The Third Raikage stood in place, his brow slightly furrowed.
Between the strongest spear and the strongest shield, one would eventually overcome the other. He had never once assumed that others would fail to notice a flaw in his technique.
But to him, this was not truly a weakness.
It was the same principle as Sasuke's Chidori being stopped by Itachi grabbing his wrist. If Itachi had redirected that hand toward Sasuke's heart instead of the wall, the outcome would have been completely different.
In front of a true powerhouse, any movement could become a fatal opening.
But in the entire ninja world, how many people could actually turn the Third Raikage's "strongest spear" into a weakness?
Let alone someone fast enough to alter momentum in that instant and change the direction of his arm mid-attack.
So far, only Konoha's Lightning Flash had come close to his attention.
Fortunately, after his clash with the Eight-Tails, where he had been injured by accident, he had become far more cautious. Otherwise, this battle might have already ended.
The Third Raikage rolled his neck.
A series of sharp cracking sounds echoed through his body like popping beans.
He slammed a foot down.
Black lightning erupted from his body like a storm.
Since close combat would not work, long range was the only option.
"Lightning Release: Multiple Black Panthers."
Boom.
As his palms pressed downward, the black lightning condensed into panther shaped beasts that shot forward.
Each one carried overwhelming destructive power, its energy unstable yet razor sharp, like a blade capable of splitting mountains.
In an instant, one of the lightning panthers appeared above Hayashi, crashing down with a roar that shook the air.
Hayashi did not dodge.
He did not even use the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Instead, he stepped forward and threw a punch.
Natural energy gathered around his fist, forming an invisible force.
"Sage Art: Snake Style, Super Strength."
The black panther shattered on impact.
The Third Raikage's expression tightened.
"This guy… does he always fight like this?"
That was his strongest Lightning Release technique.
Another panther followed immediately, even larger than the last, rolling forward like a storm compressed into a beast.
Thunder rumbled across the sky as black lightning twisted together, forming the illusion of a roaring monster.
It did not strike directly.
Instead, it landed ahead of Hayashi and curved sharply, changing direction mid air before lunging at him from the side.
The speed was overwhelming, like an entire army charging at once.
Hayashi formed hand seals.
His fingers pressed together as lightning gathered at his fingertips.
"Sage Art: Lightning Blade."
A sharp arc of electricity formed.
He slashed once.
The black lightning was cut apart instantly.
The storm split into two streams that passed harmlessly on both sides of him before fading into nothing.
The Third Raikage narrowed his eyes.
For the first time, he felt something unusual.
Not fear, but recognition.
Rumors said the First Hokage carried an overwhelming presence that made all others seem small.
Now, facing Hayashi's stance against his Lightning Release, he felt something similar.
Unshaken.
Unbroken.
A third wave of lightning gathered, thicker and heavier than before.
Hayashi finally moved differently.
A red flash streaked across his body.
Blue chakra erupted outward, forming a massive armored figure that stood like a guardian.
The blue construct intercepted the lightning head on.
Boom.
The ground collapsed instantly, forming a crater more than ten meters deep.
Black lightning scattered like shattered glass across the terrain.
When the light faded, Hayashi stood at the center of the crater, unscathed.
The Third Raikage exhaled slowly.
Then he turned.
He left without hesitation.
His speed advantage was useless.
His taijutsu could not land.
His long range attacks were broken head on.
There was no point continuing.
He did not intend to become a target that just absorbed damage.
It would be better to bring Ōnoki.
But the moment he turned, Hayashi moved.
A shadow clone appeared beside him.
Six Flying Thunder God kunai were thrown at once.
The clone accelerated forward, forcing pressure and restricting movement.
Hayashi raised his hand.
A high pitched vibration filled the air as a spinning wind shaped blade formed in his palm.
Flying Thunder God Technique.
In an instant, he vanished.
Reappearing near one of the kunai, he struck immediately.
"Sage Art: Wind Release, Rasenshuriken."
The spinning wind blade slammed directly into the Third Raikage's back.
A sharp buzzing sound erupted.
The technique expanded instantly, dragging him forward through the air before erupting into a massive wind domain over ten meters wide.
Within it, countless microscopic wind blades tore through everything at a cellular level.
The surrounding terrain was shredded, earth and debris spiraling into the storm.
In the original timeline, even the Edo Tensei Third Raikage had shown cracks under Naruto's Rasenshuriken in Nine Tails chakra mode.
That technique did not simply damage the body, it destroyed it on a cellular level.
Hayashi teleported away, landing at a distance.
He watched the storm fade.
When it finally cleared, the Third Raikage stood there.
Unmoved.
Uninjured.
The Lightning Release Armor reformed around his body, crackling back into existence.
Hayashi clicked his tongue.
"Still intact."
The Third Raikage's chakra surged again, reinforcing his defense.
He stood like an unbreakable wall.
Hayashi narrowed his eyes.
So this was the real difference.
Edo Tensei bodies were not the same as living ones.
And even the sacrifice quality changed everything.
A weaker vessel meant a weaker Raikage.
But this one was alive.
Whole.
Perfect.
Meaning the durability was on an entirely different level.
Hayashi exhaled lightly.
"Of course it's not that simple."
He had underestimated him again based on the future record.
Empirical knowledge could be misleading.
Especially in this world.