Chapter 30: Capturing the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki

"Shisui! The Hidden Cloud is retreating!"

After spotting the signal flare rising into the sky, Tokuma Hyūga immediately flashed to Shisui’s side.

After cutting down another Hidden Cloud shinobi with a single strike, Shisui Uchiha looked toward the horizon and calmly replied,

"Watch for Konoha’s signal."

Not long after Kumogakure’s retreat signal appeared...

Another special flare shot into the night sky.

Tokuma’s eyes lit up.

"Shisui! The signal’s here!"

"The front lines won! It’s the pursuit signal!"

Everything had been planned in advance.

If Kumogakure retreated and Konoha pursued...

Then, as long as the assault squad still held the advantage, they would strike the retreating enemy from behind.

If the situation turned against them instead...

The assault squad would immediately withdraw and launch a different flare, signaling the front lines to halt the pursuit.

Shisui briefly assessed how much control he still maintained over the Nine-Tails before giving the order.

"Fire the encirclement signal."

"We’re cutting off the Raikage’s unit."

"Yes!"

Tokuma immediately took out a signal flare and launched it into the sky.

Without another word...

The assault squad pivoted and raced toward the front lines.

Meanwhile...

"Damn it!"

"The front line has fallen!"

"Move! We have to regroup with Lord Raikage!"

The Hidden Cloud shinobi still gathered around the ruined encampment were overwhelmed with grief and fury after seeing the retreat signal.

They immediately tried to rush toward the Raikage’s forces.

But...

Shisui Uchiha and the Nine-Tails stood directly in their path.

Every sweep of Kurama’s massive claws claimed several more lives.

Some time later...

The Raikage’s retreating army finally came into view.

A ruthless glint flashed across Shisui’s eyes.

The Nine-Tails immediately abandoned its blockade of the rear forces and charged straight toward the Raikage’s unit.

"The Nine-Tails..."

"And that Uchiha brat..."

Seeing the enormous crater where Kumogakure’s camp had once stood...

The Fourth Raikage let out a heart-wrenching roar.

Nearly ten thousand Hidden Cloud shinobi had entered this war.

Over the past half month...

Almost a thousand had already fallen in battle.

Several hundred more, too badly injured to continue fighting, had remained behind in the camp to recover.

Now...

The entire encampment had been obliterated by a Tailed Beast Bomb.

Those gravely wounded never even had a chance to escape.

Konoha’s attack had come in the dead of night.

Most of the resting shinobi had been caught completely off guard.

Combined with the weaker personnel...

The Nine-Tails had likely slaughtered well over a thousand Hidden Cloud shinobi in a single strike.

No wonder...

The "Shisui Uchiha" on the front lines never joined the Kage-level battle.

"Pfft!"

Overwhelmed by rage...

The already badly wounded Raikage spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Lord Raikage!"

The surrounding Hidden Cloud shinobi were horrified.

They immediately tightened their defensive formation around him.

"Big Brother!"

Killer B’s heart sank.

Ahead of them stood the Nine-Tails.

Behind them came Konoha’s pursuing army.

The Raikage’s chakra remained sealed.

As if making one final decision...

Killer B’s body rapidly expanded.

He entered his complete Tailed Beast transformation.

Turning around...

A Tailed Beast Bomb rapidly condensed inside Gyūki’s mouth.

"Tailed Beast Bomb!"

"Scatter!"

Jiraiya immediately shouted.

The pursuing Konoha shinobi instantly dispersed.

BOOM!

The hastily fired Tailed Beast Bomb was nowhere near as powerful as Kurama’s.

Its speed was much slower as well.

Since Konoha had already been prepared...

The attack caused relatively few casualties.

Even so...

It successfully halted the pursuit.

Having bought them precious time...

The fully transformed Killer B charged toward the Nine-Tails with a furious roar.

"Protect Lord Raikage and retreat!"

"I’ll hold off the Nine-Tails and Konoha!"

"Bee!"

The Raikage roared.

He was about to turn back and fight to the death.

Still locked in combat with Kurama, Killer B shouted again,

"All Hidden Cloud shinobi!"

"By my order..."

"Escort Lord Raikage out of here!"

He had openly overruled the Raikage’s authority.

"Lord Raikage!"

"Retreat!"

The Hidden Cloud shinobi knew the situation was hopeless.

If they stayed...

The heavily weakened Raikage would almost certainly be captured.

The Third Raikage had already sacrificed his life to cover their retreat during the Third Great Ninja War.

They could not lose the Fourth Raikage as well.

"Get out of my way!"

"I’m the Raikage!"

Enraged, the Raikage threw a punch at the shinobi trying to support him.

"Please think of the village, Lord Raikage!"

"If you stay..."

"Lord Bee won’t be able to fight without holding back..."

The implication couldn’t have been clearer.

The Raikage had become a burden.

His expression darkened even further.

Did he not already know that?

Of course he did.

As long as the Nine-Tails kept Killer B occupied...

With Shisui and Hiashi assisting...

Jiraiya could capture him with ease.

But...

Abandoning Killer B...

That was a decision he simply couldn’t make.

"Please withdraw, Lord Raikage!"

"Lord Bee is the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki."

"He’ll be alright."

Another shinobi hurriedly tried to persuade him.

The meaning was obvious.

Konoha wouldn’t dare kill Killer B.

If they did...

The Eight-Tails would break free.

And Konoha would pay an unbearable price.

"Damn you, Jiraiya!"

"If anything happens to Killer B..."

"Kumogakure and Konoha will become eternal enemies!"

Finally convinced...

The Raikage roared in fury before retreating under the protection of more than a thousand Hidden Cloud shinobi.

Hearing those words...

Killer B violently knocked the deliberately restrained Nine-Tails backward.

His eight massive tentacles slammed across the path Konoha was using to pursue the Raikage.

"This path..."

"...is closed!"

RUMBLE!!

"No need to chase anymore!"

"Capture Killer B!"

Jiraiya immediately abandoned the pursuit of the Raikage and charged straight toward Killer B.

Shisui also directed the Nine-Tails to attack once more.

At the same time...

His Mangekyō Sharingan activated.

Killer B suddenly froze for the briefest instant.

The Nine-Tails seized the opening and slammed him into the ground.

Inside the Sealed Space

"Tch."

"Gyūki."

"Even if I wanted to let you go..."

"I can’t."

Kurama looked down at Gyūki beneath his paws with obvious disdain.

As for whether he was truly under Shisui’s control...

Not even close.

Shisui wasn’t Uchiha Obito.

Obito possessed Hashirama Senju’s cells.

He had personally been taught by Madara Uchiha how to control the Tailed Beasts.

More importantly...

Madara had already branded Kurama with a control contract.

That was why Obito had been able to dominate the Nine-Tails so effortlessly.

Shisui...

Was nowhere near that level.

At best...

He could completely control Kurama while Naruto had manifested fewer than five tails.

But now...

With eight tails already released...

Kurama was essentially in his near-complete form.

Shisui could only interfere with his actions slightly.

If Kurama truly wanted to break free...

It would have been effortless.

Outside

With the Nine-Tails constantly exhausting Killer B...

Shisui repeatedly disrupting him with genjutsu...

And Jiraiya launching feints from the side...

Dozens of minutes passed.

Killer B was finally on the verge of collapse.

"Shisui!"

Jiraiya shouted.

Shisui understood immediately.

His Mangekyō Sharingan flashed.

Killer B froze once more.

Jiraiya seized the opening.

His hands flew through a series of seals.

Four Symbols Seal!

The sealing technique landed directly on Killer B.

His enormous body rapidly shrank.

He was forcibly driven out of his complete Tailed Beast transformation.

Moments later...

Killer B collapsed unconscious.

Author’s Note:

A few words.

Originally, this war arc was planned to be much longer.

For example, after learning that the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki had been sent to the battlefield, Tsunade would have returned to Konoha and caused a massive uproar.

(After all, Kushina lived with the Senju Clan after arriving in Konoha. Calling her Tsunade’s younger sister wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration, which would make Naruto, in a sense, Tsunade’s nephew.)

Tsunade would then agree to join the war on the condition that Konoha never again sent the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki into battle.

Afterward, she would appear on the battlefield, interact with the protagonist, and the story would explore more of both the warmth and the ugliness of human nature.

With Tsunade’s arrival, the tide of battle would finally turn.

Seeing the opportunity, Iwagakure would then attack Kumogakure from the rear, leading to Konoha’s ultimate victory.

But...

Writing it that way would’ve left the protagonist as little more than a background character for another seven or eight Chapters just to introduce Tsunade.

So in the end...

I decided to wrap up the war much more quickly.