"Big Brother!"
Seeing the Fourth Raikage fall to the ground with serious injuries, Killer Bee screamed frantically and rushed to the Fourth Raikage without hesitation, wanting to check on his brother's injuries.
Fortunately, the Third Hokage did not stop Killer Bee this time. With the Fourth Raikage seriously injured, this war provoked by Kumogakure could finally be over. The Third Hokage hoped the Land of Fire could emerge victorious and establish diplomacy with the Land of Lightning, rather than seek to exterminate Kumogakure.
Following Killer Bee, Chao Yanqian ran forward as well, and the Third Hokage asked with concern: "How are you? Are you okay?"
Chao Yanqian nodded slightly and said, "I'm okay. Although I used a lot of chakra, it's enough to deal with the remaining Kumogakure shinobi."
After seeing the Fourth Raikage's left chest pierced, Chao Yanqian immediately abandoned his previous reluctance to deal too harshly with Kumogakure.
The Fourth Raikage was unconscious. Aside from Killer Bee, Kumogakure had no other Kage-level powerhouses left on the battlefield. At this point, if the Fourth Raikage were to die and Kumogakure's forces were eliminated, it would serve Konoha's best interests.
Chao Yanqian believed that after this battle, Konoha's feat of defeating Kumogakure with the power of one village would silence the entire shinobi world. The Land of Fire might even be able to annex territory from the Land of Lightning, further expanding its domain.
"Chao Yanqian! The war must end here. What the shinobi world needs is peace and our village needs peace, too!" the Third Hokage said seriously, looking at Chao Yanqian with a solemn expression.
"Only a strong nation can have peace, isn't that right?" Chao Yanqian said disapprovingly. "Hokage-sama, look at the Land of Hot Water. They didn't participate in the Great Ninja War, yet their country was still ravaged by us."
"Yanqian! Do you understand what will happen if we wipe out Kumogakure? The other major villages will unite against Konoha. Right now, Konoha doesn't have the strength to fight a coalition of the Great Shinobi Villages do you understand?" the Third Hokage said earnestly.
"Well... you're the Hokage. I'll listen to you," Chao Yanqian nodded, no longer arguing with the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage's words brought Chao Yanqian back to his senses. He had indeed become a little intoxicated by his recent surge in power.
Especially in this battle, where Chao Yanqian had nearly controlled the entire tide of the fight by himself, this accomplishment had slowly inflated his ego and blinded him to some fundamental truths.
Even in wars from his previous life, strategy emphasized alliances and balancing threats. If Konoha really destroyed Kumogakure now, and Chao Yanqian showed too much power, the other villages would likely unite to oppose Konoha. After all, none of them wanted to meet the same fate as Kumogakure.
This line of thinking was dangerously similar to Danzo's, and Chao Yanqian couldn't help but shake his head with a bitter smile,he still had much to learn.
In his previous life, Chao Yanqian had not been a politician or military strategist. His understanding of international relations came only from books, the internet, and television. But governing a country required more than superficial knowledge. It demanded true experience and insight.
Everyone's energy is limited. Chao Yanqian had decided to focus on developing his own strength, so he naturally wouldn't spend time learning how to manage a village.
Fortunately, he never desired the position of Hokage in the first place. Otherwise, if he had joined the power struggle for Hokage or worse, become Hokage,he would have had much less time to focus on studying ninjutsu.
"That being said... I'm afraid the Fourth Raikage..." Chao Yanqian glanced at the unconscious Raikage and said hesitantly.
The Third Hokage glanced at Chao Yanqian in surprise. It was rare for Chao Yanqian to be so obedient today. But after hearing his words, the Hokage turned his head to look at the Fourth Raikage, only to see the Raikage's own right hand lodged into his left shoulder, with blood flowing uncontrollably.
"This... how did this happen?" the Third Hokage asked in shock.
The injury was bizarre. How could anyone hurt themselves like that?
This was a rookie mistake one you might see from an academy student. But this man was the Raikage of Kumogakure! How could a Kage-level ninja be injured by his own jutsu?
"Let's talk about that later we've got a problem!" Chao Yanqian said, noticing the surge of the Eight-Tails' chakra erupting from Killer Bee. He turned to the Third Hokage and said, "Hokage-sama, leave this to me!"
The Third Hokage nodded and said, "Be careful!"
With those words, he vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.
The larger war could be left to the Third Hokage. With his leadership, the Konoha shinobi would surely repel the remaining Kumogakure forces. But if the Eight-Tails went on a rampage, Konoha would suffer major losses.
After all, Killer Bee was a jinchūriki capable of controlling his tailed beast. Even in full transformation, he retained control over his will.
"Fool! Ya fool! I'm going to kill you!" Killer Bee roared, red chakra bubbling from his body. As he howled toward the sky, his body began to transform dramatically.
A bull-like head, two large brown horns,one cracked glowing white eyes, massive arms, and a hulking body with eight enormous tails behind him. With the Fourth Raikage critically wounded and unconscious, Killer Bee finally lost control and unleashed the power of the Eight-Tails.
"The Eight-Tails! This is my first time seeing it like this!" Chao Yanqian said with interest.
He looked the Eight-Tails up and down, focusing on the broken horn, it seemed that this horn had once ended up in Orochimaru's hands.
Thinking of this, Chao Yanqian grinned. Now, he finally had a chance to obtain the Eight-Tails' chakra! Although he would likely need to make a deal with Orochimaru, his own strength had grown to the point where Orochimaru no longer posed a threat.
In this battle, he could claim the Eight-Tails' chakra. However, since the Eight-Tails could freely communicate with Killer Bee, it might reveal the secret behind the tailed beast chakra if captured.
Despite being in tailed beast mode, Killer Bee hadn't lost control. Ignoring Chao Yanqian's curious gaze, Bee summoned several members of Kumogakure's ANBU and ordered them to bring the Fourth Raikage back to camp.
"Lord Bee, what about you...?" one ANBU asked worriedly.
"I'm going to kill that guy and avenge my brother!" Killer Bee said bitterly.
From Bee's point of view, the Fourth Raikage had suffered a critical blow his heart had been pierced, and he had little hope of survival. If the Eight-Tails hadn't told him that the Raikage's heart was still barely beating, Killer Bee would've already launched an attack on Chao Yanqian.
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