The shinobi of Kumogakure had no idea what had just happened.
Killer B had abruptly ended his concert, announcing with a grin that there'd be another show tomorrow at the same time and place.
With the Fourth Raikage currently away from the village, B had no restraints. Until A reappeared, B would hold as many concerts as his fans demanded—no matter how many.
After wrapping things up, B quickly left the center of Kumogakure and dashed toward the Valley of Clouds and Lightning at top speed.
And, just as he expected, the ones targeting him kept up with him.
A glint off his sunglasses signaled bad news. B clicked his tongue, sensing a serious fight was coming.
"These guys ain't like the last losers... Damn fools. Bakayarō, konoyarō."
Not long ago, two cocky shinobi had tried to ambush him. They'd boasted about capturing the Eight Tails and even discussed going easy on him so they wouldn't accidentally kill him outright.
Naturally, both had ended up dead—taken out by none other than the great Killer B himself, with his ultimate Lariat technique.
But this time was different. B could tell just from their chakra.
These weren't opponents your average Kumogakure ninja could handle. He couldn't let the battle spill into the village and cause unnecessary casualties.
[Eight Tails: B! Be careful. The one ahead of you... he's like you. A Jinchūriki!]
Gyūki could clearly sense the chakra of the Three Tails—but there was something else mixed in too.
So he didn't immediately tell B which Tailed Beast it was. He needed to confirm it first.
Not that B needed the heads-up.
The moment B landed on the rocky platform of the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, his pursuers touched down behind him.
As he turned and caught sight of them clearly, B's face shifted to one of shock and wariness.
"Mizukage."
And... in his hand, the familiar figure of a girl dangled. A girl B knew well.
Yugito's opponent was right in front of him. And strangely, B wasn't even surprised.
"So... Yugito lost."
Yagura pulled down his hood, revealing his face.
"Yo. Nice to meet you, Killer B of the Eight Tails."
There was no time to wonder why the Mizukage wasn't attending the Five Kage Summit.
One thing was clear—they weren't here for a friendly visit. B's situation was dangerous as hell.
"Bakayarō, konoyarō..."
B glanced at the two shinobi standing beside Yagura. Just from their chakra, he could tell—they were no pushovers either.
It probably wasn't likely, but B still asked,
"Not long ago, two weaklings tried to capture me and the Eight Tails. You guys know anything about that?"
Definitely not Akatsuki under Yahiko. That meant only one other group would be crazy enough to try.
Yagura waved a hand dismissively.
"That was Uchiha Obito's team. Nothing to do with us."
Obito, even after failing to recruit Nagato, hadn't given up. He went and started his own organization.
Yagura knew about it, but didn't bother interfering.
That group Obito threw together lacked Nagato's trio, lacked Kakuzu, Kisame—no top-tier combatants at all. Even Sunagakure had more elite forces.
Instead, Obito had scraped together a bunch of rogue elite jōnin. Not exactly Tailed Beast-capturing material.
Obito and White Zetsu were like moles—hard to dig out. And with their current lack of strength, they wouldn't dare show their faces in Kirigakure. If they did, Yagura would've taken the chance to wipe them out long ago.
"Uchiha Obito? Never heard of him."
"Doesn't matter. Not important."
Yagura locked eyes with B.
"If you're willing to come to Kirigakure as a guest, I'll even let you throw concerts. How about it?"
It was a tempting offer. B paused, seriously considering it.
"Tempting... real tempting."
The sharp sound of seven swords unsheathing cut through the air. The blades caught the light as they soared skyward.
Then came crashing down.
"But this bro's gotta say—no thanks!"
Mouth, neck, elbows... B wielded his seven swords with dazzling agility, every joint a weapon.
Add his own Lariat blade to the mix—this was the full power of Killer B, the man known as the Eight-Blade Killer B!
...
"Well, that's the end of negotiations."
Not that Yagura had expected any other outcome. B and the Fourth Raikage were like brothers.
Yagura gave a small nod, signaling Shisui and Utakata to fall back.
He stepped forward, lifting his signature Water Blade. In the same moment, a layer of chakra cloaked his body—the Tailed Beast Coat flaring to life.
B was taken aback by how fast he entered Tailed Beast Mode.
"Using that right from the start? He's going for a quick finish."
Can't blame him. When you sneak into enemy territory to take out a Jinchūriki, dragging it out is the worst idea.
Guess he had no choice but to go all in.
[Killer B: Let's go, Eight Tails!]
[Eight Tails: B! If we get the chance, let's run. Yugito lost—those two are the Three Tails and the Six Tails! Odds aren't good!]
[Killer B: I know! B—outta here!!]
"Beeeeeee!"
Cloaked in chakra, Killer B charged straight at Yagura.
Hand-to-hand with B's bizarre seven-blade fighting style could overwhelm anyone. Yagura leapt back immediately and countered with a jutsu first.
B lunged forward but missed—Yagura had already slipped away. As B landed, water blades filled his vision, rushing at him from all directions.
He stomped the ground and sprang into the air. His body twisted mid-flight like a human cannonball, tumbling wildly—but the seven swords flashed outward with precise strikes, slicing the incoming water blades clean through.
The jutsu failed to trap him. B crashed down toward Yagura and spun, unleashing an incredible acrobatic strike.
Seven blades stabbed toward Yagura like a whirlwind of steel.
And they found their mark.
Yagura dissolved into a splash of water—then a kick launched from the liquid, slamming into Killer B's broad chest and shoulder.
The heavy blow sent B soaring through the air. Laced with a mix of Lightning and Water Release chakra, the attack paralyzed him for a split second, disrupting the motion of his arm just as he was about to hurl a blade.
Even so, just before being launched, B had managed to use the tails of his Tailed Beast Cloak to snatch back two of his blades.
Yagura immediately raised his hand and fired a Water Bullet straight at the airborne B, who had no room to dodge mid-air.
But B met the challenge head-on, lashing out with one of his retrieved blades.
BOOM!
The deafening crash echoed through the ravine.
His blade shattered under the force, but not before blocking the water shot—buying B just enough time to evade.
Gotta draw the Mizukage away first! Then grab Yugito and get outta here with my octo-legs!
His thoughts were clear. With the Fourth Raikage absent from the village, only he and Yugito could stand against the invading Mizukage.
Rescue Yugito. Get her to safety and let her heal. Then they'd fight again.
"Bee—!!"
Twisting agilely mid-air despite his bulky frame, B spun several times, then hurled a blade charged with powerful Lightning Release straight at Yagura.
"!"
Yagura had braced for close-quarters combat, never expecting this sudden ranged assault.
The blade's tip, crackling with lightning, rushed at him like a thunderbolt falling from the sky.
Yagura reacted instantly—his tail struck the ground as he twisted his body aside, narrowly dodging the strike. The blade grazed past him.
Then, his hand shot out and clenched the hilt of the blade—
The force of the impact yanked Yagura backward, hurling him out of the Valley of Clouds and Lightning.
The Tailed Beast Cloak on his left arm was torn away by the violent lightning, scattering in sparks. B had put his full strength into that attack.
Elsewhere, on a mountain ridge, Yagura slammed into the ground, carving a deep trench that hissed with steam from searing heat.
Skidding to a halt, Yagura closed his eyes—feeling the air distort from B's descent, noting the wind's disruption, its direction, its speed.
His left arm, its skin and muscle scorched and bare, was once again cloaked in the power of his Tailed Beast.
Eyes snapped open—Yagura spun and hurled a lightning-charged blade with force.
"Here, take it back!"
The iron blade crumbled in mid-air, unable to withstand another round of lightning.
But chakra turned the fragments into a javelin of pure energy—a lightning spear—that shot back into the gorge and pierced Killer B mid-fall.
B vanished in a burst of electrical light.
No... that wasn't him.
Utakata and Shisui had been on guard, but B's pre-planned move came faster than either of them expected.
Two waterfalls of ink cascaded from the sky.
Ink clones, forged from chakra, tackled and pinned both of them down.
The real B lunged in low, catching Yugito as she fell from Utakata's grip.
In mid-air, the gazes of two perfect Tailed Beast jinchūriki locked for a brief moment.
(Though B was still wearing his sunglasses.)
Utakata's Six-Tails chakra quickly melted the ink restraints. But B didn't stick around—he slung Yugito over his shoulder and darted out of the gorge.
By the time Yagura returned, B was long gone.
Looking at the two Kage-level shinobi who had just freed themselves from the ink, Yagura grinned slightly.
"Bit too easy, wasn't it?"
...
Elsewhere, once the tension drained from his body, B immediately sensed something was off.
But his goal was accomplished. This really was Yugito—her body bore no explosive tags, and she wasn't wounded. Just unconscious.
He jostled her body, trying to rouse her the old-fashioned way.
"Oi! Wake up, Yugito!"
His mind kept circling around the odd feeling—but he couldn't figure out what part of this was a trap.
Everything looked fine.
—Shhk!
A sharp blade tore into his back—ripping through flesh and smashing into bone.
A metal claw punctured Killer B's body.
The blue flames of the Two-Tails surged into his body from the wound, burning from the inside out.
[Gyūki: Bee!]
Instinctively, B swung his tails and flung Yugito away from him.
But the searing pain from his wound stole his strength, forcing him to one knee. Blood bubbled from his throat.
Flick!
Yagura and the others had no trouble finding him—thanks to the fake Yugito's chakra signature. Now they surrounded B on three sides.
Clutching his bleeding wound, B looked up—and saw Yugito's eyes open. Lifeless. Empty.
He understood immediately.
"Genjutsu."
He hadn't wanted to believe it. How could a perfect jinchūriki like Yugito, aided by the Two-Tails, be trapped by Genjutsu?
But the truth was right in front of him.
His head lowered, fists clenched in bitterness.
"We lost."
No point complaining about cheap tricks. In the world of shinobi, victory always goes to the one who seizes the moment—by any means.
Third-sama... Big Bro...
Utakata stepped forward, clearly following Yagura's cue.
But just as he moved—
B exploded with massive amounts of Tailed Beast chakra! Utakata had to halt instantly—he couldn't get any closer.
"You think I'd go down like that?!"
Eight massive octopus tails surged forth, wrapping around B, his body swelling with power.
"B—!"
His cry was drowned in the roaring eruption of the Eight-Tails!
"ROAR!!!"
Shisui squinted. Killer B was smarter and more cautious than Yugito—he had been careful not to look them directly in the eyes from the start.
Utakata glanced at Yagura in alarm, remembering the need to keep their movements covert.
"Mizukage-sama!"
A blur moved.
Yagura became a jet of water, surging into the storm of sand and chakra stirred up by the emerging Tailed Beast.
In an instant, a chakra force even stronger than the Eight-Tails broke through B's defenses and pinned him to the ground!
Even Gyūki—inside B—was stunned.
The one restraining him was... Isobu?
Sure, B was heavily wounded, his chakra disrupted—but this?
It shouldn't have been possible.
As if reading his thoughts, Isobu lightly patted his three tails and said,
"Well, in his words—'They buffed me. Go get 'em!'"
So he did. And now Gyūki was stuck.
Gyūki: "…Hmph. Are you gonna kill B?"
Isobu: "No clue. You know how it is. We Tailed Beasts? We don't do 'mercy'."
Gyūki: "…"
...
In the physical world, Killer B lay motionless.
No trick. No octopus clone. This was the real B.
Yagura stepped back and lowered his foot.
"Okay. Eight-Tails secured."
Of the nine Tailed Beasts—excluding Shukaku in Sunagakure, and the Four and Five-Tails in Iwagakure, plus the Seven-Tails in Takigakure—the rest were now in his grasp.
With Konoha and Kumogakure, the two strongest threats, taken out of play, there was little reason for Ōnoki to ally with his enemies.
Yagura glanced toward Shisui, who wore a neutral expression, staring in Konoha's direction.
Ever the thoughtful elder brother, Yagura asked,
"Thinking about the Leaf? Or thinking about revenge on Danzō?"
Shisui was quiet for a while before answering calmly, "Both."
Danzō had stolen his eyes, wiped out his clan, and shattered any faith he had left in Konoha. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want revenge.
But he hadn't lost his reason.
He'd fled the village with Sasuke years ago. Now, after ten long years, the day of reckoning was close.
A little longer wouldn't hurt.
Seeing Shisui's clarity, Yagura nodded with approval.
"Good. That's what I like to hear from a dependable kid."
Utakata, watching from the side, couldn't help but roll his eyes internally.
"Utakata."
"Y-Yes, sir!" he answered, startled at being caught spacing out.
"Take these two back via Bubble Transport."
"Yes! Right away!"
Yagura gave Utakata a long, odd look, making the younger ninja stiffen with embarrassment.
But he didn't press it. This wasn't the first time a subordinate had zoned out in front of him.
Handing the job to the ever-reliable Utakata, Yagura turned his gaze southwest, toward the Land of Iron.
His mission was a complete success. Time to escort both jinchūriki back to Kirigakure.
He would personally oversee the next series of moves.
Now, all that was left was to see the outcome of the Five Kage Summit.
Hopefully, Kisame and the others would make it out in one piece.
No unexpected trouble.
----------------
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