"I know you better than you know yourself."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's words exploded in the Third Raikage, A's, mind.
He stared deadly at Sarutobi Hiruzen, trying to find even the slightest flaw on his face.
But there was none.
The other's eyes were calm, profound, like an ancient well that could suck in all his thoughts and see them clearly.
This feeling made A's hair stand on end.
In his life, he had fought countless ninja.
But he had never felt this sense of powerlessness, of being completely seen through, from anyone.
His pride, his strength and speed, all seemed like a joke in front of the other person.
"Impossible...!"
A roared in anger again. The violent Lightning Release chakra erupted from his body even more fiercely than before.
He would use even greater power to tear apart the man before him, to tear apart his damn, seemingly prescient composure.
He once again turned into a blue bolt of lightning and charged at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
However, this time, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not engage in a roundabout fight with various ninjutsu as before.
He just stood there quietly, and the Adamantine Staff in his hand once again burst with a brilliant golden light.
"Enma!"
"Roar!"
Enma let out a roar, and a layer of indestructible golden luster appeared on the surface of the Adamantine Staff.
Sarutobi Hiruzen held the staff with both hands and assumed a standard counter-attack stance.
He was going to take it head-on!
Seeing this, a flash of joy crossed A's eyes.
Finally not dodging anymore? Competing with me in strength?
He pushed his speed and strength to the extreme. The finger that condensed the "strongest spear" once again stabbed towards the Adamantine Staff with an all-tearing momentum.
However, just as the two were about to collide.
Sarutobi Hiruzen moved.
His movements were not as fast, not as violent as the Raikage's.
But they carried a skillful force, a lightness that could deflect a thousand pounds.
Instead of using the staff to block the tip of the Raikage's finger head-on, he flicked his wrist and, at an extremely tricky angle, tapped the side of the Raikage's strongest spear with the body of the staff.
Clang!
A crisp sound of metal clashing was heard.
An unimaginable vibrational force was transmitted from the Raikage's finger and instantly spread throughout his body.
A only felt a sharp, piercing pain and numbness in his entire arm. The Lightning Release chakra, which had been condensed to the extreme, actually dissipated for a moment under this light tap.
His unstoppable momentum was also forcefully diverted by this light tap.
The "strongest spear" grazed past Sarutobi Hiruzen's body and stabbed fiercely into the ground behind him.
Rumble—!
The earth was blasted into a bottomless pit by his own power.
And Sarutobi Hiruzen was unharmed.
"How... how could this be?"
A looked at his still trembling finger, his mind going blank again.
He had been... deflected?
His strongest spear had been easily neutralized by the other party using a technique similar to the Gentle Fist?
This guy not only could predict his movements, but he also knew the weakness of his power so clearly?
At this moment, A's indomitable fighting spirit finally began to waver.
For the first time, he doubted the strength he was so proud of.
And in this moment of A's great shock and self-doubt.
An unprecedented sense of frustration welled up in the Third Raikage's heart.
He felt like a tiger trapped in a cage, with all his strength but nowhere to vent it.
And in this moment of his hesitation.
"Report—"
An intelligence ninja, specially instructed by Danzo, appeared on the fortress wall in a flicker. His voice, amplified by a special ninjutsu, echoed throughout the battlefield.
"Urgent report from the western front of the Land of Fire! Our Anbu surprise attack unit, under the leadership of Captain Hatake Sakumo, has successfully killed the commander of the Sunagakure puppet brigade, the Couple of the Sand, and destroyed all of Sunagakure's front-line supply lines! The Sunagakure army's morale has collapsed, and they have fully retreated!"
What?!
This news exploded in the Cloud's military formation.
Sunagakure... was defeated?
The Third Raikage's face instantly turned incredibly ugly.
He had dared to come out in full force this time because he had calculated that Konoha would be too busy with a three-front war to deal with him.
But now, the western front was already over?
That wasn't all.
"Report—!"
Another messenger ninja appeared.
"Urgent report from the southern front of the Land of Fire! Our Sannin squad, within the Land of Rain, has greatly defeated the main force of Amegakure, killed the Amegakure elite jonin, the Kijin Brothers, and faced the demigod Hanzo of the Salamander head-on! The allied forces of Amegakure, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure have become a scattered mess, each fighting for themselves!"
"Report—!"
A third messenger ninja followed closely behind.
"Urgent report from the eastern front of the Land of Fire! Our Wall of Illusory Eyes unit has successfully trapped the surprise attack unit led by the son of the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, Kitsuchi, and forced Iwagakure to switch to a full defensive posture without shedding a drop of blood!"
One piece of good news after another came in succession.
Each piece of news was like a loud slap, fiercely striking the faces of the Third Raikage and all the Cloud ninja.
Only then did they realize in horror.
What three-front war, what dispersed forces.
From beginning to end, it was all a setup by Sarutobi Hiruzen!
He wasn't dividing his forces at all. He was launching a four-pronged counterattack against four countries at the same time.
And their Kumogakure, thinking they had seized the best opportunity for a surprise attack, had actually become the last fool to run headfirst into an iron plate.
The so-called "surprise attack" had become an "isolated army deep in enemy territory."
The Cloud ninja began to stir restlessly.
Their morale, at this moment, had hit rock bottom.
Was there any point in continuing to fight?
From the battle just now, Lord Raikage was clearly at a disadvantage.
What could their isolated army do? Wait to be surrounded and wiped out by the returning Konoha main army?
The Third Raikage's face turned from green to white, then from white to red.
He clenched his fists tightly.
He had lost.
Perhaps not just in strength, but also in strategy, in perspective, and in the wisdom of the Third Hokage, whom he had always looked down on.
Although he was brave, he was not a fool.
A understood that to continue fighting would only put himself and his troops in danger.
After a long while.
As if using all his strength, he slowly unclenched his fists.
He took a deep look at Sarutobi Hiruzen, his eyes filled with unwillingness.
"...You win."
"Tell me, Sarutobi Hiruzen, what price do we have to pay."
He squeezed the words out from between his teeth.
Sarutobi Hiruzen put the Will of Fire hat back on, the brim hiding most of his expression, but A could feel that it was mockery.
"Heh, A, as you wish."
"......"
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