Habara had actually taken quite a beating. The sheer physical power of a Tailed Beast was absurd, something easily judged by size alone. Habara was of normal human height, while the Seven-Tails currently manifested stood between fifty and sixty meters tall. It was a genuine monster, the kind that could squash a person flat with a single step.
Against such a disparity, the fact Habara hadn't been instantly killed by the tail whip spoke volumes about his physical toughness and resilience. If Kakashi had taken that hit, he might have been reduced to paste. Regardless of the attack type, facing a Tailed Beast meant shinobi could only dodge, never defend. There was essentially zero room for error; getting grazed likely meant death.
If the Tailed Beasts' physical attacks were already lethal, techniques like the Tailed Beast Bomb were exponentially worse. Seeing one form, the instinctive reaction was immediate retreat. Dodging was, of course, the correct choice – the problem was escaping its range.
The Tailed Beast Bomb was this world's equivalent of a tactical nuke, boasting an immense blast radius. More importantly, the Seven-Tails seemed intent on detonating it at close range, aiming to thoroughly purge the flea-like shinobi scurrying below.
For such a close-range detonation, the Seven-Tails would inevitably increase the blast's spread while slightly reducing its focused power. Yet, even diminished, the attack power of a Tailed Beast Bomb was overkill for any shinobi. A mere splash could be fatal.
Since escaping the blast radius wasn't guaranteed, Habara decided on a counter-attack. If you can't deal with the enemy's technique, deal with the enemy directly. Alright, perhaps that was overly idealistic. Habara still wanted to stop the Seven-Tails if possible.
"Stop it? How? Habara, don't be reckless!"
Despite Habara's proven strength, Kakashi still didn't believe he could actually halt a Tailed Beast – they were simply too far beyond the scale.
"I have two undeveloped jutsu I can try," Habara said, his words spilling out rapidly as the Seven-Tails gathered chakra. "But even they likely won't be enough to finish it. So, Kakashi-senpai, the main assault falls to you. In terms of pure destructive power, no one in Konoha surpasses you right now... Now is the perfect time to use that technique. Seize the opportunity – twist off the Seven-Tails' head!"
Before Kakashi could even process, let alone refuse, Habara had already charged towards the Seven-Tails. Kakashi was forced into the plan; refusing now would be pure abandonment of a teammate.
"Hey—!" Kakashi stomped his foot, halting his own forward momentum only to immediately pivot and follow Habara.
Given Kamui's offensive power and unique spatial properties, if used effectively, it could potentially twist off the Seven-Tails' head. But Kakashi had never used it offensively in actual combat. He didn't know its effective range, how much chakra was needed for such a massive target, nor the time required to activate it. With these "three unknowns," Habara expecting him to target a Tailed Beast right off the bat felt like asking far too much.
Gritting his teeth, Kakashi could only follow. His mindset was roughly: 'We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, and if there's no bridge, well, we crash and burn.'
With all other shinobi retreating, Habara and Kakashi charging against the current were exceptionally conspicuous. The Seven-Tails seemed to notice the ninja who had just grievously injured it, slowly turning its body to aim the nascent Tailed Beast Bomb directly at Habara.
Bright lightning chakra enveloped Habara. When he had closed about half the distance, he used his left hand to violently pull himself off a large tree trunk he passed, simultaneously pushing off with his legs. His entire body shot forward like an arrow, skimming low across the ground.
As he moved, he rapidly formed hand seals. Just as he was about to reach the Seven-Tails, the seals completed. His form began to shift:
Ninja Art: Eight Branches Technique!
A roar like a dragon's echoed through the forest as Habara's high-speed form instantly transformed into a colossal eight-headed serpent. The massive body slammed directly into the Seven-Tails.
BOOM!
The sudden, violent impact forced the Seven-Tails back several steps. Before it could react, Habara, as the serpent, moved with blinding speed, massive coils wrapping firmly around the Tailed Beast… first ensnaring, then tightening, ring by suffocating ring. It was how serpents typically killed their prey, but for any normal person witnessing it, the sight was intensely disturbing.
The giant serpent's impact and constriction were undeniably threatening, but the crucial problem remained: Habara's attack hadn't interrupted the Seven-Tails' technique. The black sphere of the Tailed Beast Bomb remained stable.
Therefore, after binding the Seven-Tails, three of the Yamata no Orochi's heads reared high, positioning themselves directly in the path of the impending blast.
In the next moment, Habara felt the immense chakra – concentrated, suppressed, and controlled by the Seven-Tails – suddenly surge out of control... The Tailed Beast Bomb was about to be unleashed.
Even as it fired, Habara kept the three serpent heads in their shielding posture, while the remaining five coils tightened ferociously, pulling downwards with all their might.
A sharp CRACK echoed. Under this immense force, the Seven-Tails' upper body was violently bent backward—in human terms, its spine would have snapped. Consequently, the Tailed Beast Bomb, originally aimed diagonally down, was instantly redirected to a forty-five-degree upward angle, becoming an anti-air shot fired uselessly into the sky.
No, not entirely uselessly.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The expanding Tailed Beast Bomb struck the three shielding serpent heads directly. The violent explosion and shockwave instantly obliterated them, leaving only three headless, ragged necks still momentarily pointing skyward.
Honestly, the scene was quite gruesome. Fortunately, the Yamata no Orochi was merely a transformation, not a living creature. Although the cross-sections where the heads had been revealed spinal structures and red, flesh-like tissue, there wasn't an exaggerated spray of blood like a macabre sprinkler.
Losing the three heads meant Habara lost control of those necks. They held stiff for another instant, then slumped limply to the ground.
The explosion painted half the sky crimson. A vast shadow fell over Kakashi, forcing him to halt his advance and quickly retreat several steps as one of the massive, headless necks crashed down heavily before him.
Looking up, he could even see reflexive muscle twitches in the severed stump.
"A bit... over the top... don't you think...?" Kakashi couldn't help but stare, wide-eyed.
The Eight Branches Technique was certainly extreme, but clearly, the Tailed Beast was even more so. Because Habara hadn't undergone any specific conversion process, the version of the technique he used here and back in the Land of Water was purely a transformation—its "original form." This meant that as long as he had the chakra to sustain it, the serpent could quickly regenerate from considerable damage. However, "considerable damage" definitely did not include decapitation by Tailed Beast Bomb.
The close-range explosion hadn't just eliminated three of Habara's serpent heads; the shockwave had also loosened his constricting coils. With the Tailed Beast Bomb released, the Seven-Tails shifted its focus from chakra control back to its limbs. Its six 'tails' (wings) flared with power, and it broke free from Habara's hold.
With rumbling sounds and clouds of dust, the two colossal "monsters" temporarily separated.
The ANBU shinobi watching the battle from a distance were truly dumbfounded. Although they understood one of the monsters was "allied"—some kind of secret technique used by one of their own—understanding was one thing, shock quite another. Because... it was genuinely shocking.
"Is this some kind of apocalypse?" one ANBU muttered involuntarily.
Anyone witnessing Yamata no Orochi fighting Evangelion Unit-01 would find it unbelievable, likely questioning if they'd stumbled onto the wrong movie set... Couldn't they at least give us human enemies? the ANBU thought.
"Looks like... things aren't going well?"
It wasn't hard to see. Despite Habara using the Eight Branches Technique to grapple with the Seven-Tails, he was clearly at a disadvantage. Three heads exploded instantly; how long could the remaining five last?
Even if their sizes were comparable, the Eight Branches Technique and a Tailed Beast were fundamentally in different leagues. The technique primarily offered immense physical power due to its size—normally, that was its only offensive capability. But you couldn't win against a Tailed Beast just by boxing.
"Where's Lord Hokage? Hasn't he arrived yet?" another ANBU asked anxiously. Times like these desperately called for the Hokage.
"He should be here any moment," the first ANBU replied, though his tone betrayed his own fervent hope that Lord Hokage would arrive sooner rather than later.
Speaking of "boxing," Habara and the Seven-Tails did indeed engage in a round of "taijutsu."
After briefly separating due to the Tailed Beast Bomb's impact, the two giants rapidly closed the distance again, but this time, the Seven-Tails initiated the charge.
Though temporarily unable to fly, the Seven-Tails was by no means slow on the ground, propelled by its flailing tail, wings, and forelimbs. As it rushed towards Habara's Orochi form, it suddenly lowered its body, and its massive rhinoceros beetle-like horn slammed directly into the serpent.
Several serpent heads shrieked in pain as the enormous body was instantly flipped onto its back.
This was why, if forced to fight a Tailed Beast, Habara preferred fluffy targets like the Nine-Tails or fleshy ones like the Eight-Tails... These "exoskeleton"-wearing types like the Three-Tails and Seven-Tails were just too damn tough.
Compared to the Seven-Tails, the Orochi form lacked defense. Pinned down, the brown earth and crushed trees beneath the serpent body began to darken, turning pitch black. Within moments, the Orochi form looked like squid soaking in ink.
But the blackness wasn't ink; it was Iron Sand, gathered by Habara. Next, the Iron Sand began to climb onto the serpent body, coating it like Susanoo's "Majestic Attire"—heavy armor enveloped the Orochi form... Yamata no Orochi was no longer Yamata no Orochi; it had evolved directly into "Centipede Elder."
"Secret Technique: Armored Deity!"
This was one of the unfinished jutsu Habara had mentioned. Now they both had "exoskeletons." A fair fight, perhaps.
The blackened and armored Orochi form flipped itself upright again. The Seven-Tails, having backed off slightly, lowered its horn once more and launched a second charge.
This time, Habara chose to meet the charge head-on. The tail and four of the remaining five heads braced from behind, while one head shot forward rapidly. It stayed low, skimming the ground to meet the Seven-Tails' horn. Just before impact, however, the serpent head abruptly swerved left, then opened its mouth wide and whipped sharply to the right.
An immense black iron sword extended from the serpent's maw. With a deafening CLANG, it struck the Seven-Tails' horn, sending sparks flying everywhere.
Indeed, Habara mused, anything related to Orochimaru just wouldn't feel right if it didn't involve spitting something out of its mouth.
The beetle horn was likely the hardest part of the Seven-Tails' body; a simple sword strike wouldn't sever it. But Habara's goal wasn't to break the horn.
As the black iron sword made contact, the section of the blade touching the horn rapidly "dissolved," the Iron Sand flowing around the horn. As the sword pressed down, it locked the horn firmly in place.
The serpent head twisted its neck, driving the greatsword downwards, plunging it almost vertically into the rock beneath. Once the head had fully expelled the sword and quickly moved aside, another serpent head slammed down like a hammer onto the sword's hilt. The massive blade was driven almost entirely into the bedrock.
The Seven-Tails was temporarily immobilized.
The Orochi form's tail coiled around the Tailed Beast once more. After re-establishing its hold, the five remaining heads reared high, aiming down at the pinned Seven-Tails.
The five heads began releasing different elemental jutsu in sequence: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind... Clearly, Habara was executing some kind of combination ninjutsu. Common sense suggested the final head, belonging to Habara, should unleash his specialty, Lightning Release. But that wasn't the case.
The last serpent head sprayed down a kind of bright powder. Rather than an elemental ninjutsu, it seemed to be releasing some kind of physical substance.
The very next instant, intense flames, thick and viscous like magma, engulfed the Seven-Tails. The incredibly high temperature burned relentlessly, not only submerging the Tailed Beast in a sea of fire but also scorching Habara's own Orochi form.
Under this ultra-high temperature assault, the Seven-Tails finally took substantial damage, letting out agonized shrieks.
Habara completely ignored the burning damage to his own form, continuing to compress the coils inwards towards the epicenter of the inferno... The serpent body formed a circular "volcano crater," forcing the Seven-Tails to bathe in the "magma" within.
Now genuinely hurt and feeling threatened, the Seven-Tails predictably went berserk. In an instant, it formed a second Tailed Beast Bomb, and this time, its target wasn't any other shinobi—it was aimed directly at the malformed serpent binding it.
BOOM!
The entire upper portion of the remaining Orochi form was blasted away. The substantive, magma-like flames erupted outwards like a real volcanic eruption due to the impact, splattering everywhere. Even more flames poured out from the now-breached "crater"... Compared to before, the scene now looked even more apocalyptic.
A half-destroyed serpent head was flung high into the sky. As the Iron Sand armor dissipated, Habara's figure emerged, separating from the wreckage. He began to drift slowly downwards.
When he landed back on the ground, he nearly stumbled and face-planted... Since gaining the power of the Ryumyaku, he had never expended his chakra so violently. After consecutively unleashing several S-rank, large-scale jutsu, his chakra reserves were almost completely depleted—regardless, using the Eight Branches Technique, he had managed to tank two Tailed Beast Bombs.
Therefore, Habara's part in this battle was likely over.
The struggling Seven-Tails desperately broke free from the lingering effects of Habara's jutsu. And as luck, or misfortune, would have it, it charged directly towards Kakashi's position. The opportunity Kakashi had been waiting for had arrived.
He closed his right eye, focusing all his chakra into his left—the Mangekyo Sharingan. The seal on its power released completely. As his vision locked onto the target, the swirling vortex of spatial distortion characteristic of Kamui appeared right on the Seven-Tails' head.
This was Kakashi's first time truly using his Mangekyo Sharingan's ability. He instantly recognized a certain miserable truth:
This process of gathering power and releasing the technique... felt distressingly similar to Habara's description... It really fucking felt like constipation.
The Seven-Tails instantly sensed the danger. Having just escaped the sea of fire, it hadn't expected another ambush waiting. It began struggling to escape Kamui's range, but for a creature of its size, this was far from easy... If it could still fly as smoothly as before, things might be different, but right now, it was grounded.
"Target acquired... stabilized... okay, preparing... relea—"
Kakashi had perhaps listened too closely to Habara, or maybe he just got greedy. Attempting to warp the entire Tailed Beast's head was practically impossible for him at his current level... Twist off the Tailed Beast's head? Easy for you to say.
Thus, when he was fully prepared and actually unleashed Kamui, a searing pain shot through his left eye. The scope of the attempted warp was too vast; the supplementary Wood Style chakra provided by Tenzo was instantly exhausted.
Under the intense pain, the focal point of Kakashi's Sharingan abruptly shifted downwards... It wasn't just constipation; he even replicated the feeling of a prolapse.
In the end, the Kamui attack did activate successfully, but the point of impact was not the Seven-Tails' head.
The point where the middle wing on the Seven-Tails' right side connected to its body suddenly vanished. Another wing was torn off. Simultaneously, a large chunk of its flank disappeared, leaving a gaping wound.
Kamui's power was undeniable, but... the aim was completely off.
Kakashi had wasted his chance for legendary renown. Habara, watching the scene unfold from a distance, couldn't help but yell out:
"Where are you aiming, Rookie?!"