High above the Hidden Cloud Village, several miles in the sky, Sean flapped his wings while holding a scroll in his hand, similar to the one he had previously used to seal the Seven-Tails.
With his crimson red eyes still in the Mangekyō Sharingan state, he stared downward. Despite his altitude, he could clearly see the blue figure rushing toward the temple he had previously breached to steal the Two-Tails.
"Good… he finally left." The corner of Sean's mouth rose into a stiff smile.
The Raikage's absence from the village had been part of his plan. Otherwise, why would he have caused all that chaos just to capture the Two-Tails, when he could have done it easily using his Mangekyō ability?.
And why, in your opinion, did he leave that Cloud ninja alive?
Naturally, the fight he had with that ninja was real. Aside from not using the Mangekyō Sharingan and its abilities, Sean did not hold back in his other skills.
Currently, without the power of the Mangekyō and the Seven-Tails, his strength was at a pseudo-Kage level.
This means he could fight for several rounds against a Kage-level ninja and even escape, but he could not win or kill his opponent.
The Cloud ninja he faced earlier in the temple was definitely stronger than elite jōnin, especially since he seemed to have mastered the Lightning Armor technique unique to the Hidden Cloud.
"Ninja Art: Shadow Clone Technique."
Poof!!
An identical clone of his disguised form appeared beside him. Without hesitation, Sean threw the scroll to the clone, which caught it and immediately flew downward toward the village.
As the clone approached the ground, it opened the scroll and pressed its palm onto the circular seal, channeling chakra into it.
"Release."
Poof!!
A massive cloud of smoke exploded, revealing the giant blue flaming cat. Matatabi's fiery body illuminated the village, exposing her form to the people below.
Boom!!
She landed atop one of the towers built on a mountain, completely destroying it, ignoring the human "ants" beneath her feet who were trying to flee. Matatabi's massive crimson eyes, bearing the circular Mangekyō pattern, locked onto a building.
She opened her jaws wide, and instead of the expected roar…
Balls of black and red energy began to gather in front of her mouth, merging into a dark crimson sphere. Within seconds, the energy sphere grew to about three or four meters in size.
Controlling Matatabi, Sean fired the energy sphere, or rather a Tailed Beast Bomb, toward a grand building, most likely the Raikage's tower, or so he assumed.
The massive Tailed Beast Bomb surged forward, destroying everything in its path, carving a deep trench behind it before colliding with its target, and then...
Boom!
It was as if the world froze for a second, followed by a blinding white light that expanded, devouring everything around it like a beast.
---
The Raikage, who had just arrived at the destroyed temple, stood there.
Blue lightning sparks coursed across his body like living serpents.
He clenched his massive fist tightly and stared at the devastation of the place where one of their most important military weapons, the Two-Tails, had been held.
He was boiling with rage, yet forced himself to remain calm as he looked at the man who had previously fought Sean, the one who had sent a signal flare to the village, prompting the Raikage's personal arrival.
"What exactly happened? Who did this?"
"An Uchiha ninja… somehow he managed to steal the Two-Tails and escaped…"
"Escaped?" the Raikage repeated with a frown, staring intensely at the sweating ninja, who quickly said,
"Raikage-sama, that Uchiha ninja also has the ability to fly…"
The ninja suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his mouth open and eyes wide, clearly reflecting the white light rising from the center of the village in the shape of a mushroom cloud.
"He's attacking the village."
The thought appeared in the Raikage's mind.
He activated the Lightning Chakra Armor and shot forward like a blue flash back toward the village.
He raised his arm, extending it like a spear, splitting through the shockwave coming from the village, accompanied by the deafening sound of the explosion that rang in his ears.
---
High above, Sean regained his balance after being shaken by the force of the explosion.
Ignoring the unpleasant memories relayed by the shadow clone, he stared downward with narrowed eyes, unable to hide his awe at the destructive power of the tailed beast.
Where the luxurious tower once stood atop the mountain was now a molten crater, as if a massive meteor had struck the place.
He shook his head, pushing aside his thoughts for now, and looked contemplatively at the beast responsible for all that destruction. He considered whether he could launch another bomb, but quickly dismissed the idea.
One was enough.
He flapped his wings and descended.
Taking out a sealing scroll from his coat, he sealed Matatabi inside it once again, then without hesitation flew away from the place, leaving destruction and death behind him.
Naturally, he felt guilt for what he had just done, but he suppressed those feelings, as indulging them would only bring him death.
Inside the seal, Chōmei lay lazily and muttered sarcastically
"This man Sean is truly terrifying… Matatabi became like a puppet in his hands."
"What's your next move?"
Sean, flying swiftly toward the east, heard Chōmei's curious voice. He remained silent for a brief moment before answering calmly
"I'll check on the condition of the Land of Whirlpools first… then head toward the Land of Rain."