Chapter 145: Don't Leave — Complete Tailed Beast Transformation
"Yo, you fool, Bee! Listen to me! It's still not too late to run now. I hope that Hokage isn't coming for us—if he is, we're doomed!"
Gyūki's deep voice echoed inside Killer Bee's mind, filled with rare seriousness.
As the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki, Killer Bee could feel Gyūki's emotions clearly. This time, the great ox-octopus wasn't exaggerating—he was truly afraid. The Susanoo standing before them radiated a pressure unlike anything he had ever sensed.
Killer Bee's usually playful eyes hardened.
"My village is right here, old pal. The people I swore to protect are still standing. At a time like this, how could I run away alone?"
Gyūki's massive ox-like face twisted into a grimace.
"Think this through, Bee. There's still time to slip away. But if we wait any longer… there won't be."
Determination flashed in Bee's eyes. He was about to respond when a familiar chakra signature flared nearby. A swift figure landed beside him—a woman with a single ponytail and fierce eyes.
"Sorry, Bee—I'm late!" said Nii Yugito, her tone sharp but steady.
Killer Bee's eyes lit up.
"Yo, Yugi! Now that you're here… hey, Old Eight—if we team up with the Two-Tails, can we take this Susanoo down?"
Inside Bee's consciousness, Gyūki hesitated—but before he could answer, another voice joined in, low and feline.
"Kid, don't fool yourself. That Complete Body Susanoo isn't something we or Gyūki can handle."
Bee's brow furrowed. The only one who could speak in his inner world besides Gyūki was Matatabi, the Two-Tails sealed within Yugito.
Even with that grim warning, Bee waited for Gyūki's verdict.
Gyūki sighed, his deep voice solemn.
"No chance. Not even a little. A Complete Body Susanoo… that's power beyond us. If it were just a Mangekyō Sharingan user, maybe. But this? Run, Bee. Run as far as you can."
Outside, Yugito noticed Bee's unfocused stare and calm expression—he was speaking to his tailed beast again. She waited silently.
When Bee finally exhaled, his voice was heavy.
"Sorry, Old Eight. I've made up my mind. I'm not abandoning my village."
He smiled faintly, as though relieved by his own resolve.
"You don't have to die with me. You can use your escape technique—leave one tail with me and get out while you can."
For a moment, Gyūki said nothing. Then, suddenly, his laughter boomed through Bee's mind.
"Hahaha! You good-for-nothing fool! I didn't misjudge you after all. But forget that—I'm not running either. If you're fighting, then I'm fighting too! But let me be clear—this battle can't be won. You sure you still want to do this?"
Gyūki's enormous eyes gleamed like twin white moons—terrifying to most, but not to Bee.
Bee grinned, teeth bared.
"Fight!"
The Eight-Tails smiled—a soundless expression that carried deep pride.
"Good. Then let's fight this last battle together."
Bee's chest tightened with emotion. Even knowing the outcome, Gyūki still stood with him. Truly… a brother.
He turned to Yugito.
"Yugito—you already heard from the Two-Tails, didn't you?"
Yugito nodded gravely.
"Then… maybe you should lead the villagers out. There's still time before the ten-minute mark. You can make it."
Her expression hardened.
"Don't even think about it, Bee. I'm not running either."
Matatabi's voice had already told her the truth—this was a hopeless fight. But Yugito couldn't bring herself to abandon her home, the Hidden Cloud Village, the place she was born and raised.
Seeing her resolve, Bee gave a small smile. "Heh. You've grown, kid."
Then his face turned somber.
"My brother… he's probably already fallen."
Yugito's eyes widened. "That's impossible! Lord Raikage is one of the strongest shinobi alive! He inherited the Third Raikage's Lightning Release Armor and surpassed even him! How could he—"
Bee shook his head. "Even the Raikage would struggle against that thing. Not even a Tailed Beast Bomb could scratch that Susanoo."
Yugito's voice faltered. Deep down, she knew Bee was right.
Bee glanced toward the towering red figure looming in the distance.
"Ten minutes are up… let's go."
He unclasped the seven swords from his back and tossed them aside. Against an enemy like that, they were useless.
"Right," Yugito replied, her chakra beginning to surge.
In the center of Kumogakure, under the terrified yet hopeful eyes of countless villagers, two monstrous forms took shape—tailed beasts the size of mountains.
The Eight-Tails, a massive ox with octopus tentacles and a single horn, and the Two-Tails, a blazing blue cat wreathed in chakra flames.
Even at their full size—51 meters and 60 meters respectively—they looked like children before the crimson titan in the sky.
The Susanoo towered more than 200 meters tall.
Gasps spread through the ranks of Kumogakure's shinobi. The sheer scale was unfathomable.
Only the oldest veterans trembled with recognition. They had seen something like this before—in stories, in nightmares.
That legendary figure once called the Asura of the Ninja World had also summoned a giant—one a hundred meters tall, wrapped in a blue aura.
And now, another stood before them… red, immense, and godlike.
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