"Calm down, Namikaze Minato. Being sentimental in war isn't something a qualified ninja should be doing."
Namikaze Minato grabbed the pouch containing his specially made Flying Thunder God kunai, quickly left the main tent, and prepared to lead his forces toward the Cloud Village camp to intercept their return to base.
...
On the distant side of the Land of Lightning, a vast army of ten thousand Hidden Stone ninja had already entered the country's border.
"Stop!!!"
The ninja leading the entire force suddenly raised his hand, halting the army's advance.
The abrupt stop made many in the massive force rise onto their toes, looking around curiously, wondering what had happened and why they had suddenly been ordered to stop.
Looking closely, several hundred meters ahead of the ten thousand Hidden Stone ninja stood a tall man with dark skin and thick, light-blond hair like a lion's mane. He stared coldly at the ninja army before him. Facing a force exceeding ten thousand, there wasn't the slightest trace of fear in his eyes—his aura even faintly suppressed theirs.
In the completely opposite direction, a black-haired man stood on a steep cliff, observing everything from afar.
Akashō glanced up at the sky. It was already nearing evening—nightfall would arrive in less than an hour.
Originally, Akashō had been heading toward the Cloud Village, intending to act when the opportunity arose. Unexpectedly, he encountered the Hidden Stone army midway and temporarily changed his plan to follow behind them. And now, that same army had run into the Third Raikage before even reaching their destination.
Good thing I didn't arrive at the Cloud Village ahead of time—otherwise, I would've missed this show.
"So that's the legendary Third Raikage…"
Akashō narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the man's appearance, but the distance was too great—he couldn't see clearly at all.
"That guy… is he really planning to fight ten thousand Hidden Stone ninja by himself?"
Akashō frowned slightly, doubtful whether the Third Raikage could handle such a massive force.
Logically speaking, the Tsuchikage of the Hidden Stone Village should be well aware of the Raikage's strength. If he still sent ten thousand ninja, then in his judgment, that force should be enough to deal with both the Third Raikage and the Cloud Village's main camp.
But now, the Third Raikage was facing this army alone—without bringing a single Cloud Village ninja—which directly contradicted that assumption.
For a moment, Akashō fell into deep thought about just how strong the Third Raikage truly was.
"Well, I'll find out soon enough. What's the rush?"
Akashō scratched his head.
"I'll observe for now and decide later whether to make a move. It's not dark yet anyway—no need to act in a hurry."
He planned to make his entrance at night. First, because if the Third Raikage was too powerful and he couldn't handle him, transforming into the Colossal Titan only to get his nape pierced would be a fast way to die.
Second, the Colossal Titan's sheer size meant that once he appeared, a huge portion of these ten thousand Hidden Stone ninja would be wiped out immediately.
And these cannon-fodder ninja were the main course for his Kokushibo template. If too many of them died early, the reputation points he could harvest would be significantly reduced.
If he harvested all the reputation points while in Kokushibo form, far fewer ninja would die. After that, transforming into the Colossal Titan would yield a completely different level of gains compared to doing it the other way around.
"So that's the Third Raikage…"
The leader of the Hidden Stone army looked at the approaching figure and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
A man's reputation precedes him. The Third Raikage's name resounded throughout the ninja world—he was one of the five standing at the very pinnacle.
The strongest shield, the strongest spear, a man who once fought the Eight-Tails barehanded—how could anyone not feel awe?
Fear gradually surfaced in his eyes, and he instinctively began stepping backward. Those around him showed similar reactions.
"What are you afraid of? No matter how strong he is, he's just one person. As long as he's human, he has limits!"
"Exactly! You think he can kill all of us?"
"Don't forget how much the Third Raikage's head is worth. Even if only one person survives, that reward is theirs!"
"Someone's going to claim that reward in the end—why can't it be me?!"
"That's right! Even aside from the money, the honor of fighting the Third Raikage—maybe even taking his head—who wouldn't want that?!"
As these voices rang out, the fear spreading through the Hidden Stone army was abruptly replaced with rising morale. They shouted wildly, all eager to claim the Third Raikage's head.
"Hah. Trash who only find courage in numbers, and you dare dream of taking my head?"
Having already approached within a few dozen meters, the Third Raikage heard their words and let out a wild laugh.
Crackling lightning suddenly burst across his body. Dense electric currents formed something close to a tangible armor, causing his long hair to stand on end like sharp spikes. He roared:
"Come at me, you worthless insects!!!"
A powerful aura exploded from him, even causing the surrounding air to tremble.
"Kill!!!"
"Charge!!!"
No matter how overwhelming the Third Raikage's presence was, those blinded by greed no longer hesitated. They roared and charged forward.
"Fire Style!"
"Lightning Style!"
"Wind Style!"
"Earth Style!"
"Water Style!"
Aside from close-combat fighters, the ninjutsu specialists unleashed a barrage of techniques. Multicolored attacks streaked through the air, drowning the Third Raikage in explosions, flames, and thick smoke.
Watching from afar, Akashō narrowed his eyes. The sheer quantity of these attacks made up for any gap in quality. Even the Tailed Beast Bombs used by the two jinchūriki on the previous battlefield weren't much stronger than this.
And within the ninja power system, the human body was usually fragile—no one should be able to withstand such an assault.
However, according to the ninja world knowledge scroll given by Orochimaru, the Cloud Village specialized in close combat, with their core technique being Lightning Release body-enhancement.
Among these, the Lightning Release Chakra Mode was especially famous. And as the Third Raikage, A had pushed it to its absolute limit—his lightning was so dense it was nearly comparable to a Tailed Beast cloak.
This was known as the Lightning Armor.
And the Third Raikage's Lightning Armor was called the strongest shield!
Sure enough, in the next moment, a streak of blue light tore through the smoke at incredible speed, transforming into a spear-like blur that pierced straight into the Hidden Stone army. It drove deep into their formation, his arm like a lance, impaling dozens of bodies in an instant.
"That's pretty terrifying…"
Akashō muttered in admiration. Just that level of defense alone was already extremely difficult to break—let alone his "strongest spear" offensive power.
"Damn… now I'm getting excited."
Akashō grinned and slapped his trembling thigh.
"Calm down. It's not my turn yet."