Killer Bee landed lightly on the ground. As soon as his feet touched down, he began to rap and twist his body in a ridiculous, jerky dance.
Then he glanced at the bleeding cut on his arm and said to Uchiha Yuan,
"Yo, lil' Uchiha bro, you actually caught my blade. This lord recognizes your strength—you're a worthy opponent I gotta take seriously!"
Uchiha Yuan exhaled a long, heavy breath. His hands tingled faintly, and inwardly he couldn't help but sigh—Killer Bee really was a monster in human form.
This was the first time since he'd set foot on the battlefield that he had truly felt such overwhelming pressure.
"Lord Killer Bee, your reputation as one of the strongest shinobi in the world is well deserved. From here on, I'll be using my full power."
As soon as his voice fell, a fierce gust erupted outward from Yuan's body. The ground beneath his feet shattered in an instant, forming a circular crater nearly ten meters wide.
That was caused by the immense surge of chakra that had burst from within him in a single instant, spilling out into the air around him.
At the same moment, a voice echoed inside Killer Bee's mind.
"Bee, be careful. There's something strange about that chakra."
It was the Eight-Tails speaking—its sensitivity to chakra was unmatched.
Though the amount of chakra in Uchiha Yuan's body didn't impress the Eight-Tails, the quality of it made the beast feel a flicker of caution.
Killer Bee's body trembled slightly. Three more swords sprang from their sheaths, and with a blur of motion, he struck a stance—five blades in all pointing toward Uchiha Yuan.
"Incredible! Lord Bee is using Five-Sword Style!"
"That Uchiha brat actually forced Lord Bee to go this far!"
"The Savage Tiger of the Leaf! Today, Lord Bee will make sure that tiger dies!"
The Cloud shinobi roared their cheers, while most of the Konoha ninja stood in heavy silence, worry etched on their faces.
Though Uchiha Yuan had proven his terrifying strength in recent battles, this was Killer Bee—a perfect Jinchūriki.
And the Eight-Tails was second in power only to the Nine-Tails itself.
None of them believed Yuan could possibly stand against Killer Bee once he got serious.
At that moment, in the distance, the Cloud shinobi who were still fighting Konoha's forces suddenly began to collapse and retreat.
Fire Release: Ash Accumulation Burn!
Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!
Water Release: Water Dragon Barrage!
Lightning Release: Earth Flow!
A storm of ninjutsu rained down upon the Cloud troops. Moments later, Sarutobi Shin'nosuke and several others flashed into view, with a large contingent of Konoha ninja charging close behind.
Konoha's reinforcements had arrived.
"Captain Sarutobi, look—over there!"
Shin'nosuke's eyes widened as he spotted the two figures facing off in the distance.
"That's Killer Bee, the Cloud's Jinchūriki! What's he doing here? Send this intel back to HQ immediately!"
Seeing the Cloud forces faltering under Konoha's assault, Killer Bee suddenly sheathed all five blades and vanished with a flicker, reappearing ahead of the retreating Cloud troops using Body Flicker.
Almost at once, powerful chakra fluctuations rippled outward—several devastating jutsu were flying toward him.
A surge of flaming chakra erupted from Killer Bee's body, his terrifying aura bursting forth.
"Not good—he's releasing the Tailed Beast's chakra!"
Shin'nosuke's face hardened, and he immediately led his men in a desperate dash toward Killer Bee's position.
Bee's eyes gleamed with a fierce, cold light. The incoming jutsu crashed into the shell of Tailed Beast chakra surrounding him and dispersed harmlessly.
"Baka yarō, kono yarō! You Konoha bastards—taste this move from the great Lord Bee!"
"Ink Cannon!"
In the next instant, amid a violent wave of chakra, Killer Bee unleashed a blinding beam of light.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Rampart!"
Their collective shout was drowned by the deafening explosion. A blinding white flash filled the sky.
When the smoke cleared, a massive, cracked wall of earth stood before the Konoha shinobi, shielding them from annihilation.
Shin'nosuke and the others leapt up onto the wall. What they saw before them made their hearts sink—a vast trench a hundred meters long, gouged deep into the earth by that single blast.
Killer Bee withdrew his Tailed Beast chakra. Watching the Konoha shinobi emerging from behind the shattered rampart, he knew the fight could no longer continue today.
He signaled for the Cloud forces to retreat, then turned his gaze toward Uchiha Yuan.
"Savage Tiger of the Leaf. I thought your fame was only because the Sand shinobi were too weak.
But, little Uchiha… this lord looks forward to our next fight."
Uchiha Yuan met his gaze. "And I regret not witnessing the Seven-Sword Style of the man they call the Killer Bee."
Roughly ten miles from the battlefield, Konoha's temporary encampment stood on a low mountain ridge.
Teams of four patrolled and scouted the area, watching for any sign of the enemy.
Inside a large, makeshift command tent, the atmosphere was heavy and grim. Sarutobi Shin'nosuke sat at the head of the table, his expression somber, while Uchiha Yuan and several squad leaders listened to a tactical analyst's report.
As Shin'nosuke listened, his sharp gaze swept over the gathered ninja before lingering briefly on Yuan.
His Third Division had rushed here in response to a distress signal from Inuzuka Mountain's forces, only to arrive and find both the Inuzuka and Fourth Division locked in fierce battle with the Cloud.
What shocked him most was the presence of Killer Bee himself—the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki, the Cloud's ultimate weapon. His appearance here could only mean one thing: the Cloud's main army couldn't be far behind.
Yet this contradicted HQ's reconnaissance data—the planned battlefield had clearly been a feint, a deliberate deception.
Now, according to the analysts, this region would likely become the true main battleground.
Pushing aside thoughts of strategy, Shin'nosuke looked at Uchiha Yuan with a complicated expression.
As the son of the Third Hokage, he knew all too well about the tensions between the village and the Uchiha clan.
He had heard Killer Bee's parting words.
And with a little inquiry, he learned that Yuan had fought the Cloud Jinchūriki to a standstill—a duel that shook the battlefield.
It was no wonder Lord Orochimaru had taken a special interest in him. His talent was extraordinary—and he wasn't even ten years old yet. His power was still growing at an astonishing pace.
A pity, Shin'nosuke thought. Yuan wasn't like Shisui—gentle and courteous.
The old man will have headaches soon enough. With a prodigy like this, the Uchiha clan would only grow more arrogant.
Just then, a Konoha ninja rushed into the tent, breaking Shin'nosuke's thoughts.
"Report, Captain! Recon Team Forty-Five has spotted a Cloud force of approximately two thousand men at Mistgrass Mountain—thirty-three miles out!"
"What?!"
The room erupted in shock. All eyes turned toward the map behind the strategist.
One glance was enough. The Cloud's position at Mistgrass Mountain could mean only one thing—
they intended to encircle and crush them.
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