Slay!

The Eight-Tails' Chakra was extraordinarily violent.

In his partial Tailed Beast transformation, every strike from Blue B was like mountains collapsing and the earth splitting apart.

Kagami Uchiha moved like a butterfly among flowers, leaping through the chaotic energy.

"You have powerful Chakra, yet you have no idea how to use it properly."

"You abandoned a ninja's way of fighting and chose this monstrous form. It only makes you clumsier."

"Your speed is lacking, your reactions are sluggish. Someone like you..."

"Deserves to live as a ninja?"

Kagami Uchiha's words were like gleaming blades, stabbing deep into Blue B's heart.

His consciousness was further eroded by the Tailed Beast's Chakra. He gradually lost his reason, his mind overflowing with rage.

ROAR!!!

Terrifying Chakra spread outward from Blue B, raising monstrous waves as a hurricane swept through the area!

Kagami Uchiha held his blade and unleashed an invisible slash, forcibly carving open a gap in the storm.

His voice was like a demon's whisper, falling clearly into Blue B's ears.

"You were chosen as a Jinchuriki because you were exceptional enough, sacrificing yourself for the village."

"After making such a sacrifice, what did you receive?"

"Cold stares, rejection, alienation."

"You are clearly a hero, yet you are treated as a disaster!"

From the very beginning, Blue B had never looked directly into the Sharingan.

The Uchiha's reputation was far-reaching—never make eye contact with one in a one-on-one fight.

That also meant he could not accurately track Kagami Uchiha's position.

But genjutsu did not necessarily have to be cast through the eyes.

Genjutsu was a technique that used Chakra to disrupt the opponent's five senses and trap them in illusions.

Visual genjutsu powered by dojutsu was the strongest, and difficult to break free from on one's own.

Beyond that, smell, hearing, touch, and all the rest could trigger genjutsu as well.

Kagami Uchiha was using his words to cast genjutsu on Blue B.

Bit by bit, it subtly seeped into the Tailed Beast's Chakra, disrupting Blue B's mind.

This required exceptional skill, as well as the Sharingan's ultimate powers of perception.

If he had been a normal elite jonin, he would certainly have noticed it and dispelled the genjutsu himself.

Blue B's current condition was far too poor.

Ever since becoming a Jinchuriki, he had endured tremendous psychological pressure, leaving him physically and mentally exhausted.

Whenever he was not on a mission, he needed medication to calm himself down.

Someone like that was far too susceptible to genjutsu.

"Shut up!"

"Shut up!!"

A deafening roar erupted from those grotesque jaws. Blue B's mind was already on the verge of collapse.

As the saying went, the more fiercely an enemy objected, the more it proved you were doing the right thing.

Kagami Uchiha pressed his advantage, his words seeming to scrape teasingly against Blue B's scalp.

"Kumogakure is merely using you. If they truly saw you as a companion, how could they have abandoned you?"

"You know perfectly well that they see you only as a weapon. Wasn't the purpose of your coming here to test the Eight-Tails' abilities?"

More and more Tailed Beast Chakra overflowed, forming grim white bones over Blue B's crimson cloak.

This was a sign that the Tailed Beast was about to go berserk.

A Tailed Beast would seize upon its Jinchuriki's weakest moment and erupt directly. If it completely broke through the seal, it meant the Jinchuriki's death.

Black curse markings emerged on Blue B's chest, with a clear character for "Iron" at their center.

The Iron Armor Seal, the sealing formula Kumogakure used to seal the Eight-Tails.

Several of its sealing characters bore the unmistakable style of Uzumaki sealing techniques.

That was hardly surprising. Whirlpool Country had been destroyed by the joint efforts of multiple nations precisely to seize the Uzumaki Clan's sealing arts.

Who told the First Hokage to give them Tailed Beasts without providing the matching Beast Chains?

Mito Uzumaki had assisted Hashirama in sealing the Nine-Tails, setting an example for the other villages.

A man's only crime was possessing a treasure.

Kagami Uchiha had also learned some sealing techniques from Minato, so undoing this seal would not be difficult.

In fact, if Blue B maintained his current state, the Eight-Tails would soon be able to break through the seal on its own.

However...

"Gyuki! You can hear my voice, can't you?!"

"What's the point even if you break free of your current shackles? Kumogakure will just seal you again!"

"Only by facing death can one be reborn. Die together with Blue B—he'll be freed, and you'll be reborn too!"

Clatter, clatter...

More and more white bones formed, while terrifying Chakra rose like a pillar of smoke and spread straight into the sky.

The Eight-Tails' Chakra completely drowned Blue B's consciousness...

In Kagami Uchiha's view, a perfect Jinchuriki was stronger than a lone Tailed Beast and stronger than partial Tailed Beast transformation.

Right now, the Eight-Tails and Blue B were restraining each other, leaving them unable to wield even a fraction of a lone Tailed Beast's strength.

If the Eight-Tails completely broke the seal, things would become troublesome.

Kagami Uchiha had no intention of becoming the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. Even if they defeated the Eight-Tails, the Third Hokage and the others would use it as a bargaining chip.

Even if Konoha took a harder stance and forcibly kept the Eight-Tails, it still would not be the Uchiha Clan's turn to provide a Jinchuriki.

From the very beginning, Kagami Uchiha had intended to kill the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki and make Konoha and Kumogakure become enemies.

An earlier outbreak of war would force Konoha to send the Uchiha Clan to fill the battlefield's gaps.

War was nourishment for the Uchiha Clan. Exchanging some sacrifices for greater power was worth it.

Smack!

Kagami Uchiha pressed close to Blue B's back, his hand directly landing on the scorching Chakra.

"Wasn't the Sage of Six Paths' original intention in giving people Chakra to provide a bond that connected them?"

"Gyuki! Only I!"

"Can free you from your endless shackles!"

The formation of the white bones slowed.

"...Who are you? Why do you know my name?"

Aside from the first few decades, Gyuki had not mentioned his name to anyone for nearly a thousand years.

The Tailed Beasts had once tried to coexist peacefully with humans, but driven by desire, humans endlessly waged war among themselves, and people often tried to seize their power.

Over time, humans came to hate the Tailed Beasts, and the Tailed Beasts began to hate humans as well.

"Kagami Uchiha. Our ancestor was Indra, the Sage of Six Paths' son. These Sharingan are proof!"

"The family stone tablet clearly records the names of all nine of you. Our ancestor considered you beings like brothers."

Kagami Uchiha lied without batting an eye.

"I see... I know these eyes..."

The Eight-Tails had not experienced the dark period when Uchiha Madara controlled it, so it held no particular hatred for the Sharingan.

It had indeed heard that one of the old Sage's sons had inherited his Sage Eyes.

"I have never truly died. I don't know how long resurrection takes, nor where I would be resurrected."

"And I will never trust humans again, even if you are Indra's descendant!"

Boom!!

An arm of stark white bones sent Kagami Uchiha flying!

As Kagami Uchiha flew backward, a strange smile curled at the corner of his lips.

At the spot where he had just placed his hand was a sealing formula.

He had never expected to talk the Eight-Tails into dying. He had merely used the time spent talking to reinforce the Iron Armor Seal.

It had been adjusted to a critical threshold—temporarily preventing the Eight-Tails from escaping while also keeping Blue B from regaining consciousness.

Shhk!!!

An invisible slash severed a massive Chakra tail that had gradually taken on the shape of octopus tentacles!

"Bastard!!"

Kagami Uchiha turned a deaf ear to the Eight-Tails' roar.

The three tomoe in his eye sockets spun madly, the deep scarlet so rich it seemed ready to bleed.

"Cleave."

A slash adjusted according to the difference in cursed energy and strength, capable of killing with a single strike.

Using the Sharingan's ocular power, Kagami Uchiha had developed One Blade: Cicada's Lament, a slash that could cut even the soul.

Without expanding his domain, even Sukuna could only use "Cleave" after making contact with a living being.

The existence of Chakra made up for that flaw.

The Sage of Six Paths had hoped to use Chakra to connect people's hearts. Reality proved that to be nothing more than a wishful dream.

Chakra had become a weapon—a weapon for killing others!

Kagami Uchiha extended one hand, palm open, as though he had thrown something.

Thump.

A heartbeat.

Screeeee—

A piercing shriek exploded through the air.

Air.

Time.

Space.

Everything was cut apart!

"Slash Release."

"Worlds Apart."

The ultimate, purest slash.

The world seemed to split in two.

A distinct crack appeared between the horns of the half-Tailed Beast transformation.