Chapter 304: Earth Release Clone Appears
To ensure the successful encirclement and killing of the Third Raikage, Ōnoki had not only pulled forces from the front lines against Konoha, but also diverted most of the Iwa shinobi fighting against the Sand.
In other words, the majority of Iwagakure's shinobi were gathered here for one single purpose: to kill the Third Raikage.
This encirclement had to succeed—failure was not an option.
The cost of failure was something Iwagakure could not afford.
Ōnoki clearly understood the current state of the war.
For reasons unknown, Sunagakure had left only Rasa to confront them, while diverting most of their forces to the Land of Rivers to fight Konoha.
It was clear that in this Great Ninja War, Sunagakure hated Konoha more than Iwagakure.
With only Rasa and a few defensive forces left behind, the threat from the Sand could be nearly disregarded.
Even if Rasa entered the heart of the Land of Earth, he wouldn't dare go too deep, fearing an ambush.
As for Konoha, with Sunagakure fully committed against them, they had to allocate equivalent strength. Add to that the attacks from Kirigakure and Kumogakure, and Konoha was stretched thin and not a serious threat to Iwagakure at the moment.
Only Kumogakure—and only the Third Raikage—remained a pressing danger. If this man wasn't eliminated and continued to stall them, especially with the battlefield located in the Land of Earth, the damage would fall on them. In fact, they would likely be the first to collapse from the strain.
Only by removing the Third Raikage could they neutralize the crisis Iwagakure was facing.
So for this operation, no matter the sacrifice, the Third Raikage must die.
Ōnoki would not fall for the Third Raikage's provocations.
If he were to descend, the Third Raikage could easily fly at low altitude for a bit and then escape into the sky. Ōnoki couldn't use large-scale Dust Release techniques without risking his own men.
"Ōnoki… your hatred runs deep!"
The Third Raikage glared fiercely at the airborne Ōnoki. He had underestimated how ruthless Ōnoki could be—willing to sacrifice countless comrades just to ensure his death.
That was something he himself could never do.
The reason he had fallen into this trap in the first place was because he had stayed behind to cover the retreat of his allies—and ended up surrounded.
Of course… he had also overestimated his own abilities.
Reflecting on that now, the Third Raikage felt a bit of regret.
He had been overconfident—too greedy. He thought he could use his speed and flight to kill more Iwa shinobi before leaving.
But when more and more Iwa forces converged, his escape was cut off. Even after breaking through several hundred meters of enemy lines, there was still no path out—he was completely surrounded.
He had no idea how many enemies there were. He only knew: too many.
He had considered flying to escape, but the shinobi on the ground used numerous techniques to slow his ascent, giving Ōnoki the opportunity to close in with a safe enough range to unleash a wide-area Dust Release. That made flying out impossible.
He had to break out from the ground—but facing endless shinobi alone, a major weakness became apparent.
He lacked large-scale destructive ninjutsu.
No Wood Release like the God of Shinobi, no Susanoo like Uchiha Madara that could slice off the tops of three mountains, no Tailed Beast Bomb, no Dust Release.
If he had any one of those wide-range techniques, the outcome might've been different.
Unfortunately, the Third Raikage's strength lay only in single-target breakthroughs.
Against twenty thousand enemies—even if many were only chūnin and genin—combined jutsu cast in unison still created devastating effects. His proud speed and Hell Stab could not break through such overwhelming numbers.
By now, the Third Raikage didn't even dare use his Lightning Release Chakra Mode. If his chakra were completely drained, he would have no means left to resist.
But without the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, he had no hope of breaking out either.
This was a deathtrap.
The Third Raikage realized it—and he accepted it.
"If that's the case, let's see who laughs in the end."
He gave up thoughts of escaping and focused entirely on slaughtering every Iwa shinobi in his path, becoming a pure killing machine.
As long as he killed enough of them—even if he died here—Iwagakure would pose no further threat to his village.
Ōnoki was powerful, yes, but he was still just a man—just like him.
Neither of them was Senju Hashirama or Uchiha Madara—monsters whose chakra rivaled the Tailed Beasts. No matter how powerful their jutsu, once chakra was depleted, they would die just like anyone else.
Kumogakure had his son and Killer Bee—the perfect jinchūriki duo. They had grown strong. They didn't need to fear Ōnoki.
Even if he fell here, Kumogakure would maintain its upper hand.
With those thoughts, the Third Raikage cast all hesitation aside and focused solely on killing.
Even without activating Lightning Release Chakra Mode, his taijutsu alone was horrifyingly powerful.
With his physical defense, kunai and explosive tags couldn't scratch him. Basic Fire and Wind techniques left nothing but smudges of soot.
Only his speed was slightly reduced without the chakra cloak—but otherwise, his combat power hadn't diminished much.
He didn't even need a weapon—just his indestructible fists. With them, he mercilessly harvested the lives of Iwa shinobi.
"Monster!"
"This guy is a monster!"
The Iwa shinobi surrounding him watched their comrades fall one after another, hearts filled with unspeakable fear. Some even instinctively retreated, unwilling to face him.
But there were too many of them.
A few shinobi retreating in fear couldn't stop the tide of reinforcements charging from behind.
And the Third Raikage had completely lost it.
As Iwa shinobi fell in droves, Ōnoki looked down from the sky, expression grim, a sharp pain piercing his heart.
"Push forward! His chakra is running low!"
"Kill him! He's reaching his limit!"
Voices rose among the Iwa ranks, shouting that the Third Raikage was weakening—trying to boost morale. Waves of Iwa shinobi screamed and charged him again.
And yet… Bang! Bang! Bang!
Wherever the Third Raikage passed, shinobi dropped like wheat before a scythe.
His attacks embodied lethal efficiency—if one finger could pierce, he wouldn't use his hand.
Every strike hit a vital point—instant kill.
The force behind each blow was measured precisely—no more, no less—just enough to end a life.
This made the Third Raikage look completely in control, showing no signs of chakra exhaustion.
"This monster!"
"Who can stop him!?"
"Third…!"
Many uninformed Iwa shinobi looked toward the sky at the Third Tsuchikage. They no longer wanted to see their friends die.
Only the Third Tsuchikage could stop this rampage.
But Ōnoki was focused on the big picture. Killing the Third Raikage outweighed everything.
Seeing that Ōnoki wouldn't act, some Iwa shinobi broke down in despair. In madness, they charged the Third Raikage, abandoning all defense—willing to die just to end him faster.
"Fire Release – Flame Bullet!"
Just then, a flame bullet the size of a human head descended from the sky, aimed right at the Third Raikage as he was about to kill another Iwa shinobi.
At first, the Third Raikage had no intention of dodging. He had tanked bigger Fire Release attacks before—his body could take it.
But this time, as the flame bullet entered within ten meters of him, every hair on his body stood on end—a chill ran up his spine.
His body moved instinctively, leaping back.
Boom!
The tiny flame bullet grazed his chest and struck the ground—triggering a massive explosion that covered a fifty-meter radius.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Kira1997