Hearing the Fourth Raikage call out his name, Uchiha Ryosuke was utterly confused.
What does this have to do with me?
Was it because he disrupted some covert plan that the Raikage now bore a grudge against him personally?
At the forefront of the Konoha formation, Hiashi Hyuga, the clan head, was visibly enraged.
"Fourth Raikage, how shameless can you be? Even here on the battlefield, you're slinging mud?"
"It was your Kumogakure that attempted to kidnap my daughter to steal our Hyuga clan's bloodline limit—the Byakugan!"
"And now you dare twist facts and play the victim? Don't think that just because your village is known for its brute strength, Konoha will be easy prey!"
Uchiha Fugaku stepped forward to calm things down.
"Clan Head Hiashi, don't let him rile you up. He's just trying to shake our morale."
Then he turned his sharp gaze toward the Fourth Raikage.
"If you want a fight, then fight. Spare us the pointless theatrics."
The Fourth Raikage had never truly expected them to surrender anyone. If that had been possible, he wouldn't have mobilized an entire force to the border. But he still had to follow through with his pretense of negotiation.
"So be it," he said coldly. "Then we fight."
As planned, Hiashi Hyuga took a bold step forward and pointed at the Raikage with firm resolve.
"Fourth Raikage, you arrogant brute—do you dare face me one-on-one?"
The Raikage blinked in surprise. Old brute? Was that insult directed at him?
A twitch crossed his face as he scowled.
He was still in his prime, after all! He wasn't some elderly shinobi well past his peak. Besides, this Hiashi Hyuga wasn't exactly a youngster either!
"You bastard… who do you think you're talking to!?"
Despite his anger, the Raikage didn't charge immediately. Instead, he turned to his subordinates behind him.
"The battle begins now. I'll deal with this one first—then I'll support the rest of you."
"Yugito Nii, Killer Bee—don't hold back. This is war."
"The rest of you, support the Jinchuriki with coordination."
With that, he launched forward like a thunderclap, fists raised to crush the Hyuga clan head.
Hiashi Hyuga stood his ground, fully aware of his opponent's strength.
But that was exactly the point—he had to keep the Raikage engaged and away from his teammates. The worst possible outcome would be for the Raikage and Killer Bee to combine forces—the infamous A-B combo. That deadly pair could overwhelm most Kage-level shinobi.
The Raikage's target, Hiashi, knew this full well. But he wasn't afraid.
Their fists collided.
To his credit, Hiashi didn't dodge—he took the punch directly, chakra focused in his palm. Instantly, he realized just how powerful the Raikage was. No wonder this man was the leader of Kumogakure—his sheer strength was monstrous.
But Hiashi wasn't just any shinobi either.
As soon as their fists met, Hiashi channeled chakra through his arms and delivered it into the Raikage's body—precise, targeted strikes intended to disrupt the flow of chakra and damage internal organs through his Gentle Fist (Jūken) technique.
This was what made the Hyuga clan so feared in close combat.
A taijutsu expert like the Raikage? That was exactly the kind of opponent Gentle Fist was most effective against.
On the other side, the Raikage could tell something was wrong. His muscles stiffened slightly, his chakra flow was disrupted—he recognized this sensation.
"The Gentle Fist of the Hyuga clan… dirty tricks," he growled.
He immediately leapt backward, chakra flaring. His arms surged with power as he flushed out Hiashi's invasive chakra.
Hiashi's lips curled into a subtle smile.
"If it's such a minor trick, then why retreat? Shouldn't it be nothing to you?"
Just as he had predicted, Gentle Fist countered brute-force taijutsu well.
Maybe, just maybe—this battle would become the moment when the Hyuga name would resound across the shinobi world once more.
He'd originally planned only to stall the Raikage, not defeat him outright. But now… he had bolder ideas.
If he could keep the Raikage away from Killer Bee, the A-B combo would never form.
Hiashi was well aware: only someone of Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato's caliber could hope to beat that duo. Minato was a rare genius—an anomaly.
But the Raikage was far from done.
Furious at Hiashi's taunt, he exploded with a roar of chakra.
Lightning surged over his skin as he activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode—a technique that dramatically enhanced his defense and speed by coating his entire body in lightning-natured chakra.
"Let's see if your 'tricks' can pierce this," he snarled.
With a thunderous boom, the Raikage shot forward—faster than ever before—his arm cocked for a devastating punch.
To the untrained eye, he might've vanished altogether.
But Hiashi saw it.
He spun rapidly in place, releasing a burst of chakra from all tenketsu points of his body.
"Rotation!"
The spinning shield of chakra erupted, deflecting the Raikage's full-speed punch.
The Raikage was blasted backward, landing on his feet, eyes wide.
"A solid defense," he muttered. Then his lips curled into a grin. "Let's see what breaks first—your defense, or my offense!"
Hiashi's expression turned serious.
Even though he'd successfully repelled the Raikage's blow, he could still feel the raw destructive force. Despite having a perfect defense, it wouldn't take many more hits like that to wear him down.
This was going to be a prolonged battle.
As Hiashi darted toward more open terrain, the Raikage immediately gave chase.
That suited Hiashi perfectly.
Even with the Raikage's lightning armor, Gentle Fist would still wear him down over time. And if that didn't work, he had other techniques in reserve.
He just needed to keep the Raikage busy long enough.
Meanwhile, the battlefield shifted again.
With their commander now deep in pursuit of Hiashi, it was time for Kumogakure's ultimate weapons to enter the fray.
Killer Bee and Yugito Nii exchanged a glance—and began their transformation.
Beastly red chakra cloaked their bodies as both began partial transformations into their tailed beasts.
Four tails emerged behind Killer Bee, while Yugito sprouted one tail, her nails elongating into deadly claws. Their monstrous chakra made the very air grow heavy.
The shinobi of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans watched in dread.
These were Jinchuriki—living weapons.
Even among elite jonin and chunin, few had ever witnessed a Jinchuriki in combat. Many swallowed nervously, gripping their kunai tighter.
They were strong. But against this?
They felt like kindling before a wildfire.
"Stay behind us and support!" Killer Bee barked to the Cloud ninja behind him.
"Yes, sir!" came the reply—relieved, even.
No one wanted to stand in the path of rampaging tailed beasts.
As red chakra roared and the air buzzed with tension, the next phase of the battle was about to begin.
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