Taking advantage of the brothers' brief exchange, Natsuki had already slipped into the forest.
He split into Mokuton Bunshin (Wood Clone) and melted away with silent tree-stealth, so the dense woods felt full of Natsukis everywhere—and yet he was nowhere to be found.
A and Killer B stood back to back, wary of every direction, not daring to make a rash move.
But the trees were too dense; the trunks were close.
In the next second, a wood clone burst from the side, driving a wooden spike straight for Killer B's chest. B yanked a blade and cleaved—the spike and the clone split in two.
Immediately, more wood clones sprang from surrounding trunks, swinging giant axes down at the brothers.
They flared Raiton Chakra Mōdo (Lightning Release Chakra Mode) again; thick arms swept, and the clones were smashed apart.
But drawn by the barrage, they didn't watch their feet. Vines whipped up, cinched both ankles, snapped taut, and yanked them off balance—hauling them upside down.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—Mokuton: Sensatsu no Jutsu (Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs)!
A instantly clad himself in Raiton no Yoroi (Lightning Release Armor). Lightning crackled even more violently; his blond hair stood on end.
Incoming branches pinged off his aura, and the vines binding their shoulders snapped under brute force.
Before B even hit the ground, two long octopus tentacles lashed out and began to spin wildly—within moments, a swath of forest was chopped apart.
If the woods are bad terrain—flatten them!
At that instant, wood clones hidden inside the trunks sprang out together, rushing the brothers from all sides.
The two didn't care. Empowered by Raiton Chakra Mōdo (Lightning Release Chakra Mode), they blitzed with Shunshin (Body Flicker) straight through a crowd of clones. None could hold them for even a single exchange.
In under a minute, every wood clone had been cleared away.
"Hey! Brat, if this is all your Mokuton's got, you're way short of dealing with us!" A said, brimming with confidence.
The very next heartbeat, the light above them died. A colossal wooden Kannon loomed into being—so tall it blotted out the sun.
Arms folded, Natsuki stood atop the statue's crown, looking down on the two.
"Mokuton: Senju Kannon (Wood Release: Thousand-Armed Kannon)!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A storm of wooden fists and palms crashed down, completely engulfing A and B.
There was nowhere to dodge, but Killer B instantly shifted to Eight-Tails Gyūki's complete form. Tentacles wrapped and spun at blurring speed, ricocheting the dense blows away—and shielding A securely within the coil.
"Bijū Hachimaki (Tailed Beast Eight-Coil Spin)!"
Spin and spin—bounce everything away!
When he judged the deflections enough and lifted his guard, a benevolent Kannon hand had already seized Gyūki's head, hoisting him up.
A's face changed. "B! Watch it!"
The next second, an avalanche of wooden palms hammered Gyūki's face. Killer B ate who-knew-how-many strikes in an instant; his head swam.
A vaulted up; with a Jūryūbō (Heavy Flow Smash) he shattered the giant wooden fingers clutching Gyūki's skull and finally freed B.
Natsuki seized the opening, flashed with Ranton (Storm Release) behind A, and whipped a Kōsoku Kick (Light-Speed Kick) into A's kidney. The blow blew open the Raiton no Yoroi (Lightning Release Armor); A went tumbling and cratered into the ground.
Killer B dropped back to human form, still woozy.
Before he could react, Natsuki was already at his back; Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi (Heavenly Cloud-Gathering Sword) laid across his shoulder.
By the time A clambered up, his little brother was already held in place. He let out a long breath. "Haa… okay, that's enough. We'll call it here. We lost."
Natsuki dispelled the heavenly blade and stood quietly where he was.
Killer B glanced at his aniki, then bowed his head. "Aniki… we lost."
A laughed. "Hahahaha! A loss is a loss—we're getting old! It's a young man's world now! B, maybe you don't know this: Natsuki beat a Rinnegan (Samsara Eye) wielder. That eye belongs to a sage—its user is absurdly strong. The one who defeated him is even stronger. So losing to Natsuki isn't shameful at all."
Killer B stared. He'd only just heard that intel.
So earlier, he'd been picking a fight with a top-tier monster without knowing the sky's height or the earth's depth?
Still, he didn't feel embarrassed. Kumo shinobi loved to fight. Even if it was a challenge across tiers, it lit the blood rather than felt presumptuous.
If you don't even have the guts to challenge the strong, how do you get stronger?
As for win or lose—win and celebrate; lose and admit it frankly. No big deal.
But A couldn't resist adding, lips stubborn: "That said, we lost to Mokuton (Wood Release). Mokuton is the secret art of the God of Shinobi, Hashirama. Round it off and it means we lost to Hashirama. So we didn't lose to Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God)."
Killer B gave a decisive thumbs-up. "Aniki speaks truth! Oh yeah!"
Natsuki's eyes almost rolled to the back of his head.
So much for "frank admission," huh? Still hung up about it inside, aren't you? What's so hard about admitting Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God) edges Raiton Chakra Mōdo (Lightning Release Chakra Mode)?
Darui hurried up. "Raikage-dono, Killer B-dono—are you alright?"
A waved him off. "We're tough as old leather—how would we not be fine? But Darui, the pressure's on you. Kumo's future will rely on you—don't go losing to these youngsters from Konoha!"
Darui swallowed.
He glanced at Natsuki—then replayed the image of Natsuki styling on the AB brothers. His scalp tingled.
As a bystander, it was obvious: Natsuki had been at ease the whole time—nowhere near full power. Comparing himself to that kind of freak? Please spare him.
Sasuke came over as well. He'd known Natsuki would be fine, but he still looked him up and down—and only then did the delayed fright hit.
A grinned. "Hahahaha! We found Killer B today, and I got to spar with two talented youngsters. I'm in a great mood. You two are coming back to the village for a proper feast—no refusing!"
Natsuki and Sasuke traded a look, then didn't refuse.
It wasn't their village anyway, so they weren't worried about Akatsuki attacking. And if Akatsuki did, the damage would be Kumo's headache. So… why not?
They started toward Kumogakure.
On the way, Darui managed, "Natsuki, how are you suddenly using Mokuton (Wood Release)?"
A and Killer B both pricked up their ears—curious as well.
Natsuki tilted his head. "Isn't Mokuton just fusing Suiton and Doton chakra natures (Water and Earth)? If you've got hands, you can do it, right?"
Everyone present clicked their tongues. This guy was asking for a beating. "If you've got hands"—if it were that simple, the whole shinobi world would be popping bloodline limits.
Darui deadpanned. "I heard you have Earth, Water, and Lightning natures. Don't tell me you can use Jiton (Magnet Release) too."
Natsuki lifted a hand—and a heavy metal war-fan from behind A rattled free and zipped into his palm.
Silence.
Well then. He really could use Jiton (Magnet Release).
(End of Chapter)
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