"B!"
On the hill, the moment the Third Raikage saw Li Anshi unseal the scroll on his back, he immediately roared.
In response to the Raikage's roar, a destructive burst of chakra erupted from the other side of the battlefield, over two hundred meters from Li Anshi.
Boom!
Fiery red chakra stained the surroundings crimson. It then coalesced into a terrifying monster, over ten meters tall, with eight writhing octopus tentacles.
This was the full Tailed Beast transformation of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
"Roar!"
After appearing, the Eight-Tails, Gyuki, roared at the sky, seemingly celebrating its brief moment of freedom.
However, the Eight-Tails had not forgotten the deal it had made with its container.
After venting some of its inner ferocity, Gyuki turned its gaze toward the distant Li Anshi, who was rapidly slaughtering the Cloud ninjas.
As a being who shared senses with its Jinchuriki, Blue B, Gyuki naturally recognized Li Anshi.
The rampaging Two-Tails, Matatabi, had been killed by that ninja with a single dagger.
The Tailed Beasts had existed in the ninja world for longer than the "ninja" profession itself.
After all, they were born when the Sage of Six Paths used Yin-Yang Release to grant them life from the God Tree's chakra, preventing the Ten-Tails' revival.
In its long life, Gyuki had seen its fair share of humans who could threaten the lives of the Tailed Beasts.
Every few decades or a century, one or two incredibly powerful ninjas would emerge, their strength far surpassing the norm, capable of posing a mortal threat to the Tailed Beasts.
The strongest among them were Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.
But even Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had no precedent for killing a Tailed Beast in a single blow.
Of course, this was likely because the eight Tailed Beasts, aside from the Nine-Tails, were not worthy opponents for Hashirama and Madara to unleash their true power against.
Otherwise, whether it was Hashirama in Sage Mode or Madara with his Perfect Susanoo, both possessed the ability to easily kill the other Tailed Beasts.
Regardless, aside from those two legends, Li Anshi was the most effortless Tailed Beast-killer Gyuki had ever seen.
The Third Raikage was strong.
After being sealed into Blue B, Gyuki had also rampaged before.
Back then, the one who had stopped it was the Third Raikage.
In that battle, Gyuki had been concerned for Blue B and hadn't been able to use its full power.
But even so, its attacks were not something just anyone could block.
Yet, from beginning to end, the rampaging Gyuki had failed to leave a single scratch on the Third Raikage.
This demonstrated just how strong the Third Raikage's defense was.
But this defense, which seemed nearly "invincible" in Gyuki's eyes, had been severely wounded by Li Anshi's flying dagger. It was impossible for Gyuki not to be wary of him.
It also knew that Blue B had it attack from over two hundred meters away out of fear that it, too, would be killed by Li Anshi's single dagger.
It only had one chance to strike!
Otherwise, if the attack failed, Li Anshi could close the two-hundred-meter distance to one hundred in less than five seconds.
At that point, not even the Eight-Tails could be certain it would survive Li Anshi's daggers.
"Roooar~"
An immense amount of chakra gathered in Gyuki's mouth. This blow was no weaker than the Tailed Beast Bomb it had used to attack Li Anshi from an extreme distance before.
Furthermore, because the distance was a mere two hundred meters, the attack's power was several times greater than the previous assault from two kilometers away.
The Tailed Beast Bomb was the ninja world's "nuclear bomb"!
BOOM!
After brewing for just a few seconds, the Tailed Beast Bomb in Gyuki's mouth transformed into a powerful torrent of chakra, roaring as it blasted toward Li Anshi!
"Die!"
…
Swish swish swish—
After once again concealing a full supply of daggers on his person, Li Anshi's hands moved like lightning. Chakra threads strung together the daggers from the sealing scroll before him, arranging them in neat rows. As soon as Li Anshi threw the daggers in his hand, another row would be pulled into his grasp, ready to continue the assault on the Cloud ninjas.
Under Li Anshi's assault, streams of white light flew like invitations from the God of Death. Anyone struck by that white light would have no choice but to accept the appointment in the underworld.
In less than ten seconds, every Cloud ninja who had dared to approach within forty meters of Li Anshi had been killed.
Moreover, Li Anshi had pushed that perimeter out another twenty meters.
Within that short twenty-meter range, more than two hundred Cloud ninjas had fallen.
At that moment, within a forty-meter radius centered on Li Anshi, not a single body could be seen.
But beyond forty meters, the bodies of the Cloud ninjas were piled layer upon layer.
The pile of bodies was highest between forty and fifty meters, and slightly lower between fifty and sixty meters.
"Kill!"
Despite the heavy casualties, the Cloud ninja side showed no fear. No matter how terrified they were, they still let out roars of their own, brandishing kunai and shuriken as they charged at Li Anshi.
The scene was as if Li Anshi were a world-ending demon king, and they were the heroes protecting the world, currently laying down their lives to do so.
To a certain extent, this wasn't wrong.
Li Anshi's Little Li Flying Dagger was simply too lethal for ninjas, who were all glass cannons.
Even Jonin, and even Elite Jonin, were no different from a Genin who had just learned to use chakra when faced with Li Anshi's daggers.
No, not just Elite Jonin.
Even powerhouses like the Third Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Blue B, didn't dare to face a dagger-wielding Li Anshi head-on.
BOOM!
A rampaging chakra signature washed over him. The ominous aura made it easy for Li Anshi to identify its source: the Eight-Tails, Gyuki.
Turning his head, Gyuki's enormous body filled his vision.
Although the distance made the ten-meter-tall Tailed Beast seem less conspicuous, the sheer malevolence and ferocity of its chakra still sent a shiver of danger through Li Anshi.
The feeling became even clearer when Li Anshi saw the massive aggregate of chakra in its mouth.
"A Tailed Beast Bomb?"
"These guys…"
Glancing at the still-charging Cloud ninjas, Li Anshi could feel the will emanating from them.
It was the courage of those willing to die, a resolve to hold him here with their lives.
Li Anshi's brow furrowed.
The situation had developed far beyond his expectations.
He had imagined that his battle with the Cloud ninjas would be like a strong wind sweeping away fallen leaves, that he would easily kill all who stood in his way and force the Third Raikage to sign a letter of surrender.