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At the northernmost point of the Land of Whirlpools, the sounds of clashing weapons, screeching metal, and pained cries mingled together. Akio finally got to enjoy the feeling of close-quarters combat.
He even had the urge to say, "Do you also wish to dance?"—just to experience the same dramatic flair Madara once had.
Although, he wasn't personally landing the blows—everyone else was busy fighting each other.
The Gentle Fist, with its emphasis on soft, yielding force rather than brute strength, allowed him to perfectly utilize the principle of using the enemy's strength against them.
"Big Brother, we can't go on like this," the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki said gravely, moving to stand beside A.
"This old man's taijutsu is really a pain. He wasn't like this a decade ago," A growled. He'd already made two attempts to break through, but had nearly killed his own men each time. Now he didn't dare move forward again.
"Lord Raikage, we need to pull the regular shinobi back! At this rate, we can't even drain his chakra," the Two-Tails' jinchūriki stepped forward and urged.
A hesitated, then shouted, "Everyone fall back!"
Within the ranks of the Hidden Cloud forces, many shinobi sighed in relief. They were long tired of a battle where they had to constantly worry about friendly fire.
However, an invisible force suddenly pulled a squad back toward the center of the battlefield—they were dragged in uncontrollably, attacking one another as if under genjutsu.
"I told you to fall back!" the Third Raikage barked.
No one answered him. Akio just chuckled. "I never told them to retreat."
A's expression darkened. "Bee!"
"Got it!" the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki replied.
Massive tentacles extended from the Eight-Tails—not toward Akio, but around the group of shinobi in front of him, dragging them out of harm's way and behind the front lines.
Akio raised an eyebrow. He's using the Eight-Tails' power? It's unstable—he's not afraid of going berserk?
"Die, Uzumaki Akio!" A roared, the ground beneath his feet shattering in layers as he suddenly appeared in front of Akio.
"Four-Fingered Hell Stab!"
Lightning Release chakra surged to his fingertips—he didn't bother with testing moves and went straight for his "strongest spear."
The power and speed... Akio hadn't fully adjusted yet, but he managed to redirect A's momentum just enough to avoid the full brunt.
A steadied himself and laughed. "That strange taijutsu of yours has its limits after all!" One of his fingers retracted.
"Does it really? You're welcome to test it."
Akio frowned mid-sentence—both jinchūriki had reappeared behind him, two kunai aimed straight for his back.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Centered on Akio, a powerful repulsive force erupted outward, sending the two flying in spinning arcs.
"Sneak attacks aren't fair! Let's take care of you two first."
Ignoring A, Akio vanished and gave chase.
"Lightning Style: Ground Wave!"
"Water Style: Water Collision Wave!"
The two jinchūriki formed hand seals simultaneously. The combined Lightning and Water Release jutsu amplified each other's power. A crimson shroud enveloped their bodies—clearly entering partial tailed-beast transformations, with no fear of losing control.
Akio briefly paused, an invisible repulsion dispersing the oncoming jutsu before they could touch him. But in that moment, A had already closed the distance.
"Three-Fingered Hell Stab!"
His fingers extended to three, both power and speed increased.
Akio gently shifted his body, letting A barely graze past him.
Though he didn't land a hit, A smirked—he reduced his attack to two fingers, clearly believing Akio's taijutsu had reached its limit.
"Two-Fingered Hell Stab!"
Akio appeared "nervous," as if straining with all his might just to deflect the blow slightly—A's fingers nearly tore his clothes.
"Die!"
"One-Fingered Hell Stab!"
As A attacked again, Akio's expression changed. He sighed lightly.
"Farewell, Third Raikage…"
Combining gravitational pull with Gentle Fist, an immense attractive force extended from Akio's fingers. A's right hand was drawn toward his own left chest. Blood erupted.
Did he just force his hand into his own heart?!
"Did you try to pull back at the last second?" Akio frowned, looking at the Third Raikage now kneeling on one knee. That supposedly fatal "One-Fingered Hell Stab" had only pierced two centimeters deep.
"But all you've done is delay the inevitable. A wound in that location… it should have already damaged the heart. Time to end this."
"Black Rasengan!"
A Rasengan formed in an instant and smashed directly into the wound.
"Big Brother!" B arrived too late. His eyes turned red with rage as the Eight-Tails began to lose control—but it was already too late.
"Lord Raikage!"
Cries of concern came from all directions. Suddenly, A lifted his head. Black lightning erupted from his body.
"I'm not that easy to kill!"
His rising fist shattered the Rasengan before it could hit fully. Akio, caught off guard, didn't have time to counter with Gentle Fist and had to block with his arm, being knocked back dozens of meters.
"You still had that much power left?" Akio muttered, frowning.
"Lightning Style: Thirty-Two Pillar Prison!"
A chorus of voices rang out as several elite Hidden Cloud jĹŤnin performed hand seals. Before Akio could recover, thirty-two stone pillars surrounded him.
The pillars sparked with lightning, drawn toward Akio's gravitational field and dancing around him. He had no desire to experience electrocution firsthand.
Meanwhile, the rampaging Eight-Tails jinchūriki instinctively gathered chakra, and the Two-Tails jinchūriki went full tailed-beast mode. Two Tailed Beast Bombs formed and launched simultaneously.
To Akio's surprise, the bombs began to spiral into each other—combining, their power increasing exponentially.
They can combine tailed beast bombs? How did they do that? he wondered, still analyzing their technique.
Sage Mode: Activated!
Akio took a deep breath and shouted, "Shinra Tensei!"
The thirty-two stone pillars exploded outward instantly. A shockwave radiated from Akio, obliterating everything within several hundred meters. The fused Tailed Beast Bomb dissipated mid-air. Cries of pain echoed as the Hidden Cloud jĹŤnin were flung back over a hundred meters. Even the two tailed beasts tumbled.
When the dust settled, Akio stood at the lowest point of the terrain. The area affected by his Shinra Tensei covered nearly one-fifth the radius Pain had destroyed in Konoha.
"I used Sage Mode at full power, and this is the best I can do? The Rinnegan really is something else…" Akio muttered, leaping forward.
"Lord Raikage, are you all right?!" Two medic-nin rushed to A's sides, supporting him as they began emergency treatment.
Several shinobi outside the blast radius formed a protective barrier, watching Akio cautiously. Most of them were lower-ranked ninja who had been stationed further away.
The Eight-Tails and Two-Tails jinchūriki, while bruised, were already back on their feet.
Akio was about to strike again when he suddenly paused. He sensed a large number of unfamiliar chakra signatures approaching from the east.
"Hidden Mist shinobi?" He frowned. So it's true, then.
"A… no wonder you had the guts to attack the Uzumaki clan—you've been conspiring with Kirigakure all along."
A shoved away the medics and got to his feet. "What Hidden Mist? What attacking the Uzumaki clan?! I came here for one reason—revenge. Even if I die here today, I will kill you!"
Akio blinked, taken aback by the sincerity in A's voice.
"…So it's just a coincidence? That's way too convenient."
He muttered under his breath, unaware that this was no coincidence at all—
It was something he himself had unwittingly set in motion.
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