What Is the Will of Fire?

At the center of the impact site, a figure slowly rose to his feet. His broad back radiated an incomparable sense of oppression.

It was Third Raikage A.

"Father!"

"Father?!"

"Lord Raikage!!"

Dada forced himself to stay alert, though his eyelids felt as heavy as if they had been filled with lead.

Yet at that moment, he felt an overwhelming sense of security.

"Urgh... Hah... Hah..."

Before the Third Raikage could speak, he spat out a mouthful of blood and began gasping heavily.

Dada: "..."

Yotsuki Ki: "..."

Was he already critically injured the moment he landed...

The Third Raikage wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said helplessly, "The Heavenly Transfer Technique is still incomplete. I actually got hurt... Now then, let me see which bastards dared lay their hands on my sons!"

Having regained his composure, A looked toward Torifu Akimichi and the other three gathered together.

A cold bead of sweat trickled down Tsunade's face as she stiffly said, "Isn't that the Raikage? Why is he here of all places?!"

"That pressure is way too ridiculous. Shouldn't we leave, Senior Akimichi..." Jiraiya's eyelid twitched.

"The Third Hokage, known as the strongest Raikage? I wonder how far he is from Sensei..." Orochimaru revealed a grave expression.

Before he could finish speaking, a fist rapidly enlarged in Orochimaru's vision. Moving too fast for anyone to react, the Third Raikage blew Orochimaru's head apart with a single punch.

Bang!

Orochimaru's head was scattered evenly across dozens of meters behind him, while his headless body slowly crumpled to the ground.

"The feel was a little off, but that'll do for a greeting." The Third Raikage shook the blood from his hand, utterly unconcerned about being surrounded by Konohagakure ninja. He continued, "Torifu Akimichi, you've got some nerve. You dared attack my sons. Is Konohagakure planning to start a war?"

Torifu Akimichi inwardly groaned.

Who knew your sons would be here?!

So that ridiculously fast brat was the Raikage's son. No wonder...

No wonder those Cloud Ninja had looked like they were ready to risk their lives.

This was truly an ugly situation beyond anything he had anticipated.

Dada grinned. Having such a fierce father really put one at ease.

Torifu Akimichi took out the pills he carried with him. Without holding onto any illusions of luck, he swallowed both the Green Spinach Pill and the Red Chili Pill at once.

Multicolored Chakra burst out from his back, like dreamlike butterflies. Combined with Torifu Akimichi's towering physique, it made for an extraordinarily strange sight.

The violent Chakra reaction made the surrounding air scorching hot. Torifu Akimichi's face turned bright red, like burning charcoal.

Yet what greeted him was...

"Heavy Torrent Violent Wave!"

Torifu Akimichi raised a hand to block. The instant his palm touched the Third Raikage's elbow, his expression changed. He held on for only a brief moment before being sent flying by that overwhelming force.

A watched Torifu Akimichi fly backward and loosened up his muscles.

"Too weak!"

The shift from certain victory to a fight for survival came far too quickly. Only then did Tsunade and Jiraiya react. Tsunade hurried off to find Orochimaru, while Jiraiya stood in front of the Third Raikage. Tsunade hurried off to find Orochimaru. They had already informed one another through Katsuyu. At the last moment, Orochimaru had escaped using a secret technique, but he was now extremely weak and had completely lost his ability to fight.

"Be careful, Jiraiya. That man's fists can kill..." Orochimaru's weak voice reached Jiraiya through Katsuyu.

"Idiot, I know that already! Don't you have any other advice?!"

"...Don't take him head-on," Orochimaru said.

"Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!" Jiraiya immediately unleashed his strongest defensive ninjutsu, hoping that his hardened, needle-like white hair could delay the enemy even slightly.

But A's iron fist ignored the vicious spikes. Unharmed, it passed through the white hair and slammed into Jiraiya's abdomen. Fortunately, Jiraiya knew he was outmatched and deliberately yielded to the blow. Otherwise, that punch would have gone straight through his body.

Even so, A's punch briefly knocked Jiraiya unconscious.

"What kind of power is this?!"

But it was not over. Before the force of the previous blow had even dissipated, A's next punch had already arrived.

"Damn it! Substitution..." Jiraiya's battle-honed Substitution Technique did not have time to activate. The Raikage was simply too fast! The fist appeared before him again, and Jiraiya could only change his hand seals into a defensive guard.

Jiraiya was blasted away like a cannonball, both his arm bones shattered.

Tsunade had not even finished tending to the weakened Orochimaru before she gained another casualty.

For a moment, the battlefield fell silent.

In just a few breaths, the original group of four from Konohagakure had all been defeated by Third Raikage A, apart from Tsunade, who had rushed off to save the others. He no longer had any enemies around him.

Kawanishi Kyohei, Yotsuki Ki, and the others were greatly encouraged. They raised their arms and shouted A's name.

"A! A! A! A!"

Dada felt his blood boil as well.

Torifu Akimichi, who had been sent flying by that strike earlier, slowly stood up. The secret medicine had greatly increased his strength, so the previous attack had not been fatal. Yet he was already sighing inwardly.

"Hiruzen, you meant to give me an easy assignment, but who would have thought it would turn out like this."

Torifu Akimichi now faced the same dilemma Dada and the other three had faced earlier.

If they did not reveal their identities, the Third Raikage might simply kill the three youngsters.

But if they exposed their identities, the other side would certainly try to capture them alive. The capture of the Hokage's three disciples would bring unimaginably severe consequences to the village.

Even if they split up and fled, their chances would be slim.

When strength was lacking, every step led to error.

The only way was...

"Super Expansion Jutsu!"

Torifu Akimichi's body expanded to thirty meters tall, while his face became noticeably thinner. The surging Chakra wings made him resemble some bizarre Summoned Beast.

His enormous body separated the Third Raikage from Tsunade and the other two, who were treating their wounds behind him.

"Jiraiya, take Tsunade and Orochimaru and leave. I'll hold him back." Torifu Akimichi's booming voice came from behind his massive back.

Jiraiya's arms hung limply at his sides. A's previous strike had made him fully understand just how vast the gap between them was.

But he was unwilling. If they retreated here, that would mean...

"...Do not hesitate, Jiraiya. My teacher once sacrificed himself to cover our retreat as well. You are Konohagakure's future, and in the future, I imagine you will do the same. Wherever the leaves of Konohagakure dance, fire burns without end. New seeds will eventually sprout. That is the Will of Fire..."

"Ninja Art: Butterfly Bullet Bombing!"

Dada noticed Tsunade and the other two retreating in disarray. Just as he was about to move forward and intercept them, his vision suddenly went black.

"Oh? Have I reached my limit?"

Before losing consciousness, the last thing Dada saw was Torifu Akimichi, giant-like in stature, being slammed into the ground by Father with an over-the-shoulder throw.

You can pull off an over-the-shoulder throw even with that size difference? Ninja really is such an unscientific profession. I wonder if I'll wake up again. This time, I seem to have overdrawn myself a little too badly...