
Ai glared toward the Iwagakure lines. There, Kitsuchi was advancing painfully slowly, his entire body encased in layers of dense rock armor, moving like a lumbering tortoise through the mud.
Noticing Ai's murderous gaze, Kitsuchi's lips twitched helplessly.
Their Iwa ninjas were not blessed with Kumogakure's body-forging techniques. Their endurance was merely human. Without rock armor, a single bullet or energy blade could cripple them. But with the armor, their speed plummeted.
They were already moving as fast as they could.
"This can't go on any longer!"
Ai inhaled sharply, his chest heaving. Then he roared across the battlefield:
"Bee!!!"
"Yeah, Big Brother!"
The deep, rhythmic voice of Killer Bee echoed from the rear lines, followed by a deafening boom as crimson chakra exploded outward.
A surge of pressure swept through the field. Dust spiraled upward, trees snapped, and from the torrent of chakra, the massive form of the Eight-Tails emerged.
Its colossal tentacles smashed into the earth, gouging massive craters. The sky itself seemed to darken under the creature's shadow.
Orochimaru, standing beside Namikaze Mirai on the high ridge, raised his eyebrows in faint surprise.
"The Raikage actually hid the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki among his ranks and only revealed him at this critical moment…" he murmured with fascination. "So, he did learn something after the last humiliation."
Mirai's expression did not change. His azure eyes reflected the monstrous figure below, yet no trace of alarm appeared.
His Biological Magnetic Field Sense had picked up Killer Bee long before the transformation.
"Don't worry." Mirai said quietly. "Tailed Beasts aren't invincible."
Orochimaru's thin lips curved upward.
"Yes… and this time, Konoha's forces are equipped with counter-beast technology."
On the battlefield, the Konoha ninjas who had been startled by the Eight-Tails' sudden arrival quickly regained composure.
"Execute Tactic B!"
Yamanaka Inoichi's voice rang out through the command channel.
"Understood!"
Dozens of ninjas immediately formed a semi-circle around the Eight-Tails. Hands flashed through seals in perfect synchronization.
"Earth Style ∙ Earth Split Technique!"
Rumble!
The ground beneath the Eight-Tails cracked open like shattered glass. Deep fissures tore through the soil, widening rapidly before collapsing inward. The giant beast roared as its footing vanished, and it plunged into the sinking pit.
"Water Style ∙ Sticky Earth Beast Trap Technique!"
"Fire Style ∙ Flame Solidification Technique!"
The follow-up came instantly. Streams of viscous white mud gushed from the mouths of Water-style ninjas, coating the Eight-Tails from below, followed by waves of flame that seared the liquid dry.
The mixture hardened instantly, encasing the struggling monster in a shell of solidified stone.
"Damn it! What is this?!" Killer Bee's voice echoed within the tailed beast's inner world.
"We need to move, Bee!" the Eight-Tails warned, its rumbling voice grim. "This is similar to the sealing trap that Hokage used last time. Break it now, or we'll be pinned again!"
"Yo, no way! That trick ain't workin' twice!"
The Eight-Tails flexed, chakra surging violently. The solid crust began to crack.
But before it could fully shatter, a new squad of Konoha ninjas moved forward.
Each carried a compact shoulder cannon etched with seals.
Bang! Bang!
Black spherical projectiles shot into the air, bursting into dense spiderwebs of dark electricity.
The instant the arcs touched the Eight-Tails' body, they linked together, forming a net of crackling voltage.
Zzzzt! Bzzzzzt!
"Guaaaaaaah!!!"
The Eight-Tails' agonized howl shook the ground. Electricity coursed through its massive frame, scorching its flesh. The eight long tentacles convulsed violently, twitching like dying serpents.
The sight froze every Kumo ninja who witnessed it. Sweat rolled down their temples.
That monstrous being, the living calamity they revered, was screaming like that.
"Mirai, your counter-beast weapons seem to be performing beyond expectation." Orochimaru said softly, eyes glinting.
Namikaze Mirai's calm smile barely moved.
"When we captured the Eight-Tails last time, I made sure the Research Department took full data. This outcome was already calculated."
The words carried no arrogance, only certainty.
The Eight-Tails could no longer be treated as an untouchable force of nature.
"Bastards of Konoha!!!"
Ai's roar split the air. His eyes widened in rage as he watched his younger brother writhing under arcs of lightning.
Even he could guess now, during the Eight-Tails' previous capture, Konoha must have planted some form of counter-chakra resonance into its body.
Otherwise, suppression of this level would be impossible.
Kitsuchi watched in silence, his rock-covered face grim.
The Eight-Tails had been their trump card. Now it was neutralized in minutes.
Morale plummeted. The tide of battle was turning against them.
"We can't delay any longer!" Kitsuchi shouted through the comm line. "Han! It's your turn!"
"Understood."
A deep, resonant voice responded.
From within the Iwagakure ranks, a towering man clad in red armor stepped forward, steam hissing from the vents on his back.
Tooot!
The sound of high-pressure steam burst through the battlefield. White vapor exploded from his armor, propelling him forward like a locomotive.
As he charged, his body began to change.
Steam thickened around him, crimson chakra surging. His frame expanded, his shape distorting into something massive and beast-like.
The air shimmered with heat.
A deafening whistle filled the battlefield as his transformation completed.
A colossal white creature stood upon the scorched plains, shaped like a horse with five enormous tails whipping through the air.
Steam erupted from every joint, obscuring the horizon.
The ground trembled under its steps.
The Second Tailed Beast, the Five-Tails, Han of Iwagakure…
Had entered the battlefield.
*****
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✓ Killed For 100 Years in Hueco Mundo, Aizen Invited Me To Soul Society!
✓ Naruto: Senmei Asahi
✓ Naruto: Uchiha's Intelligence Dealer
✓ Naruto: The Fifth Hokage Is Naruto's Uncle
✓ Naruto: Who Made Him a Ninja?
✓ Bleach: In My Second Reincarnation, I Became The Ninth Kenpachi
✓ To Love-Ru: Spoiler Route [R-18]
✓ Naruto: The Accidental Incubus [R-18]