293. The Confused Killer Bee

A brilliant blade light streaked across the sky, instantly illuminating the entire battlefield!

For a moment, time and space seemed to stand still.

Even the Third Raikage, who was speeding at high velocity, appeared to be frozen in place.

The ferocious black spear halted just an inch away from Danzo.

Simultaneously, the lightning that enveloped the Third Raikage gradually dissipated into the air.

His pupils, contracted to their limit, were filled with shock and confusion...

"Impossible, how could this..." The man known as the "Strongest Shield" opened his mouth as if to say something.

But all his strength seemed to leak away like air from a balloon, so quickly that he couldn't even finish his last sentence.

Under Danzo's calm gaze, an extremely thin black line appeared on the Third Raikage's forehead.

It ran straight down, perfectly bisecting his entire body.

To be precise, it wasn't just his body.

The black line extended beyond his form.

The ground beneath his feet, the air behind him, even the clouds high above, all bore a nearly imperceptible fissure.

Though the fissure appeared for only an instant, it was enough to sever everything in its path.

Including...

Space!

The body of the Third Raikage, as sturdy as forged steel, began to misalign along the line of the fissure.

As his body crashed heavily to the ground, a torrent of crimson blood burst forth from his bisected corpse!

The blood mingled with the rising dust, and the man known as both the "Strongest Spear" and the "Strongest Shield" finally met his end.

Yet, until his last breath, he never imagined that his proud "Strongest Defense" would be so utterly futile against Danzo's attack.

Regardless, the great battle that determined the fate of two villages had finally come to a close.

Danzo slowly sheathed his spotless long sword at his waist.

His gaze lingered on the Third Raikage's corpse for a moment.

All in all, this man was a respectable opponent.

Whether in taijutsu or ninjutsu, he had reached the pinnacle of the shinobi world.

Unfortunately, he faced the first possessor of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan since Uchiha Madara.

Moreover, the ocular power Danzo had awakened was a formidable space-time attack.

A terrifying dojutsu capable of severing anything in existence.

If it were anyone else, Danzo wouldn't have gone through the trouble of luring them in.

He would have simply ended it with a single strike...

Of course, such reflections lasted only a moment in Danzo's mind.

He soon turned his gaze to the distant battlefield.

Now, the most important task was to reduce the combat strength of Kumogakure as much as possible.

————————
Another battlefield.

Two Susanoo, controlled by Shisui and Fugaku, were launching a pincer attack on the massive Eight-Tails.

Several magatama shot across the battlefield like lightning, and the ensuing explosions sent the Eight-Tails flying!

"Damn those Uchiha bastards..."

Killer Bee roared furiously within his mental space.

Since becoming a perfect jinchūriki, he hadn't been beaten so badly in a long time!

Fortunately, the Eight-Tails' injuries weren't severe, and it quickly got back on its feet.

Killer Bee waved his hand and growled:
"Gyūki, let's show them our true power!!"

Faced with his partner's request, the Eight-Tails didn't immediately agree as it usually would.

Instead, it remained silent for a moment.

Sensing something was wrong, Killer Bee asked in a low voice:
"What's the matter, Gyūki?"

"Something feels off..."
The Eight-Tails' head emerged in the mental space.

This powerful tailed beast, second only to the Nine-Tails, now spoke with an unusually grave tone!

"What is it?" Killer Bee became uncharacteristically serious.

After fighting side by side for so many years, he knew that when the Eight-Tails spoke in this tone, something extremely serious had happened.

In response to Killer Bee's question, the Eight-Tails slowly said:
"The ink mark I left on the Third Raikage..."

"It's gone."

The Eight-Tails' words struck Killer Bee like a thunderbolt. Before the war began, the Third Raikage, as a precaution, had asked the Eight-Tails to place an ink mark on him.

This unique mark, originally used by the Eight-Tails to track prey, was said to be impossible to remove.

There was only one way to dispel it—
Death!

"Are you saying that the Third Raikage might be... dead?"
Killer Bee's voice trembled, and a look of confusion flashed behind his sunglasses.

In his mind, the tall and burly man had always been the pillar of Kumogakure.

No matter how strong the enemy or how difficult the challenge, he would always lead Kumogakure to overcome all obstacles.

How could he suddenly...

For a moment, Killer Bee struggled to accept this reality.

"Though it's regrettable, that's likely the case."

"After all, he was facing the 'Darkness of the Shinobi.'"

The Eight-Tails spoke in a heavy tone.

Seeing Killer Bee remain silent, it frowned and sharply rebuked:
"Killer Bee, snap out of it!!"

"There are still many Kumogakure shinobi who need your leadership!"

"The priority now is to report this to A immediately!"

The loud reprimand from his partner finally snapped Killer Bee out of his grief and confusion.

He pressed a finger hard against his sunglasses and said in a hoarse voice:
"I understand."

The conversation in the mental space lasted only an instant in reality.

But that brief moment was enough for the enemy to launch a new attack!

For instance, Shisui and Fugaku took advantage of the Eight-Tails' momentary distraction to drive their Susanoo toward it from both sides.

Seeing this, the Eight-Tails immediately controlled its eight octopus tails, wrapping them tightly around its body to form a massive, suction-covered sphere!

In the next second, its enormous body began to spin rapidly.

The rotation created a fierce vortex, sweeping both Susanoo away!!

Then, it quickly reverted to its original form and headed toward the battlefield outside the fortress.

Seeing this, Uchiha Shisui, who had just stabilized his stance, immediately realized something.

"It seems Teacher has won..."

He smirked slightly, then a flash of killing intent appeared in his eyes.

If his teacher had won, then he, as a student, couldn't afford to embarrass him.

With that, he focused his gaze on the Eight-Tails, which was trying to flee the battlefield.

"Amaterasu!!"