Chapter 73: The Test of the Strongest Shield
Akatsurugi's focus shifted decisively to the Mist ninja. These Water Style users were the linchpin of his enemies' strategy; they had to be eliminated first.
"Sage Art: Great Blaze Rasengan!"
In an instant, he was among them, propelled by jets of flame from his feet. His speed was so immense that even the Third Raikage couldn't intercept him in time. A massive, swirling sphere of fire and chakra smashed down, crushing several Mist shinobi who failed to evade. The power of a Rasengan infused with Sage chakra was devastating.
"Hell Stab!"
The Third Raikage was upon him now, his spear-like fingers thrusting forward. His reasoning was coldly pragmatic: if the death of a few Mist ninja revealed an opening in Akatsurugi's defense, it was a price worth paying.
But once again, his attack passed harmlessly through a body of swirling flame. Akatsurugi had shifted back into his elemental form.
The Raikage grunted in frustration.
"Water Style: Water Cannon!"
From a distance, the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, Aso, retaliated. A colossal sphere of water, nearly ten meters in diameter, shot toward Akatsurugi with the force of a tidal wave. The Raikage's eyes gleamed. He didn't dodge, instead charging straight at Akatsurugi again. His intention was clear: he would weather this friendly fire if it meant forcing Akatsurugi to solidify his body. Once tangible, he would be vulnerable.
"Did you truly believe I need to drop my intangibility?" Akatsurugi sneered. "My Fire Release is not for show!"
"Sage Art: Raging Inferno Extinction!"
A tidal wave of black-red fire, supercharged with natural energy, met the water cannon head-on. While water typically overpowered fire, this was no ordinary flame. The two titanic forces collided in a furious hiss of steam, but Akatsurugi's Sage-enhanced inferno prevailed, completely vaporizing the massive water ball.
"Keep up the pressure! I don't believe his chakra reserves are infinite!" the Raikage roared, his body phasing through Akatsurugi once more.
Akatsurugi merely snorted. In the past, such a prolonged, high-intensity battle would have drained him. But now, he had the Yin Seal. His reserves were deeper than they could possibly imagine.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
Ōnoki, having finally broken free from the "City of Fire," had used the distraction to prepare his ultimate technique once more. The glowing cube of annihilation descended.
"Dammit!" The Third Raikage was the first to react, flashing away in a burst of speed. He had seen the telltale shift in Akatsurugi's Sharingan and feared that forced-transposition technique more than the Dust Release itself. It was a disgustingly effective ability.
He had, however, deduced its limitation: the range couldn't be extreme. Putting as much distance as he could between himself and Akatsurugi in an instant was his best defense.
Akatsurugi watched him flee with a flicker of regret. The man was impossibly fast. Physical powerhouses were truly troublesome.
His mind briefly wandered to Kato Ei, wondering how the boy's relentless taijutsu training under Might Dai was progressing. But this was no time for distractions.
Ōnoki's Kekkei Tōta was terrifyingly potent. It erased a significant portion of the fire elements making up Akatsurugi's form. Yet, the flames wreathing Ryūjin Jakka burned undimmed, continuously feeding their essence back to him, replenishing what was lost.
"What?!" Ōnoki stared, dumbfounded. Even his bloodline elimination technique hadn't worked? This jutsu was supposed to deconstruct everything on a molecular level, elements included. Yet Akatsurugi stood unharmed, the only evidence of the attack a gaping hole in the ground where he'd been standing.
"If a Kekkei Tōta isn't the answer... is Water Style truly our only hope?" The Raikage and Mizukage, watching from a distance, shared a moment of profound doubt.
Akatsurugi leveled his blazing zanpakutō at the three Kage. "Well? Are you officially declaring war on Konoha?"
Silence met his question. Starting a war was no trivial matter. Their own people, yearning for a fragile peace, would not support such a move lightly.
"I'll handle him up close," the Third Raikage decided, breaking the silence. "Tsuchikage, maintain aerial superiority and prevent his escape. Mizukage, prepare your largest-scale Water Style technique." It was the only plan left. They couldn't risk Ōnoki carelessly using Dust Release with the Raikage in close quarters. That damned Sharingan ability made it too dangerous.
"Understood." The other two Kage nodded. The Mizukage and his remaining shinobi began gathering water for another colossal jutsu.
"Troublesome," Akatsurugi muttered as the Raikage charged him once again. He swung Ryūjin Jakka, and the endless flames coalesced into a roaring fire tornado, enveloping the Lightning Shadow. The flames licked harmlessly against his lightning armor, but they served as a momentary screen.
In that moment, Akatsurugi clenched his other fist. It ignited with the same black-red conflagration.
"Great Fire Fist!"
The colossal flaming fist shot not at the Raikage, but once again toward the clustered Mist ninja.
"Earth Style: Rock Wall!"
Ōnoki, observing from above, acted instantly. Seeing Akatsurugi's persistent targeting of the water users confirmed their importance. A thick wall of earth erupted to block the fire fist's path.
But this was Sage Art. The fiery fist, empowered by natural energy, shattered the rock wall and continued its path. Though weakened by the combined Water Walls of the Mist shinobi, its momentum was only finally halted by the Mizukage's own powerful counter.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bite Explosion!"
Two massive water dragons surged forth, colliding with the fire fist in a cataclysmic explosion of steam. It had taken the combined efforts of a Kage and his entire squad to stop a single, diverted attack.
"Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!"
Seizing the opening, Akatsurugi's Mangekyō Sharingan locked onto the Raikage. The world around the Lightning Shadow plunged into absolute blackness. He knew he was trapped in an illusion and immediately began disrupting his chakra flow to break it.
But the split-second of disorientation was all Akatsurugi needed. His hands formed a final seal.
"Sage Art: Blaze Ball!"
He took a deep breath and exhaled a sphere of concentrated annihilation. It was only two meters wide, but it glowed with the condensed power of Sage chakra and the absolute heat of the Mera Mera no Mi. This was no wide-area attack; it was a focused lance, a scalpel designed to test a single, ultimate defense.
Akatsurugi wanted an answer. Could the "Strongest Shield" withstand the concentrated fury of his "Strongest Spear"?