The Eight-Tails, Gyuki, roared toward the sky.
The words "blood for blood" thundered through the night and overhead, making even the earth tremble.
"Bzzzt—" The emergency alarm blared, jolting Kumogakure awake from its sleep.
"Emergency squads, assemble! The Eight-Tails has gone berserk!"
"The monster's gone mad again!"
The village descended into chaos. The Eight-Tails' unique, malice-filled chakra spread like wind feeding a fire, leaving every Kumo-nin deeply anxious.
It was not as though Tailed Beast rampages had never happened before.
But they had only ever involved partial leakage, and Kumogakure's Perception and Early Warning Department would immediately sound the alarm. As long as powerful ninja arrived in time to suppress the Jinchuriki, there would be no major losses.
This was the first time it had completely gone berserk right in the center of the village!
"So this is a fully transformed Tailed Beast? Quite a sight..." Orochimaru murmured, pressing a Sealing Jutsu onto the forehead of the dead Blue B.
It was for the sake of extracting intelligence more effectively.
While the enraged Eight-Tails roared at the sky,
Orochimaru controlled the Kusanagi Sword to carve off a piece of flesh. Bringing Blue B, the former Jinchuriki, as Konoha's spoils of war, he swiftly departed.
"Genjutsu from the Kurama Clan? Interesting..."
The Eight-Tails had fallen into an extreme rage. It cursed Kumogakure while repeatedly smashing the surrounding buildings with its tentacles, as if enemies were hiding within them.
Even after being slashed by the Kusanagi Sword, it merely tilted its head slightly and did not turn its attention toward Orochimaru.
"It's time to go. Genshin said this genjutsu won't last much longer..." With a thought from Orochimaru, a massive snake crawled from his sleeve and swallowed Blue B.
Meanwhile, Shimura Danzō held Wind Release: Vacuum Sword and stabbed straight through the Kumo-nin Ninja Head Hizashi Hyuga had mentioned earlier.
The other Anbu had also completely torn open a breach in Kumogakure's outer defenses.
Under the cover of the night, with the Byakugan gathering intelligence and the advantage of planning against an unaware enemy, they carried out a perfect Silent Killing.
When Orochimaru met up with Jiraiya and Kurama Genshin, the three formed a squad formation to guard against sudden enemy ambushes as they advanced at high speed...
They encountered no resistance.
Because Shimura Danzō had led the Anbu in killing them all.
"The mission went smoothly?" Shimura Danzō asked in a deep voice.
"Smoothly. You're quite capable too, aren't you?" Orochimaru chuckled. "How about taking these Kumo-nin with us? Their ranks are fairly high, so they should have intelligence."
Shimura Danzō's face darkened. "You don't need to tell me. We're already doing it."
Damn Orochimaru...
Back in Root, he had merely been one of Danzō's subordinates!
Now that he had latched onto Hiruzen, he did not even know to address Danzō as uncle-master, yet he dared to comment on Danzō's work?
Arrogant brat!
Orochimaru, you'll regret this! Shimura Danzō shouted inwardly.
Yet his body honestly went to urge the Anbu to collect the Kumo-nin corpses.
They also covered their tracks to avoid any pursuers.
This isn't the time to bicker with that brat. Get the job done first... Find an opportunity to give Hiruzen a proper earful about him!
Orochimaru gave Shimura Danzō a rather surprised look.
He actually had not deliberately started an argument?
Hiruzen's reprimand had made him a little more mature...
I should pay a little more attention to Shimura Danzō. He seems to have grown a bit of a brain, Orochimaru thought.
At that moment, Hizashi Hyuga suddenly spoke. "The Eight-Tails is acting strangely... Is that a Tailed Beast Bomb?"
Everyone looked toward Kumogakure.
The Eight-Tails was gathering an unsettling amount of chakra in its mouth. A blood-red sphere of chakra particles rapidly condensed and continued expanding.
Shimura Danzō's eyes lit up.
If that exploded inside Kumogakure, it would be like setting off fireworks...
But a figure crackling with lightning charged fearlessly toward the Eight-Tails like a bolt of lightning!
"That's the Third Raikage..." A trace of delight appeared in Shimura Danzō's eyes.
If he got hit head-on by that...
To their surprise, the Third Raikage held his hand straight like a blade and chose to puncture the not-yet-fully-formed Tailed Beast Bomb, as though he were blowing himself up!
"Doesn't he value his life?" Hizashi Hyuga muttered.
"He doesn't want the Tailed Beast Bomb to keep expanding. The larger it gets, the wider the blast radius..." Orochimaru analyzed.
The blazing sphere of the explosion turned the night into day for an instant. Even the Konoha ninja could feel the surging shockwave.
"He didn't die? He can still fight?" Hizashi Hyuga said in shock.
The aftermath of the Tailed Beast Bomb dissipated.
The Eight-Tails let out an utterly furious roar, while the Third Raikage, lightning flickering around his body, charged forward again.
One man and one Tailed Beast were actually fighting in close combat with their bare bodies.
In terms of physical conditioning, the Third Raikage had already surpassed the limits of what ninja could comprehend.
"What a monster..." Jiraiya said sincerely.
"With Lightning Release Armor at that level, it would probably take exceptionally advanced Wind Release to break through it. Compound Wind Release ninjutsu might work even better..." Orochimaru licked his lips.
"His body is tough, but is his soul equally so? There will always be a way."
"I'll have a good talk with Sensei."
Orochimaru thought of the Earth Spear: Full Coverage he had used while sparring with Hiruzen Sarutobi. I wonder whether Sensei, with his current body, can try training in this Lightning Style Nintaijutsu too?
It may be a little too much to ask of Sensei. Though he has become younger, he is still getting on in years.
Seeing the Third Raikage's strength, Orochimaru could not help feeling excited.
The Shinobi World was not a stagnant pool. Heroes were rising everywhere...
If one did not improve, one would be overtaken by one's enemies!
Beside them, Shimura Danzō narrowed his eyes slightly. The Third Raikage's power had exceeded his expectations.
It also made him realize that he needed to remain vigilant in his training.
Shimura Danzō was not weak. In Wind Release, he was proud enough to believe that even Hiruzen Sarutobi could not compare to him.
Even against the Third Raikage's Lightning Armor, Danzō was confident that his enhanced Wind Release, empowered by his Summoning Beast, could inflict damage...
But fighting an enemy was not merely about releasing ninjutsu.
How would his Summoning Beast survive? What if the enemy closed in? Those were all matters that needed consideration and calculation...
If I want to become Hokage, I can't neglect my strength either... Damn Hiruzen, secretly training behind my back!
But he's right... Assassinating the Jinchuriki alone isn't enough to deal with Kumogakure. We need to expand our gains, just as he said.
The intelligence in those Kumo-nin's brains will be the best material for analyzing the Third Raikage. As they retreated, such thoughts arose in Shimura Danzō's mind, and he abruptly shook his head.
Though he needed to learn the essence of being Hokage...
He could not keep agreeing with that man in his heart. He needed to maintain independent thinking!
Shimura Danzō warned himself so.
After the squad secretly returned to Konoha,
The corpses of Blue B and the Kumo-nin Ninja Head were sent to the Analysis Division, where Yamanaka Clan ninja extracted the intelligence within them.
Ten days later, Konoha, Hokage Office Building meeting room.
Hiruzen Sarutobi held the materials on Lightning Style Nintaijutsu, reading them with rapt attention.
He waited for Orochimaru and the others to arrive.
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