Crackle.
Ai's entire body was instantly wrapped in blue chakra, arcs of electricity dancing around him.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
This was the armor the Raikage took pride in—a state where lightning cloaked his body, amplifying his durability, sharpening his reflexes, and pushing his speed to an inhuman level.
Ōnoki also rose into the air, his hands already forming seals. As a shinobi capable of flight, he naturally held a huge advantage in battle.
Of course, opponents on the level of the Six Paths were another matter entirely.
"Namikaze Kirito... die!"
"Lightning Release: Liger Bomb Chop!"
Boom!
Ai shattered the ground beneath his feet and launched himself skyward before crashing down like a bolt of lightning.
All of the lightning chakra gathered into his right hand, turning it into a glowing blade as he swung it straight at Namikaze Kirito.
Faced with the descending strike, Namikaze Kirito showed no intention of dodging. His right hand darkened with Armament Haki, then he drove his fist straight into Ai's hand.
Clang!
A metallic impact rang out.
The earth beneath Namikaze Kirito's feet exploded apart, but he himself did not move even an inch.
His fist met Ai's chop head-on, and in the end, it was Ai who was forced back first.
After being driven back more than ten meters, Ai stared at Namikaze Kirito in disbelief.
As a shinobi who had honed his body to the extreme, he had almost never suffered in a frontal clash.
And yet Namikaze Kirito had not moved at all.
Just how monstrous was the power hidden in that body? Ai had known he was strong, but he had not expected his taijutsu and physical might to be this terrifying.
This was no longer just a man.
He was a beast wearing human skin.
Ōnoki, still hovering in the air, was not surprised by the sight. If Namikaze Kirito had been easy to deal with, there would have been no need for Kumogakure and Iwagakure to join forces against him.
No matter how strong you are, you can't hide from Dust Release.
With that thought, Ōnoki thrust both hands downward.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
A translucent white cube formed between his palms and descended straight toward Namikaze Kirito.
The dust floating through the air vanished the instant it touched the technique.
That was the terror of Dust Release.
A kekkei tōta born from the fusion of wind, earth, and fire chakra natures—anything caught within it would be broken down to the atomic level in an instant.
Boom!
The cube slammed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and smoke.
A few moments later, as the dust slowly cleared, everyone finally saw what had happened inside.
Namikaze Kirito was still standing there.
He had not moved at all.
The only difference was that one hand was raised before him, covered by a white, translucent energy barrier. With such a simple defense, he had blocked even Dust Release without difficulty.
"He's not even in the same dimension as us...!"
Ai may have looked like a man who relied only on brute strength, but he was not stupid.
The moment he saw Namikaze Kirito casually block both of their attacks, he understood something clearly.
They might not be his opponents at all.
But there was no path left to retreat.
If they lost here, then with Namikaze Kirito's strength, both villages would be finished.
Ai was convinced that Namikaze Kirito was cruel, yet he ignored one simple fact:
They were the ones who had fired the Chakra Cannon first.
Most of Kumogakure had already been wiped out, and Ai himself bore the greatest responsibility for that.
Namikaze Kirito's goal was to rule the ninja world. And ruling required people. Otherwise, what meaning was there in ruling over an empty world?
Even so, even if they understood his intentions, there could be no compromise.
That was the stubborn pride of every hidden village.
No village was willing to bow beneath another.
For generations, the great villages had remained locked in balance. Aside from monsters like those from the Warring States Era, no single force had ever risen high enough to crush the others completely.
That was why the ninja world had never been unified.
But now, Namikaze Kirito had appeared and shattered the stalemate that had lasted for hundreds of years.
He had overwhelming strength.
He had ambition.
And he had the power to back up his dream of ruling the ninja world.
Of course Kumogakure and Iwagakure could never accept that.
That was why this war had begun.
At that moment, seeing Dust Release fail, Ōnoki flew back down to Ai's side.
There was no room left for hesitation.
No matter what grievances existed between them, the enemy stood right in front of them now. If they did not join forces, they might not even survive long enough to take another breath.
"Light-Weight Rock Technique!"
Ōnoki leaped onto Ai's back and placed a hand on him lightly.
The technique stripped away Ai's weight completely.
Then, using his own flight technique, Ōnoki lifted both of them into the air.
Ai immediately understood what he intended and began gathering power into his right fist.
The two of them shot straight toward Namikaze Kirito from above.
"Weighted Rock Technique!"
"Lightning Release: Liger Bomb Chop!"
Boom!
After Ōnoki increased the weight and force behind Ai's strike, blue chakra erupted from Ai's arm with even greater intensity. The sheer pressure of it tore through the air as it descended.
"Shinra Tensei."
Since Namikaze Kirito possessed the Rinnegan, naturally he intended to test its abilities as well.
Just like Nagato once had, he calmly extended one hand.
A massive repulsive force burst outward, colliding with the combined assault of the two Kage in midair.
Shinra Tensei controlled repulsion.
And when that repulsive force was layered together with the force granted by the Dark-Dark Fruit, its destructive power became terrifying.
A deafening roar shook the battlefield as both figures in the sky were blasted away.
The result of taking such a repulsive force head-on was immediate.
Blood spilled from both of their seven orifices.
If Ai had not been standing in front of him, then with Ōnoki's frail body, that single blow alone might have killed him.
When the shinobi of Kumogakure saw their Raikage sent flying, several of them rushed forward to catch him.
But the moment they touched Ai, they too were blasted backward by the lingering force.
The ground was smashed open with several massive craters.
Seeing the destruction he had caused, Namikaze Kirito could not help but feel a trace of emotion.
At the beginning, he had walked this world as if treading on thin ice.
Then he had risen to Kage level.
Beyond that, to a level above the Kage.
And now, he had stepped into the realm of Six Paths power.
In the current ninja world, at least on the surface, there was no one left who could stand against him alone.
At that moment, Ai and Ōnoki slowly rose to their feet again, fury burning in their eyes.
"Everyone, don't panic! Follow Lord Raikage! We attack together!"
Seeing that even the Raikage was no match for the enemy, Samui immediately tried to use numbers to overwhelm Namikaze Kirito.
Right now, the destruction of Kumogakure had already crushed her heart.
If she could die here on the battlefield, perhaps that would be a kind of release.
And she was not the only one thinking that way.
Quite a few Kumogakure shinobi felt the same.
So when they heard Samui's shout, they all tightened their grips on their kunai and glared at Namikaze Kirito with savage determination.
"Brat... you still alive over there?"
Ōnoki let out a rare, dry joke.
Because he already knew the truth.
After the exchange just now, the gap between them and Namikaze Kirito had become painfully clear.
Their chances of surviving this battle were slim.
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