Chapter 203: Death Battle

Orochimaru's defensive unit was essentially wiped out. Ye Zi didn't believe that was Konoha's full deployment—there was no way they were that easily defeated. Without White Zetsu's intel, their grasp on information was quite weak. From a partial assessment, it appeared the Cloud ninjas had the upper hand, at least for now.

"Without White Zetsu's intelligence, it's impossible to act."

Standing atop the tallest tree, Ye Zi took in the vast land below. He had come here intending to weaken both the Cloud and Konoha forces, but in the end, he instinctively saved Orochimaru. After that, he found himself in a state of confusion.

Without up-to-date intel, it was like being blind in this situation—unable to do anything.

"Did Nagato foresee this?"

Ye Zi shook his head slightly, dismissing the thought. It was unlikely. It was more a case of him not planning well enough. He hadn't considered how difficult things would be without intel, and only now was he realizing just how useful White Zetsu was.

If White Zetsu, who was currently searching for the one who killed the Third Kazekage, knew what Ye Zi was thinking, he would likely have a cheeky response.

"It seems I won't be able to interfere in the Cloud and Konoha conflict. But with the Cloud's aggressive invasion, even if I don't step in, the two sides will clash fiercely."

Facing the oncoming wind, Ye Zi gazed out over the expansive land and muttered to himself, "The Sand and Stone villages have already been defeated. If Konoha gets timely support, there will undoubtedly be a great battle in the Land of Fire. Without any backup, the Cloud's invasion will be for nothing. It'll just be a pointless war that yields nothing but more casualties. Still, that suits me just fine."

"The fiercer, the better… The more people die, the better!" His eyes, peering through the holes in his mask, were cold and ruthless.

Without reliable intel, he no longer intended to interfere directly in the war, but that didn't stop him from watching it unfold.

.....

His figure gradually merged into the branches as he moved downward. Then, reappearing on the trunk, he formed hand seals and created two shadow clones, both imbued with Lightning Release, who sped off in three different directions.

"Kushina Uzumaki, is it…? Go, Bee," A said, no longer referring to her as Nine-Tails, but acknowledging her name.

"Got it, big bro!"

Bee gripped his twin blades and assumed an attack stance.

A fierce gust of wind erupted from beneath Kushina's feet, radiating outward. She raised her hands and formed hand seals.

"Yin Seal: Release!"

The diamond-shaped mark on her forehead slowly disappeared, and black sealing markings appeared on her pale face. The markings extended from the spot where the diamond mark vanished, spreading in four directions—two snaking upward, resembling horns, and two trailing down across her cheeks.

"Big bro, I don't know what kind of technique that is!" Killer Bee shouted, looking at the markings on Kushina's face. "So, I'll go first!"

Unsure of the enemy's jutsu, Killer Bee decided to charge in first to probe her defenses, creating an opening for A. However, this meant taking on the initial risk.

Before his words even finished, he rushed at Kushina, gripping his twin blades as he spun through the air, resembling the Akimichi clan's Human Bullet Tank technique, barreling towards her.

With the speed of Lightning Release enhancing his movement and the sharpness of his blades, Bee's attack was far more dangerous than a regular Human Bullet Tank. The whirling blades also provided a protective barrier.

Swish, swish!

Nine golden chains extended from Kushina's back, surging toward Killer Bee.

Zzz!

At that moment, A, moving even faster with Lightning Body Flicker, appeared behind Kushina.

Illuminated by the glow of his lightning, A's expression was cold as he raised his lightning-covered arm and slashed at Kushina's right arm. His goal was still to capture her alive, so he aimed to disable her without causing fatal injury by severing her limbs.

Although Kushina immediately sensed A's chakra, she remained unmoved. From their previous exchanges, she had figured out that their goal was to capture her alive, so each time they attacked, they targeted her limbs first.

"If you want my arm, take it! You have reservations, but I don't!"

Simultaneously, the chains wrapped around Killer Bee. Two of them snapped under the strain, but they managed to halt his spinning attack. Meanwhile, Kushina's right arm was cleanly severed by A.

"First arm down," A said coldly.

Blood splattered as the severed arm fell to the ground. Kushina, her back to A, only furrowed her brow slightly, her gaze growing colder.

"Now to finish off one!"

The chains binding Killer Bee coiled around his neck, tightening with the intent to snap it.

"Hmm?!" Killer Bee's face changed as he felt the sudden shift in the chains and their terrifying power.

Just as Kushina's severed arm hit the ground, A noticed Bee's predicament.

Almost simultaneously, Killer Bee entered his second stage of transformation. Dark red chakra condensed into a solid form, covering his entire body like a tailed beast cloak. Two horns appeared on his head, and eight tails sprouted behind him, turning him into a humanoid tailed beast cloaked in solid chakra.

The abrupt transformation was so sudden it shattered the adamantine chains!

At the same time, Kushina's right arm rapidly regenerated. A's lightning-charged hand swung toward her left arm.

Thud.

The severed right arm hit the ground with a soft sound.

Now free from the chains, the tailed-beast-clad Killer Bee placed his hands on the ground, half-crouching. His glowing white eyes stared in a specific direction.

"A substitution!"

A glanced at the severed piece of wood where Kushina had been and said to Bee, "Be careful, Bee."

"Got it, big bro!" Bee grinned.

Kushina, who had evaded the attack using the Substitution Jutsu, appeared 200 meters away. Seeing Killer Bee in this state of transformation, yet still retaining his rationality, she frowned. She could freely use the Nine-Tails' chakra cloak, but she had never tried transforming to this extent. Even with the Yin Seal released, facing such an opponent gave her little chance of victory.

"Her arm grew back… so that's the effect of the jutsu? But that speed is outrageous." A glanced at the severed arm on the ground and then at Kushina's fully restored right arm, his eyes filled with surprise.

"Big bro, it seems we can't just cut off her limbs and take her away."

A snorted and said, "That seems to be the case. After all, she's the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. Draining all her chakra isn't realistic."

"So, should we kill her?" Bee asked.

"No. Our main objective is still to capture the Nine-Tails." A's tone left no room for argument.

The Cloud Village possessed the means to perfectly control tailed beasts. With both the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails already under their control, capturing the Nine-Tails would make the Cloud the strongest ninja village with three jinchūriki.

"Bee, she's not weak. You don't need to hold back. I'll wait for the right moment to act."

"Roger that, big bro!"

Bee chuckled, and his eight tails suddenly extended toward his mouth. Blue and dark red chakra fused, slowly forming a terrifying dark-colored chakra sphere filled with immense power.

Seeing this, A wasted no time distancing himself from Bee.

At this point, most of the Konoha ninjas had been wiped out. A went to instruct his comrades to retreat further.

In this battle, the only way to capture the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki was to let Bee fight without holding back. They just needed to wear her out.

"Tailed Beast Bomb!"

As a jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, Kushina instantly recognized the technique. Her expression changed drastically, and she prepared to dodge the Tailed Beast Bomb.

Whoosh!

The devastating sphere of energy shot towards Kushina's position.

Boom!

The tightly compressed ball of energy expanded in an instant, creating a massive explosion that engulfed an area of ten miles. A powerful wave of searing heat spread out in all directions, uprooting countless trees along its path.

Far from the explosion, Ye Zi suddenly sensed something.

"That chakra…!"

He abruptly stopped moving, leaping to the top of a tree to look in the direction of the chakra disturbance. He could faintly see a wisp of black smoke rising in the sky.

Meanwhile, one of his shadow clones approached another battlefield, where Konoha was once again at a severe disadvantage.

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Currently on Chapter 254 - Stepping into the Main Plot and Key Supporting Roles