"Roar-!" Seiryu roared as it charged from its array, wreathed in dazzling blue-green lightning. It transformed into a thunderous whip, lashing viciously towards Darui, who was attempting to form hand seals!
"Screech!" Suzaku cried, its wings spreading. A sky full of scorching fireballs, like a meteor shower of flame, covered Toroi and the Anbu he led!
"Nuu-!" Genbu growled low, its massive tortoise-snake body like a moving mountain. It charged towards Nurui's team with an overwhelming Water Release shockwave, forcing them to retreat repeatedly!
"Roar!" Byakko snarled, its sharp claws slashing out. Several giant wind blades, condensed like solid matter, tore through the air, slicing towards C's position!
"Hiss!" Kinja coiled, earth and stone churning. Sharp earthen spikes erupted without warning from beneath the feet of the Kumogakure's Ninjas!
Nanto Sennin's array lit up. An intangible barrier instantly enveloped several Anbu, restricting their movement!
Hokuto Sennin followed closely behind, creating a defensive barrier protecting the besieged Chinoike Clan's members, blocking lethal kunai and Ninjutsu!
Tennyo's figure drifted ethereally, but the ribbon-like silk in her hand became a deadly garrote, nimbly and swiftly entangling another Anbu attempting a sneak attack!
The Shinigami's phantom was silent. A massive Chakra Scythe, carrying a soul-reaping chill, swept stealthily towards the last isolated Kumogakure's Ninja!
The addition of the Nine-Masked Beasts instantly turned the one-sided slaughter of the Chinoike Clan's members into a desperate struggle for the Kumogakure's elites themselves!
Darui's Storm Release was countered by Seiryu's thunder. Toroi's magnetized shuriken melted in Suzaku's rain of fire. Nurui's Earth Release defenses wobbled under Genbu's impact. C's sensing and Genjutsu were disrupted by Byakko's fierce winds!
"Kakuzu, Kisame!" Menma's icy voice pierced through the deafening sounds of battle, clear in the ears of the two men. "Now, the Chinoike Clan is the organization's property. Don't let these Kumogakure's minnows damage the organization's assets!"
"Hmph! Understood!" Kakuzu let out a cold snort, a ferocious grin of satisfaction at the word 'property' appearing on his stitched face.
Beneath his wide black robe, the Earth Grudge Fear's threads shot out like venomous snakes, accurately entangling an Anbu trying to bypass Kinja to attack the Chinoike Clan's members, instantly impaling him!
Simultaneously, his hands flew through hand seals. Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work and Wind Release: Pressure Damage merged, transforming into a destructive storm of flames that swept towards the Kumo-nin on the other side!
"Understood!" Kisame's shark-like face was expressionless, but his eyes were sharp as blades.
The sword he gripped tightly was just a standard-issue Kirigakure's Anbu Sword, but that didn't stop him from displaying the ferocity of Kirigakure's [Tailless Tailed Beast]!
Deep blue Chakra, like flowing water, covered the blade. Water Release: Water Shark Bomb Technique was instantly casted!
A giant water shark roared forth, crashing hard into the magnetized shuriken thrown by Toroi, knocking them away!
Kisame himself advanced like a ghost, his blade work vicious and ruthless, each strike aimed at a vital point.
Coordinating with Tennyo's elusive ribbon attacks, he drove Toroi's team into a perilous situation!
Oyashiro En took advantage of this chaos. With Oyashiro Jin's assistance, he protected his wife and dazed daughter Chino, leading the remaining, terrified Chinoike Clan's members. Using the Hokuto Sennin's defensive barrier as cover, they struggled to break through towards Hell Valley's only exit.
The eyes of the Chinoike Clan's members were filled with the fear of a narrow escape and confusion about the future, but the instinct to survive drove them to desperately flee this killing ground.
The twelve Kumogakure's elites, under the encirclement and attack of nine summoned creatures with powerful elemental Ninjutsu and special abilities, plus the bold intervention of Kakuzu and Kisame, instantly fell into an unprecedented state of passivity!
"Shura-!!!!"
An extremely violent roar, like thunder from a clear sky, drowned out all other sounds of battle!
Raikage was enveloped in dazzling Lightning Attribute Chakra Armor.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode!
Raikage's speed reached its limit, transforming into a human-shaped lightning bolt as he charged boldly at Menma once more!
His fist, burning with bone-deep hatred, was wreathed in terrifying power enough to shatter mountains. With a sonic boom from tearing through the air, it smashed viciously towards Menma's face!
"Arrogant bastard! Today, this Hell Valley will be your burial ground!!" A's roar was filled with desperate resolve to fight to the death!
Close behind, the fully transformed Two-Tails and Eight-Tails also charged forward with renewed roars!
A massive cat's claw burning with ghostly blue flames tore through the earth. Eight thick octopus tentacles swept forward like pillars holding up the sky, sealing off all of Menma's escape routes!
Savage Tailed Beast Chakra formed tangible shockwaves, plowing deep furrows into the ground!
Facing this triple assault capable of instantly vaporizing a Kage-level powerhouse, the gaze behind Menma's mask remained as cold as an abyss.
He didn't even retreat half a step.
A surge of dark red chakra, even more massive, more sinister and savage than before, erupted from his body like a volcano suppressed for millennia!
Hum-!!!
Dazzling dark red light instantly swallowed his figure!
Nine massive tails, condensed from pure dark red Chakra, tangible and solid, thrashed wildly behind him!
A savage, dark Chakra Cloak, seemingly containing endless destructive energy, instantly covered his entire body, revealing only a pair of eyes glowing with cold red light.
Black Nine-Tails Chakra Mode!
The powerful Chakra Pressure swept out like a tsunami, forcefully slowing the Raikage's charging speed for an instant!
"What?!" Raikage's pupils contracted sharply!
"Tailed Beast Cloak?! Nine-Tails?!!" The fully transformed B and Yugito simultaneously let out cries of disbelief!
[Gyuki! Is this guy the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki?] B urgently questioned the Eight-Tails within his mental space.
[Matatabi! What's going on?! Isn't the Nine-Tails in Konoha?!] Yugito also asked her Two-Tails in shock, seeking an answer.
The Eight-Tails, Gyuki, sounded somewhat freaked out: [I can't tell! I really can't tell! I told you last time, this guy isn't right! His Chakra Nature is very similar to the Nine-Tails, but it feels unfamiliar! It carries an indescribable darkness!]
The Two-Tails, Matatabi's voice was filled with shock and doubt: [Is… it? No… It's not… It's not the Nine-Tails we know!!]
Hearing the two Jinchuriki's shocked doubts, Raikage's thoughts raced. He then roared, "Don't be fooled! He might be like those bastards Gold and Silver Brothers, stealing fragments of the Nine-Tails' Chakra from somewhere! Kill him!!"
The battle erupted anew! Menma, having activated the Black Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, reached terrifying heights in speed, strength, and reaction!
He no longer dodged, but chose to meet force with force!
Boom!
Menma's fist, wrapped in dark red Chakra, collided fiercely with Raikage's lightning-wreathed heavy punch!
The violent shockwave exploded in a ring, the rock beneath their feet instantly turning to powder!
Raikage felt an irresistible tremendous force transmit through his arm. It shook violently, and he was actually forced back several steps!
Menma's figure used the recoil to shift sideways. A dark red Chakra Claw slashed out, accurately slapping against the Two-Tails's sweeping, burning giant paw!
Crunch-!
Dark red and ghostly blue energies clashed violently, annihilating each other!
Two-Tails let out a roar of pain. Its burning giant paw was actually slapped aside, the flames covering it extinguished in large patches by the corrosive dark red Chakra!
At the same time, several of the Eight-Tails' tentacles had already coiled around!
The nine wildly thrashing dark red tails behind Menma, as if possessing independent consciousness, instantly transformed into nine incredibly tough Chakra Whips.
With a sharp whistle that tore through the air, they viciously lashed against the Eight-Tails' tentacles!
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Dull thuds, like whips striking leather, rang out frequently!
Eight-Tails roared in pain. Its tough tentacles were whipped until the skin split and the flesh tore open. The dark red Chakra eroded the wounds like maggots in bone!
B even felt a stinging pain in his mind!
One against three!
Menma, having activated the Black Nine-Tails Chakra Cloak, actually suppressed the strongest forces of Kumogakure, the Raikage and two fully transformed Jinchuriki, by himself!
The aftershocks of the battle completely altered the surrounding terrain. Huge craters, molten rock, and torn fissures were everywhere!
On the other side, under the combined assault of the Nine Masked Beasts, Kakuzu, and Kisame, Darui and the others were in a wretched state.
Several Anbu were severely wounded, lost their combat ability, and were dragged to the rear by their comrades.
Although Darui's Storm Release was powerful, he was left strained and overextended under the interference of Seiryu's Lightning Release and Kakuzu's sneak attacks.
Toroi's Magnet Release shuriken were countered by Suzaku's flames and Kisame's Water Release. Nurui's Nintaijutsu was difficult to execute against Genbu's defense and Byakko's wind blades. C's sensing and support were constantly disrupted by Kinja's Earth Release and Nanto Sennin's barriers.
Of the twelve elites, less than half remained, struggling desperately to hold on. Defeat was imminent!
"Damn it!" Raikage was forced back again by a Chakra Tail whip from Menma. Looking at his retreating men in the distance, and then at this terrifying enemy who was holding his own against three with ease, his heart was filled with both shock and fury.
He finally realized that close-quarters combat alone probably wouldn't be enough to defeat the opponent quickly.
"B! Yugito!" Raigake made a snap decision, roaring at the two Jinchuriki: "Use the Tailed Beast Bomb! Blast him to pieces!!"
"Yo yo~ Understood~ Brother~"
"Yes! Raikage-sama!"
The fully transformed Two-Tails and Eight-Tails simultaneously let out earth-shaking roars!
Their massive bodies leaned back slightly, opening mouths large enough to swallow mountains!
Terrifying energy frantically gathered and compressed within their mouths!
Ghostly blue Chakra and deep purple Chakra respectively condensed into two massive energy spheres emitting destructive fluctuations.
Tailed Beast Bombs!
The surrounding air was violently sucked in. Space itself seemed to warp slightly due to the terrifying energy!
At the same time, Menma also raised his right hand.
The nine dark red tails behind him danced like living things. Massive Black Nine-Tails' Chakra also frantically gathered and compressed above his palm!
A Tailed Beast Bomb, entirely dark red, emitting an even colder and more savage aura than the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails', took shape at an astonishing speed!
The darkness at its core seemed capable of devouring all light!
Three Tailed Beast Bombs, containing world-destroying energy, faced each other across a distance of less than a hundred meters!
The air in Hell Valley solidified completely. Time seemed to stand still at this moment!
Everyone engaged in the battle, whether it was Kakuzu, Kisame, Darui, or the surviving Chinoike Clan's members, felt a tremor from the depths of their souls!
Whoosh-!!!
The two massive Tailed Beast Bombs fired by the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails, and the single dark red Tailed Beast Bomb, shot forward like three falling stars of death.
With a shriek that tore through space, they ripped through the solidified air and collided with a thunderous impact!
Boom boom boom-!!!!
An indescribably terrifying explosion occurred!
Blinding white light instantly devoured everything!
Followed by an earth-shattering roar loud enough to shatter eardrums!
An enormous ball of light, a chaotic mix of dark red, ghostly blue, and deep purple destructive energy, rose like a newborn sun from the center of Hell Valley!
A savage energy shockwave spread out spherically. Everything in its path… rock, soil, stone houses, even the air, was instantly vaporized and annihilated!
The earth shattered and collapsed like fragile biscuits!
The towering rock walls on either side of the canyon crumbled and slid down in massive chunks, as if hacked by a giant axe!
The entire topography of Hell Valley was completely reshaped by this world-destroying collision!
A gigantic, bottomless ring-shaped crater over two kilometers in diameter appeared at the explosion's epicenter. The rock at the crater's edge was melted into red-hot magma by the intense heat, flowing slowly!
Kakuzu, Kisame, Darui, Toroi, and the others had sensed the lethal danger the moment the Tailed Beast Bombs began to form. They had long abandoned the fight, each deploying their strongest defensive measures.
They fled desperately towards the outskirts of the canyon!
Even so, the terrifying shockwave that swept over them struck their defenses like a heavy hammer. It shook them until their energy and blood churned violently, blood spurting from their mouths.
They were thrown back like kites with cut strings, landing heavily beyond the edge of the ring-shaped crater in a wretched state!
Oyashiro En and Oyashiro Jin desperately protected their clansmen. Relying on the final remnants of Hokuto Sennin's defensive barrier and the complex terrain of Hell Valley, they narrowly avoided the core blast zone.
However, they were still sent tumbling by the shockwave's residual force, their nerves shattered.
When the destructive light finally began to fade, and the deafening roar subsided into a low hum, the thick dust filled with smoke and energy particles hung over the utterly transformed Hell Valley like a grey curtain.
At the edge of the ring crater, Raikage, relying on his formidable Lightning Release Chakra Mode, withstood the residual shockwave, but several charred marks now marred his body.
He breathed heavily, his gaze fixed intently on the rolling dust at the explosion's center.
"B! Yugito!" He roared hoarsely at the equally battered B and Yugito: "What's going on?! Why can he also form a Tailed Beast Bomb?! Gold and Silver Brothers' half-baked Tailed Beast Transformation could never achieve that!"
B and Yugito also had expressions of shock and confusion.
Ginkaku and Kinkaku could only use the Nine-Tails' Chakra for a partial transformation, gaining strength and speed, but they absolutely could not form a genuine Tailed Beast Bomb!
[B! Be careful!] Eight-Tails urgent warning suddenly exploded in B's mind!
[Yugito! Get away! That thing isn't right! That's not the Nine-Tails! It's absolutely not the Nine-Tails we know!] Two-Tails sharp, feminine voice was also filled with unprecedented fear!
The moment Raikage's words fell…
Boom-!!!
The permeating dust was violently torn apart by an even more savage, more sinister force!
A massive dark red figure, so large it was suffocating, charged out boldly from the explosion's epicenter like a ferocious beast clawing its way out of the depths of hell, carrying a boundless ferocious aura!
It was a Nine-Tails completely condensed from dark red Chakra!
It was even larger than B's Eight-Tails. Its entire body burned with tangible dark red flames. Nine massive tails thrashed wildly behind it. Every strand of its fur emitted destructive energy fluctuations!
Its eyes burned with a cold, brutal, and irrational scarlet light, and it locked its eyes on the nearest Eight-Tails!
"Roar-!!!" The Black Nine-Tails let out a soul-shattering roar. Its massive forepaw, carrying terrifying power enough to tear space, moved at a speed exceeding the visual limit. It viciously grabbed towards Eight-Tails' colossal body!
B and the Eight-Tails were petrified with horror! They had no time to mount any effective defense!
"B!!" Raikage's eyes were wide with fury!
Yugito's face was filled with incredible shock!
Not only was the opponent truly a Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, but this Nine-Tails was filled with unprecedented bizarreness and ferocity!
'Had Konoha's Nine-Tails... really been lost?!'
But Two-Tails' warning echoed in her mind.
'This was not the Nine-Tails Matatabi and the Eight-Tails knew!'
Thud-!
Crunch!
The Black Nine-Tails' giant paw clamped down like an iron vise, firmly grasping one of Eight-Tails' main tentacles and half of its body!
The tremendous force made Eight-Tails roar in pain!
But at such close range, B could see Shura standing on the head of this opposing Nine-Tails!
"Just what kind of guy~ are you?" B questioned again, however the Black Nine-Tails' massive mouth, filled with fangs, was already opening!
A Tailed Beast Bomb even larger than before, its core pitch black like ink, wreathed in dark red Chakra, was forming within its mouth at an astonishing speed!