Chapter 452: 396. Chapter 388: Disconnected and Camping Until the Final Circle

396. Chapter 388: Disconnected and Camping Until the Final Circle

"Are you trying to use the Tailed Beast's true form to contend with Susanoo?"

In the spectator stands, Tobirama Senju watched the giant phantom running through the air and shook his head slightly, a faint trace of disdain flashing in his scarlet eyes.

"A deathbed struggle."

On the field, Uchiha Madara frowned in confusion as he saw the phantom, which was roughly the same size as his Susanoo.

Although this mass of chakra originated from the Eight-Tails, it was mixed with the aura of Kinkaku, and its appearance differed slightly from the Tailed Beast's true form he remembered.

"Ha!"

Sensing the Eight-Tails' intent, Kinkaku nodded, then leaped up, throwing himself into the giant phantom in the sky.

"He jumped inside!"

Surprised shouts erupted from the spectator stands; however, the scene that followed left them completely speechless.

"Roar!"

The giant phantom running through the sky let out a heaven-shaking roar, and its hazy figure began to solidify.

Just as everyone assumed the true form of the phantom was the Eight-Tails itself, a harsh buzzing sound entered their ears, like the noise produced by a giant chainsaw in motion.

"Buzz! Buzz-buzz! Buzz-buzz-buzz~"

"W-what is that?"

Among the F6 sitting in a circle, the only woman, Koharu Utatane, widened her black eyes and stared straight at the giant figure appearing in the sky, her mouth hanging open in surprise wide enough to fit three ice cream cones.

"Holy crap! So cool!" *5

The other five people beside her, after a brief silence, exclaimed in unison.

"Lord Divine Beast, do you know this move? I want to play with it too!"

In the newly formed family, Kakuzu stared blankly at the giant beast in the sky; after coming to his senses, he immediately dialed Chomei's number.

"Get lost!"

The Seven-Tails in his sea of consciousness spat out a cold word, then kicked Kakuzu out.

"Rumble~"

The sturdy ox body was cast from retro-colored steel, the eight mechanical tentacles on its lower body made creaking sounds, the eyes on the ox head glowed with laser-red light, and the once-sharp horns had turned into two rapidly spinning drills; the noise from earlier had come from them.

The body, shimmering with a metallic luster, was covered in air vents of various sizes, and with every movement, scorching flames surged out.

"Th-th-this..."

Chiyo, sitting beside Uchiha Gin, had eyes sparkling with wonder; looking at the steel giant in the sky, filled with mechanical aesthetics, she was so excited she couldn't even speak.

"This is a 'Geki' Tailed Beast."

Uchiha Gin, sitting to the side, said without even turning his head.

"Machine Tailed Beast?"

"Uh... that's not wrong either."

Uchiha Gin curled his lip, offering no further explanation, and instead looked up at the mechanical Eight-Tails in the sky, a faint sense of anticipation rising in his eyes.

In the original story, Tailed Beast jinchuriki were not only extremely powerful individual weapons but also giant war machines capable of turning the tide of battle.

During large-scale combat, a jinchuriki proficient in using Tailed Beast power could achieve a full Tailed Beast transformation, exerting the beast's power to the maximum extent.

But a full Tailed Beast transformation was only effective against ordinary enemies; when facing a Mangekyo—no, an veteran Mangekyo ninja—they would only be reduced to a pet to be toyed with at will.

That's right, this is the moment to @ a certain female protagonist who went head-to-head with a Mangekyo and a perfect jinchuriki, only to nearly flip her own vehicle.

As an aggregate of chakra, Tailed Beasts also had a physical existence, so they were somewhat difficult to defend against Mangekyo ocular jutsu.

But!

The Eight-Tails, having abandoned its consciousness and entrusted all its power to Kinkaku, had successfully achieved mechanical ascension; its once-suffering flesh and blood had turned into indestructible steel.

This brand-new body, while having all its attributes enhanced, could also completely immunize itself against the influence of the Mangekyo.

"Boom!"

"Roar!"

After the mechanical Eight-Tails landed, a harsh roar erupted from its giant mouth, and the laser-red eyes actually carried a faint trace of provocation.

"Let me see if you're really just all show."

Uchiha Madara, in the Susanoo cockpit, looked at the giant beast sitting on equal footing with him, his brows furrowing slightly; the patterns in his eyes began to rotate, and his profound ocular power transformed into a hypnotic genjutsu.

"ROAR!!!"

As it turned out, this genjutsu was like a stone sinking into the ocean, failing to stir up even the slightest ripple; the mechanical Eight-Tails remained as arrogant as ever.

"Hahaha! Now it's fair!"

Kinkaku's raspy voice rang out inside the mechanical Eight-Tails; at this moment, he was standing in a cockpit full of technological flair.

Through the high-precision laser lenses embedded in Gyuki's eye sockets, he could clearly see Uchiha Madara inside the Susanoo cockpit.

"Tch!"

Uchiha Madara clicked his tongue, his eyes sweeping over the mechanical Eight-Tails' body, a flash of faint envy in his eyes; he turned his head to face the dumbfounded Nine-Tails and spoke in an unfriendly tone.

"Can you do that?"

"Ah... I don't think... I can."

The Nine-Tails tucked its tails and, after a moment of contemplation, answered cautiously.

"Useless thing! What use are you to me?"

With only this level of skill, it dared to call itself a 'Supasai-Q' Tailed Beast; it was nothing but naked fraud. Uchiha Madara glared fiercely, then flicked his sleeves and left in a rage, leaving the terrified Nine-Tails behind to grieve in silence.

No way, that guy Gyuki was hiding this kind of move?

"I admit you've got something, but it will disappear soon."

Returning to reality, Uchiha Madara radiated a gloomy aura.

The Uchiha clan's ancestral motto: if you can't have it, destroy it!

"Come! Let me show you the bond between me and Old Eight!"

In the cockpit, Kinkaku raised his fist with a look of determination, and the standing mechanical Eight-Tails made the same motion.

"To form a bond with something like that, just how lonely are you, you guy?"

Watching the mechanical Eight-Tails charging toward him while shouting about bonds, Uchiha Madara mocked coldly.

His eyes focused, he manipulated the Susanoo to draw the hundred-meter-long great blade from its waist, spread its wings, and met the mechanical giant beast, which was bursting with the roar of an internal combustion engine.

"BANG!!!"

The two speeding figures collided; the high-speed drill on the mechanical Eight-Tails' head jammed the Susanoo's long blade, and as sparks flew, blue Susanoo fragments danced in the sky like snowflakes.

"Not bad strength, worth praising."

Uchiha Madara in the Susanoo raised his eyebrows in surprise; the opponent had actually managed to block his weapon and was not losing ground in the contest of strength.

"Haha, when it comes to strength, Old Eight has never feared anyone!"

Kinkaku laughed and confidently flexed his sturdy muscles.

"However, that is all."

Uchiha Madara curled his lip, pouring profound ocular power into the Susanoo beneath his feet as if it were free; the reinforced blue Tengu eyes flashed with a bright light.

In the surprised gazes of the crowd, two arms extended from its back.

The palms of the newly added arms sprouted long blades, which slashed down toward the mechanical Eight-Tails' head at extreme speed.

"Clang!"

However, before the joy of victory could appear on Uchiha Madara's face, two thick arms blocked the descending long blades.

"Sizzle~"

At the same time, eight agile tentacles quickly wrapped around the Susanoo's arms; the tentacles, covered in hydraulic transmission shafts, oozed a pitch-black, viscous liquid similar to motor oil, which dripped onto the Susanoo, corroding it with puffs of acrid, foul-smelling smoke.

Watching his arms being restrained, a trace of impatience flashed across Uchiha Madara's face; he had thought he could easily crush this mechanical Tailed Beast, but he hadn't expected the opponent to not only be immune to his genjutsu manipulation but also have endless tricks up its sleeve, leaving him unsure of where to start.

"Oh no! Lord Clan Leader seems to have fallen into a passive situation."

In the spectator stands, Kagami Uchiha, although his heart leaned slightly toward the cool mechanical Eight-Tails, knew that Uchiha Madara was his clan leader after all.

Faced with matters of great principle, he still chose to sacrifice the small for the big, painfully cutting ties with the mechanical Eight-Tails and wholeheartedly supporting the disadvantaged Uchiha Madara.

"Kagami! Don't be so alarmist; his level is more than just this."

As Tobirama Senju, who understood the Uchiha better than the Uchiha themselves, waved his hand at his anxious disciple, signaling Kagami Uchiha to stay calm; if Uchiha Madara only had this level of skill, it wouldn't be his turn to be Hokage.

Having not encountered such a bizarre opponent for many years, Uchiha Madara immediately suppressed the disdain in his heart and began to take the ferocious steel giant before him seriously.

At this moment, all four of his arms were controlled by the opponent; if he abandoned the long blades in his hands, the mechanical Eight-Tails' drill horns would immediately pierce the Susanoo's defense, and his own small frame might not necessarily be able to block that sky-piercing drill.

"Since that's the case..."

Searching for a way to break the deadlock, Uchiha Madara's gaze fell on the opponent's wide-open chest; the ocular power in his eyes was released instantly, and an abrupt arm extended once more from the back of the Susanoo, a dazzling blue light shining in its palm.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"

A series of magatama-shaped energy balls poured onto the chest of the mechanical Eight-Tails, triggering a violent explosion.

"Huh?"

Seeing this scene, Uchiha Gin was instantly dumbfounded; when did his cousin research this kind of method? Could it be a brainwave he had after being tied up in various ways by Hashirama last time?

"Cough, cough, cough... that really hurts!"

Kinkaku, having taken the full damage of the Yasaka Magatama, stood up shakily from the cockpit, clutching his chest with a pained expression.

His nervous system was synchronized with the mechanical Eight-Tails, so not only was the impact realistic, but he also felt the pain when attacked.

Taking advantage of Kinkaku's pause for breath, Uchiha Madara controlled the Susanoo to shake off the restraint of the tentacles and retreated a few steps to put some distance between himself and the mechanical Eight-Tails.

"May I ask, who are you guarding against with so many hands growing on your back?"

The wound on the mechanical Eight-Tails' chest healed automatically; Kinkaku stood up, rubbed his still-aching chest, and asked with a face full of curiosity.

"Can't I be willing?"

Uchiha Madara, whose back muscles were naturally sensitive, had a tense face and answered in a very stiff tone. Remembering Hashirama Senju, who was still wandering before the gates of the Pure Land, he raised his blade and stepped forward again.

Looking at the menacing Uchiha Madara, the heart of the Gold-Horned brother felt slightly bitter. After all, their goal in participating this time was not to achieve final victory, but rather that certain white-haired person currently in the spectator stands.

In order to snipe Tobirama Senju, the two brothers had to maintain a good state; fighting Uchiha Madara was just going with the flow, as they did not want to reject the face of the Uchiha clan.

But who could have guessed that this guy, the Tailed Beast, would be so full of fighting spirit when facing its nemesis, the Nine-Tails, even revealing its trump card in a giant battle, leaving the Gold-Horned brother in a dilemma.

"Bang!"

Blocking the long blade of Uchiha Madara's Susanoo, the Gold-Horned brother began to think about the aftermath of the battle.

"I wonder if the Silver-Horned brother has finished things on his side?"

To avoid Tobirama Senju running away, the two brothers had to enter the arena at the same time.

As for victory, wasn't it already secretly promised to his cousin by Mr. Silver?

At this moment, in an inconspicuous corner of the battlefield, a blue tiger stood on the ground filled with yellow sand, searching for something in all directions.

"Haven't you found the trace of that bald guy yet?"

The silver tiger knight who walked over slowly complained with some annoyance.

"Roar~"

The blue tiger shook its head, a human-like look of helplessness appearing on its face.

"Damn bald guy, he ran away after acting all tough!"

Just a moment ago, Shukaku, who had taken over the identity of Shamon, was rubbing its hands, preparing to teach all the younger brothers present a lesson. As a result, within a few minutes, the arrogant beast had its teeth knocked out all over the floor by the Silver-Horned brother, failing to even pass the first stage of the Tiger Vanguard.

Just like that, after being beaten for a long time by the combined efforts of the Silver-Horned brother and the blue tiger summoner, Shukaku, knowing it could not resist, immediately turned into a wisp of quicksand and merged into the field card it had laid out, preparing to wait for an opportunity to counter-attack the stinky cat knight.

"If you don't come out again, I'll scatter all this sand!"

Looking at the endless yellow sand before him, the Silver-Horned brother felt the powerlessness of punching cotton. Looking at the few knights left in the arena, he threatened through gritted teeth.

"Stupid stinky cat, come and find me~"

Shukaku's mocking voice rang out. The Silver-Horned brother raised his hand and flicked out a blade of light, smashing it toward the source of the sound.

"Boom!"

However, the attack only blew up a cloud of dust, and Shukaku's taunting voice still echoed in his ears.

"Nyah nyah nyah, how could a stinky cat like you find King Shukaku~"

"Hoo~"

The Silver-Horned brother took a deep breath, then leaped up, stood on a protruding rock, looked down at the endless yellow sand, and said coldly,

"This is what you forced me to do!"

A card popped out from the card box at his waist. After catching it, the Silver-Horned brother slowly pushed it into the card slot of his driver.

"Freeze Vent!"

Accompanied by the electronic sound, a yellowish-brown figure crouching behind a sand dune not far away instantly stiffened. Shukaku, who had been full of pride, had eyes filled with horror.

"Little Silver Coin, over there!"

Sensing that the AOE attack had hit the target, Yugito's excited voice rang in the Silver-Horned brother's ear.

Following the direction it pointed, the Silver-Horned brother quickly discovered the Shukaku knight lurking in the yellow sand.

"You bald guy, you made me search for so long!"

Looking at the Shukaku knight, whose color blended perfectly with the yellow sand, the Silver-Horned brother walked over, clenching his fists, with the posture of wanting to give him a good beating.

"Letting you run, take my punch first!"

The Silver-Horned brother raised his sandbag-sized fist and, under Yugito's gloating gaze, smashed it heavily onto the crouching Shukaku knight.

"Eh?"

The soft sensation upon impact made the Silver-Horned brother freeze. Looking at the Shukaku knight on the ground, it had already turned into a pile of collapsing sand sculptures.

"Hehehe, who do you think I am? How could this kind of sealing jutsu work on me?"

Shukaku's voice rang out again. The Silver-Horned brother just prepared to turn around, but found that the arm he had just swung was out of control. Looking down, it turned out to be entangled by living yellow sand.

【Sand Binding Coffin】

"Do you think this kind of move will work on me?"

The Silver-Horned brother shook his head, shook off the yellow sand wrapped around his arm, and stood up with an arrogant face.

"Of course I know~"

Shukaku's cheeky voice came from all directions. The Silver-Horned brother frowned upon hearing this; could the opponent still have some backup plan?

"Playing god and acting like a ghost."

Curling his lips, the Silver-Horned brother just prepared to leap away from the yellow sand, only to find his body as heavy as if it were filled with lead.

"What did you do?"

Steadying his staggering body, the Silver-Horned brother looked around with a gloomy face, trying to find the opponent's figure.

"Haha, does your body feel heavy?"

Shukaku's head poked out from the gravel not far away. Looking at the Silver-Horned brother standing in place and struggling to move, it couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Is it the sand..."

Raising his hand, the Silver-Horned brother prepared to give the arrogant raccoon a shot, but the heaviness in his arm surprised him. Looking down carefully, he discovered that strands of fine sand, invisible to the naked eye, were continuously drilling into the gaps of his armor.

The heaviness just now was caused by this sand.

"Stinky cat, you are now a piece of meat on my chopping block. Call me 'Master' twice first to make me happy~"

Shukaku, who had gained the upper hand, stood up from the sand. Its cheeky appearance made the fists of the people in the spectator stands itch.

"This guy is too despicable; it simply tarnishes the name of a knight!"

As an individual who was a hidden fan of the knight, seeing the smug Shukaku knight, they couldn't help but shout angrily.

"Shut up, Teacher is not that kind of person!"

Chiyo, watching Shukaku's actions, also clenched her fists in shame, but still couldn't help but defend her teacher.

Although every contestant in the arena was a veteran ninja before becoming a knight, this kind of method could only be considered child's play in the ninja circle.

But now they were all fighting as knights, and using such despicable means was hard not to provoke public anger.

"How is he not that kind of person? Dare to do it but dare not admit it?"

Danzo curled his lips in disdain. He actually approved of Shukaku's behavior, but this hypocritical act made him unable to help but mock.

"He is not Teacher!"

"Then who is he?"

"Stupid raccoon, go eat shit!"

Yugito was jumping up and down in the Silver-Horned brother's sea of consciousness. It thought it was about to get revenge, but it didn't expect to fall into the trap of this idiot Shukaku. It would be shameful to tell anyone later.

"So he isn't that bald guy~"

"Huh? Little Silver Coin, you only know now?"

"No, I thought he was having a chuunibyou episode."

After communicating with Yugito, the Silver-Horned brother suddenly realized that Shamon, who had just transformed into the yellowish-brown knight, was not the person himself, but had been hijacked by the Tailed Beast.

"Hehehe, you can choose to remain silent, but I hope you can endure the ultimate humiliation that follows."

Shukaku looked at the silent silver-blue knight, stretched out its finger with a wicked smile, and several sand pillars rose from the ground, attacking the Silver-Horned brother.

"The collision between dry sand and a moist rectum will surely spark something different~"

With a mocking face, it manipulated the sand to change into various ferocious rod-like objects, completely unaware that it was about to face a catastrophe.

"Let me see, this meteor hammer is not bad~"

The smiling Shukaku manipulated a large meteor hammer to approach the Silver-Horned brother, preparing to leave the opponent with a lifelong shadow. As a result, the shadow that suddenly appeared on the ground made it stop its movements in surprise.

The meteor hammer also stopped at the Silver-Horned brother's chrysanthemum at the same time.

"Uh, hello~"

Turning its head in confusion, Shukaku finally discovered the blue wild tiger monster that had snuck up behind it, grinding its sharp claws and eyeing it covetously. Cold sweat the size of beans instantly flowed down.

"Wild Tiger, take it for a spin."

Relaxing his tense groove with lingering fear, the Silver-Horned brother let out a long sigh and ordered the eager wild tiger summon beast.

"Crystal Break!"

Shukaku, who was grabbed by the wild tiger summoner, could only watch helplessly as the opponent pressed it onto the sand.

The tyrannical force, plus the invisible restraint, meant that even if it used all its strength, it couldn't break free, turning into a human-flesh sand sled on the spot.

"Don't~"

Just like that, Shukaku began to enjoy the joy of being dragged. The wild tiger summon beast moved its two legs fast, making Shukaku, who was face-down, eat quite a bit of sand.

"Sure enough, the One-Tail knight is the weakest knight; it can't even defeat the Two-Tails' summon beast."

The people in the spectator stands shook their heads one after another when they saw this scene.

"Teacher! Come on! You are the ace!"

Only Chiyo believed that her teacher would not fail easily, so she stood on her seat, waved her arms vigorously, and loudly cheered for Shamon.

"Ptooey ptooey ptooey~"

Spitting out a mouthful of sand, Shukaku, still being dragged, felt a sense of sorrow in its heart. It had calculated everything, but it still missed the Silver-Horned brother's summon beast. It thought it was just a stupid decoration, but it didn't expect the AI level to be so high.

"Is that? The bald guy's disciple? So noisy, still counting on this stupid bald guy at a time like this."

"Shukaku! Give me back my account!"

While complaining about Shamon, whose account it had easily hijacked, Shukaku curled its lips in disdain, but the next moment, a voice filled with rage rang in its ear.

In the sea of consciousness of Shamon, there was an endless expanse of yellow sand; just moments ago, when Shukaku took over the account, it had casually buried him deep within the desert, never expecting that this bald man would actually crawl out from the bottomless abyss.

"If you don't return my body to me, I will—"

"Fine! I'm already full, I'll return it right now!"

Shamon, who had just straightened his back and was preparing to use both soft and hard tactics to make Shukaku return control of his body, never expected the other party to agree so readily; before he could even say anything, he felt the world spinning.

"I, Shamon, have returned—cough, cough, cough!"

Having regained control of his body, Shamon wanted to announce his return, but his mouth was filled with sand, leaving him unable to speak for a moment.

"I only went offline for a moment, and you already got me to the boss's second phase?"

Barely lifting his head, Shamon saw the blue wild tiger summon that was pinning him down and drifting on the sand, and he fell into deep despair; his account was as good as ruined.

"Master! Go for it!"

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in his ears; Shamon caught a glimpse of Chiyo on the spectator stand with an anxious look on her face, and his heart, which had just been filled with despair, was instantly brimming with fighting spirit.

He reached out to his waist, unbuckled the Shukaku belt, and the surrounding yellow sand instantly vanished; Shamon seized the chance to roll to the side, escaping from under the claws of the wild tiger summon.

Standing up, Shamon scanned the entire arena and was surprised to find that, apart from the two of them, only the two big guys fighting not far away remained, while all the other knights had exited the field.

"No way, I only went offline for a bit, how did it get to the final circle already?" (End of chapter)