"Rai... Raikage-sama?!"
"Dammit! Where are the medical ninjas? Get over here and help!"
The Cloud Ninjas watching from the sidelines went frantic at the sight, rushing forward in a desperate attempt to save their leader.
But before they could get close, Neji suddenly raised his hand without warning, releasing countless chakra threads. Right before the Fourth Raikage's eyes, he slaughtered every single one of these "future hopes" of the Hidden Cloud, leaving none alive.
Once the deed was done, Neji tilted his head back, murmuring in a voice only he could hear, "Father, are you watching? The debt the Cloud owes you... I am about to collect it in full."
In contrast, the Fourth Raikage, who had fallen to the ground and was unable to even crawl, let out a roar of absolute fury: "AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
Among those who had just perished were the likes of Mabui, C, and Samui, the very pillars the village had been grooming as the next generation's elite. Now, these young shinobi didn't even get the chance to prove themselves on the battlefield; they were crushed as easily as tiny ants. Their deaths were neither heroic nor meaningful.
For the first time, the Fourth Raikage felt an unprecedented agony. Had he not made the decision to personally lead the pursuit, this hopeless situation would never have come to pass.
Nearby, Killer B, the Jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, fared slightly better. Despite his severe injuries, he used Gyuki's unique chakra to constantly regenerate, slowly returning to a functional state. He lay on the ground, gasping for air, his eyes wide as he struggled to process the staggering gap in their strength.
Even when facing the legendary "Yellow Flash," Minato Namikaze, years ago, he had never suffered such a crushing defeat.
"Gyuki! What's the deal with that Hyuga brat? How can the chakra he releases penetrate a Tailed Beast Cloak so easily?" B asked through gritted teeth.
Among the Cloud Ninjas who had just died were several students he had personally trained. Now they were all gone, with not even a whole corpse left behind.
"Careful! Within him, I sense a power very similar to the Old Man's," the Eight-Tails replied, its voice carrying a hint of primal fear.
As a unique life form born only after the great war that decided the world's fate, Gyuki was unaware that the Sage of the Six Paths had a brother and a mother. In its eyes, the "Old Man" was the most powerful being to ever exist, the creator and father of all Tailed Beasts.
"The Old Man?!" B was visibly shocked. "You mean... he might be a descendant of the Sage of the Six Paths? Like Kinkaku and Ginkaku?"
"Yeah! Those chakra threads likely contain the power of Yin-Yang Release. That's why even a Tailed Beast Cloak can't fully block them," Gyuki answered without hesitation.
As they spoke, Neji finally snapped out of his melancholy. He stepped through the gore on the ground, coming to a halt before the Fourth Raikage. His voice was devoid of emotion. "Do you have any last words?"
"Last words? I've never needed those! Even if I only have a mouth left, I'll bite a piece of flesh off you!"
The Fourth Raikage lived up to his iron-man physique, channeling chakra into his teeth as he lunged, attempting to crush the enemy's throat. Unfortunately, having lost his limbs, his movements were too slow. Before he could touch anything, his head was violently wrenched from his shoulders.
"NOOOOOO!!!!!!!"
Seeing his sworn brother killed, Killer B finally succumbed to extreme grief and rage. He entered a full Tailed Beast Transformation, turning into the massive creature with the upper body of a bull and the lower body of an eight-tailed octopus.
Without a moment's hesitation, he opened his mouth and fired several devastating Tailed Beast Bombs in rapid succession.
For a moment, the entire valley shook as if gripped by an earthquake, filled with deafening explosions and tremors. Several mountain peaks were leveled flat by the sheer force.
Regrettably, once the explosions cleared, B could find no trace of his opponent. From the moment the Tailed Beast Transformation began, Neji had chosen to leave rather than waste effort on a futile struggle.
After all, Allen's mission was to bring back the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, not the Eight-Tails. Furthermore, he had already achieved his revenge by killing the Raikage; there was no point in lingering to fight a maddened Jinchuriki.
Ultimately, Killer B could only retrieve the Raikage's head from the corner where it had been tossed and turn back toward the Hidden Cloud Village. As the sole survivor of the pursuit force, he had to bring the news back, assist the elders and consultants in choosing the next Raikage, and stabilize the Land of Lightning. If the Hidden Cloud fell into internal strife, the last semblance of order in the nation would vanish.
…
Neither Neji nor Killer B noticed that two figures had been watching the battle from the shadows the entire time.
One, naturally, was the omnipresent Black Zetsu, while the other was Obito, standing by his side.
Looking at the valley scarred by the chakra threads, Black Zetsu remarked with a touch of sentiment: "The youth of today are truly terrifying. This Neji Hyuga kid only defected from Konoha about a year ago, and he's already capable of killing a Raikage? It seems that man named Allen is more troublesome than we anticipated."
"More than just troublesome," Obito interjected with a cold, mocking tone. "Did you see those chakra threads that are nearly invisible to the naked eye? That isn't ordinary Ninjutsu; it's a product of Yin-Yang Release. I'd venture to say that even if Madara were resurrected, he might not be a match for this brat."
"Allen's strength is starting to exceed our expectations, and the speed at which he collects Tailed Beasts is beyond imagination," Black Zetsu said, finally steering the conversation toward his goal. "I believe it is time to use Reanimation Jutsu to bring Madara back and discuss a counterstrategy."
Black Zetsu had taken a long route to test Obito's reaction regarding Madara's resurrection. By his assessment, Obito was a difficult pawn to control, having shown signs of wanting to complete the Eye of the Moon Plan on his own terms rather than following the original script.
However, Obito, who already knew the hidden truths, showed no sign of protest. Instead, he nodded with a thin smile. "Agreed. I also think we should bring Madara back to take over the progression of the plan. But are you sure Kabuto is trustworthy? He's a spy from the Root; he's loyal to no one but himself."
"Don't worry. Kabuto Yakushi isn't capable of controlling Madara. Even in a reanimated state, Madara's strength is enough to crush the entire shinobi world. Even that little monster Allen will surely back down before him. Once all the Tailed Beasts are collected, Allen can be discarded like any other pawn."
Black Zetsu was supremely confident in Madara's power. He knew that once Madara reclaimed his Rinnegan and became the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails, only the long-dead Sage of the Six Paths could rival him.
What he didn't know, however, was that Allen already possessed Six Paths power and the Rinnegan. Furthermore, Allen was currently "shearing the wool" off the Tailed Beasts, and the One-Tails, Shukaku, was already looking quite bald...