The towering waves, pushed to the edge, crashed against the rocky cliffs, shattering into countless water droplets.
Before Ye Zi's blade, the Third Raikage's entire left arm was shattered to pieces. His life force had faded, yet his body remained standing on the water's surface.
He had hoped for a glorious death in battle, to unleash all his remaining strength in his final moments. He did not expect to kill Ye Zi, but at the very least, he had wished to injure him, and yet he had failed.
Ye Zi was completely unharmed, while the Third Raikage perished.
The Cloud ninja watching the scene fell into silent mourning, their hearts heavy with grief and rage.
After killing the Third Raikage, Ye Zi flicked his wrist, intending to cut off a piece of flesh from the corpse to use as a medium for Edo Tensei (Reanimation Jutsu).
However, just as he was about to act, another tentacle lashed out, swiftly snatching away the Third Raikage's body, it was Killer Bee's tentacle.
"Hmm?"
Ye Zi's eyes narrowed slightly. He tried to chase after the body, but another tentacle slapped the water's surface before him, sending up a massive wave of mist, temporarily obscuring his vision.
As the mist settled, Killer Bee's tentacle whipped violently, launching the Third Raikage's corpse into the distant mountains with immense force, as if he had used his full strength.
Just like that, the Third Raikage's corpse was forcefully removed from the battlefield. The Cloud ninja positioned in the mountains safely caught the body.
Watching Killer Bee go to such great lengths to send the Third Raikage's body away, Ye Zi frowned.
Not obtaining the Third Raikage's DNA was unfortunate, but Killer Bee's actions felt deliberat, almost as if he were specifically preventing Ye Zi from acquiring the DNA.
Was he trying to stop him from using the Third Raikage for Edo Tensei?
Even with the subtle clues he had picked up during the battle, Ye Zi couldn't be certain whether his suspicion was correct.
Could it be…?
Had the information Konoha gathered also reached the Cloud ninja?
Ye Zi's furrowed brows slowly relaxed. Now was not the time to dwell on it, his priority was capturing the Eight-Tails. He could think about the rest later.
Killer Bee's decision to secure the Third Raikage's body was indeed influenced by the intelligence Konoha had provided. If Edo Tensei was truly as powerful as described, then allowing the enemy to revive the Third Raikage would be a major disaster.
With the Third Raikage's corpse removed, the unconscious Cloud ninja had also mostly been evacuated.
Now, in the vast Cloud Thunder Gorge, only two remained...
Killer Bee, fully transformed into the Eight-Tails, and his enemy, Ye Zi.
Having expended a significant amount of chakra, Killer Bee's severed tentacles had fully regenerated. Now, he could unleash his strongest technique without hesitation, Tailed Beast Eight Twists!
Though he grieved the Third Raikage's death, there was no time for mourning, he had to kill Ye Zi.
"Let's begin, partner!" Killer Bee said coldly.
"Yeah," the Eight-Tails responded.
Suddenly, the Eight-Tails' massive tentacles coiled tightly around its own body, seamlessly overlapping to completely cover its upper torso.
Seeing this, Ye Zi's instincts flared with warning.
This looked like the prelude to a powerful technique, but it was not in White Zetsu's intelligence report.
As the Eight-Tails wrapped itself in its tentacles, it abruptly began to spin. At first, its rotation was slow, but then it accelerated explosively, spinning like a motorized turbine.
The resulting air currents surged around its massive body, causing the ocean below to churn violently. Water was dragged upward, forming a massive waterspout, stretching toward the star-filled night sky.
Within mere moments, the entire sea within the valley was lifted away, leaving only a deep void, yet the whirlwind grew even stronger.
Even the roots of the trees created by Ye Zi's Wood Release were caught in the wind and torn away. As the last of them vanished into the vortex, the stone platform beneath them crumbled, breaking into rubble and dust.
Then, even the mountain peaks surrounding the gorge began to collapse under the overwhelming force, being ground into fragments and swept into the storm.
In an instant, a colossal tornado had formed, its sheer size encompassing the entire valley.
Stone, sand, tree roots and water all were caught in the violent rotation, creating a curtain of debris that completely obscured visibility.
The Cloud ninja who had retreated to a safe distance could only stare in stunned silence at the massive tornado dominating the gorge.
The debris-filled storm blocked their vision, preventing them from seeing Ye Zi's situation inside.
The fierce winds buffeted their faces, causing clothes to whip violently in the air.
In their hearts, they all hoped, that Killer Bee's ultimate move would deal a decisive blow to Ye Zi.
A clenched his fist tightly, his gaze flickering toward the lifeless body of the Third Raikage, lying on the ground.
In a deep voice, he commanded, "If Killer Bee fails, we will stop at nothing to kill Ye Zi. Do you understand?"
The Third Raikage's final order was clear, no matter the cost, Ye Zi must die.
With that, A ordered one of the Cloud ninja to escort the Third Raikage's body back to the Hidden Cloud Village.
According to Konoha's intelligence they absolutely could not allow Ye Zi to obtain the Third Raikage's DNA, otherwise, it could be used for Edo Tensei.
The Tailed Beast Eight Twists raged on for more than ten seconds before it finally slowed down.
Everything caught in the air currents, including all the seawater, had been flung high into the sky, disappearing into parts unknown.
Now, Cloud Thunder Gorge had become a barren wasteland of exposed earth.
At its center stood the colossal form of the Eight-Tails, and beside it, another figure, just as enormous.
A massive entity, standing equal to the Eight-Tails in size, had appeared within the The Valley of Clouds and Lightning.
The Cloud ninja, who had already been shocked by the devastating effects of the Eight-Tails' attack, were now utterly stunned by the massive figure standing opposite the Eight-Tails.
Today, it felt as though their minds had gone numb, one shocking scene after another had continuously shattered their perception of reality.
The colossal figure facing the Eight-Tails was a massive wooden warrior, clad in a full-body wooden suit of armor. Its head was encased in a layered, semi-enclosed wooden helmet, with only two vacant, soulless eyes visible.
Due to its sheer size, even though Ye Zi's control over Wood Release was impressive, he could not carve intricate details into something so massive. The overall form was complete, but it lacked the realism needed to make it indistinguishable from a living entity.
Seeing this gigantic armored wooden warrior, the Eight-Tails froze, even the Tailed Beast Eightfold Whirlwind couldn't harm Ye Zi?
And this wooden giant… It was putting immense pressure on him.
Wood Release: Susanoo!
At this critical moment, Ye Zi expended a tremendous amount of chakra to unleash this technique, successfully withstanding the Tailed Beast Eight Twists.
Since Ye Zi had only awakened a single Mangekyō Sharingan, he was unable to use the real Susanoo. Instead, this Wood Release technique was a replica, created to mimic the power of Susanoo.
The true essence of Susanoo was a manifested chakra construct, boasting incredible defensive capabilities. Similarly, Wood Release Susanoo was also a physical manifestation, though its defensive strength was inferior to the original. However, since it was formed using Sage Chakra, the gap between the two wasn't too significant.
If there was a key difference between them, it would likely be agility.
Ye Zi raised the right arm of the Wood Release Susanoo, and in an instant, a blinding black lightning glow erupted from its palm, forcefully shaping itself into the form of a massive long blade.
However, the edges of the blade flickered and trembled unstably, as if barely holding their form, controlling it was proving to be extremely difficult.
This long blade, seemingly forged from black lightning, radiated a sinister aura. Merely looking at it caused a faint stinging sensation in the eyes, making it appear exceedingly dangerous.
Killer Bee and the Cloud ninja stared at the colossal wooden warrior and its black lightning blade.
They were not yet in despair, but a deep unease was beginning to spread throughout their bodies.
At the forehead of the Wood Release Susanoo, Ye Zi stood.
"Chakra's is running low, I must finish this quickly and escape." Ye Zi thought silently.
Gripping the black lightning-forged long blade, he charged directly at the Eight-Tails.
He had to end this battle in three moves.
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Currently on Chapter 568 - If He Never Defected...