At this moment, Ren Uchiha swung his longsword—bright enough to blind anyone—and slashed downward with a spinning force!
In Killer Bee's eyes, the boy's chakra had suddenly skyrocketed, his aura exploding with terrifying intensity. He was using a "common" technique Bee had seen other Uchiha use before.
Indeed, in Bee's experience, the Sword Leap Flame was a standard move. In fact, the Uchiha Style: Halo Dance itself was merely a B-rank sword art. Usually, it involved using Fire Style to coat a blade in a flame edge—a simple elemental infusion for ninja tools.
However, as this "ordinary" move unfolded in Ren's hands, the longsword didn't have the typical Uchiha "small flame." It was a brilliant, white-hot blade that caused the very air to warp and distort.
Bee's eyelids twitched. An ominous premonition surged in his heart.
As the seven blades fell, Bee reflexively transitioned, continuing the rhythm of the Acrobat style. His Tailed Beast Cloak surged. Subconsciously, he drew even more chakra from the Eight-Tails to bolster his strength and speed.
His blades moved in a dazzling blur. Bee's expression turned solemn. As Ren had surmised, the Acrobat style was less a sword technique and more a dance; it grew stronger and faster as the momentum built, piling pressure on the opponent until they were overwhelmed.
But if the rhythm broke even for a second, it was nearly impossible to restart.
Bee, a master of the blade who understood his own weaknesses, had no intention of stopping. But just as he prepared to use the Tailed Beast's power to forcibly parry Ren's downward strike, a horrified scream erupted within his mental world—
"Bee! Do not parry that blade!!"
"Retreat! Immediately!"
"That is no ordinary 'Sword Leap Flame'!"
The Eight-Tails, Gyūki, had sensed the extreme temperature and high-density chakra radiating from Ren's sword. Its face turned grim, as if a terrifying memory had been unearthed. A bead of sweat larger than a truck rolled down its forehead.
"What?" Inside the mental world, Bee sat stunned on Gyūki's nose. "Isn't this just that Uchiha fire-sword thing? It's ordinary! Master Bee just needs to release some charm, yo! My vibrating blades are—"
"No!" Gyūki interrupted with a roar, its face contorted. "He isn't using a common Uchiha art. If I'm not mistaken, this is a forbidden sword art from an era far older than the Warring States—a time when the Uchiha clan possessed multiple pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan!"
"In that era, a man named Naka Uchiha used this sword art, combined with Mangekyō techniques and forbidden jutsu, to defeat every other Mangekyō wielder and claim the position of Clan Head—and Ruler of the World. He was only defeated by a genius female shinobi, Naori Uchiha."
"Naka Uchiha? Naori Uchiha?" Bee furrowed his brow, then shrugged helplessly. "Never heard of 'em."
Gyūki let out a long sigh. Of course he hadn't. That was a terrifying age second only to the era of the God of Shinobi and the Ghost of the Uchiha forty-seven years ago. It was a time when Tailed Beasts like itself were treated as mere playthings.
Back then, the Uchiha clan had over a dozen pairs of Mangekyō. They could even artificially breed human weapons with the ultimate Mangekyō technique, 'Yachihoko.' Had they not fallen to internal strife, they might have conquered the entire shinobi world. That history was now buried, remembered by none.
Now, this Uchiha brat gave Gyūki the same feeling as that terrifying man from the past.
"Regardless, do not underestimate this forbidden art, especially the first strike!" Gyūki warned with absolute gravity. "This first sword—forged by burning one's body, heart, and soul—is the strongest strike in the entire style!"
"Don't clash with him head-on. He'll come at you himself. If I'm not wrong, the kid is already using a forbidden jutsu to support this art. Just avoid the edge, find the moment his jutsu fails, and then kill him—"
"Got it!" With the situation critical, Bee didn't wait for Gyūki to finish. He nodded and vanished from the mental world.
However, Gyūki suddenly froze. It watched the outside world through Bee's eyes. The savage, frenzied face of Ren Uchiha was inches away!
Ren's crimson snake-pupils seemed to pierce through Bee's sunglasses and eyes, staring directly into the mental world, locking eyes with the Eight-Tails!
Gyūki felt a chill run down its spine. Its round pupils dilated in shock. It finished its thought in a dazed whisper:
"Wait... the kid only has a Two-Tomoe Sharingan..."
"He isn't using Izanagi?!"
"Then how is he using that sword art?!"
The conversation in the mental world lasted only a fraction of a second.
Back on the battlefield, as Ren's sword fell, Bee followed the Eight-Tails' advice. He flicked his blades, firing three more swords at Ren to force him onto the defensive. Meanwhile, he twisted his feet and used four tails from his chakra cloak to slam the ground, propelling himself backward in a somersault!
"Trying to run?"
Ren snapped his head up, glaring savagely at Bee. He ignored the three short-swords entirely, allowing them to pierce his white-scaled skin in his Cursed Seal Stage 2 form.
The white-hot blade in his hand flared. As he spun, he released a massive burst of chakra from his feet, creating a wind pressure that accelerated his rotation even further!
In an instant, Ren turned into a streak of fire against the night sky! Like an arrow shot toward the dawn, he tore through the darkness. His sword moved with him, spinning back into Bee's face!
"Not good!" Bee's heart skipped a beat. He abandoned all attempts to maintain his rhythm and began to draw massive amounts of chakra.
Inside him, Gyūki shouted, "Bee! Use that, now!"
Looking at the boy who had already completely healed from his previous wounds, Bee gritted his teeth and snorted. "Super-regeneration... how annoying. Just wait a bit, and I'll end you!"
Voom!
A massive wave of chakra erupted from Bee! Dark red chakra surged from the Iron Armor Seal on his chest, covering his entire body. As the dark cloak enveloped him, tragic white bones burst through his skin, linking and reconstructing into a skeletal exoskeleton!
Version 2: Half-Tailed Beast Transformation!
This explosive power pushed Bee back another few meters, nearly escaping the range of Ren's blade.
But then, Ren's sword finally fell!
Sizzle—!
The sound was like a hot knife through butter. The concentrated white-hot blade roared down! It didn't hit Bee's main body, but it slashed through three of the tails on his Tailed Beast Cloak.
The sword carved a perfect arc. The skeletal armor, which looked nearly impenetrable, melted away like paper before a blowtorch.
But that wasn't all. The core of Sword Leap Flame lay in those last two words.
In the next heartbeat, the air pressure built up in front of the blade ignited! A crescent-shaped wave of fire-red sword ki erupted, expanding and growing longer as it left the blade!
In an instant, the massive flaming arc dominated the space between heaven and earth!
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