Chapter 165

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In the tent, Fugaku didn't sleep, knowing that Cloud ninjas would attempt a rescue tonight.

When he heard noises outside, Fugaku perked up and peered through the tent flap with his Mangekyō Sharingan activated.

His nearsightedness wasn't severe yet, but his vision was impaired enough to necessitate the use of the Mangekyō Sharingan for better observation.

As he spotted the Tailed Beast Bomb, Fugaku thought to lend a hand, but the scene that unfolded next froze him in place.

It wasn't just Kyomu slicing through the Tailed Beast Bomb and diverting it—those actions had almost become Kyomu's trademark, solidifying his fearsome reputation.

It was Kyomu's return from combat, lifting a now-warm cup of tea, silhouetted against the distant fire and explosions, drinking in one gulp, that struck Fugaku with a sense of profound sophistication.

A wave of admiration surged through Fugaku, his Mangekyō Sharingan spinning slowly, committing the scene to memory.

Another technique learned.

Fugaku dropped the flap and rummaged through his tent, finding no second teapot but spotting a wine flask.

Warm wine to ward off Cloud ninjas?

It could work, but drinking alcohol on the battlefield was prohibited, and Fugaku didn't want to break the rules.

Scratching his head in irritation, Fugaku felt an itch, as if a cat were clawing at his insides.

Such grandeur matched only the capabilities of an Uchiha, only an Uchiha could truly master such presence.

Kyomu, though formidable, lacked the Sharingan—imperfect, fundamentally imperfect.

Sitting heavily on his bed, Fugaku's thoughts were a mess, but Kyomu was increasingly appealing, not just in strength but also in demeanor, the perfect Uchiha partner.

The Nekomata Clan?

Not a patch on Kyomu!

After tossing and turning, Fugaku finally fell into a deep sleep, only to be woken soon after by Kyomu.

True to his word, Kyomu had taken the first watch of the night.

Fugaku was somewhat displeased; the last time he took the night watch, he had slacked off, and yet Kyomu wasn't making any allowances.

"Fugaku-senpai, you have more experience and strength, so I'll leave the latter half of the night to you."

As Kyomu spoke, Fugaku straightened up, "Hah, with me here, those brutes from the Cloud won't get anywhere near our camp!"

With a stride, Fugaku left, casting a reluctant glance at the teapot in Kyomu's hand.

He couldn't ask for it back after Kyomu had blown on it—uncouth, utterly lacking in elegance.

Regardless, when it came to violent yet elegant tactics, one must look to the Uchiha.

Watching Fugaku's departing figure, Kyomu shook his head and smiled. The Uchiha were easy to please with a few kind words.

After a refreshing four-hour sleep, Kyomu felt rejuvenated, his body's fatigue wiped away, his chakra reserves replenished.

The body is the capital of the revolution, as the saying goes.

Stretching, Kyomu took over Fugaku's post, "Fugaku-senpai, there's still some time. Rest up, to be ready for our counterattack."

Before Fugaku could refuse, Kyomu added, "The critical point of this battle rests on you, senpai. You need to be in top form."

Nodding, Fugaku returned to his tent to catch up on sleep, while Kyomu approached Yugito, wiping the dew from her body.

He glanced at her tattered clothes, then called over a female Uchiha ninja to bring a spare Leaf jōnin vest and shirt for Yugito, helping her change.

The old clothes were not removed, simply layered over.

Yugito remained numb, allowing the Uchiha kunoichi to dress her in the standard Leaf attire.

All night, she had tried to awaken Matatabi from the control of the Mangekyō Sharingan, to no avail.

She also attempted to break the seals on her body, but during the night, Fugaku, indifferent to her struggles, reinforced the seals.

Desperate, Yugito struggled to break free from the ropes binding her, to no avail.

The warm sunlight shone on her face.

Squinting, she could see the Cloud camp in the distance.

What followed was beyond her control; attacking and destroying the Cloud camp was now inevitable.

No turning back!

And she... would be seen as a traitor to the Cloud, a fact established the moment she aimed the Tailed Beast Bomb at her former comrades.

Head bowed, tears fell.

But then she looked up, her eyes filled with intense hatred, "Aragami Kyomu, you've destroyed everything! Everything!"

"War destroys everything for everyone," Kyomu responded calmly, looking towards the Cloud camp with Yugito. "It inherently lacks strict right or wrong, but whoever initiates it must take the blame, and that logic is sound.

And there's another rule: whoever wins is right.

I'm sorry to say, I hold both these truths, so I am right. And as executioners, you must pay the price!"

"You're talking nonsense! It's you who possess the richest lands in the shinobi world, it's you who..."

"Owning rich lands justifies you initiating war?" Kyomu pointed at the young Leaf ninjas, "They were forced onto the battlefield by you. I'm using your own weapons against you; how is that destroying your everything?"

"Just kill me then," Yugito challenged, neck bared. "If you have any honor as a strong warrior, kill me!"

"Isn't it good to be alive?" Kyomu gestured towards the chaotic battlefield. "Many wish they could live, and you're wasting the meaning of life."

Talk no Jutsu—It wasn't only Naruto's brandmark jutsu, now Kyomu was quite adept at it.

You'd better listen, or Kyomu would let his fists do the talking, making you listen again.

Yugito fell silent, hating Kyomu, hating herself, but the word "war" now stirred some doubt in her.

Regardless, she would always stand with Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning!

Seeing Yugito silent, Kyomu didn't bother with further words, waiting for her defenses to completely collapse in two hours.

Cruel?

Kyomu had no right to sympathize with the enemy, nor would he. If he sympathized with the enemy, who would sympathize with his fallen ninja?

Swoosh.

After the Leaf ninja had their fill and settled down, Kyomu drew his sword and cut the ropes binding Yugito, including those around her ankles.

"Let's go."

"I won't go, I won't!"

Yugito struggled, but Kyomu pushed her relentlessly forward.

From a distance, Kyomu spotted the young Fourth Raikage.

"Kyomu, can't you fight with honor..."

"Fine, I have just over eight hundred people behind me, you have four thousand, and another four thousand in the camp," Kyomu interrupted the Fourth Raikage, "I'll commit all my forces, you send out nine hundred, and we fight to the death. The winner takes the war victory, the loser surrenders."

Clearly impossible.

The Fourth Raikage remained silent, his gaze cold when it swept over Yugito.

"You shouldn't be here, your presence will cause irreparable damage to the village."

"Kill me, kill me then!"

"I will," the Fourth Raikage replied, his body instantly covered in Lightning Release Armor, Killer B beside him also cloaked in a faint red layer of Tailed Beast Chakra.

"So, not fully transformed from the start?" Kyomu shook his head, "I'm still underestimated."

Turning to Fugaku, "Fugaku-senpai, it's time to teach them a lesson."

As the pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan spun, Yugito momentarily lost control, stunned.

In the next second, blue Tailed Beast Chakra surged, completing a full transformation into a giant blue cat-like figure that suddenly appeared.

Roar!

With a roar, the blue giant cat's eyes reflected the pattern of Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan, its head turning to glare fiercely at the Cloud side.

Kyomu lightly tapped the ground and leapt up, landing steadily on the head of the giant blue cat, the dense Tailed Beast Chakra underfoot not harming him at all.

Moreover, Kyomu also experienced what Madara would have felt—external, giant chakra batteries allowing him to unleash all his techniques without reservation.

Though Matatabi was no match for Kurama.

"Gentlemen, follow me, tear through the Cloud defenses, smash into their camp!"

Yoei swung forward heavily, and the mere eight hundred men charged with the force of thousands, their battle spirit soaring.

As the shout fell, Kyomu, the Fourth Raikage, and Killer B converged silently in a remote battleground, initiating the clash between him and the new generation A/B combo from Kumogakure.

Upon encounter, Kyomu urged Matatabi beneath him to launch a massive Tailed Beast Bomb.

Simultaneously, Killer B, now fully transformed, also formed and launched a Tailed Beast Bomb.

"I love direct confrontations with cannon fire!"

Kyomu grinned, his chakra surging wildly as he combined Wind, Yin, and Lightning chakra natures. The spatial distortions he caused intensely disrupted the surrounding area, manipulating it as if it were an extension of his own body.

The cost of such an action was a rapid depletion of Matatabi's Tailed Beast chakra, but the large external chakra reserves allowed Kyomu to sustain his expenditure for an extended period.

Suddenly, Kyomu vanished along with Matatabi. Without any delay, as if they had shrunk the earth beneath them, they appeared at the center of the Cloud ninja formation.

There was no need for another Tailed Beast Bomb; just Matatabi's mountain-like body sweeping through was enough to inflict massive damage.

The twin blue tails of Matatabi ferociously swept across, carrying immense force and abundant Tailed Beast chakra. The attack blossomed at the center of the Cloud formation.

Numerous Cloud ninjas were flung away, their bodies strong but helpless against the unstoppable force, succumbing mid-air.

"Yugito!!!"

Unaffected Cloud ninjas screamed, their eyes nearly bursting, "They are your comrades, your comrades!!!"

Within her mind space, Yugito's consciousness saw and heard everything but was powerless to act. She couldn't awaken Matatabi from the Mangekyō Sharingan's control or reclaim control of her own body.

After fully transforming, the control of her body was completely seized by Matatabi, leaving her only able to scream in agony.

Kyomu, indifferent to these cries.

After deploying Matatabi for a devastating attack, his inner chakra boiled, drawing and pulling from the continuous stream of Tailed Beast chakra Matatabi provided.

He activated his spatial bloodline limit again, teleporting with his mount in a seamless transition to the center of the battlefield where the Fourth Raikage and Killer B stood.

The distance covered was now thousands of meters.

With great power comes great ease, and with abundant chakra, everything was smoother.

By the time Kyomu returned, the Tailed Beast Bomb launched during the earlier "direct confrontation" finally collided, erupting into a huge mushroom cloud.

The Fourth Raikage, in a sudden leap, his body flickering with lightning, aimed a punch directly at Kyomu's face, seemingly trying to disrupt his control over Matatabi by striking him.

But.

With chakra aplenty, Kyomu exploited his spatial bloodline limit to its fullest, making a heavy punch vanish right before him. Along with the Fourth Raikage's figure, it too was swallowed by spatial fluctuations, seamlessly shifting the target to his good partner atop the Eight-Tails.

And appearing alongside him were Kyomu and Matatabi, just in different positions.

Swish, swish, swish.

Matatabi, positioned behind and to the side of the Eight-Tails, slashed fiercely with its sharp, powerful claws, creating deep wounds on the Eight-Tails.

Roar!

The Eight-Tails, pained, attempted to retaliate with its tail-like tentacles. However, the Fourth Raikage, unable to control his strength, landed another punch on its head.

Simultaneously, Kyomu and Matatabi vanished from the spot again.

A thousand meters away, Kyomu and Matatabi emerged, a gigantic, nearly kilometer-wide blade aura slashing down, combining Kyomu's own chakra with the Tailed Beast chakra to deliver a devastatingly powerful blow.

Just keep pumping in chakra!

Boom!

The blade aura struck the ground, its destructive force comparable to a full-bodied Susanoo strike, slaughtering another swath of Cloud ninjas and creating another massive rift in the battlefield.

"Kyomu-sama, victorious!"

"Kyomu-sama, victorious!"

"Kyomu-sama, victorious!"

Together with the Uchiha, rousing cheers soared to the heavens.

It had only been a short time since the battle began, yet Kyomu had single-handedly breached the main forces of the Cloud ninja. All that was left for the young Leaf ninjas following him was to pick up the spoils.

This maximized the training of the Leaf genin in combat while ensuring their safety to the greatest extent.

The morale of the Leaf forces was visibly soaring.

"We have Kyomu-sama, what do you have?!"

"Attack!"

"To the Cloud ninja camp!"

"To the homeland of the Cloud ninja!"

Once more, teleporting with Matatabi across a thousand meters with no delay, Kyomu appeared beside the Eight-Tails, clawing it again.

But simultaneously, the large external chakra reservoir, Matatabi's Tailed Beast chakra, surprisingly reduced by a tenth.

Such a massive expenditure made Kyomu frown. Transporting Matatabi's massive body via instant teleportation, especially over several kilometers, consumed an astronomical amount of chakra.

"Can Yugito's body withstand it?" Kyomu couldn't help but worry. He was quite fond of his mount and the chakra battery, and didn't want to drain it dry.

But the Fourth Raikage, suddenly breaking from the battlefield, chased after Fugaku.

He had identified the crux of the problem.

Only by defeating Fugaku, influenced by the Mangekyō Sharingan, could Matatabi be returned to normal.

Kyomu was pleased by this; he turned his fierce gaze to the Eight-Tails.

"Come on, let's have a thrilling brawl, Eight-Tails!"

Kyomu, controlling Matatabi below him, disappeared once more, instantly appearing above the Eight-Tails.

(End of chapter)