"Lightning Release - Lariat!" Killer B's entire body gathered Lightning Release chakra, enhanced by the Tailed Beast's cloak, and he charged at Sasuke with incredible speed. Luckily, Sasuke had activated his Mangekyou Sharingan; otherwise, with the 3-Tomoe Sharingan's insight and his strength, he wouldn't have been able to keep up.
After all, the Sharingan was like a weapon, and its power depended entirely on the strength of its user. The extent to which the Sharingan's power could be harnessed depended on the user's strength, how deeply they had developed their Sharingan, and their level of control over it. The stronger the user, the deeper the Sharingan's potential, and the greater the control, resulting in increased power.
Take Ryoha, for example. With his strength, even using the 3-Tomoe Sharingan alone, the insight he could derive from it was several times that of Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan. It was entirely a matter of the user.
In the clan, many possessed the 3-Tomoe Sharingan, but how many could truly harness its potential to the fullest? Perhaps not even one out of a hundred clan members could. While many could activate the 3-Tomoe Sharingan, there were very few in the entire clan who could truly maximize its potential.
"Damn it." Sasuke's expression darkened. Fortunately, his recent anger had driven him to activate the newly acquired Mangekyou Sharingan. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to match the speed of Killer B's attack with the 3-Tomoe Sharingan's insight.
Without hesitation, he immediately used the Mangekyou's genjutsu. Killer B immediately felt himself trapped in a pattern resembling a hexagonal leaf. He immediately recognized it as the genjutsu of the Mangekyou Sharingan.
"Phew~" Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally resolved. Suigetsu wore a victorious smile, and Jugo lifted the curse seal, joining in the laughter. However, suddenly, a gust of wind blew from behind. Sasuke's body couldn't react in time and was sent flying. Fortunately, Suigetsu, who had turned into water, caught him, absorbing some of the impact. Otherwise, crashing into the ground might have been fatal.
*Cough, cough* Sasuke coughed vigorously, his mouth and chest gushing with blood. If left untreated for long, he would undoubtedly die.
"Ahaha! Your strength doesn't seem up to par. Allow me to finish you all off in one go." Amidst the smoke and dust behind them, two eyes the size of bronze bells appeared. Following the gaze, an enormous creature with eight thick tails, resembling a bull demon, emerged.
"You guys, go! Leave this to me." Suigetsu shouted, transforming into water to withstand the Eight-Tails' attack. Unfortunately, it didn't prove very effective.
"Tailed Beast Bomb!" Killer B was already disappointed. How could they take him away with such strength? How could he let them take him away, pretending to be overpowered? Forget it. As long as he was still alive, members of the Akatsuki would keep coming. This group was so weak this time, but the next would surely be stronger.
"Water Release - Water Giant!" Suigetsu created a massive shield of water, but it was futile against the Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb, which destroyed it, turning it into a white jelly-like sculpture.
"How should Sasuke deal with this?" Jugo's expression was unusually heavy at this moment. The opponent's strength was beyond imagination— and it was just the Eight-Tails. What if it were the Nine-Tails?
"Amaterasu." Sasuke answered Jugo with actions, unleashing the flames said to be inextinguishable. The flames engulfed the Eight-Tails, and Killer B saw an opportunity. He didn't bother to dodge, didn't even attempt to resist, and allowed the Amaterasu flames to consume him. The agonizing screams that followed made it impossible to doubt the authenticity of the scene.
Soon, the Eight-Tails' form reverted to that of Killer B, unconscious. Sasuke was helped up; while he had sustained seven cuts and his chest was nearly torn open, he had temporarily sealed the wounds with chakra. As long as they found someone skilled in medical ninjutsu, there was hope.
"Let's go quickly. Our presence here is so conspicuous that it's bound to attract others." Sasuke was somewhat self-aware. He had thought that awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan meant he could disregard any Tailed Beast, but one Eight-Tails had proven enough to potentially kill him. If it hadn't been for the unexpected use of Amaterasu, they would have been finished.
Jugo supported Suigetsu with his left hand and placed Killer B on his shoulder with his right, indicating their intention to leave. However, their hopes were quickly dashed. Even the Killer B, who had been hiding on the side, preparing to slip out of the village into the ninja world, seemed as still as a rabbit in front of a tiger. This was because a voice, full of anger and concealed concern, roared from the side.
"Killer B, if you dare pretend to be defeated and slip away, I won't spare you." A tremendously loud roar frightened Killer B, who had been hiding on the side, causing him to jump out. Sasuke and Jugo were dumbfounded.
Especially Sasuke, who felt as if he had swallowed a fly. His prideful Mangekyou Sharingan had been useless. If he returned to the Akatsuki only to discover that he had taken away a Tailed Beast, he would appear extremely ironic, still talking about using others while being handed the Eight-Tails. It would be quite a twist.
"Uchiha Sasuke, is it? Fine. Since you're from the Akatsuki and a rogue ninja, I'll give Konoha a special deal by taking care of this trash for free."
The Fourth Raikage A stared fiercely at the cowering Killer B, relieved that he had secretly placed a few scouts without Killer B's knowledge after the incident with the Two-Tails' Jinchuriki. Indeed, when he arrived, he discovered that Killer B had dared to feign defeat and sneak out. Naturally, A was furious at this kind of behavior. He absolutely wouldn't allow anything to happen to his younger brother.
However, this guy was really making him hate iron for not becoming steel. He had expended all his effort to protect him, and if it hadn't been for the incident with the wooden statue that had heightened A's vigilance, he would have added a few more shadow scouts without Killer B's knowledge. And indeed, now that he had, he found that Killer B was pretending to be defeated and sneaking away to play. A was furious at this behavior; he would absolutely not allow his younger brother to be in danger.
"Escape quickly!" Jugo intended to sacrifice himself to buy time for Sasuke, but he suddenly felt a blur before A appeared before him. Wrapped in lightning, A's fist pierced through Jugo and his shield.
"Be cautious of his black flames." A had been too confident. When he clashed with Sasuke, they weren't on the same level at all, even with the Mangekyou Sharingan. Although Sasuke had captured that hint of disdain at a crucial moment and used Amaterasu to successfully ambush him, losing an arm as a result, A, even with an arm gone, still overwhelmingly overwhelmed Sasuke. If he hadn't started the battle with Susanoo protecting him, he would have died long ago.
However, even with Susanoo, he could only preserve his life; he still couldn't counterattack. Still, now that A had witnessed the Amaterasu that had burned Killer B, he had memorized this jutsu. It seemed that no matter how weak Sasuke's strength was, when he activated the Mangekyou Sharingan, there were always one or two Visual Jutsu to be cautious of. Otherwise, they might capsize in the gutter.