Chapter 461: Purple Lightning Slash Breaks the Turtle Shell

“When a Jinchuriki actively falls into a deep sleep to allow the Tailed Beast to fully awaken, there’s a significant drawback compared to a true Full Tailed Beast Transformation: the Jinchuriki’s body cannot merge with the Tailed Beast and remains exposed on the Tailed Beast’s surface.

As long as the Jinchuriki is killed or awakened, the Tailed Beast will disappear.”

Orochimaru explained this knowledge to Muzuki while rapidly scanning the Three-Tails’ massive body, searching for the Jinchuriki’s location.

A makeshift method is, after all, makeshift, and it’s not on the same level as a Jinchuriki who can achieve a true Full Tailed Beast Transformation, possessing numerous flaws.

Finally, Orochimaru’s gaze landed on the end of the Three-Tails’ head, where a corner of clothing fluttered in the wind behind a thick, sharp spike.

“So, do we kill the Jinchuriki or awaken him and capture him alive?” Muzuki asked after activating his Byakugan to confirm the Jinchuriki’s position.

In the current situation, capturing him alive and killing him are actually of similar difficulty, because to awaken the Jinchuriki, an attack is necessary; the difference between killing and capturing alive lies in the force applied.

However, the difference between capturing alive and killing is not in the immediate moment, but in the trouble that comes after a live capture.

A living enemy Jinchuriki is like a bomb, inherently possessing extremely high danger.

Advanced Sealing Technique can prevent the Tailed Beast from easily influencing the Jinchuriki with Chakra, but if the Jinchuriki himself gives up and actively allows the Tailed Beast to take control, that’s another matter entirely.

Besides the danger posed by the Jinchuriki himself, capturing a Jinchuriki alive also has a terrifying implication: it creates a mortal enmity with the Jinchuriki’s nation, while also causing other nations to be wary.

If he’s released after being extorted for a sum, that’s fine; but if the Tailed Beast is extracted and sealed into one of their own Ninja’s bodies, then that hatred would be greater than killing a Kage.

Because no matter how useful a Kage is to a Village, it’s at most for a few decades.

But Tailed Beasts are different; they can be passed down continuously.

Losing one Tailed Beast means permanently losing a top-tier combat force, which is something no Ninja Village can tolerate.

“Kill him if you can.” Orochimaru quickly replied.

Currently, Konoha is already fighting on multiple fronts; if they were to steal another Village’s Tailed Beast, then Hidden Mist, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure might temporarily set aside their differences and jointly attack Konoha.

Therefore, Orochimaru believed the best course of action was to kill him directly.

Although killing the Jinchuriki would still incur the hatred of Hidden Mist Village, the animosity would be much less compared to stealing the Tailed Beast.

Moreover, with one less Jinchuriki, Hidden Mist might choose to lie low and wait for the Tailed Beast to be reborn.

Roar!

The Three-Tails roared skyward, massive amounts of Chakra gathering in its mouth, individual black dots rapidly merging to form a small black orb.

Thanks to Orochimaru’s warning, the Jonin had already retreated far away; only Muzuki’s disciples and Orochimaru gathered around Muzuki.

Orochimaru knew that Muzuki’s Flying Thunder God Technique proficiency was good, so he didn’t evade by putting distance like the other Jonin.

The moment the Three-Tails spat out the enormous black orb, Muzuki shot a Flying Thunder God Kunai towards the Three-Tails’ side, then activated his Flying Thunder God Technique to leave the battlefield.

Boom!!

A terrifying explosion swept across the entire battlefield, its immense power collapsing the ground.

All facilities in the camp, such as tents, were reduced to ashes, and the massive amount of smoke and dust generated by the explosion rose into the sky, forming a mushroom-shaped cloud.

After the smoke dissipated, the Three-Tails looked at the empty battlefield and nodded contentedly; the annoying Ninja had finally all disappeared.

Whoosh!

Just as the Three-Tails thought the battle was over, Muzuki appeared beside the Three-Tails, bringing Orochimaru and their disciples with him.

“Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!”

Orochimaru swiftly formed hand signs, pointing his palm at the Three-Tails.

Terrifying gales erupted from his palm, and numerous wind blades instantly struck the Three-Tails’ body.

Bang, bang, bang!!

Such a powerful Wind Release at close range, even the Three-Tails’ massive body was forced back, leaving some marks on its hard shell.

Whoosh!

Muzuki seized the opportunity to shoot a Flying Thunder God Kunai at the Three-Tails’ head.

The Three-Tails ignored everyone and furiously swung its three massive tails towards Orochimaru; that was the most pain it had felt since the battle began.

Might Guy pushed his breathing to the limit, entering Rock Breathing Chakra Mode.

The rapidly depleting Chakra within his body once again greatly increased the power of Might Guy, who was in the Fifth Gate, bringing his physical strength to a terrifying level.

With all Mist Ninja retreated, Might Guy had no more worries.

To better assist Muzuki, he was willing to endure the damage to his body caused by the combination of the Fifth Gate and Rock Breathing Chakra Mode.

“Leaf Strong Whirlwind!”

Might Guy concentrated a large amount of Chakra in his feet, flexed his leg muscles, and leaped up with a powerful whirlwind kick, directly sending one of the attacking tails flying, smashing it onto the ground with a loud thud.

“Eight Gates, huh, and it seems to be more than that.” Orochimaru watched Might Guy’s display of power with interest.

Orochimaru had rarely seen such a pure Taijutsu Ninja as Might Guy.

Other Taijutsu Ninja, more or less, would also practice some Ninjutsu; for example, Teacher Chen, although he used Taijutsu more in combat, he actually also mastered several Nature Transformation Ninjutsu.

In Orochimaru’s impression, the few Ninja who used Taijutsu as their primary method were not very strong, and there were no top-tier experts among them at all.

Teacher Chen’s strength was decent, but in Orochimaru’s eyes, he was still quite a distance from a Ninja like himself.

Orochimaru felt that Might Guy had the potential to surpass all Taijutsu Ninja in Konoha to date, becoming a pure top-tier Taijutsu expert.

Orochimaru calmly formed hand signs and used Earth Release to build a thick, tall wall in front of him, blocking two of the Three-Tails’ tails.

Although Orochimaru primarily used snake-based Ninjutsu, he actually mastered a large number of Ninjutsu from all five elemental natures.

He was once considered by Hiruzen Sarutobi to be the most likely person to inherit his mantle, but Orochimaru forged his own path; he always used whatever was practical.

Shisui and Obito also entered Flame Breathing Chakra Mode and simultaneously released Fire Release to attract the Three-Tails’ attention.

“Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!”

Utilizing the characteristics of Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, both of them instantly condensed Chakra and then exhaled large flames, encircling the Three-Tails’ limbs.

Originally, to deal with a large creature like the Three-Tails, the wider-ranging Flame Emperor would have been better, but Flame Emperor consumes too much Chakra and might affect Muzuki, who was about to use Flying Thunder God to teleport there, so they used Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet instead.

Roar!

The Three-Tails let out an irritated roar; its entire body was covered in a hard shell, and Obito and Shisui’s flames couldn’t actually harm it, but for a creature like the Three-Tails that preferred to stay in water, fire and heat were very annoying, even if they didn’t cause pain.

Whoosh!

As the Kunai pierced the air and approached the Three-Tails’ head, Muzuki once again activated Flying Thunder God and appeared on top of the Three-Tails.

Sensing a small figure on its head, the Three-Tails rapidly shook its head, trying to Throw Muzuki off.

But Ninja are not so easy to deal with.

Muzuki concentrated Chakra in his feet, calmly running on the Three-Tails’ head, and charged towards the Jinchuriki’s figure.

“Don’t think you can easily seal me back in again.” Sensing Muzuki’s intention, the Three-Tails once again gathered Chakra, then lowered its head towards the ground, preparing to drag Muzuki into a small Tailed Beast Ball with it.

The Three-Tails, desiring freedom, had a very clear strategy: it was thick-skinned and tough, so taking a Tailed Beast Ball would only hurt a little, but a small Ninja like Muzuki would be utterly annihilated if caught in the Tailed Beast Ball’s blast.

Seeing the Three-Tails about to fire another Tailed Beast Ball, Orochimaru, Kakashi, and the others rapidly retreated.

With Flying Thunder God, Muzuki didn’t need their worry; they needed to focus on not getting hit by the Tailed Beast Ball themselves.

Boom!!

A massive explosion resounded, and the billowing smoke enveloped the Three-Tails’ enormous body.

Muzuki’s body, meanwhile, appeared in the unaffected distance, as there were many Flying Thunder God Kunai he had left on the battlefield.

As the dust and smoke cleared, the Three-Tails, with its head retracted into its shell, appeared before everyone’s eyes.

“Why is this a shrinking turtle?” Obito couldn’t help but complain.

At first, Obito hadn’t quite noticed, as the Three-Tails’ body was covered in spikes and it had Three-Tails.

Now, looking from a distance, Obito realized this wasn’t a Tailed Beast at all, but just a giant turtle.

“And it’s a very hard turtle.” Kakashi added.

So many Konoha Jonin attacked with Ninjutsu, yet the Three-Tails barely took any damage; it was incredibly tough.

At this moment, the Konoha Jonin who had dodged the first wave of Tailed Beast Balls rushed back to the battlefield.

“Concentrate your attacks on the legs that haven’t retracted.” Orochimaru commanded.

The Three-Tails already had a hard shell all over its body; retracting into its shell provided two layers of defense, making it very difficult to cause effective damage.

After hearing Orochimaru’s words, the Konoha Jonin all focused their fire on the Three-Tails’ limbs. Orochimaru himself used the Body Flicker Technique to appear next to the Three-Tails and attacked the same spot he had previously targeted with Wind Release.

Swish! Swish!

A large number of sharp wind blades surged towards a single point. At this moment, Orochimaru pushed his Wind Release Nature Transformation to its limit, pouring a massive amount of Chakra into the Wind Cutter Technique.

Bang!

Cracks appeared on the Three-Tails’ hard shell, and the sharp wind blades mercilessly struck its body.

The Three-Tails, which was just whipping Konoha Ninja with its tail, let out a pained wail, and even its attacking tail paused.

The Three-Tails’ emotions reached their peak. It believed that the Ninja wouldn’t be able to approach its head so quickly again, so the enraged Three-Tails extended its head, opened its large mouth, and began to condense a Tailed Beast Ball.

This time, the Tailed Beast Ball wasn’t the small one from the second time; the second time, the Three-Tails had deliberately reduced the power of the Tailed Beast Ball for faster release.

Seeing the Three-Tails condense another Tailed Beast Ball, the Konoha Jonin instantly stopped their attacks and rapidly distanced themselves using the Body Flicker Technique.

They had just experienced the power of the Tailed Beast Ball not long ago; even being slightly caught in the blast meant certain death, and facing it head-on was simply too difficult.

Whoosh!

Just as the Three-Tails extended its head, Muzuki appeared on the Three-Tails’ head, holding Enma and using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Before leaving, Muzuki had placed a Flying Thunder God Mark on the Three-Tails’ head; he was waiting for this opportunity.

Sensing the abnormality on its head, the enraged Three-Tails immediately acted on its biological instinct, retracting into its shell at an extremely fast speed.

Revenge was important, but if it returned to the cage again, how could it get revenge?

This move by the Three-Tails left the Konoha Ninja on the field a bit bewildered. ‘You weren’t so timid when you were attacking us just now.’

“What a pity, this Three-Tails is too cautious. Didn’t they say Tailed Beasts are all brutal? The Three-Tails doesn’t seem like it,” a Konoha Jonin sighed, shaking his head.

The Three-Tails’ retraction speed was truly too fast. One second he saw the Three-Tails condensing a Tailed Beast Ball, and the next moment, the Three-Tails’ head was already almost fully retracted, moving so fast it left afterimages.

At this level of retraction speed, it was too difficult to attack the Jinchuriki located at the back of the Three-Tails’ head.

“The Jinchuriki truly lives up to its name as the ultimate weapon. I wonder what kind of strength our Nine-Tails Jinchuriki possesses.”

Some Konoha Ninja also marveled at the power of the Tailed Beast; even with so many Konoha Jonin surrounding it, the fight was not easy.

“After today, Teacher Muzuki’s reputation will grow even larger!” Obito thought excitedly, looking at Muzuki, who had flashed out.

When Obito heard Konoha villagers discussing how much of a genius Kakashi was, he scoffed, thinking they had no vision. But when he heard someone say Muzuki was extraordinarily strong, Obito immediately praised them for understanding true power.

Although there was a little personal bias mixed in, Obito truly believed from the bottom of his heart that Muzuki deserved a reputation as renowned as the Sannin’s throughout the Ninja World.

No other reason, Muzuki was qualified. In terms of strength, Obito didn’t think Muzuki was inferior to Orochimaru or Tsunade, and in other aspects, Muzuki was far ahead.

“The battle is finally about to end,” Kakashi thought, relieved.

Muzuki’s reaction ability was terrifying; in Kakashi’s mind, the moment the Three-Tails extended its head, its defeat was sealed.

Although the Three-Tails had a lot of Chakra and was strong, it was too clumsy. In close combat, it could only roll or whip with its tail, and for long-range, it only had the Tailed Beast Ball, and it didn’t understand the Ninja’s Ninjutsu.

For Muzuki, who was proficient in the Flying Thunder God Technique, dealing with a rampaging Three-Tails might be easier than dealing with Yagura Karatachi.

Orochimaru stopped, quietly watching Muzuki swinging his blade and the Three-Tails retracting its head.

All the Ninja on the entire battlefield focused their gaze on this one person and one beast.

Muzuki, who had already activated Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, instantly converted a large amount of Chakra into Lightning Release Chakra and injected it into Enma the moment he raised his blade. Gorgeous and dazzling purple lightning wrapped around the blade, turning Enma into a lightning blade.

“No Thought Strike!”

Muzuki’s movements in Lightning Release Chakra Mode were extremely fast. When the Three-Tails had only retracted two-thirds of its head into its shell, Enma, enveloped in purple lightning, had already swung down.

Boom!

Crack!

The blade light, interwoven with purple lightning, flashed, and the hard giant spikes in front of the blade light directly shattered with a roar.

One, two, three… All the hard giant spikes blocking Muzuki’s path shattered before the destructive lightning slash, heading straight for the sleeping Jinchuriki.

As if due to the terrifying momentum of the No Thought Strike or a subconscious sense of impending death, the Jinchuriki opened his eyes at the last moment.

But the slash was too fast and too strong. The moment after the Jinchuriki opened his eyes, his head was struck by the slash, and without uttering a single word or showing any expression, he was instantly annihilated into thin air.

The relationship between a Jinchuriki and a Tailed Beast is very peculiar. If a Tailed Beast is extracted from a Jinchuriki, the Jinchuriki will surely die. Even the resilient Uzumaki Clan can only last a little longer. However, if the Tailed Beast is inside the Jinchuriki, and the Jinchuriki dies, the Tailed Beast will also die with them.

However, death is not the end for Tailed Beasts; after dying, they will revive. Their lives are almost endless.

“No!” The Three-Tails let out an unyielding roar in its final moments.

It was too unwilling, having been captured and imprisoned within a human body, and now being killed by a Ninja. It was beyond furious.

But the Three-Tails’ unwillingness and anger could not change the reality of its death. The moment the Jinchuriki was killed by Muzuki’s No Thought Strike, the Three-Tails’ body rapidly transformed, finally dissipating into light particles in the air under the shocked gaze of the Ninja.

Before dying, the Three-Tails’ massive eyes stared intently at Muzuki, as if to engrave Muzuki’s appearance deep into its heart.

The moment the Three-Tails disappeared, the blazing sun also vanished, and darkness once again enveloped the battlefield.

“He actually succeeded!” Seeing the giant Tailed Beast dissipate, a Konoha Jonin couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.

He had thought Muzuki’s surprise attack would fail, seeing how fast the Three-Tails retracted its head, but he hadn’t expected Muzuki to successfully kill the Jinchuriki with a single strike.

“Truly a terrifying blade,” Hyuga Hizashi recalled Muzuki’s destructive slash just now, his heart filled with shock.

With his Byakugan, he could clearly see the details of Muzuki’s No Thought Strike. Those incredibly hard giant spikes seemed as fragile as ordinary wood before Muzuki’s lightning slash.

“I still underestimated Muzuki’s strength a bit,” Nara Shikaku also thought, secretly surprised.

Although he didn’t have a Bloodline Limit like the Byakugan and couldn’t see the details of Muzuki’s No Thought Strike, Nara Shikaku had experienced the Three-Tails’ defense firsthand. The power of Muzuki’s blade reminded him of the Third Raikage’s strongest spear.

“This is the ultimate Lightning Release Kenjutsu,” Kakashi revealed a hint of longing.

The blade Muzuki had just unleashed would be his pursuit for the next ten years. If he could unleash such a blade, even facing the Raikage Candidate again, he could protect his comrades with his own strength.

“As expected of Teacher Muzuki, truly youthful!” Might Guy exited Rock Breathing Chakra Mode and the Eight Gates, giving Muzuki a thumbs up.

In his mind, Muzuki had achieved true victory.

“It’s finally over. Is everyone alright?” Rin Nohara breathed a sigh of relief.

This was her first time experiencing a battle of this magnitude, and she had been extremely nervous the entire time.

“I’m fine, Rin, are you hurt?” Obito immediately replied and stepped forward to ask with concern.

“Lord Mu Yue, you always manage to surprise people,” Orochimaru’s eyes gleamed, extremely satisfied with Muzuki’s performance.

Given the potential Muzuki had shown, even if Muzuki disliked his human experimentation, Orochimaru would have to find a way to bring Muzuki to his side. Having a subordinate like Muzuki was simply too effortless and convenient.

Although Orochimaru would have been able to deal with the Three-Tails even if Muzuki hadn’t succeeded, it would have been more troublesome and could have resulted in more Konoha Ninja dying at the Three-Tails’ hands.

“He’s only twenty now, and there’s still a lot of room for growth.” This was what Orochimaru valued most about Muzuki.

Although Muzuki’s overall strength was not as good as his now, Muzuki was too young. At the same age, Orochimaru had no confidence in winning against Muzuki.

If Muzuki could stand on his side, that would be worth the support of dozens of Jonin.

PS: This chapter is 5k, and there will be another 5k chapter later. I will definitely hit 10k today!