"What did you do to me?"
Not only had its attack missed completely, but it had ended up injured again. The Two-Tails' roar echoed endlessly within the barrier.
Although it had broken free from restraint, it clearly felt its chakra deeply disrupted.
If this disturbing force grew any stronger, it realized it might become nothing more than a puppet under someone else's control.
And the key source of all this was several black rods piercing its body.
Realizing this, the Two-Tails opened its mouth, immediately attempting to spit out the black rods.
"Not bad at all."
Kawaki Hatake smiled slightly—offering what could be considered praise for the beast.
Of course, it could just as easily be called mockery.
"You really think everyone's as dumb as you are?"
Tsunade shot Kawaki a glance. This was pure slander.
Would Kakashi Kawaki even be that dumb as to lose to a tailed beast?
Wait, why was he even comparing himself to a beast in the first place?
Kawaki wanted to argue back. But remembering that Tsunade hadn't cooled off yet, he could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger.
Seeing this, Yahiko and the others fought hard to suppress their laughter, their faces contorting with effort.
Without such iron self-control, the barrier might've collapsed.
Only Nagato remained unaffected, keeping his focus entirely on the Two-Tails.
"You won't get away with that."
Noticing the beast's intention, there was no way Nagato would pretend not to see.
Though the damage from those black rods was negligible, their effects were critical.
There was absolutely no way he'd let the Two-Tails remove them.
[Earth Release: Stone Cage Carnage]
In an instant, Nagato finished the hand seals and slammed his palm onto the ground.
As a surge of chakra shot underground, the area beneath the Two-Tails began violently trembling. Then suddenly, countless earthen spikes erupted from the earth.
The Two-Tails, still trying to spit out the black rods, was impaled instantly, looking utterly pitiful.
"That move's brutal. Did you teach it to him?"
Tsunade's eyes gleamed with envy. She truly didn't want to remain just a reckless brute forever.
Unfortunately, some things were simply destined, and she could do nothing about it.
"Do I strike you as someone who uses Earth Release jutsu?"
"It must've been self-developed by him. Power like this? Definitely S-rank."
Kawaki didn't even turn his head. He knew perfectly well Tsunade was deliberately teasing him.
But he didn't mind. Regardless of whether he taught it or not, Nagato was still his disciple.
"Definitely true enough."
"Still, not everyone who uses it would get the same result."
Tsunade wasn't belittling Nagato—that was actual recognition.
To affect a tailed beast like this, there's no doubt it reached S-rank.
Yet the same jutsu wielded by different ninjas could produce dramatically different results.
"You're right."
Kawaki nodded hard, instantly recalling Madara Uchiha's mere B-rank jutsu.
"You're not seriously thinking it's already over, are you?"
Looking at the Two-Tails pierced by multiple earthen spikes, Tsunade felt somewhat disappointed.
This spectacular fight seemed way too short, and the Two-Tails was apparently just too weak.
"You're imagining things. Even the weakest tailed beasts aren't easy opponents."
Kawaki scoffed. Sometimes this woman's brain had serious issues.
She'd fought tailed beasts before—how could she ask something so naive?
Only because he feared getting beaten up did he hold back.
If tailed beasts were this easy to handle, how could they be called ultimate weapons?
The two exchanged a few words, but before long, the Two-Tails had already gone berserk.
Roaaaar~
Before Nagato could make another move, the Two-Tails erupted with immense chakra, its blue flames flaring brighter and brighter.
The intense heat radiating from it made the entire barrier unbearably scorching.
Earth spikes melted away instantly under the burning blue flames, and the Two-Tails' wounds began gradually healing.
Except for a few irritating black rods still lodged in its body, it was nearly healed.
"Unforgivable!!"
The Two-Tails' originally gentle voice grew furious. A massive fireball roared from its mouth, blazing furiously.
It targeted Nagato directly!
The ball of flame roared through the air, leaving nothing but scorched earth in its wake.
Getting hit by such an attack—needless to say, the consequences would be horrifying.
"I bet it'll start questioning its life choices."
"It looks impressive, but ninjutsu won't work on Nagato anyway."
"This Two-Tails is just big. Other than that, it's kinda useless."
"Hehe~"
Yahiko and the others conversed freely, watching the battle within the barrier as if it were somewhat boring.
They could already picture multiple ways Nagato might react, all of them dull and unexciting.
[Preta Path~]
Nagato went with the least exciting choice.
As the Two-Tails watched in shock, the mighty fireball it had unleashed was gradually nullified and completely absorbed by Nagato with one hand.
And Nagato, looking utterly relaxed, seemed like he wasn't even out of breath.
"Your ninjutsu has no effect on me?"
The Two-Tails found it hard to believe. In a world where everyone relied on ninjutsu to survive, you're telling me someone is immune?
But it had to admit—though the idea sounded absurd—it might actually be true.
Even though it recognized the Rinnegan, it didn't possess the authority to wield the Six Paths Sage's power.
"I wouldn't go that far..."
"But your ninjutsu won't have any effect on me."
Nagato smiled slightly. The first sentence was polite humility, but the second nearly enraged the Two-Tails to death.
"What about this then?"
The Two-Tails, unwilling to give up, defiantly formed a dense chakra energy sphere rapidly within its mouth.
This was the ultimate move of any tailed beast—the Tailed Beast Ball!!
If this guy could casually block even the Tailed Beast Ball, it would turn around and flee immediately.
"So huge~"
"Whoa! First time seeing a Tailed Beast Ball this close!"
Ohhh...!
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"So exciting!!"
"Damn it, idiot~"
Kakuzu couldn't resist throwing in a sarcastic remark, which earned him three sets of death glares.
These three kids didn't stop to think. Was standing this close to a Tailed Beast Ball really cause for celebration?
What if—just hypothetically—Nagato slipped up? What if this barrier couldn't hold?
Kakuzu had already decided—if that Tailed Beast Ball came anywhere near their barrier, he'd run.
Who knows whether this flimsy barrier could withstand it? There was no way he wanted to die here.
"I'd really like to see how you defend yourself this time."
Nagato grinned maliciously and tilted his head sideways, sending a shiver down the Two-Tails' spine.
[Shinra Tensei]
As Nagato let out a low shout, a powerful repelling force exploded from him.
The Tailed Beast Ball hurtled toward the Two-Tails at an even greater speed than before.
"What the hell!"
The Two-Tails immediately cursed in shock—it hadn't expected this outcome.
Could it actually swallow its own Tailed Beast Ball?
Without hesitation, it dismissed that impossible thought.
Yet space was limited, and the distance was too short. The Two-Tails no longer had room to dodge.
Nagato had planned it perfectly when he spoke those words.
"This kid really looks just like you when he's being evil."
Tsunade watched with a grin; no one could tell if she was praising Kawaki or teasing him.
"I thank you,"
Kawaki replied with a cold, emotionless smile—accepting the blame whether he liked it or not.
BOOM!
After the intense explosion, smoke and dust filled the barrier, visibility dropped to zero.
[Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!]
As Nagato released his Wind technique, the inside of the barrier cleared once more.
By then, he had already moved to the edge of the barrier, not far from Nonou.
Seeing that Nagato remained completely unharmed, Nonou finally felt relieved.
Meanwhile, things were not going as well for the distant Two-Tails.
It now stood within a massive deep crater, covered in wounds, breathing heavily.
Remarkably, despite its battered condition, it still stood tall.
Its wounds were slowly healing, though at an extremely sluggish rate.
Clearly, even for itself, taking a direct hit from its own Tailed Beast Ball was no small feat.
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