Kiyohara stood where he was, watching the fireball rush closer and closer.
The airflow stirred up by the flames sent his long hair swaying in the air.
In response, Kiyohara simply opened his hand.
Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder!
At the instant the fireball was about to hit him, Kiyohara and the massive fireball vanished at once.
In the next moment, an earth-shaking explosion rang out from the distant mountains.
Boom!!!
The top of a mountain burst apart, rocks flying everywhere as flames shot into the sky.
Standing at the edge of the battlefield, Minato Namikaze looked at the scene and couldn't help sighing.
"Kiyohara's understanding of space-time ninjutsu is almost at my level now."
Then he shook his head and corrected himself.
"No… he may have already surpassed me."
Kakashi stood beside him and nodded.
"Kiyohara really is that strong now."
Minato smiled faintly, withdrew his gaze, and looked toward the Fourth Raikage in the distance.
"Our turn."
The instant he finished speaking, his figure vanished.
Minato appeared directly in front of the Fourth Raikage, a Flying Thunder God kunai held across his chest.
"We meet again, Lord Raikage."
The Fourth Raikage's brow furrowed deeply.
For some reason, facing Minato actually made him feel slightly relieved.
That brat called Kiyohara put far too much pressure on him.
Minato was troublesome because of his speed.
Kiyohara, on the other hand, was fast and absurdly strong.
He was much harder to deal with.
"Come on!"
The Fourth Raikage lunged again.
Minato's figure flickered, teleporting to a Flying Thunder God kunai embedded high in the treetops.
In the next instant, pale blue chakra gathered in his hand.
Rasengan!
Seeing this, the Fourth Raikage quickly dodged away.
And while those two were clashing, Kiyohara's side of the battlefield hadn't slowed down either.
When Yugito saw her fireball get redirected so easily, the fury in her eyes only deepened.
She made Matatabi open its jaws again, preparing a second attack.
But Kiyohara didn't give her the chance.
"Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique."
Chakra surged.
A massive shark took shape in front of him, its body formed entirely of water, its jaws lined with spinning currents like fangs as it lunged for the Two-Tails.
The Two-Tails spewed out another fireball, and it collided with the Great Shark Bullet.
But what shocked Matatabi was that the shark was devouring its flames.
The chakra inside the fireball was being absorbed by the Great Shark Bullet, making it grow larger and more vicious with each moment.
In the end, it swallowed the entire fireball and kept charging toward the Two-Tails.
With no time to dodge, Matatabi could only raise a forepaw to block.
Boom!
Water exploded outward.
The Two-Tails was forced back several steps, the blue flames around its body flickering unstably.
It had only just steadied itself when it felt a sudden yank on its tail.
Looking down, it saw that one of its tails had been caught in Kiyohara's hand.
Then an overwhelming force tore through it.
The entire body of the Two-Tails was lifted and swung through the air in a huge arc.
Bang!
It crashed into the ground more than a hundred meters away.
The impact blasted out a huge crater, stones flying everywhere.
The Two-Tails lay at the bottom, unable to rise for a long moment.
"How is that possible…"
Yugito frowned.
That strength… that strength wasn't something a human should have.
Kiyohara stood at the edge of the crater, looking down at it.
"I told you. You're not my opponent."
Anger flashed in the Two-Tails' eyes.
"Matatabi…"
Yugito murmured inwardly.
The Two-Tails' chakra surged out again, dark blue flames re-covering its body.
Kiyohara saw that she was about to go all in, and his interest sharpened.
Then he began forming hand seals.
The Strength of a Hundred Seal on his forehead bloomed like a flower, branching marks spreading across his skin.
"The Strength of a Hundred Seal…"
Yugito frowned.
Kiyohara's chakra reserves were already enormous. With the seal's stored chakra on top of that, he would become even harder to deal with.
The greatest advantage of a jinchūriki was their monstrous chakra stamina. If Kiyohara erased that advantage too, there would be nothing left to rely on.
"This won't work. Konoha brought too many shinobi."
Yugito thought grimly.
She had originally intended to signal the Raikage and the others to pull back, but now she could see Konoha shinobi closing in from all sides. Some Hyuga shinobi had even already moved to cut off their retreat.
The net had already closed.
What Yugito couldn't understand was why Konoha had dared to commit so many shinobi all at once.
If this operation failed, Konoha would suffer enormous losses.
"You still have the nerve to lose focus in the middle of a fight?"
Kiyohara looked at Yugito calmly.
Only then did she snap out of it.
And he hadn't taken advantage of the opening to attack?
Yugito frowned.
Then she saw Kiyohara form hand seals again, white smoke spreading around him as a huge silhouette began to take shape inside it.
That outline grew larger and larger until it burst fully out of the smoke and appeared before everyone.
Eight giant snake heads rose high into the air, their golden slit pupils glaring downward from all directions. Every one of them opened its jaws, revealing rows of pale fangs.
The Eight-Branches Technique!
With the chakra stored in the Strength of a Hundred Seal supporting him, Kiyohara had become even larger than the fully transformed Two-Tails.
Yugito's expression changed.
She vaguely remembered hearing intelligence that Kiyohara had once used some sort of serpent-transformation secret art in the Land of Snow.
But seeing it up close still shocked her.
Because she realized it wasn't Kiyohara's flesh turning into a snake.
It was his chakra, transformed into a serpent-like form and layered over his body.
"Isn't that… Lord Orochimaru's technique?"
Among the Konoha shinobi, one of Root's spies saw it and muttered under his breath.
Even though Danzo had already left, he had still planted some Root operatives in this sector.
Kiyohara's actions had simply been too fast. Danzo was still thinking about when the battle would begin when Kiyohara had already led everyone in and started it.
"If I remember right, Lord Orochimaru's version of that technique wasn't even complete. Kiyohara actually finished it…"
That Root shinobi belonged to the intelligence branch. He had replaced Nono Yakushi after she left, and he possessed strong reconnaissance skills.
Naturally, he knew some of Orochimaru's secrets.
"Hmph. So what if you're bigger now?"
The Two-Tails' mouth began filling with blue and purple chakra bubbles, and a pitch-black sphere began to form.
Tailed Beast Bomb!
Seeing this, Kiyohara had no intention of letting Yugito finish it.
Eight heads began gathering different chakra natures.
And before Yugito could strike first, Kiyohara unleashed his attack.
Lightning Release, Fire Release, Wind Release, Earth Release, Water Release—all five chakra natures erupted at once.
Then, in three of the remaining snake heads, he condensed the powers of Storm Release and Magnet Release.
As for the final head, he simply sent it surging forward to bite directly onto the Two-Tails' jaws, stopping it from gathering any more chakra.
Rumble!
Flames, lightning arcs, surging water, howling wind—all of it crashed into the Two-Tails at once.
Seven-Style Great Combo Jutsu!
Originally, the Five-Style Great Combo Jutsu Hiruzen had taught Kiyohara only involved five chakra natures. Under Kiyohara's modifications, it now included Storm Release and Magnet Release as well.
One emitted a blue, water-like laser. Another churned up gold dust, turning it into spears of sand-gold that shot forward.
The immense impact lifted the Two-Tails' entire body off the ground.
It rolled across the earth more than a dozen times, gouging out a deep trench before finally stopping.
The dark blue flames over its body flickered weakly, and its fur was blackened and torn in many places.
Inside the Two-Tails, Yugito lay there gasping.
Her chakra was draining fast.
For some reason, she had the distinct feeling that Kiyohara wasn't even serious—he was just using her as a test subject for his techniques.
That thought alone put enormous pressure on her.
With the Two-Tails and the Fourth Raikage both tied down, the rest of the battlefield had devolved into utter chaos.
By the time Killer B reached this side, all he could see was total disorder.
He immediately drew seven swords and wove among the fighters like a dancer, forcing Konoha shinobi to scatter away.
Uchiha Tekka was charging in at the front.
"Protect the glory of the Uchiha!"
His hands flashed through seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A huge fireball roared out of his mouth.
Killer B sidestepped it and slashed toward Tekka's waist with a backhand strike.
Tekka had no time to dodge. The blade was about to hit—
When a flash of silver cut in.
Clang!
Yamamaru firmly blocked the strike.
Kakashi had appeared beside him, that Sharingan spinning rapidly to catch even Killer B's smallest movements.
"Don't get reckless."
Kakashi said.
Tekka took a deep breath, suppressing his anger at Killer B, and backed off a few steps.
"Thanks."
Tekka said.
Kakashi gave a slight nod.
Killer B looked at him, surprise flickering behind his sunglasses.
"So you really are the White Fang's son."
He grinned.
"But the White Fang is dead."
The moment he said that, dark red chakra exploded out of his body.
Complete tailed beast transformation!
A colossal tailed beast appeared on the battlefield.
The Eight-Tails, Gyūki!
It raised one tail and smashed it down toward Kakashi.
Kakashi flashed aside and dodged.
But the tail struck the ground and blasted open a deep gully, stones flying and shockwaves sweeping outward.
More Konoha shinobi charged in.
Uchiha Fugaku formed hand seals, and a huge fireball roared forward.
The Hyuga shinobi activated their Byakugan, searching for weak points in the Eight-Tails.
The Aburame clan's kikaichu surged forward like a black cloud, trying to eat away at Gyūki's chakra.
But the Eight-Tails was just too large.
Every strike it made sent over a dozen shinobi flying.
Every roar made people's blood and breath churn.
"We can't hold it!"
someone shouted.
Shisui Uchiha watched it all, hesitated briefly, then the three tomoe in his eyes spun and merged together.
Mangekyo Sharingan!
At the same time, large amounts of green chakra erupted around him.
That green chakra quickly took shape as ribs, then a spine, forming the outline of a green skeleton.
In moments, muscles and meridian-like structures wrapped over it.
Susanoo!
The half-bodied Susanoo grabbed hold of the Eight-Tails' tail.
Shisui stood inside the Susanoo, his Mangekyo eyes spinning.
His face was pale, and a trace of blood had begun to spill from the corner of his mouth.
Originally, Shisui hadn't wanted to use this technique.
Because doing so might stir up the Uchiha clan.
But with a genius like Kiyohara already present, Shisui no longer felt the need to be so careful.
After all, if Kiyohara really became Hokage, then the Uchiha would have no reason left to even think about a coup.
In Shisui's eyes, Kiyohara awakening the Mangekyo was only a matter of time.
In fact, even without the Mangekyo, Kiyohara was already stronger than him.
Of course, that was unless Shisui used his Mangekyo ability.
But even that required a lead-in. He had to deliberately reveal the Mangekyo first.
"What is that?!"
Killer B frowned, preparing to swing another tail around.
"Susanoo: Tsukumo!"
Shisui opened the chest armor of his Susanoo, revealing a massive red magatama within.
In an instant, countless green chakra arrows shot out from it, like green beams of light.
Those arrows all struck the Eight-Tails, making it let out a furious roar.
Then Shisui drove the Susanoo's fist into the Eight-Tails' abdomen.
Boom!
The enormous body of the Eight-Tails was knocked backward and crashed heavily to the ground, shaking the battlefield.
In the distance, the Fourth Raikage—still fighting Minato—whipped his head around.
What was that?!
That huge green skeleton, that terrifying chakra…
"That's… what kind of jutsu?"
The Fourth Raikage frowned.
Even through the translucent green chakra, he could see Shisui's pale face inside.
Meaning the technique carried a severe side effect.
"Yugito can't hold out much longer."
At that moment, Samui noticed that Yugito's condition looked terrible.
"There's a limit to a tailed beast's healing. And calling up too much tailed beast chakra at once puts an enormous burden on the jinchūriki too."
Mabui nodded.
The two women could clearly see Yugito's state.
Kiyohara was beating her in a completely one-sided fashion.
But Yugito's body had limits.
A tailed beast was a double-edged sword—it brought tremendous power, but at the same time carried enormous risks.
That was why not just anyone could become a jinchūriki.
If someone couldn't withstand tailed beast chakra, the lightest outcome was sudden death. The worst was losing control and sending the tailed beast into a rampage.
No other shinobi had approached the area where Kiyohara and Yugito were fighting.
But many were watching the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails whenever they got a moment.
After all, the Tailed Beast Bomb was horrifyingly powerful. One shot could flatten a mountain.
And it didn't distinguish friend from foe.
If Yugito lost her head in the middle of battle, a lot of them would die before they even knew what hit them.
"She's done."
As the one fighting Yugito directly, Kiyohara could naturally feel the state she was in.
Then, from the mouths of the eight snake heads, eight water dragons roared forth.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!
With Kiyohara's chakra flooding through them, each water dragon was as thick as the body of a true dragon, its scales formed from rapidly spinning currents, lunging at the Two-Tails from all eight directions at once.
"ROAR!"
Matatabi let out a furious cry, and dark blue fire erupted from every part of its body.
The temperature of those flames was staggering, enough to melt steel in an instant.
The moment the fire collided with the first water dragon, steam exploded skyward in a giant burst of white.
But the second dragon came.
Then the third. The fourth…
The collision of water and flame boomed again and again across the battlefield.
The steam grew thicker and thicker, covering the sky until the entire battlefield was blanketed by it.
The Two-Tails' body became only half-visible through the steam. Its flames kept evaporating the water, but there was just too much of it.
Every time it destroyed one dragon, another took its place.
Before long, the steam slowly began to clear.
Eight water dragons had become eight chains, binding the huge body of the Two-Tails.
The water currents dug tightly into its dark blue fur. Where water and flame met, steam still hissed, but the fire had already been crushed down to a thin layer.
The Two-Tails now looked like a flame that had already been half-extinguished. Through the gaps, Yugito's real body could faintly be seen inside.
The Two-Tails thrashed violently, pouring chakra into its flames in a desperate attempt to burn through the dragons binding it.
The fire flared again, brighter and hotter, evaporating two of the dragons.
But Kiyohara's chakra surged once more.
New dragons roared out of the snake heads, filling the gaps and wrapping around the Two-Tails again.
"Damn it… damn it…!"
Yugito's voice came from within the Two-Tails, thick with suppressed rage.
She could feel her chakra disappearing fast.
"Yugito!"
In the distance, Mabui's voice cut through the steam.
She stood at the edge of the battlefield, her beautiful face taut, both hands clenched tightly.
Beside her, Samui's expression didn't look very good either.
Watching Yugito get pounded by Kiyohara, she found herself remembering her own humiliating experience.
That damn Kiyohara!
The anger rose in Samui's chest.
Hearing her comrades' voices, Yugito clenched her teeth.
She could feel it…
The power of bonds!
"My bond with my comrades will never be extinguished! I'll defeat you, Kiyohara!"
Yugito shouted that like a vow.
The Two-Tails' chakra surged out from the seal and began rapidly repairing the injuries the water dragons had torn open.
The dark blue flames blazed up again, evaporating three of the dragons.
Kiyohara raised a brow.
So now Yugito was pulling the power of bonds routine too?
That made his expression turn a little strange.
How had this somehow turned into him looking like the villain?
A whole group from Kumogakure was charging at him while shouting about friendship and bonds—was that really how this worked?
"Maybe you've forgotten something. Kumogakure are the invaders here."
Kiyohara shook his head.
It was worth remembering that the ground beneath their feet was the border of the Land of Fire.
Then Kiyohara lifted a hand. Curse-mark patterns spread across one of the snake heads.
And from that head's mouth, a narrow, compressed jet of water blasted out.
Water Release: Severing Wave!
This was a technique developed by Tobirama Senju—a Water Release jutsu compressed and fired at such extreme pressure that it became as sharp as the finest blade, able to cut through anything.
It was also a jutsu Kiyohara had exchanged war merits to obtain.
Yugito only had time to catch a flash of water.
The next moment, the beam had pierced straight through the Two-Tails' body.
It entered through the chest and burst out the back, leaving behind a hole the size of a fist.
Blood sprayed out.
The Two-Tails let out a shrill scream, so sharp that shinobi nearby instinctively turned to look.
Yugito felt a burst of agony.
That strike had not only pierced through the Two-Tails' chakra cloak—it had pierced through her body as well.
Looking down, she could see the bloody hole in her chest.
Blood was spilling from it, soaking through her fitted combat suit, running down across her waist and flat stomach, and disappearing lower.
"Ugh…!"
She let out a muffled groan, and her body went limp inside the Two-Tails.
~~~
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