Of course, they didn't go straight for Lightning Tackle.
Against ordinary enemies, their combo moves were naturally fast enough to overwhelm the opponent before they could react. But Seiki was an exception—his speed and reflexes were just too fast!
They had to look for every chance they could get!
A exchanged a glance with B, then used what little chakra he had left to activate Physical Enhancements before charging Seiki again.
"My body can keep up with his movements now!" Seiki quickly assessed before rushing forward head-on.
His Sage Mode and Eight Gates weren't limitless either. Prolonging the fight would make it hard to tell who'd have the upper hand in the end.
Both moved at peak speeds—so fast that to onlookers, they appeared like two lightning bolts repeatedly crashing into each other.
Dammit! I'm actually being pushed back in a direct fight!" A felt frustrated inside. If only his left arm were intact or his body in better condition, something like this would never happen!
Fortunately, he wasn't fighting alone.
After blocking A's powerful punch with both arms, Seiki suddenly kicked upward—an axe kick aimed right at A's waist.
Just then, a tanto blade shot between them.
Clang!
Though B's clone lacked the strength of his original body, the blade predictably flew off upon impact.
Still, this brief interruption gave A some breathing room. He drove his right arm down hard while sending a bolt of lightning straight toward Seiki.
Ssseeewww!
Even in his enhanced state, Seiki felt a sharp jolt of numbness shoot through him.
Seeing their ambush pay off, A raised his right arm again and smashed another punch downward.
Seiki "couldn't" dodge, instead spitting out a stream of corrosive liquid from his mouth.
[Sage Art: Acid Jet!]
A sensed the danger but still refused to evade, even accelerating his downward strike slightly as if attempting mutual destruction with Seiki!
But just at the last moment, he was shoved away by an octopus-like leg.
Ssseeewww!
The acid splashed down and immediately ate a long, deep trench into the ground.
Though horrifying to witness, A still couldn't help muttering a curse, "Why did you stop me?"
B shrugged helplessly, "My foolish aniki, surely you didn't really think he was immobilized?"
A turned around and saw that Seiki had already sidestepped away, as if he'd never been paralyzed at all.
Seeing this, A inwardly cursed, *Dammit! That bastard always picks on me when I'm trying to be fair!*
Regardless of his feelings, the battle continued.
Seiki rushed straight at B—the guy who kept interfering at critical moments—and threw a simple punch.
Monstrous Strength + Sage Mode + Eight Gates—it was a brutally direct move.
B hurriedly crossed his twin blades in front of him. With a sharp crack, the swords snapped clean in half, and B himself flew backward like a cannonball.
"You damn bastard! You can hit me, but not B!" Enraged, A poured chakra into his legs and furiously charged toward Seiki.
"Then I'll hit you!" Seiki halted mid-pursuit, spun around, and swung a punch.
Boom!
A ripple spread outward, sending compressed air like an air cannon blast in all directions. Some nearby ninjas couldn't dodge in time and were blown away by the sudden gust of wind.
Seiki Shimaseki staggered back from the impact, while A flipped through the air twice as he was sent flying.
"Damn it! If I were at full strength, there's no way I'd lose!" A gritted his teeth in anger, even though he knew if he were at full strength, his opponent wouldn't have dared face him directly.
But at that moment, he noticed that B had sprouted another small tail while Seiki Shimaseki's back was turned.
Years of teamwork let him instantly grasp Killer B's plan.
"I must prepare in advance—we absolutely cannot waste B's efforts!" While attacking, A also began gathering power.
Seiki Shimaseki seemed unaware of their unusual behavior. Seeing A get blasted away, he seized the opportunity to charge toward Killer B once more.
[Shanlan!]
There were no fancy techniques—only power so terrifying it reached an extreme!
This incredibly forceful punch caused the surrounding air itself to emit a thunderous sonic boom from the pressure!
Killer B's eyes went wide with panic. He looked genuinely stunned by the sudden blow and completely forgot to dodge—right in the line of fire.
Boom!
Hit directly, Killer B's eyes bulged, foam appearing at the corners of his mouth, waves of vibrating air rippling out from behind him, raising a fierce gust of wind.
The intense pain made his consciousness somewhat hazy, but he still hadn't forgotten his mission—to tightly bind Seiki Shimaseki after his body reverted to its original form.
At the same time, A and a smaller version of Killer B charged toward Seiki Shimaseki from opposite directions.
[Lightning Tackle!]
Instinctively, Seiki Shimaseki activated the [Flying Thunder God Technique], yet this time, his usually flawless Flying Thunder God unexpectedly failed!
Quickly sensing the change, Seiki Shimaseki realized black ink was seeping from the octopus-like legs attached to his body.
This reminded him of a powerful sealing technique the Eight-Tails possessed called Nagare.
Though this sealing technique reached maximum effectiveness only in B's complete form, judging from the current situation, even momentarily sealing him would be sufficient.
Worthy of the Cloud Village's AB duo indeed… For a second, Seiki Shimaseki almost wanted to clap for their cleverness.
Objectively speaking, this could definitely be considered his most difficult fight since that battle with Asuma back when he'd first entered the Ninja Academy!
Back then, the cards available to him had been extremely limited, and he barely managed to defeat Asuma only by using psychological suggestion before the fight.
"A pity now—I've gained access to countless methods!"
[Sage Art: Paper Body Technique: Soft Clay!]
Just like the soft body of a slug, Seiki Shimaseki transformed into something like a mollusk creature, his head flopping limply backward, dodging AB's Lightning Tackle completely empty, while the small Killer B instead got directly struck and sent flying by A who couldn't stop in time.
Meanwhile, Seiki Shimaseki twisted his body and wrapped the tentacles around Killer B in a vice grip.
[Sage Art: Demon Sealing Technique!]
Before anyone on the battlefield could react, the large octopus tentacle was sealed within a scroll prepared in advance by Seiki Shimaseki.
"Curses! We still failed!"
A gritted his teeth glaring at Seiki, as if trying to burn his face into his memory for good.
Compared to the so-called "failure" of letting Minato Namikaze escape last time, this was a total and humiliating defeat—and he'd been beaten by nothing more than a ten-year-old kid!
"Young B, it's time to retreat. We've already lost!" Seeing A's pained expression, B quickly reminded him.
No matter how much he hated it, A knew the war was over.
Even if they still had a marginal edge on the main battlefield, once Minato Namikaze and Seiki broke free from their current engagements, those two enemies' Flying Thunder God Technique would leave ordinary ninja completely defenseless.
Pressing forward now would only mean pointless deaths!
Thinking thus, A could only shout loudly, "Retreat entirely! B, cover our withdrawal with consecutive Tailed Beast Balls!"
Many Cloud Village ninja witnessed the beating suffered by A and B. Although frustrated, they gradually retreated backward too.
Yet just as they were moving back from the occupied zone to their original battlefield position, the Tailed Beast Ball that Minato had sealed away suddenly exploded within the Cloud Village's territory!
Boom!
Terrifying waves of energy swept outward in all directions. Massive rock layers were lifted high into the air, trees in the forest snapped like twigs—it looked like the very end of the world.
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