Hell Stab
"You're quite strong."
Touching his unharmed chest, the Third Raikage's thick beard couldn't hide his admiring expression.
You little devil!
From the thin file on Katsuki, it could be deduced that this boy was Ninjutsu user, not skilled in Taijutsu. However, the fact that he could hold his own against Mizuki for so long using Taijutsu surprised the Third Raikage, who even felt a pang of regret that this young man wasn't born in Cloud Ninja...
"Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!"
Katsuki rolled over and got up, opened her mouth, and tried to spit out the slush that was stuffed in her mouth. Her bare upper body was covered with snowflakes and mud, making her look quite disheveled.
He glanced at the Third Raikage out of the corner of his eye, feeling a bit depressed. That elbow strike just now felt like hitting a mountain. He was like an ant trying to shake a tree, not only failing to budge it at all, but also being thrown away by the rebounding force.
"Damn, that's hard!"
Katsuki bared his teeth and spat out saliva, his mouth feeling cold and earthy. His right elbow was sore and numb, and for a moment he couldn't lift it up. He was immediately alarmed, and his understanding of the Third Raikage's powerful physique deepened once again.
"Why not use Ninjutsu?"
The Third Raikage didn't pursue. After fighting his way through the area, they circled around the Mount Baiyue for quite a while and had already entered the Land of Land of Frost. He could basically confirm that there were no ambushes. Moreover, this exchange made him realize how troublesome the brat in front of him was; his basic skills were very solid, and it would be difficult to kill him instantly.
Most importantly, he hasn't yet made up his mind whether or not to try to kill Katsuki.
Konoha and Cloud Ninja are not at war now, but that does not mean they will coexist peacefully. The death of the Second Hokage is still a scar in Konoha's heart. Therefore, you can foresee that there will inevitably be a war between Cloud Ninja and Konoha in the future. Sooner or later, war will break out again.
Therefore, the Third Raikage was still weighing the options. Killing Katsuki now would eliminate a major future enemy for the Cloud Ninja, but it could also prematurely ignite the war. As the Raikage, even with his somewhat rough personality, he knew very well that the Cloud Ninja were currently engaged in a war with the Stone Ninja and had no spare energy to provoke Konoha. Furthermore, there was another point that could not be ignored: Katsuki was not so easy to kill. Up to now, the Third Raikage had not yet witnessed Katsuki's Ninjutsu techniques and was not very confident in his ability to kill him.
This is a very difficult decision!
"Uh... I'm too lazy to use it!"
Katsuki casually rambled on, twisting her waist and swaying her hips as she spoke, loosening her muscles and bones.
To be honest, their fight was quite random and unpredictable.
Incidents like this, where a mission leads to a conflict by getting too close to another country's territory, are not uncommon, but they are not rare either. Generally, if it is confirmed that it was not intentional, it will not cause any ripples. However, this is under the premise that the target is an ordinary person. After Katsuki destroyed half of Sunagakure, he was listed as a first-order dangerous person by various countries, and the Third Raikage had to deal with him personally.
Actually, if it weren't for the Third Raikage, Katsuki wouldn't have bothered with the Cloud Ninja. But it just so happened that the Third Raikage was there, and this rather impulsive Raikage preferred fighting to talking. So, a strange battle ensued.
Too lazy to use it?
The Third Raikage's eyes turned dangerous; this reason made him feel a sense of contempt and insult.
"Very well, it's been a long time since I've heard anything like this. I really miss it!" The Third Raikage stretched out his right hand, his thumb slowly curling inward and pressing tightly against his palm, while the other four fingers pressed firmly together. Lightning crackled around his fingers, radiating a deep and restrained light, and a sharp aura suddenly arose. "Let me test your mettle!"
Hell Stab, Four Fingers Thrust!
The Third Raikage appeared three meters in front of him in the blink of an eye. His outstretched right arm was like an indestructible spear. The incredibly fast impact caused the air to explode. Even before it reached him, Katsuki could feel the sharpness of the spear, and his cheeks throbbed with pain as it cut into him.
The four-finger spear grazed past Katsuki's left rib, without directly touching him, but was merely grazed by the sharp lightning. His skin split open, flesh blossomed, and his white ribs were exposed to the air, stained red by the dripping blood.
Katsuki controlled her physical body to move sideways to the right in a way that defied the laws of physics, twisting her body into a curved bow shape, but she still couldn't completely dodge it.
"Damn it!"
Katsuki cursed under her breath, leaping away quickly and clutching the wound on her left side. Even without a direct hit, it could still injure someone; that attack was damn ruthless!
His body, honed over so many years, was so utterly vulnerable... No, to be precise, the Third Raikage's attack was terrifying, almost reaching the pinnacle of small-scale lethality.
With his toes touching the pine needles, he moved like a wild goose soaring through the pine forest, dodging the Third Raikage's sudden thrust attack with all his might.
However, the number of wounds on his body continued to increase, including lacerations and penetrating wounds, and the pine forest in the wind and snow carried a slightly sticky, bloody smell.
"To break through the surface by focusing on a single point?"
Katsuki observed each of the Third Raikage's attacks. The spear-like hand technique made his mind tremble. From the initial four fingers to the current single finger, the attack power had risen to a terrifying level. In his opinion, the Hell Stab of this finger was probably the second strongest attack Ninjutsu in the current Shinobi World below Dust Release.
Observe and learn.
Faced with the Third Raikage's attack, Katsuki quietly summoned clones that scattered in all directions. This was not to confuse the location of his main body, but to use so many clones to deduce the mysteries of Hell Stab. He wanted to see with his eyes and learn with his heart, gradually uncovering the power of Hell Stab.
"·····?"
The Third Raikage was puzzled, looking at the many clones of Katsuki with great confusion.
Generally speaking, summoning so many clones is often used to confuse the enemy and create opportunities for a sneak attack.
But... he just watched. The Shadow Clone of Katsuki stood around like spectators, their eyes fixed on the Third Raikage, letting his main body be injured again and again under his attacks. This strange situation puzzled him. He was wary, but he didn't take it too seriously. He had enough confidence in his body.
After all, even the Tailed Beast Bomb couldn't hurt him; the only thing that could truly threaten him in the entire Shinobi World was probably the Third Tsuchikage's Dust Release.
"You brat!"
He muttered a curse under his breath, Third Raikage thrust out a finger, tearing a large patch of flesh from Katsuki's left shoulder. Blood spurted out, staining the old pine tree behind him red.
A sharp pain shot through his shoulder, causing him to instinctively furrow his brow and tighten his face. He forced himself to endure the pain, moving at high speed on flashing lightning, circling endlessly through the pine forest, keeping up with the Lord Raikage.