Two weeks later, Sasuke and Kisame stood on a cliff overlooking the Land of Lightning's mountainous interior.
"Killer B is different from the other jinchuriki you've faced," Kisame said, his tone more serious than usual. "He's a perfect jinchuriki—completely synchronized with the Eight-Tails. They work together, not as host and prisoner, but as true partners."
"I'm aware." Sasuke's Rinnegan scanned the distance. "Which makes him interesting. All my previous extractions were from incomplete jinchuriki—people fighting against their bijuu or barely maintaining control. B represents the theoretical maximum of jinchuriki capability."
"And you want to test yourself against that maximum."
"Obviously. How else will I know if my techniques work against optimal conditions?" Sasuke's logic was cold. "If I can extract the Eight-Tails from a perfect jinchuriki, then the Nine-Tails extraction will be trivial by comparison."
"Naruto is also becoming a perfect jinchuriki," Kisame pointed out. "The Nine-Tails and he are starting to work together—"
"I know. Which is why I need this experience now." Sasuke began moving toward their target. "B is the practice. Naruto is the final exam."
They traveled through the mountains in silence.
Finally, Kisame spoke again. "You really feel nothing about Naruto? Your former teammate? The person who considered you his best friend?"
Sasuke was quiet for a moment.
"I feel... awareness of past connection. Like remembering a dream from years ago—you know it happened, but the emotional content is gone." His voice was utterly flat. "Naruto was important to someone I used to be. But I'm not that person anymore. I evolved beyond sentiment."
"That's sad."
"That's efficient." Sasuke's correction was immediate. "Emotional attachments create vulnerabilities. Naruto's attachment to me makes him predictable. Exploitable. When I extract the Nine-Tails, his connection to our past will make him hesitate. I won't. That's the advantage of discarding humanity."
"You've really thought this through."
"I think everything through. It's why I'm still alive." Sasuke's Rinnegan blazed. "Now focus. Killer B is close. I can sense the Eight-Tails' chakra signature. Large. Stable. Perfectly controlled."
They crested a ridge to find their target.
Killer B's Location
The Eight-Tails jinchuriki was training alone in a remote valley—practicing his sword techniques while rapping to himself.
"Yo, Eight-O, watch me flow, cuttin' through the wind like a ninja pro, yeah!"
His movements were fluid, almost dance-like, seven swords rotating around him in a deadly pattern.
Sasuke observed from a distance. "His chakra control is remarkable. The Eight-Tails' power flows through him without any disruption or forced containment. They really are perfectly synchronized."
"That's what makes him dangerous," Kisame warned. "He can fully transform into the Eight-Tails at will. Eight massive tails, each one capable of leveling mountains. And he maintains complete control even in full bijuu form."
"Good. I want to see that." Sasuke stepped out of concealment. "Time to begin."
He dropped into the valley, landing with a crater-forming impact that announced his presence.
Killer B stopped mid-swing, his multiple swords freezing in position. He turned slowly, his sunglasses reflecting Sasuke's Rinnegan.
"Well, well, what do we have here? Purple eyes lookin' mighty queer, yeah! Akatsuki cloak, that's no joke, come to take my bijuu? That's what you spoke?"
"Your reputation for constant rapping is accurate," Sasuke observed. "And yes. I'm here for the Eight-Tails. This can be easy or difficult. Your choice."
"Easy? Nah, fool, that ain't my style! You want Gyuki, you'll fight for a while!" B's chakra flared—red and black energy erupting around him. "Perfect jinchuriki in the house, gonna take you out like a church mouse!"
He attacked.
B's speed was incredible—moving between his seven swords while they orbited him in a deadly pattern. Each blade struck from a different angle, creating a sphere of cutting death.
Sasuke's Rinnegan tracked every blade perfectly.
"Shinra Tensei."
The gravitational repulsion caught all seven swords simultaneously, hurling them away. B stumbled back, his coordination disrupted—
Sasuke appeared behind him using high-speed movement. "Predictable pattern. You rely on the swords to create openings, then strike when the opponent is distracted. Effective against normal shinobi. Useless against Rinnegan."
"Fool, ya fool, I got more than swords in my tool!" B's body erupted with Eight-Tails chakra. A massive tentacle formed from his shoulder, lashing out with devastating force.
Sasuke caught it with one hand, his Dragon Sage Mode activating. Purple-black aura surrounded him, his physical strength spiking to match the bijuu's power.
"Dragon Sage Mode enhances my body beyond bijuu levels," Sasuke explained calmly. "Your tentacle is strong. But not strong enough."
He yanked the tentacle, pulling B off balance, then slammed him into the ground with enough force to crater the earth.
"Impressive durability," Sasuke noted as B struggled to his feet. "The Eight-Tails' chakra is protecting you from lethal damage. But that just means I need to use more force."
"Ya ain't seen nothin' yet, fool! Time to show you my jewel!" B's transformation began—his body expanding, growing, morphing into the Eight-Tails' full form.
Gyuki manifested completely—eight massive tails, bull-like features, horns gleaming, chakra radiating like a physical pressure.
"YOU DARE HUNT BIJUU?" Gyuki's voice was thunder. "I AM GYUKI, THE EIGHT-TAILS! I HAVE EXISTED FOR MILLENNIA! YOU ARE NOTHING!"
Sasuke looked up at the massive creature with his purple Rinnegan, utterly unimpressed.
"You're the Eight-Tails. Ancient and powerful." His voice was calm. "I'm the Dojutsu Hunter. I've collected divine sight from dozens of sources. I have Rinnegan—the same eyes that created you in the first place."
He activated his full power.
Rinnegan blazing with all six tomoe ripples. Dragon Sage Mode's purple-black aura erupting around him. The draconic pupils in his eyes gleaming with stolen divinity.
"Let's see if you're worth collecting."
The Battle
Gyuki attacked first—a massive tentacle slam that would have pulverized buildings.
"Shinra Tensei!"
The gravitational repulsion stopped the tentacle cold, pushing against the Eight-Tails' strength with equal force.
"Impossible!" B's voice came from inside Gyuki. "That's the same power as the old man! The Sage's technique!"
"Correct. Rinnegan gives me access to Six Paths abilities. Including gravitational manipulation." Sasuke formed hand seals. "Now let me show you what else it can do. Chibaku Tensei!"
A black sphere formed above them, rising into the sky. Immediately, gravitational force began pulling everything toward it—rocks, trees, earth itself being ripped from the ground and drawn upward.
Gyuki dug in, his eight tails anchoring to the ground as he resisted the pull. "This technique... the Sage used this to seal the Ten-Tails!"
"And I'm using it to capture you." Sasuke's Rinnegan blazed. "The difference is, I'm not trying to seal you permanently. Just immobilize you long enough for extraction."
The gravitational sphere grew larger, more powerful. Gyuki's resistance began to fail—his massive body slowly being lifted from the ground despite his desperate anchoring.
"B! We need to combine our power! Maximum Tailed Beast Bomb!"
Inside Gyuki's body, B formed the hand seals. Their chakras merged perfectly—positive and negative energy combining in a sphere of devastating power.
The Tailed Beast Bomb formed—a massive sphere of condensed bijuu chakra that could erase landscapes.
It fired directly at Sasuke.
"Preta Path."
Sasuke's hands glowed with absorbing energy. When the Tailed Beast Bomb hit him, it didn't explode—it was absorbed. Drained away like water into a sinkhole.
The chakra flooded into Sasuke's system, adding to his already massive reserves.
Gyuki stared in shock. "He... he absorbed a full-power Tailed Beast Bomb... that's impossible!"
"Not impossible. Just beyond your experience." Sasuke's voice was utterly calm. "Preta Path absorbs all chakra-based techniques. Your strongest attack only made me more powerful."
He released the Chibaku Tensei, the gravitational sphere dissipating. Gyuki crashed back to earth, his eight tails flailing.
Then Sasuke activated the technique he'd been saving.
Tailed beast domination—maximum intensity.
The full force of Rinnegan authority crashed down on Gyuki like a mountain. The same power that had created the bijuu now commanded absolute obedience.
Inside B's mindscape, Gyuki felt his will being crushed.
"This power... it's the Sage's eyes... I cannot... B, I'm sorry... I cannot resist..."
"Gyuki! No! Don't give up!" B screamed, trying to maintain their connection. "We're partners! We fight together!"
"I know... but this is the Sage's authority... it overrides everything... even our bond..."
Gyuki's will broke.
In the real world, the Eight-Tails' form began to dissolve. The chakra cloak faded. B returned to human form, falling to his knees.
"Gyuki... I can't feel you anymore..."
"Your partnership is over." Sasuke walked forward, his Rinnegan glowing with stolen authority. "You were a perfect jinchuriki. Truly synchronized with your bijuu. But even perfect bonds can't resist Rinnegan's control. The Sage's power is absolute."
"Bastard..." B gasped, tears streaming behind his sunglasses. "You can't just... we've been together for decades..."
"Your emotional attachment is noted. It changes nothing." Sasuke formed hand seals. "The extraction begins. You survived full Eight-Tails transformation, so you should survive this. Probably."
"Wait—" B tried to stand, tried to fight, but his body wouldn't respond. Gyuki's submission had left him powerless.
The extraction began.
Red-black chakra erupted from B as Gyuki was forcibly torn from his seal. The Eight-Tails manifested briefly—all eight tails, massive bull-like form, crying out in pain and submission.
B screamed. Decades of partnership, years of perfect synchronization, all of it being ripped away in minutes.
From the perimeter, Kisame watched with grim expression. "Even a perfect jinchuriki can't resist Rinnegan. B never stood a chance."
Four minutes later, it was done.
Gyuki—all of the Eight-Tails' power—was sealed in Sasuke's scroll.
B collapsed, still breathing but barely. The extraction had destroyed his chakra system, torn his body apart internally. He wouldn't survive long.
Sasuke looked down at him with those inhuman purple eyes. "You were the strongest jinchuriki I've faced. Perfect control, complete synchronization, decades of training. It still wasn't enough."
"Why..." B gasped weakly. "Why do this... so much power... why hurt people..."
"Because power requires sacrifice. And I've decided my power is worth more than others' suffering." Sasuke's voice was utterly empty. "Your pain, your loss, your death—all acceptable costs for my evolution."
"You're... a monster..."
"Yes. And monsters don't justify themselves." Sasuke sealed the scroll. "Goodbye, Killer B. You were worthy prey."
He turned away as B died alone in the crater.
Journey Back to Akatsuki Base
Kisame walked beside Sasuke in silence for a long time.
Finally: "That was brutal. Even by your standards."
"It was necessary. B's extraction proved my techniques work against perfect jinchuriki. The Nine-Tails extraction will be easier now—I know exactly what to expect." Sasuke's voice was clinical. "Every extraction teaches me something. B taught me that even perfect bonds can be broken with sufficient authority."
"You killed one of the strongest jinchuriki alive and you sound like you're discussing a training exercise."
"Because that's what it was. Advanced practice before the real operation." Sasuke's Rinnegan gleamed. "Naruto is next. The Nine-Tails extraction combined with the Hyuga harvest. My masterpiece operation."
"You really feel nothing about killing B?"
Sasuke was quiet for a moment.
"I feel... satisfaction at successful extraction. Pride at overcoming a challenging opponent. Anticipation for the next collection." His voice was utterly flat. "If you're asking whether I feel guilt or remorse—no. Those emotions were excised long ago. They were weaknesses."
"You keep saying that. But I wonder..." Kisame looked at him carefully. "Are you really without emotion? Or have you just buried it so deep you can't access it anymore?"
"Does it matter? The result is the same." Sasuke's dismissal was complete. "Functional sociopathy serves my purposes better than emotional vulnerability. Whether I destroyed my humanity or simply suppressed it is philosophically interesting but practically irrelevant."
They continued in silence.
Behind them, Hidden Cloud Village was erupting into chaos—discovering their jinchuriki dead, their Eight-Tails stolen, their defenses proven utterly inadequate.
The Raikage would mobilize. The Allied Shinobi Forces would intensify their hunt for Akatsuki.
But Sasuke didn't care.
He had what he wanted.
Five tailed beasts collected.
Only four remaining: Six-Tails and Nine-Tails.
The Six-Tails is easy to handle, he thought. I'll let Akatsuki handle those if they want. But the Nine-Tails... that's the crown jewel. Strongest bijuu. Protected by Konoha. Hosted by Naruto.
And surrounded by the Hyuga clan's Byakugan.
Six months until I'm ready. Six months to prepare the greatest collection of my existence.
His purple eyes gleamed with inhuman anticipation.
The Dojutsu Hunter's masterpiece approached.
And nothing would stop it.
Not friendship.
Not loyalty.
Not even the ghost of who he used to be.
Just cold calculation and unstoppable ambition.
The monster walked his path without hesitation.
And the world trembled.