As Tatsuya took a step to make his move, Killer B fell to the ground in the blink of an eye.

After approximately two seconds, a vertical gash ran down the left side of Killer B's body, from his left shoulder to his left knee. The wound was astonishingly neat, and blood and flesh sprayed from it like a fountain.

"B!?" The Cloud Shinobi in the vicinity were utterly dumbfounded. What had just happened?

"Wrong? How can this be?" The sword strike had embodied Tatsuya's recently grasped sword intent. In Tatsuya's perception, even a Kage-level opponent should have difficulty evading it. Only a select few at the pinnacle of Kage-level, such as Hatake Sakumo and the Third Raikage, should have the ability. Killer B, at his age, should not have been included in that group.

Tatsuya turned and looked back at Killer B. A translucent blood bubble had formed on Killer B's body, giving rise to a blood-red coat with long horns and tentacle-like tails on his skin's surface.

"That is—" Rin's eyes widened in astonishment as she witnessed this phenomenon for the first time.

"So, it's the Eight-Tails," Tatsuya suddenly realized. Observing the nearly 1.5-meter-long gash on the left half of Killer B's body, where most of the bleeding had been stopped, he couldn't help but smile.

"A Tailed Beast, quite the advantage," he mused. For individuals like Hatake Sakumo, Namikaze Minato, and others without any bloodline inheritances, reaching the peak of Kage-level was the limit. However, having a Tailed Beast meant becoming a Jinchuriki and having the potential to aspire to become Super kage level.

Though Namikaze Minato died later on, he could still somehow practice mastering the Nine-Tails chakra in the afterlife.

Tatsuya, however, didn't want to have a beast observing him during his dealings with Tsunade. How would it feel to do the deed while the Nine Tails watched? Senju Hashirama, Uzumaki Mito, Namikaze Minato, and Uzumaki Kushina, I should ask them if I get the chance.

"Thanks, Gyuki," Killer B inwardly shouted, relieved that Eight Tails had intervened early, allowing him to evade. Otherwise, the consequences would have been dire.

"Be careful. If it weren't for me, you would have died," Eight-Tails snorted, still uneasy about that sword strike. At the last moment, he controlled B's body and used his beast coat's tail to enhance his defence, ultimately saving Killer B's life.

"But you can't afford to be hit like that again. Although you're not a complete master yet, you'll have to use that against enemies of this calibre," Eight Tails cautioned.

"Understood! YOOOOO!!!" Killer B raised his right arm to the sky, letting his swords drop to the ground. Chakra's tails emerged one by one from his back, eventually totalling eight. His skin began to shed.

"Um!?" About half a mile away, Hyuga Hizashi, whose neck had been clutched by A, as he was about to deal the final blow, turned his head towards Tatsuya and Killer B. He furrowed his brow, sensing a formidable aura. "This power… It's even greater than that time! Without my consent, he's resorted to that Tailed Beast mode. Is the opponent strong enough to force him to use that?"

With Killer B transformed into a beast-like state, A wasn't particularly confident in subduing him If B lost control.

"Shadow imitation!"

Suddenly, a black shadow on the ground rushed forward rapidly, connecting with the shadow beside A's feet.

"Uh!?" A's expression abruptly shifted, and before he could react, he found himself unable to control his own body.

A, who was holding Hyuga Hizashi released his grip hence Hizashi slipped from his grasp.

Turning around, Nara Shikaku was seen pinching his index and middle fingers, and sighing in relief, "Shadow imitation is a success."

"Nara Clan?!" A clenched his teeth, berating himself for his carelessness.

Meanwhile, Akamichi Choza hurried over and caught the injured Hyuga Hizashi.

Suddenly, A moved forcefully, startling the saviour, Choza. Shikaku winced and said, "He's exerting such tremendous force, trying to break free from my shadow imitation jutsu."

Shikaku shouted internally, "Hurry up, Inoichi!"

...

...

"Human-tail beastification, isn't it?"

Observing Killer B, who was enveloped in dark red chakra and transformed into a half-human and half-tailed beast. Tatsuya remained as composed as ever.

"Roar!!!!"

The beast-like Killer B let out a deafening roar at Tatsuya, generating a shockwave from the sheer force of the sound alone that would make most ninja lose their will to fight.

The surrounding Cloud Shinobi dared not approach, fully aware of how dangerous Killer B was in this state.

"But it doesn't appear to be a complete mastery yet," Tatsuya noted, recognizing that Killer B hadn't fully harnessed the power of the Eight-Tails.

"Nevertheless, if it's enough for me to test my abilities, then let me show you the monster within me."

Tatsuya held his Zanpakuto flat in his hand, poised horizontally in front of him.

Just as the confrontation was on the brink of escalating further, a Konoha Jonin, wearing the village's forehead protector, rushed behind Tatsuya and urgently shouted, "Lord Tatsuya, please, you must cover the retreat of the Konoha Shinobi army! We've suffered heavy casualties!"

Tatsuya glanced to the side, recognizing Yamanaka Inoichi. He then turned his gaze toward the direction where the large group was retreating.

He surveyed the area and saw countless Konoha Shinobi corpses strewn about. Due to the Cloud Shinobi's proficiency with swords, many of the bodies were dismembered. While there were some fallen Cloud Shinobi as well, their numbers were notably smaller, perhaps at a ratio of 5:1, if not greater, in favour of Kumo.

"I haven't been gone for long, yet so many have perished," Tatsuya remarked with raised eyebrows.

"Roar!" Killer B roared again, charging toward Tatsuya. Tatsuya turned his wrist, positioning his blade to intercept the charging attack. He remained calm and stated, "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

"Master Tatsuya, we don't have time to deal with him now; please, we must hurry," Yamanaka Inoichi practically pleaded. He didn't believe that his friend's shadow imitation could restrain A for long.

"Tsk, there's no other way."

The moment the words left Tatsuya's mouth, an immense change swept through the entire battlefield centred on Tatsuya himself.

Everyone's vision became increasingly blurred, and even the weaker ninja collapsed or fainted instantly. Even Killer B, in his beast-like state, froze in place. Despite his loss of rationality, the instinctual fear of a power greater than his own overcame him.

Is this the true might of the Konoha Black Fang?

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