"GRAAAH—! HURK!!!"
The Two-Tails' massive slit-pupils shrank to pinpoints.
A terrifying blockage filled its throat—like trying to spit out a wad of phlegm, only for a violent gust to blow it right back down your windpipe.
Worse, that palm strike—laced with a thread of black chakra—instantly disrupted the Two-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb.
The carefully balanced yin–yang chakra ratio collapsed in a heartbeat.
Chakra went berserk.
BOOOOM!!
A muffled explosion thundered so deep it made hearts seize.
Eardrums rang.
But this time there was no outward shockwave—only the sound.
Then the Two-Tails' neck and chest visibly bulged from the inside—
The Tailed Beast Bomb had detonated in its belly.
"ROAR—COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!"
Its rampaging roar warped into a shriek of agony as chunks of internal matter and blue flame sprayed from its maw.
Step. Step-step-step—
The giant body stumbled backward, battered by its own self-destruction.
Hiss—!
Chakra burned out of control, and the sleek blue patterns along its body were now charred and ugly.
It looked ridiculous—furious, choking, panicking.
It kept coughing, trying to expel whatever remained in its throat. When it couldn't, it braced on its hind legs and started slapping at its own mouth with both forepaws like a deranged animal.
Ōnoki stared, stunned.
"That easily…?"
A full tailed beast—and its Beast Bomb got suppressed like that?
No.
Not suppressed.
Forced back down.
For a moment, a completely absurd thought surfaced in his head:
Maybe I shouldn't try to run…
Maybe I should just stay here and wait for the ransom payment…
On the other side—
The Fourth Raikage dragged his ruined body… then froze mid-step.
He knew Kai was terrifying. He'd felt it firsthand.
But—
A single palm shoved a Beast Bomb back?
A Tailed Beast Bomb—the thing that erased villages and small nations from maps?
And it got casually dismantled?
That wasn't how this was supposed to go.
That wasn't the scene he'd imagined—Two-Tails tearing Konoha apart while he escaped.
Raikage A fell into grim, bitter doubt.
Kai watched Matatabi stumble and hack, amused.
"See? Even a tailed beast doesn't feel great when it gets blown up by its own Beast Bomb."
He was about to move again—
When a low, hoarse voice suddenly spoke.
'Hey, brat.'
Just hearing it made violent impulses stir in the blood.
But Kai sensed it properly a second later.
The voice wasn't coming through the air.
It was vibrating through chakra—like bone conduction.
Chakra transmission. Through the Nine-Tails' power.
"So… Kurama?"
Kai raised a brow. He hadn't expected the Nine-Tails to choose now to start talking.
His eyes flicked toward the Two-Tails still clutching its throat and jumping around.
A thought formed.
No way…
The voice surged again, furious:
"That blue cat is courting death! It actually dared to squeeze my container's throat with its claws?!"
"Looks like I've been asleep for too long!"
The anger kept rising, every word sharper.
Kurama, sealed inside Naruto, had seen everything through shared perception—
Especially that moment earlier:
When Yugito—half-transformed—had clamped a clawed hand around Naruto's neck.
The cold sensation of that grip still felt like it was on Kurama's throat.
It hated it.
"Let me out."
"Naruto isn't ready, but—you are. You can do it."
"Let me out. I'm going to personally teach that thing what 'Hakimi' means!"
Hakimi—something Kai had said the last time he beat Kurama into submission.
Kai's lips curled into a grin sharper than Matatabi's fangs.
"Exactly what I was thinking."
He turned and snapped an order like it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Naruto. Get up there."
"Hit this thing."
"…Huh? Me?"
Naruto froze.
He squatted on the spot and pointed at himself, pure confusion on his face.
He understood every word.
He just didn't understand how those words were supposed to exist in reality.
Naruto… punching a rampaging Two-Tails?
Ōnoki's old eyebrows lifted.
"This brat… what is he doing now?"
And then an even bolder idea struck him.
"Don't tell me…"
The thought was so insane even he didn't want to believe it.
Nine-Tails jinchūriki versus Two-Tails jinchūriki—
Was he about to witness a scene that would overturn the shinobi world?
Ōnoki quietly relaxed his hands, abandoned the idea of forming seals, found a rock, and sat down like he was watching a once-in-a-lifetime performance.
This was tailed beast-tier collision.
If you didn't watch now, when would you?
After you're dead?
Naruto hesitated—but still walked toward Kai.
Because with Kai, Naruto carried a deep, instinctive trust.
Like that warm, solid back from three years ago.
Kai grabbed the child's hand.
Then, without hesitation, activated two traits—
Nine-Tails' Power.
Tailed Beast Cloak.
FWOOSH—
Orange chakra burst outward and wrapped around Naruto.
Naruto could feel how powerful it was.
Violent.
Dominating.
Yet strangely… it didn't burn.
"It's like that fox's chakra… but it doesn't hurt at all."
Naruto grinned.
Then—
A terrifying presence erupted.
Inside Naruto, deep behind the bars, the giant fox that had been curled up in darkness opened its eyes.
Crack.
Crack-crack.
The cage—so tightly sealed—began to open under Kai's influence.
Quietly.
Smoothly.
As if two unseen gatekeepers had never existed.
Hummm…
The air itself began to tremble.
Outside, in the Death Forest, everyone—those running, those preparing to fight, those barely standing—
All froze and turned.
Something overwhelming was being born.
RIP—!
Space tore.
Not cracked—torn, like flesh ripped open by claws.
A grotesque red gash appeared in the air.
From deep within that slit, thick, magma-like Nine-Tails chakra poured out like a waterfall—
And the entire Death Forest was instantly lit like a massive bonfire festival.
A pressure descended—
Not like killing intent.
Like the top of the food chain pressing down on everything beneath it.
Like the sky collapsing.
Thud. Thud-thud—
Behind them, weaker Konoha ninja finally broke.
They fell to the ground, drenched in sweat, shaking violently as they stared at the rising crimson silhouette.
Their mouths opened, trying to speak—
But only a broken stammer came out:
"N-N-Ni…"
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