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"It's been a while, Raikage-sama."
Hatake Sakumo stepped slowly out from the depths of the forest, the White Fang short blade in his hand glinting coldly. His expression was as calm and serene as when he first met Sawara Kiri and the others, showing little emotion.
However, Sawara Kiri, standing not far from him, could clearly feel the shiver brought by the massive Chakra constantly surging from deep within this man's body.
Even though the person reflected in his eyes was still the same, in all of Sawara Kiri's senses, Hatake Sakumo at this moment seemed to have transformed into a blade.
A supremely sharp short blade.
Just looking at him with his eyes even caused a slight stinging sensation deep in his pupils.
However, Hatake Sakumo's voice remained unhurried as he slowly paced around the Third Raikage: "For the sake of caution, I will ask a question in advance."
"This matter ends here today."
"What do you think, Raikage-sama?"
"..."
"Ha."
The Third Raikage listened to his words and suddenly chuckled, his expression, however, seemed to turn abruptly furious. His muscles swelled, veins bulged on his forehead, and he roared:
"Ends here!?"
"Are you insulting me?!"
"Konoha White Fang, what country's land do you think you're standing on?!"
"Kumogakure has never had cowards like you Konoha Ninja!"
Hatake Sakumo stopped, turned to look at him, and sighed slightly:
"Negotiations failed, then."
"In that case…"
Almost the instant his words fell.
The figures of both men vanished from everyone's sight simultaneously.
Only a belated clang could be heard in their ears.
"Whoosh—"
The wind howled.
Sawara Kiri crossed his arms in front of him, his feet firmly affixed to the ground by Chakra.
Deep within his azure eyes, the every movement of the two was reflected.
Six Eyes.
Although he had witnessed the Third Raikage's extreme speed many times, the shock brought by the collision of two super-high-speed Ninja with almost equal speeds was difficult to describe in words.
Incredibly fast.
This wasn't just Sawara Kiri's thought.
Even the Third Raikage, who was currently clashing with Hatake Sakumo, felt a similar tremor in his heart.
If his extreme speed was driven entirely by the super-high body activity brought by special Lightning Release and electromagnetic force, then the man in front of him was the epitome of Wind Release.
In his eyes, Hatake Sakumo was entirely enveloped in a pure white aura.
That was a 'protective circle' entirely composed of Wind Release.
The air in front of him, instead of becoming resistance, transformed into the strongest propulsion, continuously pulling him forward at a frantic pace.
At the same time, by virtue of his ultimate mastery of this jutsu, he could even leap continuously through the dense thickets with extremely flexible movements, repeatedly avoiding his charges.
He was even a step faster than him in straight-line speed.
And...
The Third Raikage, who was maintaining his forward charge, suddenly stopped, his body shifting to the side.
The next moment, a pure white blade light, piercing through the rain, shot straight for dozens of meters, plowing a straight Ravine into the ground with countless extremely fine wind blades, just grazing his body as it passed.
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—"
The Third Raikage lowered his head, looking at the Lightning Release armor on the side of his shoulder.
He saw a faint mark about half an inch deep on the otherwise intact surface of the armor, stirring up a surge of lightning.
"Oh dear…"
Hatake Sakumo stood on a treetop, looking down at the scene, appearing somewhat helpless.
Behind the Third Raikage were countless tree stumps, severed from their Roots.
"Although I've long heard the title 'Strongest Shield', it's truly unsettling that even a full-force strike couldn't leave the slightest mark."
His voice was quite serious, yet his tone somehow always carried a hint of nonchalance.
"Fortunately…"
"I'm not the main attacker."
As if remembering something, the Third Raikage suddenly looked up.
Could it be?!
Immediately after, the figure of 'Sawara Kiri' suddenly descended from the air, and amidst the violent whistling sound raised by Wind Release: Body Flicker Technique, he delivered a flying knee strike.
The target was directly his head.
"Indeed!"
The two overly powerful punches from before had left an extremely deep impression on the Third Raikage's mind.
If there was anyone in the entire Ninja World, besides that old man Ōnoki with his Dust Release, who could take him down in one move, it would probably only be that boy.
Driven by this sense of crisis, he didn't even have time to observe more while moving at such high speed. He immediately rolled and leaped to the side, transforming into a flickering streak of light.
However, this 'Sawara Kiri', the moment he landed, suddenly raised both hands and hooked his fingers.
"Sizzle!"
Amidst a harsh scraping sound, a dozen extremely thin steel wires, following the broken tree stumps, propped up around the Third Raikage's ankles, forming a tripping snare.
Almost the instant the Third Raikage's figure swept past that spot, the steel wires, colliding with the Lightning Release armor, snapped one by one.
But the slight resistance they caused immediately made him stumble for a fleeting moment.
This brief pause immediately made the battle-hardened Third Raikage realize the problem.
If it really was that boy who appeared just now, there would be no need for such an unnecessary trap.
But what exactly did they want to do?
Besides his fists, what else could break through my defense?
A series of questions flooded his mind in that brief moment.
Rolling, crouching, twisting his body, preparing to charge.
The Third Raikage didn't notice that as he lowered his body, his gaze swept across a puddle on the ground, meeting a pair of crimson eyes adorned with tomoe.
"Genjutsu: Sharingan."
The long-prepared ocular jutsu, following the intersection of their gazes, struck his mind.
For a Kage-level Ninja with extensive countermeasures against various genjutsu, including the Sharingan, a two-tomoe Sharingan genjutsu of this level, no matter how long it was prepared, would have an effect so weak it was almost laughable.
At most, a single instant.
He only needed this brief instant to break free using his formidable genjutsu resistance and spiritual energy.
However, in a life-or-death struggle, this mere instant was enough to decide everything.
"Buzz—!"
The Third Raikage seemed to foresee something, as a roar more violent than a landslide echoed in his ears.
He had heard this sound twice before.
It was precisely at the moment he broke through the genjutsu and stepped forward.
Sawara Kiri's figure suddenly appeared before him.
An inertia so massive that even he himself found it difficult to change pushed him forward, twisting his waist, transmitting power from his feet to his shoulders in a chain-like motion. His fist, like the tip of a long whip cracking through the sound barrier, plunged fiercely into the abdomen of this bear-like man with a harsh explosion.
During this process, the Third Raikage only had time to protect his head with both hands, his Lightning Release armor on his body becoming even more brilliant.
Limitless: Serious Punch!
"Boom!!!"
The sound of the punch was deafening.
The Lightning Release armor, which stood in front of this punch, shattered like ice crystals, and after a breach opened, it continuously collapsed backward in a domino-like fashion.
A deep mark was branded on the surface of his well-trained, powerful abdominal muscles.
Swelling blood surged up from his stomach, seemingly about to gush out of his mouth like a fountain.
However, a glimmer of hope still rose in the Third Raikage's heart.
'The last punch didn't hit my head either!'
But, the moment this thought popped into his mind.
He saw an dazzling pure white arc of light slash out from behind Sawara Kiri.
The wind howled fiercely.
Hatake Sakumo leaped over Sawara Kiri's figure, his blade sweeping forward.
"Die—"
"Bastard!!"
The two voices came almost simultaneously.
The Chakra short sword named White Fang deeply cut into the Third Raikage's shoulder and neck, continuing down towards his collarbone, but was blocked by his thick arms guarding either side of his head, embedding itself into his solid muscle and bone, splattering blood.
This well-trained physique was actually not much weaker than the armor wrapped around it, but this was the first time he had sustained a tangible wound since his Lightning Release jutsu reached mastery.
The continuously rising Wind Release Chakra and the re-ignited Lightning Release Armor collided, the mutually restrictive two Chakras constantly canceling and regenerating. The Third Raikage's Chakra, more terrifying than a Tailed Beast, continuously ignited into his power. Although he was on the suppressed side, he forcefully gained the upper hand in this duel with an even more terrifying 'quantity'.
"Hoo-ah—!"
The two figures, one burly and one lean, wrestled against each other amidst continuous roars, toppling giant trees and pushing backward step by step, their feet plowing deep furrows into the ground.
Until the very end, Hatake Sakumo finally felt his strength waning. He gritted his teeth, reluctantly retreated half a step to pull out his short sword, and then slashed forward again.
However, this time when he swung his attack, the recently shattered Lightning Release armor had already recovered by more than half.
"Squeak!"
Blood gushed from the wound across his chest.
This time, the Third Raikage seemed to finally feel a personal threat, leaping back dozens of meters.
He stood in confrontation with the Konoha group, both sides heavily panting.
Only Sawara Kiri silently gazed at Hatake Sakumo's back.
Indeed.
This man is too dangerous.
It's best to keep a few more trump cards.
Whether the Raikage died or not had little to do with him as an infiltrator, but how to preserve his strength during intense combat had a lot to do with him.
Sawara Kiri knew very well what he was here for.
The three serious punches he had delivered to the Raikage were enough to solidify his standing and value in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes.
"..."
This silent standoff lasted for nearly three minutes.
Both the Raikage's side and the Konoha's side were waiting for news from their own people.
Until the end.
"Whoosh."
A Byakugan Ninja in a Konoha uniform leaped down from a treetop and said in a low voice:
"Sakumo-sama, Lady Tsunade and Mokume Jonin have already been transferred."
Upon hearing this, Hatake Sakumo finally seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
He said nothing more, merely staring in the direction of the Third Raikage, slowly and cautiously retreating backward.
Only after moving back over a hundred meters did he lead everyone to leap onto the treetops.
This time, the Third Raikage simply watched them leave quietly, saying nothing.
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