Kumogakure.
As soon as A returned, he announced that he would no longer serve as Raikage. Naturally, the position of the next Raikage fell to Darui.
Though Darui tried every possible way to dissuade him, A had already made up his mind. In his view, aside from the Hokage, the existence of the other Kage didn't hold much meaning anymore. Out of sight, out of mind.
He figured he might as well spend more time with Killer B.
That day, the two of them were sparring in the Valley of Clouds and Lightning when, suddenly, a strange monk appeared.
His arrival was silent—neither Killer B nor A noticed the intruder.
Their fight raged with full intensity, yet on the monk's face there was only disdain.
He seemed to be losing patience. With a flicker of movement, he appeared directly between them. Before either brother could react, he spread his arms wide and stopped both of them in their tracks.
A stared in disbelief at the fist that had been caught mid-strike.
"Who are you?! When did you get here!?"
Killer B sized up the monk's strange clothing and shouted,
"Interrupting our fight, fool, you tool!"
The monk's face was perfectly calm. He ignored Killer B, his eyes fixed coldly on A.
"My name is Jigen. I have a few questions for you."
A frowned.
"What questions?"
"In that war not long ago... did a woman appear? White hair, horns on her head?"
A froze. His mind flashed back to the pale woman standing behind Kaito—Kaguya.
In truth, aside from Kaito and a few from Konoha, the other villages knew almost nothing about her.
All they saw was that when she appeared, she treated Kaito with deep reverence. And her appearance bore some resemblance to both Kaito and Madara.
A relayed what he had seen. Jigen's expression changed, his voice dropping into a murmur.
"Two others who look like Kaguya? So... the clan finally sent someone here?"
Both A and Killer B were baffled. Their fists were still locked in Jigen's grip when B shouted,
"Oi! Let go, fool, you tool!"
Jigen cast him a brief glance before slowly loosening his grip. He continued,
"Do you know their names?"
"Uchiha Kaito and Uchiha Madara!"
"Uchiha...? Not of the clan?"
Jigen clasped his hands behind his back, deep in thought.
For so long, he had hidden in some forgotten corner, biding his time until his resurrection. Then suddenly, he had sensed Kaguya's chakra. He had immediately set out to find her and uncover what had happened.
If necessary, he was even prepared to reincarnate prematurely—risking total death—if it meant capturing Kaguya and reclaiming the Chakra Fruit within her.
That fruit should have been his. With it, he could not only be fully reborn, but also gain even greater power.
But then... Kaguya's chakra vanished. Not truly gone, but faint—so faint he could only sense its rough direction. Following that trail had led him straight to Kumogakure.
Unlucky village. Pain had just visited not long ago, and now Jigen had come.
Since the battle with Pain, A had grown more cautious. He tried to avoid provoking strangers of unknown origin, especially those who could casually stop him and Killer B at once. Clearly, this man wasn't someone to be trifled with.
A said,
"If you've got no more business here, then my brother and I will be on our way."
He gave B a look. The two began slowly retreating, step by step.
But Jigen suddenly raised his head, eyes locking onto B. His lips curled into a smile.
"You can't leave. Your chakra... is very tempting."
In an instant, he appeared in front of Killer B. B's eyes widened in shock as Jigen seized his throat and slammed him into the ground.
Dark, vertical markings began spreading across Jigen's skin—the first state of the Kāma seal.
His gaze grew hungry.
The Eight-Tails' chakra, after all, came from the Ten-Tails. For him, it was the perfect nourishment.
The impact left B stunned. Before he could recover, a tremendous suction force burst from Jigen's palm. Inside B's mind, Gyūki cried out in alarm,
"This is bad! He's trying to rip me out of you!"
B couldn't just lie there and die. Eight massive octopus tentacles erupted from his back, hurling Jigen away.
At that moment, A descended from above, his body wrapped in crackling lightning.
Jigen didn't even glance up. He simply raised one hand to A's ankle, and once again suction roared forth. The lightning cloak surrounding A's body was stripped away in an instant, sucked straight into Jigen.
A froze in shock.
"Impossible...! That's Pain's ability!"
Before he could snap out of it, Jigen swung him violently through the air.
B, who had already retreated a few steps, quickly extended his tentacles, catching A midair and pulling him back to safety.
The clownish look was gone from B's face. His eyes burned with deadly seriousness as he glared at Jigen.
"This guy's no joke. He's after the Eight-Tails inside me—just like Pain!"
A's face darkened. He tried to gather his chakra, to ignite his Lightning Release Chakra Mode... but no matter how he strained, only faint sparks flickered across his skin.
B immediately pressed a hand to his brother's shoulder, channeling Gyūki's chakra into him.
With the Eight-Tails' chakra as fuel, A clenched his fists, the power erupting even fiercer than before. His hair bristled wildly, his body radiating like a raging beast.
But Jigen didn't even blink. With a dismissive wave of his hand, he said,
"Come at me together."
His arrogance made their blood boil. The brothers exchanged a glance—and in the next instant, they flanked Jigen on both sides.
Their arms curved inward, trapping his head between them.
"Lightning Release: Double Lariat!"
This was their ultimate combination technique—so powerful it had already claimed countless strong opponents.
Even Jigen grew slightly more serious. Though his Kāma could absorb chakra, this was taijutsu fused with ninjutsu. Absorption alone couldn't nullify it.
His eyes narrowed. A black vortex swallowed him whole.
A and B's devastating strike tore through nothing but air—nearly colliding with each other instead.
As they faltered in confusion, Jigen appeared above them, one foot slamming down on each brother, crushing them deep into the ground.
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