As dusk fell, the blood-red setting sun dyed the clouds crimson, reflecting off the rolling, mist-shrouded mountains.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The Fourth Raikage, Yugito Nii, and Darui hurried back to the Land of Lightning from the Land of Demons, their figures appearing on a distant peak overlooking the Cloud Village.
"Finally, we made it back," Darui sighed, raising a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow.
The relentless travel, with hardly any rest, had left even the Fourth Raikage's powerful physique with a hint of undeniable fatigue etched onto his brow.
However, as they stood on the peak, looking out at the distant Cloud Village, built atop countless mountains and partially obscured by the mist.
"What is that..."
The expressions on the three faces instantly froze.
The architecture of Cloud Village should have been scattered neatly across the tops of numerous steep peaks, with circular buildings spiraling up the mountainside, faintly visible through the mist.
But at this moment, everywhere their eyes rested was a scene of devastation and ruin!
The peaks of multiple mountains looked as if they had been leveled. The buildings erected upon them were reduced to charred wreckage and scattered rubble.
Billows of thick smoke rose from several ruined areas, mingling with the unspent mist to form a murky, heavy haze.
In the air, they could faintly smell the burnt odor and a light scent of blood carried on the wind.
The entire Cloud Village seemed to have undergone a natural disaster. Its former prosperity had been brutally erased, leaving behind only brokenness and silence.
"What's going on?!" Darui's eyes widened, his usual lazy expression completely gone, replaced only by shock and disbelief. Yugito Nii's pupils contracted.
"Are you kidding me!"
Veins bulged on the Fourth Raikage's forehead. Without hesitation, he used the Body Flicker Technique.
He transformed into a bolt of blue lightning, tearing through the air and vanishing from the mountaintop at a speed almost impossible for the naked eye to track, rushing towards the appalling sight of the distant village!
Darui and Yugito exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity in the other's eyes. They immediately used the Body Flicker Technique at full power, following closely.
Boom!!
In just a few breaths, the Fourth Raikage's figure slammed onto a relatively intact plaza in the center of the village. The stone slabs under his feet cracked and fractured the moment he landed.
The scene before his eyes was even more shocking than the distant view.
Everywhere were collapsed buildings, burning debris, and uncleaned corpses.
Everyone was covered in dust and ash, their faces etched with grief, exhaustion, and lingering terror.
"Over here! Quick! There are still survivors here!" A Chunin whose face was smeared with black soot struggled to move a huge boulder and shouted back at the medical team behind him.
"Hold on! Medical ninjas will be here immediately!" Another Genin knelt beside his heavily injured comrade, pressing hard on the man's blasted leg.
"Everyone maintain order! Don't panic! Head to the shelter as instructed!" Several Cloud ninjas stood on high ground, their voices hoarse, guiding the distraught column of civilians.
"Quick! Send emergency supplies to the West Sector, there are too many wounded there!"
"Communication Team! Have you still not managed to contact the Raikage-sama?"
Mabui stood in front of the makeshift command post, her face pale, a blood-soaked bandage wrapped around her forehead. But she still forced herself to coordinate the chaotic rescue efforts.
C was nearby, using medical ninjutsu to treat a severely wounded Cloud ninja. His face was ghastly pale from Chakra depletion, and traces of blood remained at the corner of his mouth.
When the Fourth Raikage's figure powerfully landed in the center of the plaza, his fierce and familiar aura instantly drew everyone's attention!
"Rai, Raikage-sama! It's Raikage-sama!"
"Thank goodness! Raikage-sama is back!"
Crying exclamations instantly erupted. The plaza, which had been filled with despair and chaos, seemed to be instantly injected with a potent shot of adrenaline.
"Mabui!"
The Fourth Raikage paid no mind to the shouts around him. He instantly appeared in front of Mabui, his voice low and hoarse with rage, like a volcano about to erupt.
"What happened? What is going on?!" His gaze swept over the wound on Mabui's forehead and C's pale face, and the fury on his face intensified.
"Raikage-sama."
Seeing the Fourth Raikage return, a trace of relief flashed in Mabui's eyes, but it was immediately replaced by deeper worry.
"Two intruders claiming to be from the Akatsuki organization attacked the village!"
She suppressed her discomfort and reported quickly: "One can control a strange flying summoning beast, and the other is the S-rank Missing-nin, Kakuzu, from Takigakure!"
"Their target was clearly Killer B-sama and Yugito Nii-sama!"
"After confirming Yugito Nii-sama was not in the village, they learned that Killer B-sama is currently training in Cloud-Thunder Gorge and have headed in that direction!"
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Raikage didn't wait for Mabui to finish speaking. The moment he heard "Cloud-Thunder Gorge" and "Killer B," his anger fully exploded.
"Seeking death!!"
He let out a deafening roar, his eyes instantly bloodshot, like a completely enraged lion.
He hadn't expected that the Byakugan kid's "prophecy" would actually come true.
And it had happened before he could return!
To him, Killer B was not just the Jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails for Cloud Village; he was his younger brother. His importance was second only to the Cloud Village as a whole—he was the Raikage's bottom line!
Boom!
The Lightning Release Chakra around the Fourth Raikage burst forth. He stomped the ground fiercely, and his entire body shot up like a cannonball, the ground beneath him instantly collapsing.
Ignoring all obstructing wreckage and broken walls in his path, he smashed through them and sped towards the Cloud-Thunder Gorge!
Mabui watched the direction the Fourth Raikage vanished in, took a deep breath, suppressing her worry, and returned to her usual calm and decisive demeanor. She turned to the Cloud ninjas around her.
"Immediately tally all personnel who can still fight. Medical teams prioritize treating the lightly wounded, concentrate the severely wounded for placement, and Logistics must ensure the supply of materials!"
"All other combat personnel of Chunin rank and above, complete assembly within five minutes. Prepare to accompany me to support Cloud-Thunder Gorge!" she said in a heavy voice.
"Yes!" The surrounding Cloud ninjas answered in unison. The morale, which had been somewhat scattered, instantly re-coalesced with the return of the Fourth Raikage.
Meanwhile, high above the Cloud-Thunder Gorge.
'Satori' flapped its black wings, hovering over the gorge. Mui stood on Satori's head.
In the gorge below, the fully Tailed Beast Transformation of Killer B revealed his massive body and terrifying power.
"Yo~ Stupid idiot~ Where'd the crow come from~ Dare to mess with your big bro~"
Killer B's rhythmic rap never stopped, even in the fierce battle: "Eight-Tails' fury like thunder~ I'll smash you into dust and fly~ Yeah~"
Whoosh! Whoosh!!
Eight massive octopus tentacles danced wildly, whistling as they tore through the air, continually smashing towards Satori in the sky. Each attack contained the power to cleave mountains and split stones.
However, Satori always seemed to evade the Eight-Tails' heavy, powerful strikes by the narrowest of margins, with an almost precognitive precision!
It was as if all attack trajectories were within its calculations.
This was Satori's ability: perceiving attacks based on "malice." Any attack containing killing intent or hostility would be sensed and reacted to the moment it was launched.
Swish! Swish!!
Satori violently flapped its wings. Countless black feathers, hard as iron, shot out like a storm towards the Eight-Tails below!
"Yo~ Child's play~ Your big bro, Killer B, the Eight-Tails-wuye!"
Killer B controlled the Eight-Tails, its multiple tentacles waving into an impenetrable defensive net, blocking and deflecting the majority of the feathers, producing metallic clanging sounds and sparks.
"Bee! That monster seems to be able to predict our attack trajectory in advance!" The deep voice of the Eight-Tails, Gyuki, sounded in Killer B's mind.
Killer B had naturally already noticed the abnormality.
No matter how he changed the attack angle or suddenly exerted force, the monster always managed to dodge by the narrowest of margins in advance. This could no longer be explained merely by fast reactions.
"Yo! If I can't grab it~ Then let's change the pattern-Yeah!"
The Eight-Tails abruptly retracted all its wildly waving tentacles. The eight tentacles wrapped layer upon layer around its massive body, a terrifying power contracting and coiling!
Satori in the air seemed to sense something. It rapidly vibrated its wings, immediately attempting to fly backward to create an absolutely safe distance.
But, in the next moment.
The eight contracted tentacles were released like maximally compressed springs!
The Eight-Tails' massive body, along with its eight incredibly thick tentacles, began spinning at an ultra-high speed, rotating around its own axis!
Tailed Beast Eight Rolls!
Rumble!
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