Gold.
Endless gold filled the heavens.
A golden figure, blazing like a falling star, charged fearlessly toward the two incoming Tailed Beast Bombs!
With a single clash—
The two terrifying spheres of destruction were violently deflected, sent flying toward distant mountain peaks!
In an instant—
Blinding white light flooded the world!
Under the impact of the two explosions, entire mountains collapsed, rivers reversed their flow, and even the dark storm clouds were torn apart by the nuclear-level shockwave!
From high above, two massive fireballs could be seen blooming across the land.
A raging wind howled.
Scorching waves of heat swept across everything.
The violent blast made Kyūsei's robe whip wildly in the air.
"Am I late?"
"Big Sister Tsunade?"
Kyūsei smiled slightly as he spoke.
A hand promptly smacked his head.
"Stop fooling around. Now's not the time."
kaoru said helplessly.
Kyūsei was always like this—no matter the situation, he had to show off a little.
But somehow…
That was exactly what she liked about him.
Orochimaru ignored their banter and scanned the battlefield.
Besides Kyūsei and kaoru , there were also the Fourth Mizukage Yagura and Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo.
Sensei and Jiraiya were nowhere to be seen.
Sensing his confusion, Sakumo spoke.
"Just now, seven thousand Iwa nin launched a massive assault from the Land of Grass."
"And about six thousand Cloud ninja appeared from the Land of Frost."
"The Hokage and Jiraiya have already gone to reinforce them."
Orochimaru fell silent.
There was no time to mobilize an army.
Even with Hiruzen and Jiraiya personally leading, facing thirteen thousand elite enemies was nearly impossible.
"Oh?"
"So he's here…"
Uchiha Hikari watched from afar, her eyes locked on the Nine-Tails jinchūriki who had broken Orochimaru and Tsunade's deadlock the moment he appeared.
Hostility shimmered in her clear eyes.
Beside her, Konan stared in shock.
To her, even the Five-Tails and Eight-Tails were overwhelming.
Yet this man had casually deflected two Tailed Beast Bombs.
"Hikari…"
Konan whispered worriedly.
"Don't worry," Hikari said softly.
"I'm just observing his strength."
"And I have no intention of entering the battle myself."
She gently patted Konan's shoulder.
This blue-haired girl was different from the others.
Kind. Compassionate.
Someone Hikari was willing to treat gently.
Then Hikari looked up.
A massive shadow loomed within the clouds.
The Seven-Tails—Chōmei.
"It's here!"
A exclaimed.
"I didn't expect that Rain Village girl could really bring in Taki's Seven-Tails."
"These youngsters are impressive."
Ōnoki sighed in admiration.
"Since Rain kept its promise, what about you, Raikage?"
Hearing the old man's implication, A frowned.
Right then—
Blue flames erupted in the western forest!
A gigantic flaming cat emerged from the trees!
The Two-Tails—Matatabi!
"Old man, where's yours?"
A mocked.
"Well… uh…"
"Rōshi is still on the way."
Ōnoki replied awkwardly.
"Hmph. Enough excuses."
"Everyone who can show up is here."
"This battle decides everything."
A fixed his gaze forward.
At the same time, the Third Kazekage, Kurozawa, landed beside them.
The Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki.
The Third Kazekage Kurozawa.
The Fourth Raikage A.
And the Two-, Five-, Seven-, and Eight-Tails.
Facing this terrifying lineup, Hatake Sakumo's expression grew grave.
This was the most important battle of his life.
And the most extravagant lineup in history.
Kyūsei, the Nine-Tails' vessel.
kaoru , the Golden Flash.
Orochimaru and Tsunade, the Sannin.
Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage.
And himself—the White Fang.
Sakumo tightened his grip on his blade and looked at Kyūsei.
Win or lose…
Kyūsei had to survive.
That was Hiruzen's personal death order.
Anyone could die.
Except him.
It showed how irreplaceable Kyūsei was.
At that moment, Kyūsei wasn't thinking about any of this.
His eyes were locked on Matatabi.
He loved cats.
He was a total cat person.
"Tch…"
Kurama sensed his thoughts and clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Kurama, ikuzo!"
For the second time since the Hidden Mist incident, Kyūsei entered Tailed Beast Mode!
Golden chakra erupted around him like a blazing bonfire!
In the blink of an eye—
A massive golden fox appeared beneath the night sky!
The Nine-Tails' presence instantly drew all attention.
As the strongest of the tailed beasts, its chakra alone surpassed all the others combined.
"So… even you've accepted humans, Nine-Tails."
The Eight-Tails spoke through their special channel.
"Hmph. Kyūsei is different from your jinchūriki."
"Anyone who blocks him… will be crushed."
Kurama replied calmly.
Because of his temper, most tailed beasts disliked him.
Only the Eight-Tails could speak with him on equal footing.
"Nine-Tails, we outnumber you."
"Why not persuade your human to retreat?"
Matatabi said kindly.
"You damn cat!"
"When did I give you permission to speak?!"
"Do you even know your own strength?!"
Kurama snapped back mercilessly.
Matatabi: ???
What did I do?!
Am I cursed or something?!
To be continued…
To Read 180+ advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146