Defeat.
If there was one word to describe the current state of the Allied Shinobi Forces that had invaded Uzugakure, it would be this.
And worse still—they were routed by a single man.
Once again, this proved that before true strength, numbers mean nothing.
For example, in the original timeline during the Fourth Great Ninja War, Madara Uchiha had fought alone against thousands, mercilessly overpowering the Five Kage and the entire shinobi army.
Now, Heiyan had become a true warrior capable of felling ten thousand men alone.
In just minutes, he swept across the entire battlefield, leaving chaos and cries of pain behind him. Thousands lay dead or wounded, completely incapacitated.
These warmongering invaders finally realized that sending more troops against Heiyan would only result in more deaths—they'd rather flee and save what little lives they had left.
Suddenly—
"ROARRR!"
A thunderous roar exploded from behind, reverberating across the battlefield. Heiyan turned around, only to see a giant blue cat demon wreathed entirely in blazing flames.
The Two-Tails Jinchuriki had lost control.
This tailed beast, known as Matatabi, had harbored deep hatred for Heiyan since he forcibly drained half its chakra earlier. Now, taking advantage of the weakened and exhausted state of the Two-Tails' jinchuriki, Matatabi shattered its seal and successfully freed itself.
And naturally, Matatabi's first target would be killing Heiyan to reclaim its stolen chakra.
"He's lost control..."
Not far away, Burubi saw what happened to the Two-Tails' jinchuriki and felt a chill run down his spine, as if he were watching his own fate unfold—rabbit-hearted, he mourned the fox's end.
Instinctively, he exited his Semi-Tailed Beast Transformation, fearing he might end up just like that.
"Burubi, don't back down—you're someone I recognize."
At that moment, Gyuki suddenly spoke from within him, coaxing persuasively. "I've always believed in you. Release me, just like the last time you did it. You can definitely do it..."
Encouraged by Gyuki, Burubi hesitated repeatedly before finally making his decision.
"ROAAAR!"
Another earth-shaking roar erupted. Then, under countless fearful gazes, a sixty-meter-tall giant ox with eight octopus-tailed appendages appeared on the battlefield.
Gyuki—the Eight-Tails—had emerged!
"Hmph!" A sudden gust of hot steam blasted from Gyuki's nostrils. He locked eyes with Matatabi, and through the unique telepathic connection between tailed beasts, they instantly reached an understanding.
Both beasts instantly recognized the danger posed by this human known as Heiyan. His mystic sage-like markings and sealing-based techniques triggered a chilling memory for both beasts—the name they feared most: Hashirama Senju.
More than twenty years ago, it was Hashirama Senju who had hunted down all the wild Tailed Beasts roaming free and bound them within the Five Great Ninja Villages to maintain equilibrium between the nations.
Since then, they had been reduced to mere war tools, imprisoned by those villages.
If ever a path to true freedom should open again, whether for Gyuki, Matatabi, or any other tailed beast, none of them wanted another Hashirama Senju to arise and trap them once more.
Therefore, these two mighty tailed beasts now shared a single goal—to eliminate Heiyan and escape together, regaining their long-lost freedom.
Rumbling filled the air as two tailed beasts dashed across the battlefield, shaking the earth and creating tremors like an earthquake. The actual physical forms of the tailed beasts were on a completely different level compared to jinchuriki in partial beast transformation.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Gyuki launched a direct assault on Heiyan. Its chakra extended outward, forming massive dark-red chakra hands trying to crush Heiyan to death.
Meanwhile, Matatabi moved at incredible speed around Heiyan, constantly looking for opportunities to unleash surprise fire attacks.
Their coordination was seamless, temporarily causing Heiyan significant trouble. Fortunately, he used the Demon-Subduing Celestial Binding Chain in his hand to forcefully suppress both tailed beasts, regaining the upper hand.
However, bad news arrived—Heiyan's two brothers were in serious trouble.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Hiashi Hyuga exchanged dozens of punches with Third Raikage, then used counter-recoil force to break away from combat. Now he was gasping heavily, his movements gradually slowing down.
The time limit on the Eight Gates was ending.
Hiashi hadn't expected it—opening the View Gate wasn't enough to beat the Third Raikage.
Time to play my final card.
Over the past year, Hiashi had been pondering: Why should taijutsu be split between the Gentle Fist (soft, flowing techniques) and the Strong Fist (powerful, direct strikes)? Was there a way to combine them organically, fully utilizing their strengths to form a brand-new taijutsu school?
He had previously discussed this with Heiyan, who simply replied: "Absolutely possible."
Moreover, Heiyan even helped name this new style—Tai Chi.
Therefore, Hiashi Hyuga's next move would be Tai Chi-style taijutsu, only possible when under the greatly enhanced physical state of having opened the sixth gate of the Eight Gates.
Previously called "Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm,"
This move now bears the name—[Tai Chi Eight Trigrams Continuous Empty Palm]!
"GRAAAAHHHHH!!"
With a furious roar, Hiashi gathered all the chakra inside his body into his palms, then rapidly fired continuous punches. In an instant, countless "fists" appeared.
These fists originated partly from the speed of Hiashi's punches compressing the air to create shockwaves, while retaining the characteristics of the original Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm—high-intensity, high-density chakra blasts.
One embodied the raw power of the Strong Fist, while the other carried the flowing grace of the Gentle Fist. They fused together, with air pressure forming the outer shell and chakra blast forming the core, reaching absolutely terrifying destructive power.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
As Hiashi punched so fast his arms left afterimages, countless compressed air blasts shot toward Third Raikage, giving him no chance to escape.
Visually, this attack matched the earliest forms of Kaguya otsutsuki's [Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack].
"Hm?"
Seeing Hiashi going all-out, Third Raikage immediately turned serious too, unwilling to hold back any further.
Facing the incoming storm of punches, he also roared, channeling vast quantities of chakra into three fingers, thrusting straight at Hiashi Hyuga.
[Lightning Release: Hell Stab—Three-Pin Penetrating Hand]!
This jutsu was the Third Raikage's ultimate offensive jutsu—an attack with immense penetrating power. When this jutsu was enhanced and condensed into a single finger strike (*One-Pin Penetrating Hand*), it became known as the [Ultimate Spear].
[Tai Chi Eight Trigrams Continuous Empty Palm] VS [Hell Stab — Three-Pin Penetrating Hand].
This move would decide not just the outcome, but also life and death itself.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Innumerable fists rained down onto the Third Raikage's body, piercing his Lightning Release Chakra Mode and leaving deep, uneven fist marks across his skin.
Aside from Heiyan, Hiashi Hyuga was the second person capable of harming the Third Raikage.
Unfortunately, that's where it ended.
"Ughhh!"
The Third Raikage roared again, using his formidable physical body—renowned as the [Ultimate Shield]—to endure the relentless empty palm strikes. Then, as Hiashi watched in shock, he pierced the latter's body with his Three-Pin Penetrating Hand.
Puchi!
Hiashi's silver Shanwenjia armor was pierced first, crumbling like soft tofu. Next, the Third Raikage's arm surged forward, directly penetrating Hiashi's chest before exiting through his back.
Drip. Drip.
Streams of blood dripped steadily from the Raikage's fingers. As he pulled his arm back, Hiashi's Byakugan went unfocused, and he collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
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