Dazzling white light, violent air currents, and a heaven-shaking tiger's roar.
At point-blank range, Kakuzu took a Daytime Tiger head-on with his own body.
Since the founding of the Hidden Villages, the only shinobi capable of tanking a Daytime Tiger with pure physical resilience would likely be Hashirama Senju or the Third Raikage. Even then, it was only a "perhaps."
The Kakuzu standing before him was neither Hashirama Senju nor the Third Raikage. Even if his body was composed of Earth Grudge Fear threads, attempting to withstand a Daytime Tiger at such a range was nothing short of a pipe dream.
Though Kakuzu had used his vast combat experience to activate Earth Style: Earth Spear at the final second to harden his flesh, it was still like a mantis trying to stop a runaway carriage against the ferocious tiger erupting from Guy's fist.
In a single instant of contact, the beast tore through Kakuzu's chest, exposing the only organ within his main body: his heart.
The heart representing his Earth affinity was instantly reduced to pulp!
Kakuzu's body was sent flying backward like a tattered rag doll from the force of the blow.
"Die!"
Suddenly, a roar thundered from the distance, accompanied by a violent tremor that shook the earth. Guy looked up. A gargantuan creature, nearly a hundred meters tall, was charging toward him.
It had the head of a bull, a humanoid torso, eight legs, and massive tentacles.
The Eight-Tails, Gyūki.
The sight of such a massive, malevolent entity roaring as it charged was enough to strike terror into the hearts of ordinary men. Among the nine Tailed Beasts, it was second only to the Nine-Tails.
"So, you've finally arrived?"
Facing the Eight-Tails' charge, Guy remained composed. He glanced back at the battlefield behind him, where the forces of the Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Cloud were locked in combat. If I fight here...
I need to change the venue.
With a single glance, Guy made up his mind.
"Asuma, I'm leaving the battlefield to you for a moment," Guy said into the radio on his collar, addressing Asuma Sarutobi, who was leading a squad against the Cloud shinobi. "I'm going to handle the Eight-Tails."
"What?" Asuma's voice crackled back, sounding frantic. "How long will you be?"
Currently, the Leaf and Cloud forces were heavily entangled. Although the Cloud had suffered significant losses from the tank divisions and the bombardment from the Ancor Vantian in the sky, they still outnumbered the Leaf. If Guy was gone for too long, the Leaf would have to retreat to avoid unnecessary casualties.
Listening to the radio, Guy watched the Eight-Tails, whose eight legs were churning the earth as it neared him. A smile suddenly tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Three minutes."
Asuma's stunned voice came through the radio, but before he could say another word, Guy unilaterally cut the connection.
He's here!
"Die for me!"
The Eight-Tails roared toward the sky, the sheer volume creating a powerful shockwave that billowed outward. It swung a fist the size of a small mountain, aiming to crush Might Guy.
"Too slow."
Guy sneered at the massive fist blotting out the sky. A streak of black ink-like markings crawled from beneath his clothes and up his cheek.
Eight Inner Gates: Sixth Gate — Sage View Gate!
In an instant, chakra surged through Guy's body like a torrential flood. A strange sound echoed around him—something between a tiger's growl, a lion's roar, and a dragon's cry.
This was the roar of pure chakra.
Within a few meters of Guy, the air became viscous, vibrating with the intensity of his power. Even though Guy had achieved the inhuman feat of maintaining Sage Mode while opening the Eight Inner Gates, even his masterful control couldn't suppress the natural phenomena that accompanied such power.
"What is this?!"
Gyūki sensed the danger immediately. The moment Guy activated the Sage View Gate, the Tailed Beast felt as though the person before him was no longer human. He felt like an entity on his own level.
No, that wasn't right.
In terms of pure quality, this chakra had already surpassed his own!
"Bee!" Gyūki roared internally, warning Killer Bee to run. This guy... is too dangerous! Lethally dangerous! If we fight him... we'll die!
But Guy, who had been suppressing himself for days waiting for this moment, had no intention of letting the Eight-Tails go. He took a single step forward and kicked off the air, soaring into the sky.
The massive fist slammed into the earth where he had just stood, shattering the permafrost and sending icy winds howling.
"Die!"
Killer Bee, in control of the Eight-Tails, gathered immense energy in his mouth to form a Tailed Beast Bomb. Simultaneously, his eight tentacles lashed out with blinding speed, attempting to ensnare Guy as he ran through the air.
This was why he dared to charge a Tailed Beast Bomb in the open; his tentacles were far more flexible and rapid than those of any other Tailed Beast.
Faced with the incoming tentacles, Guy didn't flinch. He met them head-on. With a single punch, a violent burst of fist pressure erupted!
Blood and snow exploded in mid-air. One punch reduced four tentacles to minced meat. Furthermore, the wind pressure from that single strike was so great it forced the falling snow to flow backward. It was a display of power capable of altering the weather itself.
The other four tentacles arrived, but Guy threw another punch. The violent pressure flared again, and the remaining tentacles disintegrated. The backward-flowing snow shifted trajectory once more, dancing wildly in the chaotic air currents.
With such monumental power, Guy had—much like Kakashi—transcended the rank of a normal shinobi.
Under the force of his own wind pressure, his green flak jacket shredded, revealing a lean, perfectly conditioned physique. Mysterious black markings flowed across his steel-hard muscles, and the Great Sun Seal glowed on his back.
Unlike White Cloud Hayama, Uchiha Itachi, Shizune, or Tenzo, Guy's Sage Seal was custom-made for him. Normally, a standard Sage Seal could never withstand the high-intensity strain of the Eight Inner Gates.
Guy's Solar Core Seal and Solar Ring Seal had ten times the capacity for natural energy and personal chakra compared to the others. Chakra flowed through the black markings, eventually forming the Arabic numeral "2" on Guy's left flank. But as the chakra pulsed, the "2" shifted, morphing into a "0."
To surpass limits, to surpass oneself, to achieve the impossible.
Activating Sage Mode while in the Eight Inner Gates was a contradiction that should have been impossible for anyone to master. Yet, Guy was the exception. He was the strongest.
Standing in the sky, his pitch-black eyes looked down at the Eight-Tails on the ground.
"Three minutes..." Guy muttered. "Perhaps I overestimated your strength. One minute. I'll finish you in one."
His body vanished instantly.
Killer Bee was horrified. His Tailed Beast Bomb wasn't fully formed yet. If he gave up now...
A flash of ruthlessness crossed the Eight-Tails' eyes. There were two ways to fire a Tailed Beast Bomb: one was to condense it into a sphere for maximum explosive yield; the other was to fire it as a concentrated beam.
The second method was faster, though its destructive power was significantly lower. But Bee had no choice. Against such an enemy, even a moment's hesitation was a death sentence.
The Eight-Tails opened its mouth, and the Tailed Beast Bomb erupted as a massive orange beam of light aimed directly at Guy.
Facing the technique that made the entire shinobi world tremble, Guy's expression remained eerily calm. He stepped down hard, and the air beneath his foot exploded. A white ring of vapor appeared around him, vanishing as quickly as it came—and Guy vanished with it.
Nani?!
Bee's eyes shrunk. Guy, who had been in the line of fire a second ago, had appeared directly in front of his massive chest. Guy's face was cold as he clenched his fist and drove it upward into the Eight-Tails' massive jaw.
The violent wind pressure and raw physical force slammed into the target. Under the weight of the punch, the Eight-Tails felt as if it had been struck by lightning.
The jaw is a fragile point for any creature. Even in a brawl between ordinary humans, a solid hit to the chin is enough to cause a knockout. Despite its massive size, the Eight-Tails' eyes rolled back into its head. The beam in its mouth tilted upward like a giant lightsaber, slicing through the sky.
The "sword" of light cleaved through the heavy snow clouds, leaving a massive rift in the atmosphere. Radiant golden sunlight spilled through the gap, illuminating the man and the beast.
Bathed in light, Guy showed no mercy to the nearly unconscious Eight-Tails. He raised his right leg and whispered a low command.
"Evening Elephant."
Morning Peacock, Daytime Tiger, Evening Elephant, Night Guy. They corresponded to dawn, noon, sunset, and deep night. Normally, the latter two could only be used by opening the Gate of Death. But in the Sage View Gate, Guy could just barely force out the Evening Elephant.
It was a technique that even a Six Paths level powerhouse would have to take seriously.
He kicked out. A visible, violent current of air shaped like an elephant's foot slammed into the Eight-Tails' chest. Even a beast as powerful as Gyūki couldn't resist. Its massive body was lifted off the ground and sent hurtling backward toward the distant horizon.
They were near the coast of the Land of Frost. Under the force of Guy's kick, the Eight-Tails was blasted nearly a thousand meters away toward the sea.
Guy didn't hesitate, pursuing through the void. With a flicker of movement, he caught up to the airborne beast. Chakra surged in his arms as he prepared the final blow.
Even in the Sage View Gate, he could only manage one shot of the Evening Elephant. To use it again, he would need the Gate of Wonder. But the beast before him didn't require that.
"Sage Art: Daytime Tiger!"
A berserk tiger roared from Guy's fist. As he punched downward, the tiger's howl scattered the clouds. Hurricanes swirled, snow danced wildly, and the air screamed.
The fist pressure materialized into a predatory tiger that bit down hard on the Eight-Tails' chest. The ribcage, already caved in by the Evening Elephant, shattered completely. Skin turned to pulp, muscles tore, bones pulverized, and internal organs ruptured.
It was a fatal blow.
Killer Bee lost consciousness entirely. His Tailed Beast transformation began to disintegrate in mid-air. His body reverted to human form and slammed into the shoreline, kicking up a massive plume of dust and seawater.
Guy shattered the air beneath his feet to descend. He stood over Killer Bee, looking at the man's crushed chest and fading life.
"The only one who can stop me is Kakashi," Guy said quietly. "And unfortunately, neither I nor Kakashi would ever raise a hand against the other. Now, the Hidden Cloud must pay for its actions."
The Sage Mode markings faded, and the Eight Inner Gates gradually closed. Guy stood before the dying man, but Killer Bee could no longer hear him.
He was dead.
In truth, he was already at death's door after taking the Evening Elephant. The final Sage Art: Daytime Tiger had simply been the finishing stroke.
Darkness swarmed Gyūki's consciousness within Bee's body; a cold chill numbed his senses. Sensing that Bee's life force had vanished completely, Gyūki sighed inwardly. He was following in the footsteps of the Two-Tails. He wondered when his next resurrection would be.
Guy reached down, grabbed Bee by the collar, and began the trek back to the battlefield. He had promised Asuma three minutes. He had finished the job in one. The priority now was to mop up the Cloud ninjas.
With Killer Bee dead and Hidan as good as dead, that just left Kakuzu...
Guy looked toward the distant battlefield. Kakuzu wasn't dead. Not only was he alive, but he had escaped. Guy had been so focused on Bee that he hadn't spared a thought for Kakuzu. After all, few people survived a Daytime Tiger head-on.
Still, Guy didn't worry too much. He could deal with that guy later when he went after Orochimaru.
With that thought, Guy quickened his pace. The battlefields in the Mist, Sand, and Stone had already concluded. His front was the slowest to progress; if he dragged it out any longer, he'd never hear the end of it from Shizune and the others.
Konoha Hospital
Kakashi watched through the glass as Tsunade and Shizune treated White Cloud Hayama in the operating room. He breathed a sigh of relief. With both of them working together, Hayama's career as a shinobi was likely saved.
Now, he just had to wait for Guy to wrap things up. The grand design was almost complete. Soon, the entire shinobi world would be within his grasp.
At that moment, Hayate Gekkō hurried over.
"Lord Hokage."
"We've received word. The battlefield in the Land of Frost is secure."
"The Eight-Tails Jinchuriki is dead. We have captured the Cloud commander, Dodai, and the Akatsuki member, Hidan. Additionally, three thousand Cloud shinobi have been taken prisoner!"
Because they were in a hospital, Hayate kept his voice low, but he couldn't hide his excitement. The Hidden Leaf had faced four Great Nations simultaneously and emerged victorious on every front. It was a monumental achievement—a victory that would be etched into the history books of the Leaf forever.
"I see."
Compared to Hayate's excitement, Kakashi remained calm. This was the logical conclusion of his planning. The only thing that surprised him slightly was that Guy had actually killed the Eight-Tails.
He had assumed Guy would capture Killer Bee alive so they could bring him back to the Leaf and select a new host. After all, compared to the Nine-Tails, the Eight-Tails was relatively reasonable to talk to.
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