"Are you alright?"
Shimura Danzō and Koharu Utatane came over to Renya, concerned about his condition.
"I'm fine." Renya shook his head, his expression grim. "We underestimated Kinkaku's strength earlier."
They had assumed that, armed with information about the Six Paths Tools, they could easily take care of Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
But after actually crossing hands, they realized just how powerful Kinkaku truly was.
Even without fully transforming into a Tailed Beast, Kinkaku was already hard to handle. Once he did transform, he would become even more difficult to deal with.
"You… all of you must die!"
Kinkaku was clearly done playing around. He was ready to kill the three before him in earnest.
As his words fell, his body suddenly swelled, and crimson chakra erupted from within him like a volcano. Six tails whipped wildly behind his back.
His skin was scorched and peeled away, revealing twisted muscle fibers underneath. His eyes turned into savage vertical slits, and sharp fangs jutted out of his mouth.
This was Kinkaku's true Tailed Beast transformation.
Previously, he had only been using Nine-Tails chakra for defense and attacks.
Renya could feel the terrifying pressure radiating from Kinkaku's body. His expression grew even heavier.
Kinkaku was far stronger than he'd expected—he had underestimated him again!
No wonder Senju Tobirama had died at the hands of these two...
With their overwhelming power, paired with the Six Paths Tools, even the smallest misstep could spell disaster.
"Die!"
The ground shattered under the pressure of the Tailed Beast chakra, and debris began to float into the air.
Whoosh—!
Kinkaku turned into a blur of red as he charged at the three, his speed in this form vastly surpassing anything human.
So fast, it was nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye…
"Watch out!" Renya's Sharingan spun wildly, barely managing to track Kinkaku's movements.
Even so, his body couldn't keep up with the speed.
This kind of attack speed rivaled even those who had activated Lightning Release Armor.
The power boost granted by the Tailed Beast transformation was simply terrifying!
BOOM—!
Kinkaku's claw slashed horizontally. Renya barely managed to raise his blade to block it, but the sheer force blasted him away, carving a trench several dozen meters long into the ground before he could come to a stop.
The immense power made the blade in his hands tremble violently. His arms went numb, and he almost dropped the weapon.
Danzō had just unleashed a Wind Release jutsu when Kinkaku's tail smashed it apart. A moment later, the tail swept Danzō himself off his feet and sent him flying.
Koharu's kunai didn't even make it close—it was instantly devoured by the Nine-Tails chakra.
Before she could react, a crimson tail whipped toward her and struck her down with immense force. Blood sprayed from her mouth.
"How are we supposed to fight this monster?!" Danzō clutched his chest, struggling to rise. He stared pale-faced at Kinkaku, who was still clashing with Renya.
...
"Hahahahaha!"
Kinkaku laughed wildly as all six tails danced with destructive power.
He relished the thrill of tormenting his enemies!
Renya relied on his Sharingan to predict attacks, narrowly dodging each strike.
"Faster, faster!"
Kinkaku increased his attack speed, and Renya's evasions became more and more difficult.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Renya made a mistake. All six tails struck him directly, sending blood gushing from his mouth under the force.
Kinkaku didn't stop—in fact, his strikes became even faster and more savage.
"Hahaha!"
Seeing Renya in agony only made Kinkaku laugh harder.
"Renya!" Shimura Danzō and Koharu Utatane rushed forward, trying to rescue him.
But before they could get close, two tails lashed out at them.
Forced to deal with the tails directly in front of them, they couldn't spare any attention to help.
The number of tails attacking Renya dropped from six to four, greatly reducing the pressure. He began to fend them off.
Kinkaku frowned with displeasure and roared, "You worms—just die already!"
If not for those two interfering, he would've already tortured this guy into a fate worse than death!
Watching Renya effortlessly dodge his attacks now only made Kinkaku even more furious.
Just as he lunged to tear Renya apart, his gaze suddenly met a pair of crimson Sharingan eyes.
Kinkaku's movements froze. The flow of Tailed Beast chakra around him became erratic.
Renya seized this fleeting opportunity—his katana thrust forward in a sharp lunge, the blade aimed directly at Kinkaku's throat!
Off in the distance, Ginkaku—who was fighting Hiruzen Sarutobi's team—caught sight of this from the corner of his eye. He immediately used the Banana Palm Fan to force the three back and flashed over to stand in front of Kinkaku.
CLANG—!
Katana and Seven Stars Blade clashed, sending sparks flying.
Renya's blade stopped just three inches from Kinkaku's throat, but it could go no further.
"Tch… what a nuisance." A cold gleam flashed in Renya's eyes.
If not for Ginkaku's interference, he would've slit Kinkaku's throat right then and there.
Such a precious opportunity—wasted...
"Damn brat. You almost got him."
Ginkaku grinned menacingly. He had channeled Lightning Release chakra into the Seven Stars Blade, making its edge razor sharp.
He was ready to give this little punk who nearly killed his brother a serious lesson!
The fact that they had forced his brother into using Tailed Beast Mode meant they had some real power.
"Thank you."
Kinkaku broke free from the genjutsu. His Tailed Beast chakra erupted again as he glared at Renya in fury.
He had been this close to dying!
Luckily, Ginkaku showed up in time and blocked the attack for him.
"No need to thank me…." Ginkaku replied softly, then turned his gaze to the others.
"Game over, Konoha trash!" Ginkaku licked the edge of his sword. "Now it's our turn to hunt."
...
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
At that moment, the combined ninjutsu from Sarutobi Hiruzen's trio blasted toward Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
Fire, boosted by wind, roared forward with enhanced power, forcing the brothers to retreat and defend.
"Sorry we're late." Hiruzen slammed his Adamantine Staff to the ground. "Are you alright?"
They had been delayed by the Banana Palm Fan's ninjutsu and couldn't rush to help immediately...
Maybe because Ginkaku hadn't used his full strength, their team looked far less battered than Renya's squad.
"Trash is still trash—even more of you won't change a thing!"
Ginkaku scoffed coldly and suddenly swung the Banana Palm Fan:
Flames, lightning, gusts, rocks, and torrents—five elemental chakras exploded at once, forming a devastating elemental storm.
Facing such overwhelming power, everyone scrambled to retreat out of range.
As they escaped, Hiruzen stared at the storm behind them, deep in thought.
So this is the true might of combination ninjutsu!
He possessed all five chakra natures—he could try forming combination techniques himself in the future.
The Banana Palm Fan used by Ginkaku had given him a new idea about fusing elemental chakra types...