Hiruzen, Torifu, and the four ANBU ninjas were watching as I flew closer and closer to the Nine Tails, all of them nervous yet filled with expectant hope. They were the most anxious because the success of our entire plan depended on whether I could cut the Nine Tails in half as I had promised. If I failed, our strategy would fall through, leaving no opportunity to separate the two halves and seal them individually, forcing us to face the enormous beast directly once again.
From a safe distance, all the other onlookers were also watching the scene unfold, including Shinku. Though he did not know the exact details of the plan, he could tell something major was about to happen, so he waited and prayed that nothing bad happened to me. At the same time, tension mounted as the Tailed Beast Bomb formed at an alarming speed. An enormous sphere of chakra was taking shape in front of the Nine Tails' mouth, a sight that made everyone understand just how dangerous the situation had become.
The rotation of my swords increased further and further, the blades spinning faster with every passing moment until they were almost impossible to distinguish individually.
"...Secret Move, 3000 Worlds."
As soon as I finished speaking, I instantly cut through the Nine Tails. The strike passed directly through its massive body, severing it completely so that the front half and back half were totally separated from each other. What everyone witnessed in those next few moments was an extreme display of strength that none of them could have imagined beforehand. With a single sword strike, I had really cut the Nine Tails in half. For a brief moment, time itself seemed to stop as everyone stared at the massive body divided into two completely separate parts.
Driven by the extreme momentum from Torifu's throw, I continued flying forward through the air. Meanwhile, the premature Tailed Beast Bomb suddenly blasted apart in midair, creating a massive shockwave that struck the surrounding area and pushed me even further forward while I was still airborne.
However, I did not simply continue flying ahead without checking the result. Using my body's momentum and inner strength, I made a powerful swing with both of my swords. The force of that movement caused my body to twist backward in midair as I turned around, looking back toward the Nine Tails to see the fate of the beast and determine whether the plan was going well. The twist was performed with extreme force, greatly reducing my forward momentum and decreasing my speed. I could no longer maintain that incredible speed, and at this rate, I would fall back to the ground within a minute or so.
Looking carefully below, I saw that everything was going exactly as planned. Even though the shockwave from the premature Tailed Beast Bomb had been powerful enough to shake the surrounding area, it was nowhere near enough to knock away these powerful ninjas. They remained firmly in place, and the moment the Nine Tails was separated, Hiruzen and all four ANBU ninjas moved simultaneously. Hiruzen moved toward left side of the Nine Tails and instantly pointed his Adamantine Staff toward the front half of its body.
"Extend!"
As soon as he gave the command, the Adamantine Staff began extending at an incredible speed, shooting forward like a massive spear and directly striking the front half of the Nine Tails' body. The enormous force behind the extension immediately began pushing the front half away from the battlefield. Watching carefully from above, I saw two hands emerge right around the tip of the Adamantine Staff and grab onto the hair of the Nine Tails. Knowing that the Adamantine Staff was the form of Hiruzen's summon, Enma, the Monkey King, seeing Enma's hands emerge was not surprising to me. Still, I wondered about his strategy.
But what exactly is Hiruzen planning by doing this?
As the head portion of the Nine Tails was pushed farther and farther away by Hiruzen's Adamantine Staff, the hind-leg portion was left almost helpless. However, the remaining part still had its tails attached, and those tails immediately began flapping wildly without any proper direction as the beast attempted to resist the sealing.
This chaotic movement was dangerous. As the four-ANBU ninja team whose task was to seal the hind-leg portion began closing in, one of the massive tails suddenly whipped across the area.
"Ugh!"
The tail struck one of the ANBU ninjas directly, sending him flying like a rag doll to crash into a nearby building with tremendous force. My expression immediately became serious as I watched the scene unfold.
Damn it! I need to do something about the tail of the Nine Tails, or else the ANBU ninjas won't even be able to use the sealing technique.
I could not simply leave them to deal with those wild tails on their own; even separated from its head, the remaining strength of the hind section was still enough to disrupt the entire plan. Exhaling slowly and inhaling deeply, I twisted my body once again without hesitation, shifting my trajectory downward.
My leg moved, kicking the air with such tremendous force that it almost seemed to become solid beneath my feet as a foothold. Accelerating further as I descended directly toward the writhing Nine Tails like a meteor, I swung both blades downward.
"Two-Sword Style: Tower Climb Return!"
Two powerful flying sword slashes shot out parallel from my blades. The slashes were further strengthened by gravity-assisted momentum and the Armament Haki covering my swords, cutting downward with tremendous force.
Boom!
Both attacks struck the writhing Nine Tails directly. Two parallel lines of wounds appeared across all of its tails, suppressing their wild movements. At almost the same moment, I reached the ground with a heavy Boom!, and a cloud of dust spread outward around me, momentarily obscuring my figure.
The violent writhing of the Nine Tails' remaining tails abruptly stopped, suppressed by the injuries I had just inflicted upon them, finally giving the ANBU ninjas their opening.
----
To read advanced chapters up to 24 chapters ahead, please consider supporting me on Patreon: [https://patreon.com/Hkj822]