The black iron rod vanished into Raizen's sleeve like a shadow returning home.
One of the basic applications of his Rinnegan—just Yin–Yang Release shaped into crude chakra metal. Nowhere near the level of a Truth-Seeking Ball, but even this unfinished version could pierce flesh, pin down tenketsu, and snuff out another shinobi's chakra network like blowing out a lantern.
A starter kit for a god.
A nightmare for anyone else.
Raizen stepped over the fallen Thunder Country shinobi and headed deeper into the valley, the air growing colder and wetter with each descending step.
He didn't see the army stampeding toward him in the distance—Ai's personal forces, two future Raikage-tier monsters, the Gold and Silver Brothers, and twenty elite Jōnin. If he had? Well… he would've shrugged.
One problem at a time.
Eight Tails – The Beast Beneath the Mist
Thunder Valley was a cauldron of fog and lightning, a place where thunder rolled like an angry stomach and the clouds felt almost solid in the air.
Raizen activated Byakugan. The world sharpened into clean lines and chakra patterns.
About five hundred meters ahead—
A massive, oily-black chakra signature churned, cold and violent.
Eight Tails. Bingo.
Raizen leapt forward, drifting like a ghost through the fog until the mist finally thinned enough to reveal a lake carved between two titanic cliffs. A waterfall thundered down like a silver spear from the heavens.
And beneath that water…
A hulking shadow stirred.
ROOOOAR!
The beast surged upward—eight monstrous tentacles exploding from the lake as though the whole mountain were vomiting a demon skyward. Water crashed down its body in sheets as the giant ox-headed leviathan glared at Raizen from above.
"Eight Tails," Raizen murmured.
"Found you. Now get in the sword."
The beast didn't negotiate.
A tentacle as thick as a tree smashed down.
Hard enough to flatten houses.
Hard enough to pulp a normal human instantly.
It passed clean through Raizen.
Phantom technique. Kamui phase-shift.
His body rippled like smoke and reformed behind the falling tentacle.
"Damage output's solid. Tougher than One Tail. Chakra density's… yeah, several times higher."
Raizen clicked his tongue.
"Alright, beastie. Let's dance."
Ice Release – Feixue
Raizen's body flickered out of intangibility, boots skidding across wet stone as he gathered chakra into his palm.
"Ice Release: Feixue."
Snow bloomed out of thin air—gentle at first, then spiraling into a storm.
Each flake sharpened, edges honed like tiny blades.
"Ice Release: Feihua."
The snow turned into a whirling white saw as it slashed toward Eight Tails.
But the beast roared, its chakra erupting outward in a violent shockwave.
The icy barrage scattered like petals in a storm.
Frozen Lake
Raizen didn't blink.
"Ice Release: Frozen Realm."
The frost that had gathered on the rocks spread with terrifying speed.
The lake froze over like a living thing—ice spiderwebbing out until it swallowed nearly the whole valley floor.
Eight Tails roared, furious, chakra gathering in its mouth—
A Tailed Beast Bomb.
Raizen's eyebrows rose.
"Straight to a Beast Cannon? Alright, I respect the commitment."
A beam of annihilating chakra tore through the frozen lake, shredding earth and ice alike as it shot toward him—
Raizen raised one hand.
"Shinra Tensei."
Space buckled.
The beam halted, straining against the gravity wave like it was pushing against a mountain.
Then it detonated.
The valley exploded in smoke and shattered stone.
Eight Tails Counterattack
Raizen's cloak fluttered in the shockwave. He didn't even move.
But Eight Tails wasn't done.
A purple tentacle burst through the smoke, whipping straight toward him with brutal speed.
Raizen smirked.
"Smarter than One Tail. Good. Keeps things interesting."
Shinra Tensei was still cooling down—so he switched tools.
Another black receiver appeared in his hand.
He flickered aside, dodging the strike, and stabbed the rod straight into the tentacle.
Stone cracked as the tentacle was pinned to the valley floor.
Eight Tails screamed.
Then, without hesitation, it severed its own limb, tearing free in a spray of chakra-laced water.
"Self-amputation? Damn. Respect."
Eight Tails howled, enraged beyond reason, and the lake erupted.
Tentacles blurred.
Water hammered the valley walls like war drums.
Raizen dodged effortlessly.
Body flicker after body flicker—never letting a single blow land.
Eight Tails' fury only grew.
And Raizen felt something inside him settle.
A thought.
A quiet verdict.
"Alright. Warm-up's over."
The Ten-Fist Sword
Wind chakra surged through the blade as Raizen drew it.
The valley filled with a keening whistle—like the air itself sensed death coming.
He swung.
Just once.
A phantom arc tore the fog apart—clean, merciless.
And three of Eight Tails' tentacles dropped into the water like butchered meat.
ROOOOAR!
The beast convulsed in agony, crashing fully out of the lake.
Its huge frame slammed into the valley floor—earth rupturing, boulders skittering across the stone.
Chakra flared at the stumps of its tentacles, and new limbs burst forth like writhing serpents.
Eight Tails rose again.
Angry.
Wounded.
And no longer holding back.