"Lightning Release: Lariat!!"
Boom—!!!
The Third Raikage transformed into a human nuclear bomb, slamming fiercely into the ground. The high temperature of the violent lightning instantly evaporated the muddy water, and the swamp within a hundred-meter radius was forcibly blasted into scorched earth.
Using the recoil, he charged like a cannonball into the crowd of Iwagakure. At this moment, he was a wolf, and the surrounding ten thousand were sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
"Stop him!!"
Dozens of thick Earth Release: Earth Style Walls rose up.
The Third Raikage didn't even glance at them. He pressed the four fingers of his right hand together, and jet-black Lightning Release Chakra condensed into a single point at his fingertips.
"Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite!"
Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft!
The rock walls, which were sturdy enough to withstand the bombardment of A-rank Ninjutsu, were like soaked toilet paper before him. Along with the dozen or so Iwagakure Ninja hiding behind the walls, their chests were pierced in an instant.
Blood sprayed, staining his bronze-colored skin red.
Slaughter.
Pure slaughter.
He killed from late night until dawn, and from dawn until dusk. The Third Raikage did not know how many punches he had thrown, nor did he know how many people had fallen at his feet. His vision began to blur, and the glow of his Lightning Release Armor began to flicker intermittently.
"Hoo... hoo..."
He gasped for air, his lungs aching like a bellows.
The layer of impenetrable skin on his body had finally been worn away by the endless attacks. Dozens of wounds were deep enough to see bone, and blood trickled down his pant legs, pooling into a puddle of blood at his feet.
The encirclement of Iwagakure shrank.
The surrounding corpses piled up into a small mountain, and the remaining Iwagakure Ninja were filled with fear in their eyes—an instinctive awe for this creature. They gripped their weapons, but no one dared to take a step forward.
Mo Yan looked at that swaying figure, a trace of complexity flashing in his eyes.
"Third Raikage... truly a formidable opponent worthy of respect."
"But he is already at the end of his rope."
Mo Yan raised his hand, preparing to give the final order to charge.
The Third Raikage suddenly raised his head.
In those turbid eyes, an undying flame still burned.
He extended his right hand, holding up only one index finger.
The lightning, which had already dimmed, erupted at this moment like a final flash of brilliance, so blinding that one could not look directly at it.
"Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite!!"
This was his final Chakra.
This was also his final swan song left to the world.
In that instant, it seemed as if only that flash of lightning remained in the world.
He charged out.
Everything along the way—rocks, Ninja Tools, flesh and blood—was ruthlessly pulverized by that finger.
Until... the lightning extinguished.
The battlefield fell into a deathly silence.
The cold wind, carrying the smell of blood, wailed as it blew across the wasteland.
The Third Raikage stood in the center of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, still maintaining his charging posture. His eyes were wide open, staring fixedly ahead. That monstrous Evil Qi, even after his heart had stopped beating, still terrified the Soul of every living person.
He was dead.
But he was still standing.
Mo Yan walked to a spot ten meters away from the corpse and stopped. After a long silence, he bowed slowly to the body.
"Even in death, do you still intend to block the path with your body..."
"Pass on the order."
Mo Yan turned around, his voice hoarse.
"The entire army is to rest and reorganize. Do not desecrate this corpse."
"This is a monster worthy of respect."
In the distance, the setting sun was like blood.
...
In the forest, two streaks of lightning were speeding along.
It was none other than the Fourth Raikage A and Killer Bee, rushing back from the Land of Frost battlefield.
Suddenly, the Fourth Raikage A stumbled, flying forward and snapping a large tree.
"Big Brother?!"
Killer Bee looked at the Fourth Raikage A, who had fallen to the ground, somewhat stunned.
Given Big Brother's strength, he would actually be tripped by some small stones while traveling.
The Fourth Raikage A climbed out of the rubble, ignoring the pain in his waist. He clutched his chest, where his heart was pounding violently.
An unprecedented sense of panic instantly gripped his heart, making it almost impossible for him to breathe. He looked up abruptly, staring toward the distant northwest.
That feeling... it was like something vital was slipping away from him.
"Old man..."
The Fourth Raikage A's pupils trembled, and he muttered unconsciously.
"What's wrong?" Killer Bee asked.
The Fourth Raikage A shook his head: "It's nothing, let's hurry back."
"Big Brother, we've been traveling at full speed for two days and two nights. How about I carry you? With the Eight-Tails, I can still hold on." Killer Bee said worriedly.
"That would slow down our speed. I'm fine."
The Fourth Raikage A said, forcibly refining Chakra and speeding forward.
...
Three days later, Konoha Hokage Building.
Bang!
The solid wood door was violently pushed open, slamming against the wall with a loud noise, and dust from the door frame fell down rustlingly.
This posture of entering the heart of Konoha as if no one were there—there was no one else but that man.
Danzo Shimura walked into the office with a gloomy face, striding forward, his single eye suppressing the anger that was about to erupt.
Behind the desk, Hiruzen Sarutobi was biting on his pipe, the front of him piled with urgent battle reports sent back from the front line. He was not surprised by Danzo Shimura's intrusion; he didn't even lift his head, just gently exhaled a smoke ring.
"With such a temper, it seems the Root's cultivation of patience hasn't been practiced well enough."
"Stop spouting that useless nonsense to me!"
Danzo Shimura slammed his hands heavily on the desk, making the documents jump around. He leaned forward, staring fixedly at Hiruzen Sarutobi's wrinkled face.
"Hiruzen, give me an explanation."
"Why did you order Minato Namikaze and Aokawa to retreat?"
"At that time, the main force of Kumogakure was like a pack of stray dogs. As long as we bit into them, we could have at least left half of them behind!"
"Sit!" Hiruzen Sarutobi gestured to the chair in front of him.
"I can't sit still!!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, put down the pen in his hand, picked up the intelligence report on top, and pushed it in front of Danzo Shimura.
"Read it first, then speak."
Danzo Shimura glanced at it suspiciously, and then his pupils contracted sharply. This guy Hiruzen actually received the intelligence before me.
The content of the report was simple, but every word was shocking.
[The Third Raikage, at the border of the Land of Lightning, fought alone against ten thousand Iwagakure Ninja to cover the retreat of his subordinates.]
[After fighting for three days and three nights, he died of exhaustion.]
[Iwagakure suffered heavy casualties and temporarily ceased hostilities.]
The office fell into a brief, deathly silence.
Only the slight crackling sound of the tobacco in the pipe burning could be heard.
"Three days and three nights..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked toward the Hokage Rock outside the window, his tone somewhat melancholy.
"To fight against an army of ten thousand with a body of flesh and blood, and in the end, to die standing up."
"Setting aside our positions, that reckless man was indeed a hero of his generation."
"Hmph, dead is dead. Dead people have no value." Danzo Shimura threw the report back onto the table, the ferocity on his face increasing instead of decreasing.
"Since it is confirmed that the Third Raikage is dead, and that Fourth Raikage A has just succeeded to the position, the people's hearts are unstable. This is the moment when Kumogakure is at its weakest!"
"Hiruzen, this is a heaven-sent opportunity!"
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