Chapter 374: Hidden Cloud Village
At the main gate of the Hidden Cloud Village, heavy clouds hung low, and the air was heavy and filled with killing intent.
As one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, the Hidden Cloud Village's strength was beyond question. Especially after Hidden Leaf Village showed the terrifying momentum of annexing Hidden Stone Village and Hidden Sand Village, the Hidden Cloud Village, with its martial traditions, powerful Lightning Release Ninjutsu, and unique configuration of two Tailed Beast Jinchuriki, had become the strongest existing ninja Village besides Hidden Leaf Village.
At this moment, the two Jinchuriki stood at the gate: Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer Bee and Two-Tails Jinchuriki Nii Yugito.
The two pillars that the Hidden Cloud Village was so proud of were now in a delicate standoff with two uninvited guests on a relatively open, jagged rock-strewn clearing outside the Village entrance.
One side consisted of Killer Bee and Nii Yugito.
Killer Bee's muscles were taut, and several of his ninja swords were already unsheathed, glinting coldly. Nii Yugito was surrounded by rising blue Chakra flames, with the phantom of a massive blue cat tail swaying behind her.
The two were solemn to the extreme, as if facing a formidable enemy. They pushed their Chakra to the limit, locking onto the figures opposite them, not daring to relax for a second.
On the other side, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Hikari appeared exceptionally relaxed.
Naruto just stood there casually with his hands in his pockets, his golden hair fluttering slightly in the heavy wind.
He even wore a faint, inscrutable smile on his face, calmly scanning the Hidden Cloud Village's fortifications with narrowed eyes, as if he were just a tourist visiting.
Uchiha Hikari stood quietly half a step behind Naruto, dressed in simple dark clothing with her black hair flowing like a waterfall.
Her face was expressionless, and her black eyes were like deep pools without a single ripple. She looked at Killer Bee and Nii Yugito indifferently, as if they were merely two moving statues.
Although it was called a standoff, it was actually Killer Bee and Nii Yugito unilaterally and wholeheartedly 'defending' against Naruto and Hikari.
They felt an unfathomable pressure from the two opposite them, like facing an abyss. Especially from the blonde youth; though he showed no signs of a Chakra outburst, he made them instinctively feel extreme danger, making them afraid to act rashly.
Naruto and Hikari seemed to truly be just'standing there,' without even revealing an intent to attack.
Soon, a violent wave of Chakra, like rolling thunder, approached from the distance.
Boom!
A figure entwined in blue lightning descended from the sky like a cannonball, slamming heavily in front of Killer Bee and Nii Yugito, kicking up a cloud of dust and gravel.
The Fourth Raikage, Ay, had arrived.
He had issued the orders to evacuate civilians through the ranks at top speed and then immediately rushed to the front line.
At this moment, he was shirtless, his bronze muscles bulging. Blue Lightning Release Chakra covered his entire body like armor, crackling loudly, while a raging fire of anger and solemn Battle Intent burned in his single eye.
Ay's gaze, like two bolts of literal lightning, instantly locked onto the blonde youth opposite him.
At the first sight of Naruto, Ay's pupils shrank suddenly.
The resemblance was too strong!
That dazzling golden hair, that tall and straight build, and especially that temperament that seemed casual yet hid a sharp edge...
He was practically a replica of a young Minato Namikaze!
"You..."
Ay's voice rolled like muffled thunder, breaking the silence of the confrontation.
"Are Minato Namikaze's son? Uzumaki Naruto?"
His tone was complex, containing both a scrutiny of an enemy's son and a burning rage toward this arrogant kid who had sent a declaration of war and brought an army to his doorstep.
Ay thought to himself: However, this kid is much wilder than his father.
Although Minato Namikaze was powerful back then, his style leaned more toward agility and wisdom; he would never have so arrogantly blocked a Village gate and issued that kind of ultimatum.
Facing Ay's oppressive scrutiny and questioning, Naruto didn't back down or show any nervousness. Instead, he looked Ay up and down with interest, his gaze lingering for a moment on his exaggerated muscles and violent lightning armor.
Then, the faint smile on Naruto's lips deepened slightly, and in a tone almost identical to Ay's, he spoke:
"Are you the Third Raikage's son? Ay?"
"You!"
Ay was choked by Naruto's tit-for-tat response, and his anger flared even brighter.
At that moment, the nearby Killer Bee couldn't take it anymore. Seeing his most respected big brother treated so 'rudely' by a green brat made him extremely unhappy!
"Yo~!"
Killer Bee spoke in his signature, eccentric rap style, attempting to break the tense atmosphere or perhaps stand up for his brother:
"It's my big brother asking you a question, Bakayaro! Konoyaro! That attitude of yours isn't cool~!"
However, his rap had just begun, and the final word 'cool' hadn't even fully trailed off...
Hikari's eyes transformed into the Mangekyo.
A cluster of black flames ignited out of thin air on the back of Killer Bee's right hand.
The flames were as black as ink and silent, yet they radiated a terrifying high temperature and an ominous aura that seemed capable of incinerating everything.
It appeared so suddenly, without even a hint of Chakra fluctuation or the precursor of hand signs.
Amaterasu!
Killer Bee's rapping came to an abrupt halt.
He jerked his head down to look at his right hand, his face instantly filled with shock and disbelief as intense pain followed immediately.
"Bee!"
Ay and Nii Yugito cried out simultaneously!
Ay almost rushed over, but his gaze snapped toward the black-haired girl who had been silent beside Naruto, Uchiha Hikari.
Hikari's expression remained indifferent, as if she had just done something insignificant.
Her gaze fell calmly on Killer Bee, and that look... was as cold as if she were looking at a dead man.
In her eyes, whether Killer Bee lived or died was of no consequence. Her strike just now was perhaps because his words 'offended' Naruto, or simply because she found him noisy.
"Ugh—!"
Killer Bee let out a low growl of pain.
He tried to use Chakra to suppress the black flames, but it was useless!
When the Eight-Tails Gyuki's Chakra touched the black flames, it acted like fuel instead, making the fire burn even more fiercely!
He tried other methods.
The black flames were like maggots on a bone, spreading from the back of his hand to his wrist and forearm at a visible speed!
Everywhere they passed, flesh and blood were instantly carbonized.
Several conventional response methods were tried and declared failures in a flash.
The intense pain and the fear of this eerie fire caused cold sweat to instantly cover Killer Bee's forehead.
He knew that if he hesitated any longer, his entire arm—and perhaps his entire body—would be consumed by these black flames.
He had to be decisive!
A flash of ruthless determination crossed Killer Bee's eyes behind his sunglasses. He suddenly drew a short sword from his back with his left hand, and the blade flashed!
"Slash—!"
Swift and clean, blood sprayed!
His entire right arm was severed at the root by his own hand.
The severed arm, still carrying the raging Amaterasu black flames, fell to the ground. Under everyone's gaze, it was quickly incinerated until almost no ash remained, leaving only a scorched mark on the ground.
Cutting off an arm to survive!
Killer Bee's face was pale as he clutched the bleeding stump of his arm, stumbling back two steps, supported by Nii Yugito, whose face was equally grim.
The Eight-Tails' Chakra began to surge toward the wound automatically, attempting to stop the bleeding.
The entire area fell into a deathly silence.
Only the sound of the wind and Killer Bee's heavy panting could be heard.
Ay's face was naturally dark, but now it turned even darker.
His fists clenched until they creaked, and his Lightning Release Chakra sparked uncontrollably due to his extreme rage, striking small scorched pits into the ground.
Just because of one sentence, or perhaps just because of his tone of voice!
The opponent had directly used such a terrifying Dōjutsu, forcing Bee to sever his own arm!
This was no longer just 'arrogance'; it was naked contempt and crushing dominance! They were using the most direct and cruel method to announce the absolute gap in strength between the two sides!
Naruto looked at the scene before him, the smile on his face still unchanged, appearing completely indifferent to Hikari's strike and Killer Bee's lost arm.
He just gently patted Hikari's shoulder and then turned his gaze back to the Raikage.
What else could be done? If an arm was taken, it was taken.
Was he supposed to make Hikari give an arm back?
I'll twist your head off, you dark-skinned ghost!
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