After missing his first shot, Killer Bee didn't falter. The Eight-Tails, Gyūki, opened its mouth once again, and chakra of yin and yang attributes began to gather.
"Damn it! You treating me like some sideshow?"
Manda's pupils narrowed into slits, his voice brimming with rage.
It was one thing to be caught off guard before—but this? Killer Bee was blatantly ignoring him, acting like he didn't even exist. Was he really that powerless to stop it?
Furious, Manda's massive body twisted atop the Eight-Tails. Drawing strength, he slammed his head directly into Gyūki's gaping mouth.
The impact knocked the bull-headed beast's aim off, and the unstable chakra sphere exploded prematurely, right in front of both their faces.
A violent shockwave tore through the air. The smoke from the blast quickly faded.
"Hiss... think you can look down on me?"
Manda flicked his tongue, glaring. The thick scales on his head were scorched and cracked, giving the massive purple python an even more savage appearance.
Thankfully, he had interrupted the charge early. The chakra buildup hadn't reached critical mass yet, so the explosion wasn't too powerful.
"You purple bastard!"
Killer Bee snapped back in his usual strange rhythm, already charging another Tailed Beast Bomb. The Eight-Tails' tentacles writhed, trying to pin Manda down.
"You're not getting away with that," hissed Manda.
He coiled tighter around Gyūki, expertly shifting his grip—sometimes constricting, sometimes releasing just enough—disrupting the movement of every tentacle. His sharp, reptilian eyes locked onto Killer Bee's face, refusing to let the Jinchūriki finish the technique.
After yet another failed attempt, Killer Bee realized the truth: with his current level of control, there was no way he could properly launch a Tailed Beast Bomb with Manda interfering.
This snake was too experienced, too quick, and knew exactly how to shut down a beast's power.
"Damn nuisance!"
Killer Bee's expression twisted with frustration. He stopped aiming for a proper shot and instead focused all his chakra into a raw, unstable mass—planning to detonate it right in front of them.
He knew Manda wouldn't be willing to die for Orochimaru. Gyūki could take a few blasts without much issue… but how many could that snake withstand?
His intent was clear: either Manda backed off, or he blew them both sky-high.
"You dare mock me?!"
Manda's vertical eyes burned with fury. Pride and anger drowned out any survival instinct. He rammed his head into Gyūki's mouth again—and again—each time triggering another explosive backlash.
The snake and the tailed beast clashed in a brutal deadlock, locked in a test of endurance, violence, and stubborn will.
Now it was just a matter of who would give out first.
Booms and explosions echoed across the sky. From the corner of his eye, the Fourth Raikage observed the chaos near the fortress and quickly realized—there was no way the Eight-Tails would be able to destroy it anytime soon.
Manda, for all his fear of death, was still Orochimaru's strongest summoned beast. He could stall for quite a while.
At this rate, the village would suffer heavy losses.
"I can't wait any longer," the Raikage muttered.
Smashing his fist through the head of a massive attacking serpent, he used its recoil to leap onto the back of Yamata no Orochi. He sprinted across the monster's twisting body, dashing over rocky ridges and scales as he made his way straight toward the fortress.
As a Kage, the Fourth Raikage had his own formidable way of tearing down enemy structures.
But compared to the destructive power of a Tailed Beast, his methods were slower. And entering a fortress built and fortified by the enemy for so long? That was risky.
This wasn't just a place booby-trapped with exploding tags—this was layered with barrier techniques, sealing traps… defenses even a Tailed Beast couldn't easily ignore. The danger wasn't just high—it was absolute.
Still, he had no choice.
If he waited, his forces would bleed out.
"Heh... Don't even think about it!" Orochimaru sneered. One of Yamata no Orochi's heads lunged down like a hammering fist, crashing toward the Raikage without hesitation.
"Hmph—!" the Fourth Raikage shouted, his body bursting into lightning. Like a parkour master in a thunderstorm, he dodged blow after blow. The serpent's relentless strikes couldn't touch him. In the blink of an eye, he had crossed the beast's massive body.
He jumped.
With both feet planted, he launched himself at the fortress. Lightning blazed around him as he rocketed forward like a living cannonball.
The moment he struck, the entire fortress collapsed instantly under the force of his full-powered Lightning Chakra Mode.
A massive crater remained where the stronghold once stood.
"...That was... too easy."
Standing at the center of the smoking pit, lightning still crackling around his body, the Raikage was visibly shocked. His breath was ragged. His expression grim.
Of course, the fortress shouldn't have withstood his full force—but for it to fall apart this easily?
There was only one explanation.
The fortress was a decoy.
Realizing this, he moved to jump out of the crater—despite his fatigue, despite his body crying out from spent chakra.
But before he could escape, something slammed him back down.
He looked up—and saw a snake's head blotting out the moonlight. Its face twisted into a wicked, smiling expression.
A trap.
That single thought flickered through the Raikage's mind before Yamata no Orochi's heads came crashing down.
Again and again.
It was like smashing garlic with pestles—only the mortar was the Fourth Raikage himself.
The snake heads pounded the crater relentlessly, shaking the forest with each strike. The tremors spread far and wide, even halting the battle between Konoha and Kumogakure's forces for a moment.
"Is… is Lord Raikage really okay?" one of the Cloud ninjas murmured, swallowing hard.
Even the Konoha shinobi couldn't look away. If the Fourth Raikage died here… this war could be over.
Under everyone's tense gaze, Yamata no Orochi finally stopped.
"Tch tch… Even with a perfect setup, it still didn't kill him."
Orochimaru clicked his tongue, his golden eyes narrowing as he peered into the smoke-filled crater.
"If it had been Jiraiya's Sage Art, the Fourth Raikage might've been seriously injured."
Even though he expected the Raikage to survive, Orochimaru had still underestimated his resilience. Yamata no Orochi's onslaught should've crushed anyone else. But against the Raikage, it was like hammering steel.
It wasn't an attack—it was like forging metal with your bare hands.
"Shhhk…"
Before the dust had even cleared, a flash of lightning streaked out of the crater. A blur cut through the trees, fast as thunder.
Too fast for Orochimaru to react.
In an instant, the Fourth Raikage appeared beside the battlefield where Gyūki was fighting.
Orochimaru's heart sank. He moved to unbind the summoning contract—too late.
The Raikage's fist crashed into Manda, blasting a massive hole through the giant snake's side.
"You bastard… You dare—!"
Manda turned to bite, eyes burning with rage—but before he could finish, his body vanished with a sharp bang.
Orochimaru had dismissed him just in time, sending him back to Ryūchi Cave.
The Raikage didn't pause to celebrate. Bloodied and grim, he roared across the battlefield:
"Kumogakure—RETREAT WITH ME!"
_____________
Read till chapter 82 on patreon
patreon.com/Silver757