Uchiha Sasuke said calmly, "The Eight-Tails jinchūriki… is nothing special."
Suddenly, Sasuke's eyes narrowed—he saw a Fūma shuriken he had thrown earlier coming straight back at him.
Sasuke sidestepped to dodge, then focused his gaze.
As the smoke cleared, what appeared was Killer B in his fully transformed Eight-Tails form.
Sasuke was slightly startled.
"That is…"
"This is my true form, the great me—jinchūriki transformation, a monster, YEAH!" Killer B declared.
Then Killer B charged toward Sasuke. The Fūma shuriken chasing behind him were swept up by his Eight-Tails tentacles and flung away in all directions.
Boom!
Killer B's massive body slammed into Susanoo. Sasuke couldn't withstand it and was knocked backward, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
"Prepare for destruction! You bastard, you fool, baby~" Killer B shouted.
He then opened his mouth, gathering a black Tailed Beast Ball.
In no time, Killer B fired the condensed Tailed Beast Ball at Sasuke.
Seeing this, Sasuke's pupils shrank in shock. He pushed his ocular power to the limit, trying to use Susanoo to block the attack.
Boom!
Smoke and dust filled the air. Sasuke slowly lifted his head and saw Uchiha Itachi standing atop a complete Susanoo.
Sasuke immediately understood—it must have been his brother who blocked the Tailed Beast Ball for him. He let out a slight sigh of relief.
"Sasuke, take a short rest. Leave the rest to me," Itachi said with a faint smile, turning slightly toward him.
Without waiting for Sasuke's reply, Itachi controlled Susanoo and charged at Killer B.
The massive explosion had already drawn the attention of two Hidden Cloud Village patrol ninja.
Both looked toward the source of the blast. The older one spoke first.
"That direction… could it be Lord Killer B? Hurry, follow me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he dashed toward the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, with the younger ninja following close behind.
...
The battle in the Valley of Clouds and Lightning raged on.
Itachi controlled his complete Susanoo, gripping the Totsuka Blade in his right hand and slashing at Killer B.
Killer B pressed down slightly with his eight tails and leaped upward, narrowly dodging the strike.
He then distanced himself from Itachi and once again began gathering energy in his mouth.
Continuous Tailed Beast Balls!
Killer B fired multiple Tailed Beast Balls in succession toward Itachi.
Seeing them incoming, Itachi's Susanoo raised another divine weapon—the Yata Mirror.
It blocked all the incoming Tailed Beast Balls.
At that moment, the two Hidden Cloud patrol ninja arrived nearby and saw Killer B in his Eight-Tails form.
"Lord Killer B… who is he fighting? And he's even transformed into the Eight-Tails… Lord Raikage warned him repeatedly not to use it," the older ninja murmured.
Itachi quietly observed Killer B. For jinchūriki, genjutsu might not be very effective, since the tailed beast can disrupt their chakra to break it. But what if both the tailed beast and the jinchūriki fell into genjutsu at the same time?
Tsukuyomi!
Itachi cast Tsukuyomi on Killer B. Killer B was instantly trapped in the illusion. Just as the Eight-Tails tried to break him out—
—the Totsuka Blade struck immediately after.
This time, Killer B couldn't dodge. The blade pierced his body, and the Eight-Tails was dragged into the illusion world as well, falling into genjutsu.
Because the Totsuka Blade possesses both sealing and genjutsu properties, its sealing power affected the tailed beast, pulling it into a dreamlike illusion.
Killer B soon reverted to his human form, floating in the water.
Seeing this, Itachi glanced to the side and smiled faintly.
"Looks like someone's already arrived."
His complete Susanoo disappeared. Itachi and Sasuke walked over to Killer B, and Itachi hoisted him onto his shoulder.
The two brothers left openly and unhurriedly.
Itachi frowned slightly, thinking: We've stayed long enough. They should have clearly seen our attire by now.
The reason he didn't leave using Susanoo was to make sure the enemy would recognize that Akatsuki had taken the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Killer B.
The two Hidden Cloud ninja were watching them through binoculars.
"Damn it… Lord Killer B was actually defeated. Unbelievable," the older ninja said.
"From their clothing—black cloaks with red clouds—it's Akatsuki! Should we go support?" the younger one asked.
"They're Akatsuki. Don't act rashly. We need to report to the Raikage immediately!" the older ninja said with a frown.
Under their watch, the Uchiha brothers carried Killer B away without any urgency.
The two Hidden Cloud ninja quickly rushed back to the village.
...
Sasuke remained silent along the way, carefully replaying the battle in his mind.
Itachi said nothing, only hoping his younger brother would grow from this fight.
On the other side, Nagato had been waiting in front of the Five-Seal Barrier for a long time.
Finally, the barrier dispersed. Nagato's eyes lit up as he rushed forward.
When he reached Rorin, he saw him lying on the ground, breathing heavily, the surroundings utterly devastated.
"Congratulations, Rorin. You did it!" Nagato said with a smile.
Hearing this, Rorin slowly sat up and smiled faintly.
"Just barely… I almost failed."
Nagato extended his hand and pulled Rorin up.
"Rorin, since you've succeeded, Konan and I should be leaving."
"Mm. Be careful of Uchiha Madara," Rorin said, nodding slowly.
At present, Nagato had recovered well and indeed needed to prepare for what lay ahead.
Nagato nodded slightly.
"I already have a plan. Thanks for taking care of me during this time."
Rorin waved his hand.
"No need to be so polite between friends."
Then Rorin placed an arm over Nagato's shoulder and escorted him back to the original camp.
"If anything comes up, contact me. I won't disturb you any longer—I'm heading out," Rorin said, bidding farewell to the two before using Flying Thunder God to return to the Hidden Leaf Village.
After today's battle, he had successfully surpassed his physical limits. The gate he had long dreamed of breaking through had finally seen major progress.
After returning to the village, Rorin washed up and then went to Ichiraku Ramen for a meal.
...
The next morning.
Warm sunlight streamed into the room as Rorin slowly opened his eyes.
Next, it was time to head to the Land of Water and take a look.
Previously, he had postponed it to train with the Five-Seal Barrier, but now… it was time to investigate.