Chapter 147 – The Gap! Desperate Yugito
The Konoha ninja watched in awe as the Hokage—Uchiha Fugaku—stepped fully into the glowing red prism that pulsed at the giant's brow.
Everyone knew what that meant.
Whenever the Hokage entered the pentaprism, it signaled that he was no longer holding back.
A deep roar echoed below as a new Tailed Beast Ball formed and shot upward, the sphere of compressed chakra blazing like a miniature sun.
Inside the massive Susanoo, the colossal warrior began to move—its pace appearing sluggish yet carrying tremendous force. The giant gripped its enormous blade, raising it horizontally before its chest in a defensive stance.
The Konoha ninja standing upon its palm exchanged mocking grins as the Tailed Beast Ball soared toward them.
"Again?" one scoffed. "Didn't those two Tailed Beasts learn anything from the last one? It didn't even scratch us!"
Another laughed. "That's the Cloud Village for you—muscles first, brains later."
Their derisive laughter spread through the group. To them, the tall, dark-skinned shinobi of Kumogakure were nothing more than wild gorillas—strong but simple-minded.
But their laughter died instantly as several more Tailed Beast Balls came whistling through the air. One was heading straight for the palm they stood on.
Panic flared. The barrier protecting them could stop wind and debris, but not an attack of that magnitude.
Before they could react, Susanoo's massive hand moved. The greatsword flashed.
One—two—three—each Tailed Beast Ball was cleaved apart in midair.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The explosions were deafening, but the chakra barrier muffled the noise and vibration. The ninja barely felt a tremor beneath their feet.
When the smoke cleared, not a single scorch mark touched the blade.
Down below, Killer Bee clenched his teeth, despair washing over him.
Even the Eight-Tails, Gyūki, sighed within him.
> "There's no helping it. The Sharingan truly restrains us. If that Uchiha were using the Eternal Mangekyō, this fight would already be over."
And now, the giant was finally done playing target practice.
"Careful, he's moving again!" Gyūki warned.
The next instant, Susanoo swung its greatsword several times, releasing crescent slashes of crimson chakra. Each arc screamed through the air, radiating destructive power rivaling a Tailed Beast Ball.
The attacks were erratic, unpatterned—yet devastating.
"Yo, Yugito! Move!" Bee shouted.
Both he and Nii Yugito fired Tailed Beast Balls upward, intercepting the incoming slashes.
But before they could prepare another defense, Gyūki's voice roared in Bee's mind.
> "He's coming down! Don't look at his eyes!"
Bee's instincts twitched. He almost glanced up but stopped himself, lowering his massive head just in time.
Then the giant landed.
The impact shook the battlefield like an earthquake.
Shinobi held their ground by channeling chakra to their soles, but villagers in the distance—women, children, the elderly—fell to their knees as the earth heaved.
Dust rose like a stormcloud.
Yugito's gaze flicked toward the stumbling villagers—but that moment's distraction proved fatal.
"Dodge!" Matatabi's voice screamed inside her.
She turned too late.
The greatsword came down in a blazing arc.
Slash!
Half of the Two-Tails' body was carved open, blue chakra spraying like mist instead of blood.
"Matatabi! Are you alright?!" Yugito cried.
"No blood… but pain—so much pain!" the Two-Tails groaned.
Threads of glowing chakra began knitting its body back together, but the next blow was already descending.
Yugito hastily raised her claws, catching the blade. Sparks of red and blue chakra exploded outward—but Susanoo didn't stop.
With a brutal twist, the sword wrenched diagonally, slicing through her claws.
"Ahhh—!"
Half her paw was gone before she could leap away.
The sword spun gracefully in the giant's grip, reversing its hold—then plunged straight downward.
It pierced Matatabi's body clean through, pinning the massive blue cat to the earth.
Matatabi screamed, the sound echoing through both the physical and spiritual worlds.
Even beings of chakra could feel agony.
Yugito's heart pounded in helpless horror. Under that crushing power, she couldn't fight back—she couldn't even move.
So this… this was the difference between them. The vast, despairing gap.
Susanoo released the sword hilt and reached down with one massive hand, gripping the cat by the scruff. Matatabi struggled wildly, but it was like resisting a mountain. The giant lifted her effortlessly into the air.
Only then did Yugito notice them—tiny black silhouettes standing calmly upon one of Susanoo's open palms.
Her eyes widened.
He'd been fighting her with one hand all this time.
And before she could react further, a strange crimson light bloomed in her vision.
A kaleidoscopic eye—deep, infinite, and merciless.
No! Don't look—! Matatabi screamed within her. But it was already too late.
In her mind, Yugito thought she had resisted. She imagined escaping the genjutsu, reuniting with Bee, continuing the fight together.
But in reality, her body hung motionless in the giant's grasp.
Moments later, waves of blue chakra began leaking from the Two-Tails' form, fading like snow melting under sunlight—until nothing remained but silence.
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