Staring at the fleeing Kakashi and the others, Kokushibo did not pursue but instead turned around and approached the fallen bodies of the Allied Forces mbers on the long street.
Although the previous battle was brief, it had consud a lot of his energy.
He had only just begun experinting with using chakra to stimulate his body and enhance his breathing technique, which inevitably resulted in so unnecessary energy wastage.
In addition, as a demon, his body could not naturally refine chakra, so after every high-intensity battle, he had to replenish his chakra by devouring the flesh and blood of shinobi.
After slowly consuming the bodies on the street, Kokushibo stood up and casually chose a direction to start walking.
The strange city he was in now was the "Infinity Castle," controlled by the Blood Demon Art of Naki, one of the Twelve Kizuki.
In this "Infinity Castle," Naki could freely replace spaces through her biwa.
Thus, as long as one was in this city, who they fought, who they didn't fight, and where they fought—all were determined by Kokushibo and Naki.
This was also why Kokushibo had vanished even though the Fourth Raikage had found him.
According to Naki's judgnt, the Fourth Raikage was too powerful, and his fast combat style was a counter to Kokushibo.
If Kokushibo fought against the Fourth Raikage, it would be hard to defeat him quickly.
And if the Fourth Raikage were to entangle Kokushibo, not only would Kokushibo waste a lot of chakra, but he would also miss the opportunity to take down the scattered Allied Forces mbers in the "Infinity Castle" one by one.
Therefore—
At the mont the Fourth Raikage approached Kokushibo, Naki, who controlled the "Infinity Castle," moved Kokushibo to a different location.
Swish!
With another space replacent, Asuma and Guy, who had been together, were thrown onto an unfamiliar street.
"Damn it!"
Asuma climbed to his feet, looking frustrated.
Guy scratched his head, "What on earth is going on here?"
Asuma said seriously, "It's a space-ti ninjutsu! There's a top-level expert in the Akatsuki who is skilled in space-ti techniques!"
In the shinobi world, "space-ti ninjutsu" was the highest-tier and rarest of jutsu. Without exception, every shinobi who could master "space-ti ninjutsu" was an expert.
At that mont, a figure walked out from a narrow alley nearby.
Asuma and Guy imdiately beca wary, only to realize that the figure was the injured Kitsuchi.
Seeing Asuma and Guy, Kitsuchi breathed a sigh of relief, "Seeing other living people in a place like this is really a blessing!"
Asuma hurriedly asked, "What's happened to you?"
Kitsuchi shook his head and briefly explained his encounter with Kokushibo and his subsequent escape after being injured.
Asuma asked, "Is that guy really that strong?"
Kitsuchi replied, "I suspect he might be a samurai from the Land of Iron, a top-tier master of swordsmanship! He also possesses so kind of taijutsu technique—his speed is incredible, almost on par with the Fourth Raikage!"
Guy murmured, "That speed, combined with that masterful swordsmanship, reminds of a certain senior."
Asuma seed to understand who Guy was referring to, nodding, and then looked around, "No wonder the Akatsuki dared to set up a trap to ambush us. It turns out they still had such hidden cards."
Kitsuchi urged, "Let's regroup with the others quickly. The longer we stay here, the more dangerous it becos! Only by gathering everyone can we stand a chance."
Asuma and Guy nodded in agreent.
After all, the Akatsuki still had a number of other S-rank rogues. The Allied Forces could only protect themselves by staying together.
At that mont, from the end of the quiet street, ca the sound of slow footsteps.
The three gathered mbers looked over and found that it was none other than the Akatsuki mber with "Upper Rank Two" engraved in his eyes!
"Damn..."
Kitsuchi cursed inwardly.
He had used all his strength to escape from the man's pursuit, but just after resting for a short while, the opponent had caught up again.
Asuma took out a signal flare and fired it into the sky while saying to Guy, "We'll hold him here until reinforcents arrive!"
Whistle!
The signal flare shot into the sky with a sharp screech.
But just as it was about to explode, the flare suddenly vanished, only to reappear far off in the sky and burst.
Asuma was stunned for a mont, then his face darkened.
No doubt, the flare he fired had been displaced by the space-ti expert of the Akatsuki to another location.
Kitsuchi glanced at the flare that exploded far away and sighed, "I also fired a flare earlier, but it didn't explode. It must have been moved into a building."
The fact that the opponent could move Kitsuchi's flare into a building to make it explode quietly, but had intentionally let Asuma's flare explode elsewhere, was a clear indication that they intended to lure reinforcents away.
Asuma gritted his teeth while staring at Kokushibo approaching them, "He moved the flare to lure others away because he wants to kill us here!"
Kitsuchi decisively said, "Let's split up and escape! At least one of us should make it out!"
Asuma was about to nod, but Guy said, "If the flare can attract others to regroup, then why not head toward where it exploded?"
Kitsuchi helplessly replied, "You have no idea about his speed, we—"
Before Kitsuchi could finish, Guy shouted, "Eight Gates Release, open!"
Boom!
A blast of air erupted from Guy, radiating outward.
"First Gate, Gate of Opening, open!"
"Second Gate, Gate of Rest, open!"
"..."
"Sixth Gate, Gate of View, open!"
In just a few breaths, Guy opened six gates in a row, his chakra mixing with the evaporating sweat, forming a bluish aura.
"You—!?"
Kitsuchi's eyes widened; he had never imagined that a seemingly ordinary Leaf shinobi could unleash such terrifying chakra.
Asuma was equally astonished, "Guy, you can open the Gate of View?"
Though they were peers, Asuma, who had just returned to the village not long ago, didn't know much about Guy. In his mory, Guy had long since shaken off the image of being last in the academy, but he hadn't realized Guy had beco this strong!
Without wasting any ti, Guy grabbed Asuma and Kitsuchi, then kicked off the ground, launching like a cannonball toward the spot where the flare had exploded.
Kokushibo was left standing on the long street, staring in a daze.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
As Guy sped through the air with Asuma and Kitsuchi, buildings flashed past like a revolving lantern, and the roar of the wind filled their ears.
Boom!
Monts later, Guy landed.
Asuma and Kitsuchi, dizzy and struggling to stand, were put down.
Holding himself up, Kitsuchi looked at Guy with disbelief, "You just..."
Asuma explained, "This is our Leaf's 'Eight Gates Release Formation.' Once the fifth gate, the 'Gate of Limit,' is opened, one can step on the air!"
Kitsuchi understood.
It seed as though Guy was flying while carrying them, but in reality, Guy was simply stepping on the air at extre speed, creating the illusion of flight.
In essence, Guy was still running, but instead of stepping on solid ground, he was stepping on the invisible air.
Seeming to rember sothing, Kitsuchi's expression grew solemn, "I rember now. You're the Blue Beast of the Leaf—the son of the man who defeated the Mist's Seven Ninja Swordsn by himself!"
Guy said nothing, just smiling while releasing the Eight Gates.
Swish, swish, swish!
At that mont, Chiyo, Kakashi, Kurenai, and Shi arrived. Soon after, Eight-Tails Jinchūriki Killer Bee also joined them.
Once they regrouped, they imdiately exchanged information.
The fact that Kokushibo had an immortal body, could devour flesh to gain chakra, had incredible speed, and was a master of swordsmanship was quickly shared.
anwhile, they also began trying to break through the "Infinity Castle."
Kakashi said, "I mapped the streets along the way as I ca here. This city, although vast, isn't truly endless."
Shi, as a sensory ninja, added, "I've also mapped a portion of the area and discovered a pattern. Each ti I approached a particular area, I was forcibly moved to another place."
Kitsuchi nodded in understanding, "So that area is likely the boundary of this strange city?"
Shi replied, "That's what I think."
Swish!
Just then, the injured Zabuza arrived. After a brief conversation, he also provided important information, "That guy's eyes are different. I suspect he possesses a dojutsu-based kekkei genkai that allows him to see through my Hidden Mist assassination technique."
Clearly, Zabuza, who had suffered heavily at Kokushibo's hands, deduced that Kokushibo possessed so ability to see through the mist.
However, his assumption was that Kokushibo had so kind of dojutsu-based kekkei genkai.
The truth, however, was different.
Kokushibo's ability to see through the mist and accurately locate Zabuza relied on a technique called the "Transparent World."
It wasn't a dojutsu-based kekkei genkai but a state attained through breathing technique.
Once reaching a high level in the breathing technique, a swordsman could tap into the "Transparent World," gaining incredible abilities.
A swordsman who activated the "Transparent World" not only experienced a significant boost in speed and strength but also gained the ability to predict opponents' movents and see the veins and vessels beneath their flesh.
In so ways, the "Transparent World" was even more useful than the Byakugan.
Zabuza said, "Our top priority is finding a way to escape from here!"
Looking around, Chiyo said coldly, "Using space-ti ninjutsu on such a large scale must consu a lot of chakra. Even if we can't find an exit, I doubt they can trap us here for long."
Kakashi shook his head, "No, they're continuously killing people. The longer this drags on, the weaker we beco. Don't forget, only two Akatsuki mbers have appeared so far!"
Asuma asked, "So what should we do?"
After a mont of silence, Kakashi suggested, "Maybe we can target the Akatsuki mber controlling this strange city."
Killer Bee spoke up, "I have a feeling that the Akatsuki mber controlling this city must be hiding sowhere within it!"
Kitsuchi asked, "How are we going to find them in such a large city?"
Killer Bee looked at Kakashi and Shi, "Can you confirm there's a boundary we can break through?"
"Based on the information we've gathered so far, they can only move us within the city, and any damaged areas don't instantly recover."
"A boundary definitely exists!"
Kakashi and Shi responded to Killer Bee's question one after another.
"Then I'll use my own thod to break through!"
Killer Bee snorted, beginning the transformation into his Tailed Beast form. The massive tentacles of the Eight-Tails began growing from his body, quickly expanding.
In monts, Killer Bee fully transford into the Eight-Tails.
Seeing the gigantic form before them, the gathered shinobi had mixed reactions.
Zabuza's face was wary as he thought, "This guy's chakra is even stronger than the Fourth Raikage's. The Cloud Village is no joke!"
Kitsuchi, his expression serious, thought, "So this is a perfect Jinchūriki?"
As one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Iwagakure naturally possessed Tailed Beasts—both the Five-Tails and the Six-Tails.
However, Iwagakure had never mastered the thod to ta a Tailed Beast, so their Jinchūriki could barely make use of the Tailed Beast's power.
Releasing the full power of a Tailed Beast like Killer Bee did was unimaginable.
Chiyo of the Sand Village had similar thoughts to Kitsuchi—both wary and envious.
At that mont, the fully transford Killer Bee began gathering chakra.
A massive amount of chakra gathered visibly at the Eight-Tails' mouth, gradually compressing to form a "Tailed Beast Ball" that made anyone feel dread just from seeing it.
Whoosh!
With a piercing screech, the Tailed Beast Ball shot out close to the ground.
In an instant, it carved a deep trench in the earth, demolishing streets, buildings, and everything else in its path!
Outside.
Through Yugito's vision, Uchiha Shinji learned of the Allied Forces' plight.
"Kokushibo and Naki are working together..."
He felt sowhat fortunate.
It was a good thing he had lured the strongest and largest Allied Forces to this anchor point. Otherwise, if the other forces had faced this anchor point, the outco would have been disastrous.
As for the safety of the Allied Forces, he wasn't too concerned.
Kokushibo was strong, and Naki's "Infinity Castle" was troubleso, but the Allied Forces had the Fourth Raikage, Killer Bee, Jiraiya, and many experienced shinobi. As long as they could get past the initial shock, they would find a way.
At this mont, Shinji glanced back.
He noticed a group of figures rapidly pursuing him from afar.
"Already caught up to , huh..."
With that thought, he temporarily severed his connection with Yugito, picked up the unconscious Naruto, and disappeared from where he stood.
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