Though in the later stages, when overpowered characters were everywhere, the Tailed Beasts seemed weak.
But in normal times,
every Tailed Beast, fighting at full strength, had at least the power of a Kage at their peak.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have been divided among the villages to maintain the balance of power.
And the Nine-Tails—
even half of it probably had the strength to reach the threshold of Super Kage.
Otherwise, Naruto, with only a Partial Tailed Beast Transformation, wouldn't have been able to make the Six Paths of Pain's fight turn into something completely different...
That was why a Jinchuriki and a Perfect Jinchuriki were two entirely different things!
The gap was even greater than that between an ordinary Kage and one at their peak!
And so,
at that moment, even with only a Partial Tailed Beast Transformation, the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, possessed power close to that of a mid-to-high-level Kage.
His indestructible dark-red Tailed Beast Cloak made him nearly immune to most ninjutsu.
It was practically impossible to break through.
That was why, even though the Kirigakure Ninja were deeply dissatisfied with Yagura's tyranny,
none of them could stand against him.
But at this very moment,
they had never imagined that someone could actually break through the Tailed Beast Cloak's defense and directly sever Yagura's left arm and tail!
Looking at Yagura in the distance, Natsume scoffed.
"You only managed to barely deflect my blade with your claws?"
If not for that,
the last strike would have split him in half.
Instead of only cutting off an arm and a tail.
Still, Jinchuriki were naturally full of vitality, and the Tailed Beast Chakra protected them as well.
The injuries were severe, but probably not enough to kill him.
Sure enough,
before the dust had even settled,
Natsume clearly sensed it.
A much greater mass of chakra was rapidly gathering in the dust.
The next moment, the rapidly condensing, high-density chakra sucked away the dust around it.
The half-transformed Yagura came into view. Just as expected, he was gathering a pitch-black energy sphere in his mouth.
"Not good! It's a [Tailed Beast Bomb]!"
Many of the remaining Kirigakure Ninja nearby cried out in alarm.
This [Tailed Beast Bomb] was no joke.
A Tailed Beast condensed its chakra into a sphere in a certain ratio, creating an attack with tremendous density and energy. Once fired, it could cause enormous destruction and had a vast range!
Any ordinary ninja caught in its blast would almost certainly die.
"Tsk! Firing a [Tailed Beast Bomb] at the entrance to your own village? That's insane!"
Natsume jeered.
Then he glanced at Nichiyo and the others, whom he had protected inside his [Susanoo].
On his own, he could easily dodge a Tailed Beast Bomb.
But then he wouldn't be able to protect Nichiyo and the others, or the unconscious Kirigakure Ninja scattered around them, whose heads were worth tens of millions of ryo.
There was no choice. He'd have to take it head-on!
"Summoning Technique: Triple Rashomon!"
Natsume rapidly formed hand seals and cast the technique.
Just before Yagura launched the Tailed Beast Bomb, three enormous gates of Rashomon rose from the ground.
"Boom! Boom! Boom—"
The three gigantic gates slammed down, forming a barrier in front of Natsume.
At the same time, the Tailed Beast Bomb detonated.
Blinding light swallowed everything in its path,
including the three incredibly sturdy gates of Rashomon.
At the same time, countless Kirigakure Ninja fled in every direction.
With an attack as powerful as that [Tailed Beast Bomb], if they were too slow to escape and got caught in the blast,
they would be reduced to nothing!
Seeing Yagura disregard the village's safety and even use a [Tailed Beast Bomb],
Terumi Mei and the other Kirigakure Ninja were thoroughly disappointed and filled with resentment.
"Elder!" Terumi Mei said.
But faced with the devastating blast of that [Tailed Beast Bomb], she truly didn't know who could withstand it.
"Don't panic. The defenses of Rashomon combined with [Susanoo] won't be easy to break through."
"That Uchiha brat probably isn't dead."
Genji replied calmly.
Still, even he wasn't sure how things would turn out.
Soon, the blinding light faded.
The scene left behind by the Tailed Beast Bomb came into view.
A massive trench, a hundred meters long and dozens of meters wide, stretched out before them.
And the Susanoo Demon God still stood in the same spot.
"Huh? I'm not dead?"
"My eyes hurt. They're so sore..."
Gin lay on the ground, rubbing his eyes as he felt both relief and stinging pain.
He looked like someone who had just escaped death.
When he saw the [Tailed Beast Bomb] coming, swallowing everything in its path, he'd thought he was done for.
But somehow, he had survived!
Soon, he used his ocular prowess to ease the stinging in his eyes.
Then he quickly looked up.
Only then did he see
that all three gates of Rashomon summoned by the Young Clan Head had been blasted to pieces.
And the Young Clan Head's [Susanoo], which had protected them,
had also been torn open by the remaining force of the Tailed Beast Bomb, ripping away its armor and flesh.
Only a skeleton remained to protect them.
The attack had broken through all three gates of Rashomon and stripped away most of Susanoo's defenses. That showed just how terrifying the [Tailed Beast Bomb] had been.
If they'd been fully exposed to that attack, they would have been reduced to nothing!
"Are you all alive?" Natsume asked Nichiyo and the others.
"Alive!"
Tsukihime was the first to get up. She grabbed Nichiyo and Gin, who had been knocked to the ground, and hauled them to their feet.
Elsewhere, Zabuza shielded Haku tightly behind him.
"If you're not dead, get out of here! This fight is beyond you."
"Go around and carry off the unconscious Kirigakure Ninja. Their heads are worth a lot of money!"
Tsukihime rolled her eyes at him, speechless.
Her Young Clan Head really was ruthless!
Even in the middle of a battle like this, he was still thinking about money.
Still, she obediently did as he said.
She immediately led Nichiyo and the others out of [Susanoo's] protection and retreated into the distance.
After Tsukihime and the others had withdrawn,
Natsume turned his gaze back to the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, in the distance.
That [Tailed Beast Bomb] had left him looking rather battered!
He couldn't afford to fool around any longer. He had to finish this quickly!
Natsume stepped forward.
Ocular power and chakra surged out from his body, restoring muscles and armor to Susanoo's skeletal frame and returning it to its second form.
At the same time, boosted by the chakra,
the spirit weapon in his hand, the Kunwu Blade, grew much larger once more.
It reached over thirty meters in length, towering as high as a ten-story building.
Then, brimming with killing intent, he charged straight toward Yagura.
In that instant,
even the enemy who had withstood the [Tailed Beast Bomb] made Yagura feel the threat of death!
This time, he dared not hold back any of his remaining strength.
He let out a roar,
and directly released the restraints on the power of the Three-Tails, Isobu, beginning a Complete Tailed Beast Transformation.
In moments,
a gigantic turtle dozens of meters long, covered in spiked plates and bearing three tails, crashed into view!
The chakra storm it kicked up alone made many of the distant Kirigakure Ninja struggle to stand, nearly forcing them to their knees.
As soon as the fully transformed Three-Tails, Isobu, appeared,
it opened its mouth again.
It was preparing to fire another [Tailed Beast Bomb].
"You're just a little turtle. What are you acting so fierce for?"
"Die!"
Natsume bellowed. How could he let the Three-Tails have another chance to fire a Tailed Beast Bomb?
He swung his blade in a horizontal slash.
A flash of light streaked by.
In an instant, he sliced off half of the Three-Tails' lower jaw, interrupting its [Tailed Beast Bomb] charge.
Then the towering Susanoo swung its fist.
It slammed down hard, striking Isobu's shell.
"Boom—"
The gigantic turtle Isobu let out a howl and was knocked flat on the ground, making the earth around it tremble violently.
And that wasn't the end of it!
Natsume attacked again.
He turned the giant blade in his hand and swung it straight at Isobu's three tails.
"Shing—"
The blade tore through the air. The three enormous tails shot skyward, severed cleanly.
A mighty Tailed Beast was being tossed around as easily as a chick.
The sight was so frenzied that countless Kirigakure Ninja stared in stunned silence, completely at a loss.
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