Amid the booming shockwave, the Two-Tails was sent flying backward. Her tails whipped through the air as she fought for balance, then with a turn she landed, her four limbs digging into the earth and leaving behind deep gouges in the ground.
Her eyes locked fiercely on the Wooden Human, while the blue flames surging higher around her body told of her rising fury.
"Roar—"
At that moment, the Eight-Tails—who had been knocked away earlier—charged back into the fray.
Though his body was covered in wounds, the flames of fury still blazed in his eyes.
"Don't look at me with eyes like that—it only makes you seem so terribly innocent."
Seeing this, Kitagawa Gen gave a slight shake of his head.
"I've always wondered something—why do you always act like victims? Have you ever stopped to think about the villages you've attacked and plundered? What about them?"
"Enough with your useless words!"
The Two-Tails roared, cutting him off, chakra surging wildly around her.
"The evil you've wrought today—we will repay it double, starting with you!"
"Today, you won't be leaving."
The Eight-Tails spoke as well, gazing at the shattered village, at the devastation all around.
Even though Kumogakure was vast, and even though the evacuation had been swift, nearly half the village had been destroyed, with flames still burning everywhere.
Such destruction was something no one could accept.
"You will pay for everything you've done today!"
"Is that so? I see now… you really are masters of self-deception."
Kitagawa Gen let out a faint sigh, as the chakra within his body began to churn more fiercely.
He wasn't skilled in Wood Release—controlling its finer points was beyond him—but unleashing it at full force? That was a different matter.
"No wonder you could send your envoy to kidnap the Hyūga clan's heiress—and when you failed, bite back at Konoha and force a war."
"No wonder you can brazenly steal others' secret techniques and bloodlines, and still act as if it's your natural right. In the end, you're nothing more than bandits."
Gen pressed his palms together. His chakra surged violently, and the ground itself began to tremble.
The suffocating aura spread out in waves, and then—the earth split open.
"What is this…?"
Both the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails felt danger in that moment, just as Gen's voice rang out again.
"Is this what you rely on—your two tailed beasts?"
"As expected… Two-Tails, Eight-Tails. You're far too strong. I'll have to go all out too."
As the violent tremors shook the land, every tree, every vine of Wood Release drew together into one.
With a thunderous roar of chakra, a colossal Buddha slowly rose into view—its countless arms layered one atop the other, soaring into the clouds.
"Sage Art: Wood Release—True Several Thousand Hands!"
...
While Kitagawa Gen was clashing with the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails, Terumi Mei and Deidara were also struck down by Kumogakure's shinobi.
It was just their bad luck—the shockwaves from the battle between Yugito and the Eight-Tails had thrown them off balance.
In the end, Darui's Storm Release finished the job and sent them crashing down!
Of course, Deidara had already been itching to get moving.
He'd had his fun with explosions; naturally, he wanted to switch things up.
"You people really deserve to die!"
Darui attacked while cursing through clenched teeth.
"To launch such a reckless assault on another village—you will face retribution for this!"
"Oi, oi, oi… wasn't it you lot who attacked Konoha first?"
Deidara rolled his eyes at those words, scattering a handful of clay with a mocking grin.
The next instant—Boom!
A deafening blast erupted. Several Kumogakure shinobi who had just rushed in to help were blown away on the spot!
"What's this got to do with you anyway? Are you from Konoha?"
C asked through gritted teeth as he pressed the attack.
"And do your own people know what you're doing? Moves like this will only bring disaster down on your own village!"
"Spare me the useless drivel."
Terumi Mei sidestepped an incoming strike. At the same moment, her hands had already finished forming seals.
"Kirigakure and Iwagakure are allied with Konoha now. What we do is our choice. If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for getting too used to throwing your weight around."
As she spoke, she spat out a torrent of yellow acid, sticky and fiercely corrosive. The stream of slime surged toward the Kumogakure shinobi in an instant.
"Move!"
Gone was Darui's usual lazy demeanor. He barked sharp orders, driving his comrades to scatter quickly, then cast a glance toward the other battlefield.
Chakra surged within him as he fixed his gaze on Deidara and Terumi Mei.
"No matter what your reasons are, your fate is sealed. Whether it's you—or that Kitagawa Gen with the Wood Release—"
"You dare cause trouble in Kumogakure, you all must die!"
"Tch, talk about arrogant. No wonder the old man hated you so much."
Deidara dug at his ear with obvious irritation. Terumi Mei gave a small nod in agreement.
"Big words are easy. But when you plundered other people's kekkei genkai and scrolls of secret techniques—did their protests ever bother you then?"
"They don't matter. What matters is you. We'll kill you."
Darui gave a cold snort, and the rest of Kumogakure's shinobi quickly closed the circle around them.
"The Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails will crush your village and slaughter every last one of you!"
[Boom—!]
But before Darui could finish his threat, a vast surge of chakra shot into the sky, shaking the earth beneath their feet!
"What is that?!"
"What's happening?!"
"Such overwhelming chakra!"
"What on earth is going on over there?!"
The immense pressure of that chakra left nearly everyone stunned. One by one, their heads turned in disbelief toward the distant battlefield.
In that place, smoke and dust filled the air, and a violent aura seemed ready to crush everything. Amidst it all, they faintly heard a voice.
"Two-Tails, Eight-Tails… you're truly too strong. I'll have to go all out too."
Go all out?
The shinobi of Kumogakure couldn't grasp what that meant. The power of the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails was beyond question.
But what did it mean that he hadn't gone all out yet?
The next moment, it seemed as if everyone understood!
Through the billowing smoke and the thunderous roar of chakra, they suddenly felt as though a dark shadow had fallen over them.
Then, rising through the haze, a colossal Buddha slowly revealed itself, towering into the clouds!
The statue's face radiated serenity and solemn majesty, yet the surging waves of chakra it emanated brought nothing but despair.
The giant Buddha loomed, blotting out the sky and sun, growing ever higher. The mighty peaks of Kumogakure seemed unable to bear its weight—already they had begun to crumble.
When the Buddha finally stood revealed, the mist curling around it looked like sacred clouds of its own making. At nearly a kilometer in height, it felt as though it could suppress the entire world!
Witnessing this sight, every soul fell into silence. Countless bodies trembled uncontrollably.
[Clang—]
At last, a kunai slipped from a Kumogakure shinobi's grasp, his face hollow with despair.
"This… this can't be real. What kind of monster is that? Is this some kind of sick joke…?"
His terror spread swiftly through the others. Despair, numbness, and fear wove together in an unstoppable tide.
"This isn't possible… it can't be!"
Cold sweat trickled down Darui's brow. He no longer understood anything at all.
"Is this the power to bring peace to a chaotic world? With such strength, how could today's shinobi world even exist?"
C and Samui stood frozen, their eyes blank as they stared ahead. They could not comprehend such power—nor why someone who possessed it would allow the Five Great Shinobi Villages to continue existing.
Why had he not simply subdued the entire world? Why let the shadow of war linger over the shinobi world?
There were no answers. Only the crushing certainty that death was now close at hand.
"Oi… better get ready to run."
Even Terumi Mei and Deidara were struck dumb, but unlike the Kumogakure shinobi, they knew Kitagawa Gen was their ally.
So despite their shock and disbelief, they managed to stay calm.
"Yeah… I think running's the smart move here."
Deidara gave a dazed nod. Even with his reckless courage, he knew it was time to flee.
Every Kumogakure shinobi stood paralyzed with shock. And as the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails stared up at the thousand-meter Buddha, even they were consumed by doubt.
Back when they were captured by Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, they had witnessed those men's power firsthand.
But now—
"This feels… even stronger than that, doesn't it?"
Both tailed beasts shuddered, their scalps prickling. Within them, Killer B and Yugito looked deathly pale.
Even they had no idea what sort of monster they were facing.
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