A crack of thunder rolled overhead as Zapticuno hovered lower. Lightning dripped from the thunderbird's wings and struck the ground in lazy arcs, each impact close enough to remind the Hidden Cloud shinobi how fragile their lives were.
Someone dropped their kunai as it clattered against the ground.
After a few moments that felt like years, a loud crackle of lightning echoed from the northeast.
A blur of motion tore through the mountain pass, trees and rocks exploding outward as a figure slammed down at the edge of the scorched circle. The ground fractured beneath his feet, lightning detonating in all directions as chakra surged like a living storm.
The Cloud shinobi staggered back, their face lit up with relief.
"Lord Raikage…!"
The Third Raikage straightened to his full height, massive frame wrapped in crackling lightning armor. His presence alone distorted the air, pressure bearing down like a physical weight. Scars crossed his body like trophies, and his single visible eye locked onto Kuro with predatory intensity.
"So," the Raikage rumbled, looking at Zapticuno, "you're the one who attacked the village previously."
Zapticuno's gaze flares at the Third Raikage, remembering him as someone who prevented it from having a tasty octopus.
Below, Kuro rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms as he got ready to rumble with the Third Raikage.
'It would be too easy with my full power.' He thought as he disabled some of his power and lowered it to the level of the Third Raikage.
The Third Raikage felt it.
His lightning armor surged on instinct, chakra roaring outward as the sudden shift set every battle-honed sense on edge.
"…You're holding back," the Raikage growled, eye narrowing.
Kuro looked up at him, expression relaxed, almost polite.
"For now," he said.
He took a single step forward as the ground cracked beneath his foot.
"I didn't come here to wipe out the invading Hidden Cloud," Kuro continued. "I came to see if its strongest man was worth my time."
His gaze lingered on the Third Raikage.
"But if you lose," he added, "you follow my orders. Understand?"
For a heartbeat, the world was silent.
Then the Third Raikage threw his head back and laughed, the sound booming like thunder as lightning exploded wildly around his armor.
"Bold," he said, planting his feet as the mountain trembled beneath him. "Very well. If I fall, I'll listen."
His grin turned feral.
"But when you lose…"
Lightning detonated as he vanished, the air screaming in protest.
"I'll grind you into the mountain!"
The Third Raikage reappeared mid-stride, lightning screaming as his fist drove forward with enough force to rupture the air itself. The punch came straight for Kuro's chest in an attempt to end the fight in a single blow.
Kuro met the fist head-on without dodging.
Shadow surged up his arm and solidified, making his arm look like it was made of pure metal. Kuro's fist snapped forward at the same instant.
BOOM!!!
The collision detonated like a thunderclap, a visible shockwave ripping outward in all directions. The ground caved in beneath them, a crater forming as trees were torn from the mountainside and hurled away like splinters.
Cloud shinobi were thrown off their feet, scrambling desperately to stay upright.
Lightning and shadow collided, and for a moment, it seemed like both were evenly matched.
The Third Raikage's eye widened slightly. He was being held.
"Hah!" The Raikage grinned wider, muscles bulging as he poured more chakra into his arm. Lightning armor flared violently, arcs lashing out and gouging trenches into the stone around them. "Good! It's been a long time since anyone stopped me!"
Kuro's feet sank an inch into the fractured ground.
"I as well." Kuro also has a grin plastered upon his face.
This was the Third Raikage.
A man who had stood alone against armies.
A legend Kuro had once watched from a screen, awe burning in his chest.
Even though he could ended the fight in a single blow if he didn't hold back, he wanted to fight to his heart's content with someone he idolized from the show.
"I've been wanting this for a long time," Kuro said eagerly. "So don't disappoint me."
The Raikage's grin turned savage.
"Then come!" he roared.
Lightning detonated as he surged forward again, chakra screaming as the mountain shook beneath his charge.
Kuro stepped in to meet him.
Two fists collided once more as the impact split the sky.
…
Zapticuno, however, had other plans.
Looking at the clash between his Lord and the Third Raikage, it felt that it presence was not needed.
Its gaze shifted to the direction the Raikage had come from, and its beak curved into a sly grin.
'There's no running for you this time, little octopus.'
With one last glance at the battle, it flapped its massive wings. Lightning crackled along its feathers as it shot toward the northeast.
Lightning arced along its massive wings, illuminating the jagged mountains as it tore through the sky. The wind screamed around its body, carrying a scent of ozone and thunder that made even the rocks shiver.
Below, the Hidden Cloud's main encampment sprawled across a high plateau, tents and watchtowers scattered amid lightning rods and chakra barriers. The Jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails was somewhere inside.
Zapticuno narrowed its glowing eyes. It could feel the immense chakra signature emanating from within.
With a single, devastating flap of its wings, Zapticuno banked sharply and descended toward the camp. Lightning danced along its feathers, crackling toward the earth like a herald of doom.
Inside the camp, Cloud shinobi scrambled as alarms screamed, but none could stop the storm descending upon them. The massive bird weaved between watchtowers, sending bursts of electricity into the ground to short-circuit barriers and fry any chakra defenses in its path.
And then it saw him.
The Jinchūriki, surrounded by a small guard of elite shinobi, stood at the center of the camp. His eyes widened as he sensed the approaching threat.
Zapticuno's beak curved into a sly, predatory grin.
"There's no one ruining the hunt this time!"
With a flap that churned the clouds and sent streaks of lightning across the plateau, Zapticuno descended at terrifying speed. The guards nearest to the Jinchūriki barely had time to react, raising their weapons.
The Jinchūriki's eyes snapped up. A tense silence fell over the camp as the bird streaked closer, its enormous shadow swallowing tents in a moving darkness.
"Wha…what the…?!" one shinobi shouted, stumbling back as Zapticuno's talons sparked against the stone.
The Jinchūriki tightened his fists, chakra coiling subtly around his body, tails of energy writhing under his skin. He hadn't taken the Eight-Tails' form, afraid of dying. But now, by the looks of it, he has no choice.
'If I want to live… I'll have to embrace it.'
Chakra flared around him like the faint glow of coiled lightning under dark clouds. His heartbeat thundered in his ears as he prepared to release just enough of the Eight-Tails' power to survive the storm descending upon him.
The ground trembled as Zapticuno closed in, wings slicing through the air with devastating speed.
The Jinchūriki's hands tightened into fists as he lunged forward in an attempt to intercept the thunderbird.
Zapticuno's screech split the air again, wings flaring outward to adjust for the Jinchūriki's sudden movement.
The two forces collided midair.
Zapticuno's talons barely missed, snapping inches from the Jinchūriki. The Jinchūriki retaliated instantly, a surge of chakra exploding outward from his fists, throwing the bird slightly off course and leaving arcs of glowing energy trailing in the air.
The camp below reeled. Tents shredded, guards thrown off their feet, and chakra barriers flickered violently under the pressure of two raw powers clashing above them.
The Jinchūriki's chest heaved. Sweat mixed with the faint, glowing aura of the Eight-Tails, and his eyes burned with determination. "I won't die here. Not like this!"
Zapticuno circled once, talons flexing, feathers sparking with electricity. 'Interesting…' it thought. 'Stronger than expected… but still mine.'
Lightning crackled as the bird dove again, and the Jinchūriki tightened his stance, chakra swirling faster, faster… until the clash ripped the air apart.