Naruto: The Sage Body of Konoha

After subduing the Two-Tails, only the Eight-Tails Gyuki remained.

Whoosh!

Heiyan summoned the Heavenly Release (Qian) thunderclouds once more. Stepping onto the clouds, he soared into the air, relentlessly pursuing the fleeing Eight-Tails.

By now, Burubi was already scared out of his wits. Losing all courage to confront Heiyan head-on, he dispelled his Full Tailed Beast Transformation and switched back to the Semi-Tailed Beast Transformation form, which offered greater speed and agility, desperately fleeing for his life.

Slash!

Red lightning bolts kept striking down from behind. Though he dodged wildly, he still got hit multiple times—each strike causing his body to momentarily stall, barely able to endure thanks to his Tailed Beast Cloak.

Suddenly, a sharp whistling noise came from behind.

Burubi turned around just in time to see a [Six Paths stone tablet] flying toward him like a meteor, instantly terrifying him beyond words, his entire body stiffening in fear.

"Burubi!"

In this moment of crisis, The Third Raikage roared as he charged over from a distance, his body crackling with electricity. Without hesitation, he fearlessly punched straight at the Six Paths stone tablet.

Inspired by The Third Raikage, Burubi finally found his fighting spirit. Letting out a furious roar, he fought side by side with the former, blasting massive chakra hands at the stone tablet.

Boom!

Heiyan's hammer strike landed solidly on both The Third Raikage and Burubi, predictably sending them flying once again.

However, the combined might of the two was no joke either. Under the impact of the massive counterforce, the Six Paths stone tablet also bounced backward, destabilizing even Heiyan's stance.

"Go!"

The Third Raikage growled lowly. Taking advantage of Heiyan not immediately chasing after them, he and Burubi activated the Shifting Body Technique together, fleeing northward without looking back.

This scene of their desperate escape naturally caught the eyes of the Cloud ninja watching from afar.

Of the five thousand strong Cloud army, nearly half had been wiped out by Heiyan alone in the earlier battle, leaving their morale already shattered. Seeing the Raikage himself fleeing now, the remaining forces completely disintegrated, scattering away like rats deserting a sinking ship.

Heiyan did not continue chasing after The Third Raikage and the Eight-Tails' jinchuriki—Burubi.

It wasn't because of mercy or kindness, but because—he could barely stand himself anymore either...

To those watching from afar, Heiyan swung the Six Paths stone tablet with effortless might, obliterating each foe in an instant. In reality, though, he had used every means available, combining Sage Mode with Kekkei Tota, just to move that Six Paths artifact.

After an intense battle, repeatedly using the Meteor Hammer technique with the Six Paths stone tablet, Heiyan now stood strong on the surface only, his inner strength exhausted and his energy drained.

In the end, he was no real Immortal sage. Wielding a Six Paths Tier weapon felt just like a toddler swinging a broadsword—way out of his league.

After all, how simple could it be to control a weapon capable of instantly killing tailed beasts and Transcendent Kage-tier foes?

Thus, Heiyan retracted the Six Paths stone tablet, sealing it again inside a Scroll and tying it behind his back.

Then, as he turned to look, he immediately noticed:

At the spot where the Six-Tails Saiken had fallen, countless tiny Katsuyu, scattered across the ground, were reassembling into one, reforming under Genichiro's command, attempting to restore the Six-Tails' full body.

This slug-shaped Tailed Beast was actually quite similar to the *Katsuyu* of Shikkotsu Forest, both being soft-bodied creatures capable of splitting into numerous clones, thus possessing exceptional survivability.

Uzumaki Heiyan frowned slightly and naturally wouldn't let Genichiro have his way. He immediately rode back on the thunderclouds.

"Hahaha!"

Just as Genichiro resumed his Six-Tails form and laughed maniacally, preparing to strike at Ashina Uzumaki and others, a red net-like chain came flying from above.

At the last possible moment, Uzumaki Heiyan arrived in time, using the Demon-Subduing Celestial Binding Chain to ensnare the Six-Tails and sealing it on the spot.

But the price he paid was—

The crimson thundercloud beneath Uzumaki Heiyan's feet instantly vanished, causing him to plummet rapidly from midair.

Bang!

Uzumaki Heiyan crashed onto the ground, creating a deep crater. Supporting himself on one hand while half-kneeling, he kept panting heavily. The Sage facial markings on his face also disappeared at this moment.

Since entering the battlefield, he hadn't stopped for even a second—defeating Danzo and Orochimaru, teleporting over a hundred Uzumaki clan members to Shikkotsu Forest, killing three members of the Seven Swordsmen of the Bloody Mist, fighting nearly ten thousand enemies single-handedly, summoning the Six Paths stone tablet and Meteor Hammer, successively defeating Six-Tails Saiken, the Third Raikage, the Third Mizukage, Two-Tails Matatabi, and Eight-Tails Gyuki...

Up until now, Uzumaki Heiyan had finally reached exhaustion.

Even an Immortal Sage can tire. Uzumaki Heiyan had pushed himself to the limit.

However, there were still enemies remaining.

That was—the duo of Black Zetsu and Kakuzu, waiting patiently nearby for their opportunity.

"He's finished! Quickly move in for the kill!"

Black Zetsu pointed frantically toward Uzumaki Heiyan, shouting joyfully with such excitement that he jumped up.

Although the surviving Mist ninja left on the battlefield had long since fled rather than obey orders from an outsider like Black Zetsu, the bounty hunter groups hired by him could not resist charging toward Uzumaki Heiyan under the temptation of the enormous reward.

Additionally, those Uzumaki clan traitors who had run out of escape options could do nothing but turn against Uzumaki Heiyan completely.

"Protect Uzumaki Heiyan!"

Fugaku and Hiashi exchanged glances. After recovering just a bit of Chakra, they once again fearlessly threw themselves into battle, blocking nearly a hundred bounty hunters.

"Protect our clan head! Kill the traitors!"

The Uzumaki ninja shouted defiantly, grabbing their weapons and rushing headlong at the defectors.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In no time, the clang of steel and deafening battle cries echoed across the battlefield once more.

"Kakuzu, what are you waiting for?! Move in now!"

Seeing Kakuzu hesitate at this crucial moment, Black Zetsu grew anxious. He kept urging Kakuzu without pause, his tone even turning threatening, not bothering to address him as "Mr." anymore.

"I can help... but it'll cost extra!"

Kakuzu gritted his teeth and spoke gravely. His instincts screamed that even if Uzumaki Heiyan was at his limit, he might still be no easy target.

"Extra pay?"

Black Zetsu first looked stunned but then agreed without hesitation, "Sure! As much as you want! I'll give you ten billion ryou as long as you take that brat down!"

Ten billion!

Kakuzu's pupils instantly contracted upon hearing those words, his heartbeat nearly halting.

His expression twisted into madness as he abruptly threw his head back and raised the gourd in his hand, gulping down every last drop of the Hero Water inside in one go.

The very next second,

"Arrrgghhh...!"

A roar of extreme excitement burst from Kakuzu's throat. An unimaginable amount of chakra surged skyward from his body. A solidified chakra cloak formed around him, making it seem as though he was wrapped in blazing blue flames.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Kakuzu directly entered the [Earth Grudge Fear] form. His body expanded to over two meters tall, and numerous black threads shot out wildly from his mouth and joints, thrashing about in the air.

What's more,

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