At the Land of Lightning's border, dark clouds pressed down overhead.
The Third Raikage stood in the center of the ruined outpost, charred corpses of Kumo-nin at his feet.
The bodies were twisted and deformed, their skin still bearing traces of lava burns. The air was thick with a pungent burnt smell.
"Lava Style..."
The Third Raikage's voice was low like muffled thunder, veins bulging beneath his dark skin.
"Iwagakure's Jinchuriki!"
He crouched down, his finger touching the lava crystals on a corpse.
The crystals shattered, revealing the carbonized muscle tissue beneath. This was the unique trace left by Lava Style.
"Lord Raikage!"
An ANBU arrived with the Body Flicker Technique, kneeling on one knee.
"That Iwagakure spy hideout was also counterattacked by Iwa-nin. The scene... is equally tragic."
The Third Raikage's fists crackled loudly. Lightning Style chakra erupted uncontrollably from his body, plowing spiderweb-like cracks in the surrounding ground.
"Give the order!"
He suddenly stood up, his voice like thunder.
"Bring our people back!"
"Also, assemble the Lightning Style unit and follow me to the border!"
"Sir, should we first send a protest to the Tsuchikage..."
An advisor tried to dissuade him.
"Protest?"
The Third Raikage laughed angrily, pointing at the corpses on the ground.
"This is Iwagakure's answer!"
Two hours later, an elite unit of thirty Kumo-nin from Kumogakure arrived here, reaching the border line following the Third Raikage.
The group traveled light, moving extremely fast.
"Stop."
The Third Raikage suddenly raised his hand. He suddenly crouched down, pointing at barely visible footprints on the ground.
"...Iwa-nin boot sole patterns."
An ANBU ninja nearby quickly stepped forward to examine them, immediately saying in surprise.
"Lord Raikage, based on the sole patterns, they should have gone in that direction!"
After examining them, the ninja pointed toward the west.
The Third Raikage slowly stood. His knotted muscles swelled under the stimulation of Lightning Style chakra, his skin gradually turning deep blue.
Lightning Style Armor! Activate!
Violent lightning instantly enveloped his entire body. The Third Raikage immediately activated Lightning Style Chakra Mode, at this moment like a thunder god descending.
He turned his head and roared at the unit.
"You all stand by here!"
Before his words finished, he had already transformed into a blue lightning bolt charging into the forest.
"Boom!"
A tree thick enough to require three people to encircle it was snapped at the waist. Amid flying wood chips, the Third Raikage's fist penetrated an Iwa-nin's chest.
The person didn't even have time to scream before his heart carbonized under the Lightning Style's high temperature.
"Kumogakure's Raikage?!"
The other four Iwa-nin were shocked and hurriedly formed seals.
"Earth Style, Earth Wall!"
A thick earthen wall rose from the ground, only to be split in half by the Third Raikage's hand chop.
Amid flying rubble, he brought his right hand's four fingers together, lightning condensing at his fingertips into a dazzling blade of light.
Hell Stab, Four-Finger Nukite!
A flash of blue light, and bowl-sized bloody holes appeared in the chests of four Iwa-nin almost simultaneously.
Their expressions froze in terrified instants, their bodies slowly falling.
The Third Raikage shook off the blood on his hand, the fury in his eyes not diminished in the slightest.
He looked toward the Land of Earth's direction, Lightning Style Chakra Mode fully deployed.
He charged out.
Five miles away, an Iwagakure squad of over ten people was moving rapidly.
Clearly they had heard the commotion here.
"Think you can escape?"
The Third Raikage suddenly appeared.
His legs bent slightly, the ground collapsing into a large crater under the terrifying force.
The next moment, the Third Raikage shot out like a cannonball. Wherever he passed, trees toppled and the ground was plowed into a deep furrow.
The Iwagakure squad heard the roar from behind. When they turned back, they only saw a blue lightning bolt arriving in an instant.
"Scatter and flee!!"
The captain's words abruptly stopped.
The Third Raikage's fist had already crushed his head, red and white matter splattering on the faces of surrounding comrades.
The Third Raikage leaped into the air, his body spinning at high speed, as if transforming into a lightning tornado.
The Earth Style defenses the Iwa-nin hastily deployed were like paper, easily torn apart.
Severed limbs and remains flew everywhere, blood dyeing the earth within ten meters dark red.
When the Third Raikage crushed the throat of the last Iwa-nin, urgent whistle sounds came from the distance.
It was Iwagakure reinforcements.
"Perfect!"
The Third Raikage laughed maniacally, his Lightning Style chakra surging again.
"Today I'll let you know the price of provoking Kumogakure!"
He charged at full force toward the direction of the whistle sounds.
The Iwagakure outposts he encountered along the way were directly smashed through. Ninja who couldn't escape in time were pierced through vital points by Hell Stab, their lives ending.
The Third Raikage was like a humanoid war machine, plowing a bloody path along the Land of Earth's border line.
Two hours later, the Third Raikage had penetrated ten miles into the Land of Earth's territory.
His breathing was slightly labored, but his fighting spirit grew ever higher.
Just as he prepared to continue advancing, the ground suddenly began shaking violently.
"Rumble!"
A hundred meters ahead, two figures charged over.
The one on the left was completely wrapped in lava armor, while the one on the right was surrounded by high-temperature steam.
"Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Five-Tails Jinchuriki!"
The Third Raikage's pupils contracted, then he revealed a fierce smile.
"Perfect, saves me from looking for you!"
"Four-Tails Jinchuriki, I'll deal with you first!"
As the saying goes, when enemies meet, their eyes blaze with fury.
The Third Raikage already had a violent temper. Seeing Roshi's appearance, he wanted nothing more than to grind his bones to dust.
Four-Tails Jinchuriki Roshi snorted coldly.
"A mad dog Raikage actually dares to intrude into the Land of Earth alone!"
"Aren't you afraid of provok..."
"Why waste words with him?"
Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han interrupted Roshi's words, flexing his wrists as steam erupted forth.
"Those who trespass across borders should just be killed!"
The Third Raikage didn't respond, directly launching his attack.
He drew his right hand to his waist, extending only three fingers, lightning condensing into an even more intense blade of light.
Hell Stab, Three-Finger Nukite!
Roshi didn't dare be negligent. His hands rapidly formed seals.
"Lava Style, Granite!"
Scorching lava erupted from his mouth, solidifying in the air into a magma shield.
"Tssss!"
Lightning collided with lava, kicking up a large cloud of dust.
The Third Raikage's Nukite penetrated the lava shield, but his hand clearly also bore traces of being scorched. The Third Raikage's speed noticeably slowed.
Roshi seized the opportunity to leap back while simultaneously spewing three lava bullets.
"Boom boom boom!"
The Third Raikage employed the Body Flicker Technique, like blue lightning.
"Is this all you've got?"
The Third Raikage taunted, suddenly turning toward Han and the hundred-man Iwa-nin unit behind him.
"I'll deal with you first! Then take my time playing!"
Han was already prepared, steam armor at full power.
"Boil Style, Unrivaled Strength!"
His fist brought sonic boom sounds as it met the Third Raikage.
"Bang!"
The Third Raikage was already among the fastest in the shinobi world.
He also raised his fist, blue chakra surging violently throughout his body.
The two fists collided, the shockwave shattering all rocks within ten meters.
Han retreated three steps, his arm numb.
The Third Raikage also swayed slightly, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"Interesting."
He licked his lips.
"Again!"
Han took a deep breath, the Five-Tails Kokuō's chakra within his body surging wildly.
"Tailed Beast Transformation!"
His skin began turning red, two tails extending from his back.
Seeing this, Roshi also held nothing back.
His body swelled and deformed, in the blink of an eye transforming into a giant lava gorilla.
"Roar!"
Fully transformed, Roshi let out an earth-shaking roar, opening his mouth to spew a ten-meter-diameter lava torrent.
The Third Raikage laughed loudly.
"Now we're talking!"
He crossed his arms before his chest, Lightning Style chakra condensing to its limit.
The lava torrent engulfed him, turning a hundred-meter radius into a sea of fire.
Rocks melted, trees instantly vaporized, the air thick with a pungent sulfur smell.
"Is he finished?"
Han vigilantly watched the center of the sea of fire.
Suddenly, a blue light split through the lava!
The Third Raikage, smoke rising from his entire body, charged out, his hair now completely standing on end.
Lightning Style power unleashed to the extreme.
His eyes still burned with insane fighting spirit.
"My turn!"
He brought his hands together.
"Lightning Style, Black Panther!!"
A black lightning sphere transformed into a fierce tiger rapidly flying through the air, then exploded. Countless lightning spears shot in all directions.
Roshi used four tails to protect his body but was still pierced by several lightning spears, letting out pained roars.
Han relied on steam jets to evade but was still grazed on the left shoulder by a lightning bolt, immediately tearing skin and flesh.
"Damn it!"
Roshi flew into a rage, Four-Tails Son Gokū's chakra completely releasing.
"Lava Style, Scorching Stream Rock!"
Roshi immediately slammed both hands into the ground.
The ground split with countless fissures, scorching magma gushing out like fountains.
The Third Raikage shuttled through the magma rain, several times nearly swallowed by lava.
Han seized the opportunity, chakra throughout his body like boiling water.
In the blink of an eye, it condensed into the head of Five-Tails Kokuō, then he controlled it to open its mouth.
A pitch-black Tailed Beast Ball condensed in the air above.
"Boom!"
The Tailed Beast Ball shot toward the Third Raikage like a cannonball.
And at this critical moment.
A dazzling white light shot from the distance.
The Tailed Beast Ball was covered by the white light, disappearing into the air in moments.
Both sides simultaneously looked toward the direction the white light came from.
A short old man floated in mid-air.
He looked at them with a serious expression.
"Ōnoki?"
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