The real battle had begun.
Only a beast could stand against another beast.
A blue beast, his body crackling with lightning as he pushed the Lightning Release Chakra Mode to its limit, clashed head-on with a golden, skull-shaped monster.
When these two inhuman beings collided—
Boom!
Annihilation followed.
The surrounding trees were instantly swallowed by the storm of spiritual pressure and lightning chakra, reduced to splinters in an instant.
"This brat!"
The Raikage raised his arms to block, the special metal bracers on his forearms barely stopping the Zanpakutō's advance.
His eyes burned with fury and confusion.
What was this heart-stopping energy radiating from the boy?
A Kekkei Genkai?
Or something beyond that—a Kekkei Tōta?
Whatever it was, he had no time to think.
That massive explosion had surely alerted Konoha's patrol units. If he was surrounded, breaking through would be difficult.
He had to end this—fast.
Boom!
The lightning coiled around his body intensified in an instant, so fierce that even his hair stood on end.
The pinnacle of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
In the original tale, Killer Bee had called this his brother's full-power state.
In this form, his speed surpassed the limits of the human eye—so fast that even the Sharingan couldn't keep up, capable of evading even the Amaterasu in a flash.
"Kid, I don't know what that golden energy is, but I'd bet this is your peak form."
"Too bad. Against my full-power Lightning Release Chakra Mode—you're dead!"
Unleashing every ounce of his strength, A gripped the Zanpakutō tightly with one hand while raising the other high, lightning surging around his palm.
If he could hold the blade, the boy wouldn't be able to unleash those terrifying slashes!
In a battle between shinobi, intelligence was everything.
Without Killer Bee's prior experience fighting this opponent, A might have relied purely on brute strength—and would have paid for it.
But now, everything was under control.
It was over.
In his mind, no one could withstand his full-power hand strike.
Yet when Hakken looked up at that arm raised high above him, he suddenly laughed—wildly, fearlessly.
As the laughter faded, his pupils contracted, a crimson glow spreading through his eyes.
His breathing quickened, and the air grew heavy with pressure.
That primal, bestial instinct stirred unease deep within the Raikage's gut.
"Have you ever seen me at my peak?"
"Of course you haven't—because if you had, you'd never grab my blade like that."
In an instant, black spiritual pressure seeped out from the golden shell of his manifested defense, coating the entire Zanpakutō.
Second Template—White Hollow!
A call from pure instinct.
It was as if the blade itself raged at being restrained. That black spiritual pressure erupted like a missile just as the Raikage's hand came crashing down.
"Ahhh!"
A scream tore through the forest, followed by a violent shockwave that rippled outward.
Thunk.
A severed, muscular arm dropped to the ground in front of Hakken.
Its owner stood a short distance away, gasping in shock.
Had he not reacted in time, it wouldn't just have been his arm—it would've been his life.
No one touches my blade.
Danzō had already sent men to test that once.
The Raikage, of course, knew nothing of it.
Hakken raised his Zanpakutō again, pointing it at his enemy. The Raikage, missing an arm, was clearly wounded.
In the original story, during the Five Kage Summit, the Raikage had cut off his own arm after being burned by Sasuke's Amaterasu—but this was entirely different.
This was a Zanpakutō.
It didn't just cut flesh.
It cut the soul.
The Raikage's consciousness began to blur.
The world around him darkened, filled with the faint sound of wailing spirits.
What was this suffocating sensation crawling through his body?
It felt as though something unseen was gnawing away at his very essence.
King of Normal Attacks—Trait Two: Soul-Devouring Blade, activated successfully.
The souls claimed by the blade and the reaping of spirit worked in perfect harmony.
Right now, it was only discomfort. But a few more strikes like that—and it would be his soul that vanished.
He was the King of Normal Attacks. His swing—his blade—was his deadliest technique.
So this was what Killer Bee had felt?
No wonder he'd been bedridden for so long.
A few more of those slashes, and even he wouldn't survive.
It seemed clear now—there was no defeating this brat tonight.
Once his tactic of restraining the blade failed, his chance was gone.
Confidence or not, this was Konoha territory.
He had to leave.
Lightning flared violently as the Raikage's eyes filled with frustration.
He gave one last cold glance at the arm lying before Hakken, snorted, and turned to retreat.
"Hey, Konoha isn't a place you can just come and go as you please."
Hakken didn't move, still resting his sword on his shoulder. Calmly, he reached into his cloak, pulled out a peculiar dagger, infused it with chakra, and threw it toward the space in front of the Raikage.
"You think you can match my speed? Or are you hoping that pathetic aim of yours can pierce my Lightning Release Armor?"
The Raikage didn't even glance back as the kunai whizzed past his ear and stabbed straight into the ground ahead.
"I might not be able to catch up," Hakken said coolly, "but he can."
He raised one hand like a gun and snapped his fingers toward the kunai.
Click.
"Summoning Jutsu—Yellow Flash!"
Boom!
The ground quaked with a deafening crack.
A figure appeared in an instant, gripping the embedded kunai tightly.
"I swore that this time—no matter where my disciple is—I would never be late!"
"Hakken, I'm not too late, am I?"
His stance was both elegant and urgent, his voice calm and reassuring.
He had arrived.
Konoha's Fourth Hokage—Minato Namikaze.
Of course, the "Yellow Flash" didn't exactly look battle-ready. Dressed in nothing but a vest and shorts, Minato's eyes were bloodshot—clearly dragged straight from sleep.
But the instant he sensed chakra pulsing from his special kunai, he'd jolted awake, teleporting directly to the outskirts of Konoha's forest.
The sight before him made him pause.
His gifted disciple stood there, blade in hand, composed as ever.
Opposite him stood a hulking, one-armed man—his massive frame and electric aura all too familiar.
The Fourth Raikage.
In a flash, Minato's eyes hardened. He gripped his kunai tightly, ready to strike at any moment.
The understanding between master and disciple needed no words. The severed arm lying on the ground told the story well enough.
The Fourth Raikage had attempted a surprise attack on Konoha—but Hakken had stopped him at the village's outer barrier.
This location wasn't too far from the village center, but just far enough to have escaped his sensory range until now.
Once again, Hakken had protected Konoha.
"Take him alive. He's useful."
Without wasting another word, Hakken charged, blade in hand, toward the Raikage's exposed flank.
Now that Minato had arrived, the Raikage had no chance left to escape.
This time—for real—it was over.