At this moment, the Two-Tails' jinchūriki's tailed beast cloak had already dissipated.
Her chest heaved rapidly, breath coming in ragged gasps as her exhausted form trembled with fatigue.
Meanwhile, several Cloud shinobi noticed the kunai Uchiha Yuan had thrown and immediately flung their own kunai and shuriken in response.
However, the moment their weapons struck Yuan's kunai, they shattered one after another—none of them able to alter its deadly trajectory in the slightest.
The Two-Tails' jinchūriki suddenly grimaced in pain, the faintly flickering azure chakra of the Two-Tails around her body flashing in and out of existence.
The beast within her was frantically sounding an alarm, and she tried to draw on its chakra to protect herself.
But having just fired a Tailed Beast Bomb, she found she couldn't summon any more chakra at all.
"Lariat!"
A thunderous roar exploded through the air just as the kunai was about to strike her.
A burly figure dropped from the sky in a flash of lightning, his hand cleaving through the air like a blade as he chopped toward Uchiha Yuan's kunai.
A deafening crack split the air—the kunai Yuan had thrown was struck by a bolt of lightning and instantly shattered into fragments.
Seeing the newcomer, Yuan frowned slightly.
Damn it… just a little more and it would've hit.
The man who appeared was a towering hulk with his chest bare, muscles bulging with raw, violent power. Every inch of him radiated ferocity.
He glared at Yuan, his eyes sharp as knives. "So it's a brat from the Uchiha clan, huh? This Lord will remember your face."
A few drops of blood trickled down his fist, which had been used to shatter the kunai. He hadn't expected the weapon to contain such a powerful force that it actually broke through his defenses.
Then, turning his head, the man looked toward the Two-Tails' jinchūriki with concern. "Yugito, you alright?"
Yugito Ni—her face still pale from fright—hurriedly replied, "Please rest assured, Lord Raikage. I'm fine."
The newcomer was none other than the Fourth Raikage, leader of Kumogakure.
"Lord Raikage!"
The surrounding Cloud shinobi, seeing him arrive, were instantly emboldened, their morale surging as they encircled Uchiha Yuan from all sides.
At that moment, both Yuan and the Fourth Raikage lifted their heads to the sky.
A vast shadow suddenly fell over the battlefield. A moment later, the ground quaked as a massive toad, towering several dozen meters tall like a living mountain, landed with a thunderous crash.
Several figures leapt down from its back, landing near Uchiha Yuan.
When they saw him, they gave him a brief, curious glance—but then all turned their attention toward the Raikage.
The Fourth Raikage looked up toward the giant toad's head and said in a deep voice, "Jiraiya."
On the toad's head stood a man wearing wooden clogs, his long white hair fluttering in the wind, arms crossed over his chest as he gazed down.
"Fourth Raikage," Jiraiya said coolly, "your ambush has failed."
The Raikage snorted, his eyes narrowing as he looked toward where the Four Purple Flame Formation had been deployed.
The massive spherical barrier was already shrinking; the intense flames within were fading, and the barrier was reforming itself—proof that the Tailed Beast Bomb had been successfully blocked.
Shua shua shua—
As Jiraiya and his party appeared, Konoha shinobi began arriving one after another, darting swiftly across the battlefield.
In an instant, Konoha and Kumogakure stood locked in a tense standoff.
Crackle… crackle…
Lightning flared wildly across the Fourth Raikage's body. Cloaked in his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, he radiated a dominating aura that clashed fiercely with Konoha's assembled force.
"A," came a calm voice from behind him, "you're here. How's the situation on Killer B's side?"
Footsteps sounded softly as an elderly Cloud shinobi stepped up beside the Raikage.
The Raikage turned slightly—and his expression darkened in surprise.
"Burama… you're injured. Who did this?"
The gray-haired elder's arm hung limp at his side, blood streaming steadily down from several ragged wounds that nearly tore his entire arm apart.
This man—Burama—had been one of the elite guarding the Two-Tails' jinchūriki. Earlier, he had traded a heavy blow with Uchiha Yuan using Heavy Stream Assault, and the result had left him gravely wounded.
The Raikage's brows knit tightly together. Even with his trained eye, he could tell at a glance that Burama's injuries were severe. The wounds looked as if explosive tags had detonated inside his muscles. For now, this key warrior was out of commission.
He hadn't expected that even after drawing away Jiraiya and the others, there would still be someone this strong within Konoha's main encampment.
So this is Konoha… the number one shinobi village indeed.
Burama clutched his bleeding arm, his gaze turning toward Uchiha Yuan.
Following his subordinate's line of sight, the Raikage's eyes fell on Yuan.
"The Uchiha brat, huh…" he said in a deep, gravelly voice. "So after Shisui on the Grass Country front against Iwagakure, now another Uchiha prodigy shows up here. Truly, the Uchiha never disappoint."
The Two-Tails' jinchūriki stepped forward, glaring coldly at Yuan. "Lord Raikage, this Uchiha kid is dangerous. We need to eliminate him as soon as possible."
Recalling how close she'd come to death several times in their fight, fear still lingered in her heart.
The Fourth Raikage glanced at Yugito, then fixed his eyes on Yuan once more, his booming voice resounding like thunder.
"Uchiha boy—tell me your name!"
"Uchiha Yuan."
The Raikage's hair and beard bristled, his killing intent bursting forth. "Uchiha Yuan… I'll remember that name. Next time we meet on the battlefield, I'll face you myself!"
Then he looked up at Jiraiya atop the giant toad, their gazes meeting for a brief, wordless moment.
With a cold snort, the Raikage dispersed his lightning cloak, leapt high, and landed back among the ranks of the Cloud shinobi.
Moments later, the entire Kumogakure force withdrew under his command.
High atop the giant toad's head, Jiraiya exhaled softly as he watched their retreating figures, a weary expression settling on his face.
Uchiha Yuan turned to look at the enormous toad—its size akin to a mountain—and his eyes roamed up and down its body before pausing thoughtfully on its massive thighs.
Frog meat, after all, was famously tender and delicious… and those legs were the juiciest part.
As Yuan's gaze lingered, hunger glinting in his eyes, the great toad felt the malicious intent rolling off him and glared down ferociously.
"Uchiha brat, what are you staring at!?"
Yuan licked his lips but said nothing.
Those nearby, however, instantly realized what he was thinking—and their expressions froze in disbelief.
He was actually thinking of eating Jiraiya's summon, Gamabunta!
Gamabunta's eyes bulged wide in fury. "Jiraiya! I don't like this kid one bit!"
With a furious bellow, his enormous body burst into a puff of smoke—vanishing back to Mount Myōboku through reverse summoning.
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