Chapter 349: The Mourning Seeker of the Sun – Sage Art: Genjutsu: Sun-Mirror Illumination!
The moment the blazing red magatama formed from condensed chakra struck the ground, a blinding light burst forth violently from the cracks across its surface like claws tearing outward!
Chakra compressed to its absolute limit unleashed the energy it held at astonishing speed, transforming into mechanical force, light, and heat!
In an instant, the light explosion expanded wildly, nearly spiraling out of control!
In the blink of an eye, visible shockwaves erupted from the mountain beside the Tenshukaku, surging out in all directions.
Earth, stone, dust, and massive chunks of Tailed Beast tissue were instantly blown away!
Amid the howling gale—
Hyūga Shota stood frozen before the wasteland that now lay ahead, a chill running down his spine.
"So this… is the power of the Uchiha?"
Truth be told, as a member of the Hyūga main family—sheltered and pampered within the safety of Konoha—Hyūga Shota had already heard far too many tales of "Uchiha Ci" over the past three months.
But he had never truly taken those stories seriously. Even this time, when he accepted the daimyō's request to help defend the Land of Lightning, he had done so with the dismissive mindset of, "He's just another Uchiha with a measly three tomoe. What could he possibly do?"
But now—at this very moment—
Now that he was experiencing the overwhelming power firsthand, now that he could truly feel the hopeless gap in strength between them, Shota finally snapped out of his delusion and saw things clearly—
That guy…
That guy whose hardworking figure he had seen countless times along the Nanga River…
That guy whose sack of carefully collected empty cans Shota himself had kicked back into the river three months ago…
That guy he had scorned, belittled, and who spent his days endlessly repeating dull, low-rank D-rank missions…
What kind of monster is he, really!?
"No—!"
Shota's face turned as pale as a sheet. His heart pounded violently as the heatwave from the explosion surged past the enormous body of the Eight-Tails and slammed against his face—but instead of heat, he felt only a bone-deep chill. Cold sweat soaked his palms.
This is too dangerous. I can't stay here—I need to get out!
I'm… I'm the Hyūga clan's hope!
Just as Shota, positioned as artillery support, started panicking and glancing around for a chance to escape—
Nearby,
A nervous young A leapt from the rocky peak of the Tenshukaku and landed in front of the heavily injured Eight-Tails Gyūki.
"Bee! Are you okay?"
The massive octopus tentacles slowly curled back, revealing a dirt-covered Killer Bee behind them.
Meeting his older brother's worried gaze, Bee suppressed the dread in his heart and forced a toothy grin.
"I'm good, bro. The chakra cannon's good too."
It was as if a massive weight had been lifted off A's chest—he let out a sharp breath of relief.
"That's good… that's good."
For the current Kumogakure, not even a Tailed Beast Bomb could do much to hinder Uchiha Ci.
After all, back in Hell Valley, the man had forcefully crushed two Tailed Beast Bombs using just one Sage Art: Super Tailed Beast Bomb – Black Expansion Rasengan.
Their only remaining hope of actually injuring Uchiha Ci was the special armor-piercing shells and the chakra cannon they had brought from the village.
Furthermore, if everything went as planned, and on the second line of defense—
With the joint efforts of the Allied Shinobi Forces and the help of that unexpected "reinforcement," there was a strong possibility that they could force Uchiha Ci to reveal his final [Sage Technique] trump card,
Or even—
Kill him outright in the open field between the Tsuryū City Wall and the Tenshukaku!
But if, before the operation even began, their final weapon was destroyed by Uchiha Ci, then the first two defensive lines would become all but meaningless against him.
"Bee, we don't know how many more times Uchiha Ci can unleash that kind of attack. Just to be safe, you need to enter Tailed Beast Mode now and move the chakra cannon up to the Wall on the second defense line."
Young A wasted no time making a decision and shared his plan.
"With the Allied Forces providing support and protection, you'll be able to—"
But before he could finish—
Killer Bee suddenly looked up past A's shoulder, eyes widening in shock.
"Wait… Bro…"
He stared upward, dumbfounded, as though he'd just gone blank with fear.
"What… are those!?"
"Huh!?"
Startled by Bee's words, A instantly turned around—
And in that moment—
They saw it—
No chance to breathe.
No time to regroup.
That horrifying skeletal giant, still standing several kilometers away, raised its arm again!
And in that instant—
Above them,
Eight brilliant, sun-like spheres lit up the sky!
Trailing comet-like tails as they streaked downward like falling meteors,
Each one locked onto the location of the chakra cannon—
And with thousands of eyes staring upward in horror, they shot down like divine judgment!
The scene resembled something out of a titan battlefield—like Survey Corps soldiers staring in despair at the massive boulders flung toward them by the Beast Titan, helpless against what was coming.
Or perhaps… like humanity in myth, who had finally managed to lure the sun goddess Amaterasu into the cave and let out a sigh of relief—only to realize they weren't in a Japanese myth.
No, they were in a Chinese one.
And what they'd just locked up wasn't a goddess—
It was a Golden Crow.
And there were eight more in the sky.
Yet tragically, no one in their camp bore the name Hou Yi.
Despair spread like wildfire across the battlefield!
Even the usually steadfast A faltered under such an overwhelming assault.
But he quickly shook himself out of it—
His face hardened as he raised his head, staring up at the eight blazing magatama descending like suns, clenching his fists as he growled:
"Bee!"
"I'm here, Bro!" Bee responded immediately, his expression darkening as he analyzed the situation.
"At this point, we'll have to abandon the chakra cannon. If we withdraw now, we still have a chance."
Even one fully manifested Yasaka Magatama hitting the ground would explode with force rivaling a full-power Tailed Beast Bomb. No matter how durable the Eight-Tails was, no matter how strong a perfect Jinchūriki might be—five hits would be the absolute limit.
If Bee tried to take all eight head-on, he'd be meeting the Sage of Six Paths face-to-face.
But—
"No!"
A's expression darkened further as he declared firmly:
"We can't abandon it!"
"Our plan is already working. Uchiha Ci has stepped right into our trap."
"Our next wave of attacks is already in motion. If we can just endure this round of counterattacks, victory will belong to Kumogakure!"
"Bee, for the sake of our village!"
"We must stop this barrage—right here, right now!"
"Even if it costs us our lives!"
Hearing that, Killer Bee took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, they burned with determination.
"Got it, Bro! Let's fight side-by-side!"
"We're the strongest tag team—A & B!"
The two brothers locked eyes and saw the same unshakable resolve reflected in each other.
Then, as one, they stepped forward, their faces tense—
Standing tall against the eight blazing magatama that threatened to rain hell upon them.
Meanwhile—
From atop the head of his Susanoo, overlooking the panic and dread etched across every face below,
Uchiha Ci's gaze finally landed on the two who had stepped forward to confront him.
In that instant—
He smiled, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"A commendable spirit—you still wish to resist?"
"But—"
His face turned cold. He shook his head and spoke in a calm, emotionless voice:
"This is nothing more than futile defiance."
"It's about time."
The moment those words left his mouth,
Uchiha Ci raised his hand—
Clap!
A sharp, echoing snap of his fingers split the air.
The seed he had planted the moment he stepped into the city now finally sprouted and bloomed!
"Sage Art: Genjutsu: Sun-Mirror Illumination!"