A cat demon wreathed in blue flames, a towering armored giant glowing green, and the Eight-Tails Gyuki swinging its tentacles—three titanic beings fought as they advanced, quickly reaching the battlefield near the fortress.
Everywhere they passed, the earth quaked, trees splintered, and the destruction was far greater than that caused by the giant summons before.
Both sides' shinobi were stunned, their hearts shaken as they instinctively fell back.
"Susano'o?"
Uchiha Fugaku recognized the clan's ultimate technique. His eyes narrowed, but when he saw the figure inside the giant, his face showed shock. "Shisui… it's actually him?"
With Shisui's talent, he indeed had the qualifications to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan—but at his age, to bring out Susano'o to this level was beyond belief.
The other Uchiha quickly noticed Shisui as well. After the initial shock came overwhelming joy. Their emotions surged, and a deep sense of pride filled them.
So, the Uchiha clan also had someone strong enough to fight a tailed beast!
"Uchiha Shisui… so he's the one keeping Yugito and Killer Bee occupied."
The Fourth Raikage also recognized the Uchiha clan's forbidden eyes, and his expression grew darker and darker.
It could be said that because of Shisui, Kumogakure's war effort was now completely ruined.
"He can't be allowed to live!"
The Fourth Raikage made up his mind, his body turning into a flash of lightning as he rushed to the battlefield where the three giant beasts were clashing.
The moment he arrived, the two Kumogakure Jinchuriki instantly changed their tactics.
The Two-Tails, Matatabi, stopped running and opened its mouth, spitting out countless scorching fireballs that slammed into Susano'o's chest plate, forcing it to stagger back.
At the same time, the Eight-Tails, Gyuki, stretched out its tentacles and, taking advantage of the opening, wrapped up Susano'o's legs completely, locking them tight.
For a moment, Susano'o couldn't move, completely restrained by the Eight-Tails, with no room to dodge.
The Fourth Raikage wasn't about to waste this chance. His body became a streak of lightning as he struck down like a hammer over and over.
Under the storm of blows, Susano'o couldn't hold out. Its shell began to crack layer by layer like an eggshell.
Seeing this, Yugito, the Two-Tails' Jinchuriki, felt a rush of satisfaction. She had held out for so long, waiting for this very moment.
"Die, Uchiha Shisui!"
Inside Susano'o, Shisui's eyes were streaming blood tears, his face twisting in pain as he dropped to his knees.
"No… I have to hold on."
By now, Shisui's vision had gotten so bad he could barely see the battle. All he could do was cling to the order to keep the Jinchuriki tied down.
He pulled out his last syringe and stabbed it into his arm.
Injecting the genetic serum wouldn't boost his body any further, but as a recovery method, it worked great.
Still, it was pure extravagance—like burning money.
Feeling strength fill his body again, Shisui pushed harder, forcing out more power from his eyes to repair Susano'o.
But this time, instead of strengthening it, the strain kicked him out of Mangekyou Sharingan—and even his regular Sharingan vanished.
He had nothing left. Not a drop.
Susano'o broke apart under the Eight-Tails' grip, and Shisui fell from the sky.
His chakra wasn't gone yet, but his eyesight was fading fast, which left him stunned and helpless.
A thick fog seemed to cover his eyes, the world blurring as darkness crept in bit by bit.
This was the backlash from draining his eyes dry without restraint.
For one last desperate move, Shisui threw a kunai tied with thin wire while he could still see a little.
But deep down, he gave a bitter smile. Even at his best, how could he outmatch the Fourth Raikage in speed?
"Finally broke that shell. That's big bro for you."
Killer Bee let out a breath, but he didn't relax. His eyes locked on Shisui as a tentacle whipped through the air like a storm.
At the same time, the Raikage stepped on a tentacle to stop his fall, his arm glowing with lightning as he swung down hard at Shisui.
Clang—
A sharp sword cry rang out as Orochimaru blocked the Raikage's punch with a grin. "Going after my man so recklessly… you really don't take me seriously, do you?"
The Raikage's face was fierce, but the corner of his eye was still on Shisui.
Orochimaru couldn't be everywhere—he could block the Raikage, but not Killer Bee.
Then, something shocking happened. A flash of lightning cut through the scene, and the Eight-Tails' tentacle struck empty air.
"Who is that? That speed… it's almost as fast as my Lightning Release Armor."
In the dense forest, Kakashi put Shisui down and formed a hand seal. "Summoning Jutsu!"
With a puff of white smoke, a huge snake several meters long appeared in front of him.
"Don't fight it. I'll send you somewhere safe to rest."
Shisui knew Kakashi's voice and relaxed, letting the snake swallow him bit by bit.
After ending the summoning, Kakashi pulled his headband down over his left eye and leaned on a tree, breathing hard.
Using the breathing method Orochimaru taught him as a base, he had created his own lightning-style move—a strike even deadlier than Chidori.
But his body couldn't handle using it many times.
"Do I keep fighting?"
Kakashi leaned against a tree to steady himself, his eyes fixed on the distant battlefield.
In this battle, Orochimaru-sama had given him only one task—to save Shisui at the critical moment.
Normally, with his personality, after completing that mission, he would have gone back to join the fight against Kumogakure.
But what worried Kakashi was that mysterious enemy who could use space-time ninjutsu—he still hadn't made a move.
If that person struck while Orochimaru was fighting Raikage, things could turn very dangerous for Orochimaru.
Kakashi thought to himself that in his current state, he could probably use "Lightning Flash" one more time. Maybe that could make a difference at the key moment.
Once he made up his mind, Kakashi vanished into the shadows at the edge of the battlefield, ready to move in and help at any time.
Just then, a powerful surge of energy spread from the center of the battlefield.
Kakashi froze for a moment, then adjusted his forehead protector and focused his Sharingan on Orochimaru.
"Is that… the same move from that night?"
...
The Fourth Raikage also sensed the sudden change in Orochimaru and his face turned grim, ready for a life-or-death fight.
"Heh… The fortress is destroyed. This battle is already over for Kumogakure—you should just admit defeat."
Orochimaru grinned, a cruel smile spreading across his face. "But why aren't you retreating? Do you still think you can keep me here?"
The Fourth Raikage's expression didn't change, even though his thoughts had been exposed.
When he learned the fortress had been destroyed by four giant snake summons, he already suspected something. A little probing confirmed that Orochimaru had less than a tenth of his chakra left.
The reason Orochimaru didn't use the white snake form from that night was likely because more than half his chakra was tied up maintaining those summons.
And in the earlier fight, Orochimaru had taken heavy hits from him multiple times, burning even more chakra to heal his injuries.
Now was the moment when Orochimaru was at his weakest, while the Fourth Raikage believed he could keep fighting all day.
"To use such a chakra-draining move at a time like this… you're asking for death. If I can block this one attack…"
A fierce light burned in the Raikage's eyes. He absolutely could not return to the village empty-handed, carrying only failure.
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