At the bottom of the vast, smoldering crater, the air shimmered from the lingering heat.
Killer B stood there silently, staring into the scorched pit where Uchiha Yuan had vanished beneath his Ink Cannon. For the first time that night, his expression was mixed—with satisfaction, but also faint regret.
That battle had thrilled him.
He, the so-called Killer Bee, was a master of multi-blade kenjutsu—no one had ever matched his rhythm in close combat. But Uchiha Yuan had been different. Yuan had pushed him to use his full strength.
And now… it seemed that opponent was gone.
Then, the deep voice of the Eight-Tails echoed in his mind.
"B, that Uchiha kid might not be dead. I sense he escaped underground."
"What?!" B's eyes widened.
He remembered the Four Pillar Lightning Prison—it should've left Yuan no time to flee. The Ink Cannon's blast had swallowed everything.
"You sure about that, Octo-Bro?"
"I'm certain. Right after I fired, I felt a chakra signature slipping away through the ground."
B's face darkened. "So that's it… He burrowed underground. Like those Iwa shinobi and their Earth-style escape tricks."
He clenched his fists, then nodded sharply. "Show me the direction, partner."
"There—northwest."
B's form blurred. In the next instant, he was gone, racing across the ravaged landscape in pursuit.
Moments later, dozens of Konoha shinobi arrived at the crater's edge.
Yamanaka Mokuno surveyed the scene grimly, scanning every inch of the charred ground.
A gust of wind carried the scent of ozone and burnt soil.
Moonlight Ryūka landed beside him, his face solemn. "We found the patrol squad's bodies nearby. No sign of Lord Yuan. Judging by the wounds, the attackers were definitely from Cloud."
Mokuno's jaw tightened. "Their target was him, then."
He looked down into the massive crater. "Only the Eight-Tails could create something like this… I can't believe Cloud sent a Jinchūriki just to kill one man."
Ryūka's eyes narrowed. "Killer B—the man they call the Human Weapon."
He turned to Mokuno, voice low. "Do you think he succeeded?"
Mokuno hesitated, frowning in deep thought. "No… I don't believe Lord Yuan would fall so easily. Spread out and search the area. Find any trace of Cloud's movements!"
Far away, on Konoha's forward line, Jiraiya stepped out of his command tent.
He looked toward the distant night sky, where a pillar of light still lingered faintly on the horizon.
"That chakra… that was a Tailed Beast's attack." His voice was grave. "Send scouts immediately. Find out why a Jinchūriki's power appeared behind our lines."
"Yes, Lord Jiraiya!"
At the same time, across the battlefield, Cloud's main camp erupted in cheers. Several Cloud ninja stood on a cliff, staring toward the glowing pillar with gleaming eyes.
"That's Lord Killer B's Ink Cannon!"
"He did it! The Demon Tiger of Konoha must be dead—no one could survive that!"
"The blast was massive. The Leaf will notice for sure. We'd better prepare to extract Lord B before they react."
"Right—alert the forward units! Be ready for an all-out engagement if the Leaf retaliates!"
That night, both armies stirred uneasily, tension rippling through every camp like an invisible storm.
Meanwhile, far from the battlefield—twenty or thirty kilometers from the blast site—the ground suddenly cracked open.
A battered figure emerged from beneath the soil, coughing blood.
It was Uchiha Yuan.
He stumbled forward a few steps before dropping to one knee, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
At the last possible second, he had used Earth Flow Technique to dive underground, escaping the direct impact of the Ink Cannon. But even then, the shockwave had caught him—tearing through his body like a hammer of pure force.
Now, leaning against a tree, Yuan sat cross-legged and shut his eyes.
A faint golden glow lit his brow. Chakra flowed through his body like liquid fire, knitting torn flesh and repairing ruptured veins. Under the moonlight, his skin seemed almost crystalline.
Moments later, the light faded. Yuan's eyes snapped open.
"They're fast…" he murmured, turning his head toward the cliffside ahead.
A shadow was already descending toward him.
Killer B landed gracefully atop a tall tree, grinning beneath the moonlight.
He twirled, his movements flowing into an impromptu dance.
"Yo, yo! Whatcha know? Uchiha bro, you're still alive though! Almost fooled me, that's quite the show!"
Yuan's lips curved faintly. "Unfortunately, yes. I'm alive. I take it your partner warned you?"
B spun once more and posed dramatically. "Bingo! Without Octo-Bro, you'd be long gone. Big Bro would've been real mad, ya know!"
He struck a stance. In a single motion, seven blades slid free—one in each hand, the rest balanced between his knees, elbows, and even his neck.
"Uchiha Yuan," B said, his grin fading into focus. "This time, I'll go all out."
Yuan smiled faintly. A wave of power rippled from him, stirring the trees around them.
"Then I'll do the same."
Inside B's mind, the Eight-Tails' voice rumbled with warning.
"B, be careful. I can feel it—his chakra is spiking fast."
Lightning flickered over B's body as the crimson cloak of the tailed beast enveloped him.
Then—he moved.
He shot forward like a cannonball, his seven blades flashing as one. Each strike targeted a vital point—throat, heart, spine, knees, lungs, and temples.
Steel screamed through the air, a deadly storm of light and motion.
Yuan's Sharingan spun violently. His form blurred, splitting into a dozen flickering afterimages as he weaved between the blades. Sparks exploded across the forest floor as kunai met steel in a storm of ringing impacts.
In mere seconds, they exchanged a hundred blows.
Then both broke apart, landing several meters apart.
They stared at each other, breathing hard—but smiling.
"That was fun," B said with a fierce grin.
Yuan's eyes narrowed. "You haven't seen anything yet."
Chakra roared around them once again.
B's muscles tensed as his chakra surged higher than before. His blades hummed with lightning.
Then he launched himself forward, elbow raised high.
A flash of lightning arced through the air as he shouted—
"Lariat: Eighth Blade—Hot Blade!"
Raigeri Nettō!
The clash lit up the night once more.
Some people die… but they're never truly gone.
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