Hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke's face was blank, momentarily unsure how to respond.
The expressions of the others present varied.
Gengetsu crossed his arms, the corners of his mouth curving into a meaningful arc as he complained:
"This 'friend' thing of theirs in Konoha... is it always like this?"
Beam stood at the rear, watching Naruto and Sasuke staring at each other, his eyes full of envy.
He also wanted to develop that kind of relationship with his Chainsaw-sama.
Reze squinted her eyes, her beautiful gaze sweeping back and forth between Naruto and Sasuke's faces, murmuring to herself in a voice only she could hear:
"This group seems abnormal."
Just then, Sasuke's right hand slowly reached toward his waist, grasping the hilt of the Kusanagi Sword. With a 'shing', the long sword was drawn from its sheath.
"Enough, Naruto."
"If that's the case, then I will sever this bond myself."
The moment his voice fell, a dark purple Chakra giant suddenly rose around Sasuke's body.
A dark purple energy armor enveloped Sasuke, wrapping his entire body within it.
The second form of Susanoo, though not particularly huge in size, immediately made the surrounding air feel heavy with its oppressive aura.
For Sasuke, this Fifth Great Ninja War was already his final battle... there was no need to conserve his Ocular Power.
"I won't allow that to happen!"
Naruto shouted, his hands quickly forming hand seals.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Boom! Boom!
Two clouds of white smoke burst open, and two shadow clones appeared on Naruto's left and right.
All three Narutos simultaneously raised their right hands, their palms facing each other, condensing a high-speed rotating Rasenshuriken.
"Even if I have to break your arms and legs, I'm still taking you back!"
The Naruto vs Sasuke battle was about to erupt.
At that moment, Kisame noticed the Two-Tails Matatabi positioned behind Gaara and the others.
Kisame smiled slightly, the Samehada resting on his shoulder trembling faintly, as if anticipating something.
"Well then, I suppose I should make my move too."
"After all, this war, at its core, is a Tailed Beast battle."
With that, Kisame rapidly formed hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique!"
Instantly, groundwater surging from the sandy ground of the wasteland shot up into the sky, condensing into a giant shark in mid-air.
The huge mouth, filled with fangs, pounced fiercely toward Matatabi.
But just then, another voice rang out.
"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique!"
From the other side of the battlefield, the same seawater surged up, condensing into an equally giant shark that collided head-on with Kisame's Ninjutsu.
Boom—!!!
The two sharks bit, devoured, and exploded against each other, turning into a curtain of water that fell from the sky like a torrential downpour, washing over the battlefield.
Kisame's pupils contracted, revealing a surprised expression.
"The same Ninjutsu as mine?"
Just then, Beam walked out, grinning and showing his teeth:
"Oh? The same Ninjutsu as mine?"
Kisame's gaze fell on Beam's face.
That face, whose upper half resembled a shark's snout, glowed with a grey-black luster under the washing of the rain.
Kisame raised an eyebrow, looked at him for a moment, then said:
"You're Makoto's lackey, right?"
Beam's face lit up with joy, thinking the other party had recognized him.
But Kisame's next sentence said:
"Well~ I can't remember the name... Among Makoto's lackeys, I only remember Ishigami Yu."
Beam's smile instantly froze. He was silent for two seconds.
Then—
"I'll kill you!"
Beam roared and charged at Kisame.
Beam had always felt he was no worse than Yu. Even if their strength wasn't in the same league, when it came to loyalty, he was absolutely no less than that gloomy guy.
He had to use this war to let the world know that he, Beam, was Chainsaw-sama's number one trusted subordinate!
Kisame tilted his head, completely understanding why the other was so angry.
But since it was a Ninja of the same type as him, he might as well fight.
He grasped the hilt of Samehada behind his back and pulled the great sword, the foremost of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, from his back.
Kisame swung the sword, slashing at Beam.
Beam wasn't afraid at all and simply raised his hand to block.
"How naive."
Kisame sneered.
Samehada's blade cut into Beam's arm, the barbs on the blade piercing his skin and flesh with a 'puchi' sound.
Then, Kisame prepared to swing the sword fiercely, slicing and tearing off a chunk of flesh from Beam's hand.
In the original work, he used this method to cut off a piece of Asuma's arm.
But as Kisame swung his sword, he was surprised to find that Samehada wouldn't move.
It was as if it were stuck in a wall, impossible to pull out.
Kisame looked sideways.
Beam let Samehada's barbs pierce his own flesh and blood, and with his hands covered in blood, he grabbed onto Samehada's blade.
His fingers wedged into the gaps between the barbs, firmly gripping the blade.
Blood flowed down his fingers, dripping onto the sandy ground.
Beam grinned, revealing a mouth full of sharp fangs.
"Fish-Man Karate: Sea Current Overhead Throw!"
The moment his voice fell, the sandy ground beneath his feet suddenly cracked open, and a huge ocean current erupted from the underground, enveloping both Beam and Kisame.
Beam carried Samehada, along with Kisame who was still holding it, and leaped into the air.
He spun 180 degrees in the air and performed a shoulder throw.
Boom—!!!
Kisame, along with his sword, was thrown violently to the ground.
The sandy ground was smashed into a pit several meters deep, with rubble and sand splashing in all directions.
Kisame's body bounced once at the bottom of the pit, and he let out a grunt.
Beam stood at the edge of the pit, looking down at Kisame at the bottom.
His hands were still bleeding, bloody and mangled, with glimpses of pale white bone.
Kisame looked at Beam's bloody, mangled hands and couldn't help but feel shocked.
'This guy really doesn't care about getting hurt, does he?'
Beam ignored Kisame's gaze.
Instead, he glanced at the White Zetsu Army fighting the main force in the distance.
He noticed that neither the White Zetsu nor the reanimated Kage from past eras bled when injured.
Beam couldn't help but frown slightly and muttered to himself in a low voice:
"Damn, it's the type of enemy I least want to fight..."
Having said that, Beam extended those bloody, mangled hands, reached into his pouch, and pulled out a bag of blood plasma.
Beam used his sharp fangs to tear open the package, tilted his head back, and drank the blood pack in one go.
The crimson liquid flowed down his throat, spilling from the corners of his mouth, dripping onto his chest.
Immediately, his hands, which had been torn to shreds by Samehada, began to heal at a visible rate.
In less than three seconds, the hands that had just shown bone were restored to their original state.
Kisame stood up from the bottom of the pit and watched Beam's hands heal, his expression changing slightly.
"I remember now."
Kisame brushed the dust off his clothes, a tone of sudden realization in his voice.
"Makoto has a group of weirdos under him who can heal injuries by drinking blood. I thought it was just a rumor, but I never expected such monsters to really exist."
Boom!!!
Just then, a loud sound came from the center of the battlefield.
Reze's red lips parted slightly as she pulled the ring pull at her neck collar.
A series of explosions detonated in the center of the battlefield.
The blast's shockwave sent Gengetsu, Mu, and Onoki flying.
Everyone turned their heads and saw that Reze had already transformed into her weapon form.
Her once beautiful face had turned into a torpedo head with fangs.
Reze glanced at Beam not far away and reminded him:
"Be careful, there's no blood here for you to replenish."
For Reze, for Beam, and for Katsura and Kokoro in the First Unit, the biggest disadvantage in this war was that the enemies didn't bleed.
Therefore, they all carried pre-prepared blood packs with them.
Although the quantity wasn't small, it couldn't be supplied endlessly like in the One Piece World.
"I know!"
Beam shouted impatiently.