I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 489 The banker won't let the player keep losing; instead, they'll keep the player feeling like they have a chance to turn things around.

"This Wood Release is really powerful; it can even suck back the chakra it spits out."

Tianfeng sighed, looking at the scene before him. As a ninja whose chakra wasn't particularly abundant, he expressed his envy.

Before his eyes, countless trees growing in the water were constantly drawing water from the surrounding area. This water, which was essentially a form of chakra, was also a mass of chakra, so Wood Release made it extremely easy for him to absorb.

After all, creating water with chakra is not like creating fire or lightning. The water in Water Release doesn't carry any elemental attack power, so it won't cause much damage to the surrounding Wood Release, at most it will just knock down some branches and leaves.

Sento asked curiously, "Then does that mean Tatsuma will never run out of chakra?"

"You're dreaming. Chakra is always dissipating, and with the consumption from absorption and conversion, you'd be lucky to recover 40%. Still... I'm so envious! Damn it, why don't I know Wood Release?"

"If you knew Wood Release, your former clan head would probably have gone to settle accounts with the First Hokage. No, Mito-sama would probably have gone to settle accounts with the First Hokage first."

Sento counted on his fingers, while Tenka, gritting his teeth, said, "I don't care, I'm envious! And even though I'm this envious, it's only a three-tomoe Sharingan!"

Don't be discouraged, I believe you still have a lot of hope.

"The Mangekyou Sharingan?"

"No, it's conjunctivitis."

The two of them always managed to easily defuse the tense atmosphere on the battlefield. The three hundred Konoha ninjas behind them, waiting for their orders and ready to support Tatsuma at any time, all looked speechless.

Why does it have to be these two leading them? Can't they just go and wreak havoc on other teams?

Tatsuma couldn't help but glance back. He was in the most dangerous state right now because he was constantly recovering chakra, and the energy in his body was constantly fluctuating between balance and imbalance. If someone attacked him, he would be in big trouble.

These two didn't even come to cover him?! If it were Minato, he would definitely be holding a Flying Thunder God kunai in one hand and a Rasengan in the other, blocking him in front of him.

Fortunately, the Cloud Ninja were all busy dealing with Wood Release. For most of the Cloud Ninja, or rather all the Cloud Ninja present, this was the first time they had ever seen the legendary Wood Release, so they were briefly thrown into a panic and unable to deal with it calmly.

Tatsuma still had the advantage of information. If any of the people in front of him had witnessed the Wood Release techniques used by the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, they might have already organized the others to respond and counterattack in a more organized manner.

Fortunately, the advance team consisted of young and strong men. Although they were full of energy, they lacked experience. Even the core AB combination chose to observe and wait, wanting to explore the characteristics of Wood Release.

Taking advantage of this lull, the immortal mask on Chenma's face finally stabilized. Chenma breathed a slight sigh of relief and turned around to glare fiercely at Tianfeng and Qiandou.

We must find an opportunity to make things difficult for those two, otherwise it will be hard for him to vent his anger!

"Huh? What does Tatsuma mean?"

Qian Dou asked, and Tian Feng replied uncertainly, "Could it be that they're upset we didn't take advantage of the Cloud Ninja's confusion to launch a counterattack?"

"Possibly! Now then?"

The two exchanged a glance and quickly issued orders. Although they had missed the best opportunity, many Cloud Ninja were still not on their feet or were feeling weak from the Wood Release. The attack still yielded considerable results.

"Damn it! They actually launched a sneak attack!"

A couldn't hold back any longer. He stopped observing the Wood Release and instead used Tatsuma again. Killer Bee followed closely behind, drawing two short swords and staying close to A.

Although the most iconic technique of the Cloud Village AB duo is the Ninja Taijutsu Lightning Blade, the two cannot only practice this one move; their other coordination is also very tacit.

Ai arrived in front of Tatsuma, simultaneously launching a palm strike with his left hand and a whip kick with his right leg, blocking Tatsuma's left path. Killer Bee followed up, making a sudden stop and drifting, launching an attack from Tatsuma's right rear.

Tatsuma calmly took out a Flying Thunder God kunai and threw it upwards. When the attacks from the AB combination arrived simultaneously, Tatsuma transformed into a streak of silver light and disappeared.

"We've been waiting for you!"

Killer Bee yelled, and his tail shot upwards, its fleshy octopus tail now resembling a spear that could break through a city wall.

Ko.E and Killer Bee's first wave of attacks failed to hit anyone, and Killer Bee's second wave of attacks, launched from its tail, also failed to injure anyone, only knocking away a kunai.

Tatsuma's figure appeared one step behind his original position, which was the spot where Tenka had initially thrown the Flying Thunder God Kunai.

"Compare!"

Upon seeing Tatsuma appear behind Killer Bee, Ai immediately exclaimed in surprise. Bee, realizing something, retracted its tail, which had been thrusting upwards, to envelop the two of them, and began to spin rapidly.

"Eight Tailed Beasts!"

The tail that enveloped the two continued to swell and grow larger, forcing Tatsuma to dodge backward. Although he didn't think the power of the tailed beast's tail was enough to harm him, Tatsuma still felt it was unnecessary to risk his life to make contact and test it.

"call out!"

Just as Tatsuma retreated, a pencil emerged from the spinning tail barrier and flew towards him.

"Lightning Release! Lightning Brush!"

Tatsuma dodged to the side, and the pencil infused with lightning chakra swept past his left side.

"Rip~"

Although Tatsuma dodged the pencil, the lightning chakra on it still tore through Tatsuma's left shoulder, leaving a line of blood on the exposed skin.

"A good sneak attack."

Tatsuma turned around and grabbed the pencil that was about to fly towards the Konoha ninja forces. The lightning chakra caused a slight stinging sensation in his palm, and the simulated lightning element also made Tatsuma's palm feel a slight numbness.

"Big brother!"

"Um!"

"Bang!"

A thick tail emerged from the ground behind Tatsuma, instantly transforming into Killer Bee's appearance, while his body was covered with a layer of red chakra.

"Lightning Release: Unstoppable Lightning Blade!"

The tails that had been wrapping around Ai and Killer Bee were now completely dragged into the ground, revealing Ai and Killer Bee. As Tatsuma frowned, Killer Bee beside Ai turned into a tail and disappeared.

"Hiding within his tail, shielding me from my senses, causing me to misjudge the location of his true form? Not a bad tactic."

Tatsuma instantly understood Killer Bee's intention. At that moment, the two of them activated the same technique. With their highly coordinated movements, their strength, speed, and even the range of their arm extensions were extremely similar, like two axes, one in front and one behind, slashing at Tatsuma's neck.

At the same time, Tatsuma felt a tingling sensation in his feet, clearly indicating that a lightning-style attack was targeting him. He expanded his sensory range, but...

Black ink surged from the ground, clinging to Tatsuma's chakra and body. Tatsuma frowned, trying to break free and use Flying Thunder God Technique again, but it was clearly too late.

"Unparalleled strength!"

With the Boiling Release chakra erupting within him, Tatsuma's body was activated to its fullest extent. His legs, which had been paralyzed by Lightning Release, regained sensation, and even the black ink clinging to him showed signs of shrinking.

At this point, Tatsuma could already use the Flying Thunder God technique, but he also wanted to try out the strongest technique of the AB combination.

Twisting his body, he spread his arms out, catching Ai and Killer Bee's attacks with one hand on each side. In an instant, the power traveled from his palms to his elbows, shoulders, and then to his entire back. Tatsuma could even feel the soft tissues of his joints being squeezed and deformed.

Moreover, these two forces are surprisingly balanced; it is impossible to find a point of imbalance and redirect them in any other direction.

"Strange power!"

With a burst of chakra within him, Tatsuma's body was covered not only in steam but also in a chakra cloak.

"Click click click~"

The bones in his arms were beginning to succumb to the immense pressure from both inside and outside, but thanks to the effects of Sage Chakra, they had not yet collapsed. Of course, this was also closely related to the strength of his own physique.

The continuous spread, proliferation, and development of the Divine Tree cells have made his physical strength reach a level that is unimaginable to ordinary people. Therefore, the impossible scenario of him fighting against the strongest attack of the AB combination all by himself has now unfolded.

With his core muscles fully contracted, Chenma twisted his waist with tremendous force, as if he were trying to move two mountains.

At this moment, A and Killer Bee were also recklessly unleashing their chakra, stimulating their bodies in an attempt to resist the power of the Mountain Moving Technique.

Seeing that he still couldn't disrupt their balance, Tatsuma gave up on guiding his strength to the side, suddenly squatted down, lowered his center of gravity, and used the strength of the two to pull back with his hands, but with an additional downward pulling force.

Instantly, both Ai and Killer Bee lunged forward, and the consequence of using all their strength was that there was no way to retreat, so they both slammed into each other.

"Bang!"

When Tatsuma pulled his hands away from the two men's arms, their elbows collided. Fortunately, both men were taller than Tatsuma, otherwise it would have been difficult to break the connection.

The struggle ended in an instant. Both Ai and Bi were forced back amidst flying dirt, their faces showing extreme resentment. In terms of strength, at least when they were working together, they had not lost to Tatsuma.

Tatsuma played a trick!

Ignoring the resentment on their faces, Tatsuma swung his arms. He didn't feel much pain, after all, the activation of the [White Demon] physique had reduced his perception of pain considerably, though he was a little less agile.

Seeing that Tatsuma was actually stretching and moving around, the AB duo's originally calm hearts suddenly became excited. Sakamoto Tatsuma is not invincible!

Ai gave Killer Bee a look, and Killer Bee wanted to return the look, but then he remembered that his sunglasses would block his eyes, so he made a peace and love gesture, which is a reverse scissor hand.

Tatsuma noticed the two's rather "blatant" interaction and sensed that Killer Bee's tailed beast chakra was becoming increasingly active and intense. He naturally understood their plan, but he had no intention of stopping them.

He's been waiting for the Eight-Tails for a long time!

I originally thought that Killer Bee and the Eight-Tails hadn't reached that level of training yet, but now it seems that's not the case. The reason he's been keeping it hidden is because of his "bad deeds," right?

However, after several exchanges, the two, seeing a glimmer of hope, seemed to no longer intend to hide their true intentions. This is the gambler's mentality, and one of the reasons why Tatsuma uses the least advantageous method of combat.

"Thunderous Dance of Chiyo!"

Ai leaped high into the air, raising his right hand to chop down, aiming a hand chop at Tatsuma's face, clearly to buy Killer Bee time.

Tatsuma bent to the left to dodge the hand chop. Just as Ai was about to change the downward hand chop into a horizontal elbow strike, Tatsuma's right hand lifted Ai's chin as if lifting a heavy object. Ai, who was falling, did not notice.

"Bang!"

Forces are reciprocal. The faster Ai fell, the stronger the impact of Chenma's palm strike. Ai rolled his eyes, tumbled on the spot, and crashed to the ground. Chenma then slashed down with his leg.

"Painful Heavenly Kick!"

"Lightning Release! Lightning Whip!"

A Cloud Village Jonin wielded a lightning whip, wrapped it around A's leg, and pulled him out of Tatsuma's attack range. But at the same time, a 43-yard footprint emitting green chakra steam landed on his face.

"Azure Flame Goose!"

Sento, who had cleared the way for Tatsuma, gave him a thumbs-up, revealing a mouthful of white teeth resembling those of Konoha. Tatsuma nodded in gratitude.

But after a brief recovery, A became lively again under the activation of Lightning Release chakra. At this time, a tailed beast with the body of a bull was struggling, seemingly trying to pull its whole body out of Killer Bee's body.

Noticing Tatsuma's gaze, the Eight-Tails roared and slammed a large shovel directly at Tatsuma.

Moreover, Ai, having gotten up, unleashed the Thunder Cleaver Blade once more, seemingly intending to coordinate with the Eight-Tails. Tatsuma, however, appeared unaware of the impending danger, and instead looked at the Eight-Tails, saying:

"Is this the tailed beast that Kurama mentioned, second only to it? Its chakra must smell amazing, right?"

(End of this chapter)