The battlefield suddenly fell silent.
The only sound remaining was the gust of wind stirred up by the colossal form of the Eight-Tails, into which Killer B had transformed.
"Eight-Tails!"
"Lord Killer B!"
"We've won this now!"
Kumogakure Ninja grew ecstatic, their eyes gleaming with newfound hope.
Recently, news of Shinho defeating the Akatsuki had spread widely across the ninja world. However, most ordinary shinobi were unaware of the details behind the event.
Killer B, on the other hand, had successfully thwarted two attempts by the Akatsuki to capture him.
Combined with their longstanding belief in the Eight-Tails' overwhelming power, Kumogakure Shinobi brimmed with confidence.
"Mabui!"
C, infected by the rising morale, said excitedly, "Now that Shinho is tied up, this is our best chance!"
"Keep an eye on Nagato and Konan," Mabui replied after hesitating for a moment. She nodded in agreement but remained cautious.
Could the Fourth Raikage and Killer B defeat Shinho? In her opinion, it would be difficult.
But Shinho had weaknesses, one of which was Konoha.
If they could exploit their numerical advantage and entangle Konoha's forces, they could undoubtedly distract Shinho. In a battle of elites, any mistake or lapse in focus could lead to defeat.
The only trouble was Nagato and Konan.
However, there was an advantage, they knew Nagato was injured.
Konan, preoccupied with his condition, couldn't use her explosive tags as recklessly as before.
"Darui!"
Taking a deep breath, C commanded, "Even if we die, we must hold off Nagato and Konan!"
"Understood!" Darui replied, his face grave.
With the Fourth Raikage and the jinchūriki occupied, only he and C were strong enough to take on the task. Nagato and Konan's earlier performance left him uncertain of victory, but he had no choice but to stand firm.
This was now a race against time.
At C's command, the stationary Kumogakure Shinobi charged forward.
Konan's expression hardened as she saw them coming. Her wings spread wide, and just as she was about to take to the sky, a roar echoed.
Lightning Release: Black Panther!
Darui formed seals with his hands.
Black lightning materialized, taking the form of a panther, and leapt toward Konan. The black lightning rippled outward as it passed, incapacitating any shinobi it touched and leaving them writhing on the ground in pain.
Konan paused, raising her hands as countless sheets of paper flew out, enveloping the fallen ninja and transferring them elsewhere.
Shinra Tensei!
An invisible shockwave crashed into the lightning panther. Nagato winced slightly, the lingering effects of Killer B's earlier punch still affecting him.
"Be careful!" Konan shouted, her hand slicing through the air.
Sheets of paper folded into shuriken and shot toward the charging Kumogakure Shinobi.
Clang, clang!
C revealed himself, deflecting the paper shuriken with a kunai. Just then, the ground began to tremble.
The chaotic battlefield froze momentarily before erupting into chaos again.
It was Killer B, or more precisely, the Eight-Tails.
Its massive body rampaged across the battlefield, its target unmistakably Shinho.
Meanwhile, Obito and the Fourth Raikage readied themselves for action, while Black Zetsu emerged cautiously from underground, seeking opportunities.
Everyone understood that the crux of this war lay with one person.
The combined might of the ninja world had converged to eliminate him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Wherever the Eight-Tails passed, gales tore through the area. Its body radiated a terrifying chakra, a force that was overwhelming to behold.
It roared, its enormous fist crashing toward Shinho.
The sheer power created a shockwave, rippling the air into a white burst. The incoming wind made Shinho's clothes flap wildly, yet his expression remained calm as he threw his own punch.
One punch!
In an instant, the ground shook violently. The Eight-Tails was forced backward, rolling across the ground for dozens of meters before finally stopping.
"How is this possible?!" Killer B shouted in disbelief, "Even my strength doesn't match his?!"
"This guy… he's like the old man," the Eight-Tails muttered, struggling to rise. Its thick skin had prevented any real injuries.
"The old man? The Sage of Six Paths?" Killer B exclaimed in shock, "You're kidding, right?"
"Only in terms of raw power," the Eight-Tails corrected, its massive frame lowering slightly as it prepared to attack again. "Let's try that move!"
Its eight tails spread out, wrapping around its body like a cocoon. The next moment, it began to spin.
Tailed Beast Eight Twists!
The Eight-Tails transformed into a spinning mass, creating a storm at its center. Grass, debris, and dust were swept up as it charged toward Shinho like a giant drill.
In the original story, this technique had once knocked out six jinchūriki simultaneously.
Yet Shinho stood unflinching as he stepped into the storm. His body trembled briefly, forcing him to take two steps back, but that was all.
Extending his hand, he manipulated the forces of sky, earth, water, and fire.
The spinning Eight-Tails came to a halt.
"What kind of power is this?!" the Eight-Tails exclaimed, astonished that a human could stop its technique.
"Big bro's here!" Killer B's eyes lit up with excitement.
Amid the chaotic storm, a lightning-cloaked figure dashed forward with unparalleled speed, appearing behind Shinho in an instant.
Liger Bomb!
The Fourth Raikage roared, his muscles surging as he grabbed Shinho's leg.
This taijutsu, essentially a powerful body slam, was a technique so devastating that only Sasuke's Susanoo had ever survived it in the original timeline.
But as the Raikage attempted the move, he found he couldn't budge Shinho's body.
In that brief hesitation, a grotesque arm extended from Shinho's body. Its clawed hand gripped the Raikage, slamming him into the ground.
"Big bro!" Killer B shouted instinctively.
The Eight-Tails hesitated, choosing to continue spinning instead of helping. Without the additional leverage of one arm, it noticed Shinho's body swaying slightly.
A deafening crash resounded as the Raikage was driven into the ground.
"Argh!"
His furious roar followed, arms straining against Shinho's immense force.
Brilliant lightning surrounded the Raikage, granting him enough power to slowly push Shinho's hand upward.
Suddenly, the space nearby began to ripple.
Obito appeared.
Wood Release: Cutting Technique!
He slammed his palm against Shinho's hand. His arm writhed as countless sharp branches emerged like blades, stabbing forward.
But the next second, Obito's expression froze.
The branches stopped short, unable to pierce Shinho's skin. A faint earthy hue shimmered on the surface of his body/
The power of earth.
Before Obito could react, a deadly sense of danger surged in his mind.
During his attack, his body couldn't phase through, so he had used the moment when the Fourth Raikage and Shinho's hands were locked in a stalemate to strike.
Obito instinctively pulled back the branches, intending to phase his body. Yet as he was about to become intangible, the sound of slicing wind surrounded him.
A barrage of sword shadows enveloped him.
Obito reflexively raised his arm, but blood sprayed. Black sword shadows pierced through his arm.
"Ahhh!"
Obito phased out of existence, leaving only his scream behind.
Shinho glanced at the struggling Fourth Raikage and raised his other hand again.
"Big bro!"
Killer B could no longer hold back. Controlling the Eight-Tails, he wrapped all eight of its tails tightly around Shinho's eight arms.
The Fourth Raikage suddenly felt a weight lifted from his body and used the opening to escape the crater at high speed. Landing on solid ground, he looked up, his pupils contracting sharply.
Shinho exerted his strength, effortlessly freeing one arm. Clenching his fist, he punched the Eight-Tails squarely on the head.
A shockwave roared outward.
The massive force struck the Eight-Tails like a thunderbolt, nearly knocking it unconscious. Its eight tails instinctively loosened their grip on Shinho, and its enormous body was sent flying.
Like a gigantic cannonball, the Eight-Tails crashed into the ground, creating an enormous crater so deep that its bottom couldn't be seen. Cracks spread out in all directions.
Konoha and Kumogakure Shinobi retreated as quickly as possible, fear evident in their eyes as they stared at Shinho.
The power of the Eight-Tails was just as terrifying as they had imagined, vast and overwhelming. But Shinho, the man who suppressed even the Eight-Tails, was beyond their comprehension.
Could he even be called human?
This battle was far more shocking than the clash between Shinho and Nagato. After all, many shinobi lacked a concrete understanding of the Rinnegan.
"He's like a demon god," Konan muttered.
Nagato remained silent, offering no rebuttal. Compared to himself, Shinho indeed seemed more like a god.
"Fight!"
Anko Mitarashi shouted passionately, "Victory belongs to Konoha!"
Konoha's shinobi rallied at her cry, their spirits surging.
But Mabui's face darkened further.
Although Kumogakure had a numerical advantage, it was hardly significant, mainly due to Konan. Mabui had hoped that Darui and C could hold off Konan and Nagato, but even an injured Nagato had proven exceedingly difficult to deal with.
Now, with Shinho's overwhelming display of power, taking on three opponents at once, Kumogakure's situation had become perilous.
What now?
Even with her exceptional intellect, Mabui found herself at a loss. No strategy could prevail against absolute power.
"Roar!"
The Eight-Tails shook its head and rose, letting out a deafening roar.
Its fury had reached its peak.
It opened its massive jaws, instantly gathering an enormous amount of chakra. The swirling energy darkened, forming a black sphere—the Tailed Beast Bomb!
The terrifying aura it emitted spread across the battlefield like a suffocating tide.
"Now's the chance!"
In the distance, Obito's eyes flickered with determination.
The arm that had Bn pierced earlier was now barely recovered, thanks to the Hashirama cells implanted in his body. In the original story, even severe injuries from Rasengan could heal quickly for him.
The Fourth Raikage exhaled deeply, a glimmer of hope flashing on his face. This could be their best shot.
Shinho leaped forward, his right fist clenched tightly. The forces of heaven, earth, water, and fire converged around his hand, creating an aura of unimaginable power.
Boom!
His punch met the Tailed Beast Bomb.
Like fireworks exploding, the black sphere disintegrated instantly. Light and waves of chakra surged into the sky, the shockwave forcing everyone on the battlefield to wince in pain as the thunderous explosion echoed.
The ensuing gale swept across the battlefield, but the shinobi's eyes were fixed on the aftermath, desperate to know the result.
As the dust settled, Shinho's figure emerged.
His skin was marked with burns of varying intensity, but in mere moments, they healed completely.
"How is that possible?!" Killer B shouted in disbelief.
"…"
The Eight-Tails remained silent. The situation had gone from bad to worse, but retreat wasn't an option. As a jinchūriki, Killer B was bound to his village and his comrades—he wouldn't flee.
"Roar!"
The Eight-Tails lunged again, its massive fist swinging toward Shinho.
As expected, Shinho effortlessly blocked the attack and countered with a punch of his own.
The Eight-Tails let out a pained cry but didn't retreat. Its eight tails stretched out like a net, enveloping Shinho. At the same time, it opened its mouth to form another Tailed Beast Bomb, this time at point-blank range.
Shinho's response was direct. he shattered the Tailed Beast Bomb with his fist.
The resulting chakra turbulence hit the Eight-Tails first, sending its massive body tumbling away and collapsing a nearby mountain.
Shinho stood still, unfazed.
Though his body bore signs of wear, his lack of pain and extraordinary regenerative abilities rendered them inconsequential.
He sensed it then, the wind approaching from behind.
Guillotine Drop!
The Fourth Raikage appeared mid-air, swinging his hand like a blade toward Shinho's neck.
"This is the end for you, Raikage," Shinho said with a faint smile.
The Raikage's heart sank with a sudden sense of foreboding.
A massive shadow loomed over him as Shinho clasped his hands together.
"Ahhh!"
The Fourth Raikage let out a tortured scream.
Indescribable pressure crushed him from all sides, like a walnut caught between iron gates. Every nerve and every fiber of his being was wracked with agony.
If not for the incredible defense provided by his Lightning Release chakra mode, he would've been crushed into paste in an instant.
Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, along with fragments of his internal organs. The immense pressure was too much for even his resilient body to endure.
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