Chapter 35

Toneri's frustration boiled over as his sanctuary erupted in chaos. Hinata's sudden disappearance was an affront he couldn't ignore. Despite his control over the moon and its many defenses, he had not anticipated her vanishing act. He slammed his fists against the table, his teeth clenched. The intruder was the only explanation. Someone had managed to breach the sanctuary—and they had to pay.

"Find her!" Toneri bellowed, his voice echoing through the halls of his palace. His commands triggered an immediate response. The moon's defenses roared to life: giant humanoid puppets, monstrous constructs, and even dragons launched into the lunar skies, scouring every corner of the moon for Hinata and the unwelcome presence.

As Toneri fumed and paced, his attention was drawn to an unexpected sight. From the surface of the moon, a figure descended, moving with deliberate purpose. It was Killer Bee, the Jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails, dressed in his battle attire and brimming with confidence. Bee's demeanor was as relaxed as ever, but there was no mistaking the seriousness in his arrival.

"Yo, moon people, I come in peace! Let me inside, yo!" Bee called out, knocking on the moon's surface with exaggerated flair, as if expecting someone to answer the door. Of course, he didn't know the intricacies of the Otsutsuki's hidden sanctuary, nor did he care to figure it out. If the moon's defenses didn't let him in, he was more than ready to make an entrance of his own.

Toneri's eyes narrowed as he observed the intruder's antics. "A human, here?" he muttered in disdain. To him, the people of Earth were beneath him, unworthy of stepping foot on celestial ground. But Bee's presence was not something he could ignore. The Jinchūriki's power was evident, and Toneri knew better than to let him run amok.

Deciding to confront the intruder, Toneri sent one of his puppets, a towering construct clad in ornate armor, to intercept him. The puppet loomed over Bee, its hollow eyes glowing with malice. "Why are you here, human?" the puppet demanded, its voice dripping with disdain.

Bee looked up at the imposing figure with a grin. "Yo, chill out, my wooden friend. I'm just here to talk about the planet, ya dig? Wanna know if you plan to meddle with our scene."

Toneri, speaking through the puppet, sneered. "I am already aware of your planet's plight. And what will you do if I intend to intervene?"

Bee crossed his arms, unfazed by the puppet's hostility or the ominous barrier forming around him. "What do I wanna do? Well, I'm all about talkin' first, but if you're up to no good, I got my fists ready. So, what's the deal? What's your plan for Earth?"

Toneri's voice grew colder. "Peace. I wish to create the world envisioned by the Sage."

Bee brightened, his grin widening. "Oh, word? That's great! We're all about balance, you feel me? My bro and the Sage's old man are all in on that peace train. If that's your goal, we got no beef, my man."

Toneri's patience wore thin. "I don't need your approval or your support, human. You and your kind had your chance to create peace, and you failed. Now, you will submit to my vision—or be destroyed."

Bee scratched his head, a mockingly exaggerated gesture of confusion. "Yo, not cool, man. Not cool at all. Why you gotta be like that? Guess we gotta do this the hard way." Without hesitation, he clapped his hands together and roared, "Partner, let's go!"

In an instant, Bee entered his hybrid transformation. His body swelled, growing to an imposing five meters. His skin turned reddish-pink, its texture leathery and durable. Large, curved horns sprouted from his skull, and his eyes became inky black voids. His lower body transformed into thick, muscular legs, with remnants of his octopus-like tentacles coiling and shifting around him like living armor. This form, enhanced by the Lightning Heart and the skills gained from the Sage's gift, was a terrifying fusion of man and beast.

'Fortunate that Naruto gave us this power,' Gyūki's voice rumbled in Bee's mind, his tone laced with a hint of amusement. 'You better make sure to thank him properly next time.'

'I got it, I got it,' Bee replied casually. 'But first, let's smash some puppets, ya dig?'

The puppets surged forward, chakra chains lashing out in an attempt to restrain him. Bee flexed his enormous arms, and the chains snapped like threads against his overwhelming strength. The barrier around him faltered as he unleashed a pulse of raw chakra, shattering it with ease.

Toneri watched in growing frustration as his puppets were torn apart. Each strike from Bee was a devastating blow, leaving the constructs in pieces. The Jinchūriki moved with surprising speed for his size, dismantling the defenses as though they were toys.

"You underestimate me, celestial dude," Bee said, his tone light but his words carrying a dangerous edge. "But don't worry, I'm just warmin' up. Now, let's see if you're ready to dance with the Eight-Tails' best!"

The battlefield was bathed in a luminous glow, the remnants of Bee's relentless assault scattering across the moon's barren surface. Killer Bee stood amidst the debris, his towering hybrid form crackling with residual energy. Lightning coursed through his tentacles, surging with destructive power.

"Is that all you got?" Bee's voice boomed, laced with his signature playful bravado. He wiped away imaginary sweat with one of his massive tentacles, his grin widening as sparks danced along his leathery crimson skin. Around him, the broken remnants of Toneri's puppets lay strewn about, reduced to lifeless heaps of scrap by Bee's devastating strikes.

But Toneri Otsutsuki's patience had run out. He had underestimated this intruder's power, and the insolence of this "human" grated on him. His puppets, once extensions of his will, had been little more than fodder against Bee's overwhelming strength. Yet, Toneri's fury was not born of fear—it was the rage of a celestial being forced to dirty his hands.

"Enough of this farce," Toneri muttered, his pale eyes narrowing. His hands rose to his face, ripping away the ornate restraints covering his eyes. The seals broke with a crackling surge of energy, and in an instant, Toneri disappeared from his sanctuary, reappearing on the moon's surface to confront Bee directly.

Toneri activated his Tenseigan, and his transformation was immediate. Cyan flames of chakra enveloped him in a radiant shroud, the flickering energy dancing like ethereal fire. His appearance shifted dramatically: dark markings stretched beneath his glowing eyes, a single horn reminiscent of Kaguya extended from his forehead, and six magatama adorned his collar. His long hair billowed upwards, as though defying gravity.

The raw energy radiating from Toneri was staggering, an ocean of power that surged outward in waves. Even the ground beneath him cracked and trembled under the sheer weight of his presence. Bee, for all his confidence, couldn't help but feel the difference in scale. Toneri was on another level entirely.

"You will regret this day for the rest of your life," Toneri declared, his voice echoing with divine authority. "Bow to your new lord, the Sage of the Tenseigan, Toneri Otsutsuki!"

The pressure from Toneri's chakra wave bore down on Bee like a physical force, forcing the airless moon's surface to shift and crack under its weight. Yet, Bee stood firm, his tentacles bracing him against the invisible tide.

"I bow to no one," Bee said, waving a tentacle playfully, his tone refusing to reflect the gravity of the situation. With a flourish, he aimed his attack. A stream of black ink erupted from his mouth, spiraling through the void toward Toneri.

The attack, Guilty Black, was one of Gyūki's newest techniques. The ink was far from ordinary; it was imbued with a lethal cocktail of paralyzing lightning, chakra-draining properties, and poisonous energy. The corrosive black liquid tore through the airless environment like a dark tidal wave.

Toneri didn't flinch. His chakra shroud expanded outward, neutralizing the incoming attack with effortless grace. The ink dissipated before it even reached him, dissolving into harmless streaks of energy.

"Futile," Toneri remarked coldly. He retaliated with a simple gesture, launching a compact sphere of cyan chakra. It seemed innocuous at first, but its speed and density were terrifying. Bee barely had time to react.

The sphere collided with the passive barrier of his chakra armor, shattering the protective field in a deafening burst of light. Bee's instincts kicked in as he sank into the shadows, narrowly avoiding the explosion.

Reemerging moments later, Bee gripped the hilt of his Lightning Sword, a weapon now crackling with unimaginable power. Channeling Gyūki's energy, Bee prepared his strongest technique yet.

To distract Toneri, Bee summoned several drones from his chakra reserves. The autonomous constructs zipped through the air, firing beams of concentrated light at Toneri. Each beam moved at light speed, but Toneri's reflexes were sharper. He swatted down the drones effortlessly, moving with precision and speed that seemed almost supernatural.

Bee didn't waste the opening. The moment Toneri's focus shifted, Bee unleashed his most devastating move: Tera Blaster.

The Tera Blaster was a technique of unimaginable destruction, condensing nature energy and Gyūki's chakra into a single point before amplifying its power fiftyfold. The Lightning Sword glowed with a blinding intensity, the blade trembling under the sheer force it contained. As Bee swung the weapon, a torrent of lightning erupted, the energy laced with corrosive darkness.

The attack streaked toward Toneri, carving through the moon's surface in its wake. The sheer force of the attack threatened to shatter the moon entirely, its power enough to erase entire nations.

Toneri raised a single hand, summoning a Truth-Seeking Ball to intercept the strike. The black sphere expanded, absorbing the incoming attack like a black hole. The Tera Blaster's overwhelming energy collided with the shield, creating a silent yet catastrophic explosion that lit up the moon's surface.

Bee couldn't control the damage and it seemed that the moon was about to be destroyed from his careless move.

When the light faded, Toneri remained untouched, floating above the fractured battlefield. The Truth-Seeking Ball had contained the explosion entirely, sparing the moon from total destruction.

Bee, breathing heavily, looked down at the broken hilt of his Lightning Sword. Before he could react, Toneri extended his hand, and an invisible force gripped Bee, lifting him into the air.

"You thought you could challenge me?" Toneri sneered, his voice dripping with contempt. "Pathetic."

Bee struggled against the psychokinetic hold, but Toneri's grip was unyielding. For the first time, the playful confidence in Bee's expression wavered. He was caught, and the gap between their power was undeniable.

Toneri stood atop the shattered surface of the moon, his glowing cyan aura radiating a divine presence. His condescending smile reflected the satisfaction of superiority as he extended a hand toward Killer Bee, a glowing green sphere of energy forming within his palm.

"Commendable effort, mortal," Toneri remarked, his voice calm yet laced with disdain. "But still very much futile. Now, you shall serve my interests."

The green sphere in his hand was the Puppet Technique, a method he had previously used to subjugate Hinata, bending her will to his own. This time, Toneri intended to break the defiance of the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki.

Bee, battered but far from defeated, gritted his teeth. "Never gonna give up!" he muttered through labored breaths. His voice was quiet but resolute.

Within him, Gyūki stirred with urgency. "Bee, we don't have much time. Use it now!"

Bee nodded, and with Gyūki's help, he triggered a desperate gambit. Channeling the Lightning Heart's energy, Bee allowed his chakra to react explosively. A black lightning storm erupted around him, swallowing the moon's surface in a cataclysmic display of power. Bolts of dark lightning surged outward, crackling and dancing across the landscape. The sheer force of the storm caused massive tremors, visible even from Earth.

The storm wasn't without a cost. One of Gyūki's tentacles disintegrated in the explosion, a painful but necessary sacrifice. This was the Eight Lives Technique, a dangerous survival tactic Gyūki had developed. Each of his eight tails represented a life, and sacrificing one allowed him to protect himself and Bee from otherwise fatal damage. However, it came with a price—each life lost required significant time and effort to regenerate, weakening them both.

From the ruins of the battlefield, Bee emerged, barely standing but alive. "One tail down," Gyūki muttered grimly.

But their hope of attracting Naruto's attention with the storm was quickly dashed. Toneri, ever the tactician, had anticipated this. His sanctuary's barrier expanded, cloaking the battle and preventing any signal from escaping to Earth.

Toneri's eyes narrowed at Bee, his calm demeanor now edged with irritation. "You persist, like an insect clinging to life. Very well, I shall end this struggle myself."

In a flash, Toneri appeared before Bee. His speed was otherworldly, faster than Bee could track. Before Bee could react, Toneri struck him with an open palm to the chest.

The technique was deceptively simple in appearance, but its effects were devastating. Localized Reincarnation Explosion, Toneri's devastating signature move, began to manifest. The strike caused Bee's chakra to condense unnaturally within his body, forming an unstable orb of energy that radiated with malevolent red light.

Bee's eyes widened as he felt the buildup within him. He tried to dispel it, but Toneri's mastery of chakra manipulation left him powerless to resist.

Moments later, the orb detonated. A beam of dark red energy erupted from Bee's body, tearing through the moon's surface and leaving a massive hollowed-out crater. The shockwave shattered nearby formations and sent debris spiraling into the void of space.

Bee lay at the center of the destruction, his body battered and his chakra reserves almost entirely consumed by the explosion. Blood dripped from his mouth as he struggled to move.

"It's over…" Gyūki's voice trailed off, his energy too drained to provide any more assistance. Bee's vision blurred, his body heavy with exhaustion.

Toneri floated above him, gazing down with disdain. "Futile, as I said. You were nothing more than a nuisance."

As he turned his gaze back toward the sanctuary, a realization dawned on him. His Tenseigan eyes detected a faint trail of chakra leading toward the hidden depths of the sanctuary.

"So that's where you've been hiding, Hinata," Toneri muttered, his expression darkening. "Did you truly think you could escape my grasp?"