Boom—
The sound of thunder grew closer. Li Anshi turned his head to see the Third Raikage, wreathed in a great deal of lightning, charging at him with the three fingers of his right hand, the one missing its index finger, held straight.
Oh? An unexpected delight.
Li Anshi was somewhat surprised by this turn of events.
He had charged toward the Eight-Tails partly because he truly wanted to kill the Jinchuriki and teach the Cloud a lesson.
The other reason, naturally, was that this direction had the fewest Cloud ninjas and was most suitable for a breakout.
With his speed, once he broke away from the Cloud battlefield, only a Jonin could keep up with him.
And how many Jonin did the Cloud Village have?
Besides the fifty-odd on the official roster, even including the unlisted powerhouses from various ninja clans, the total was no more than a hundred.
That small a number wasn't even enough to exhaust the daggers Li Anshi had on him.
Presumably, the Cloud side knew this as well.
At that point, they wouldn't dare to pursue him lightly.
Then, this war would be a losing proposition for both Li Anshi and the Cloud.
Neither side would have lost, but neither would have won.
Li Anshi would have revealed a great deal of information and gained a considerable reputation.
The Cloud would have lost nearly a thousand ninjas and successfully forced Li Anshi to retreat, no longer needing to submit a letter of surrender to Konoha…
With that, Li Anshi slightly slowed his advance, wanting to wait for the Third Raikage to catch up.
At that time, with the lives of both the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki and the Third Raikage in his hands, the Cloud would have no choice but to surrender.
"Brother, don't come!"
Blue B, sharing his senses with the Eight-Tails, had naturally noticed the Third Raikage rushing toward him.
Ever since acquiring the Tailed Beast, the Cloud Village had gone through a great deal of screening to select and cultivate its Jinchuriki.
Ultimately, it was decided that Blue B, who was as close as a brother to the Third Raikage, would be the Jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, Gyuki.
At that time, the Third Raikage was not yet the Raikage.
However, this became the established system of the Cloud Village.
Just like now, the Third Raikage's son had also found a "brother" among the youth of the Cloud who he could entrust his life to. If anything happened to Blue B, the Third Raikage's son's "brother" would become the new Jinchuriki.
It could be said that the Raikage and the Jinchuriki shared the most intimate of relationships, one where they could entrust their lives to each other.
The Third Raikage could tolerate other Cloud ninjas facing danger.
Because that was the price that had to be paid to kill Li Anshi.
But when the one in danger was Blue B, the Third Raikage could not bear it!
Even though they were only a few minutes away from success.
…
In this life, have you ever risked your life for someone?
The Third Raikage was doing so now.
Like a flash of lightning, the Third Raikage was rapidly approaching Li Anshi.
The Third Raikage could risk danger for Blue B.
Naturally, in turn, Blue B could also give his life to prevent the Third Raikage from facing danger.
"Roar!"
The fully transformed Gyuki let out a roar.
Then, its body began to shrink, revealing Blue B's figure.
The Eight-Tails' chakra transformed into eight octopus-like tentacles, swaying behind Blue B. When a Tailed Beast was sealed within a Jinchuriki, their lives were linked.
If the Jinchuriki died, the Tailed Beast sealed within would also die.
Therefore, upon discovering Li Anshi's approach, Gyuki had wanted to flee.
Its relationship with Blue B was not yet at the point where it would sacrifice its life for him.
Unfortunately, Blue B, who was usually completely suppressed by Gyuki, had a sudden burst of will upon seeing the Third Raikage charge over, directly seizing control of his body from the Eight-Tails.
"Sorry, Gyuki," Blue B said in a deep voice. "If Brother hadn't come to save me, I would have let you run."
"But Brother is coming to face the Little Li Flying Dagger for my sake. How could I let him leave his life here?"
"The Cloud Village still needs my brother."
"If I can survive this time, then you can do whatever you want. I will absolutely not stop you!"
Having regained control of his body, Blue B erupted with power. The eight ten-meter-long tentacles danced wildly, launching his body toward Li Anshi like a cannonball.
Since I can't stop Brother from coming, then let me die before he does!
As long as I'm dead, Brother will surely regain his senses and lead the Cloud to kill Li Anshi!
"Is he seeking death?"
Sensing that the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki was not fleeing but accelerating toward him, Li Anshi could naturally guess what Blue B wanted to do.
"My apologies. Your actions are worthy of my respect."
"But as an enemy, sparing your life is what's most beneficial to me."
A white chakra light shone at Li Anshi's fingertips.
When the distance between him and Blue B closed to within a hundred meters, Li Anshi instantly threw the dagger—
Shoo!
The white light flashed past. Blue B only felt a chill in his chest, as if his entire body had been pierced by a sharp blade.
Only when his chakra began to dissipate did Blue B realize.
He had been hit!
Pfft!
Under Li Anshi's dagger, his Tailed Beast chakra cloak seemed no different from ordinary clothes, pierced through in an instant.
At that moment, Blue B felt himself being sent flying by a tremendous force. His not-yet-completely-dissipated chakra cloak carved a deep trench into the ground.
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle…
A large amount of blood flowed from his chest.
Blue B could feel the chakra from Gyuki gathering at his chest, trying to resist the sharp chakra on Li Anshi's dagger and prolong his life.
"That guy—"
Feeling his life slipping away, Blue B smiled bitterly.
In his view, Li Anshi, who could inflict such a wound on him, could definitely take his life in an instant.
Putting aside everything else, if that dagger had been aimed at his neck or his heart, he would absolutely not be alive now.
But this dagger had pierced his chest.
In particular, Li Anshi's dagger was wreathed in a terrifying chakra that continuously damaged his body.
For an ordinary person, such an injury would be fatal.
But for a Jinchuriki like him, it could only be considered a severe wound, leaving him without the strength to resist, but not dead.
The Tailed Beast's chakra itself had excellent healing abilities.
For a Jinchuriki, as long as they weren't dead, no matter how heavy the injury, with the help of the Tailed Beast's chakra, they could soon make a full recovery.