"I am the great wave that sweeps across the world!!"
Fresh Killing Intent burst forth within Takahashi Yū and poured entirely into his right fist, staining his whole forearm dark red.
The Third Raikage also knew that this younger shinobi before him was about to hit him with something big! Takahashi Yū crouched halfway down to gather power, his arm already so red it was nearly black, while the fists of Killing Intent filling the sky behind him slowly rotated!
The Third Raikage desperately squeezed out the chakra within him as well. Black Lightning filled his right palm, and even his fingertips were slowly vanishing, but he paid it no heed, continuing to compress Black Lightning into his palm with everything he had!
His hand seemed encased in a black shell. The blackness compressed at his fingertips seemed to have begun devouring everything around it! Including the Third Raikage himself!
Takahashi Yū was right. They were staking their lives on this!
Who the hell do you think I am!
I'm Kumogakure's Third Raikage. I'll take you on!!
Driven by his hatred of the Third Raikage, Eight-Tails rushed toward the deep crater and plunged headfirst into Takahashi Yū's Killing Intent field, and things immediately went wrong.
The dark-red, enhanced Murderous Intent Fluctuation burrowed into Eight-Tails' defenseless ox head. Already blinded by rage, Gyuki completely lost his sense of self.
"Rooaaar!!"
Eight-Tails, who had originally intended to fire another Tailed Beast Bomb from outside the crater, flailed his octopus tentacles and leaped inside.
A giant octopus with an ox's head suddenly landed between the Third Raikage and Takahashi Yū, throwing dust into the sky. Under the assault of Killing Intent, the hatred previously directed solely at the Third Raikage turned into indiscriminate attacks.
Takahashi Yū paid no attention to Eight-Tails before him, even though his view was blocked and he had lost his lock on the Third Raikage.
Even with a Tailed Beast reputed to be a calamity between them, he did not change direction, and he believed the Third Raikage would do the same.
Neither would believe that the attack he had charged up was inferior to the other's.
If either lost the courage to clash head-on, it would only prove that his mettle amounted to no more than that!
Feeling the weight of his arm, Takahashi Yū had no idea how much Killing Intent carrying [Dan-Ability] he had accumulated inside it. He had used up almost half his stamina.
Chakra or any other kind of energy, with this enormous amount of [Dan-Ability] Killing Intent backing me up, I'm dealing true damage!!
Now I really can use that name!
With an arm that seemed heavier than his entire body, Takahashi Yū shattered the ground beneath his feet and charged toward the direction he had originally locked onto!!
He turned slightly at the waist, angling his body so that his fist sat behind his shoulder, his arm slightly bent. The immense pressure made even Takahashi Yū's spine creak!
Both unleashed their charged attacks early against Eight-Tails.
The Third Raikage was like a sharp scalpel. Eight-Tails' enormous tentacles did not hinder him in the slightest.
Tailed Beasts were masses of chakra to begin with. Facing Takahashi Yū in this state was like butter meeting a hot knife, and he moved through the octopus tentacles as easily as across level ground.
He sensed the chilling presence rushing toward him from ahead, accompanied by thunder.
Takahashi Yū did not hesitate!
He planted his foot! Twisted his waist! Turned his shoulder!
And threw his fist!!
"Haymaker!!"
"Hell Stab: Black Lightning: One-Finger Nukite!!"
BOOM!!
It all began with a deafening blast, a sound like thunder unleashed in all its might! It pierced the clouds and echoed through the open crater.
Then the ground began to tremble, as though the earth were roaring, the vibrations spreading into every corner!
The two forces erupted in a violent collision within the crater!
They were like two stars colliding in the night sky, releasing unimaginable energy. At that moment, time seemed to freeze, leaving nothing between heaven and earth but that power on the verge of eruption.
"Aaaah!!" ×2
Takahashi Yū's and the Third Raikage's roars mingled with the deafening explosion.
All the fists of Killing Intent filling the sky came crashing down as well!
BANG!!!
From the center of the explosion, a devastating shock wave surged outward like a tsunami, its power enough to destroy everything!
The surrounding air was compressed and distorted, forming a vast vacuum before rapidly expanding again, releasing unparalleled force!
The ground around the crater shook violently beneath the impact, as though struck by an earthquake. Cracks spread rapidly, and rocks and soil were flung high into the air, creating a storm of stone and dust! Trees were uprooted, and the entire scene resembled the end of the world.
Lightning and Killing Intent spewed from the center of the explosion, forming a gigantic sphere whose colors shifted constantly from dark red to deep blue-black, beautiful yet deadly.
The sphere expanded rapidly, devouring everything around it and staining the sky dark red.
Thick smoke rolled and twisted like a colossal black dragon, soaring straight into the clouds. It blotted out the rising sun, shrouding the entire area in darkness and oppression.
The retreating Konoha shinobi, the Cloud Shinobi pursuing Eight-Tails, the Undying Squad, and Danzo, Sakumo, and their group all stared in shock at the crater battlefield where Takahashi Yū and the Third Raikage were, their mouths unconsciously hanging slightly open.
"Go!" Danzo took the lead, guiding everyone toward the crater.
Inside the crater, a pungent smell filled the air-the smell of burning soil, rock, and every combustible substance.
"Rooaaar!!"
Eight-Tails' remaining upper body let out an enormous, agonized wail. Not only his eight octopus tentacles but even his lower body had been obliterated by the attack!
Tailed Beast chakra continually dissipated from the severed section of his abdomen. He had regained consciousness, but in the most painful way possible.
Thud!
His enormous ox head and limp hands all fell to the ground. His gaze unfocused, he let his chakra keep leaking from his abdomen, returning to nature's embrace.
"Cough..."
Takahashi Yū's body suddenly shuddered where he lay on the ground, and he coughed out a mouthful of dust. [Unyielding] went completely dim.
Agonizing pain!
Hunger!
Two equally fierce reactions flooded Takahashi Yū's mind at once, driving him to the brink of madness!
He forcibly suppressed his body's reactions and used what little stamina he had left to raise his upper body, bracing his left hand against the ground to support himself.
He looked around but found no sign of the Third Raikage.
The Third Raikage's One-Finger Nukite had pierced the right side of Takahashi Yū's chest! Dense Black Lightning had burned great swaths of hideous wounds across his body.
Blood slowly flowed from a large, lightning-shaped hole in his chest, while [Physical Body]'s formidable regenerative power stubbornly repaired his body.
Ignoring the wounds being pulled open, Takahashi Yū opened his mouth and laughed.
Neither of the two reckless brutes had spared a thought for blocking the other's attack. His chest had been pierced by the Nukite, but his Haymaker had also struck the Third Raikage's right shoulder socket!
"Haha... cough... hahaha..."
Thud.
Takahashi Yū gave up supporting himself and lay back down on the ground.
"What an... awful laugh..."
The faint words coming from somewhere made Takahashi Yū stop laughing.
The Third Raikage had not been blown away by the explosion. Instead, he had been driven underground not far from Takahashi Yū.
Inside a pit large enough to hold ten people, the Third Raikage no longer even had the strength to open his eyes, and his chakra was severely depleted!
The blood he had coughed up covered his chest. His right hand had been severed cleanly at the forearm, and blood seeped from the charred stump. His own Black Lightning had eroded it away, and piercing Takahashi Yū's body had only accelerated that erosion.
The Third Raikage's right shoulder socket was also deeply caved in near his collarbone. The bones inside had been shattered, and white bone fragments pierced his skin.
The only part of his entire body he could still move was his lips, which shifted with difficulty, filled with the taste of blood!
"Ko... Konoha..."
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