Killer Bee suddenly felt his whole body stiffen.
He couldn't move — not even a finger.
A wave of dread welled up inside him.
Damn it… I've been caught in his genjutsu!
Just then, a surge of tailed-beast chakra erupted from within him.
The chakra of the Eight Tails flooded through his limbs, breaking the illusion's hold.
He gasped, regaining control of his body, a flicker of fear flashing through his eyes.
That masked man's genjutsu was terrifying — a single glance into those eyes was enough to trap him.
"Thanks, Hachibi," Bee muttered under his breath.
"If it weren't for you, I might've already lost."
He knew now that he had to be more cautious than ever.
He could no longer afford to look that man in the eyes again.
Dropping his gaze, Killer Bee focused on the man's torso instead — close enough to track his movements, but low enough to avoid those deadly scarlet eyes.
Then, inside his mind, the voice of the Eight Tails rumbled deeply:
"Bee… be careful. That masked man's eyes — I don't think they're ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan."
Bee's heart skipped a beat.
"What do you mean?"
"It's likely the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan," the Eight Tails explained gravely.
"A step beyond the normal Mangekyō. It never loses its sight from overuse — and its power is far greater."
Bee's pupils shrank in disbelief.
Stronger than the Mangekyō?
"Then… could this guy really be Uchiha Madara?"
The Eight Tails paused for a moment.
"It's possible. In all the shinobi world, no other eyes radiate such a sinister aura. If it really is Madara… Bee, you need to run."
"Even if your strength has grown, you can't win against him."
The Eight Tails had bonded with Bee through countless battles — it didn't want to lose its jinchūriki, nor did it want to be enslaved by those eyes again.
Bee's heart sank under the pressure.
If this masked man truly possessed the Eternal Mangekyō, then he might indeed be Uchiha Madara himself — a monster beyond comparison.
Even the strongest of Konoha, Uchiha Ryosuke, probably didn't have eyes like those.
The Eight Tails is right, he thought grimly.
If I fight him head-on, I'll lose no matter what. I need to find an opening… and escape.
But that man wouldn't let him go so easily.
Bee would have to create a diversion.
Drawing upon even more of the Eight Tails' chakra, crimson energy erupted around his body like a living flame.
In an instant, six massive tails unfurled behind him — his body swelling with raw power.
This was half-beast form — the stage between man and full tailed beast.
He was now like a miniature version of Gyūki itself.
Opening his mouth wide, Bee began gathering a dense black orb of energy — the Tailed Beast Bomb.
A technique so destructive it could level a mountain in a single blast.
Across from him, Ryosuke watched calmly, recognizing the attack at once.
He'd studied the tailed beasts — he knew that the Beeijūdama was formed by compressing an immense amount of chakra into a dense sphere and detonating it in an instant.
And then an idea sparked in his mind.
If that's all it is — raw chakra compression — then why can't I do it too?
My chakra now rivals that of the Nine Tails… I should be able to create one myself.
He smiled faintly.
If tailed beasts could do it, then so could he.
Placing both hands before his chest, Ryosuke began to refine his chakra — concentrating it between his palms.
A sphere of blue light began to form, glowing brighter and brighter.
On the other side, Killer Bee's eyes widened.
"What the—?! He's copying my move?!"
From his senses, he could tell that the chakra gathering in that blue sphere was just as dense as his own Tailed Beast Bomb.
But this man wasn't a jinchūriki — he was a human!
How could a human possibly have such terrifying chakra reserves?
Both spheres — one black, one blue — grew larger, pulsing with unstable power.
Bee roared, releasing his completed Beeijūdama toward Ryosuke.
The masked man responded in kind, hurling his own newly-forged artificial tailed beast bomb.
The two orbs collided mid-air.
BOOM!
A blinding explosion erupted between them.
The shockwave tore across the island like a hurricane, sending earth, stone, and dust flying in every direction.
A mushroom cloud rose into the sky as the ground itself trembled violently.
Back in the island's training base, the Cloud Village shinobi were thrown off balance, their eyes wide in shock.
"What the hell was that?!"
"Did Killer Bee lose control of the Eight Tails?!"
"Don't be stupid — Bee's a perfect jinchūriki now! He hasn't lost control in years."
"Then what caused that explosion?!"
A group of ninja rushed outside.
When they looked toward the horizon, they saw a massive pillar of smoke rising high above the trees.
"Was that… the Tailed Beast Bomb?"
"Is Bee testing his Bijūdama again? Couldn't he have aimed for the ocean instead of the island?!"
They could hardly believe what they were seeing — assuming it was Bee's doing.
Moments later, a battered, dust-covered figure sprinted toward them at full speed.
His clothes were scorched, his chakra cloak flickering.
It was Killer Bee — and his expression was filled with fear.
"That guy…" he gasped, "that masked man can use a Tailed Beeeast Beeomb too!"
The Cloud nin looked at him, stunned.
"What do you mean, 'he can use'—"
"I mean exactly that!" Bee snapped. "He's not a jinchūriki, but he made one himself — an artificial tailed beast bomb! His chakra's as monstrous as a real bijū's!"
Just recalling the battle sent a chill down his spine.
Compared to that man, even being a jinchūriki felt meaningless.
Using the smoke and chaos as cover, Killer Bee had slipped away — but before fleeing, he'd sent a mental message to the island base:
Warn the village. Call for Lord Raikage immediately.
Only his brother, the Fourth Raikage A, might have the power to handle this threat.
After all, A had been training ever since their defeat by Konoha, pushing his lightning armor to new limits.
Beeut even so, Bee couldn't shake the feeling —
That masked man, that so-called "Uchiha Madara," was a monster unlike any he'd ever faced.
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan…
The artificial tailed beast bomb…
Each glimpse of power was enough to make even the Eight Tails itself tremble.
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