Raikage A remained uneasy about B, because an attack of such magnitude meant the opponent was no weakling. There was also a high chance they had backup forces. Following the traces of battle, he came searching.
Sure enough, his worries were justified—B was currently being engulfed by Amaterasu black flames.
Earlier, Raikage A had intended to instantly eliminate Shindai and his two companions, Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha, but Hikaku Uchiha's Genjutsu trapped him inside for what felt like three entire days and nights. Every moment was filled with torment; even being stabbed with knives felt relatively mild.
He originally thought the opponent would've long left after three days, yet unexpectedly, they'd stayed in place all along.
"That Genjutsu's perception of time… Although I experienced three full days within, has only an instant passed in reality?"
Raikage A's mind was extremely exhausted. Even though only a moment had elapsed in reality, he had genuinely endured three uninterrupted days of torture.
"B!"
Thinking of B, Raikage A realized the latter was still burning under the Amaterasu flames.
Raikage A wanted to rush forward and help extinguish the flames, but B stopped him.
B said weakly, "Don't touch these flames—they burn endlessly without ceasing. I can handle this!"
B spat out large amounts of ink from his mouth, which wrapped around the Amaterasu flames before gradually separating them from his body.
This ink was also used for sealing purposes. Using his ink Sealing Technique, B managed to peel away the deadly Amaterasu flames from himself.
"Huff… huff…"
Panting heavily while slumping on the ground, B tried to catch his breath. Although protected by his cephalopod-like tail, part of his body had still suffered burns.
However, as a Jinchuriki, his recovery abilities were strong, so there was no need for excessive worry—even so, he eventually fell unconscious.
Raikage A carried B onto his back and headed toward Kumogakure.
His heart felt heavy—he hadn't expected Konoha to be so firm and decisive this time.
So firm and resolute that Raikage A wondered if he had mistaken the village altogether.
After all, Konoha had always appeared weak in his eyes.
"Minato Namikaze…"
Raikage A recalled his old rival from The Third Great Ninja War.
He acknowledged Minato Namikaze's combat strength—back then, he believed himself to be the fastest, until he met Minato.
"I already struggled against him before either of us became Kage. Now that we both are Kage, we remain rivals."
Meanwhile, Shindai, Pakura, and Hikaku Uchiha had successfully retreated far away and found a Cave for temporary rest.
"[Huff]… Even when three of us gang up on one, it's still this tough. Now that's what I call a Jinchuriki."
Wiping off Cold Sweat, Shindai recalled the pressure unleashed by B during his Half-Tailed Beast Transformation, feeling lingering fear.
If B fully transforms into the Eight-Tails, it'll really be asking for trouble.
During the Nine-Tails' attack back then, the Nine-Tails was in a rampaging state without any rationality.
But after complete transformation, B actually maintains consciousness. With cooperation from B, it could be even more asking for trouble than the Nine-Tails back then.
Although our strength has improved, fighting against a fully transformed Tailed Beast is still quite challenging.
Shindai looked at Hikaku Uchiha and curiously asked, "Hikaku, if you use Tsukuyomi on a perfect Jinchūriki, can they break free from it?"
Hikaku Uchiha thought for a moment before replying, "They can, but they can't either."
"Why's that?" Shindai questioned with confusion.
Hikaku Uchiha explained, "Tsukuyomi pulls the target's spirit into an illusionary space. A perfect Jinchūriki can still rely on their Tailed Beast to dispel the genjutsu. However, Tsukuyomi only lasts an instant in the real world. By the time the Tailed Beast helps dispel it, Tsukuyomi would have almost ended already. Whether or not they dispel doesn't make much difference.
Besides, Tsukuyomi doesn't have much effect on perfect Jinchūriki to begin with. Those who become perfect Jinchūriki must have extremely strong spirits capable of enduring 72 hours under Tsukuyomi. Although the Tailed Beast might not dispel it quickly enough, it will assist them in battle."
"I see. That's kinda enviable."
Shindai wanted Tsukuyomi too—just glare at someone you dislike, and you're done.
But first, he needed to have the bloodline of the Uchiha clan, awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, be lucky enough to obtain Tsukuyomi randomly, and also possess something like Hikaku's Eight Trigrams Sealing Array or Hashirama cells. Otherwise, he'd go blind.
Shindai slightly frowned, "Suddenly feeling like you're kind of creepy, Hikaku."
Hikaku immediately hit Shindai in the stomach with an elbow strike, "Who's creepy?!"
Rubbing his belly, Shindai grumbled, "It's just an adjective! Seriously, could you stop hitting me with your elbow so naturally? You weren't like this at first!"
Hikaku rolled her eyes. At first, she hadn't expected Shindai to be this annoying either.
Pakura asked, "So our mission is completed. What next?"
"After reporting our mission, we should follow flexible combat procedures like other ninja. I'll notify Captain Tetsuya now."
Shindai took out the radio communication device and contacted Sarutobi Tetsuya.
"Hey, Captain Tetsuya, our mission is completed."
"I'm already aware. Good job, Shindai. From now on, you guys are free to engage in combat operations. The main assembly point from Konoha has already departed toward the Land of Lightning. Maintain communications."
After ending the transmission, Shindai directly lay down on the ground, "Tired. Let's rest a bit before continuing."
Pakura glanced at Hikaku Uchiha, who nodded slightly in response.
The two immediately resumed mockingly commenting on Shindai.
Shindai wanted to pretend he hadn't heard anything, but Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha were right beside him, speaking in an extremely loud voice that made it impossible for him to feign ignorance.
With no choice left, Shindai abruptly sat up: "What the hell do you two want? If I've ever offended you, here I am! You can throw down with me anytime. Why keep mockingly commenting on me all day long?"
However, the only response from them was a mocking snicker each.
That was exactly what they wanted. The more Shindai lost his composure, the happier they felt!
Time sneaked by for another two days.
"Raikage-sama! Urgent news! Konoha ninja have been spotted at the border of the Land of Moon, advancing toward the Land of Lightning!"
Raikage A was overwhelmed and stretched thin. Those Konoha ninjas wreaking havoc across the Land of Lightning couldn't be dealt with quickly—they were just too elusive. Instead, his side kept suffering continuous losses.
Worse still, those Konoha ninjas within the Land of Lightning were spreading stories everywhere, claiming that Raikage A had used the pretense of forming an alliance with Konoha to seize their Byakugan, then denied it afterward. They said he intended to declare war on Peaceful Konoha, forcing it into battle against its will—this entire war seemed to be entirely Raikage's fault.
This naturally led to growing criticism against Raikage A.
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