Stalemate

The Raikage charged at Isobu like a bolt of black lightning.

That was right—his target was not Kyōkotsu, who looked fiercer, but Isobu.

With a furious roar, he drove the point of his elbow viciously into Isobu.

"Boom!"

A dull, deafening blast erupted across the battlefield as the strike landed heavily on Isobu's shell.

The shell, once incomparably hard, seemed so fragile before that overwhelming power of lightning.

Fine cracks instantly spread across it like an enormous spiderweb.

Having taken the heavy blow, Isobu let out a sorrowful, miserable howl.

Its massive body flew backward uncontrollably, tracing a long arc through the air before crashing heavily onto the ground and throwing up a cloud of dust.

Seeing Isobu badly injured by the Raikage, Kyōkotsu stomped down hard, leaving several deep footprints in the ground as its body shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, charging at the Raikage once more.

The Raikage roared as Kyōkotsu came at him. Chakra surged wildly through his body again, and his muscles bulged even further.

Fearlessly, he met the charge head-on and traded a punch with Kyōkotsu.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A succession of thunderous explosions rang continuously across the battlefield. Their fists struck flesh, and every collision seemed to make the air tremble.

The immense force of impact even caused cracks to spread across the surrounding ground.

Amid the repeated dull booms, the two began exchanging blow for blow, neither willing to yield an inch.

The Raikage was utterly shocked. As the pinnacle of Super High-Speed Taijutsu Ninjas, he had dominated the ninja world for years.

With his peerless taijutsu, he had defeated countless powerful enemies.

He could no longer remember how many years it had been since he had encountered an opponent who could match him so evenly in taijutsu.