"Hmph!" The Third Raikage let out a cold snort. His five fingers tightened violently around the staff before he yanked backward with brutal force, unleashing a terrifying pull that was impossible to resist!
Bang!
Shinichi could no longer maintain his grip. The Adamantine Staff instantly flew from his hands and was seized by the Third Raikage!
Then, without even sparing it a glance, the Raikage viciously kicked the staff!
Wuuu—!
The heavy Adamantine Staff released a shrill howl as it spun violently upward, flying high into the sky tens of thousands of meters above!
His greatest weapon and support had been taken away!
However, to the Third Raikage, this was merely the beginning!
His four fingers suddenly aligned like a blade as immense amounts of blinding blue-white lightning frantically condensed and compressed at the tips of those fingers!
In the next instant, the lightning around his body exploded once more, and his charging speed surged even further beyond its original limit!
His entire body transformed into a straight beam of lightning moving at the absolute peak of speed as he pierced directly toward Shinichi!
Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite!
The Third Raikage's legendary supreme taijutsu! By compressing violent Lightning Release chakra to the extreme and concentrating it at his fingertips, he unleashed a fatal piercing strike with unparalleled speed and penetration power!
The technique's might increased as the number of fingers decreased—three fingers, two fingers, and ultimately the terrifying One-Finger Nukite, where both speed and destructive power reached their absolute peak!
And at this moment, despite only being in the "Four Fingers" state, the destructive piercing force gathered at those fingertips was already enough to make every Konoha ninja watching from afar shudder in alarm!
Not good! Shinichi's in danger!
In the distance, Minato—who was using Flying Thunder God to evade Troy's Magnet Release interference while simultaneously coordinating with the "Shinichi Battalion" to efficiently slaughter the surrounding Kumogakure forces—suddenly narrowed his eyes!
He immediately prepared to activate Flying Thunder God and forcibly intercept the Raikage's attack trajectory.
"Don't think about interfering with Raikage-sama!"
Troy's icy voice rang out!
He flung both hands forward, and streams of peculiar white laser beams—supple like flowing water yet swift as lightning, radiating a faint blue glow—burst from his palms like deadly serpents springing from hiding!
Storm Release: Inspiring Severing Chains!
Storm Release—a kekkei genkai born from the fusion of Lightning Release and Water Release—possessed the speed of lightning techniques while also inheriting the fluidity, adaptability, and controllability of water techniques. Its essence could be understood as "electrified water" or "liquid lightning."
At this moment, the Storm Release lasers under Troy's precise control resembled deadly serpents with independent intelligence. They traced elegant yet fatal arcs through the air, weaving themselves around the Third Raikage's charging path with perfect accuracy to form a three-dimensional laser defense network!
"Come!"
At the center of the battlefield, Shinichi—having lost the Adamantine Staff, his greatest weapon and all-purpose offensive-defense tool—not only showed no fear, but instead felt the flames of battle and excitement burning even more fiercely within him!
His eyes snapped fully open as the glass-like radiance deep within his pupils blazed wildly like burning flames. He pushed his perception and visual insight to their absolute limits, desperately capturing every detail of that deathly lightning streak rushing toward him!
At the very instant before the destructive fingertips of the Four-Finger Nukite pierced his chest—
Nue Snatch!
Shinichi suddenly raised his left arm upward to block!
BOOM—!!!
Another earth-shaking explosion erupted!
The Third Raikage's unstoppable Four-Finger Nukite slammed directly into Shinichi's raised elbow!
Fist against elbow! The two forces collided head-on as blinding lightning and violent shockwave currents exploded wildly in every direction!
The Third Raikage's charging body actually halted once again!
He could clearly feel that his strike—one capable of piercing through solid rock—had been forcibly resisted by an incredibly tough, condensed force carrying strange properties of deflection and rebound!
The penetrating power of the attack had been greatly weakened, preventing it from instantly piercing through Shinichi's body as intended!
Meanwhile, under the impact of that terrifying force, Shinichi was blasted backward like someone struck head-on by a full-speed train. His body flew uncontrollably through the air before smashing heavily into a towering granite cliff several hundred meters away!
RUMBLE—!
The sturdy cliff wall shattered from the impact, chunks of stone cascading down as dust and rock powder billowed into the air, instantly swallowing Shinichi's figure whole.
So that was the move that made B reveal an opening by accident?!
That thought flashed through the Third Raikage's mind. Immediately afterward, he crushed the Flying Thunder God kunai he had seized from Shinichi.
The brat's Flying Thunder God kunai had already been destroyed by him. Now no one could save him!
A fierce killing intent surged through the Third Raikage's eyes. His movements did not slow in the slightest as his four aligned fingers suddenly contracted into two. The lightning gathered at his fingertips became even more concentrated and dazzling as the energy compressed further!
Hell Stab: Two-Finger Nukite!
Its speed and penetrating power surged once again!
His body moved once more, transforming into a lightning spear accelerated to an even greater extreme, its destructive power multiplied as he blasted without hesitation straight into the dust-shrouded area!
At that moment, a shadow clone holding a Kusanagi Sword rapidly arrived beside Shinichi. Supporting the main body with one hand, it tossed several smoke bombs with the other, seemingly intending to use the smoke to obstruct the enemy's vision and escape with the original body.
The Third Raikage paid no attention to the shadow clone. He continued charging forward like a lightning spear, smashing directly toward the previous location.
"Shinichi!"
"Captain!"
In the distance, the Konoha ninja battling Kumogakure all cried out in alarm at the sight!
Many even ignored the enemies before them and turned to rush toward the cloud of dust in an attempt to rescue him.
But they were too far away.
And the Raikage was too fast.
They could only helplessly watch as the Third Raikage charged into the smoke-filled area that nobody could see through.
CLANG—!!!
A metallic shriek far sharper, far longer, and far more earth-shaking than any previous collision violently erupted from the very center of the smoke cloud!
Immediately afterward—
RUMBLEEEEE—!!!
An unprecedented torrent of destructive energy—mixed with countless violent bolts of lightning and immense physical shockwaves—erupted outward from the point of impact like a volcano that had finally exploded after being compressed to its absolute limit, spreading in a spherical wave in every direction!
Wherever the shockwave passed, both Konoha and Kumogakure ninja of insufficient strength were blown staggering off their feet. Some were even directly injured by the impact!
A figure shot backward from the center of the explosion like a kite with its string cut loose, tracing an arc through the sky while coughing out mouthful after mouthful of blood. Its clothes were utterly torn apart, its skin covered in charred burns, and blood had nearly dyed half its body red.
It looked utterly miserable.
Its injuries were clearly severe!
"Shinichi!"
"Captain!"
The Konoha ninja were horrified and furious. Many completely abandoned their opponents and madly rushed toward where Shinichi was falling!
However, they had only taken a few steps—
Poof!
The blood-soaked figure in midair abruptly transformed into a puff of white smoke and vanished without a trace, like a burst bubble.
Huh?!
A shadow clone!?
Everyone who witnessed the scene—whether Konoha or Kumogakure—froze in shock, their minds unable to process the sudden reversal.
Then, within the dense smoke that nobody could see through, another change erupted!
"Outer Rite 108 — Orochinagi!"
A cold, clear young voice rang out.
The instant the words were spoken, the center of the area suddenly lit up as a blazing crimson cone-shaped sword radiance appeared, so brilliant it was impossible to look at directly!
The scarlet sword light appeared without the slightest warning, so fast it surpassed visual perception itself—as though it had always existed there and had merely been ignited in that instant!
The sword radiance flashed into existence and vanished just as quickly!
In the next moment, the Third Raikage—who had previously charged into the smoke like a god of thunder—was blasted backward at an even greater speed than when he entered.
And the posture in which he was sent flying caused the pupils of everyone who saw it to contract violently as they sucked in cold breaths!
The Third Raikage's proud and nearly indestructible Lightning Release Chakra Armor had already shattered completely.
At the position of his right chest, there was now a fist-sized penetrating hole, its edges charred black, piercing cleanly through his body!
Blood continuously gushed from the grotesque wound!
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