Chapter 22: This is the Gift of Parting

Even if there were several more ordinary elite Jonin, they would not necessarily be able to plunge the Cloud Village—one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations—into a bitter struggle.

However, the strength of the mysterious masked men appearing this time far exceeded that of ordinary elite Jonin, and their abilities were even more eerie and unpredictable.

The mere ability to fight while hovering in mid-air outclassed ninety-nine percent of all shinobi. It was only because the Cloud Village was situated atop a mountain range that the Cloud shinobi could use the Raikage's building and nearby peaks to leap into the air to launch attacks.

An ordinary ninja would likely struggle even to get close.

Furthermore, the mysterious man wielding the scythe possessed the ability to absorb chakra. Once struck by his scythe or the "wind blades" he swung, a person's chakra would be instantly drained, leaving them either dead or crippled!

In their initial clash, under the command of Darui, C, and Mabui, the Cloud shinobi suffered the loss of two Jonin and twelve Chunin before they managed to force the two hovering enemies into a single position.

However, once these two masked men began working in tandem, back-to-back, they became even more difficult to deal with.

Darui and C led several elite Jonin in attempts to launch attacks from multiple directions, but all were repelled, and the battle fell into a temporary stalemate.

One must understand that in any hidden village, Jonin are the absolute pinnacle of combat strength; even during the peak of the Hidden Leaf Village, the number of Jonin would not exceed fifty.

In the current Hidden Leaf, there are only about thirty registered Jonin, with a similar proportion of Tokubetsu Jonin specializing in specific fields.

The Uchiha clan was hailed as the "Number One Clan in the Shinobi World" precisely because the family consistently maintained a force of more than ten Jonin. Once the Three-Tomoe Sharingan was awakened, every single one of them was a powerhouse at the elite Jonin level!

Yet now, a scene that the Fourth Raikage, Ay, would never forget was unfolding in the core area of the Cloud Village.

Beneath the half-collapsed Raikage building, as the smoke gradually dispersed, two masked men hovered in mid-air. Fighting back-to-back against a force of Cloud elites ten times their number, they did not show the slightest hint of being at a disadvantage!

These were no ordinary powerhouses!

In response to Raikage Ay's call, Mabui handed over the battlefield command to the newly arrived Samui.

She was a blonde, mature woman of a similar age to Mabui, characterized by her calm demeanor and vast knowledge; she was also one of Killer Bee's sword technique disciples.

"Lord Raikage!" Mabui quickly rushed to Ay's side.

"The communications squad has called for reinforcements! Lady Yugito will arrive shortly!"

The Cloud Village possessed two Jinchuriki, both of whom were Perfect Jinchuriki. Once Yugito and more Cloud shinobi arrived on the battlefield, the tide of battle would surely turn!

"Bee! Use Tailed Beast Transformation!" Raikage Ay immediately issued tactical orders, shouting to Mabui, "Prepare to teleport me and Bee to the Kumogakure Canyon!"

Upon receiving his brother's command, Killer Bee directly activated the Eight-Tails' chakra. A surge of crimson Tailed Beast chakra coated his body, extending into eight menacingly dancing red tails.

The Tailed Beast chakra cloak significantly enhanced all of Bee's abilities, and he charged forward with his blade to engage the mysterious masked men once again.

The Lightning Release chakra dancing around the Fourth Raikage Ay tore through the air, turning him into a bolt of lightning as he struck the masked man from another direction.

"Lariat!" The elbows of both men condensed massive amounts of chakra, aiming to strangle the enemy's neck!

However, just as the "Lariat" was about to make contact with the mysterious masked man...

BOOM—!

A surge of violent, dark-red chakra erupted from the masked man, instantly covering his body in a chakra cloak that forcefully blocked the attack!

BANG!

Killer Bee's Tailed Beast cloak and the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Release chakra were abruptly halted less than ten centimeters from the masked man's neck, producing a violent collision sound.

"Idiot~ what's going on~!" There was shock in Killer Bee's rap. He finally understood the abnormality of this guy that the Eight-Tails, Gyuki, had just warned him about.

The mysterious man's chakra cloak was almost identical to his own Tailed Beast chakra cloak, and that violent, dark chakra was even more intense than that of Gyuki!

"Mabui!" the Fourth Raikage Ay bellowed!

Not far away, Mabui's expression was solemn as her hands began to weave signs rapidly: "Heavenly Sending Technique!"

A sensation of tearing instantly enveloped the battling Fourth Raikage Ay, Killer Bee, and the mysterious masked man.

"I see." Feeling the tearing sensation throughout his body and the vibration of space, Menma couldn't help but look at Mabui with newfound respect.

"In that case, I'll give this to you." Just as he was about to be teleported away, Menma condensed a small, dark-purple sphere of energy in his right hand, containing frantic dark chakra wrapped in external Wind Release chakra.

The moment Menma and the AB duo vanished, the "Great Spiral Wheel虞" slowly descended to the ground.

——————

Kumogakure Canyon.

The AB duo and Uzumaki Menma were teleported here.

The moment he landed, Killer Bee activated his Full Tailed Beast Transformation, and the massive form of the Eight-Tails, Gyuki, rose from the ground.

"Yo~ Gyuki~ look at this guy~ which Tailed Beast is this chakra~" Killer Bee communicated with Gyuki within his mind.

At this moment, inside Killer Bee's mental world, Gyuki had fallen into a state of confusion and hesitation.

This familiar chakra was filled with darkness, violence, and other negative emotions; it was very similar to the Nine-Tails, yet it was also so foreign.

It was so foreign that even Gyuki fell into chaos.

"Right... right, no... no, uh... is it right?" Gyuki was deeply doubting himself.

"Bee! Release it completely!" The Fourth Raikage Ay also activated his strongest state, the Lightning Release Armor. His entire body was covered in massive amounts of lightning, and his hair stood on end.

Just as the two were preparing to attack, they saw the mysterious masked man float upward, standing in mid-air and gazing toward the direction of the Cloud Village.

"Let's watch together." Uzumaki Menma's low voice drifted from behind the mask.

Raikage Ay and Killer Bee were still puzzled.

In the distance, the Cloud Village, which had been shrouded in a mass of black clouds, suddenly emitted a burst of light.

Raikage Ay and Killer Bee stared in shock as a massive mushroom cloud rose from the direction of the Cloud Village, its blinding light tearing through the black clouds above.

It took half a minute for the roar of the explosion to sweep through the Kumogakure Canyon.

"You bastard! What did you do!" Raikage Ay's eyes nearly burst with rage. He leaped high into the air, concentrating high-intensity Lightning Release chakra into a hand-blade, and struck down fiercely!

"Lightning Torture: Thousand Dance!"

The hand-blade, carrying Lightning Release chakra, struck Menma's Tailed Beast chakra cloak, but it failed to move him even slightly.

"I've had enough fun." Menma gave a soft laugh and flew higher and higher.

"Bee!" Raikage Ay roared.

In his Tailed Beast form, Killer Bee planted his two front limbs on the ground, raised his head, and opened his massive maw.

A pitch-black Tailed Beast Bomb rapidly condensed within his mouth.

Watching the formed Tailed Beast Bomb, Menma once again condensed a small, dark-purple sphere in his right hand.

"This is... a gift of parting."

Menma casually threw the Great Spiral Wheel虞.

The dark-purple sphere fell lightly, colliding violently with the whistling Tailed Beast Bomb rising from below—

BOOM!!

A terrifying explosion of energy erupted instantly, swallowing the entire Kumogakure Canyon!