As soon as the two surges of chakra erupted from beneath the river, Tsunade's expression shifted. Without hesitation, she leapt backward, attempting to retreat.
Even though Kaede had warned her many times to stay on guard, and she reacted immediately when danger appeared, the two figures that burst from the riverbed were simply too fast!
One was wreathed in lightning.
The other looked like a monster, his body wrapped in crimson chakra.
Their identities were instantly clear, Kumogakure's infamous A-B combo: the son of the Third Raikage, future Fourth Raikage A, and the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki, Killer Bee!
Whoosh!!
In the blink of an eye, A and Killer Bee had caught up with Tsunade mid-leap. One arm enveloped in beastly chakra, the other crackling with lightning, they lashed out in a pincer attack, giving her no chance to form hand seals!
"Damn it!"
Tsunade's pupils shrank sharply as she felt the unmistakable presence of death!
If she couldn't counter this attack properly, her head would be lopped off in an instant. Not even the Strength of a Hundred Seal would save her, she didn't even have time to activate it!
Without any hesitation, she channeled chakra into her fists and swung both arms outward, attempting to meet their blows head-on.
Watching this unfold, Kaede's eyes flashed coldly.
"No good, she's too slow…"
In his quadruple-speed state, he could clearly see Tsunade's fists moving to intercept the incoming attacks from A and Killer Bee. But she was just a fraction of a second too slow!
At this rate, her punches would only graze their arms, they wouldn't connect solidly at all!
No time to hesitate.
Kaede, who had already rushed toward Tsunade the moment A and Killer Bee made their move, thrust his hand forward.
There was no time for dragging her or pulling her away, his speed at the Third Gate wasn't significantly faster than theirs!
After all, this was the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee they were up against. Even in the entire shinobi world, barely anyone could survive an ambush from those two. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi might have been killed on the spot if caught off guard!
Kaede's shove sent Tsunade flying forward. With a bang, she hit the riverbank and rolled to a stop.
But,
Tsunade felt no relief from escaping death. Instead, her expression changed drastically as she turned sharply to look behind her.
She saw the figures of A and Killer Bee crossing paths in midair.
As they passed one another, a spray of body fragments burst into the air, as if someone had been torn apart. Blood rained down.
"No…"
Tsunade felt as if her heart had been violently squeezed, her body freezing for a moment.
She understood what had happened.
Kaede had pushed her out of danger, but didn't have time to move himself. He had taken her place, receiving the full force of A and Killer Bee's devastating attack!
When A and Killer Bee landed, their feet weren't steady, they both stumbled slightly.
Because of Kaede's interference, the trajectory of their Double Lariat attack had been thrown off. Instead of aiming for the neck, they had hit the torso.
Had it not been for their incredible teamwork, that slight deviation might've caused serious injuries to their own arms during the collision, even if it still shredded Kaede's body.
"He saved her from our Double Lariat… this guy…"
A and Killer Bee instantly recognized the person who had rushed into their attack to protect Tsunade.
The Silver Flash of Konoha!
They hadn't expected their perfect Double Lariat to miss its mark. Since mastering that technique, this was the first time anyone had successfully rescued their target mid-attack. The surprise was evident on both of their faces.
Still, even if the Silver Flash had taken Tsunade's place and died in her stead, it made little difference. Their plan, carefully laid out under the riverbed with a concealed barrier, had paid off.
"No way!"
From both flanks, Konoha shinobi including Yūhi Kurenai rushed in, their faces pale. They hadn't expected the enemy to have laid an ambush, let alone from A and Killer Bee!
They couldn't make out all the details, but what they did see was Kaede's body torn apart, blood gushing as it plummeted to the ground!
Kurenai's face was drained of color.
She could sense there wasn't a second Kaede nearby, this wasn't a clone or a substitution. It was his real body!
They had thought Tsunade and Kaede coming together to face the Kumogakure force was overkill, but reality had flipped the script.
The Silver Flash had been taken out!
Tsunade seemed shaken as well!
As the Konoha ninja stood trembling in disbelief, and grins began creeping across the faces of the Kumogakure shinobi, Kaede's body hit the ground.
"Next… is the Princess of Konoha."
A turned his gaze toward Tsunade.
The Silver Flash had blocked their Double Lariat, but it wouldn't change the final outcome. It was still two-on-one. Tsunade had no chance of surviving.
But,
At that moment, his expression suddenly froze. He whipped his head to the side.
Not just him, Killer Bee, Tsunade, and all the others nearby turned to look as well.
Amid the countless disbelieving stares…
The blood that had splattered on the ground suddenly rose into the air, along with the severed fragments of flesh, all converging in a single direction.
In a shimmer of silver light, they reassembled!
Kaede stood there calmly, completely unscathed, silver light radiating from his body as chakra surged once more.
"Impossible!"
"He recovered? What kind of technique is that?!"
Gasps of disbelief rippled through the crowd.
Even Tsunade stared in shock. She could tell, this wasn't genjutsu, and it didn't seem to be a standard substitution jutsu either.
This strange, eerie technique…
It resembled Orochimaru's abilities!
Only now did she suddenly remember, Kaede wasn't just her student. He had also studied under Orochimaru!
When it came to medical ninjutsu, Orochimaru couldn't hold a candle to her. But when it came to sheer survivability, even with the Strength of a Hundred Seal, she had to admit she was still a step behind Orochimaru!
"That brat… even managed to scare me a little."
Tsunade exhaled slowly, her gaze sweeping over the stunned Kumogakure ninjas.
Bathed in silver light, Kaede looked calmly at A and Killer Bee.
"Son of the Third Raikage and the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki… So you set up a barrier under the riverbed. That last attack was pretty nasty, if I hadn't been prepared, things might've gone differently."
If he hadn't stayed alert, he might not have been able to save Tsunade in time. That sneak attack was no joke, definitely a royal flush-tier crisis. Kaede couldn't help but silently marvel.
A's face darkened as he let out a cold snort.
"So you're the Silver Flash who killed Chiyo, huh? You've got some tricks, and you're fast, but nowhere near fast enough to match me!"
Despite their ambush failing, A still had absolute confidence in the strength of himself and his brother!
No more words.
Buzz!!
The lightning around the Fourth Raikage flared as he erupted with explosive speed, vanishing from sight and reappearing instantly at Kaede's left.
His hand, crackling with lightning, slashed toward Kaede's neck like a blade.
As he struck, his booming voice echoed out:
"Liger Bomb: Dance of a Thousand Chiyos!"
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