Sora, who was locked in battle with Kakuzu and Hoshigaki Kisame, suddenly leaped backward, deliberately creating distance between herself and her opponents.
She activated her Observation Haki to predict their upcoming attacks.
Kakuzu and Kisame transformed into virtual ninjutsu turrets, launching technique after technique toward Sora without pause.
Yet the moment they released their jutsu, Sora had already dodged or countered with her own techniques.
Kakuzu and Kisame stared at her in disbelief.
"Even the Sharingan can't be this powerful, right?" Kisame questioned, his voice filled with shock. "Can the Sharingan actually see the future and predict our jutsu before we use them?"
Sora, having just evaded their combined assault, cast a glance at the two Akatsuki members.
The current Kisame wasn't particularly threatening since the Samehada in his possession had only reached Elite Jōnin level.
Only Kakuzu's abilities were somewhat concerning at this point.
But even that was manageable.
It struck her how enemies she once considered formidable now seemed far less intimidating.
Not only did she know their weaknesses, but even without that knowledge, Sora was confident she could defeat both Kisame and Kakuzu.
Her gaze shifted to the distance.
The massive Nine-Tails was heading toward Konoha.
Sora sensed that the transcription seal in Uzumaki Miyuki's left eye had been activated.
The moment it triggered, she had used her Observation Haki to assess Miyuki's condition.
Miyuki no longer had any of the Nine-Tails' chakra within her body.
That meant either the Nine-Tails had broken their contract, or it hadn't had time to help Miyuki when needed.
Sora believed the latter was more likely.
Although the tailed beasts were difficult to deal with, they surprisingly respected the words of the Sage of Six Paths.
This situation involved the child of destiny. Even if the Nine-Tails resented Miyuki as its Jinchūriki, it wouldn't dare break their contract.
"Looks like we'll need to take a piece of the Nine-Tails for ourselves," Sora muttered.
She formed a hand seal with her left hand.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A perfect copy of Sora appeared beside her.
Then, Sora turned to face the direction of the Nine-Tails.
"Lightning Style: Chakra Mode!"
In an instant, powerful lightning chakra enveloped Sora's body, cracking the ground beneath her feet.
Her body arched slightly as the lightning intensified to an even higher level.
Kakuzu and Kisame looked on in horror. A chill ran from their spines to the tops of their heads, causing their hair to stand on end and beads of sweat to form on their foreheads.
Kisame, despite his reputation, trembled slightly. Never before had he felt such overwhelming power.
Kakuzu, who had lived far longer than Kisame and once attempted to assassinate Senju Hashirama, had more experience with such power.
Though he had been completely overwhelmed by Hashirama's Wood Style jutsu, unable even to lift his head, Kakuzu had at least felt the First Hokage's presence.
Sora's current power seemed even greater than Hashirama's had been.
But Kakuzu knew this was just his perception playing tricks.
Sora was definitely weaker than Hashirama. The First Hokage hadn't even taken their fight seriously—otherwise, Kakuzu wouldn't have survived.
So the overwhelming pressure Kakuzu had felt wasn't Hashirama's true power.
Still, Sora's current display was impressive enough.
It suggested that Sora had begun to approach the threshold of legendary shinobi status.
Sora placed her hand on the hilt of the ninja sword at her waist.
"Breath of Thunder, First Form: Thunderbolt Flash - Super Speed!"
In Kakuzu and Kisame's field of vision, they caught only a flash of lightning.
If not for the massive crack left in the ground, they might have thought they were hallucinating.
Uchiha Obito, who was following the Nine-Tails toward Konoha, suddenly stopped and looked skyward.
He saw what appeared to be a bolt of lightning heading in his direction.
But the night sky was clear with stars shining brightly—this couldn't be natural lightning.
Obito's Three-Tomoe Sharingan couldn't track the lightning clearly. Only when he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan could he barely make out an outline.
"That's not a jutsu... wait, it is! It's Sora!"
Obito's pupils contracted as he realized the attacker's identity. The speed was too great—before he had fully activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, Sora was already upon them.
As Sora approached the Nine-Tails, she drew her ninja sword in a single, fluid motion and slashed at the massive beast.
A cross-cutting lightning flash illuminated the darkness for a split second.
A massive wound appeared across the Nine-Tails' back, with red tailed beast chakra spurting out like blood.
Sora, now falling through the air, resheathed her ninja sword before unfolding a blank scroll. She bit her finger and wrote on the scroll with her blood.
"Evil Sealing Method!"
As Sora completed the seal, the blood-written incantation floated off the scroll, restraining the tailed beast chakra that was spewing from the Nine-Tails' wound.
The moment Sora landed, she pressed her palm against the scroll.
"Seal!"
The bound tailed beast chakra was immediately drawn into the scroll.
Sora closed the scroll and tucked it into her ninja pouch.
Then Sora looked toward Uchiha Obito who stood nearby.
Obito's entire body had tensed, assuming that Sora would attack him next for breaking their contract.
Sora smiled at Obito reassuringly. "No need to be nervous. We're cooperating, remember? You do your part, and I'll do mine."
Obito asked seriously, "Kakuzu and Kisame... you didn't kill them, did you?"
Sora glanced behind her. "Can't you hear? The battle is still going on over there. My Shadow Clone is fighting them."
As soon as she finished speaking, Sora vanished.
Obito looked toward the distant battlefield, clearly hearing the sounds of combat. He was shocked.
Could a mere Shadow Clone hold its own against both Kakuzu and Kisame?
Just how powerful was Sora?
Obito recalled how ridiculous his earlier claim had been—that he could handle both Sora and Namikaze Minato by himself.
Fortunately, Zetsu had suggested cooperating with Sora. Otherwise, the plan would likely have failed. Even if they had successfully freed the Nine-Tails, they wouldn't have been able to control it.
Sora's attack had struck the Nine-Tails before it could even react.
Obito took a deep breath, feeling immense relief.
"I need to be more cautious in the future," he thought. "I almost ruined everything with my arrogance."
By now, the gash on the Nine-Tails' back had closed. After all, as a being composed of pure chakra, the Nine-Tails couldn't be seriously injured for long.
However, the healed wound looked strange—as though a piece was missing.
That portion of chakra had been sealed away by Sora.
After regaining his composure, Obito continued toward Konoha with the Nine-Tails at his command.
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