Chapter 63: Sakurahara Destroyed by the Tailed Beast Bomb

The Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee saw Orochimaru seal the tentacles and immediately understood they had been tricked.

Killer Bee and Gyuki both flew into a rage. Killer Bee roared, "Give me back Little Eight's body!"

Mid-roar, Killer Bee fully transformed into a Tailed Beast, becoming the massive Eight-Tails Gyuki before everyone's eyes. The seven tentacles grew even thicker, and even sprouted a small new one.

This regenerative ability was truly astonishing.

Seeing the Eight-Tails—second only to the Nine-Tails in power—manifest, Orochimaru's golden slit pupils filled with gravity.

He hesitated briefly, then still abandoned using the Eight Branches Technique, revealing his full strength.

The current state of neither winning nor losing, having gained a slight edge, best served his own interests.

Showing more power would not make his subordinates more loyal, but would instead draw greater vigilance from his political enemies and unpredictable shifts in the Third Hokage's attitude.

In an instant, his body transformed into eight giant venomous snakes, each comparable in size to Manda, lunging toward Ai and Killer Bee. Manda also seized the chance to break free of its restraints and launched another fierce assault.

After transforming into the complete Eight-Tails, Killer Bee immediately unleashed Tailed Beast Eight Twists, wrapping himself with his tentacle-tails and spinning at high speed to form a colossal Wind Storm.

This was a true natural disaster!

Wherever the storm passed, not only did Orochimaru have to dodge, but the ground, rocks, cherry trees, and ninja corpses were all swept into the sky and torn apart inch by inch.

The core of the battlefield, Sakurahara Fortress, became the Eight-Tails' target.

The storm's impact caused massive cracks across the fortress walls; mountains of corpses and rubble shot skyward, dyeing the storm red and black.

Even the slaughter between Konoha Ninja and Cloud Ninja was forcibly interrupted by the storm.

Seeing this, Orochimaru shook his head helplessly and immediately issued the order to retreat: "Everyone fall back! We'll meet the enemy at the next position!"

The Konoha Ninja had all been briefed in advance. Upon seeing Orochimaru's retreat signal, they unhesitatingly abandoned some of the burdensome gear, carried their wounded comrades, and withdrew from the fortress at top speed.

The Fourth Raikage noticed the Konoha Ninja's movement. His brow furrowed tightly and he shouted, "Killer Bee, the Konoha ninja are trying to escape! Use the Tailed Beast Bomb! Kill them!"

As he gave the order, his figure surged forward, charging straight at Orochimaru.

Hearing the command, Killer Bee immediately joined hands with Eight-Tails Gyuki, gathering chakra in the ox-head's mouth and fusing it according to the Yin-Yang Release two-to-eight ratio, condensing it into a terrifying black chakra sphere.

This was the root of the Tailed Beasts' deterrent power—the Tailed Beast Bomb!

The moment the Tailed Beast Bomb took shape, it radiated a destructive fluctuation—utterly evil, unbelievably ominous.

The density of its chakra was so thick it was despair-inducing.

Under the horrified gaze of countless Konoha and Cloud ninja, indescribably vast amounts of chakra gathered into the Tailed Beast Bomb, its size swelling continuously.

At this moment, all the ninja suddenly understood—the rumors were true: the explosive power of the Tailed Beast Bomb was matchless, capable of destroying a mountain, even rewriting the terrain.

The rumors were not false!

The Konoha Ninja frantically sped up their retreat, while the Cloud Ninja were scared into fleeing for their lives.

No one wanted to bear the explosive force of a Tailed Beast Bomb!

Orochimaru didn't want to either.

But his golden snake-pupils were not watching the Tailed Beast Bomb; they were fixed dead on the charging Raikage Ai. In the instant before being struck, he activated the Snake Replacement Technique.

Orochimaru's body was pierced by the lightning-wreathed palm, then transformed into countless small snakes that scattered and fled.

It was merely a small trick, and the Fourth Raikage lost track of Orochimaru.

Immediately after, Killer Bee fired the Tailed Beast Bomb, hitting Sakurahara Fortress dead-center and erupting with energy that destroyed everything.

The entire fortress collapsed with a roar, debris flying, dust filling the sky.

A massive fireball shot skyward, cooling and turning black at an altitude of several hundred meters, finally becoming a rolling mushroom cloud.

The Fourth Raikage closed his eyes in unwillingness.

Having his brother Killer Bee fire the Tailed Beast Bomb was his last attempt to keep Orochimaru.

The facts proved that whether he had absolute confidence in his subordinates or was cold-blooded to the extreme, Orochimaru truly could abandon the Konoha Ninja.

He truly had no emotional weakness.

Ai clenched his fist and muttered, "Orochimaru, don't get cocky!"

"Today I can flatten Sakurahara; tomorrow, I will definitely turn Konohagakure into ruins!"

He was still unwilling to accept it. If Orochimaru didn't care about the Konoha Ninja or Sakurahara Fortress, could he truly not care about Konohagakure either?

Once the Cloud Hidden Army reached Konohagakure, he refused to believe Orochimaru wouldn't come out to fight to the death!

Killer Bee muttered discontentedly, "Hee~ it's already over, what a shame. Me and Jaws haven't had enough fun yet."

"Orochimaru, next time we meet, I'll definitely blast you into a dead snake!"

The Battle of Sakurahara Fortress finally ended with the Cloud Hidden Village's jinchuriki blowing the fortress flat and the Cloud Hidden Army occupying Sakurahara.

But the Cloud Hidden Army also suffered enormous losses, and the morale of the Cloud Ninja took a heavy blow.

Moreover, after Orochimaru's great-stride retreat, he immediately rebuilt a new defensive line, giving the enemy no chance to raid.

But after suffering heavy casualties, the Konoha Ninja lost confidence in the thin field defenses.

They asked Mitarashi Anko to inquire: "Orochimaru-sensei, Sakurahara has already been destroyed. Can this place still be held?"

Orochimaru understood the situation at once: "Oh-hohoho, you little glutton—what delicious treats did they give you to come question me on their behalf?"

Anko held up five fingers: "Five meals of grilled meat!"

Orochimaru waved his hand dismissively: "That's far too cheap. Tell them to make it ten."

Anko was overjoyed: "Yes, sensei!"

Orochimaru affectionately patted Anko's head and said gently, "Actually, their doubts are justified!"

"The previous battles were all commanded by Yamanaka Chujiu. When it comes to commanding talent, I'm far inferior to that kid."

"I personally took command of the Sakurahara battle, so naturally that kid Chujiu went to command another battle—one that can decide victory or defeat."

"Sakurahara is lost, destroyed—no problem!"

"The defensive line is thin—even less of a problem!"

"Because from here on, Cloud Hidden won't attack anymore. They have already lost!!"

Orochimaru toyed with a small snake in his hand and declared Konohagakure's victory with certainty.

Then, as if remembering something, he reminded Anko: "Remember to tell those bastards—just let them know what's going on, don't go blabbing your mouths off about it."

"So as not to bring trouble to my precious student."

Anko puffed out her cheeks: "Chujiu-senpai is so amazing, what trouble could there possibly be?"

Orochimaru smiled and offered no explanation.

Having Anko relay the message was of course not a request for the Konoha Ninja to keep it secret, but rather a confirmation to everyone: stop guessing wildly—the one who was commanding you before was Yamanaka Chujiu.

The war had been won, and many things needed to be prepared in advance.

Such as building Yamanaka Chujiu's reputation.

Such as making the Konoha Ninja begin to consider the question of whose side to take.