Bagua Susanoo

Damn, did I really have to inject and fuse the Hashirama Cells right now?

The thought had barely crossed Qiuyang's mind when he shook his head and dismissed it.

Even if he managed to fuse with them, he would probably have to endure the cells fighting each other. The resulting fever and spasms would be more than enough to make him pass out on the spot.

Wouldn't that be just lying there and letting the Nine-Tails slaughter him?

No way. He didn't have even the slightest masochistic streak.

The Nine-Tails saw that its last attack hadn't killed him. After letting out several furious roars, it fixed its icy gaze on Qiuyang again, hot steam huffing from its mouth.

It was like a diesel engine running at full power, just waiting...

Whoosh—

In the blink of an eye, the red figure on the water vanished. Only afterward did the water beneath its feet react, exploding outward.

Naruto's Tailed Beast Transformation had entered hunting mode...

"So fast."

Even with his Mangekyō Sharingan active, Qiuyang had nearly lost track of Naruto as he sprang into action.

As he formed Hand Seals and used Water Style: Water Wall, he quickly drew the short sword at his waist to block the attack.

Splash—

Just as expected, the Water Formation Wall couldn't stop Naruto's Tailed Beast Transformation from charging straight through. He burst through the barrier and appeared in front of Qiuyang in an instant.

Using his momentum, he raised a claw and struck again.

Crack...

The sound of metal shattering rang out at the same time as Qiuyang's cry of pain and the blood he spat up.

The treasured sword that had accompanied him for several months shattered into pieces.

As Qiuyang was sent flying into the air, he had no time to mourn the loss. He saw Naruto below, gathering multicolored chakra in front of his mouth again.

"Are you going to use that energy cannon to kill me while I'm in the air and can't change position?"

Damn it!

Qiuyang had no time to think. He pulled out six kunai marked with the Yin-Yang Bagua Flying Thunder God Mark and, without worrying about where they landed, tossed them in every direction.

Then he formed a sword-hand seal and warped to the kunai in front and to Naruto's left.

Qiuyang didn't notice that Naruto's Tailed Beast Transformation had realized in an instant that he'd used the Flying Thunder God Technique to change position—and had turned its energy cannon to match.

The Tailed Beast Bomb was aimed at the spot where he would arrive.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

By the time Qiuyang realized what was happening, the Tailed Beast Bomb, gleaming with the light of death, was less than half a meter away.

And after using the Flying Thunder God Technique once, he hadn't yet recovered enough to use it again. There was no time to make a second space-time jump.

With his life hanging by a thread, the pattern in his Mangekyō Sharingan spun wildly, blurring into an afterimage...

Boom—

The enormous explosion vaporized all the water within a ten-meter radius of Qiuyang's position, creating a terrifying sight like a waterspout turned upside down.

More than ten seconds later, the water that had been blasted into the sky began to fall in a drizzle. Naruto's Tailed Beast Transformation stared unblinkingly at the center of the explosion.

It didn't believe the man could have survived that attack, but it still slowly moved closer to make sure.

Just as it neared the edge of the swirling water, a charred fist suddenly shot out and punched it straight into the water.

"Nine-Tails, should I thank you, or should I beat you up?"

Cough, cough... He couldn't hold back another mouthful of blood.

The water had already refilled the low-lying area. Qiuyang stood surrounded by a three-meter-tall black-and-white skeleton: the Susanoo that came with awakening the Mangekyō.

He hadn't expected it to work the same way as when he'd first awakened the Mangekyō: it only activated when his life was in danger.

"You bastard."

Remembering the despair and terror he'd felt in the instant before the explosion, Qiuyang went nearly berserk. He controlled Susanoo's enormous hand to scoop Naruto's Tailed Beast Transformation out of the water and squeeze him in its grip.

"Hah... hah... You really outdid yourself, Nine-Tails. I almost thought I was going to meet that old geezer, the Sage of Six Paths."

His heart hardened. Qiuyang tightened Susanoo's grip around the struggling Nine-Tails. It let out pained howls, and only then did he feel a little better.

Whumm—Boom...

Naruto's Tailed Beast Transformation fired another blast from its mouth, but it had no effect at all. Qiuyang remained completely still inside Susanoo.

Susanoo's fist kept tightening. The pain drove the Nine-Tails to unleash its chakra, and only after a desperate struggle did it break free and return to the water's surface.

Naruto's Tailed Beast Transformation glared at the skeleton that had made it feel pain and raised its head to gather energy.

It was furious after being treated like that.

This time, the attack was different from the previous energy blasts. The four tails behind it worked together to gather chakra at the front, their tips pointing to a spot just ahead of its mouth.

An extremely irregular black sphere immediately took shape and slowly expanded.

Its density was so great that the water around it sank under the pressure.

A Tailed Beast Bomb!

Qiuyang's eyes narrowed. He understood that the Nine-Tails was gathering energy for an attack on the level of a Tailed Beast Bomb.

Susanoo in its skeletal state definitely couldn't withstand one. He spat out the blood in his mouth and said coldly, "Nine-Tails, you'd better remember this day."

Then he forced his body to produce more ocular power. Veins and muscles quickly grew over Susanoo's bare skeleton.

The majestic black-and-white Susanoo formed a three-dimensional Yin-Yang Bagua pattern, spinning like a vortex, in its left palm: the Purification Bottle.

It reached out with its right hand and grabbed at the air. A hazy, lightning-shaped spear appeared in its grasp.

At the same time, Qiuyang felt as though his eyes were about to split open and his bones were soaking in sulfuric acid. The pain nearly made him pass out on the spot.

He silently added this debt to the Nine-Tails' account, then instantly appeared in front of it using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

He thrust his spear through the Tailed Beast Bomb while it was still forming.

The incomplete Tailed Beast Bomb exploded between them. Naruto's Tailed Beast Transformation was blasted away, but Susanoo in this form withstood the attack—and...

Naruto's Tailed Beast Transformation finally steadied itself. It turned, intending to meet the attack with chakra arms, when a spear suddenly shot out of thin air and pierced its four tails.

"Ugh... Roar..."

The spear seemed sticky. When it was pulled back, it dragged out the high-density Tailed Beast Chakra covering Naruto's entire body.

Naruto's Tailed Beast Transformation quickly ended, and he returned to his original form. With no chakra left to support him, he fell into the water.

The Nine-Tails, which had been controlling Naruto's body from within, was utterly horrified. It was deeply wary of Qiuyang's ability to strip away chakra.

Just as it was about to release more energy to let Naruto transform again, it suddenly noticed a figure standing in its mental space.

"Damn it! How did you get in here, Uchiha brat?"

"Nine-Tails, does it kill you to behave?"

In the darkness, the Nine-Tails saw a pair of Bagua Mangekyō Sharingan glowing with an eerie light. The next moment, its own eyes had changed to match.

The Nine-Tails reluctantly closed its eyes and sank into the darkness of sleep. At the last moment, it still managed to get out a parting threat:

"Damn genjutsu... Remember this, Uchiha Qiu Yang. Just you wait until I get out..."

Outside, Qiuyang pried open Naruto's eyelids and cast the genjutsu. At last, he breathed a sigh of relief and casually tossed Naruto aside.

Then he controlled Susanoo to guide the high-density Tailed Beast Chakra wrapped around its spear into the vortex-shaped sealing space in its left hand.

That way, the chakra couldn't attach itself to Naruto again.

Once he was done, Qiuyang dispelled Susanoo. He shamelessly rolled around in the water in pain, all the while "fondly" cursing the Nine-Tails.