Found it." Chu Yang turned to Yang Dou and said, "Notify the others to meet me here and send the message back to the Village."
Looking at the massive waterfall before him, like a celestial river pouring down, Yang Dou shivered.
With a hint of doubt, he transmitted the message using the Anbu's special communication method.
"Yang-daren, how did you determine that the Eight-Tails was here?" Yang Dou asked cautiously.
"Intuition." Chu Yang only spoke two words, and then said nothing more.
Yang Dou now only wanted to slap himself twice. If he had known to ask more questions, he wouldn't have sent the message so rashly. If Madara came, how could he explain this?
Chu Yang didn't notice Yang Dou's regretful expression.
The Eight-Tails in the cave seemed to stir, and the splashing water from the entire waterfall suddenly became more violent.
"Be careful to suppress your breathing and Chakra."
No sooner had Chu Yang spoken than the waterfall before them seemed like a curtain being pulled aside, revealing a large blank area.
Behind the waterfall, a massive shadow stood.
Goosebumps rose all over Yang Dou's body. He looked at Chu Yang in disbelief, and at this moment, conviction finally grew in his heart.
The Eight-Tails had not discovered them.
Instead, using the Gekko, it left the cave it was currently residing in. An inexplicable unease in its heart urged it to leave this place.
With just a gentle turn, the lake beneath the Eight-Tails instantly unleashed towering waves, inundating the surrounding ground and almost reaching Chu Yang and their hiding spot.
The Eight-Tails looked around, turned indifferently, and vanished into the boundless night.
As the Eight-Tails' figure gradually blurred, Yang Dou impatiently said, "Yang-daren, let's go after it!"
Chu Yang remained motionless, coldly staring ahead, "Wait a little longer."
Just as Yang Dou was about to persuade him, the nearby lake began to ripple again. The shadow in the darkness reappeared, and Yang Dou immediately closed his mouth upon seeing this.
The Eight-Tails circled once, this time leaving in the completely opposite direction.
"Just now, was it trying to lure us out?" Yang Dou looked at the Eight-Tails' departing back in disbelief.
"After being chased for so long, even an idiot should be wary."
Chu Yang frowned and glanced at him, "How were you chosen for the Anbu?"
Yang Dou scratched his head awkwardly and chuckled, "In terms of combat… I'm quite confident."
Chu Yang's expression only then improved.
Relying on the power of Observation Haki, Chu Yang consistently moved outside the Eight-Tails' perception range, closely following behind it.
Yang Dou, on the other hand, served as a liaison, responsible for providing real-time updates on the Eight-Tails' movements to the others.
Another day passed.
The Eight-Tails seemed a bit tired and stopped moving forward. Instead, it found a valley and slowly walked into a deep pool, sitting down with its massive body.
The deep pool couldn't fully contain the Eight-Tails' body. It sat inside, with half its body exposed, just like a normal person lying in a bathtub, a somewhat comical sight.
Lying in the deep pool, the Eight-Tails leaned against the mountain range behind it and gradually closed its eyes.
At this moment, all members of the Anbu squad had gathered around Chu Yang. Seeing that the time was ripe, he ordered, "Set up the barrier!"
Upon receiving the order, everyone instantly vanished from Chu Yang's sight.
Three squads, totaling 12 people, surrounded the Eight-Tails from 12 different directions.
The 12 people simultaneously performed hand signs. A moment later, 12 different beams of light shot into the sky, then converged to form a polygonal, rhombic barrier.
"Now, I'll leave it to you, Madara."
A dark figure leaped down from the waterfall, slowly walking towards the Eight-Tails as Chu Yang spoke.
Madara chuckled softly, "Well done, kid. No wonder Hashirama and Tobirama value you so much. If you were a member of the Uchiha clan, I might even take you as a disciple."
Madara's powerful Chakra instantly awakened the Eight-Tails, who had just fallen asleep. The latter rose, letting out a deafening roar.
The surrounding area shook violently, turning upside down, as if the end of the world had arrived.
Chu Yang suddenly realized a problem… he shouldn't have stayed here. The aftermath of the battle between Madara and the Eight-Tails could easily destroy everything around them.
He had miscalculated!
Ignoring the chance to witness the highest level of combat in the Naruto World, Chu Yang moved away from the battlefield at top speed. The next second, he felt a wave of heat surge from behind him.
"Fire Release! Great Fire Annihilation!"
Chu Yang looked back, but the sky-high flames were so bright he couldn't open his eyes. The raging fire had the momentum to reach the heavens.
His heart tightened. He dared not delay and ran with all his might to the edge of the barrier.
Just as he let out a sigh of relief, all the hairs on Chu Yang's body stood on end. He quickly formed hand signs, raising barriers around him.
[Wood Release: Wood Golem Wall]
As if one Wood Golem Wall wasn't enough, Chu Yang continuously supplied Chakra, and soon layer after layer of protection rose around him, forming towering peaks.
On the other side, Madara's "Great Fire Annihilation" engulfed the Eight-Tails. The latter was not to be outdone, using its massive tail to unleash waves that continuously surged, eventually transforming into a colossal tsunami.
The wall of fire collided with the tsunami, causing superheated steam to erupt violently and roll forward. Trees, flowers, and grass on the surrounding cliffs withered instantly upon contact with the steam.
Madara puffed out his chest and gently blew. The breeze emanating from his mouth continuously expanded, forming a powerful hurricane that dispersed all the steam in front of him.
The first Wood Golem Wall was, as expected, destroyed by the high temperature.
Madara looked back at Chu Yang, then looked up and chuckled, "I was planning to warm up, but it seems I don't have that much time to play with you. Let's end this quickly."
With that, Madara directly summoned his Complete Body Susanoo. An armored energy giant rose from the ground, facing the Eight-Tails, its power not losing an inch.
The Eight-Tails seemed to sense the threat and roared again, opening its massive maw as dark red Chakra gathered into a spherical shape.
Tailed Beast Ball!
Seeing this, Chu Yang quickly erected several more Wood Golem Walls.
Madara, having extensive experience fighting Tailed Beasts, was well aware of the Tailed Beast Ball's power. Susanoo's four arms fully extended, its long swords poised for battle.
Buzz buzz buzz~~~
An oppressive vibration emanated from the air—the sound of the Eight-Tails compressing the Tailed Beast Ball.
The 12 Anbu elites maintaining the barrier outside were all suffocated by this terrifyingly oppressive force.
Suddenly, the vibration stopped.
The Tailed Beast Ball was spat out by the Eight-Tails.
It soared through the air like a cannonball, tearing through the sound barrier.
In the blink of an eye, it flew before Madara.
Susanoo's long swords simultaneously slashed down, striking forcefully upon the Tailed Beast Ball. Violent energy fluctuations swept through the surroundings like a tsunami. Under the shock of this power, the rhombic barrier continuously developed cracks, like a mirror about to shatter.
At this moment, Susanoo erupted with terrifying power, using its long swords to slice the Tailed Beast Ball into four pieces, which flew off in different directions.
One of those pieces flew towards Chu Yang's location!
Damn it, could this even be friendly fire?
Chu Yang watched the Tailed Beast Ball, as large as a football field, fly towards him, unable to help but curse under his breath.
When the Tailed Beast Ball landed, the dozens of defenses he had painstakingly set up were instantly reduced to ashes.
Fortunately, these Wood Golem Walls also helped him block the residual power of the Tailed Beast Ball, leaving him completely unharmed.
Opening his eyes again, Chu Yang saw only a ravaged landscape before him.
The waterfall, green mountains, trees, flowers, and grass… all had vanished.
"This is almost comparable to a mushroom cloud…" Chu Yang swallowed. No wonder the power of Tailed Beasts was enough to influence wars between nations. How many Ninja could one Tailed Beast Ball instantly wipe out?
Apart from the fragmented Tailed Beast Ball that landed near Chu Yang and was blocked, the other Tailed Beast Balls struck the barrier.
The powerful impact made the entire barrier tremble precariously, with more and more cracks appearing. It was clear it wouldn't hold much longer.
The Complete Body Susanoo and the Eight-Tails engaged in close-quarters combat, creating immense commotion. Such two behemoths, if unleashed in any city, would bring about utter disaster.
"After the barrier breaks, we need to find a way to restrain the Eight-Tails' movements, otherwise, none of these three Anbu squads will survive."
The barrier used by the Anbu was not small in scale, and its violent destruction would certainly result in a backlash.
In severe cases, it could cause casualties, but even if it wasn't the most extreme situation, it would still incapacitate most of the people.
Chu Yang's Wood Release had a strong restraining effect on Tailed Beasts, which could be used to surprise them. However, this also meant that Chu Yang would have to risk intervening in the battle between Madara and the Eight-Tails.
The danger level was rising exponentially.
"That Yang Dou fellow is quite good. It would be a shame for him to die here, and my teacher wants me to cultivate trusted subordinates within the Anbu. He's a good choice…"
Chu Yang pondered while making thorough preparations.
As the battle between Susanoo and the Eight-Tails intensified, the barrier could no longer withstand the aftermath of their fight. With a crisp shattering sound, it collapsed with a roar.
The uncontrolled Chakra transformed into a storm that swept over everyone. All 12 Anbu members were severely injured, completely losing their ability to move.
Without restraints, the Eight-Tails became even more rampant, as if entering a berserk state.
Conversely, without the barrier, Madara became the one whose movements were restricted, as the aftermath of their battle could at any moment affect the incapacitated Anbu members.
What should he do?
Madara, who was pondering a countermeasure, suddenly caught sight of Chu Yang approaching from the corner of his eye.
What is he doing?
A hint of confusion flashed in Madara's eyes, then he suddenly realized something and dispelled the long sword in his hand.
The berserk Eight-Tails swept all its tails towards Susanoo, tightly wrapping around its body and attempting to drag Susanoo towards itself.
Susanoo's four arms each grabbed four of the Eight-Tails' tails, and the two began a tug-of-war.
In terms of raw strength, the Tailed Beast ultimately had the upper hand, and Susanoo was slowly dragged.
At this moment, Chu Yang had already arrived not far from the Eight-Tails, and the intensely battling Eight-Tails had not detected Chu Yang approaching it.
Chu Yang began to form hand signs.
He intended to use a sealing jutsu from Wood Release to restrict the Eight-Tails' movement. Of course, this was only a restriction; to achieve a true sealing effect, Senju Hashirama himself would have to perform it.