"You bastard, what else are you trying to do?" A stood in front of Setsuna, his hair standing on end as he re-activated his Lightning Release Armor.
"Of course, I'm thinking of... trying to kill you!" Setsuna assumed a starting stance that looked very strange to others. "Wolf Fang Whirlwind Claw: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms."
This was a fusion of the Wolf Fang Fist, which he had secretly learned from Yamcha, and the Gentle Fist.
The Wolf Fang Fist wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, and its sole advantage was its extreme attack speed.
Fused with the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, it allowed him to strike all the Tenketsu on an enemy's body at the fastest possible speed.
Unaware of the danger, A thought Setsuna was simply trying to overwhelm him with speed. He pushed his Lightning Release Chakra Mode to its maximum output and charged forward to engage Setsuna in a fierce battle.
In just a few seconds, the two exchanged over a hundred blows.
But many observers noticed that within mere seconds, A's punching speed had slowed considerably. This was definitely not normal.
Sure enough, A was soon sent flying by Setsuna after failing to block in time.
A stood up again, his arms hanging limply, his expression furious. "Coward! Using Tenketsu Strikes to ambush me!"
"What? Don't Tenketsu Strikes count as Taijutsu? Besides, your Nin-taijutsu also has a paralyzing effect. The only difference is that I didn't fall for it." Setsuna shook his head slightly.
"Hmph! Even if my arms are temporarily unusable, I still have my legs! I still have my body!" A accelerated explosively, attempting to ram into Setsuna like a raging bull.
"Then I'll break your legs!" Setsuna raised his fist, ready to strike down, when he suddenly sensed danger. A pitch-black ball shot towards him.
At the critical moment, Setsuna's body twisted in an impossible manner, dodging the attack. The ball flew past him and struck a distant river.
Boom!
A tremendous explosion erupted. The river section was instantly destroyed. A violent shockwave swept out in all directions, blowing back the Ninjas who were slightly too close. Fish and shrimp rained down from the sky as if a storm of river creatures had descended.
"Tch, a Tailed Beast Bomb." Setsuna's eyes showed a hint of wariness. No matter how confident he was in his defense, he wouldn't try to block a Tailed Beast Bomb with his bare flesh.
Of course, it was also because he didn't want to reveal his Ki just yet. Otherwise, he might have tried to match it with his own Ki Blast.
Seeing Setsuna shift his gaze towards Blue B, A shouted, "Blue B, be careful!"
Although Blue B was strong himself and also the Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki, A absolutely did not believe Blue B could be a match for this monster.
"Heh, if you dare interfere in my fight, be prepared to die!" Setsuna appeared in front of Blue B almost as if he had teleported.
"So fast!" Blue B's pupils constricted sharply. Watching A fight the enemy from the sidelines hadn't given him the full picture. Now, facing it personally, he could feel the terrifying pressure.
Setsuna delivered a knee strike that sent Blue B flying into the air. While airborne, Blue B decisively entered his Tailed Beast Transformation. His Chakra Cloak burned like flames as he let out a roar that seemed to come from ancient times.
"Be careful!" Minato's expression was grave. He could be considered the person who understood the power of Tailed Beast Transformation best, but he couldn't intervene now and could only focus on recovering his Chakra.
Blue B, in his Tailed Beast Transformation state, had almost lost his sanity. His chakra became violent and aggressive. Four Chakra tails and both hands simultaneously slammed downwards, smashing Setsuna into the ground. Then, another Tailed Beast Bomb was fired, causing the ground to instantly collapse and covering the area in a cloud of dust.
However, before the Kumogakure's Ninjas could celebrate, they heard a mournful cry from the Eight-Tails within the dust cloud.
In his anxiety, A blew away the dust with a powerful breath, revealing Blue B kneeling on one knee, blood continuously dripping from his chest.
A looked closely and saw a finger-sized wound on Blue B's chest, as if pierced by a beam of lightning.
The next moment, Setsuna burst out from beneath the rubble on the ground, dusting himself off.
Although he looked somewhat disheveled, anyone could see his condition was far better than Blue B's.
"Damn it! What did you do to Blue B?" A demanded angrily.
Setsuna looked at Blue B, clicking his tongue in admiration. "As expected of a Jinchuriki. Taking my Dodonpa and still acting like it's nothing."
With the dust cloud providing cover, he didn't mind using a bit of his Ki power.
A didn't know what 'Dodonpa' was, but he grew increasingly anxious inside.
In the past, such an attack wouldn't have been enough to seriously injure Blue B in his Tailed Beast state. But Blue B's condition had been unstable recently, and an injury of this level might make it difficult for Blue B to suppress the seal.
If the Eight-Tails broke the seal at a time like this, it would undoubtedly be a disaster.
"Oh, your Jinchuriki seems to be having some problems." A villainous smile appeared on Setsuna's face as he walked towards Blue B.
"Bastard! I won't let you succeed!" A gritted his teeth and lunged forward, desperately clinging to Setsuna's right leg, then shouted to the others, "Quick, take Killer B and Blue B away!"
"Oh? Forced open the blocked Tenketsu through willpower?" Setsuna rubbed his chin. "Such a touching display of camaraderie. But why does it make me seem like the villain here?"
Despite his words, Setsuna showed no mercy, punching A squarely in the back.
Pfft!
Even with the protection of his Lightning Release Armor, A still coughed up blood from the impact. But he still didn't let go.
Some of the Kumogakure's Ninjas fled with Killer B and Blue B, while another group charged towards Setsuna like madmen.
"Protect A-sama!"
"We must hold out until Raikage-sama arrives!"
They swarmed towards Setsuna like moths to a flame, but most were sent flying by his fist's shockwave before they could even get close. The only one who managed to get close to Setsuna instantly detonated an explosive tag, leaving even Setsuna looking somewhat disheveled.
Seeing the dead Kumogakure's Ninjas, A's heart bled, filled with regret and self-reproach.
He didn't regret initiating this operation, but he regretted being too careless and falling for the enemy's Tenketsu ambush.
If he hadn't engaged in a direct fistfight but had instead adopted a hit-and-run strategy, he definitely wouldn't have been defeated so easily.
Now, even though he had forced open the Tenketsu on his arms through willpower, he could barely move them. Continuing the fight was simply impossible.
Just then, a thunderous roar came from the distance.
"A!"
"It's the old man." A's eyes lit up, and he clung even tighter to Setsuna's leg.
"Such hospitality?" Setsuna laughed, "Minato-senpai, could you please take both him and me back to Konoha?"
Hearing Setsuna's words, A's body stiffened, and then he prudently let go of his hands.
Seizing the opportunity, Setsuna hooked his foot, kicking A into the air, then aimed a powerful mid-air kick at A's legs.
The shockwave 'plowed' a several-hundred-meter-long trench into the ground, but A at the end of the trench still struggled to prop up his upper body.
Just as Setsuna had to marvel at the tenacious vitality of this future Raikage, he heard A roar with indignation, "Who are you?! Leave your name!"
"Konoha's Genin, Chiaki Setsuna." After briefly stating his name, Setsuna teleported away with Minato.
"Chiaki Setsuna? I'll remember you..." A gritted his teeth, then suddenly froze completely. "He's just a Genin?"
A looked around at the forest, devastated as if by a natural disaster, the heavy casualties among the Kumogakure's Ninjas, and their three top-tier combatants severely injured. For a moment, he felt dazed, 'We were defeated by a f*cking Genin?'