The Two-Tails stood tall and towering, its flames licking the air, its feline eyes gleaming with malice. Yugito Nii, completely engulfed in the beast's form, peered down coldly from within Matatabi.
Before her, Uchiha Ryōsuke seemed like an ant.
"Perish," Yugito growled.
Matatabi's jaws opened wide as blue flames coalesced into a sphere—gathering, pulsing, compressing. It was a searing inferno, the size of a mountain, the raw might of a fully unleashed tailed beast condensed into one cataclysmic attack.
With a deafening roar, she fired.
The colossal Tailed Beast Fireball surged forward, tearing through the sky like a comet. Everything in its path threatened to turn to ash.
Yet Ryōsuke stood his ground.
He didn't flinch. Didn't retreat. Instead, he inhaled deeply, hands forming rapid seals—his fingers moving with the precise elegance only a true Uchiha possessed.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
(Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!)
But this wasn't an ordinary fireball.
As Ryōsuke exhaled, a massive inferno burst forth from his mouth, its sheer size and intensity rivalling even the Two-Tails' tailed beast technique. His flames weren't blue, but a furious orange-red, brimming with concentrated chakra. The kind of chakra only a warrior who had opened Four of the Eight Inner Gates could produce.
The two titanic fireballs collided midair.
The explosion was instant.
The impact sent a shockwave surging through the battlefield—incinerating trees, lifting earth, and blowing shinobi off their feet in all directions. The heavens turned orange and blue as fire rained from the sky.
Onlookers could barely breathe.
From the Hyūga compound, even seasoned elders stood in stunned silence.
"He matched a tailed beast's chakra attack… with his own fire ninjutsu?" one whispered.
"No… this isn't just ninjutsu," muttered Uchiha Inaho. "This is the product of monstrous chakra reserves… and the Gates."
Uchiha Hachidai clenched his fists, voice trembling. "He's surpassed even Shisui."
Yugito, from within Matatabi, reeled.
"How…?" she thought. "Even fully transformed, my Tailed Beast Ball couldn't burn through that fire?"
Inside her consciousness, a deep, rumbling voice echoed.
"Be careful, Yugito."
"This boy… is not ordinary."
It was Matatabi, speaking from within their mental link. A creature of wisdom and power, even she felt Ryōsuke's strength was abnormal.
Yugito grit her teeth.
"I know," she whispered back. "That's why I went full transformation. But this has to end. Quickly."
She lunged.
Matatabi's huge feline body pounced forward, her four limbs crashing into the earth with the weight of a mountain. She tore across the battlefield, moving with terrifying speed despite her size, and brought one of her massive claws down toward Ryōsuke.
He leapt back—just in time.
The ground where he'd stood exploded in a shower of stone and fire, her claw gouging a massive crater into the earth.
Ryōsuke's eyes narrowed. His breath was steady. His body, enhanced by the Gates, felt like a furnace. The heat pouring from his skin was visible. His Sharingan spun rapidly.
"That speed… I thought she'd be slower after transforming," he thought, eyes tracking her movements. "But she's faster… and stronger."
He was impressed. Most giant summons or tailed beasts lost agility when fully manifested. Not Matatabi.
He sidestepped another swipe. Then another.
Flames roared past his cheek as he narrowly avoided being skewered.
Still—he wasn't just dodging.
He was watching. Calculating.
And now, it was time to test a theory.
"She's fast, yes… but let's see how she handles this."
He didn't dodge the next attack.
Instead, as Matatabi's claw came flying toward him, he planted his feet and punched upward—meeting her attack head-on.
The shockwave cracked the ground beneath his feet.
But he held firm.
The massive claw stopped—dead in its tracks.
A moment of silence followed.
From within Matatabi, Yugito's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What!?"
Even with a tailed beast's full might, she couldn't overpower him.
"How can a human body withstand this much force?" she thought in panic. "Even the Raikage couldn't trade blows like this with a fully transformed Matatabi!"
Outside, Ryōsuke stood firm, his body steaming, his knuckles pressed against her claw.
He was smiling.
"So this is the power of a Tailed Beast?" he asked aloud, his voice calm and unshaken. "Not bad… but you're not the only one with monstrous strength."
With a sudden twist, he threw her claw to the side and burst forward in a blur.
Yugito tried to track him—but he was already at her side.
He leapt high into the air and drove his fist down into Matatabi's massive shoulder.
BOOM!
The tailed beast staggered.
One of her legs buckled under the weight of the blow. A crater formed beneath her feet.
Inside, Yugito reeled from the impact.
"He's too fast," she muttered. "And he hits like a meteor."
Ryōsuke didn't let up.
He darted around Matatabi's flank, hammering punches into her joints, leaping off her tail, striking again. He didn't need chakra blades or ninjutsu now—his body was a weapon.
The battlefield quaked with each strike.
From the sidelines, shinobi were speechless.
The earth trembled.
The wind howled.
But it wasn't Matatabi dominating the field—it was Ryōsuke.
For the Uchiha and Hyūga clans, it was a sight they'd never forget.
This wasn't a battle between ninja.
This was a battle between a man and a monster—and the man was winning.
Uchiha Hachidai could barely contain his awe. "He… he's surpassed the scope of what we call shinobi."
Even Hyūga elders were stunned. "I've never seen anything like this. Not even during the Third Shinobi War."
For the first time, they began to believe.
Believe that this war could be won.
Believe that Uchiha Ryōsuke wasn't just a talented shinobi—he was a generational force.
A weapon forged in secret. Refined in battle. And now… unleashed.
Yugito growled inside the beast.
"If I can land just one hit… I can tear him apart."
But that was the problem.
She couldn't land even one.
And now, Ryōsuke's voice echoed across the field.
"You thought I was just another Uchiha with flashy jutsu," he said. "But I'm not here to show off the Sharingan."
"I'm here to end this war."
His fists clenched.
"Get ready. Because I'm not done yet."
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