chapter 88 part 5
Later, even when Orochimaru lost his hands and couldn't perform hand signs for ninjutsu, he could still spit out the Kusanagi Blade to impale tailed beasts, or simply bite them to bind super-sized enemies with Curse Marks.
If Jiraiya and Tsunade were to fight now, they wouldn't have many good ways to deal with a tailed beast either. Even the Third Hokage, known as the Professor, wouldn't claim he could definitely defeat the Eight-Tails. Perhaps he could bind the Eight-Tails with Nyoibo and then relentlessly bombard it with Five Nature Release jutsu? It might knock the Eight-Tails unconscious, provided the Third Hokage had enough chakra.
The Third Raikage, on the other hand, had a documented record: relying on his Strongest Spear and Strongest Shield in Lightning Release Chakra Mode, he could exhaust the Eight-Tails, fighting until both passed out—in fact, both were simply exhausted.
The Third Tsuchikage should also be fine. His devastating Dust Release Jutsu was too brutal. If used on the Eight-Tails, it should inflict unimaginably horrific wounds.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! So painful, so painful, so painful! You damn bastard, to smash me with something like this!"
Numerous octopus tentacles emerged from the side of its body, violently striking the Rashomon. With high-frequency impacts, the Eight-Tails quickly broke free.
Orochimaru frowned, looking at the scattered zombies.
"Still not making a move? I'm very curious, Tsukasa-kun, how exactly do you plan to deal with this giant beast? You're not really hoping I'll handle everything, are you?"
Orochimaru quickly lost interest in the Eight-Tails. He had done his part and now began to focus on Tsukasa Kaede's next actions.
Tsukasa Kaede watched the scene from a distance, taking everything in.
"This is the Eight-Tails, the second most powerful tailed beast. It's indeed interesting." Tsukasa Kaede secretly nodded. He had witnessed the splendor of the perfect form Nine-Tails firsthand, and now seeing the Eight-Tails' power, he had a more direct understanding of these creatures' strength.
Precisely because of this, seizing the tailed beasts' chakra held even greater value.
"I found you!!"
The Eight-Tails raised its head, looking at Tsukasa Kaede sitting on the rock. "You're the brat controlling these strange dead people from afar, aren't you? I'll turn you into a dead person right now, so you can be with them forever!"
*Buzz!* The Eight-Tails immediately condensed a tailed beast bomb and fired it towards Tsukasa Kaede.
The enormous shockwave ripped through the air, carving a deep gully in both the lake and the ground. Amidst the earth-shattering tremor, it carried the power of annihilation, threatening to evaporate Tsukasa Kaede from this world.
Neither Orochimaru nor Tsukasa Kaede paid any attention to that tailed beast bomb.
Corpse Shift: Void World Jutsu!
Tsukasa Kaede instantly appeared before the Eight-Tails, casually glancing at the zombie that had replaced him. It was now pressed tightly against the tailed beast bomb, being crushed bit by bit by the terrifying impact.
Until the tailed beast bomb struck the ground further away, exploding abruptly.
The two-hundred-strong Hidden Cloud Village force was completely annihilated.
"What's that noise? Is the Eight-Tails rampaging again?"
"We didn't receive any communication from our comrades! Something's happened!"
"Hey, look at the sky! There's a tailed beast bomb coming our way!!"
With a colossal boom, the two-hundred-strong unit was instantly wiped out, with few survivors.
The Eight-Tails also froze for a moment, realizing it had caused trouble.
Yes, it had caused trouble. In the tug-of-war between the Hidden Cloud Village and the Eight-Tails, people would die, but usually only a few ninja involved in the sealing. There had never been a time when two hundred ninja were wiped out in one go.
Until now.
This incident further escalated the hatred between the Eight-Tails and the Hidden Cloud Village.
"What a foolish beast. Did you really think I would casually sit on a conspicuous rock for you to find?"
Tsukasa Kaede shook his head. "Even if you had charged directly at me, attacking with your fists and tails, this wouldn't have happened. But I must thank you; you've successfully weakened the Hidden Cloud Village's power."
And it would be further weakened in the future. After such an event, the Hidden Cloud Village would not hold back against the Eight-Tails, and their 'tacit understanding' would be completely destroyed.
"You detestable human, I'll kill you to vent my anger!" The Eight-Tails glared down at Tsukasa Kaede, about to throw a tantrum. It was genuinely angry, being fooled and called a beast—all of it was humiliating.
Tsukasa Kaede estimated the time.
"Hmm, the Hidden Cloud Village should be reacting by now. The Third Raikage and the future Fourth Raikage will likely arrive as quickly as possible. I don't have much time, but it should be enough. I'm not here to kill the Eight-Tails, just to steal some chakra."
Under Orochimaru's intensely expectant gaze, Tsukasa Kaede made his move.
He slammed his hand onto the lake surface, and a jutsu formula immediately surfaced on the water, then began to protrude.
*Bang!* A coffin was summoned by Tsukasa Kaede.
"Here it comes. Tsukasa-kun's method for dealing with the Eight-Tails... is he going to summon a zombie? But what zombie could be more useful than Araki of the Sand and Terai...?"
Orochimaru was somewhat puzzled. Then he saw Tsukasa Kaede's figure vanish from his original spot, replaced by a zombie beside him.
"What happens next isn't suitable for you to watch, Orochimaru. I'll take you somewhere else."
Tsukasa Kaede, disregarding Orochimaru's protest, forcefully transferred Orochimaru away using Void World Jutsu, then quickly returned alone, silently watching the coffin.
*Creak!*
The coffin lid opened.
An incredibly frail, hunched old man slowly hobbled out.
The Eight-Tails also froze for a moment, displaying a human-like bewilderment—an impossibly old human geezer? Insane, seriously? Only Tsukasa Kaede's calm eyes revealed a hint of anticipation.
"Come, while I can still use you freely, let me see your limits... Madara!"
(end of chapter)