A Man in Leaf Village: Slapping White Fang at the Start

If it had been his father, the Third Raikage, he definitely would not have feared Wind Release of this level.

It did not even have half the power of Naruto's Rasenshuriken.

However, A's Lightning Release Chakra Armor was clearly nowhere near as tough as his father's.

The focus in his eyes shifted from side to side as he watched the wind blades closing in.

In the end, he abandoned his attack and rapidly retreated to evade them.

"Lord Danzo!"

One of the Shimura Clan's jonin hurried to Danzo's side, supporting his remaining left arm and barely helping him to his feet.

"Retreat... retreat!"

The agonizing pain from his severed arm left Danzo's wrinkled face drenched in cold sweat as he forced out those two words through gritted teeth.

Upon hearing this, the Shimura jonin shouted:

"Retreat! Lord Danzo's orders! Retreat at once!"

"Retreat? Hey, didn't we just start fighting?!"

Akimichi Choza, who was farther away and had dispelled his Human Bullet Tank, said in disbelief.

"Lord Danzo's arm was cut off. With the commander-in-chief injured, morale will plummet. This is indeed the time to retreat."

Hizashi Hyuga, who had used his Byakugan to see the battlefield within several kilometers with perfect clarity, explained.

"His hand got chopped off? How long has the fight even been going on?"

Akimichi Choza wore an expression that said, "You've got to be kidding me."

The other Leaf Ninja nearby who heard the news also looked as though they had seen a ghost.

What kind of worthless commander-in-chief was this?

"What the hell is this Leaf Faction commander...?"

After avoiding the Wind Release attacks of more than a dozen people, A looked toward Danzo, who was being supported by a Shimura jonin, and could hardly believe it himself.

This was going far too smoothly, wasn't it?

The greatest village in the ninja world? That had to be an exaggeration.

But less than half a second later, A quickly snapped out of it and roared:

"Don't let them escape! Chase them down! Kill as many as you can!"

Although their Vanguard Force had deployed only eight hundred men this time, intending to probe the Leaf Reinforcements' strength.

Who would have thought that Leaf Village would hand them such an easy victory?

Since that was the case, they should seize this excellent opportunity and push forward across the entire front in one go.

If they got lucky, they might even fight their way into the Land of Fire!

"OOOH!!!"

News that the Leaf Village commander-in-chief had had an arm severed by their commander rapidly spread through the entire Cloud Village force.

For a time, everyone's fighting spirit soared, their morale rising to its peak.

They charged after the Leaf Army like wild beasts, slashing as they pursued.

In contrast to the enemy, Leaf Village's morale fell to rock bottom.

Many Leaf Ninja who had turned to retreat were caught off guard and had their heads cut off by Cloud Ninja chasing them from behind.

Screams and roars.

They spread throughout the entire valley.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

When he saw several of his clansmen have their organs pierced through and their heads cut off by Cloud Ninja.

Even with Nara Shikaku's calm temperament, he could not hold back and cursed aloud.

If not for Danzo, would the battle have become this disastrous?

The saying, "An incompetent general exhausts an entire army," was perfectly proven at this moment.

"Well, well, even I didn't expect things to develop this far."

Genetsu looked at the sight of Leaf Ninja being torn apart in a spray of flesh and blood as calmly as if he were not watching people, but pigs and sheep being slaughtered in an abattoir.

"Lord Genetsu, watch out!!"

Big Loli Nohara Rin cried out.

"Aragami Kirifuda!!"

Killer B suddenly leaped down from the other side, spinning forward at high speed with all eight swords on his body.

"Hiss—breathe—"

Genetsu lightly inhaled, gripping his sword with both hands and pointing its tip straight ahead as he assumed a standard Sword Way opening stance.

"Mr. Genetsu!?"

Seeing Killer B about to land atop Genetsu's head, Nohara Rin cried out with growing concern.

"Got you, YO!!!"

Killer B shouted excitedly.

Inside the sealing space, the Eight-Tails' expression suddenly changed. It sprang to its feet and roared:

"Idiot! Dodge!"

At that same instant, Genetsu's pupils contracted sharply. In his eyes, Killer B's movements seemed to slow down countless times at the very last instant before impact.

"Swordsmanship: Two Cuts."

In an instant too fast for anyone else to see.

Genetsu suddenly stepped forward, while the blade of his Zanpakuto remained in its original position.

But in reality, he had already raised his sword and brought it down.

It was simply too fast for anyone else to see.

Thud!

As Genetsu stepped forward and made his move, Killer B also landed on the ground in less than the blink of an eye.

"Whoosh!"

About two seconds later, a line ran vertically down the left side of Killer B's body, from his left shoulder all the way to his left knee.

An incomparably neat vertical wound burst open, blood spraying from it like a fountain.

"Lord Bi!?"

The surrounding Cloud Ninja were all dumbfounded.

W-what happened?

What had just happened?!

"It missed? How?"

That strike had contained the sword intent he had only recently comprehended.

Even among Kage-level fighters, in Genetsu's understanding, only a select few at the pinnacle of Kage-level, such as Hatake Sakumo and the Third Raikage, had the ability to evade it.

Killer B at this age should not have been among them.

Genetsu turned and looked behind him.

A translucent, blood-red aura had already emerged around Killer B's body.

It formed a crimson cloak over his skin, complete with long horns and a tail.

"That is—"

Nohara Rin, seeing such a thing for the first time, widened her eyes in shock.

"I see. The Eight-Tails?"

Genetsu suddenly understood.

Then, looking at the nearly one-and-a-half-meter-long wound across the left half of Killer B's body, where most of the bleeding had already stopped, he could not help but smile.

"Tailed Beasts really are useful things."

For commoners like Hatake Sakumo and Minato Namikaze, who possessed no Kekkei Genkai, reaching the pinnacle of Kage-level was already the absolute limit.

But if they possessed a Tailed Beast and became Jinchuriki.

They would gain the qualifications to contend for Super Kage.

Although Minato Namikaze being able to cultivate Nine-Tails Mode in the underworld even after dying was definitely cheating.

Still, Genetsu would pass.

He did not want a beast watching while he and Tsunade were doing it.

Come to think of it, what did the Nine-Tails feel when Senju Hashirama and Uzumaki Mito, or Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, were doing it?

"Thanks, Little Eight."

Killer B called out inwardly.

At that moment, if the Eight-Tails had not noticed in time and taken control of his body to dodge, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"Be more careful. If not for me, you would've been dead already."

The Eight-Tails cursed, still feeling lingering fear just thinking about that sword strike.

At the final instant, it had taken control of the body and used the Tailed Beast Cloak to enhance its defense.

It had barely managed to save this idiot's life.

But that strike... he absolutely could not take another one.

"Though you haven't fully mastered it yet, against an enemy of this level, you can only use that, Bi!"

The Eight-Tails reminded him again.

"Got it! YOOOOO!!!"

Killer B raised his right arm and pointed at the sky, letting his swords fall to the ground.

One tail after another emerged from behind the Chakra cloak on his body.

When they finally numbered eight, Killer B's own skin began to peel away.

"Hm!?"

On the other side, roughly half a li away, A had easily defeated Hizashi Hyuga and was gripping his blood-covered neck, preparing to deliver the final blow when he suddenly stopped.

He turned toward Genetsu and Killer B, frowning as he said:

"That presence... it's Bi! He transformed into a Tailed Beast without my permission? Is his opponent strong enough to force him to use that move?"

Even A did not have much confidence in being able to subdue Killer B in his Tailed Beast Transformation state.

"Shadow Imitation Technique!"

Suddenly, a black shadow shot across the ground and connected with the shadow at A's feet.

"Urgh!?"

A's expression changed drastically. By the time he reacted, his body was no longer easy to control.

Hizashi Hyuga, whom he had been holding, slipped from his grasp.