In the forest, flashes of lightning intertwined with scattered wind blades.
After the Third Great War, a period of peace had passed. Many ninja had forgotten the last time they witnessed such a high-level battle.
And since both fighters excelled in ninjutsu-enhanced taijutsu, their clash erupted into a fierce exchange from the very start.
Aoba held no advantage in strength or speed, yet he still managed to trade blows with the Raikage. This was thanks to his superior weapon—the Kusanagi Sword.
Though there was more than one Kusanagi Sword in this world, it was undeniably a divine weapon. Even with the Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode, he didn't dare to directly clash his flesh against the Kusanagi Sword.
Earlier, Aoba's wind blades couldn't harm him because he had been using ordinary ninja swords.
Those swords couldn't channel Chakra, so he had to release Chakra from his hands, enveloping the blade externally before infusing wind nature to form his Wind Release taijutsu.
Back then, his Chakra wasn't amplified by the sword—instead, he had to expend extra Chakra just to protect the blade.
But now, with the Kusanagi Sword—a top-tier divine weapon—Chakra flowed directly through the blade. His own Chakra synergized with the sword, reinforcing each other, making the Kusanagi Sword even more terrifying in battle.
Even the Raikage's formidable physique didn't dare to recklessly engage with it.
"So strong! He's actually holding his own against the Raikage!" The surrounding Leaf ninja were electrified with excitement. The earlier demoralization from facing an enemy Kage while lacking one of their own had now turned into soaring morale.
Nearby, Killer Bee knew things were going badly.
At this point in the fight, the Raikage had already lost. It came down to the imbalance in their statuses. Against Aoba, the Raikage should have displayed overwhelming dominance from the start.
After all, as the pinnacle combatant of his village, facing a standard combatant from an enemy village, failing to instantly crush his opponent meant a complete loss in terms of momentum and prestige.
Even if they won this battle in the end, they were still deep in the Land of Fire's territory. Without swiftly securing an overwhelming advantage, the Raikage had effectively lost on a strategic level.The Raikage noticed this, but he didn't stop. Instead, he intensified his assault. Precisely because of this, he was even more determined to kill Aoba.
They had waited so long for Konoha to weaken like this. If another figure on the level of Sakumo Hatake were to emerge, all their waiting would be for nothing.
As the Raikage exerted his full strength, Aoba once again felt the pressure.
He had never gone all out because he didn't possess as much chakra as the Raikage. He could only rely on Sage Mode enhancements and the sharpness of the Kusanagi Sword to buy time.
Their battle was nothing like a conventional shinobi fight—it was more like two samurai fighting to the death.
In less than five minutes, Aoba already began to feel his chakra running low.
His Sage Mode was nearly flawless, and its limits had yet to be tested. But his chakra reserves simply weren't enough.
Once his chakra was exhausted, Sage Mode would also become unsustainable.
Under the immense pressure, Aoba had already started planning his retreat. However, at that moment, his gaze flickered almost imperceptibly toward the distance. Then, mustering the last of his chakra, he clashed head-on with the Raikage.
"Rai-Ga: Suijin Senmai!"—the Raikage's ultimate technique in Lightning Release Chakra Mode. Aoba unleashed three Air Cutting Flash slashes in succession, but the Raikage forcefully broke through them all.
And in the split second between Aoba's sword swing—his old momentum fading, new strength yet to form—the Raikage's speed suddenly surged again. His right hand, shaped like a spear, thrust straight toward Aoba's chest.
Aoba swiftly brought his sword back to counter, but he was still a step too slow.
He felt a violent force strike his chest before instantly retreating. The next moment, his entire body was sent flying backward.
However, what made the Raikage frown was that, the instant he struck Aoba, the latter's left hand had formed a wind-based jutsu.
This technique had no offensive power whatsoever—it merely kicked up a massive cloud of dust, completely obscuring the battlefield.
As a result, almost no one around them clearly saw his finishing blow.
The next second, Aoba crashed into the crowd of Konoha shinobi behind him.
He planted the Kusanagi Sword into the ground, kneeling on one knee, one hand clutching his chest, silent.
Several medics rushed forward to treat him, but when they reached him, they saw Aoba slowly rise to his feet and release his left hand from his chest.
At that moment, the surrounding Konoha shinobi clearly saw that Aoba's chest—his clothes completely torn—bore only a faint red mark, seemingly from the earlier exchange.
But other than that, there wasn't a single other injury on his body.
"That was too close, Lord Raikage. Just a little more, and my chest would have been pierced," Aoba taunted, taking a few steps forward.
The Raikage's expression darkened.
Others might not have seen clearly, but he knew for certain—his strike had definitely landed on Aoba's chest.
Though the Kusanagi Sword had partially blocked it, preventing a full penetration, that blow should have shattered Aoba's ribs.
At the very least, it should have left him crippled, if not dead. Yet now, he appeared completely unharmed. This anomaly left the Raikage utterly bewildered.He knew Aoba must have pulled some trick. The dust the other party kicked up at the end was meant to conceal his move.
But the Raikage didn't possess the Byakugan, and during Aoba's backward flight, he couldn't clearly see what the other had done.
Whatever it was, it must have been an astonishing secret. So much so that Aoba didn't even trust his own Konoha comrades, needing such methods to hide it.
The Raikage's killing intent surged, yet his wariness deepened simultaneously. He glanced down at his right hand—now only three fingers remained.
Earlier, the Raikage's One-Finger Nukite had successfully struck Aoba's chest. But at that moment, Aoba's sword had also arrived.
Had things continued, it would have been Aoba's death in exchange for the Raikage losing his right hand.
With victory already assured, the Raikage naturally wouldn't make such a trade with Aoba. As a Kage renowned for his ninja taijutsu, losing his right hand would be a fatal blow.
Thus, he chose to strike and retreat immediately, aiming for a flawless victory. Based on their previous exchanges, this decision should have been sound.
Yet unexpectedly, at the very last moment, Aoba's sword suddenly accelerated. His right hand lost another finger.
Counting the little finger severed by that strange Lightning Release technique in their last encounter, this marked two fingers lost to Aoba in consecutive battles. Such a record was the greatest shame of his life.
Most crucially, that brat had somehow restored his injuries using unknown means.
To outside observers, Aoba merely had his chest clothing torn, while the Raikage had lost a finger.
In this duel, it appeared the Raikage had lost!!!