Blue flames clung tightly to Sōmi, burning fiercely.
At this moment, Yūki Hito couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. Her flames were no ordinary Fire Release technique. Once they latched onto an enemy, they were like a bone-deep affliction, refusing to extinguish until they had completely consumed the enemy's life force.
Clang, clang!
The crisp sound of metal chains scraping against each other suddenly echoed, causing Yūki Hito's previously confident expression to freeze.
Cold, sharp, and thick objects pierced deeply into her body, striking not only her tailbone but seemingly invading the very depths of her soul, wreaking havoc in those barren, untouched regions.
"Ugh..."
"What is this..."
Blood trickled from the corners of Yūki Hito's mouth as she struggled to lower her gaze.
Emerging from the blue flames was a series of silver chains, which had precisely impaled her vital points.
Whoosh!
A surge of jade-gold flames erupted, scattering the blue fire entirely.
Sōmi, now enveloped in the radiant jade-gold glow, looked at Yūki Hito with a faint smile. However, his smile carried a chilling coldness, as if he were gazing at a lifeless corpse.
"Hmm?!"
Just as Yūki Hito was about to struggle into her full Tailed Beast Transformation, she was horrified to find that she could no longer sense the Two-Tails within her. It was as if an invisible spatial barrier had completely severed their connection.
"I left a deliberate opening for you to exploit because I can't stand the shrill cries of a dying cat..."
Sōmi's lips moved slightly as he spoke with an icy tone.
With a sudden tug of his left hand—
Thump!
Yūki Hito's heart, which had been beating stubbornly, suddenly shuddered. Her entire body trembled lightly, her pupils dilated in an instant, and then gradually lost focus.
"Why..."
"This enemy's power..."
"My village..."
Before Yūki Hito's life force completely faded, she could only manage a few fragmented thoughts. Her body, still held by the throat, went limp and curled into the shape of a shrimp.
The chains extending from Sōmi's left hand had impaled a massive feline figure engulfed in blue Chakra flames. The cat-like creature wore an expression of unbearable pain, though it could not make a sound, only struggling feebly.
"Better seal it now..."
"Before anything unexpected happens."
Sōmi casually placed Yūki Hito's lifeless body into a Sealing Scroll. His gaze swept across the surrounding barriers he had set up, and he seemed quite satisfied.
With Sasori holding off Kumogakure's main forces, no one should be able to interrupt him.
Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu's greatest mistake was assuming that Sōmi was unaware of the value of the Tailed Beasts. Thus, they hadn't rushed over to compete with him for them.
This critical gap in information was precisely Sōmi's opportunity to secure ultimate victory!
After finishing his thoughts, Sōmi sat cross-legged on the ground. Having already sealed multiple Tailed Beasts before, sealing the Two-Tails now wouldn't take much time.
Meanwhile, on Sasori's battlefield:
"Lightning Release: Guillotine Drop!"
Boom!
A low, muffled explosion echoed through the air.
Upon closer inspection, the fists of two burly men collided with Sasori's Susano'o, one after the other.
Crack...
Even under such immense force, the azure-blue armor only developed faint cracks.
"I still have energy left, shining with charisma!"
"You damn..."
"Annoying armored freak!"
One of the men, with dark skin, light yellow hair, black sunglasses, seven swords strapped to his back, and the kanji for "iron" tattooed on his right shoulder, rapped in an odd rhythm as he spoke. His left cheek bore the distinctive scars of bull horns.
"Bee!"
"Take this guy down first!"
The Raikage, his hair now standing on end, spoke in a deep voice. The armor surrounding Sasori was incredibly tough, offering perfect, seamless defense.
"Okay~"
"Eight-Tails Killer Bee, that's me! Yeah!"
Roar!
With a loud roar, a massive bull with octopus tentacles for tails appeared. One of its horns, however, was broken.
"Tailed Beast Bomb!"
A mixture of blue and purple energy spheres began to gather in front of the beast's massive maw.
Moments later, a deep purple sphere was launched with great force.
The Tailed Beast Bomb tore through the air, flattening trees and gouging deep trenches into the ground as it barreled forward.
When it reached Sasori's Susano'o, a radiant explosion of blinding light erupted.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground shook violently, as if struck by a mid-level earthquake.
The sheer destructive power, akin to divine judgment, left the Kumogakure shinobi witnessing it for the first time utterly dumbfounded.
"You idiot—!"
"Now you've done it!"
"Don't underestimate Lord Bee of Kumogakure! Yo!"
"Bakayarō~ Konoyarō~"
The massive Eight-Tails raised two of its tentacles, waving them as if it were performing under a spotlight on stage.
However, as the dust and debris from the explosion began to settle, a familiar azure-blue armored figure stood unscathed in the massive crater.
"Huh?"
The Eight-Tails' hollow bull eyes filled with confusion. It had clearly noticed that the enemy remained completely unharmed, even after taking a direct hit from the Tailed Beast Bomb.
Not even a single crack marred the armor's surface.
How was this possible?!
Earlier, when it and the Raikage had teamed up, they had clearly managed to damage the armor...
Ignoring Killer Bee and the Raikage's astonishment, Sasori was rapidly becoming accustomed to wielding Susano'o.
After all, in this timeline, it was Sasori's first time using Susano'o in battle.
The power of Susano'o was simply too overwhelming and perfect!
For a puppet master, a construct like Susano'o—resembling a giant robot—was the ultimate puppet.
Moreover, since Susano'o was made of Chakra, there was no need to worry about it breaking or wearing out!
This was true art!
A masterpiece of the gods!
Even the usually indifferent Sasori couldn't help but display a look of fervent obsession. He was reveling in the exhilaration brought by Susano'o.
However, although Sasori had transplanted Hashirama's cells to mitigate the side effects of the Mangekyō Sharingan, it wasn't enough to allow his Susano'o to evolve to its final two stages.
After all, Sasori did not possess the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, nor did he have the power of the Six Paths.
Even so, the power of his incomplete Kamui Susano'o was more than enough to drive his enemies to despair.
Especially for those without the means to seal space-time—against them, Sasori was invincible!━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
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