Chapter 123: The Mangekyō's Dominion
Killer Bee was a whirlwind of steel, seven swords held in a bizarre yet fluid grip across his body. Each blade hummed with the piercing energy of his Supersonic Vibration Slash.
"Seven Swords Dance: Skanda's Onslaught!" he rapped, his body becoming a blur of unpredictable, acrobatic strikes, the seven swords lashing out from impossible angles.
Kagenori met the assault without resorting to Thunder Breathing. Instead, he channeled raw Lightning Chakra through his limbs, enhancing his speed and reflexes to match Bee's frenzy. His Sharingan spun, its predictive insight allowing him to parry and block each lightning-fast strike with precise, economical movements. The air rang with the violent music of clashing steel.
Ai watched, a patient predator, his eyes tracking every minute shift in the battle. He saw an opening—a fleeting gap in Bee's relentless offense. In that instant, he became lightning.
"Vertical Lightning Axe!"
He concentrated his chakra into his right leg, raising it high before bringing it down in a devastating axe kick aimed at the crown of Kagenori's head.
Kagenori moved to evade, but two massive octopus tentacles erupted from Bee's back, forming a writhing, impenetrable cage around the three combatants. There was no space for a Body Flicker, no room for a substitution. Simultaneously, Bee redoubled his attacks, his swords becoming a storm of steel meant to pin Kagenori in place.
Ai's kick connected.
The impact was thunderous, smashing Kagenori into the earth and fracturing the ground in a web of cracks. The two tentacles retracted, obscuring the view of the onlookers.
When the dust cleared, the seven Konoha ninjas stared in horror. Kagenori lay twisted and broken in the crater. Ai and Bee stood over him, seemingly unscathed.
"Konoha's Blood-Eyed Shura ain't so tough! Idiot! Moron!" Bee chanted.
But Ai's brow remained furrowed. It was too easy.
Then, the broken body twitched. A pair of hands emerged from within, forcing open the mouth of the corpse. Like a serpent shedding its skin, a new, unharmed Kagenori emerged from the wet, discarded husk, slick with fluid but utterly whole.
Ai and Bee stared, stunned. They had never seen such a technique.
Great Soft Physique: Oral Rebirth. One of Orochimaru's most prized secret arts.
Kagenori brushed himself off, a slow, mocking clap echoing in the sudden silence. "Not bad. Truly. Your coordination is exceptional. You forced me on the defensive and made me use one of my master's best techniques." His gaze sharpened, the three tomoe in his eyes dissolving into the sinister, scythe-bladed pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan. "Now, it's my turn to get serious."
"Kyozetsu!" (Rejection)
"Fumetsuzan!" (Unfading Mountain)
Twin trails of blood streaked from the corners of his eyes as both ocular powers activated simultaneously.
"Bee, be careful! His aura... it's changed!" Ai warned, every instinct screaming of imminent danger.
Ai moved first, a blue streak of lightning using Lightning Flash to close the distance instantly.
"Liger Bomb!"
He concentrated chakra into his elbow, driving it toward Kagenori's torso. But the moment it was about to connect, the brilliant lightning shrouding Ai's body winked out. His speed plummeted. His eyes widened in shock. My chakra... it's gone!
Kagenori's ninjato was already arcing towards his exposed neck. Ai threw himself backward in a desperate dodge, reactivating his Lightning Armor just in time to avoid being decapitated. He scrambled back, throwing out an arm to stop a charging Bee.
"Wait! There's something wrong! When I get near him, my jutsu just... fails!"
"Jutsu failure? I thought you dropped your guard on purpose, bro!"
"Idiot! Why would I do that?!" Ai snapped.
"Hey," Kagenori's voice cut through their panic, calm and taunting. "Isn't it rude to ignore me?"
He lowered his stance, one hand resting on his sword's hilt.
Ai immediately fell into a defensive posture. "Bee, we handle this together!"
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash—God Speed."
The world seemed to freeze. An explosion of lightning erupted from Kagenori, and the sound that followed was not a clap, but the tearing of the air itself. The sheer speed was incomprehensible.
Ai sensed the lethal intent. There was no time to warn Bee. He activated his Strongest Lightning Armor, pushing his body to its absolute limit, and threw himself in front of his friend.
In the next instant, a deep gash, bone-deep, appeared across Ai's chest. Blood sprayed across Killer Bee's horrified face.
"BROTHER!"
Bee was frozen. His brother had moved in a blur, taken a position in front of him, and now bore a horrific wound.
And Kagenori... was already behind them, casually flicking blood from his blade.
"Heh. You live up to your name, 'Blue Lightning.' To react even to my God Speed..." Kagenori's Mangekyō gaze locked onto Bee. "What's the matter? Not going to use the Tailed Beast's full power? You can't possibly believe that paltry form is enough to fight me now."
A bestial roar tore from Bee's throat. Crimson, bubbling chakra erupted from his pores, cloaking him in the violent energy of the Eight-Tails.
"BEE! STAY FOCUSED!" Ai grunted, clutching his chest.
"I'M FOCUSED, BRO! I'LL TAKE THE LEAD!" Bee snarled, his voice distorted by the beast's influence.
He launched himself at Kagenori. "Seven Swords Dance: Skanda's Onslaught!"
The seven blades, now sheathed in the corrosive red chakra, became even faster, more aggressive, a whirlwind of pure destruction. But the result was the same. Every time a blade came within a certain radius of Kagenori, the Tailed Beast chakra coating it would simply vanish, rejected by the Kyozetsu field. The ferocious attacks were stripped of their otherworldly power, becoming merely the strikes of a highly skilled swordsman.
Kagenori saw an opening, a predictable recovery from one of Bee's wild swings. His ninjato shot forward like a viper, aimed directly for Bee's abdomen.
An octopus tentacle shot out from Bee's side, wrapping around the blade and halting its penetration. Only the very tip managed to pierce the skin.
Kagenori's grin was feral. "I've heard the Tailed Beast's chakra can heal its host. Let's test that theory."
"BEE!"
"Thunder Breathing, Fifth Form: Heat Lightning."
A concentrated blast of superheated lightning erupted from the tip of his embedded sword, directly into the wound in Bee's abdomen.
There was a sizzling sound, the stench of burnt flesh. A charred, blackened hole was blown clean through Bee's torso.
"DAMN YOU! LIGHTNING STRAIGHT LARIAT!" Ai transformed into a bolt of pure rage, his fist aimed at Kagenori's head.
Kagenori simply took a graceful step back, the fist whistling harmlessly past his face. Ai didn't press the attack. He grabbed Bee's arm and, in a flash of blue light, retreated, putting a desperate distance between them and the terrifying, blood-eyed shinobi who had just effortlessly dismantled their perfect teamwork.
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