Inside the Sunagakure medical room, pale purple chakra swirled around Gaara like a thin veil. Su Ye moved his fingertips, injecting the last trace of restorative chakra into Gaara's abdomen. As the chakra flowed into him, Gaara's lashes fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes. His hoarse voice was weak with the relief of having survived: "You... saved me?"
"Don't speak yet. Your body hasn't fully recovered." Su Ye withdrew his hand and turned toward the doorway, where Kakashi and Elder Chiyo stood, with Sunagakure's council of elders behind them. Elder Chiyo hurried forward and clasped Gaara's hand, her aged eyes full of relief. "It's enough that you've awakened. Sunagakure can't do without you."
Half an hour later, the core members of Konoha and Sunagakure sat together in Sunagakure's council hall. Jiraiya spread a map across the table and pointed toward Kumogakure. "According to our intelligence, the Akatsuki's next target is likely Yugito, the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki. After Obito's failure this time, he'll surely speed up his efforts to capture the Tailed Beasts."
"We must form a joint defense force." Gaara sat at the head of the table. Although his face was still pale, his gaze was firm. "Sunagakure is willing to send elite shinobi to help Konoha protect the other Tailed Beast Jinchūriki."
Su Ye studied the points on the map marking the Tailed Beasts' locations. His Rinne Sharingan suddenly began to grow warm, and a hazy image flooded his mind: in a pitch-black forest, Yugito, in her Tailed Beast form, was being attacked by two shadowy figures. Matatabi's chakra was rapidly fading. He sprang to his feet, his voice urgent. "This is bad—the Two-Tails is in danger! My Rinnegan sensed Yugito's distress signal. She should be in the Forest of Lightning, near the border of Kumogakure!"
At his words, everyone's expression changed. Kakashi immediately stood. "Su Ye and I will head out first and use the Flying Thunder God to get there! Lord Jiraiya, you and Gaara organize the joint force as quickly as possible, then follow us!"
Su Ye and Kakashi exchanged a glance and simultaneously crushed the Flying Thunder God Kunai in their hands. A flash of yellow lightning, and the two vanished from the council hall.
The Forest of Lightning rang with deafening roars. Yugito had fully transformed into the Two-Tails, flames enveloping her body as she attacked Hidan and Kakuzu. Hidan swung his Triple-Bladed Scythe, dodging the flames as the chain on his weapon snared the Two-Tails' hind leg. Kakuzu seized the opening to thrust out his black tendrils, piercing the Two-Tails' body and beginning to drain its chakra.
"You bastards!" Yugito roared. A Tailed Beast Bomb gathered in her mouth, but just as she was about to fire, Hidan cut his own palm with his scythe. Blood dripped onto the ritual circle on the ground. "Jujutsu: Death Controlling Possessed Blood!"
Yugito felt a sharp pain in her heart, and the Tailed Beast Bomb's formation was forcibly interrupted. Kakuzu gave a cold laugh as he increased the pull of his tendrils. "There's no point resisting. You'll soon be our prize."
Just then, yellow lightning flashed, and Su Ye and Kakashi appeared on the battlefield. Su Ye used Heavenly Hand Power to instantly swap places with Hidan, thrusting his black sword straight at Kakuzu's heart. Kakuzu reacted quickly, splitting off a heart monster to shield himself. The sword pierced the creature's body but failed to harm Kakuzu.
"You again!" Hidan saw Su Ye, his eyes full of murderous intent. "You ruined our plans last time. This time, I'll use your blood to complete my ritual!" He swung his scythe and charged at Su Ye.
Kakashi took the opportunity to circle behind Yugito. Lightning gathered in his palm, and his Chidori severed the chain wrapped around the Two-Tails' hind leg. "Yugito, how are you? Can you still fight?"
Yugito panted. The Two-Tails' chakra had already been greatly depleted, and she shook her head. "I can hold on a little longer, but Kakuzu's tendrils can absorb chakra. We have to find a way to counter his ability first."
Su Ye fought Hidan, his Rinne Sharingan rapidly analyzing the trajectories of Hidan's attacks. He realized that Hidan's attacks were fierce but slow; as long as he avoided Hidan's blood, he could counter his ritual. Su Ye deliberately left an opening, baiting Hidan into swinging his scythe. Then he used Limbo, and three black phantoms separated from his body, attacking Hidan all at once.
The phantoms trapped Hidan, leaving him unable to break free for the moment. Su Ye seized the opportunity, turned, and charged at Kakuzu. Kakuzu split off three heart monsters, each using ninjutsu of a different nature—fire, wind, and lightning—to attack Su Ye. A flash of light crossed Su Ye's eyes as he activated his Rinne Sharingan, absorbing the fire- and wind-style ninjutsu before reflecting the lightning-style attack back at them. It struck one of the heart monsters.
"What?!" Kakuzu's expression changed. He hadn't expected Su Ye to be able to absorb ninjutsu. In the moment Kakuzu was distracted, Kakashi's Chidori struck, piercing one of his hearts.
Hidan broke free of the phantoms. Seeing Kakuzu injured, he roared and charged at Su Ye. "I'll kill you!" He cut his palm again, preparing to use his ritual. Su Ye was ready. He used Heavenly Hand Power to swap a boulder with Hidan. Hidan's blood dripped onto the boulder, activating the ritual circle, and the boulder shattered instantly.
"How is that possible?!" Hidan stared at the shattered boulder in disbelief.
Su Ye gave a cold laugh and thrust his black sword again, aiming for Hidan's throat. Hidan hurriedly dodged, but Kakashi's Chidori struck him in the shoulder. Seeing things turn against them, Kakuzu withdrew his tendrils, grabbed Hidan, and tried to flee. "Let's go!"
"Running away? Not a chance!" Su Ye used the gravity of his Rinnegan to pin Hidan and Kakuzu in place. Just as he was about to attack and finish them off, a powerful surge of chakra suddenly came from the distance. Su Ye's Rinnegan sensed Obito's presence—and there was more than one chakra signature. A chakra similar to Madara Uchiha's was rapidly approaching as well.
"This is bad—it's Obito and Zetsu!" Su Ye's expression changed, and he had no choice but to release the force of gravity. "Kakashi, let's retreat for now! Obito's here. With our current strength, we're no match for them!"
Kakashi nodded, helped the injured Yugito to her feet, and quickly retreated with Su Ye. Hidan and Kakuzu took the opportunity to escape. Before leaving, Kakuzu glanced back in Su Ye's direction, a trace of wariness in his eyes.
When the three of them had retreated to safety, Obito and Zetsu appeared in the Forest of Lightning. Zetsu's body split into Black Zetsu and White Zetsu. White Zetsu chuckled. "Hidan and Kakuzu have already run off, and they only extracted half of the Two-Tails' chakra, Obito."
Obito looked toward the direction in which Su Ye and the others had disappeared, a cold glint in his eyes. "It doesn't matter. The next time we meet, I'll make Su Ye pay. Tell the other members to speed up capturing the Tailed Beasts. We can't give them another chance."
Black Zetsu nodded faintly, then disappeared into the darkness. Obito turned to look into the depths of the Forest of Lightning, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold smile. "This game has only just begun."
Meanwhile, Su Ye and the others met up with the joint force that had arrived. Jiraiya looked at the injured Yugito, his brow furrowed. "It seems the Akatsuki are far stronger than we expected. The battles ahead will be even tougher."
Su Ye gripped his black sword tightly, his Rinne Sharingan gleaming. "No matter how difficult it gets, we can't back down. As long as we stand together, we'll be able to stop the Akatsuki's plans."
They exchanged glances, their eyes all filled with resolve. A war that would determine the fate of the Shinobi World had officially begun.
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