Watching Saiki hold his ground, Bee realized exactly what the boy was doing. He noticed the hairline fractures along Saiki's blade.
Bee steadied his breathing, a savage glint in his eyes. He drew a deep breath and let the Eight-Tails' chakra flood his system. A dense, bubbling crimson cloak of chakra wreathed his body. He was prepping a Version 1 transformation.
Saiki remained perfectly still. He gripped his damaged sword, his mind a cold lake of calculation. He needed Bee to commit. He needed the man to think he had the advantage so he could deliver the one-shot kill.
Bee's chakra rose like a tide. Gyuki's malice boiled within him, stimulating every cell to boost his strength, speed, and perception to the limit.
His blades began to hum with a high-pitched screech—the sound of a hornet's wings. Wreathed in the three-tailed cloak, Bee lunged.
"Three tails? Who the hell are you looking down on?" Saiki hissed.
He didn't back down. He circulated his Qi, and his chipped blade was suddenly coated in a shimmering, sapphire blue lightning. His presence ballooned, matching Bee's murderous intent.
With his Flower Clones acting as observers from the tree line, Saiki moved. He blurred past Bee's flank, aiming his blade at the thin spots in the chakra cloak, looking for the kill-shot.
Flash! Squelch!
"Impossible!"
Bee's reflexes were god-tier, but Saiki's wind-enhanced lightning was sharper. The blade bypassed the cloak and carved a shallow line across Bee's ribs.
Saiki pressed the attack. His sword was a silver lightning bolt, aiming for Bee's vitals.
Bee scrambled to defend, the Eight-Tails' power surging to keep pace. They blurred through each other, a chaotic dance of steel and red mist.
"Bakayaro! Konoyaro! Fool, ya fool!" Bee shouted, his rap failing him as the pressure mounted.
"Shut up, you brute!" Saiki barked back.
The insult cut deep. Bee and Gyuki both flared with rage; Jinchuriki were always sensitive to being called "beasts."
"You bastard! Your sword is at its limit! Let's see how you handle this!" Bee roared.
Saiki smirked. "It's enough to kill you."
He tapped the tip of his sword against the mud. Chakra flooded the steel, making it glow with an unnatural radiance. He lunged again, his blade piercing the air with a deafening whistle as he aimed for Bee's throat.
Bee retreated, his chakra boiling as he used his twin blades to parry the lethal thrust.
The clearing was a kaleidoscope of blue and red lightning. Saiki realized Bee was significantly harder to kill than the beast form. Bee realized Saiki was a goddamn anomaly.
Saiki's reserves seemed bottomless. Bee was starting to wonder if the boy was a hidden Jinchuriki himself.
And the speed... the instant, sign-less Body Flickers were making Bee's head spin. Everywhere he looked, he felt Saiki's "eyes" watching him.
He wasn't wrong. Saiki's Flower Clones were hidden in every shadow, their gazes locked onto Bee's every twitch.
Bee was in awe, while Saiki was looking for a way to put him in the ground.
The problem was Bee's "Tail-Shedding" escape.
With Bee's high battle IQ, pinning him for a final blow was nearly impossible. Every time Saiki prepped his Senjutsu-infused execution, Bee would sense the danger and sacrifice a limb or a tail to escape the radius.
Saiki decided to set a trap. His sword couldn't handle much more, so he began to "falter." His aggressive offense slowed, his movements becoming "sluggish."
Bee saw the opening and bit.
The spectators were just as fooled.
The arrival of the Eight-Tails had seemed like the end of the Leaf, until the "Thunder Fang" had appeared and forced it back.
But the situation was still critical. The Leaf forces had begun a general retreat to the inner line.
Kurenai and Genhai, terrified by the beast, had been escorted to safety by Shinku and a Saiki shadow clone. But Tsume Inuzuka had stayed behind. She was watching Saiki and Bee from the brush, her heart in her throat.
Saiki's "exhaustion" looked real. Tsume wanted to jump in, but she knew she'd just be a target.
"Saiki! Do you have a plan?!" she screamed.
The shadow clone beside her remained calm. "His blade is failing. He's conserving his strength. Don't worry, Sensei. He's still got plenty of cards left."
The clone knew Saiki's full kit. Even if the sword shattered, Saiki could still suppress the Eight-Tails with his "Auspicious Cloud."
The battle had only lasted minutes.
Finally, the cavalry arrived. Jiraiya landed in the clearing, his eyes scanning the field with clinical precision.
Seeing A leading a Cloud mob against Inoichi and the Uchiha, Jiraiya decided to stabilize the main line first.
He wove a series of signs.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A massive volume of chakra ignited in his throat. Several gargantuan, roaring fire dragons erupted from his mouth, incinerating a wide swath of the Cloud formation.
BOOM!
The Cloud responded instantly. A wall of Water and Earth Style jutsu rose to meet the flames.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
CRASH!
The elements collided in a violent explosion of steam and soot.
The dragons were powerful enough that it took several Cloud ninja working together to hold the line.
That was the power of a Sannin. A single jutsu from Jiraiya turned the tide, forcing the Cloud to burn through their reserves just to survive.
"Lord Jiraiya!" Inoichi's unit cheered, their morale returning in a flood.
Jiraiya gave them a short, sharp nod. "Don't relax! The dance is just beginning!"
He locked eyes with A, the future Raikage.
A felt a cold prickle of alarm.
Jiraiya was in his prime. Among the Kage-tier ninja of the world, a Jiraiya in Sage Mode was arguably the most dangerous man alive.
A was still young. He was targeting Minato Namikaze, but facing an old-school legend like Jiraiya—a man who had fought his father to a standstill—gave him a moment of genuine hesitation.
But A wasn't a coward. He clenched his fists, his Lightning Armor flaring with violet intensity as he met Jiraiya's stare.
The Cloud had the numbers. Jiraiya was a monster, but he was still just one man. A decided they would drown him in bodies if that's what it took to win.