Minato turned the second Taiichi appeared. A rare, genuine smile spread across his face.
"Taiichi. I knew it would be you."
Taiichi landed beside him, expression serious. "Of course it's me. The second I heard what happened, I came running. There's no way I'm sitting this one out."
He glanced toward the distant coastline, feeling the damp air. "What's the situation? What's the plan?"
Minato's smile faded. His voice turned cold and steady. "Twenty-three Cloud shinobi left. Ten of them are jonin, including the new AB combo. The rest are elite chunin. We're close to the sea. If they reach their ships, Flying Thunder God loses most of its effectiveness. We have to stop them before they board."
Taiichi didn't hesitate. "Then we move now."
They had worked together enough times that words weren't needed. One look was enough. They split up, Minato taking the left while Taiichi circled right, aiming to catch the Cloud force off guard.
They closed the distance fast.
The Cloud shinobi finally noticed them when they were barely thirty meters away.
"Ambush!" Killer B shouted.
Minato didn't wait. He burst forward and flung twelve marked kunai in rapid succession, spreading them across the densest part of the enemy formation.
"It's Namikaze Minato! Scatter!"
Too late.
Golden flashes lit up the battlefield. In the span of a few heartbeats, most of the Cloud chunin were dead, throats slit before they could even react. Only two jonin managed to survive the first wave.
Even Taiichi, watching from a distance with his chakra sensing, felt a chill. That level of Flying Thunder God was terrifying.
"Damn you, Minato!" A roared, lightning exploding around him as he charged.
Killer B partially transformed, swinging massive chakra tails toward Minato while the remaining jonin unleashed long-range jutsu.
That was when Taiichi made his move.
He flashed forward and appeared between the two surviving jonin from Minato's first attack. His short blade ignited with golden flames. One full-body spin sent a ring of fire cutting outward in every direction.
Both jonin were bisected before they could raise their weapons. The flaming arc kept going, cutting down everyone within ten meters.
In less than thirty seconds, twenty-three Cloud shinobi had been reduced to six jonin.
Killer B's voice cracked with rage. "You bastards… you fucking bastards!"
Taiichi pointed his blade at the remaining Cloud forces, voice dripping with mockery. "What's wrong? You can sneak-attack our camp, but we can't hit you back? Your face is so big I'm surprised it doesn't block out the sun."
He stood there openly, blade leveled at them. "I'm right here. Come on. One at a time."
Minato appeared beside him in a flash of yellow. Now it was two against six, yet the pressure was entirely on Cloud's side.
A's face twisted with grief and fury as he looked at the bodies of his comrades. "You two are dying here today."
He turned to Killer B. "Go full transformation. No holding back."
The remaining four jonin spread out, preparing to support from range.
A shot straight at Minato. The two blurs clashed and disappeared into the distance, leaving Taiichi alone with the rapidly growing form of the Eight-Tails.
Taiichi watched the massive beast rise and muttered, "I wonder if grilled octopus tastes good…"
He formed the seals and exhaled.
Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.
A roaring golden dragon slammed into one of the Eight-Tails' tentacles. The flames clung and spread like they were alive.
Killer B's scream shook the ground as he frantically tried to shake the fire off. The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
"Use the ink!" the Eight-Tails roared inside Killer B's mind.
Killer B spat a massive wave of ink over the burning tentacle, finally smothering the golden flames.
Taiichi didn't give him a chance to recover. Another fire dragon was already flying toward him.
This time Killer B didn't try to block with his body. He swung his tentacles and hurled massive chunks of earth and trees at the incoming jutsu, burying it completely.
Seeing that the barrage worked, Killer B kept throwing debris, forcing Taiichi to stay on the move.
Taiichi clicked his tongue and switched tactics. If fire wouldn't work, then water would.
He kept circling while dropping more Flying Thunder God kunai across the battlefield. His hands flashed through seals.
Water Style: Severing Wave.
High-pressure water blades sliced through the falling debris and carved deep wounds across the Eight-Tails' body.
Before he could press further, lightning orbs and wind blades came flying from two different directions.
Taiichi raised two water walls without even looking and blocked both attacks.
One of the remaining Cloud jonin charged him with a longsword. "Don't forget about us, brat!"
Taiichi grinned. "I was hoping one of you would be stupid enough to come close."
He met the charge head-on.
The Cloud jonin's longer blade reached first and punched straight through Taiichi's chest. For one second, the man looked triumphant.
Then Taiichi kept moving.
His short blade drove deep into the jonin's chest in return. As they passed each other, both blades tore sideways, opening massive wounds.
Taiichi didn't even slow down. Golden flames were already sealing the hole in his chest as he sprinted toward the next target.
The dying jonin turned, eyes wide with horror as he watched Taiichi's wound close in seconds.
He tried to scream a warning, but only blood came out.
Another golden flash later, and there were only four Cloud jonin left.
Killer B was losing his mind. He charged forward, all eight tentacles swinging wildly while he tried to crush Taiichi under sheer mass.
Taiichi kept moving, creating shadow clones to stall the tentacles while he closed in on another jonin.
The jonin was already terrified. He kept backing away, throwing lightning jutsu to keep Taiichi at a distance. His fear made his attacks sloppy.
Killer B saw Taiichi about to finish another one of his comrades and panicked. He opened his mouth and began forming a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Taiichi saw it coming through his sensing.
He smiled.
At the exact moment the Tailed Beast Bomb launched, Taiichi vanished with Flying Thunder God.
The massive sphere of chakra slammed into the Cloud jonin Taiichi had been fighting.
The man didn't even have time to scream.
Killer B's roar of rage and grief shook the battlefield.
Taiichi reappeared some distance away, watching the smoking crater with cold eyes.
He wasn't just killing them.
He was breaking them.