Cutting Out the Flesh
Chi Yu, who was fighting Kakuzu and Kisame Hoshigaki, suddenly leaped backward, widening the distance between himself and his two opponents.
Activating his unique perception ability—akin to Observation Haki—Chi Yu predicted the trajectory of their attacks before they were launched.
Kakuzu and Kisame immediately turned into living artillery, bombarding him with an unrelenting stream of ninjutsu. Yet every time their techniques erupted, Chi Yu had already moved—dodging cleanly or countering with his own jutsu.
Both men narrowed their eyes in shock.
"This isn't normal…" Kisame muttered, gripping Samehada tightly. "Not even the Sharingan can predict us like this. What is he—seeing the future?"
Chi Yu, just after sidestepping another volley, cast them a sidelong glance.
At this point in time, Kisame was still far from the monster he would one day become as "the Monster of the Hidden Mist." With Samehada in his hand, he was only around the level of an elite jōnin, nothing overwhelming.
Kakuzu's strength, though more seasoned, wasn't much more impressive in Chi Yu's eyes.
Enemies he once thought troublesome now seemed insignificant. Even without exploiting their weaknesses, Chi Yu knew he could cut them down if he wished.
But his attention was already elsewhere.
In the distance, the colossal Nine-Tails advanced toward Konoha, its chakra blazing like a bonfire against the night.
Through his perception, Chi Yu felt the Tsukuyomi Seal on Miyuki Uzumaki's eye flare—already activated. He probed further and sensed that no trace of the Nine-Tails' chakra remained inside her body.
That left only two possibilities: either Kurama had broken its promise, or it simply hadn't had time to help her.
Chi Yu leaned toward the latter. The Tailed Beasts, despite their hostility, remained bound to the will of the Sage of Six Paths. Kurama might loathe Miyuki as its jinchūriki, but betraying an agreement tied to the Child of Destiny was unlikely.
"Hmph… so I'll just cut a piece of flesh from the fox myself."
Forming a hand seal, Chi Yu called out:
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
A clone split off to hold Kakuzu and Kisame at bay, while the real Chi Yu turned toward the Nine-Tails.
"Lightning Release: Chakra Mode!"
Sparks erupted around his body, surging violently until arcs of lightning cracked the earth beneath his feet. His stance lowered, lightning dancing across his frame, condensing into an even sharper, deadlier aura.
Kakuzu and Kisame froze. Terror crawled up their spines, cold sweat prickling across their skin.
Kisame trembled. This was an aura unlike anything he had ever felt.
Kakuzu, older and more experienced, recognized the sensation in an instant. He had once faced Senju Hashirama—had been crushed beneath the weight of the First Hokage's Wood Release until he could barely lift his head.
And yet the pressure emanating from Chi Yu now… felt stronger.
He clenched his jaw. No—this was an illusion of memory. Chi Yu could not surpass Hashirama. That man had not even fought seriously when Kakuzu encountered him, otherwise he wouldn't have lived to tell the tale.
Even so, the fact that Chi Yu could evoke that memory at all meant only one thing: he had already touched the threshold of the legendary.
Chi Yu's hand gripped the hilt at his waist.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash—Godspeed!"
To Kakuzu and Kisame, he vanished. Only a streak of blinding lightning carved across the battlefield, tearing a massive crack into the earth.
Far ahead, Obito—guiding the rampaging Nine-Tails toward the village—halted abruptly. His Mangekyō flared wide as he saw a bolt of lightning descending through the clear starlit sky.
That was no ordinary lightning.
At first, even his Sharingan struggled to follow, but when he focused his Mangekyō, he finally caught a faint silhouette.
"A figure…? That speed…! It's Chi Yu!"
In the heartbeat Obito recognized him, Chi Yu had already closed the distance.
Drawing his blade in a flash, he slashed across the Nine-Tails' back. A blinding arc of lightning severed through flesh and chakra alike, carving a massive horizontal wound. Red chakra sprayed into the night like blood.
Chi Yu landed lightly, sheathing his sword as he unfurled a blank scroll. Biting his finger, he scrawled runes across the parchment in blood.
"Tsukuyomi Seal!"
The inscriptions lifted from the scroll, shackling the loose chakra as if binding an invisible beast.
"Seal!"
Pressing his palm against the scroll, he absorbed the restrained chakra. The scroll snapped shut, storing the stolen fragment of Kurama's power.
Sliding it into his pouch, Chi Yu turned calmly to Obito.
Obito's entire body tensed, fearing betrayal. But Chi Yu only smiled.
"No need to panic. We're partners, aren't we? You handle your plan—I'll handle mine."
Obito's voice was tight. "Kakuzu and Kisame… you didn't kill them?"
Chi Yu tilted his head toward the distant battlefield. "Didn't you hear? They're still fighting my clone."
At that exact moment, the sounds of combat carried clearly across the field.
Then Chi Yu disappeared again, his presence vanishing like smoke.
Obito stood rigid, heart pounding. A Shadow Clone… fighting Kakuzu and Kisame at once?
The sheer implication staggered him. Once, he had boldly claimed he could suppress both Chi Yu and Minato Namikaze single-handedly. Now the very thought seemed laughable.
If not for Zetsu's insistence on cooperation, this entire plan might have already collapsed.
He exhaled heavily, forcing calm back into his chest.
Meanwhile, Kurama's wound sealed itself shut, its body reforming as if never struck. But despite regenerating, it still looked diminished.
A piece of its chakra—a piece of its very flesh—was gone. And it was now sealed inside Chi Yu's scroll.
Obito clenched his fists and resumed his march toward Konoha, wary now of both Minato—and Chi Yu.
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