"Lady Tsunade…"
Yūhi Kurenai and the other Konoha shinobi finally snapped out of their daze upon seeing Kaede wear Tsunade's cloak. One by one, they hurried over.
Tsunade turned to them and said, "Contact the communications team and report the battle status at this camp. Kurenai, you handle the Raikage's corpse."
"Yes, Lady Tsunade!"
Suppressing the shock in their hearts, Kurenai and the others acknowledged the order and sprang into action.
The communication ninja tried to establish contact with Yamanaka Inoichi, the communications squad leader stationed at the main camp. The connection was quickly made, and the situation was reported.
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
After a few seconds, Inoichi replied, "Understood. I'll report to the Hokage immediately," and then cut the link.
…
Meanwhile,
Tsunade and Kaede moved a bit farther away and sat down to rest. Tsunade had expended a vast amount of chakra, her Yin Seal was nearly depleted, and she was physically exhausted. She needed some time to recover.
Kaede, on the other hand, didn't need rest. While he appeared to be recovering, he was actually reflecting on the battle, analyzing the experience, especially the final technique he unleashed using the Kusanagi Sword: Heaven Flash.
The Nine-Tails might be able to withstand it.
But the Eight-Tails? Definitely not, it would be sliced clean in half.
That strike was already beyond the power of a Tailed Beast Bomb. It exceeded even the Rasenshuriken. Even someone like Orochimaru or Tsunade with her Strength of a Hundred Seal wouldn't survive if hit directly.
In terms of speed, he had surpassed the Third Raikage, likely reaching the peak level of the Fourth Raikage. Even the Mangekyō Sharingan wouldn't be able to track his movements anymore.
It seemed,
Very few Kage-level ninja could even hope to contend with him now.
At most, there were only a handful: Namikaze Minato, who could avoid attacks with sheer speed, and the Third Tsuchikage Onoki, who could fly and engage from a distance.
A direct clash between Heaven Flash and Dust Release would be a tough match to call.
Aside from those two, even legendary figures like Hiruzen Sarutobi and Hanzō of the Salamander wouldn't be able to fight him on equal footing. Even if they didn't fall in a single blow, they wouldn't last long.
Of course,
Even for Minato and Onoki, their ability to battle him came from unique jutsu. Killing him outright would be nearly impossible.
Dust Release doesn't affect the soul. As long as his consciousness isn't instantly wiped out, he can use Time Reversal to recover in a flash. Minato could try to drag him down with the Reaper Death Seal, but other attacks, Rasengan or otherwise, wouldn't matter, even if he took a dozen of them.
To truly surpass him, one would have to reach the Super Kage level.
And within the shinobi world, those who could reach that tier were extremely rare, barely a handful.
The Nine-Tails
Sage Body
Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan
Eight Gates Formation
Rinnegan
Tenseigan
...
Among these, the Sage Body existed only in Hashirama Senju. The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan was exclusive to Uchiha Madara at the moment. The Eight Gates Formation was only known by Might Duy, Might Guy had just started learning. The Tenseigan was on the moon, so it posed no current threat.
That left only the Nine-Tails and the Rinnegan as active concerns.
The Nine-Tails' speed, durability, and chakra reserves were on a completely different level from the Eight-Tails. Heaven Flash might be blocked.
If it came down to a battle of attrition, he might be able to exhaust the Nine-Tails by using Heaven Flash repeatedly, eventually outpacing its regeneration.
But nothing was certain.
The Rinnegan was also troublesome.
A standard Shinra Tensei might not stop Heaven Flash, but a supercharged version might. More importantly, Heaven Flash was fundamentally chakra-based, and the Rinnegan's Preta Path could absorb chakra.
If it were just the Six Paths of Pain, he could defeat them one by one with speed. But if it were Nagato's real body, the fight would be much more difficult, he could use all six abilities simultaneously, releasing them in an instant. The Rinnegan would definitely be able to track Kaede's movements clearly.
As Kaede was pondering all this,
He suddenly heard Yūhi Kurenai's voice.
"Kaede-senpai…"
"What is it?"
Kaede looked over to see Kurenai's face was a bit stiff. Deep in her eyes, there was still a lingering shock. He tilted his head slightly and asked.
Kurenai hesitated for a moment, then said, "Um… we can't process the Third Raikage's corpse. We've tried several methods, but none of them worked."
Back when she was watching from afar, Kurenai hadn't truly understood the Raikage's terrifying might, she had only sensed his immense chakra and lightning-fast speed.
But when Tsunade assigned her to deal with his body, she was stunned to discover that her kunai couldn't even cut the Raikage's skin!
Even when she infused it with chakra, it wouldn't budge.
His body was like a monster's, and yet Kaede had managed to defeat such a foe!
Even now, it still feels surreal.
"His body's been enhanced with Lightning Release chakra. You'll need Wind Release techniques to deal with it," Kaede replied, glancing at the Raikage's corpse.
Without being in Lightning Release Chakra Mode, the Raikage's durability was greatly reduced. A high-level Wind Release jutsu should be enough to break through.
"None of us specialize in Wind Release…" Kurenai said awkwardly.
Kaede was a little surprised but soon shook his head helplessly. He stood up and followed Kurenai over to the corpse, personally taking care of the matter.
…
Meanwhile, in the Konoha Camp,
Inside the central command tent, Konoha's elite Jōnin and several clan heads, along with the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi himself, had gathered.
A shinobi rushed in and reported urgently to Hiruzen, "Hokage-sama! The Cloud ninja are making a move, there appears to be a large-scale mobilization at their camp!"
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I understand," he said.
They had already sent the Third Raikage's son and the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki to launch a surprise attack at the rear, aiming to split their forces. Now, a massive frontal assault was likely next. This was the Hidden Cloud's strategy.
Even with Hiruzen personally overseeing this battlefield, the Cloud still dared to initiate a decisive battle. That made his expression grow grim, he felt the pressure closing in.
And it wasn't just this front,
Things had gone south on the Land of Earth front too.
Just recently, reports had arrived that Tsuchikage Onoki had used some unknown means to incite the Amegakure. Led by Hanzō of the Salamander, they launched a flanking assault.
Even with Orochimaru and Danzo doing their best to respond and cover Konoha's retreat, the losses had still been significant. The situation had become dire.
The only bright spot was in the Water Country.
There, Namikaze Minato had slain over ten enemy Jōnin and even took out two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, forcing the Kirigakure into a temporary retreat.
But if all three fronts fell at once, this war would collapse completely.
------------
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