There was once a famous, physically disabled yet indomitable man who said:
Without sacrifice, there can be no gain. By overcoming pain, one gains a heart that will never yield—a heart of steel.
From a certain point of view, that man could be considered Hagoromo's cousin.
Unfortunately—
Reality proved that cousin wrong.
More often than not, even sacrifice brought nothing at all.
At this moment, Hagoromo could be described as seriously injured yet refusing to leave the front line—a model worker who stayed on duty despite grievous wounds.
As for the reason he was injured…
Well, regardless, this counted as a work injury.
Konoha would reimburse the medical costs.
There was also a tragic yet heartwarming fact:
Konoha had medical insurance.
Thanks to Tsunade's advocacy, the village possessed a fully developed medical system.
"Are you absolutely sure you're okay?" Minato asked again.
From the looks of it, Hagoromo seemed one breath away from death. Was verbally extending his life by a few seconds really enough?
"No problem," Hagoromo replied weakly.
"But distance and timing—I'll leave all of that to you, Minato-senpai."
Unlike the original owner of this ability—who came with built-in accessories—Hagoromo had never coordinated with another person before.
So his top priority now wasn't whether he could seriously injure the Eight-Tails.
It was this:
Be careful.
Be precise.
And most importantly—
Do not electrocute Minato.
From personal experience, Hagoromo knew full well that shinobi were just as vulnerable to high-voltage electricity as ordinary people. When they got shocked, they cooked just the same—medium well to well done.
Minato nodded, then called out loudly,
"Chōza! Shibi!"
Hearing his voice, the two who were currently holding off four enemies forced their opponents back and turned around.
Minato gave them a hand signal.
They understood immediately.
They glanced at Hagoromo—who was clearly performing some sort of dangerous performance art—and nodded.
Yes.
It was time to retreat.
With Chōza and Shibi's strength, the enemy couldn't defeat them easily—but two versus four meant they also couldn't quickly finish the fight.
Still, the pressure wasn't overwhelming, especially with Shibi's insect swarms constantly interfering.
Under normal conditions, Hagoromo's Lightning Release technique-type attack could fire eight shots per minute. Dual-wielded, that became sixteen—but because of electromagnetic interference and charge buildup, even dual wielding required simultaneous firing.
The interval didn't change.
After the first shot, the cycle of discharge, recharge, aiming, firing, and correction took over seven seconds.
Blind firing could reduce the interval, but accuracy would drop.
This was a maximum-output technique.
There was no such thing as instant casting.
Even under ideal conditions, five seconds was the minimum.
Against ordinary shinobi, five seconds was enough that they couldn't even complete a single hand seal.
Against A or Minato—
Five seconds might as well be a year.
Once the withdrawal plan was set, Chōza and Shibi moved closer to each other.
Hagoromo raised one arm.
He clenched his fist and began aiming.
Lightning arced across his arm.
Blood loss wouldn't immediately affect his ability—but the oxygen consumption required for high-speed calculations was worsening his condition.
His face grew paler.
Pale…
With a hint of black.
Was this deathly aura?
His target was the Eight-Tails.
It was enormous.
If he wasn't aiming at that, what else would he aim at?
"B… this feels bad," Gyūki said.
"I feel like I'm being locked onto by something lethal."
"Relax, Eight-Tails," Killer B replied calmly.
"My brother won't let him fire."
The tailed beast and its jinchūriki were communicating mentally.
From the moment combat began, A had memorized every Flying Thunder God marker Minato had placed.
No matter where Minato appeared after dodging, A was ready to launch a second—
A fatal second strike.
Lightning in Hagoromo's hand grew blindingly bright.
He gestured slightly.
He was ready.
Minato supported Hagoromo with his right arm and drew a Flying Thunder God kunai with his left.
A moved first.
That weapon in Hagoromo's hand radiated danger so intense that even ordinary shinobi could feel it.
A's fist appeared before Minato's eyes once more.
Same approach as before.
But this time—
A was fully prepared to follow up.
Wherever Minato appeared—
Death would be waiting.
If only he could see it.
Minato vanished.
But he did not appear anywhere within A's field of vision.
No matter what, human vision had blind spots.
And in a battle at this level, A had no time to scan his surroundings.
Unfortunately for him—
He didn't have eyes on the back of his head.
That wasn't his fault.
It was human anatomy.
There was also one Flying Thunder God marker A had never noticed—
Because it was behind him.
It had been placed during Minato's first attack.
So Minato appeared directly at A's back.
Flying Thunder God activated—
But the displacement was only one body length.
One body length.
The distance between life and death.
At this range, killing A was entirely possible.
Minato couldn't break his defense—
But Hagoromo could.
Unfortunately, the bigger picture required the Raikage to live.
Minato appeared behind A and flicked his wrist.
The kunai flew straight toward the Eight-Tails.
Then—
The two of them appeared in front of the beast.
Less than five meters away from that horned head—
The cannon was already aimed.
Flying Thunder God chained again.
An assault so fast that even a tailed beast and its jinchūriki couldn't react.
Anyone who liked shooting eventually developed a fondness for headshots.
Especially when the target's head was this big.
Hagoromo finally understood what it meant to be carried into the sky by a teammate.
As for whether blowing off the Eight-Tails' head would kill it—
Who knew?
Shukaku had once been riddled with holes and was just fine.
In any case—
Lightning Release technique. Fire.
But Hagoromo had underestimated one thing.
Even if the Eight-Tails couldn't react—
Another god-speed combatant still existed on this battlefield.
A leapt after Minato, arriving in front of the Eight-Tails' chest.
Because of Hagoromo's charging time, A's fist slammed into the Eight-Tails first.
This wasn't harming it.
It was saving it.
As expected of someone who could wrestle tailed beasts bare-handed—
The Eight-Tails was sent flying.
Only then did Hagoromo's attack arrive.
But because the Eight-Tails had shifted, its head moved off-line.
The Lightning Release technique fired—
And struck the shoulder instead.
A massive chunk of octopus flesh exploded outward.
A spherical hole was blasted clean through the joint between shoulder and neck.
Its head and arm seemed connected to the body by only a thin layer of flesh.
It wasn't the intended result.
But without time for precise assessment, one thing was certain—
The Eight-Tails' jinchūriki would not be moving freely for quite a while.
Among tailed beasts, the Eight-Tails was unique.
It was especially… meaty.
Plenty of people had cut it before—
And found it surprisingly easy.
Minato took one look, then vanished midair.
He reappeared in front of Chōza and Shibi.
His left hand landed on Chōza's right shoulder.
Hagoromo's right hand rested on Shibi's left.
And to the utter disbelief of the Kumogakure shinobi—
The Eight-Tails had just been heavily injured—
And then the Konoha shinobi disappeared.
That was Flying Thunder God.
Regardless of how the fight went—
When it came to escaping, no one could stop Minato.
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