Beneath the cloak of night, a dark red blur charged toward the high ground!
Hot on its heels were the Two-Tails and Ren Uchiha, their intent crystal clear: to eliminate Killer B and the Eight-Tails once and for all. Behind them followed the elite squad of Konoha shinobi, closing the net.
From south to north, from the outskirts to the heart of the valley, the massive waves of chakra surging through the Valley of Hell caused the very earth to tremble. Every step sent debris and puddles of water flying into the air. Figures blurred across the jagged terrain like racers on a lethal, winding track.
The air grew heavy, the atmosphere stifling. A restless yet eerily quiet wind swirled under the moonless sky—it felt like the precursor to a hurricane at sea, or the moment the lights are cut just before a climax. Everything was suppressed in a leaden silence, and even the heavens had begun to be shrouded by thick, dark clouds.
C-crack!
Blue lightning raced through the clouds, singing a song of destruction. And accompanying that thunder was a youth's roar—filled with killing intent, the wild arrogance of a victor, and the ecstasy of overcoming a formidable foe.
"KILLER B!!"
"Where else do you think you can run?!"
Ren's voice was pitched high with excitement, his eyes wide and burning with fervor. Standing atop the Two-Tails' head, he stared fixatedly at the B who was scurrying like a cornered rat, constantly shifting directions.
This perspective—the victor's view, the cat playing with the mouse—was a sensation Ren, who had spent most of his journey being beaten and bruised, had never truly experienced. It caused the corners of his mouth to curl upward, and his eyes danced with thrill!
Slowly, atop the fifty-meter-tall cat demon, he stood tall. Looking down from his height, he pressed his left hand against his scabbard and drew the flame-flickering Kusanagi Sword with his right!
Relying on the Zero-Tails' ability to devour extreme emotions, he had rapidly siphoned a new supply of dark chakra from the Two-Tails. Through a series of complex conversions within his body, he had fully replenished his state! In fact, because the chakra was so abundant, the way it echoed through his limbs gave Ren a sensation of being expanded to his absolute limit!
And yet, this was but a fraction of the cat demon's reservoir. He could extract more and stronger chakra at any moment, allowing him to unleash techniques far beyond his previous capabilities with a mere flick of his wrist.
This unprecedented feeling of power made Ren take a deep, intoxicated breath. Then, his face twisted into a snarl fueled by the flames of hatred!
Suddenly—
Thud!
A foot clad in a Kumogakure-style red-and-white leg wrap skidded to an abrupt halt at the very edge of the valley's encircling cliffs.
Skirr—
Loose stones were kicked off the ledge, plunging into the dark, swirling mist of the Valley of Hell below. Long seconds passed, but no sound of them hitting bottom returned.
Killer B realized with a jolt that he had reached the end of the line. He stood on the same jagged edge where A had once brought him to look out over the valley—a towering precipice pointing like a thorn toward the sky.
One more step meant an endless abyss. With his brother, whom he trusted absolutely, nowhere to be found, he was left with only two choices:
Either die here at the hands of the Uchiha brat...
Or jump, and gamble on a sliver of impossible luck!
"Is this where B-sama's song ends?"
Standing at the brink, watching the sobbing, churning crimson mist below, B felt utterly drained. It felt as if his blood had turned to ice and his heart to stone.
"Run! Why aren't you running anymore?"
Looking down with playful mockery, Ren Uchiha sneered as he raised his arm, gripping his sword hilt. Eternal, incandescent flames surged from his palm, reaching toward the heavens!
In the next heartbeat, accompanied by a crash of thunder under the leaden sky, a sun suddenly rose! Everything within sight was bathed in a searing, wretched white light.
Then, a red line shot upward from the center of that sun, connecting heaven and earth in a fraction of a second! Beneath the horrified gazes of countless observers inside and outside the valley, a colossal blade of flowing flame—sixty meters long and piercing through the atmosphere—slowly began to coalesce!
Looking up at the terrifying construct rising from the highest point of the valley, the Kumo army outside stood agape.
"Wh-what is that?!"
"There's no record of such a technique... Is that... a Forbidden Jutsu?"
At the front of the Kumo ranks, Otoi's face was ashen. He reported the sensory data with a trembling voice: "Killer B's chakra... it's weakening rapidly... Against such a disparity... he... he can't possibly block something that terrifying!"
Mabui's face was numb. This was just the latest in a string of devastating news today. She could only stare blankly at the sky, clutching her notebook to her chest as her body shook uncontrollably. She let out a low, broken whimper.
"Third Raikage-sama... have I... have I failed?"
Back at the cliff's edge:
"Hahaha... AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Upholding this heart-stopping giant blade, feeling the exquisite control over a situation he had never enjoyed before, Ren laughed manically toward the sky.
"Are you deaf, Killer B?!"
His face suddenly went cold, as if coated in frost. He snarled down at the ant-sized B below:
"I'm asking you!"
"Why aren't you running anymore?!"
B looked up blankly, the silence between them deafening. His sunglasses reflected the image of the sixty-meter flame sword—a visual spectacle of pure shock. His face was pale as he swallowed hard, murmuring:
"The power of this move... it's nearly on par with the Tailed Beast Bomb that brat fired earlier! And with the Two-Tails' support, he could probably fire it repeatedly... But how is this possible? Even with Matatabi's help, he shouldn't be able to reach this level!"
Seeing B's state, Ren sneered. "Nothing to say?! Is this your answer?!"
"Well then, in that case—"
Ren's eyes flashed with lethal intent. He decided not to wait for the blade to reach its peak power. At its current state, it was more than enough to execute this Kumogakure Jinchūriki—a man who, in the original timeline, would have been a hero of the Fourth Great Ninja War!
Ren had always been wary of changing the original plot, fearing an uncontrollable future and a dark tomorrow. He had lived with his eyes looking over his shoulder, day after day, mentally exhausted.
But now, the surging, boundary-breaking power in his hands gave him a hundredfold increase in confidence!
He could do it! He really could do it!
This was the ultimate reward for everything he had fought for until now. Using the Fire Style: Chakra Mode as a foundation, supplemented by his array of Forbidden and Secret Jutsu, he was stepping toward that magnificent blade that had once suppressed the Nine-Tails.
As long as he had a supply of chakra to sustain the fight, he could unleash power greater than a Tailed Beast host! The path was so clear. He didn't need anyone else; he just needed to keep fighting, never stopping, gathering every jutsu in the world into his own being!
Eventually, he would reach the realm where he could beat the Nine-Tails like a common beast! At that point, even the Sage of Six Paths' level wouldn't be out of reach!
So, what did Yugito Nii or Killer B matter?
The complex thoughts flashed through Ren's mind in a heartbeat, leaving him with a defiant, arrogant smile. His expression hardened. He planted his feet firmly atop the Two-Tails' head, twisted the sword hilt with both hands, and roared:
"Die, you animal!"
"Limit Blade: Octo-Million Godly Pressure!!"
In the next instant, it was as if a sun were pressing down from the heavens! The colossal blade of radiant flame pushed through the clouds, displaced the air, and kicked up a hurricane, setting the entire sky ablaze as it slammed down!
Killer B stared up, his face the color of earth. Watching the blade fall, he felt a sense of absurdity and void. In his mental world, the Eight-Tails was roaring a warning, but he couldn't hear it.
He couldn't hear anything anymore! No matter how he struggled, how could he block such a majestic power in his current state?
Snap!
It felt like a tightly wound string in his heart finally broke. B looked down at the dark, misty abyss beneath his feet. He shifted his toes, half of his foot already hanging in empty air. He only needed to lean forward to end this nightmare.
However, at that exact moment—
A bolt of straight, white lightning suddenly tore through the roiling clouds and the blue electrical storms of the sky! It fell faster and faster, reaching a speed nearing that of light itself!
Then, in a flash, the light turned from white to black!
Screeching black lightning coiled around a fierce old man who looked as if he had stepped out of a primal, savage age. The old man plummeted from the sky in a heart-pumping stance: single arm raised, four fingers pressed together, his other hand held over his beating heart.
He converted all the lightning into a pitch-black hue, concentrating it at his fingertips!
The "Strongest Spear" of this world!
In the next breath, accompanied by an old, weathered roar of fury, the lightning spear slashed straight down against the descending sun!
"—HELL STAB: FOUR-FINGER NUKITE!!"
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