The first strike missed, but Killer Bee wasn't discouraged. The Eight-Tails, Gyuki, opened its mouth again, gathering chakra of yin and yang.
"Damn it, you think I'm just for show?"
Manda's pupils shrank to needle points, clearly furious.
It was one thing to be caught off guard before, but now they were doing this openly, as if it didn't even exist—like it had no way to fight back at all?
The giant snake's body twisted around the Eight-Tails. Manda gathered a bit of strength, then suddenly slammed its head against the bull-headed beast.
Gyuki's head jerked sideways from the blow. The yin-yang chakra it had been condensing lost control and exploded between the two heads.
A shockwave burst out, and the smoke from the blast came and went in an instant.
"Hiss… That's what you get for underestimating me."
Manda flicked its tongue, the thick keratin on its head cracked, making the purple python look even more ferocious.
Luckily, this time the disruption came early. Gyuki hadn't gathered much chakra yet, so the explosion's power was limited.
"That damn purple snake!"
Killer Bee cursed in his strange rhythm, once again trying to form a Tailed Beast Bomb. The eight tentacles struggled wildly, aiming to hold back Manda.
"Jinchuriki, hiss…"
But the snake had no intention of letting it succeed. Its body coiled around Gyuki, sometimes tightening, sometimes loosening, never relying only on brute force. It neutralized the tentacles' struggles with ease.
Its slit pupils stayed locked on Gyuki's bull head, never giving Killer Bee a chance to release the bomb.
After being interrupted again, Killer Bee realized that with his level of mastery, it was almost impossible to complete a Tailed Beast Bomb under Manda's interference.
This snake had too much battle experience and was simply too fast.
"You annoying bastard!"
A sharp glint flashed in Killer Bee's eyes. He stopped aiming to form a complete bomb, instead gathering chakra just to make it explode in front of him.
Earlier, Manda had backed off, which told Killer Bee that it wouldn't fight to the death for Orochimaru.
Gyuki's hide was thick and tough; a few hits wouldn't matter. The real question was how many blasts the snake could endure.
Killer Bee's intentions were clear in his actions: either both sides would get hurt, or Manda would be forced to back away.
The giant snake glared back, hissing, "Bastard, you dare look down on me?"
Anger and pride pushed down its survival instinct. Manda kept ramming its head into the bull's mouth, taking the explosions head-on.
The clash between the snake and the tailed beast fell into a deadlock, waiting to see who would last longer.
…
Explosions thundered in the sky. The Fourth Raikage caught the sight from the corner of his eye and realized that relying on the Eight-Tails to break the fortress quickly was no longer possible.
Manda might fear death, but as Orochimaru's strongest summon, it could hold out for a while.
And in that time, who knew how many Chunin from the village would fall.
"We can't wait any longer."
The Fourth Raikage punched a huge hole into an oncoming snake head. While it reeled in pain, he leapt onto Yamata no Orochi's massive body, sprinting over its ridges toward the fortress.
As the village's Kage, Raikage was no stranger to demolition work.
But compared to a tailed beast, his efficiency was far lower. More importantly, charging into a fortress the enemy had built and fortified for so long in human form was far too dangerous.
This wasn't some makeshift explosive tag trap that he could shrug off with sheer toughness.
Barrier techniques, sealing jutsu—things even tailed beasts feared—were far deadlier than flashy ninjutsu.
But now, the Fourth Raikage had no choice but to take the risk.
If the battle went on any longer, the village would suffer too much.
"Heh… Don't even think about it!" Orochimaru let out a cold laugh, his snake head slamming down like a powerful fist, striking at Raikage again and again without caring about his own body.
"Hah!" The Fourth Raikage roared, his figure turning into a flash of lightning. Like a master parkour runner, he moved so fast that the hailstorm of blows couldn't even touch him. In the blink of an eye, he crossed over Yamata no Orochi's body.
With a heavy stomp, the Raikage leapt toward the fortress. Lightning exploded around him, and a blinding flash shot down like a cannonball, smashing into the fortress.
Faced with the Fourth Raikage using his full power in Lightning Release Chakra Mode, the building didn't last a second before collapsing with a huge crash.
The spot where the fortress stood was now a massive crater.
How… could it be this easy?
The Fourth Raikage stood in the center of the crater, breathing heavily. Sparks of lightning flickered around him, and his fierce face was filled with shock.
Of course, the fortress shouldn't have been able to withstand his full-force attack. But for it to be destroyed this easily… there was only one explanation.
This fortress… was fake!
The Fourth Raikage felt a surge of dread. Even though his body was exhausted and his strength hadn't fully recovered, he pushed off hard with both feet and leapt out of the crater.
But a whip-like strike slammed him back down into the crater.
The Raikage looked up and saw a massive snake head blocking the moonlight, an unmistakable sinister grin on its face.
I fell for it… The thought flashed through his mind. Before he could even feel anger, Yamata no Orochi's attack came crashing down.
The whole process was like pounding garlic—one snake head after another slamming into the crater over and over.
Deafening booms echoed through the forest, the tremors even reaching the ninja still fighting nearby.
"Raikage-sama… is he really okay?" A Kumogakure ninja swallowed nervously.
Even the Konohagakure shinobi were distracted. If this attack killed the Fourth Raikage, this war might end right here.
After several relentless strikes, Yamata no Orochi finally stopped.
"Tsk tsk, even with such a great chance, I still couldn't finish him off."
Orochimaru stared into the crater, his golden eyes narrowing. "If I had attacked with Jiraiya's Sage Arts, even if he didn't die, the Fourth Raikage would be gravely wounded."
Even though he had expected it, the toughness of Raikage's body still exceeded his original estimate.
The blows from Yamata no Orochi's heads had looked terrifying, but it was like striking solid rock—they couldn't even scratch him.
It was less like an attack and more like forging steel with heavy blows.
"Swish…"
Before the dust in the crater even cleared, a figure shot out, a streak of lightning darting through the dark forest.
He was so fast that Orochimaru had no chance to react. In the blink of an eye, the Fourth Raikage was at the battlefield where the Eight-Tails was fighting.
Orochimaru felt a sudden chill and tried to release Manda's Summoning Technique, but the Raikage was a step faster. His punch blew a massive hole in Manda's body.
"You bastard, I—"
Manda twisted his head, fury burning in his eyes, about to bite the Raikage—but with a loud "pop," his body vanished.
Orochimaru had sent him back to Ryuchi Cave.
The Raikage had scored a decisive hit, but he showed no hint of joy. His rough, booming voice rang through the forest:
"Kumogakure! Retreat with me!"
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