On the main battlefield—
The shinobi of Kumogakure and Konohagakure tacitly cleared out a wide stretch of ground.
Uchiha Yusuke and the Two-Tails' jinchūriki, Yugito, stood facing each other, an oppressive killing intent saturating the air around them.
Before the battle had even truly begun, the chakra surging from both of them caused the atmosphere itself to grow heavy and stagnant.
Yugito transformed in an instant, entering complete tailed-beast form.
A gigantic cat demon wreathed in blue flames stared fixedly at Uchiha Yusuke, poised to strike a fatal blow at any moment.
In this fully transformed state, Yugito's speed and power underwent another qualitative leap.
Even Yusuke, cloaked in Fire Release Chakra Mode, could no longer match a tailed beast head-on in many aspects.
Yugito's beautiful eyes were filled with murderous intent as she locked onto her opponent.
"'Flame Demon' Yusuke—prepare to die!"
Whoosh!
The Two-Tails, wrapped in blue flames, slashed down with a single claw.
Yusuke didn't manage to evade in time.
His body was torn cleanly in two.
Upper and lower halves separated—yet no blood spilled.
Instead, raging flames burned at the severed edges of his body.
Yugito leapt back, smacking her lips in disbelief.
"He survived that too?"
"Tch… what a pain."
Yusuke's flame elementalization was even more troublesome than the Hōzuki clan's Hydrification Technique.
At least Hydrification could be restrained by Lightning Release—but Yusuke's flame body was difficult to extinguish even with Water Release.
Ninjutsu and taijutsu were basically useless against him.
Genjutsu might have worked—but illusion techniques weren't Yugito's forte. And besides, Yusuke was an Uchiha, naturally gifted in genjutsu himself.
With no reliable way to injure him, Yugito could only grit her teeth and prepare for a battle of endurance.
She leaned forward slightly, a confident smile tugging at her lips.
My flames can't hurt you—but your attacks can't do much to me either.
As a perfect jinchūriki with monstrous chakra reserves, she had absolute confidence in a war of attrition.
Can you really outlast me, Uchiha Yusuke?
Unlike Yugito, Yusuke wasn't focused on the flow of the fight at all.
What he was thinking about… was whether he should knock her out and capture her.
Tailed beasts are meant to be caught, aren't they?
Look at the future Akatsuki—grabbing them left and right without much trouble.
My strength isn't inferior to theirs at all. Should I just catch one and keep it for fun?
From beginning to end, Yusuke's expression remained relaxed.
To others, tailed beasts were a nightmare.
To him, they were an exception.
Yugito swung her blazing claws and charged again.
Yusuke drew his sword, clearly intending to engage the Two-Tails in close combat.
Seeing this, Yugito's eyes narrowed.
"A human body wants to fight a tailed beast head-on?"
"How laughably arrogant!"
The cat demon's claws howled through the air, and Yusuke looked like driftwood in a raging flood—ready to be smashed apart at any second.
Clang!
Yugito's claw slammed into Yusuke's blade, producing a crisp, ear-splitting metallic crash.
Yusuke didn't budge an inch.
The tailed-beast claw, heavy as a collapsing mountain, was stopped cold.
"—Hiss!"
The shinobi watching from afar all sucked in a sharp breath.
A human… matching strength with a tailed beast?
And not even losing ground?
Am I seeing things?
They had only ever heard legends—stories of the Third Raikage fighting tailed beasts barehanded.
Now, Uchiha Yusuke was proving with cold reality that a human blade could also stand against a tailed beast.
Nara Shikaku seized the moment instantly.
The instant Yusuke displayed his overwhelming power, Shikaku used Yamanaka Inoichi's communication network to broadcast a decisive morale boost.
"Everyone, Commander Yusuke has successfully suppressed Kumogakure's Two-Tails jinchūriki. The scales of victory have completely tipped in our favor."
"Push forward in one final effort! Your families are waiting for you to return victorious!"
With Shikaku's message, Konoha's allied forces erupted with renewed fighting spirit.
Kumogakure, on the other hand, began to lose heart as their breakout attempts repeatedly failed.
"Lady Yugito is being suppressed by Uchiha Yusuke?"
"That can't be real, can it?"
"If even Lady Yugito can't break through… what hope do we have?"
...
Konoha already held the advantage.
With morale rising on one side and collapsing on the other, the battle quickly turned one-sided.
On the main battlefield—
Yugito launched frenzied attacks without pause, yet Yusuke, relying on nothing but the sword in his hand, fought her fully transformed tailed-beast form to a standstill.
"Damn it…"
"'Flame Demon' Yusuke… you're unbelievably troublesome!"
Unable to gain ground after prolonged fighting, even Yugito began to feel exhausted.
He's just a kid—so why does he feel as strong as the Raikage himself?!
Her flames and physical attacks were completely ineffective against Yusuke's flame elementalization.
Meanwhile, Yusuke's flying sword slashes cut into her painfully again and again.
Complete tailed-beast transformation dramatically increased destructive power—but the enlarged body also made her an easier target.
Uchiha Itachi once said it well: every technique has its weaknesses.
Kumogakure was already collapsing. Continuing this fight was pointless.
If they kept stalemating Yusuke, they might be completely wiped out.
Realizing this, Yugito's remaining patience finally snapped.
She stared at Yusuke and spoke in a low voice.
"This is getting boring."
"Let's settle this in one move."
"I'll show you my true ultimate technique."
Yusuke smiled faintly and nodded.
"So you're finally revealing your real trump card?"
"Perfect. Just what I wanted."
Yugito—fully merged with the Two-Tails Matatabi—let out a thunderous roar, blasting away the smoke and mist that covered the battlefield.
"Guuu—"
Red and blue chakra masses churned violently, converging into the cat demon's mouth.
A black sphere gradually condensed, radiating pure destruction.
At the same time—
Yusuke sheathed his sword and assumed a poised, unsheathing stance.
There was almost no visible chakra fluctuation—yet the pressure of his sword intent was no weaker in the slightest.
Yugito and Uchiha Yusuke had both revealed their trump cards.
The moment that would decide victory or defeat—
had finally arrived.
To read 40+ future chapters, head over to Patreon:
patreon.com/WhiteDevil7554