Sasuke vs. A

Kumogakure.

The battle had spread from the Raikage's office throughout the entire building, then out into the plaza. Half of the newly built office building had already collapsed, and the ground was covered in cracks, craters, scorch marks, and puddles.

The fighting was brutal.

Darui knelt on one knee, gasping heavily. A bone-deep wound ran along his left arm, torn open by Samehada's barbs. Blood had stained half his upper body red, yet he still stared fixedly at Kisame before him.

Kisame was not in much better shape. His right shoulder had been struck by black Lightning Release, leaving the muscles charred and his movements visibly sluggish. Yet he still gripped Samehada steadily, and excitement glinted in his small eyes.

"Your Lightning Release is pretty good." Kisame licked his lips. "But it's not destructive enough."

"Cut the crap." Darui gritted his teeth and rose to his feet, forming hand seals again. "Storm Release: Black Panther!"

A black lightning panther burst from his palm and pounced at Kisame. It was faster than before, and its path was even trickier.

Kisame did not take it head-on. He swung Samehada, and the greatsword twisted as though alive. The barbs along its blade opened up, forming a shield. The lightning panther struck the shield and burst into countless black electric snakes, but Samehada absorbed them all.

"Heh heh, Lightning Release chakra. Tastes pretty good." Kisame bared his teeth in a grin as Samehada gave a satisfied tremor.

Darui's expression darkened further. His Storm Release had been countered—not through elemental superiority, but by that bizarre greatsword, which could absorb chakra. Any ninjutsu attack would be absorbed and converted, only strengthening the enemy instead.

He had to fight at close range.

Darui drew the long sword from his back, black Lightning Release coiling around the blade. He charged at Kisame, every step leaving a scorched footprint on the ground.

Kisame moved as well. Samehada was no longer merely a sword; it had become a combination of hammer, whip, and shield. His swings had no discernible pattern, yet every blow was heavy and powerful, carrying a shrill howl that tore through the air.

Blade struck blade, lightning and spray flying in all directions.

Darui's swordsmanship was exquisite, every slash aimed at Kisame's vital points. But Kisame had far more combat experience. He had survived countless life-and-death battles during his time in the Mist Village ANBU, and sensing killing intent had become instinctive.

The two weaved through the ruins, clashed, separated, then clashed again. Blade light intertwined like fabric, chakra surged like a tide.

Elsewhere, Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin were in even worse straits.

Suigetsu was surrounded by several Cloud Village ninja. His Water Transformation Technique was indeed troublesome, making physical attacks nearly useless. But the Cloud Village ninja were no pushovers—they quickly discovered Suigetsu's weakness.

"Lightning Release: Earth Walk!"

Several ninja formed hand seals simultaneously and channeled Lightning Release chakra into the ground. Blue electric snakes spread across the earth, forming an electric net. Suigetsu screamed as the current pierced his liquefied body, forcing him back into solid form.

"Get him!" a Jonin roared.

Suigetsu gritted his teeth and tried to liquefy again, but the paralysis from the Lightning Release had not fully faded. Just as he was about to be captured, Jugo rushed over.

Jugo had already entered Curse Mark State Two. His skin had turned dark gray, wings had sprouted from his back, and his hands had become claws. His eyes were filled with pure killing intent, his reason suppressed by instinct.

"Die..." Jugo growled, swiping a claw at the nearest Jonin.

The ninja raised his sword to block, but the blade shattered beneath the claw. He was sent flying and slammed into a distant wall, his fate unknown.

"Monster!" The other three Jonin immediately changed targets and surrounded Jugo.

But Jugo in State Two had already reached Quasi-Kage Level. Every attack tore through the air, and every claw could rip apart stone. The ninja facing him barely held on, but defeat was only a matter of time.

Karin took the chance to hide in a relatively intact corner, her eyes behind her glasses fixed tightly on the battlefield. Her sensory ability was fully activated as she constantly monitored Sasuke's chakra fluctuations.

And Sasuke...

"Pwah—"

Sasuke vomited blood again, his body flying backward. He only stopped after smashing through three support pillars. He barely supported himself with the Kusanagi Sword, but the tip of the sword was trembling, his arms were trembling, his entire body was trembling.

Across from him, Fourth Raikage A stood atop the ruins.

A's left hand was gone. It had been cleanly severed at the elbow, and the wound had been cauterized by Lightning Release chakra, stopping the bleeding. Yet he seemed unable to feel pain. His eyes remained locked on Sasuke like a hunter staring at prey he was certain to kill.

Just minutes earlier, Sasuke had made a fatal mistake.

When Kisame had been tied down by Darui and Suigetsu had called for help, Sasuke made his decision—he told Kisame to assist them while he faced the Raikage alone.

He had believed that, with his newly awakened Mangekyō Sharingan, he could fight the Raikage.

He was wrong.

Horribly wrong.

The Raikage's speed surpassed the Sharingan's tracking limit. His strength surpassed Susanoo's defensive limit. And his combat experience surpassed anything Sasuke, a boy who had just turned sixteen, could have imagined.

In their first exchange, Sasuke's Kusanagi Sword was severed by the Raikage's hand blade—not broken, but cut apart at the molecular level. In the second, three of Sasuke's ribs were broken by the Raikage's elbow strike. In the third, Sasuke activated Susanoo, but the Raikage smashed through Susanoo's ribs with his body.

Then came Amaterasu.

Blood streamed from Sasuke's left eye as black flames ignited on the Raikage's left hand. Those were inextinguishable flames that would burn until their target vanished completely.

The Raikage's response filled Sasuke with fear.

There was no hesitation, no scream. The Raikage glanced at his burning left arm, then held the fingers of his right hand together like a blade, Lightning Release chakra condensing into the shape of an edge.

His hand rose, then fell.

He severed his own left arm at the elbow. The burning limb fell to the ground and turned to ash within seconds.

"Brat," the Raikage said in a voice as cold as ice, "you're dead."

Then the battle became a one-sided crushing.

The Raikage gave Sasuke no more chances to use his ocular techniques. His speed rose to the limit as he darted around Susanoo, every attack striking the same spot—Susanoo's chest, where Sasuke's real body was located.

Cracks began to appear in Susanoo's ribs. They spread outward like a spiderweb. Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan spun madly in an attempt to repair them, but its restoration could not keep up with the destruction.

"Break... for me!"

The Raikage's right fist, carrying a lifetime of fury and Lightning Release chakra, slammed into Susanoo's chest.

Crack—

A sharp, unmistakable sound of shattering.

Susanoo's ribs completely broke apart, dispersing into fragments of purple chakra. Sasuke was exposed before the Raikage, blood flowing from his mouth and nose, the light in his Mangekyō Sharingan dimming.

"It's over." The Raikage prepared to kill Sasuke.

At that moment, space twisted.

Obito appeared in the center of the battlefield with the unconscious Killer B slung over his shoulder. His gaze swept over the field, and he understood the situation at once.

Kisame and Darui were still locked in battle, evenly matched.

Suigetsu and Jugo were being surrounded by more and more Cloud Village ninja, while Karin's chakra chains were growing increasingly faint. She would not be able to hold on much longer.

And Sasuke... Susanoo had shattered, his Mangekyō Sharingan bled without stop, and he had only half a life left.

"Retreat." Obito spoke, his voice carrying across the battlefield.

"You think you can leave?!" the Raikage roared, abandoning Sasuke and charging toward Obito.

But Obito merely looked at him, his right eye spinning.

Kamui activated.

It was not aimed at any one person, but a wide-area spatial transfer. Centered on Obito, everyone within a radius of ten meters—Kisame, Sasuke, Suigetsu, Jugo, Karin, and Killer B over Obito's shoulder—began to distort and blur.

"No!" The Raikage's fist passed through Obito's body and struck empty air.

Darui's Storm Release also missed completely.

Five seconds later, the distortion stopped.

The six members of Akatsuki and Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer B had all vanished. Only the devastated battlefield, the broken buildings, and the fury and despair of the Cloud Village ninja remained.

Fourth Raikage A stood amid the ruins. A searing pain throbbed from his severed arm, but it could not compare to the pain in his heart.

He had lost Killer B.

"Killer B..." A dropped to one knee and smashed his right fist into the ground. "I'll bring you back! I swear it!"

The earth shook, and cracks spread outward.

Far away in the Kamui Dimension, Obito placed the unconscious Killer B on the ground, then turned to look at the barely alive Sasuke.

"You were too reckless," Obito assessed. "That isn't how the Mangekyō Sharingan is used."

Sasuke could no longer hear him. He had lost too much blood, his ocular power was exhausted, and his consciousness drifted through darkness.

Karin rushed over, bit open her wrist, and let her blood drip into Sasuke's mouth. The powerful life force of the Uzumaki Clan flowed through the blood, and Sasuke's wounds began to heal slowly.

"Take him to rest," Obito told Kisame. "After we seal the Eight-Tails, I need to speak with him."

Kisame hoisted Sasuke onto his shoulder and grinned. "This brat really does fight like his life depends on it."

Obito did not respond.

The plan was proceeding very smoothly. The Eight-Tails was in hand. Only the Nine-Tails remained.

But Sasuke's condition concerned him somewhat—the Mangekyō Sharingan's consumption was greater than expected, and Sasuke clearly had not yet mastered how to control it. Perhaps it was time to directly transplant Itachi's Sharingan.

He turned and walked toward the unconscious Killer B.

Sealing the Eight-Tails would take time. And over at Konoha, Pain should have already set out.

Behind his mask, Obito's lips curved into a cold smile.

Everything was proceeding according to plan.