Chapter 45: The Tailed Beast Bomb's Break of the Formation

Above the battlefield, dust billowed, and the sounds of slaughter shook the heavens.

The Cloud Ninja suffered heavy blows, but unlike the first wave of the surprise attack, they felt no shock or panic; instead, it stirred the brutality within their hearts.

Every Cloud Ninja's growth process was filled with blood and brutality, even more so than the bloody cruelty of the Mist Ninja.

It was just that the Third Raikage and the Fourth Raikage were both calculating; not only did they pretend to be muscle-brained brutes, but they also spent great effort packaging the Cloud Ninja as warlike, daring, and battle-loving tough guys.

The only drawback was their short tempers and slightly brutal methods.

The efforts of this father and son were so successful that not only did outsiders believe it, but even the Cloud Ninja themselves believed they were tough guys.

Yet under the command of Yamanaka Chujiu, the Konoha Ninja dealt them heavy casualties with almost no results, and the Cloud Ninja, who prided themselves on being warriors, began to reveal their true nature.

Although they still considered themselves brave and fearless, in Yamanaka Chujiu's Mind Severing Realm, he clearly and unmistakably discerned madness, brutality, and bloodthirsty desire.

What the Cloud Ninja wanted was not victory, but the enemy's blood; they simply wanted to kill!

But they still firmly believed that this was the nature of warriors, the pride of fearless berserkers!

Yamanaka Chujiu couldn't help but laugh: "Heh, truly amazing."

"I was wondering how a village that could produce rogue ninja like Kinkaku and Ginkaku, who led half the village's ninja to surround and kill their own Raikage, could never produce another rogue ninja."

"So it turns out they were all hoodwinked into becoming 'true warriors'; this is the strongest Genjutsu in the Ninja World!"

If you can make a bloodthirsty madman believe he is an iron-willed warrior, and keep him believing it until he dies, then he is a true iron-willed warrior.

Compared to the great hoodwinking of the two generations of Raikage, the Sharingan is nothing; Kotoamatsukami and 'Different Heaven Mouth' are mere child's play, and the Will of Fire is just an immature little booger.

But a spirit that does not fear death cannot change the outcome on the battlefield.

The Boxers also did not fear death; they could charge into volley fire, yet they were not the strongest light infantry on earth.

While lamenting the bravery of the Cloud Ninja, Yamanaka Chujiu calmly issued orders, directing the Konoha Ninja to suppress and slaughter them.

Until that violent surge of chakra rose into the sky.

Yamanaka Chujiu walked out of the tent and looked toward the northern sky; that was the source of the chakra fluctuation.

The chakra of Eight-Tails Gyuki surged into the sky like boiling black water; even from a distance of nearly two thousand meters, one could still feel the suffocating pressure.

Yamanaka Chujiu could even feel the earth trembling, with dust flying and hovering in the vibrations.

Presumably, the ground where the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki stood was already covered in cracks, spreading in all directions like a spiderweb.

Even though the power of the Tailed Beast was terrifying, Yamanaka Chujiu could not distinguish between the Cloud Ninja and Eight-Tails Gyuki from the emotional sensing of the Mind Severing Realm.

It was as if that monster was the same as a human on a spiritual level.

Yamanaka Chujiu did not delve into this point, but calmly issued the order: "Retreat, everyone retreat!"

"According to the plan I just formulated, retreat forty kilometers back and re-establish the defensive line!"

The situation was urgent, and the Konoha Ninja had no time to pass messages, so specific Ninjutsu were launched into the sky in a specific order, exploding into clouds of smoke of different colors.

When the Konoha Ninja saw the specific arrangement of smoke, they could read the retreat order according to the code and execute it immediately.

Even when entangled by the Cloud Ninja, the Konoha Ninja would rather pay a significant price than fail to retreat quickly and decisively.

Because this was the order of Lord Orochimaru!

In the past hour, Orochimaru had directed them to achieve a seemingly miraculous battle record.

How could they not trust Lord Orochimaru?

Ink-black Tailed Beast chakra flowed around Killer Bee, turning into a translucent Tailed Beast Cloak; hideous black markings appeared on his face, his whites turned black, and his pupils glowed gold.

A savage and violent aura erupted from his body, his figure suddenly expanded, his muscles knotted like a small mountain, and eight thick octopus tentacles, carrying a wet, fishy stench, sprouted from behind him.

The massive tentacles writhed unconsciously, each time they smashed into the ground, a boom sounded.

After a brief buildup, the Tailed Beast's chakra erupted once more, forming a pitch-black pillar of chakra that shot into the heavens; the chakra leaking from the pillar formed rolling thunder.

The pitch-black chakra turned into black mist filling the sky, and from the thick fog came a deafening roar as the figure of Eight-Tails Gyuki appeared.

The curved horns shone with a cold metallic luster, the body was dozens of meters high, the giant octopus tentacle tails danced wildly in mid-air, and blood-red eyes scanned the entire field.

The immense pressure originating from the Tailed Beast chakra lifeform made the nearby Cloud Ninja's blood surge, making even breathing difficult.

But inside that terrifying Tailed Beast body, Killer Bee was communicating with Eight-Tails Gyuki.

"Yo, Eight-Tails, let's have a real blast!"

"Killer Bee, advance! Advance!!"

"Tailed Beast Bomb!!"

Surging Tailed Beast chakra gathered toward Gyuki's mouth, blending Yin and Yang Release in a two-to-eight ratio, and a black-and-purple Tailed Beast Bomb condensed.

The terrifying pressure of Eight-Tails Gyuki rose another notch, a gale blew across the entire battlefield, and every ninja felt the threat of death.

Boom—

The Tailed Beast Bomb was launched; the resulting storm was immensely powerful, and wherever it passed, trees snapped and rocks turned to powder.

Wood fragments and dust spread to both sides along the trajectory of the Tailed Beast Bomb, as if it were the wake of a ship cutting through waves on the ocean.

The Tailed Beast Bomb streaked swiftly across the battlefield, hit the position of the Konoha Ninja line, and exploded with a roar.

Dazzling firelight shot into the sky, and the booming explosion resounded through the heavens.

The Konoha defensive line no longer existed.

Fortunately, the Konoha Ninja had resolutely executed Yamanaka Chujiu's retreat order, avoiding the Tailed Beast Bomb's blast a step ahead of time.

Many unlucky ones who had been entangled by Cloud Ninja, because they hadn't retreated far enough, were even blown into the air by the blast's storm, falling in a disoriented heap.

It was a close call; the Konoha Ninja would have suffered heavy casualties instead of just a dozen unlucky ones taking a tumble.

As the Konoha Ninja retreated, they looked back at the rising mushroom cloud and lamented.

"So this is a Tailed Beast Bomb; it's truly terrifying!"

"If it weren't for Lord Orochimaru, we would have lost hundreds of people in that one hit."

"Heh, how could it only be hundreds?"

"Yeah, last time in the Land of Rain, when the Four-Tails Jinchuriki of Iwagakure used a Tailed Beast Bomb, over four hundred of our comrades were left with no bones remaining on the spot."

"Thanks to Lord Orochimaru!"

"Thank you, my Lord!"

Standing by the tent, Yamanaka Chujiu confirmed there were no major casualties and gave the order: "Let's go. Take what you can easily carry, and leave behind what you cannot."

"Oh ho ho ho, the Eight-Tails must be very angry at missing its target; it will surely fire a Tailed Beast Bomb here any moment."

The Konoha Ninja were in high spirits and responded loudly:

"Yes! Lord Orochimaru!!"