Lariat.
The strongest combined taijutsu of the Hidden Cloud Village's A and B combo.
Yet it had been casually blocked with two fingers.
Raikage A's towering figure remained frozen in his charging stance, his fierce expression replaced by a blank stare.
His proud strength was unraveling inch by inch under the opponent's fingertips.
Killer B's condition was even worse.
The chakra from his Tailed Beast Transformation was frantically leaking from his body.
"Is this the power you two staked everything on?" Arashi's voice was calm, yet every word rang clearly in their ears.
As his voice fell, he exerted a slight force with both hands.
Crack!
The crisp sound of bones breaking.
Bang! Bang!
Two heavy thuds followed in succession.
Under countless stunned gazes.
The Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, Killer B, were sent flying back even faster than they had charged forward!
Their Lightning Release armor and Tailed Beast cloak shattered in mid-air, scattering into countless glowing particles.
Rumble!
The two crashed into the distant ground, raising massive dust clouds and leaving behind two deep craters.
As the dust settled.
In one crater, the Fourth Raikage lay soaked in blood. His right arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, already unconscious.
In the other, Killer B barely managed to support himself.
The Eight-Tails' chakra had instinctively shielded him at the moment of impact, dispersing most of the force.
"Raikage-sama!"
"B-sama!"
On the battlefield, countless Kumo ninja let out cries of despair, their eyes filled with panic.
Raikage-sama… Killer B-sama… their two strongest fighters had truly been defeated?
And they had been crushed so decisively!
Their opponent had only used a single move!
In that moment, the morale of the Kumo forces shattered along with the fall of those two figures.
Fear spread like a plague.
Just when everyone thought the battle was over.
A sudden change occurred!
"Bro… brother!"
A roar tore through the silence.
Killer B staggered to his feet, ignoring his broken ribs, a sweet metallic taste filling his throat.
He stared fixedly at the motionless, blood-soaked figure in the crater.
That was his only family.
Now he lay there, life or death unknown.
"You bastard…"
Killer B adjusted his slipping sunglasses. His voice trembled, tinged with grief and fury. "I will… I will kill you!"
Humiliation, rage, sorrow… all emotions ignited in that instant, transforming into pure, primal killing intent!
Roar!
A beastly cry erupted from deep within the crater!
Boom!
Crimson chakra surged into the sky.
The earth shook. Space warped.
Within the crater, Killer B's bones groaned as he stood. Blood oozed from his orifices.
He reached desperately toward where Raikage A had fallen.
That place was silent.
"Bro… ther…"
He hoarsely uttered two words.
Inside his mental world, the Eight-Tails, Gyūki, spoke: "B, your body's at its limit."
"Ah, Hachi…" Killer B's consciousness was faint, but his face was firm. "Lend me all your power."
"You'll die."
"Then let me die!" Killer B roared within his mind. "I will… kill him! Avenge my brother!"
Gyūki went silent.
It felt its partner's resolve.
This wasn't a berserk rampage, but a deliberate decision to risk everything.
"…Alright, you idiot fool."
"Let's go wild one last time!"
Boom!
Crimson chakra erupted like a volcano!
Flesh writhed. Bones expanded!
Killer B's body rapidly grew in a terrifying manner!
One, two, three… eight massive, octopus-like tentacles tore through his flesh, whipping wildly and carving deep trenches into the ground!
A ferocious bull's head burst from his back, letting out a thunderous roar!
In mere seconds.
A towering beast nearly a hundred meters tall, with the features of both a bull and an octopus, loomed over the battlefield!
The Eight-Tails, Gyūki.
Fully manifested!
Roar!
Gyūki howled toward the heavens. The resulting sound wave became a powerful shockwave, blasting away countless Kumo ninja and nearby Shadow Clones who couldn't react in time!
The ancient, oppressive presence of this tailed beast chilled the battlefield to the bone.
"I-It's the Eight-Tails!"
"B-sama… has fully unleashed the Eight-Tails!"
The surviving Kumo shinobi's eyes lit up with awe and conviction.
Their hero was making a final stand, at the cost of his life!
"Quick… retreat!"
Minato's expression changed drastically as he shouted toward the city wall.
The colossal beast lowered its head, locking onto the lone figure below with its two eyes.
Then, it opened its enormous mouth.
Black and white chakra began to gather, compressing and rotating at incredible speed!
A pitch-black sphere quickly took form.
Tailed Beast Ball!
"Die!"
Fueled by Killer B's bottomless rage, this death sphere launched toward Arashi with a thunderous roar!
The space along its path wailed in distortion. The ground beneath it was scorched black from the escaping energy.
This was a strike capable of erasing all of Konoha!
"Dodge it!"
Tsunade screamed, instinctively about to leap down.
Arashi, however, didn't move.
He simply stood there, looking up at the Tailed Beast Ball rapidly expanding in his vision.
"This power… is rather interesting."
He even found the time to comment.
Then, under countless stunned gazes.
He slowly raised his right hand.
No hand seals.
No chakra fluctuations.
He simply opened his five fingers and, as the Tailed Beast Ball approached, gently made a fist.
Buzz!
The roaring Tailed Beast Ball, still meters away from his palm, abruptly stopped in mid-air!
No matter how it spun or how violently its chakra distorted the air, it could not advance another inch!
"Wha… what?!"
Gyūki's beastly eyes widened in shock.
Impossible!
And the next scene would be forever etched into its memory.
Arashi's five fingers slowly curled closed.
Crack… crack… A series of crisp cracks rang out.
On the surface of the pitch-black Tailed Beast Ball, countless fine fissures appeared!
The next moment.
Bang!!!
A muffled boom.
That pitch-black energy sphere, like a balloon, was crushed by bare hands!
The immense energy within instantly went berserk, erupting outward in all directions like a hurricane.
Everyone struggled to resist.
However, as these violent chakra winds approached Arashi's body, they parted around him on their own, only slightly rustling the hem of his clothes.
The storm faded.
Arashi still stood where he was, untouched and unharmed.
(To be continued.)