Chapter 164 – The Thunder’s Fall

Chapter 164 – The Thunder’s Fall

The square of Kumogakure shook like the heart of a storm. Stone was split, buildings toppled, and the cries of shinobi echoed through the burning streets. Above the chaos, two figures stood shoulder to shoulder, their presence alone drawing every remaining eye.

The Raikage, blood dripping from his side, clenched his fists as lightning still burned across his frame. Beside him, Killer B steadied him, his face hard. For once, there was no rap, no playful tone. His voice was grim as steel.

“Bro,” B said, his deep voice carrying over the ruined street. “It seems we gotta get serious now.”

The Raikage did not answer with words. He simply straightened, his chest rising and falling, and then his Lightning Armor flared to life once more. The sparks around him thickened until they were blinding, crawling over his skin like living fire. The ground cracked under his boots, stone melting in places from the heat of his chakra. The power of the Raikage at full strength was a sight that made even his own men shiver.

Killer B closed his eyes for a moment, then let Gyūki’s chakra flow. Red tails of energy burst out behind him, lashing the air. His muscles swelled, his body cloaked in the raw power of a jinchūriki. Swords slid into his hands, glowing faintly with chakra, each one ready to cut through steel.

Across from them, Hajime stood waiting. His armor was scarred from battle, but not broken. Blue light still glowed faintly behind his helm, steady as ever. His halberd was not yet in his hands. He rested calmly, as though the two monsters before him were nothing more than another wave to endure.

The Raikage moved first. With a sound like thunder, his body vanished. Lightning cracked across the square as he blitzed forward, faster than sound, his fist cocked back to smash through Hajime’s helm. Killer B followed instantly, his body twisting, swords flashing with red chakra as he closed from the side.

Hajime’s eyes glowed brighter. His mind stretched ahead of them, tracing their intent before their bodies could finish the motion. When the Raikage’s fist reached him, Hajime’s armored arm rose to meet it. The ground under him split from the force of the clash, sparks exploding outward. At the same moment, Hajime twisted his body, a gauntlet catching B’s blades mid-swing. Steel screeched against armor, but the cut did not sink deep.

The brothers pressed harder. The Raikage hammered blow after blow, each punch heavy enough to break stone. B danced around him, his blades coming from odd angles, his tails lashing like whips. Together, they were a storm of speed and power, every strike meant to kill.

Hajime fought with calm precision. Each move was measured. He slid back when he had to, tilted his body just enough for fists to whistle past his helm, and turned aside blades before they could bite. Sparks flew every second, the sound of steel and thunder crashing together again and again.

For the first time, Hajime was pushed to move. The brothers forced him back across the square, their combined power shaking the battlefield. Kumogakure shinobi watching from the ruins began to shout. Their Raikage and Killer B had the monster on the defensive. Hope flickered through their tired eyes.

The fight raged on. The Raikage blurred around Hajime, fists striking from every direction. B’s swords slashed at his flanks, tails whipping with destructive force. Hajime blocked one, dodged the other, countered with crushing punches that forced them back only for them to return a second later. Step by step, Hajime was driven back, his armored boots grinding across the stone.

Then, Hajime jumped. He leapt back with a burst of strength, landing at the far end of the square, his chestplate cracked slightly, faint smoke rising from it. Blood, or what looked like blood at least they believe so, glinted faintly in the firelight.

The Raikage froze, chest heaving. Killer B staggered beside him, blades gleaming with his own chakra. Their eyes widened at the sight.

“We… we hurt him,” one of the Kumogakure shinobi whispered.

A roar spread through the survivors. They shouted their Raikage’s name, believing the tide had turned. Their two strongest had finally wounded the Steel Monster.

But Hajime only raised a hand. Slowly, he reached behind his back. With a heavy click, the magnetic locks on his power pack released. A long, black halberd slid free, humming as if alive. Its edge caught the firelight, gleaming with deadly promise.

As Hajime gripped it, psychic power surged outward. The weapon shone, arcs of green-blue lightning coiling around it, not natural chakra but something deeper, stranger. The air bent, warping as though space itself was alive. Hajime lifted the halberd high, then slammed its shaft into the ground. The stone shattered under the strike, cracks spiderwebbing out as psychic lightning burst across the battlefield.

The lightning did not lash at random. It moved with intent, like hunting beasts, weaving through the broken street toward the Raikage and B.

“Move!” the Raikage roared.

He grabbed B without hesitation and blitzed forward, his body glowing brighter than ever. The psychic lightning tore apart the ground behind them, exploding buildings and splitting the earth where they had stood. But the Raikage was not fast enough to run forever.

Hajime appeared ahead of them. One moment he stood far back, the next he was simply there, halberd swinging in a wide arc. The air screamed as the blade cut through it.

The Raikage had no time to think. He pulled every ounce of chakra into his Lightning Armor, thickening it until his skin itself seemed to vanish under the glow. He thrust his body forward, taking the strike head-on.

The halberd struck like a thunderbolt. The impact tore Killer B from his brother’s grasp, hurling him across the square. The blade pierced through the Raikage’s lightning coat, slicing across his flesh. Blood sprayed in a wide arc as his body buckled. He staggered, eyes wide with disbelief, before crashing to his knees. His strength, his speed, his pride—shattered in an instant.

“Bro!” Killer B’s voice shook with rage as he forced himself up. His chakra exploded, tails bursting from his back as the Eight-Tails surged forth. His skin split with red chakra, his eyes glowing with fury. The full form of Gyūki began to rise, its massive frame breaking through the smoke, its roar shaking the mountains.

Hajime walked forward. His steps were calm, heavy, the halberd dragging sparks along the stone. His voice rolled out through the helm, deep and cold.

“Because of your arrogance, your village will be brought to ruin.”

He raised the halberd high, both hands gripping the shaft. His muscles swelled with biomancy, the armor itself groaning as it struggled to contain the power. With a roar, Hajime brought the halberd down in a vertical slash.

The blade cleaved straight through the forming Eight-Tails cloak. The beast’s massive body split apart, its roar cut short as its chakra scattered into the air. The slash tore through B as well, the edge carving deep into his chest, nearly cutting him in half. He crashed to the ground, blood pouring, his body trembling as Gyūki’s chakra worked desperately to hold him alive.

The beast’s form collapsed instantly, its chakra retreating like smoke in the wind. B lay broken, gasping, his eyes filled with fury and pain. He tried to rise, but his body would not obey.

Hajime stood over him. His halberd glowed faintly with psychic seals, and with a single motion of his hand, they leapt into the air, wrapping around B’s broken body. The Eight-Tails’ chakra locked down, sealed, no longer able to rise again. B groaned, his head falling back, helpless.

Hajime turned slowly, his eyes sweeping the battlefield. Tsunade clashed with Yugito, the Two-Tails jinchūriki. Her armored fists crushed Yugito’s strikes, every blow forcing the beast’s chakra cloak to flicker and fade. Sakura was tearing through squads of shinobi, her armor glowing faintly with sparks as ninjutsu exploded harmlessly against it. Her fists crushed buildings, her strikes shaking the ground with every swing.

Kumogakure burned. Their leaders lay broken. Their hope was dying. And at the center of it all stood Hajime, halberd glowing, voice carrying over the ruin.

“This is the price of defiance.”

(Currently writing the Ultramarine one)