"The power of the Mangekyō Sharingan is more useful than I imagined."
Amidst a mountain range, Yugito had completely collapsed. The remnants of the Divine Tree branches were attached to her, having absorbed their fill, before Roy withdrew them.
In his recent battle with Matatabi, Roy had fully utilized the Mangekyō's power to slow and solidify the beast, capturing it with ease.
"Now, it's time to find Gyūki."
Roy's form flickered, instantly transforming into a trail of light as he headed toward the massive chakra he had detected with his Observation Haki.
The light trail traced a perfect arc through the air before landing steadily.
Roy's gaze immediately locked onto the waterfall ahead, where his target was hidden.
Just then, a uniquely rhythmic rap abruptly broke the surrounding silence.
Roy followed the sound to see Killer B standing on a large boulder nearby, moving his hands and feet as he passionately performed his rap artistry.
Finally, Killer B's rap came to an end. He pulled out a small notebook and began seriously jotting something down.
However, as he flipped through the notebook, his expression suddenly grew grave.
"You have Yugito's scent on you," Killer B said, his voice low, his eyes fixed intently on Roy as if trying to see right through him.
"Looks like I have no choice but to take you down."
As his words faded, a flash of cold intent gleamed in his eyes. In the next instant, the pen in his hand shot toward Roy like a streak of light, while he himself drew back his fist, ready to launch an attack.
"Lariat!"
Killer B roared. With his shout, a terrifying gale suddenly erupted.
But in that critical moment, Killer B was shocked to find the scene before him had turned strange.
A pair of gleaming Sharingan spun wildly, and then, to his astonishment, his body was frozen, unable to move.
"I can't move…" Killer B felt an indescribable horror rise in his heart. He had never encountered such an uncanny power.
He struggled, only to find his movements agonizingly slow, as if bound by some invisible force, leaving him to watch helplessly as the Sharingan continued spinning before his eyes.
But soon, Killer B realized he wasn't entirely immobile—his movements had just become abnormally slow, as if time itself had been stopped.
"The Uchiha clan?"
Shock filled him. Then he noticed Roy, seemingly unaffected, had appeared beside him. A sharp glint flashed in Killer B's eyes.
"I'm Killer B, you know! You think this thing can hold me?"
With a furious shout, a massive surge of red chakra erupted from within Killer B like a volcanic explosion, instantly engulfing him.
In the next moment, his body underwent a startling transformation, fully manifesting into a colossal creature with eight tails—Gyūki.
Under the sea-deep chakra of Gyūki, Killer B forcefully broke free from the temporal stasis, regaining his freedom.
"Hm? You can break through my Mangekyō Sharingan's ability?"
Roy frowned slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
He realized that while the Mangekyō Sharingan was powerful, it was still far from perfect, since it could be shattered by Gyūki's power.
He recalled his earlier clash with Matatabi, who hadn't been able to break the time-stop. Gyūki's strength was clearly far greater than Matatabi's.
"B, this guy is strange. We have to go all out," Gyūki's voice echoed in Killer B's mind, tinged with gravity.
"Yeah, let's give it our all!" Killer B responded.
Gyūki and Killer B were in perfect sync, instantly reaching an understanding.
A massive Tailed Beast Ball rapidly began forming on Gyūki's colossal body, radiating a terrifying energy that made the heart quake.
The Tailed Beast Ball twisted the space around it, distorting it unnaturally.
But just as Gyūki was about to fire the Tailed Beast Ball, he realized with alarm that time around him was slowing down again.
His Tailed Beast Ball, bound by time, moved as sluggishly as a crawling turtle.
Startled, Gyūki knew that Roy's Mangekyō Sharingan ability had been activated once more.
Just then, a sudden beam of light shot from afar, like lightning tearing across the sky. It struck the Tailed Beast Ball with precision, triggering a violent explosion.
*Boom!* With a deafening blast, the Tailed Beast Ball burst into blinding sparks, and the massive energy shockwave leveled everything around it.
In the distance, the Fourth Raikage had sensed the anomaly, feeling the pulse of that terrifying energy. He rushed forward, a sense of foreboding growing in his heart.
…
Meanwhile, far away in Konoha, Uchiha Sasuke was racing like a madman in one direction.
He had just heard news of that man—Uchiha Itachi.
"How dare you show your face again? I'll kill you."
A vicious voice escaped Sasuke's lips as he quickly arrived at a certain inn. Sure enough, he spotted Uchiha Itachi alongside a man with a shark-like face.
"Go to hell."
With a furious roar, Sasuke moved like a phantom, using Soru to appear at Itachi's side.
His fist was wrapped in faint black energy—evidence that he had already mastered basic Armament Haki.
Sasuke held nothing back from the start, clearly intent on going all out.
However, in the face of this sudden, fierce assault, Itachi's Sharingan had already read Sasuke's attack trajectory with perfect clarity.
Calmly, he extended one hand and easily blocked Sasuke's punch, which carried astonishing force.
Though outwardly composed, Itachi's brow twitched almost imperceptibly. Clearly, the power of this strike far exceeded his expectations.
"Sasuke's taijutsu has already reached this level?"
Itachi thought inwardly, genuinely surprised by the speed of his younger brother's growth.
Seeing his attack fail, Sasuke quickly retreated, widening the distance between them.
His killing intent seethed, nearly bursting from his chest.
Without another wasted word, his hands rapidly formed seals. Fierce lightning crackled and gathered in his palm.
Then, with a roar from Sasuke, the once-pure Chidori was now laced with streaks of black—his meager Armament Haki intertwined with the lightning, forming an even more fearsome attack.
This technique's power was far beyond what it had once been.
"Kakashi's move? No, this is already Sasuke's own creation."
Though Itachi's expression remained neutral, pride swelled in his heart.
The younger brother before him had not only inherited the Uchiha clan's but was also constantly breaking past his limits, growing into a true genius.
Yet, Itachi could also feel the terrifying power within Sasuke's technique. He began calculating what kind of move he could use to subdue Sasuke without causing him serious injury.
"How much should I hold back?"
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