"This time he used it, it seems not as strong as that time."
Fuguki compared Duy in front of him with his memories.
"Is it because of this strange state?"
At this moment, a Mist Hidden ANBU Ninja quickly approached Fuguki.
"Fuguki-sama."
"Is there a new situation with the Hidden Cloud army?"
"Reporting to Fuguki-sama, the Hidden Cloud army is facing strong resistance."
The ANBU Ninja said, "The Fourth Raikage has been heavily injured and lost an arm. Konoha has used some very strange methods."
"Our Sensing Ninja detected that there seems to be some invisible presence slaughtering from behind the Hidden Cloud army, and many Hidden Cloud Ninja have inexplicably died."
"Jiraiya summoned Gamabunta to block them head-on."
"More critically, the Konoha Ninja who severely injured the Fourth Raikage is suspected to be Konoha's Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama."
Fuguki's eyes widened in shock.
"Senju Tobirama?"
"Isn't he already dead?"
At this moment, Fuguki looked again at Sarutobi Sasuke, as if recalling something.
"I recognize that face."
"Sarutobi Sasuke!"
"That's right, this person is Sarutobi Sasuke!"
"Hiruzen's father!"
Fuguki finally understood why Hiruzen showed such respect to Sarutobi Sasuke. With Hiruzen's qualifications, there was no one in Konoha who could compare. But if the other party was Hiruzen's father, that was a different story.
"A Ninja who is already dead has been resurrected?"
"The aura on Duy is the same."
"This means that Duy also died previously."
"I felt that for Duy to unleash such powerful strength and defeat the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, he must have paid a huge price; if nothing unexpected happened, that price was life."
This made Fuguki feel somewhat better. Compared to Duy defeating the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist without any consequences, knowing that Duy paid the price of his life made it easier for Fuguki to accept, providing him with some psychological comfort.
"But how were these dead revived?"
"What did Konoha do?"
"To be able to resurrect the dead must be an extremely evil technique!"
"The resurrected individuals don't seem as strong as they were in life."
"But the problem is, we don't know how many people Konoha can resurrect."
"What price is needed to resurrect one person?"
"Also, the resurrected individuals are very special."
"Duy's wounds, which were severe injures have already healed."
Fuguki's eyes quickly flickered.
"Is this Konoha's trump card?"
"Elder Genji told me to take it easy; it seems he had foresight."
"Otherwise, we Hidden Mist Village would be the ones suffering losses."
"Senju Tobirama, and the Ninja Might Duy who possesses mysterious killing techniques, Sarutobi Sasuke…"
"Who else?"
Fuguki's eyes showed concern.
"This situation must be reported to the village as soon as possible."
"Make it quick."
Fuguki looked at a Ninja.
"Tashi Aokana."
"Fuguki-sama."
Fuguki quickly wrote a letter and handed it to Tashi Aokana.
"Deliver this letter back to the village and give it to Mizukage-sama."
Then, Fuguki looked at another Ninja.
"This letter needs to be sent to Forging Island."
The two Ninjas took the letters and immediately turned sharply.
As they neared the river, they weaved their hand signs.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A large fish appeared. The Hidden Mist ninjas jumped into the water, directly attaching themselves to the fish, using its power to swim rapidly through the water, much faster than running on land.
...
In his rapid state, Might Duy continuously attacked Kurosuki Raiga.
However, times have changed.
The Sixth Gate state is not Duy's strongest form.
Moreover, it is still an incomplete Impure World Reincarnation state.
Raiga is much stronger than he was back then.
Duy's power couldn't break through Raiga's defenses.
Instead, it provided Raiga with an opportunity.
Ultimate lightning condensed into chains wrapped around Duy, creeping up his calves and tightly binding him.
The effect of the lightning caused Duy to fall into paralysis.
Raiga closed in on Duy at high speed.
"Pfft!"
A massive wound nearly split Duy in half,
while the chains formed from the lightning completely enveloped him.
Duy was defeated.
After confirming this, a look of relief appeared on Raiga's face.
It was as if the nightmare that had been wrapped around him for years had finally been broken.
He felt light and invigorated.
Raiga looked at Lightning Blade.
"Lightning Blade, thank you!"
"Chief Uehara, thank you!"
At that moment, Duy made a decision.
"Eight Inner Gates, Seventh Gate, Gate of Shock!"
"Open!"
An even stronger aura erupted from Duy.
"Raiga, be careful!"
Fuguki shouted loudly.
Duy concentrated all his strength into a single punch.
"Daytime Tiger!"
The surrounding air compressed.
Then, it was violently released.
It transformed into a shape like a fierce tiger.
However, that was a technique that only the normal state of Duy in the Eight Inner Gates' Seventh Gate could use.
Right now, Duy wasn't enough.
Before the Daytime Tiger could fully take shape, Duy was already unable to hold on, his body collapsing.
He shattered into countless fragments and powder.
One Clone was thrown out by Duy just before it completely disintegrated and returned to the vicinity of the Konoha army.
After that, under the effects of the Impure World Reincarnation, it slowly began to recover.
But defeat is defeat, and victory is victory.
Duy wasn't angry at Raiga's words.
However, the nearby Konoha Ninjas couldn't hold back and felt indignant on Duy's behalf.
"What is there for Raiga to be proud of?"
"Duy-san isn't in his best condition right now!"
"And you Raiga are just relying on the power of the Lightning Blade."
Fuguki ignored them and withdrew his gaze and looked at Ao.
"Ao, are there only these two?"
Ao nodded.
"Just these two, but Konoha must have revived other deceased as well. They just haven't come to our side yet. The Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Rock Village are surely dealing with them too."
"At least two as well."
"After all, we haven't officially launched our attack yet. The pressure from Hidden Rock Village and Hidden Cloud Village on Konoha is likely much greater."
"Senju Tobirama, Sarutobi Sasuke, Duy—they can all be resurrected."
"Even though their strength after resurrection isn't as powerful as when they were alive."
"But if Senju Hashirama were also resurrected, then Konoha might truly become unbreakable."
The resurrected ninjas may not be as strong as they were in life.
But Senju Hashirama's strength in life was such that he could almost single-handedly overwhelm the entire ninja world.
Even if his strength is weakened, how much could it really be reduced?
Who in the entire ninja world can say with absolute certainty that they could defeat a resurrected Senju Hashirama?
Not a single person.
Fuguki also realized this, which is why he didn't act recklessly.
The Konoha army made no further moves.
Both armies were facing each other, but neither took action, maintaining a mutual understanding.
Thus, they entered a stalemate.
Duy's body recovered.
"This resurrection jutsu is quite terrifying. Even after being shattered to pieces, the body can still
Raiga looked at Fuguki.
"Fuguki, do you want to give it a try too?"
Fuguki shook his head.
"No need."
All three surviving members of the Hidden Mist Seven Swordsmen had their own shadows.
Fuguki had his as well.
However, after seeing Duy defeated by Raiga with his own eyes, the nightmare in Fuguki's heart dissipated.
Fuguki's situation wasn't as severe as Raiga's in the first place.
Otherwise, back when Juzo and Raiga both fell into a slump, Fuguki wouldn't have been able to continue working as usual, seemingly unaffected.
The stalemate was actually a waiting game.
Fuguki was waiting for new orders from the Hidden Mist Village.
Waiting for new intelligence from the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Rock Villages.
And Konoha was waiting for the outcome of its battles against Hidden Cloud and Hidden Rock Villages.
"Hiruzen, in your opinion, among these Hidden Mist Ninjas, besides Kurosuki Raiga, who else is worthy of attention?"
Sarutobi Sasuke sized up the opponents across from them and asked.
Hiruzen replied:
"Fuguki, Ao, and Hoshigaki Kisame."
"Father, especially that one named Hoshigaki Kisame. For the two of us, he is particularly dangerous."
"The Sword of Wisdom he holds can absorb all Ninjutsu."
Hiruzen specializes in the five elemental Ninjutsu and fusion Ninjutsu.
Sarutobi Sasuke is the same.
But all of these Ninjutsu are countered by the Sword of Wisdom.
To face Hoshigaki Kisame, other methods would have to be used.
For the ninjas of the Sarutobi Clan, there's only one option left.
Summoning Jutsu: Enma.
Once summoned, Enma can transform into the Adamantine Staff, which can be wielded with great force.
This is the Sarutobi Clan's ninja tool Taijutsu.
However, because of the presence of the Stable Rock Style squad, Hiruzen wasn't confident
A squad, consisting of three members of the Stable Rock Style completely surrounded Hoshigaki Kisame, leaving no blind spots.
Even when attacking, they were subjected to Hoshigaki Kisame's Water Release counterattacks. Orochimaru and Jiraiya both have large summoning beasts, yet they still couldn't take down Hoshigaki Kisame in a short time. Even Minato Namikaze couldn't accomplish it.
Hiruzen didn't think that, given how severely he was countered, he could pose a threat to Hoshigaki Kisame.
"If a battle really breaks out, it would be better to have Duy handle Hoshigaki Kisame, while you and I take on the other top-tier Mist Ninja. That would be more effective and play to our strengths."
Sarutobi Sasuke nodded in agreement.
"Is there still no news from the other two sides?"
Sarutobi Sasuke couldn't help but glance back.
At that moment, two figures approached quickly.
"Lord Third!"
The two individuals arrived simultaneously in front of Hiruzen.
"How's the situation?" he asked.
"Reporting to Lord Third, we gained significant advantages against the Hidden Cloud forces."
The intelligence ninja could hardly conceal the joy on his face.
"Dan-sama killed many Hidden Cloud ninjas, completely throwing their rear lines into chaos!"
"Both the Fourth Raikage and Killer B have been held off by Jiraiya-sama."
"No one can stop Tobirama-sama."
"With the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, he moves like he's in an unchallenged domain!"
The eyes of the nearby individuals lit up instantly.
On the other hand, the mood among the Hidden Cloud ninjas was terrible.
"Damn it!"
The Fourth Raikage's expression darkened to the extreme. He had never underestimated Jiraiya. Renowned as one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya had a large summon beast, along with incredible techniques and vast experience.
In battles between top-tier ninjas, the Fourth Raikage believed Jiraiya's strength surpassed even Minato Namikaze. This was evident from the fact that despite the combined efforts of the Fourth Raikage and Killer B, they were unable to drive Jiraiya back, showcasing just how formidable Jiraiya was.
Of course, this was partly due to the Fourth Raikage being heavily injured. If he hadn't been injured, Jiraiya wouldn't have appeared to handle the situation so "easily."
Both sides had already clashed in the previous battle, but the real issue wasn't just the top-tier ninjas being tied up. For the Hidden Cloud Village, this wasn't the decisive factor.
The real problem was that, despite Hidden Cloud's army having several times more ordinary ninjas than Konoha's forces, they were completely disrupted by just two individuals—Dan Kato and Senju Tobirama.
One disrupted the rear with Spirit Transformation Jutsu, while the other stirred up the front lines with the Flying Thunder God Jutsu.
The incomplete Impure World Reincarnation technique prevented Senju Tobirama and Dan Kato from reaching their full strength as they had in life. However, the issue was that both the Flying Thunder God Jutsu and Spirit Transformation Jutsu were extremely effective against lower-ranked enemies.
Both of them were fully aware of this and deliberately avoided targeting Jonin or elite Jonin. Instead, they focused on the Chunin and Genin among the Hidden Cloud army, taking them down one after another.
Even when the lower-ranking Hidden Cloud ninjas gathered together, it was of no use. Dan Kato, using Spirit Transformation Jutsu, had no physical body, and Senju Tobirama welcomed such clustering of Hidden Cloud ninjas. Once enough of them were grouped together, Senju Tobirama would use his Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, resulting in what could only be described as a catastrophe for the Hidden Cloud forces.
"To think that as top-tier ninjas, one of whom was even a former Hokage, they would specifically target Genin and Chunin."
"Do you still have any dignity as top-tier ninjas?"
In response to the Fourth Raikage's furious words, Senju Tobirama calmly replied, "I'm no longer a Hokage, just a Heroic Spirit trying to protect the village from destruction."
"And besides, my current strength is far inferior to what it was in life."
"Like you said, my speed is not even close to Minato's."
"In my current state, I wouldn't really consider myself a top-tier ninja, would I?"
"You're trying to destroy Konoha."
"So, as a soul of the dead, crawling out of the grave to target your lower-ranking ninjas—what's wrong with that?"
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