Qianyu, disguised as a medic-nin, sat waiting in the medical ward.
Soon enough, a knock came at the door.
A man entered. It was B.
"Here to pick up the medicine."
Qianyu took out a piece of paper, pretended to make a note, then handed B the special illusion pill Orochimaru had provided.
"Here you are. Please take this."
B examined the unfamiliar pill in his hand. "This is different from before?"
"It's a new formula," Qianyu explained. "Guarantees a better night's sleep."
"Is that so? Thanks."
B didn't think much of it. He took the medicine and left.
Late that night.
B was fast asleep.
Qianyu slipped into the room. He looked down at the sleeping man. "Then," he murmured softly, "let me fill that void for you."
A noise. B's eyes snapped open.
Qianyu's hand clamped over his mouth. In the same motion, he peeled away his disguise.
B tried to cry out. Tried to struggle. But his limbs felt like lead.
"Useless," Qianyu said, his voice cold. "That was a specially-made illusion pill. It's been painful, hasn't it? Living as a Jinchūriki. You did it for the village, and they repay you with scorn. Unfair, isn't it?
For a Jinchūriki, this world isn't worth it. So I'll free you. Free you from the fear, the pain." He leaned closer. "Consider this a guide from the world of death."
Qianyu pulled open B's shirt, revealing the Iron Armor Seal restraining the Eight-Tails.
He raised his right hand. Chakra condensed at his fingertips.
"Five Elements Unsealing!"
His palm slammed down onto the seal.
"Alright. Come on out, Eight-Tails. Your turn to perform."
RUMBLE!
The beast exploded from its prison. Wood and stone shattered as the colossal form of the Eight-Tails manifested in the heart of Kumogakure.
Qianyu stood atop a nearby roof. His eyes—now spinning with the pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Fall before the Sharingan!"
Illusion took hold. The Eight-Tails' eyes briefly mirrored Qianyu's own, then the tell-tale pattern vanished, hidden deep within.
Under the Mangekyō's control, the beast roared and began its rampage.
From a hill outside the village, Qianyu watched coldly as the Eight-Tails became a force of nature. In mere minutes, entire sections of Kumogakure were reduced to rubble. The screams were distant, but the rising dust cloud spoke volumes.
Shinobi scrambled. Formed ranks. A barrage of ninjutsu rained down on the beast's hide.
It did nothing. Like pebbles against a mountain.
Then he arrived.
The Third Raikage, leading his elite guard.
"Lightning Release Chakra Mode!"
Lightning crackled, enveloping his body. The air itself hummed. His muscles bulged, speed and defense skyrocketing.
A flash of light. The Raikage was gone.
He reappeared above the Eight-Tails' head. His fist came down like a meteor.
BOOM!
The titan was driven face-first into the ground, the impact shaking the very foundations of the village.
But from the dust, a sphere of swirling black and red chakra began to form in the beast's maw.
A Tailed Beast Bomb.
If that detonated here, Kumogakure would be erased from the map.
"MAXIMUM LIGHTNING RELEASE CHAKRA MODE!"
The Raikage's hair stood on end. The lightning around him intensified, blazing with white-hot fury. This was his full power.
He launched himself from the ground. The earth cratered beneath him.
His fist connected with the Eight-Tails' jaw.
CRACK!
The forming Tailed Beast Bomb dissipated into chaotic energy.
"Restrain it!" the Raikage commanded.
Elite shinobi threw massive chains, wrapping them around the beast's limbs and torso.
The Eight-Tails roared. Muscles like steel cables strained. The chains snapped like twigs. A single, brutal sweep of its tail turned several elite shinobi into bloody smears against the ruins.
Then, right before A's eyes, one of the beast's massive horns impaled another comrade.
"YOU BASTARD!"
A's eyes burned crimson with rage. He shot forward.
"Lightning Cleave!"
A blade of concentrated lightning formed along his arm. He dove, a living bolt of judgment, and slashed down.
SHINK!
The Eight-Tails' left horn was severed clean off.
"A, move! Eight-Tails!"
The Third Raikage's voice boomed. He held out a jar-like pot.
The beast, enraged, turned and roared in response.
The lid of the Amber Purifying Pot flew open. A terrifying suction force gripped the Eight-Tails. With a final, unwilling bellow, the entire colossal form was pulled into the small vessel.
On the hill, Qianyu's eyes narrowed.
One of the tools left by the Sage of Six Paths.
The chaos had lasted barely ten minutes. Yet the devastation left behind was staggering. This was the raw power of a Tailed Beast.
Qianyu's expression was grim.
The speed of the Third in his maximum state… it might even surpass my Thunderclap and Flash. And A… even in his base form, his speed isn't far behind mine. If he activates his Lightning Chakra Mode, the gap closes completely.
He let out a slow breath. "Plenty of people are still stronger than me. Can't afford to get careless."
His mission was complete. He hadn't crippled Kumogakure, but he'd given them a hell of a headache—one that would last a long while.
Qianyu turned and melted into the shadows, leaving the Land of Lightning behind.
When word of his success reached Orochimaru, the counterattack began immediately.
With their village in ruins and morale shattered by the Eight-Tails' rampage, the Cloud shinobi in the Land of Hot Water found themselves routed. The front lines, once places of desperate defense for Konoha, were now scenes of relentless advance. The Cloud was pushed back to their own border.
A Jinchūriki cannot survive the extraction of their Tailed Beast.
B was dead.
For strategic necessity, to maintain the balance of Tailed Beasts, a new vessel was needed immediately.
After deliberation, the Third Raikage and A made their decision. The Eight-Tails would be sealed into a new host: Killer B.
With Sunagakure and Kirigakure dealing with their own crises, and Kumogakure licking its severe wounds, Iwagakure saw the writing on the wall. In the Land of Grass, their forces began to disengage, avoiding major conflict with Konoha.
Across the shinobi world, a strange, tense, and fragile peace settled in.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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