The terrifying white giant air current was violently repelled, transforming into countless small white air blades that scattered diagonally upwards. "CRASH!!!! CRASH!!!! CRASH!!!!" Instantly, huge explosions sounded behind Uchiha Madara and the others.
Several small mountain peaks in Kumogakure instantly collapsed, and large amounts of huge rocks fell, creating tremendous vibrations. However, Uchiha Madara was not unharmed.
The powerful force directly pushed his body backward, and he hovered several times in mid-air before finally coming to a stop, sliding backward a short distance on the ground.
At this moment, Uchiha Madara's Susanoo had disappeared. He knelt on the ground, panting heavily, appearing extremely fatigued. Just now, Susanoo's resistance against Sasuke's attack had consumed a massive amount of his physical strength and chakra.
I hadn't expected his power to be so strong. Even with my Eight Mirror Shield, I couldn't completely block his attack, Uchiha Madara thought to himself, his face extremely grave.
He slowly stood up. Just then, his body suddenly swayed violently. A mouthful of fresh blood instantly welled up from Uchiha Madara's mouth and slowly flowed down the corner of his lips.
"Sasuke, are you alright!!!!" Kisame was greatly alarmed when he saw this scene. He quickly supported Sasuke's body. He had never seen Sasuke look so weak.
"I'm fine. Just now, blocking that attack consumed too much of my chakra. I need to rest properly," Uchiha Madara said through gritted teeth. Are the symptoms flaring up again? Damn it, my time isn't much. I can't stay here anymore, Uchiha Madara thought to himself.
"Your body is a bit off, Sasuke," Sasori and Kakuzu also came to Sasuke's side, looking at his weak state and speaking indifferently. "Let's not talk about that for now. Let's retreat. There's no need to sacrifice too much for this mission. My chakra consumption is too high already," Uchiha Madara said, his breathing heavy.
"Anyway, half of my revenge has already been achieved. It's a pity, but the other half won't be attainable," Kakuzu said with a hint of resentment. Although unwilling, it was clear that Sasuke's Susanoo was simply not something they could contend with. In the end, they were merely pawns in a war they couldn't win, and there was no need to throw their lives away.
"Are you crazy? That's the Eight-Tails. Do you know what the consequences are if you kill him?" Onoki angrily said to Sasuke, who had directly made a move without saying a word. That Uchiha Madara really is tearing down the bridge after crossing it.
"So what? Leave the Eight-Tails and let him get revenge on our Iwagakure and your Kumogakure later? You wouldn't be that naive," Sasuke said indifferently, looking at Onoki's angry expression.
"That's not the reason. It's because of the rules set by the First Hokage when he distributed the Tailed Beasts to the other four great villages," Onoki sighed, then explained to Sasuke. Sasuke's eyebrows arched slightly. He hadn't expected there to be such a rule. Wars were about life and death. Did these guys' brains get waterlogged to still obey such a rule?
"So, we can't move the Eight-Tails for now. Never mind what happens to Kumogakure, even Kirigakure, whose relationship with you is shallow, will definitely not stand on your side. Not to mention Konoha and Suna, who hate your Iwagakure to the core. By then, we'll truly be targets of public criticism," Onoki said in a deep voice.
"Besides Kirigakure, the relationship with Konoha and Suna was originally a death feud, right?" Sasuke chuckled disdainfully.
"That's your Iwagakure. Our Iwagakure, although our relationship with Konoha and Suna is not good, it's not a death feud. This time, our alliance with you already carried a considerable risk. It's like we've already offended Suna and Konoha. You need to know, war is not a child's game," Onoki said helplessly.
"What do you mean?" Sasuke slightly furrowed his brow. "Then let's lay our cards on the table. If you insist on striking down the Eight-Tails, our alliance with Iwagakure and Kumogakure will reach its end," Onoki said indifferently, his tone resolute, leaving no room for negotiation. "Are you serious? You know we're allied to fight Kumogakure." For the current Iwagakure, Kumogakure was still a very important ally.
"Indeed, our alliance's enemy is Kumogakure, but if you really strike down the Eight-Tails, our opponent won't just be Kumogakure. I've said it, even Kirigakure, who has a good relationship with you, absolutely will not stand on your side on these three points." Onoki sighed and said.
Sasuke fell into contemplation after hearing Onoki's words. He knew Onoki had no need to deceive him on this point. He also clearly understood that Iwagakure was definitely not an opponent for the other four great villages combined.
"Have you considered it carefully? It's fine if you strike down the Raikage, but if you strike down the Eight-Tails, the consequences will be too severe," Onoki said.
"Alright, then I'll just kill the Raikage. That's enough for Kumogakure to drink a pot," Sasuke said with a cold laugh.
As his words fell, three rotating tomoe suddenly appeared on Susanoo's giant hand. With a fierce swing, they tore through the air, flying towards the Raikage with terrifying lightning speed.
"What!!!!" The Akatsuki members were instantly alarmed. "No, Uchiha Madara's target doesn't seem to be us!!!!" The rotating black tomoe flew over Uchiha Madara and the others' heads, swiftly charging towards Killer Bee and the Raikage.
"Go to hell!!"
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