In the Cloud Valley Gorge, the Eight-Tails roared, desperate to escape, but the Third Raikage blocked its path at every turn.
By now, the Eight-Tails had regained its senses. After a grueling battle with the Raikage, it was exhausted.
From the beast's perspective, the Raikage was a madman-unstoppable, unbreakable, and relentlessly determined. The Eight-Tails, one of the most fearsome tailed beasts, was on the verge of collapse, but the Raikage still had energy left to fight.
It was absurd. Who was the real beast here?
Damn it! Not this move again!
The Raikage prepared his signature technique: Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite, a terrifying attack that had made him a legendary figure across the ninja world. Countless enemies had learned to fear this technique.
As the Raikage charged, his hand poised to strike, the Eight-Tails panicked. It had suffered too many defeats at the hands of this move. By now, even the sight of the Raikage raising his hand sent shivers through the beast, its mind scarred by the repeated blows.
Damn it!!
"If I'm going down, so are you!"
In a desperate bid, the Eight-Tails opened its mouth, rapidly forming a Tailed Beast Bomb. The bomb was small but condensed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, it was ready to fire.
Seeing the bomb, the Raikage's face darkened. He quickened his pace, lightning flashing around him.
"Damn! I'm too late!"
In a flash, the Raikage was upon the Eight-Tails. The beast's eyes widened in shock. Realizing it wouldn't be able to fire in time, the Eight-Tails lowered its head to avoid the blow.
The Tailed Beast Bomb, no longer aimed, plummeted to the ground.
Boom!
A massive explosion rocked the gorge, the Hidden Cloud shinobi stationed nearby startled by the sudden blast.
In the aftermath of the explosion, the Raikage looked down in surprise at his chest. His eyes widened as he saw blood seeping from a wound.
He had been injured-by his own Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite.
The Eight-Tails' sudden evasion and the explosion from the bomb had thrown off the Raikage's trajectory. Instead of striking the beast, his attack had pierced his own chest, leaving a deep, jagged wound.
It was one of the few visible scars on the Raikage's otherwise invincible body. The difference? Every other scar had come from fighting enemies, but this one had been self-inflicted.
"Damn old monster..." Eight-Tails muttered.
Dazed and utterly exhausted, the Eight-Tails was at its limit. After firing one last Tailed Beast Bomb, it had no strength left to continue the fight. The close-range explosion had rattled the beast's mind, leaving it cursing under its breath before collapsing in a heap.