Black Zetsu didn't dare admit that Menma had been fooled by the Eight-Tails. Instead, he opted for a softer lie.
"We were tricked by the Eight-Tails."
This euphemism made White Zetsu nod enthusiastically. The white mass even exclaimed that he'd learned something! If his predecessor, White Zetsu #250, had possessed this level of tact, he might still be alive.
"Tentacle clones... I almost forgot," Menma muttered, his eyes narrowing behind his mask.
He remembered that in the original story, Killer Bee used this trick to fake his capture by Sasuke. He hadn't expected to fall for it himself. The disguise had been convincing—his Mangekyō Sharingan hadn't detected a single flaw.
Closing his eyes, Menma activated Kagura's Mind's Eye. His sensory range expanded instantly, and he quickly reopened his eyes, his gaze locking onto a distant pool of water.
"Found you."
At the bottom of the deep pool, Killer Bee felt his clone's exposure. He instantly transformed back from his tentacles with a heavy splash.
"I was spotted by that evil kid so fast? Time to book it!"
To make the ruse believable, he had poured most of the Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast chakra into the clone, but it had only bought him seconds. Losing so much chakra at once would take the Eight-Tails a long time to recover.
"Gyūki, Bee!" Killer Bee shouted internally, bridging his mind with the beast.
He spun his body and shot off like a torpedo, tearing through the water and rushing into the distance. He accelerated his sprint, mud clogging his path. He'd almost made it.
"Luck's on my side!"
He burst from the pool in a spray of water, singing happily. "Looks like I'm faster than Grandpa! The evil boy can't catch me, oh yeah!"
But his joyful smile froze mid-air.
Standing on the ground ahead were Menma and a black-and-white figure with a chilling grin. The landscape around them was a mess of debris and shattered rocks from their previous skirmish.
Seeing Killer Bee leap from the water, a smirk tugged at Menma's lips beneath his mask.
"Killer Bee. Welcome home."
Killer Bee: "!!!"
"You damn idiot, Gyūki! Why didn't you warn me I was running the wrong way?!"
"You weren't running the wrong way," the Eight-Tails grumbled in his mind. "You were just caught in the Sharingan's genjutsu for a second. It distracted you!"
"It's that evil boy's eyes again!" Killer Bee panicked internally. "I'm walking right into the lion's den! I'm done for!"
He tried to plunge back into the pool, but the scene repeated itself. A jet-black skeletal arm lashed out, grabbing him before he could dive. Simultaneously, four massive fox tails—crackling with red lightning—pierced his limbs from behind.
Before blood could even gush, the tails seared the wounds shut with scorching heat. It was a brutal way to prevent blood loss and keep him alive.
Killer Bee, now just a torso, let out a muffled groan. The Eight-Tails roared in alarm.
"Nine-Tails chakra! That fox tail is Nine-Tails chakra! Bee, he's the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki!"
The Eight-Tails shouted this, simultaneously trying to reach out to the Nine-Tails. Unfortunately, no response came from Menma's body.
Hearing this, Killer Bee was shocked. He shouted at the skeletal hand holding him, "Does Hidden Leaf want to start a war, Nine..."
"Nine" was cut short by a flicker of crimson light beneath Menma's mask. Control was ripped from Killer Bee, and the word was swallowed back down.
"You talk too much nonsense."
Bang!
A skeletal finger flicked Killer Bee's forehead. His eyes rolled back as he instantly lost consciousness.
"Now it's real," Menma said, tossing the limp body to Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu swiftly retracted his mask, using the Mayfly Technique to swallow Killer Bee into the ground. A low, enigmatic chuckle escaped him.
"Hehehe, they actually mistook us for Konoha ninjas. Looks like they thought your body-controlling eyes were a Nara clan secret."
"If I'd known that, I should have let those Cloud Village ninjas go back to report..."
Menma suddenly turned and stared at Black Zetsu, until the smile froze on the Zetsu's face and cold sweat broke out on his back. Finally, Menma withdrew his gaze.
"Let's go to the nearest sealing point. Once the Eight-Tails is removed from the seal, Pain can focus on his business."
Black Zetsu nodded, relieved, and retreated into the earth.
Not long after Menma left, several Hidden Cloud Village ninjas rushed into the area. After inspecting the wreckage, one sprinted back toward Cloud Village while the others fanned out.
Eventually, they returned, carrying mangled, desiccated corpses.
Then, a streak of blue lightning shot in from the distance at incredible speed.
"Killer Bee!!!"
BOOM!
The blue lightning struck the ground, the earth caving in and cracking like a spiderweb. A tall, muscular figure stood in the crater.
"Lord Raikage!"
The surrounding Cloud ninjas rushed over, but A ignored them. He smashed a nearby boulder with a fist, roaring hoarsely.
"Bee! Get out here! If you don't show up in one minute—no, thirty seconds—I'm breaking your legs!"
Having heard Killer Bee had vanished, A had rushed over immediately. When he got no response, he glared at the ninjas around him.
They stepped forward to report. "Lord Raikage, we've investigated. Lord Killer Bee is gone from Cloud Thunder Valley. All the guards are dead—not a single one survived."
"This must be a targeted attack on Lord Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, just like Yugito Nii, who disappeared recently."
"An attack?!" A roared. "Tell me who the enemy is!"
The Cloud ninjas looked at each other, too terrified to speak. A understood immediately and smashed another huge rock.
"Investigate! Go through every single ninja who entered the Land of Lightning! Find them!"
"Bee... brother, just wait for me."
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