Chapter 259: The Two-Tails' Escape—This Is War!
When the Third Raikage's gaze fell upon the nearby Two-Tails, Uchiha Ci couldn't help but feel his eyelids twitch.
Being able to fight against someone as strong as A for this long was largely thanks to the Two-Tails!
The chakra leaking from the Two-Tails across the surrounding cliffs, combined with the extreme emotions radiating from the Third Raikage, had allowed Uchiha Ci to unleash ninjutsu without worrying about chakra depletion. It was this advantage that had enabled him to push the Third Raikage to his current battered state.
As long as this secret remained undiscovered…
He could even stand there with his arms akimbo, pat his chest, and proudly declare to the Third Raikage:
"I can play with you all day!"
After all, the Third Raikage was still a living person at this moment—not an Edo Tensei corpse. That one piercing hand strike through his chest might not have killed him, but it was still a grievous wound. Uchiha Ci refused to believe it wouldn't affect him at all.
Meanwhile, under these conditions, Uchiha Ci was practically no different from being Edo Tensei'd himself—
Unlimited chakra. An undying body. The ability to endlessly trade blows in a battle of attrition.
With this dynamic in play, the scales of victory were undeniably tipping in Uchiha Ci's favor.
However—
A battle between shinobi is a battle of intelligence.
As both sides continued to reveal their cards, Uchiha Ci's secrets inevitably became exposed to the Third Raikage.
At this moment—
Amidst the charred ruins, scattered embers flickered in the wind.
The Third Raikage, A, cast a cold glance at the Two-Tails, who had been knocked down earlier and had since been quietly observing the battlefield.
Then, gripping a massive brown-yellow gourd at his feet with one hand, he suddenly tilted his head back and barked at the giant cat demon:
"Matatabi!"
The moment it heard this, the Two-Tails shuddered violently. Who knew what kind of painful memories resurfaced in its mind? It didn't dare respond at all. Under the Third Raikage's fearsome glare, it even took several steps back in retreat.
Then, A exhaled deeply, his face darkening as he spoke:
"I will let you leave."
"For the next three years, I will not pursue you."
Hearing this—
Both Uchiha Ci and the Two-Tails were momentarily stunned.
The Two-Tails' expression immediately turned to one of joy.
Was there really such a good deal?
Leaving Kumogakure and escaping the fate of being a prisoner—this was exactly what it had always wanted! And given what it knew about the Raikage, his word was as solid as stone. He would not go back on it.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Ci's expression darkened instantly.
Without the unconscious chakra supply from the Two-Tails… how was he supposed to keep fighting the Raikage?!
Just as he was about to speak up and try to dissuade Matatabi, exposing A's words as nothing but lies and urging it to stand with him against Kumogakure's brute force—
He saw it.
The moment the Two-Tails heard the Raikage's promise, its face lit up with pure delight.
Then, without a second thought—without even sparing Uchiha Ci a glance—Matatabi arched its massive body, dug its claws into the ground, and bolted away with astonishing agility, dashing toward the southern exit of Hell Valley.
It had abandoned him without hesitation!
Uchiha Ci: "…"
True to his word, the Third Raikage remained rooted in place, his cold gaze fixed on Uchiha Ci, ensuring that he wouldn't escape.
At this point in the battle—
To A, ensuring Uchiha Ci's death here had become more important than immediately recapturing the Two-Tails.
He could deal with Matatabi later.
But tonight—
This boy had already given him too many surprises.
He could not be allowed to grow any further.
Only someone who had lived through that era would understand—
What kind of existence a crazed, reckless Uchiha could become if left unchecked.
Just like that man, forty years ago—
The one who had filled every nation in the ninja world with fear, leaving them dreading the possibility of his betrayal with every passing day.
Uchiha Madara.
A recalled his younger days, when he had witnessed that terrifying figure—furious, bellowing "Hashirama!"—unleashing a blinding sword of light that cut across the lands.
People had always assumed that Madara's attack had landed in the Land of Water.
But no.
It had struck the Land of Lightning.
Because the Valley of the End was right on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice Fields!
From that location, the only mountainous landmass across the sea was the Land of Lightning.
Now—
Watching the Two-Tails escape, Uchiha Ci's expression turned grim.
The loss of the chakra supply from the Zero-Tails in his abdomen caused an immediate drop in his chakra recovery speed. The sensory boost granted by the Tailed Beast chakra, as well as the Zero-Tails' range for absorbing extreme emotions, rapidly shrank—
Down to a mere five meters around him.
Uchiha Ci took a deep breath, his gaze turning serious as he locked eyes with the Third Raikage.
With the remaining chakra in this area, combined with the chakra he could steal by staying in close combat against a taijutsu-based opponent like A—
As long as he avoided excessive jutsu usage like before and exercised caution, he could still buy time.
If he could hold out longer, reinforcements would arrive.
But the Third Raikage's injuries wouldn't last much longer.
After all, that hole in his chest was real—an injury that wouldn't just close up on its own anytime soon.
However—
A stared at Uchiha Ci, his gaze as if he had read the boy's mind.
Then, with a cold chuckle, his face darkened as he spoke:
"Brat."
"Are you thinking of stalling for time?"
"Are you planning to keep leeching chakra off of me?"
"Do you think you've already won?"
Suddenly, A raised his head, his thick eyebrows standing on end, veins bulging across his face as he glared at Uchiha Ci.
Then, he bellowed:
"You're wrong!"
At that instant—
He swung up his right arm and roared:
"Bee—!!"
As his powerful arm lifted into the air—
A massive shadow loomed behind the Third Raikage, as if a skyscraper were collapsing!
A monstrous, tentacled form rose from the ground, shaking the earth beneath it.
A beast with a human torso and a bull's head erupted into the battlefield, throwing back its head to unleash a deafening roar!
"—ROOOOOOAAARR!!"
Uchiha Ci's pupils contracted sharply.
In a flash, he leaped away, dodging the monstrous tendrils swinging toward him.
Just as he had been trying to stall for time—
The Third Raikage had used that very time to let the Eight-Tails accumulate enough chakra for a full transformation!
At A's command, Killer Bee did not hesitate in the slightest.
And as for the Third Raikage himself—his expression remained completely calm.
He didn't even pursue Uchiha Ci as he retreated, allowing him to widen the gap between them.
"Brat, don't call me shameless."
A's voice remained steady as he locked eyes with Uchiha Ci.
Then, he took a deep breath—his gaze sharpening into an ice-cold glint.
"Because this is war!"
The next moment—
A's expression turned merciless.
He abruptly swung his arm sideways, pointing toward the group of Konoha shinobi led by Uchiha Setsuna.
Then, in a deep voice, he commanded:
"Bee—use a Tailed Beast Bomb. Wipe them out first!"
"Roger that, Boss!"
A sinister grin spread across the Eight-Tails' bull-like face.
With a resounding response, it tilted its massive head back and opened its gaping maw!
Swoooosh!
Like ten thousand vacuum turbines roaring at once, a violent suction force swept through the battlefield!
Countless blue-black chakra particles gathered in its cavernous mouth—compressing, condensing—
Slowly forming a pitch-black, abyssal sphere brimming with annihilation.
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