บท 164: Chapter 164
A beast larger than the Mighty Wooden Man appeared before the three jinchuriki and Orochimaru.
Its tail, over a hundred meters long, had terrifying dorsal fins growing from the end to its neck. Its massive, sturdy hind legs could easily crush a small mountain.
Its entire body was covered in a tough, interlocking material, and its gaping maw released waves of scorching heat with each breath.
Ferocious and terrifying!
This was the impression Godzilla gave everyone present. Tailed beasts were already considered terrifying, but Yoichi's transformation into Godzilla tripled the size of a tailed beast, and every part of its body exuded brutality.
"Orochimaru-senpai, step back a bit!"
Through Inomata's telepathy, Yoichi directly instructed Orochimaru to retreat. The Mighty Wooden Man, which was also meant to delay the three jinchuriki, was then dispelled.
The Mighty Wooden Man was powerful both offensively and defensively. Defeating one tailed beast was easy, quickly subduing it like a dog. It could manage two tailed beasts with some effort, but three were too troublesome.
The three tailed beasts coordinated too well; Boil Release and Lava Release could melt Wood Release, and the combined Bijuu Dama were particularly problematic.
Moreover, Yoichi's Mangekyo Sharingan did not give the Mighty Wooden Man the size of Madara's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan's Susanoo.
These three beasts had been provoking him, wanting to take their anger out on him as if he were Hashirama. So, Yoichi decided to show them what a true beast was before he left!
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
From the tip of the tail, the purple light spread instantly across the dorsal fins, pulsing like a heartbeat. At its brightest, Yoichi felt as if a sun was about to burst from his throat.
"Bee, be careful, this might be the move that broke the Third Raikage's arm!"
Killer Bee's warning was quickly relayed to the other two bijuu. The Hachibi immediately advised, "Use your tails."
They didn't use Bijuu Dama in response because they saw the monster opening its mouth, with the same blinding purple light shining within.
Boom!
A blast of flames erupted from Godzilla's mouth, more terrifying than a volcanic eruption. The flames turned into a sea of fire upon hitting the ground, igniting a range of several kilometers ahead.
Instinctively controlling the flames, Yoichi concentrated them into a purple glowing beam.
Sizzle!
The purple beam, formed by high-temperature flames, had immense cutting power. In an instant, it sliced the Gobi, blocking with five tails, in half.
"Muou!"
The sudden death of their comrade shocked both Son Goku and Gyuki. The flames' high temperature had been painful, but they could withstand it by consuming a lot of chakra to maintain their bodies.
But why did this purple beam instantly kill their comrade?
Even though the relationships between the bijuu had deteriorated over time, seeing a former companion suddenly die was still hard to accept for Son Goku and Gyuki.
However, the moment passed quickly. After the Gobi died, the purple beam swept horizontally, slicing Son Goku in half.
Gyuki, seeing this, escaped by severing its tail. After returning control to Killer Bee, it severed another tail to use a substitution jutsu.
With the three bijuu all cut in half, Yoichi retracted the beam.
This attack consumed a tremendous amount of chakra—two-tenths in one go. The dorsal fin beam was even more chakra-intensive; at full strength, Yoichi estimated he could use it only once.
"Orochimaru-senpai, bring back the three jinchuriki bodies!"
Yoichi instructed Orochimaru through telepathy. He wasn't yet sure if the three jinchuriki were dead or if one had escaped. This was his first time releasing Godzilla from his body and controlling its beastly form with a human's consciousness, making everything feel unfamiliar.
The radiation beam was something he had used once in human form, which allowed him to control and release it after transforming into Godzilla. As for using Godzilla's body for sensory ninjutsu, Sharingan, or Susanoo?
Yoichi couldn't do that yet; he needed more attempts in the future.
Sensing his remaining chakra, Yoichi instinctively felt a distant cluster of energy, with one side's heat rapidly fading—likely Konoha ninjas.
"Yoichi-sama, Orochimaru-sama, Sakumo-sama is injured, and we are about to lose..."
Yamanaka Inomata's voice abruptly cut off, probably because he was retreating or had been killed.
The heat signatures chasing them were likely Kumogakure ninjas.
Transformed as Godzilla, Yoichi's dorsal fins glowed purple again. After a few seconds of gathering energy, he unleashed a world-destroying radiation beam!
This time, his target was the pursuing Kumogakure forces. His current sensory ability was poor, and the battlefield between Kumogakure and Konoha was far away—nearly ten kilometers due to their shifting fight.
Boom!
The Kumogakure forces, pursuing the retreating Konoha ninjas, were suddenly struck by a purple beam from a distance, akin to divine punishment.
Upon impact, the beam caused a massive explosion, with flames rising hundreds of meters high, creating a deep crater in the hard ground.
Yoichi then aimed his beam at the Kumogakure forces, delivering a devastating blow.
"Damn it!"
Kitsuchi, who arrived and was gathering chakra, saw Yoichi as Godzilla attacking their ninjas and furiously slammed his hands on the ground.
Moments ago, he had seen their village's Yonbi and Gobi sliced in half by that purple beam, uncertain of their condition.
"Doton: Sando no Jutsu!"
Massive hemispherical mountains rose from both sides of Godzilla, crushing and interrupting Yoichi's radiation beam.
'Another one...'
With his beam interrupted, Yoichi decided to dismiss Godzilla, resealing it within the Four Symbols Seal in his body.
Currently, Godzilla's consciousness was under his chakra's control, showing no resistance. The massive body was absorbed like being sucked into a vortex, quickly returning to Yoichi's abdomen.
With the sealing done, Yoichi fell from a height of over a hundred meters. Just before hitting the ground, he used Susanoo's skeletal form to cushion the fall.
"My body feels hot again; is this a side effect of using Godzilla's form?"
Yoichi noticed smoke rising from his clothes, carrying a burnt smell. His surface body temperature must have exceeded a hundred degrees Celsius. Although uncomfortable, it was better than before.
Before the two hemispherical mountains could close in, Yoichi quickly left the area.
Orochimaru soon joined him, saying, "Yoichi-kun, I've recovered the bodies of the Yonbi and Gobi jinchuriki, but the Hachibi escaped, leaving only a tail."
"Dead?"
Yoichi was surprised, expecting them to be severely injured for Orochimaru to capture.
"How did a single radiation beam kill them?"
"Forget it. Let's head back. I'm low on chakra, and Inomata informed me that Sakumo-senpai was injured and we're losing."
Yoichi sensed Kitsuchi and two other ninjas approaching around the mountain formation. Having Hashirama's cells had significantly increased his chakra reserves, but the recent battles had drained him.
The remaining chakra was only enough to use the Hiraishin no Jutsu to teleport away—his last resort.
"Let's retreat as well. We can't catch the Hachibi jinchuriki, and it's best to regroup with the main force. Your last attack should have halted Kumogakure's pursuit."
Orochimaru, his face marked with the Sage Transformation, created a shadow clone and said, "The shadow clone can hold them off. Let's go."
With ample chakra reserves, Orochimaru's Sage Mode shadow clone could handle Kitsuchi. He hadn't used it earlier to conserve energy, but now, in retreat, he had no such concerns.
"Damn it!"
Kitsuchi saw Orochimaru create a shadow clone and use jutsus to block their pursuit and delay them from checking on Rōshi and Han.
But they had no choice; they had to deal with Orochimaru's shadow clone before doing anything else.
Orochimaru and Yoichi quickly caught up with the retreating Konoha ninjas. Kumogakure forces were still in pursuit, determined not to let them reach the second camp.
Despite Konoha's efforts to leave blocking squads, they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of pursuers.
Upon seeing this, Orochimaru and Yoichi summoned their giant creatures. Yoichi had consumed some food pills on the way back, restoring some chakra.
With the help of Hashirama's cells, calling Gats for ten minutes was feasible.
Orochimaru summoned Manda. Whatever transpired between them, Manda didn't demand a sacrifice upon appearing.
"Gats, hold them off for ten minutes, then you can return."
"Manda, you too!"
After issuing these commands, they led the remaining Konoha ninjas away.
Shortly after, the roar of a beast echoed from behind.
With the two powerful summons blocking the way, especially Gats using his magic, the Kumogakure forces were effectively hindered.
Returning to the camp, the medical team hurried to treat the wounded. The injuries were severe, with most returning in critical condition. Sakumo was gravely injured, having been pierced by A's Lightning Release.
Orochimaru quickly reorganized the camp, instructing the lightly injured to take food pills and patrol outside.
He ensured the critically wounded were treated and prepared to relocate the camp if necessary. Orochimaru worried Kumogakure might bypass the camp to wreak havoc in the Land of Fire.
Orochimaru tallied the numbers, concluding quickly.
Out of 1,200 ninjas, only 431 returned. Among them, 73 were severely injured and unable to fight, 190 were lightly injured and needed treatment, and the rest had expended much of their chakra.
After consuming food pills, they could barely recover seventy to eighty percent, enough for scouting and patrolling duties.
Such heavy casualties were a significant defeat for Konoha. But Orochimaru understood the unexpected nature of the battle; no one anticipated Iwagakure bringing their elite to the Land of Hot Water battlefield.
The Iwagakure elites' combined Doton jutsus tore through Konoha's camp. Despite their best efforts, the three jinchuriki were held off, but no one handled the Iwagakure elites.
However, Orochimaru knew Iwagakure suffered the most, with two jinchuriki corpses in his possession. The fate of Kumogakure's jinchuriki was unknown, but escaping so desperately suggested severe injuries.
They did their best with limited intelligence.
"I wonder if Sensei will be happy or sad to hear this news."
Orochimaru chuckled. Mokuton and Mangekyo Sharingan, along with the terrifying creature that resembled a bijuu yet didn't belong to the nine, were intriguing to research.
Yoichi's power exceeded Orochimaru's expectations, and Hiruzen, who had a strained relationship with the Uchiha clan, would likely lose sleep over this.
Orochimaru detailed the battle's events in a report, sending it back to the village quickly, as they needed reinforcements more urgently than the Land of Grass.
With the Kumogakure pursuit halted, they pulled back their forces, planning their next move.
A and Dodai had to tally casualties. The outcome of the jinchuriki and Yoichi's fight was unknown, and A was concerned about Bee.
As A considered dispatching a team, Kitsuchi, furious over their losses, confronted A. This battle cost Iwagakure dearly.
The promises made by the Third Raikage seemed worthless now. They lost two jinchuriki.
(End of Chapter)
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