Survive

The moment the Eight-Tails turned its head, the Susanoo had already swung its blade!

"Puchi--!"

The pitch-black blade descended like a lightning bolt, instantly cleaving into the massive spine of the Eight-Tails!

"Ughhh--!!"

The Eight-Tails roared in agony, its colossal body trembling violently as a bone-deep wound tore across its back, nearly splitting it in two!

Overcome by excruciating pain, the Eight-Tails instinctively tried to dodge, its massive frame rolling to the side.

However--

Bang!!!

At that very moment, the Tailed Beast Bomb of the Nine-Tails had already formed and erupted with sudden force!

The pitch-black sphere of energy, carrying a terrifying storm of destruction, slammed directly into the Eight-Tails!

"Boom----!!!"

An earth-shattering explosion resounded through the heavens!

The entire body of the Eight-Tails was sent flying by the violent impact of the Tailed Beast Bomb, its flesh mangled as it crashed into the ground like a meteorite!

"Ughhh--!!"

Debris flew and the earth trembled!

Amidst the billowing dust, a bottomless crater appeared, with fissures spreading like spiderwebs in every direction; under the terrifying clash between the Nine-Tails and the Eight-Tails, the battlefield looked as if the apocalypse had arrived!

Within the mental world--

Killer B stood in the depths of the spiritual space; although his physical body in the outside world had not yet collapsed, his spirit was enduring a massive shock!

"B, we are no match for him..."

The Eight-Tails Gyuki spoke in a low, grave voice, its tails swaying slowly with a hint of exhaustion and helplessness.

Killer B's expression was grim, his fists clenched tight; he understood this, of course, but to ask him to retreat now?

Impossible!

"Damn it! We are in the middle of a battle!" Killer B gritted his teeth and roared, "How can we just give up?"

Furthermore, his brother had died right before his eyes, and Killer B was filled with immense self-reproach.

The massive pupils of the Eight-Tails reflected a calm light as it spoke in a steady tone:

"You don't understand; Uchiha Yoru hasn't even been serious."

"What?" Killer B was stunned.

The Eight-Tails continued: "If he wanted to, he could have controlled us with genjutsu long ago, but he didn't."

Killer B's heart sank abruptly.

That's right!

The fact that the Nine-Tails was under control was glaringly obvious; its volatile personality had vanished, replaced by it becoming a butcher's knife in the hands of Uchiha Yoru, crazily attacking them, its fellow Tailed Beasts.

--Yet Uchiha Yoru had pointedly refrained from using genjutsu on them!

Was he unable to?

No...

It was disdain!

A chill he had never felt before crawled up Killer B's spine; he finally realized that in the eyes of Uchiha Yoru, they weren't even worth the effort of a genjutsu!

"B, we must retreat, otherwise... we will die!"

There was a hint of urgency in the voice of the Eight-Tails.

On the real battlefield--

The Two-Tails witnessed the Eight-Tails being cut down by a single strike, and its heart was seized with shock!

"Damn it!"

Its pupils constricted, Tailed Beast chakra surged wildly, and the blue flames on its tails burned fiercely!

"Tailed Beast Bomb--!!"

Scorching chakra compressed rapidly, forming a black-and-blue energy sphere that was launched violently toward the Nine-Tails!

However--

"Roar--!!"

The Nine-Tails opened its hideous, fang-filled maw and condensed a Tailed Beast Bomb several times larger than that of the Two-Tails!

The pitch-black energy sphere rotated like a black hole, carrying the power to destroy the world as it slammed head-on into the Two-Tails' attack!

"Boom----!!!"

A terrifying explosion instantly swept across the battlefield!

Airwaves churned and the earth fractured once more; the Two-Tails was sent flying backward by the blast, rolling several times before sinking deep into the ground, looking utterly wretched!

It panted heavily, gazing toward the Nine-Tails and Uchiha Yoru, who remained standing tall in the distance, a flicker of terror surfacing in its eyes!

"How is this possible..."

Its Tailed Beast Bomb had been completely unable to shake the Nine-Tails' attack!

At this moment, the Two-Tails finally realized that it was no match for them at all!

--Retreat!

If they didn't retreat, they would die!!

This was also the advice the Two-Tails gave to Yugito within its body.

The Eight-Tails struggled to stand, his gaze solemn; his thoughts aligned perfectly with those of the Two-Tails.

Their defeat in Kumogakure today was already a foregone conclusion!

The battlefield under the cover of night was as tragic and brutal as purgatory.

At this moment, Uchiha Yoru, standing beside the corpse of the Fourth Raikage, returned to the top of the Susanoo, looking down upon the common people from his vantage point.

Beside him, the Nine-Tails roared; beneath his feet, the Susanoo stood immovable, like an undefeated god of war, overlooking the dying Eight-Tails and Two-Tails on the battlefield.

The Fourth Raikage's body was already cold, lying horizontally across the earth, his eyes wide open in death.

The ninjas of Kumogakure witnessed this scene, their hearts and spirits shattered, filled with terror and despair!

Their Raikage, that man who had once been invincible, was dead...?

"No... impossible...!"

"How could Lord Raikage be... killed like this?"

"Uchiha Yoru... this devil..."

The minds of the Kumogakure ninjas had completely collapsed; their souls trembled, and their legs shook uncontrollably.

"Run... run away quickly!!"

Some began to discard their armor and weapons, fleeing in all directions; the once murderous elite of Kumogakure were now like birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring!

But--

Would Uchiha Yoru allow them to escape?

The giant blade of the Susanoo slowly lifted, the purple edge shimmering with a cold light.

The next moment, the blade swept across!

"Boom--!"

The earth was torn asunder, dust billowed, and a massive trench was carved deep into the battlefield; wherever the blade passed, blood mist permeated the air, and corpses littered the fields!

Dozens of Kumogakure ninjas were sliced in two the instant the blade flashed, not even having time to scream, as blood rained down like a downpour!

The figure of the Susanoo, like a king of death, loomed over the battlefield, proclaiming the annihilation of Kumogakure!

Killer B and the Eight-Tails watched all of this in silence, an boundless bitterness rising in their hearts.

They had lost...

Not just them, but all of Kumogakure had lost.

The Eight-Tails' voice carried a hint of heaviness: "B, this is not an ordinary battle, but a slaughter."

Killer B gritted his teeth hard, his pride torn to shreds at this moment.

"We must... retreat," the Eight-Tails continued. "Uchiha Yoru didn't use genjutsu; it is our luck that we are still alive."

"But now... our luck has run out."

Killer B's fists were clenched tight, his nails digging into his palms until blood seeped out.

Retreat?

Let the warriors of Kumogakure die in vain, let his big brother die in vain, and let Uchiha Yoru trample upon their dignity?

But... if they didn't retreat, they would all die!

"B, only by surviving will there be a chance!" the Eight-Tails asked in a deep voice.

Killer B's entire body shuddered.

Yes, only by surviving could they avenge his big brother!

They had to... survive.

"Go!"

The massive body of the Eight-Tails jolted violently, and his form began to shrink in an instant!

His gargantuan size was not convenient for movement, and the injuries he had sustained earlier had already mostly recovered.

The Two-Tails did the same.

They were going to retreat!

Uchiha Yoru's gaze swept over the two Tailed Beasts, a sneer of disdain curling the corners of his lips.

"Thinking of leaving now?"

"Too late!!!"

The Three-Tomoe in Uchiha Yoru's eyes shifted, instantly transforming into pale purple Rinnegan.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

"Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!!!"