Raikage vs. Eight-Tails

After the Raikage left, Tsunade thought of Kato Dan and the others, and an ominous feeling rose in her heart. After getting her bearings, she quickly rushed toward their agreed meeting place.

However, when Tsunade arrived at the rendezvous point, there was no one there. Judging from the traces at the scene, a battle had taken place here as well.

Had they been watched from the very beginning?

A chill ran through Tsunade. She shook her head. Now was not the time to think about that. Her top priority was finding Dan and the others.

Several kilometers from the rendezvous point, two figures were fighting. One of them appeared to have suffered a severe abdominal injury and was barely holding on.

These two were precisely the people Tsunade was searching for. One was her lover, and the other was a temporary teammate, yet for some reason, they were now fighting each other.

"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu."

Kawaki took a light breath, gathering chakra in his throat before spewing it from his mouth in the blink of an eye. It instantly swelled into a massive fireball.

The fireball was fast, but still within Kato Dan's reaction time. However, the injury to his abdomen severely hindered his movements. Knowing he could not evade it, Kato Dan rapidly formed hand seals.

"Earth Release: Earth-Flow Rampart."

A raised earthen wall blocked the fireball head-on, erupting with a tremendous explosion.

The blast carried far. Tsunade seemed to sense something and quickly rushed toward its source. At the same time, Kime Kouta, approaching from another direction, also noticed the disturbance in the distance and hurried over.

"Oh my, oh my. You've nearly bled dry, yet you still have the strength to use ninjutsu. How dangerous, how dangerous. I really can't let my guard down."

That flippant tone made him seem like an entirely different person from the original Kawaki.

Kato Dan said fiercely, "Who the hell are you? What do you want?!"

"Can't tell you, can't tell you. If you find out, that person will get angry."

Kato Dan knew he would get nothing out of questioning him. What mattered now was preserving his life and getting the information out.

But the man pressed him step by step, not giving Kato Dan the slightest opportunity.

Kato Dan had tried countless methods, yet he still could not break free. It seemed he would die here today. I'm so unwilling... I haven't become Hokage yet, and I haven't given Tsunade happiness. I'm really unwilling!

But I would not give up that easily!

Kato Dan's gaze changed. Betting everything on one desperate move, he rapidly formed hand seals. "Spirit Transformation Technique."

"Kawaki" watched Kato Dan's movements with a hint of schadenfreude, making no move to stop him. Then he seemed to notice something and said in surprise, "Oh my, things ended over there so quickly? They even found this place. Looks like I need to hurry."

As he spoke, "Kawaki" ignored Kato Dan, who was using the Spirit Transformation Technique, and charged at him while rapidly forming hand seals. "Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs Technique."

In his spiritual form, Kato Dan ignored the limits of distance, instantly crossing the gap between them and plunging into Kawaki's body.

But to his surprise, even inside Kawaki's body, he still could not control him. At the same time, he sensed another consciousness within Kawaki. Kawaki really was being controlled!

There was no time to think further. The enemy was already charging toward his original body, and a body that had used the Spirit Transformation Technique had no defenses at all. It was the perfect target.

But just as he was about to act, he heard that "Kawaki" was actually preparing to use Wood Release!

His mind trembled, and he hesitated for a moment. By the time he returned to his body and opened his eyes again, it was already too late to evade the piercing Wood Release.

With a sharp hiss, wooden spikes pierced through his body. The spikes embedded within him absorbed chakra from his body and rapidly branched and grew. In the blink of an eye, they burst through his skin and completely impaled him!

"Wood Release? Who are you?"

"Ah, you found out. So I can only kill you now." The utterly ordinary tone left Kato Dan dazed, while a chill swept over him.

His consciousness gradually blurred before sinking into bottomless darkness!

"I need to clean up the scene quickly. It would be troublesome if anyone found out." The fake "Kawaki" muttered to himself, his hands never stopping. In just a few motions, he dug out Kato Dan's organs that had been pierced through by Wood Release. After tidying the scene, he formed hand seals. "Earth Mayfly Technique."

"Kawaki's" body rapidly sank down, disappearing beneath the earth in an instant.

Tsunade and Kime Kouta arrived at the scene from two directions almost simultaneously. But when they got there, they saw only Kato Dan lying on the ground, blood flowing everywhere and staining a vast stretch of land red.

At the sight of Dan lying there, Tsunade's body swayed violently. Her ears rang, and the blood before her eyes turned everything crimson.

Like a madwoman, she fell to her knees before Kato Dan's corpse. She pushed the Mystical Palm Technique to its absolute limit, hoping to restore his body.

But Kato Dan's injuries were far too severe. Even with Tsunade's medical skills, she could not heal him.

Kime Kouta looked around. The battlefield had been cleaned thoroughly, leaving almost no clues behind. Moreover, they were deep behind Hidden Cloud Village's lines, hardly a safe place to remain.

Kime Kouta stepped forward and grabbed Tsunade. "It's useless. He's already dead."

"No, I have to bring him back. Dan can't die yet. He said he would live on."

"He's already dead. His organs were blown out. He can't be saved."

Kime Kouta did not waver. Such things were far too common in the Shinobi World. On the battlefield, it was either you died or I lived. Anything could happen.

In this war, Leaf Village had already lost a great number of shinobi. Even in the recent conflicts alone, dozens, perhaps hundreds, of shinobi had died!

This was the reality of the Shinobi World, cruelly devouring human lives.

Tsunade's entire body trembled at his words, then went limp. As though she had lost her very soul, she allowed Kime Kouta to support her as they left. Before leaving, she sealed Kato Dan's body inside a sealing scroll and took it with them.

Hidden Cloud Village, Lightning Country

The Eight-Tails, Gyūki, was a giant ox with octopus-tentacle tails. It was a Tailed Beast formed from one of the nine portions of chakra the Sage of Six Paths had split from the Ten-Tails. Its enormous body stood around a hundred meters tall, and its violent temperament filled everyone who saw it with terror.

At that moment, the massive Eight-Tails was frenziedly destroying everything in sight. Its eight tentacles lashed wildly, sweeping away all that lay before it.

The Third Raikage, who had been transported through the Heavenly Sending Technique, had only just recovered from the paralysis when he saw the Eight-Tails sweep a Hidden Cloud Village shinobi away with one of its tentacles. At the same time, a gigantic Tailed Beast Bomb was gathering before it, visibly at least twenty or thirty meters wide.

If it landed in the village, the entire village would likely be destroyed.

With an angry roar, the Raikage did not have time to rest. He activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode, concentrating Lightning Release chakra throughout his body as lightning coiled around him, forming a suit of Lightning Release Armor.

The Lightning Release Armor shone with a vivid purple glow. Clearly, the Raikage had developed Lightning Release Chakra Mode to an incredibly profound level.

"Hell Stab: Two-Finger Nukite."

The Raikage opened with Two-Finger Nukite. He stomped the ground and shot forth like a cannonball, slamming into the Eight-Tails' neck.

"Roar!" A wave of agonizing pain hit the Eight-Tails where its neck had been struck. Its head uncontrollably toppled toward the outskirts of the village, and the Tailed Beast Bomb it had been gathering was abruptly interrupted, howling as it crashed into a distant mountain peak.

With a thunderous boom, the entire mountain exploded, unleashing a tsunami-like shockwave. Vast clouds of dust spread with the blast, making it impossible to see what had happened.

The rampaging Eight-Tails completely ignored the pain. Its huge bovine eyes locked onto the Raikage who had inflicted such agony upon it. Its tentacles whipped down like lightning, smashing toward him, while another Tailed Beast Bomb began to gather in its mouth.

Although he sensed that something was strange about the Eight-Tails, the situation gave the Raikage no time to consider it. He once again concentrated a massive amount of chakra into his fingers.

"One-Finger Nukite."

The Raikage decided to hold nothing back and give it everything he had.

Like an enraged bull, the Raikage charged straight at the Eight-Tails. He had no intention of dodging its tentacles, enduring their terrifying attacks head-on as he engaged the Eight-Tails in a brutal close-quarters brawl.

The two fighters were like gladiators, battling in the most primitive way possible. Their fists struck flesh with every blow, and for a time, he actually fought the Eight-Tails to a standstill!

As the battle continued, the Raikage realized that something about this situation was unusual. The Eight-Tails had completely gone berserk, showing not the slightest sign of being able to communicate.

But the village was behind him. The Raikage knew he could not retreat. He could only find a way to defeat the Eight-Tails, or be defeated by it!

He could not lose!

The battle began in daylight and continued until nightfall. Thunderous impacts echoed throughout the village, leaving Hidden Cloud Village's residents trembling in fear while also feeling reassured.

The Third Raikage, A, truly was their Raikage. He truly was Hidden Cloud Village's strongest!

No, perhaps the Raikage was the strongest in the entire Shinobi World?!

From the shadows nearby, Orochimaru watched the battle between the Raikage and the Eight-Tails. He too was somewhat stunned, feeling a deep sense of wariness.

Orochimaru muttered, "Third Raikage A... what an unimaginably powerful and sturdy body!"

Orochimaru had seen it with his own eyes. The Raikage had actually endured the Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb with his body alone and emerged completely unscathed!

However, as the battle dragged on, the Raikage's speed and strength showed no signs of weakening, but his breathing grew increasingly heavy. Even from a distance, Orochimaru could clearly hear his labored breaths.

But the Eight-Tails was in even worse condition. All eight of its octopus tentacles had long since been severed and lay scattered in the distance, yet it still showed no intention of stopping. It continued to stare fixedly at the Raikage before it.

"I didn't expect the old man to have something this good." Orochimaru looked at the empty bottle in his hand and muttered to himself.

It had originally contained a genjutsu pill he had obtained from his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi. He had not expected it to work so well. Even now, the Eight-Tails showed no sign of waking up.

As the battle continued, the fight between the Raikage and the Eight-Tails entered its final stage.

The Third Raikage's stamina was like a bottomless abyss, as though he could not feel fatigue at all. There was not even the slightest wound visible on his body!

But the Eight-Tails had reached the end of its strength.

"One-Finger Nukite!"

The Raikage had no idea how many times he had already used it. His consciousness was gradually growing hazy, but he should still be able to fight.

Gathering chakra, he once again concentrated Lightning Release chakra into his fingers and unleashed his strongest strike.

However, this time, the Lightning Release Armor suddenly flickered and vanished.

Deep darkness swept over him. With a trace of unwillingness, the Raikage slowly collapsed.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the Eight-Tails' enormous body fall to the ground at the same time, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"It's down! The Eight-Tails is down! Lord Raikage defeated the Eight-Tails!"

"Quick, let's go over there! I can't sense Lord Raikage's chakra anymore." A sensory shinobi urged them anxiously.

"Right, hurry!"

Orochimaru watched the Raikage and the Eight-Tails collapse together, the corner of his eye twitching uncontrollably. He gave a sinister chuckle.

"What a pity. Then I'll finish you off right here." Orochimaru drew his sword and thrust it toward the Raikage.

But to his surprise, the tip merely pierced the Raikage's skin and did not cause him any real harm!

Orochimaru frowned. He had not expected the Raikage's body to be so hard. Even unconscious, he still could not be harmed in the slightest!

There was no time. He could not let the people of Hidden Cloud Village discover him. Orochimaru stared at the Raikage for a moment, let out a breath, and did not hesitate further. He went to the Eight-Tails, raised his sword, and cut off one of its horns before swiftly leaving.

When the Hidden Cloud Village shinobi arrived, they found the Raikage and the tentacleless Eight-Tails lying face-to-face on the ground. Not far away, the Eight-Tails' tentacles were scattered everywhere.

A medical shinobi immediately stepped forward and examined him before saying, "Lord Raikage is fine. He has only one electrical burn and merely fainted from exhaustion."

Everyone let out a long sigh of relief. But then they thought of it again: Lord Raikage truly was powerful. He had actually knocked the Eight-Tails unconscious!

After all, Lord Raikage had traveled thousands of kilometers in continuous battle, fighting different powerful opponents with almost no rest in between!

He had defeated the Eight-Tails without injury!

"Lord Raikage is like a warrior from ancient times who possessed the Strongest Spear and the Strongest Shield, invincible in battle and unstoppable in attack."

"Strongest Spear!"

"Strongest Spear!"

"Strongest Shield!"

"Strongest Shield!"

A few days later, the Raikage awoke from his coma, while the titles of Strongest Spear and Strongest Shield had already spread throughout the Shinobi World, striking fear into countless hearts!