After all the members of the Akatsuki organization had safely withdrawn.
The once imposing Eight Tails Killer Bee suddenly went flat like a punctured ball.
His Tailed Beast Eight Twists stopped spinning, and the huge beast tails slowly relaxed.
As the tails loosened, Killer Bee's body rapidly changed, and in the blink of an eye he returned to human form.
"Big brother…"
Killer Bee looked disheveled and soot-streaked as he called out to the Raikage.
Before the words finished, his legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted.
With a heavy thud, the Raikage landed hard, his feet stamping out a deep crater where they hit the ground.
His eyes, wide with fury, stared fixedly in the direction the Akatsuki had departed, burning with anger.
Yet despite his raging resentment, he restrained himself and hurried over to Killer Bee's side.
It must be said, every member of Akatsuki is a top-tier expert, not to be underestimated.
If the bulk of the Hidden Cloud forces hadn't been right behind them, even someone as powerful as Killer Bee might not have walked away unscathed today.
True, Killer Bee had fallen into a trap meticulously laid by the enemy.
But if Akatsuki didn't possess such formidable strength, how could they have pushed Killer Bee to such a state?
At this moment Killer Bee was unconscious. Seeing this, the Raikage grabbed him up and, like a gust of wind, sprinted toward the medical squad in the formation.
"All units, stand down and recuperate!"
The Raikage ran while shouting commands at the top of his lungs.
His voice rang across the battlefield. Hearing the orders, all the Hidden Cloud ninja stopped what they were doing.
They began to regroup on the spot, treating the wounded and replenishing stamina and chakra.
The Raikage did not know whether Akatsuki still had more traps ahead.
After all, not everyone has a body as tough and resilient as Killer Bee's. This battle had only just started.
As for the earlier talk when they set out, "How do we stop them?", it seemed everyone had conveniently forgotten it for the moment.
———
At the borderlands of the Land of Fire.
Kisame Hoshigaki sat quietly on a huge rock, his Samehada greatsword resting at his side.
One hand idly toyed with the pendant hanging from the blade.
A faint, almost imperceptible softness passed through his small eyes.
Just then, the low thrum of wings came from the horizon, breaking the calm.
Kisame raised his head slightly, narrowing his eyes toward the sky.
Konan led a group back like birds in flight, their forms arcing through the air as they descended.
When everyone landed and steadied themselves, Kisame stood and casually slung Samehada over his back.
"How did it go? What were the results of this operation?"
Hearing Kisame's question, Sasori let out a low, cold chuckle, "Heh! Heh! Heh! They fell for the toxin I carefully prepared. Even a jinchuriki would suffer."
Clearly, Sasori was quite pleased with the outcome of the raid.
After all, putting a powerful jinchuriki in trouble is no small feat.
Recalling the fierce battle with Killer Bee, a sense of accomplishment rose in Sasori.
If not for the Raikage and others right behind, they might have captured a jinchuriki and turned him into a human puppet.
But he knew such a fortunate outcome could not be relied upon twice.
Although Killer Bee had been assaulted by several of them, he never had the chance to form a Tailed Beast Bomb.
If he had, Sasori's poison attack might not have worked.
Standing to the side, Kisame listened to Sasori's recounting and felt a spark of hunger for battle kindle in his eyes.
He could barely contain the urge, his hands clenching and unclenching as though he longed to jump into the fray and fight Killer Bee himself.
But sadly, the mission's primary objective was not a quick knockout, but to delay and buy time as much as possible.
So even though he itched to act, Kisame knew this was not his moment.
"I didn't even get a chance to move," Kakuzu complained with some dissatisfaction.
This time Deidara flew very high, probably several hundred meters up.
That altitude guaranteed his absolute safety, but it also meant Kakuzu had no chance to act.
After all, at that distance even Kakuzu's long-range techniques couldn't be effectively used.
So Kakuzu might as well have gone sightseeing.
"Don't worry. We'll put you in next time," came the reply, though Kakuzu knew such an opportunity would be rare.
"Before we plan the next operation, let's review this battle," Konan suggested. This time they had simply exploited Killer Bee's momentary negligence.
Next time, Hidden Cloud would likely not allow Killer Bee to move about alone so easily.
Thinking back on the clash with Killer Bee made Deidara still a bit excited.
"The amount of explosive clay I used the first time was really too little. If I'd had more, we could've seriously wounded that Killer Bee, for sure."
For Deidara, blowing up ordinary houses isn't nearly as thrilling as bombing that giant octopus.
The Akatsuki really did come to the right place.
"In this exchange, Killer B was careless. At the start, he didn't directly use the Tailed Beast Bomb."
"Otherwise, those traps I carefully set up probably wouldn't have been able to play much of a role."
Konan beside them continued, "However, next time, the situation may not be so optimistic."
She knew very well that Killer B was no ordinary opponent. After suffering a loss once, he would surely be on guard the next time they fought.
"Sasori, how long will it take for the poison Killer B was hit with to be cured?"
Sasori answered almost without thinking.
"At least three days. The poison used this time is an extremely complex chain toxin."
"Even if the correct detoxification method and medicine can be found, the effects won't be immediate."
"And this is still a conservative estimate, based on Killer B being the Eight-Tails jinchuriki with physical qualities far beyond ordinary people."
"In reality, it could take even longer."
Konan turned her gaze toward Kisame.
Ever since Kisame joined the organization, the number of times he had acted could be counted on one hand.
The Cloud Village side knew very little about Kisame's true strength and special abilities.
In that case, when formulating the next battle plan, they could completely plan around Kisame's abilities.
Giving the Cloud Village a surprise.
As long as the plan was sound, even the Eight-Tails, Gyuki, might end up overturning.
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