While the wood clone was controlling Karu and the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki in battle—
The pursuing Kamiichi and Bruce were stunned by the roar and the overwhelming surge of chakra.
"Damn it, the Eight-Tails!"
"We must notify Lord Third Raikage immediately!"
Kamiichi shouted.
Bruce instantly formed hand seals and created a clone that rushed toward the Raikage's office.
Kamiichi also created a clone, but his was to gather reinforcements.
After all, they were facing the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki. Just the two of them, even as Jōnin, were absolutely not enough.
By the time they arrived, the wood clone had already subdued both the Eight-Tails and its Jinchūriki.
"Karu!"
"B!"
Seeing the corpse on the ground and B cloaked in the Tailed Beast's chakra, Kamiichi and Bruce immediately realized how dire the situation had become.
"Kamiichi, it's hard to believe, but I think B has already been controlled by that guy," Bruce said, drawing his ninja blade.
Kamiichi nodded gravely. "Genjutsu... But a genjutsu powerful enough to control a Jinchūriki? That's unthinkable."
"No matter what, we have to stop them. Buy time until Lord Third Raikage arrives with reinforcements. Otherwise..."
Just imagining the havoc a Jinchūriki could wreak on the village sent chills down Kamiichi's spine and drenched his back in cold sweat.
Their eyes met, exchanging a silent plan of attack in an instant.
Kamiichi formed hand seals.
Lightning Style – Pillar of Light!
Bruce charged forward, blade in hand, aiming straight for the wood clone.
The genjutsu blocking visual perception was indeed effective.
Although both the wood clone and the Jinchūriki had their eyes shut, they didn't sit still.
The Jinchūriki opened his mouth, rapidly forming a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Meanwhile, the wood clone pressed its hands together—vines shot up from the ground, entwining around him and the Jinchūriki to form a triple-layered wooden barrier.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The three barriers were shattered. Bruce slashed down at the wood clone.
But just as he was about to strike, a vine whipped him into the air.
Bruce swung his blade and severed the vine mid-air.
The wood clone, eyes still closed, quickly formed another set of hand seals.
Wind Style – Great Breakthrough!
A violent gust of wind descended from above. Bruce, who was just about to leap forward again, was forced to retreat quickly.
At the same moment, the Jinchūriki unleashed the Tailed Beast Bomb from his mouth.
Kamiichi couldn't stop it. He could only dodge as the bomb carved a deep trench through the ground, leveling several buildings.
"Damn it!"
Gritting his teeth, Kamiichi charged at the Jinchūriki.
He had to stop this rampage—any more, and the damage to the village would be catastrophic.
After the wind-style attack cleared, the wood clone regained its vision and once again pressed its hands together.
Wood Binding!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
More vines shot up like serpents, lashing toward the two Cloud ninja.
The Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki moved—its tail swayed, and his body vanished in a blur. Even the Sharingan with two tomoe could only catch afterimages.
The next second, Kamiichi and Bruce were both sent flying.
Kamiichi's chest caved in—killed instantly.
Bruce's blade was shattered, his body hurled into a broken wall. Several ribs snapped and punctured his organs—he was gravely injured and immobile.
The wood clone and the Jinchūriki, in perfect coordination, had taken down two Jōnin in an instant—one dead, one critically wounded.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A dozen figures dropped from the sky—Cloud ninja reinforcements had arrived.
"Kamiichi!"
"Bruce!"
"Damn it! Kamiichi's dead!"
…
"B is under a genjutsu—the real threat is that Wood Release user!"
With those words, Bruce passed out.
"Watch out, the Jinchūriki is coming!"
"So fast!"
Exclamations rang out as thunder rumbled in the sky. Bolts of lightning struck down one after another, but the Jinchūriki's incredible speed allowed him to dodge them all with ease.
Walls shot up from the ground, but the Jinchūriki smashed through them in the blink of an eye.
A figure appeared beside him, swinging a blade in a sharp arc.
But the very next moment, that person—blade and all—was flung away by a powerful tail swipe.
Behind them, the wood clone held a sword in one hand, forming hand seals with the other. Vines danced wildly around him. Even when surrounded by six Cloud ninja, he wasn't at a disadvantage.
At this point, the wood clone and the Jinchūriki were inseparable.
The Cloud ninja's plan to divide and conquer—separating the Jinchūriki and taking out the wood clone first—wasn't wrong, but the wood clone was fully aware of it.
ROAR!
Suddenly, the Jinchūriki let out a thunderous roar. An even more terrifying chakra erupted from him. Eight tails lashed out, stirring up a storm that hurled the surrounding Cloud ninja into the air.
The wood clone leapt out of the combat zone and landed beside the Jinchūriki, sheathing his blade and pressing his palms together.
At the same time, the Jinchūriki pressed his palms together and formed the Ram seal.
Wood Release – Nativity of a World of Trees!
Massive vines erupted from the earth, twisting and writhing as they spread like a green tidal wave in all directions.
This was a Wood Release technique cast through the Jinchūriki as the medium, fueled by the Eight-Tails' chakra as its source of life.
In terms of growth speed and durability, it surpassed what Hajime himself could achieve.
Lightning Release, Water Release, Fire Release...
The Cloud ninja unleashed every technique they had. Thunder boomed continuously, but it was useless against the overwhelming wave of vines.
Within the dense forest, the attacks came from all directions. The Cloud ninja were quickly split up, then picked off one by one as vines wrapped around them.
The wood clone moved in with his sword, harvesting lives.
After slaying five, an explosion suddenly rang out.
The wood clone saw a flash of lightning streak through the forest. Wherever it passed, vines exploded, freeing the trapped Cloud ninja.
"The Third Raikage!"
The wood clone's eyelid twitched, but excitement bloomed in his heart.
The Third Raikage was a force of nature—he tore through the sea of trees, rescued his men, and stormed back out.
By then, dozens more Cloud ninja had arrived, surrounding the battlefield—or rather, the entire forest created by the Wood Release.
At the forest's edge, the wood clone reappeared with the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki.
"You bastard! How dare you do something like this!"
The Third Raikage glared at the wood clone. "I will pierce your heart with my own hand!"
The wood clone smiled calmly. "Then it would be my greatest honor, Lord Raikage."
"I came here today to deliver a message to you, Lord Raikage."
"Please restrain your greedy gaze. Stop coveting what's in other people's bowls. It's rude—and very poorly mannered."
A Cloud ninja instantly erupted with rage. "This bastard—how dare he speak to Lord Third Raikage like that?!"
But Dodai, standing beside the Raikage, understood—this was a pointed response to Kumogakure's recent actions regarding Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
Zzzzt!
Electricity crackled even more fiercely around the Third Raikage, his hair standing on end.
He was clearly enraged as well.
"The Eight-Tails is mine. The rest of you—capture that guy. Kill him on the spot if necessary!"
The Third Raikage gave the order.
The Cloud ninja nodded in unison.
The wood clone immediately began retreating with the Jinchūriki.
The Third Raikage blasted forward like a thunderbolt.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The forest came alive—vines slithered like serpents.
The Third Raikage's hand-chop technique sliced through them, exploding vine after vine with ease. Nothing could stop his advance.
Suddenly, as the Jinchūriki retreated, he formed a seal.
Wood Release – Wood Dragon Technique!
A massive wooden dragon burst from the earth, lunging open-jawed toward the airborne Raikage.
But the Third Raikage didn't dodge—he charged straight into the dragon's mouth.
His right arm stretched forward, three fingers pressed tightly together. Lightning Release chakra gathered, forming a spear-like force of unparalleled piercing power.
He tore straight through the wooden dragon.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
More vines surged toward him, but the Raikage slashed them apart.
Then, the Jinchūriki suddenly appeared.
BOOM!
The Third Raikage was sent flying by a powerful tail strike, smashing through tree after tree before slamming into the ground and carving out a massive crater.
The Jinchūriki appeared in a flash, eight tails smashing down into the crater.
RUMBLE!
The ground collapsed, but at the last second, the Third Raikage escaped the pit.
The Third Raikage and the Jinchūriki clashed head-on, using the same technique.
BOOM!
Waves of shock burst outward, obliterating the surrounding vines.
The two collided in a deadlock, but then the Third Raikage let out a mighty roar, driving his body forward.
BANG!
The Jinchūriki was blasted backward, sent flying.
The Third Raikage charged after him, lightning scattering in his wake, tearing through every vine in his path.
He caught up to the Jinchūriki—and activated beatdown mode.
The Jinchūriki roared in rage, but was steadily forced back, crashing through vine-covered trees as he was completely suppressed by the Third Raikage.
While fending off the Kumo-nin, the wooden clone kept an eye on the battle, feeling a chill at the Third Raikage's strength.
As expected of a man who could fight ten thousand alone—he was an absolute powerhouse!
Seeing that the Jinchūriki was clearly no match and about to be subdued, the wooden clone immediately activated his intent.
ROAR!
The battered Jinchūriki let out a furious roar. With only two tails left after being struck down repeatedly by the Third Raikage, he suddenly lashed out, sending the Raikage flying. At the same time, an even more ferocious chakra erupted from him as his form swelled and transformed.
He was fully transforming into the Tailed Beast.
In other words—the Eight-Tails had emerged!
Although Hajime didn't know how to unlock the Eight-Tails' seal directly, by controlling both the Jinchūriki and the Tailed Beast simultaneously, he could still force the transformation.
The surrounding Kumo-nin immediately sensed that something was wrong. A chill ran down their spines.
The Eight-Tails had appeared!
Even the Third Raikage's eyelids twitched uncontrollably at the sight of the materializing beast.
"Damn it!"
The Raikage gritted his teeth. "Everyone fall back—leave this to me!"
The complete Eight-Tails and the Jinchūriki were two completely different threats.
Within the forest, the Kumo-nin retreated en masse.
The pressure on the wooden clone eased drastically.
Even within the Forest of Trees, fending off that many elite shinobi wasn't easy.
At that moment, the Third Raikage turned his gaze on the wooden clone.
Previously, he had intended to eliminate the Jinchūriki first, after which the wooden user would no longer pose a threat.
But now, he realized that this obstructive bastard needed to be dealt with first.
However, just then, the Eight-Tails opened its mouth and began condensing a Tailed Beast Ball.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The wooden clone commanded vines to strike at the Raikage.
The Raikage snorted coldly and flickered through the forest, shredding the vines as he passed.
The wooden clone leapt, landing atop the Eight-Tails' head.
The Third Raikage followed, blade-like arm ready to strike.
Outside the forest, many Kumo-nin stared at the shrinking Tailed Beast Ball, trembling as they felt its overwhelming chakra. Gritting their teeth, they prepared ninjutsu to intercept it.
The Third Raikage reached the Eight-Tails before it could fire, slammed a punch into its mouth, and forced it shut—the Tailed Beast Ball exploded inside.
Just then, the wooden clone struck from the side, holding a Rasengan in each hand.
"Lord Third!"
The watching Kumo-nin felt their hearts leap into their throats.
The Third Raikage twisted and raised his left arm.
Bang!
The Rasengan in the wooden clone's right hand slammed into the Raikage's left arm. The thick Lightning Release Armor nullified the attack entirely, leaving the Raikage unmoved.
In the same moment, the Raikage's right hand formed a blade with two fingers and pierced the clone's heart.
However, the Rasengan in the clone's left hand crashed into the Raikage's right forearm.
The arm that had just pierced the wooden clone continued forward due to the momentum, slicing through the clone's body—then plunged straight into the Raikage's own left chest.
The strongest spear… had pierced the strongest shield!
This scene stunned every watching Kumo-nin, especially Dodai.
But even more shocking and infuriating was that the clone's body, nearly split in two, immediately began turning into rotten wood.
It was a clone!
The Third Raikage grimaced as he pulled his hand from his own chest. The wound looked grotesque, but no blood flowed.
Meanwhile, the Eight-Tails, dazed by its own Tailed Beast Ball, snapped back to awareness and reached to grab the Raikage.
The Raikage quickly dodged, engaging in fierce combat with the beast despite his injuries.
When the battle finally ended and the dust settled—
The Eight-Tails had vanished, and the entire forest had been leveled.
The Third Raikage knelt on one knee, panting heavily, sweat pouring like rain.
In front of him lay the gravely wounded Jinchūriki, Killer B, barely clinging to life.
"Lord Third!"
Dodai and the other Kumo-nin rushed over.
The Third Raikage gave his order: "Dodai, organize the sealing squad immediately—extract and seal the Eight-Tails."
There was no saving Killer B now. If they didn't extract the beast, it would die with its host and eventually respawn somewhere in the wild.
Better to extract and seal it now, then choose a new Jinchūriki later.
After giving his orders, the Third Raikage said gravely:
"Issue an S-rank wanted notice for the Wood Release user."
"Also, put a 40 million ryō bounty on his head!"
"And inform everyone: if they encounter the Wood Release user and don't have overwhelming numbers or power—abandon the mission if necessary!"
With the final command given, the Third Raikage collapsed unconscious.
…
At the border of the Land of Fields—
Hajime opened his eyes from his meditative state.
"As expected of the Third Raikage."
"It's a pity though... that blow was slightly off—it didn't hit the heart."
(End of Chapter)
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