"Sakumo's blade, huh?
I really wouldn't mind seeing those terrifying fangs of his one more time."
Third Raikage let out a cold laugh, then his figure burst forward like lightning, stirring up a violent gust as he instantly appeared before the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
"What a pity. Konoha never had a place for him."
He didn't even bother using ninjutsu. He simply lifted his leg and swept across like a scythe.
Choza and the others didn't even have time to react before they were sent flying, coughing blood in midair.
"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!"
Hizashi's eyes contracted. His powerful insight barely allowed him to respond in time.
However, just as his body began its high speed spin and the hemispherical shield of chakra started to form, a dark, iron hard fist tore straight through the defensive flow with brutish force.
It smashed into him, shattering six ribs on the spot.
"That leaves just you… Danzo."
The Third Raikage withdrew his hand and stood tall, his icy gaze stabbing into Danzo, who had only one usable arm left.
"And what of it?
As long as I draw breath, don't even think about taking a single step into the Land of Fire."
Even under the crushing pressure of the Third Raikage's aura, Danzo's heart felt unbearably heavy, yet he did not retreat.
"Though I don't like it… if I can keep him here, then it won't matter even if I lose to Hiruzen.
At the very least… I'll leave behind something even Hiruzen couldn't deal with, the Third Raikage."
In the face of death, Danzo's heart held bitterness, but the unyielding, iron resolve of Konoha's darkness burned in his eyes.
"Surrender, Danzo. You… can't stop me."
Seeing Danzo still standing firm after days and nights of stalemate, even now, cornered with nowhere to escape, the Third Raikage felt a flicker of interest.
"..."
Danzo stared back with an icy glare, then raised his last remaining arm and made a provocative gesture.
"Planning to drag me down with you?"
Third Raikage mocked, then said no more. His foot slammed forward. Like a charging tailed beast, he crushed the ground beneath him and shot toward Danzo.
Secret arts? Forbidden jutsu?
He didn't even care.
Third Raikage had absolute confidence in his own body.
His fighting style matched his personality perfectly.
Reckless.
"Reverse Four Symbols Seal."
Danzo's eyes filled with fatal resolve as he activated his final sealing technique.
But in the next instant, his face turned pale with terror.
The Third Raikage's speed suddenly doubled, faster than anything he'd shown during the previous battle.
"This… this brute tricked me."
As the breath of death engulfed him, Danzo let out a bitter laugh full of despair and helplessness.
Against this sudden spike in speed, he couldn't activate the Reverse Four Symbols Seal in time.
His moment of supposed brilliance turned into a moment of utter futility.
"In the face of my absolute power, speed, and defense… What do you have to stop me with?"
Seeing Danzo's hopeless expression, the Third Raikage's eyes grew even more mocking.
As if saying, if even a mere Danzo could threaten him, how could he challenge Iron Fist?
Even if Garp himself returned, he still wouldn't be able to stop the Raikage's march from clouded skies to Konoha.
"If he can't stop you… then what about this old man?"
Just as Danzo's heart went cold and he quietly awaited death, a thunderous roar exploded like a temple bell beside both Danzo and the Third Raikage's ears.
And at the same time, even faster than the voice, an overwhelmingly powerful, black clad figure, with physical might surpassing even the Third Raikage's, appeared beside Danzo as if teleporting.
With a casual lift of his arm, he placed himself between Danzo and the incoming strike, his huge hand spreading open like a vast net as it seized the Raikage's fist.
Fist met the palm.
An eruption like a bursting flood crashed outward instantly.
The ground blew open in layers, cracks tens of meters long spider-webbing outward. The air churned violently, whipping up a storm-like shockwave.
Danzo hadn't even been hit directly, yet the aftershock alone flung him through the air. Blood sprayed from his mouth before he drifted like a severed kite.
Just before he crashed violently to the ground, someone caught him, avoiding another serious injury.
"Dan… it's you."
Danzo forced his eyes open. Seeing that it was Dan who caught him, he ignored their awkward posture and immediately looked toward the Third Raikage.
"The one who just stepped in was…"
"Lord Garp."
Dan hadn't waited for him to finish before responding.
By now, he and the others, including Choza, who had struggled back to his feet, all clearly saw what stood at the center of the battlefield.
Aside from the Third Raikage, there was a towering figure in a black suit, massive, powerful, a mountain of muscle standing unshaken.
One enormous hand held the Raikage's fist firmly in place.
"Iron Fist… Garp."
The Third Raikage slowly raised his gaze, finally settling on Garp's resolute, ageless face.
"First time meeting. So you're the Raikage of the Hidden Cloud?"
Garp looked down at him indifferently, his tone neither warm nor cold, as though the Raikage were no different from a passerby.
"Correct. I am the Third Raikage, A, of the Hidden Cloud."
The Third Raikage glared at Garp, every muscle on his body tensing, a long-dormant fighting spirit boiling in his chest.
Ever since hearing of Garp's emergence, he had been waiting for this moment.
Now, at last, it had arrived.