Lightning Release

Yori's chakra blade grew in size and met the fist head-on. Although he was launched back several meters, he managed to dissipate the force. The inn owner placed a hand on his back, stopping his momentum backward. Several shouts could be heard around and Yori only had one thought. Absolute chaos. That was the only way to describe the current situation.

Natsume stood on the hill over a hundred meters away and the intense chakra being released caused her body to tense up. This feeling only lasted a moment before she was able to calm her mind. This was the eight tailed beast! Natsume did not expect to encounter Gyuki in the far north. However, there was no specific reason that he would not be wandering the ocean. Given his octopus-like nature, it made sense.

Natsume let out a slow breath and relaxed her muscles. Due to the fatigue from fighting, and her recent improvement in sensory skills, the bloodthirsty chakra from an enraged tailed beast had caused her to lose her calm. Thinking back, Kyuubi did not make her feel so shaken. 'Is it because Kurama is such a prominent figure in my past memories?' Natsume wondered.

The chaos below caused by the sudden emergency of Gyuki was growing more uncontrollable by the second. Hundreds of crabs were scattered in every direction, and several samurai were injured when the tailed beast chakra emerged from the depths. Natsume saw the inn owner step into the battle. Gyuki didn't seem to pay attention to any particular target, he was going berserk. The closest crabs were grabbed and shoved into his mouth.

Natsume detected a powerful chakra emerge from the inn owner. Her body began to flicker in a pale-white light, with several sparks jumping at random points. Natsume instantly recognized this technique as the Raikage's iconic lightning release chakra mode. However, compared to the technique from her memories, this one seemed to be much weaker. Regardless, this technique satisfied her curiosity of the woman's identity.

Natsume bit her lip in contemplation and looked over at Kai. He was completely immersed in the battle and overwhelmed by Gyuki's bloodthirsty chakra. She took a half step back and let her long hair fall forward. Once her eyes were partly covered, she activated her sharingan and began studying the jutsu. Seeing the woman instantly explode forward with incredible speed, Natsume was convinced this was the incomplete or undeveloped version.

She was able to follow her movements with some difficulty but knew that the true jutsu was untraceable by sharingan! This was the best opportunity to acquire the Raikage's signature technique. Even though it wasn't the future version, she had no doubt it would be extremely useful. Since Natsume didn't have a lightning nature, she couldn't apply the technique in the same way. However, she dared to try and adapt the lightning release chakra mode to lava release! From her memories she knew it was possible.

Gyuki sensed her attack and swatted at her as if she was a fly. The woman formed a blade with her four fingers and the chakra turned to a sharp point. She easily intercepted the giant palm and caused a large gash to appear, nearly severing it. The beast roared loudly triggering the agitated crabs to start randomly attacking each other. The intense emotion seeded in the tailed beast chakra could affect nature, and this was a perfect example.

Yori didn't waste any time and started to rescue his samurai. Several were already brought to the pier and away from the rampaging crabs. Meanwhile, the woman struck Gyuki right in the jaw while he was in the middle of roaring. He had previously treated this tiny human as a nuisance, but with two successive attacks, his anger became focused at her.

Gyuki swayed his head to the side slightly, causing the woman's next attack to miss by a hair. Then, his neck bent, and his head bobbed. The next time the owner saw was a giant horn coming directly at her. Natsume observed everything as if it were in slow-motion due to her Sharingan, but the actual battle time was less than a few seconds. What alarmed her was the sophisticated fighting technique of tailed beast!

The woman threw an elbow to deflect the horn, but it was a feint. Gyuki let his body continue forward as three tentacles came from the side almost instantly with the intention to slap her down into the water. Although his moves were clever, the woman seemed to have the advantage in a battle of wits and experience. She expected such a move and her chakra was already surging into her arm.

Unable to retreat, Gyuki could only watch as one of his tails was severed from the middle. At this point, the able samurai and Yori were able to bring everyone back to dry land. This, along with the severing of a tentacle, became a turning point in the fight. The woman landed on the water's surface and began to weave hand seals. From the complexity and length, Natsume guessed that a top-ranked Jutsu was about to be released. She had a bittersweet feeling.

'It's a shame that it's lightning release! At least I can share it with the clan.' Natsume reasoned.

Unknowingly, several dark clouds had accumulated during the fight. Now, they seemed to be reacting to the woman's jutsu as they crackled with lightning. Natsume's gaze was drawn to the horn that she deflected earlier. There was a slight crackling of static on the point that she touched. Natsume's eyes widened as she saw the lingering chakra. Then, a flash of light blinded her for a second, and a cacophonous explosion resonated for miles.

A thick bolt of lightning connected to that trace chakra on Gyuki's horn and blasted him. The woman's chakra mode had dissipated, and her chakra reserves were significantly reduced. Gyuki seemed to fall unconscious and splash onto the water. She turned her gaze toward the hill, causing Natsume to instinctively revert her sharingan.