Konoha Azure Dragon vs. Raikage

Ay's pupils constricted sharply! That fist, condensed with destructive green light, rapidly grew in his perception, and the shadow of death instantly engulfed his heart! Too fast! Too tricky! The timing had been terrifyingly precise! The speed granted by the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, which he had always been so proud of, had now become a death sentence, leaving his old force spent before new strength could arise, unable to fully dodge or defend!

"Roar!!!" At the critical moment, Ay let out a beastlike roar and pushed the Lightning Release Chakra within him to its absolute limit! Violent blue lightning erupted with unprecedented brilliance, forming an almost tangible suit of Lightning Armor over his body!

Boom—!!!!

Duanmu Ci's Sage Art: Chakra Enhanced Strength Punch struck Ay's hastily condensed Lightning Armor head-on!

Time seemed to freeze for an instant.

Then came an earth-shaking, terrifying explosion! Blinding blue-green light burst forth like a miniature sun, instantly swallowing the figures of the two combatants! A massive visible shock ring exploded outward from the point of impact! Within a hundred meters, towering trees and boulders alike were uprooted and ground into powder! The ground looked as though it had been savagely scraped by an invisible giant plow, leaving behind a radiating crater dozens of meters across!

Dust and smoke surged into the sky, blotting out the sun!

"Ay!" Blue B let out a roar of fury and shock. The dark-red Tailed Beast Chakra on his body surged uncontrollably, while two scarlet phantom tails made of Chakra lashed violently behind him! He had never expected Ay to be forced into such a miserable state!

The dust slowly dispersed, revealing the sight at the bottom of the crater.

Duanmu Ci remained in his punching stance at the center of the crater, utterly unscathed. Only lingering arcs of lightning and green radiance coiled before his fist. He frowned slightly and shook his somewhat numb hand—Raikage's Lightning Armor truly had astonishing defensive power.

More than ten meters ahead of him, Ay knelt on one knee, supporting himself against the scorched ground with one hand as he panted heavily. The short shirt symbolizing his status as Raikage had been completely shredded, exposing bronze muscles as hard and sturdy as forged steel. They were covered in fine scorch marks and cracks, while a streak of glaring blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. The violent lightning around his body had dimmed considerably; clearly, taking that punch head-on had not been easy for him.

"Cough... cough cough!" Ay suddenly spat out a mouthful of bloody froth, then raised his head. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Duanmu Ci, burning with humiliation, rage, and a trace of dread that even he refused to acknowledge. "Wood Release... Sage Jutsu... good! Very good! Duanmu Ci! I'll remember this!" His voice was hoarse, like the growl of a wounded beast.

"Likewise. Lord Raikage's Lightning Armor is plenty tough too." Duanmu Ci spoke calmly, but his gaze passed over Ay and fixed on Blue B behind him, whose Chakra was becoming increasingly unstable and nearly out of control. "But keep your companion in check. If the Eight-Tails' Chakra goes berserk and harms innocent people... you'll bear the consequences yourselves."

"Innocent?" Blue B gave a low, raspy laugh, filled with beastlike frenzy. "You Konoha Ninja... since when are any of you innocent? Ay! Let me handle this! I'll use a Tailed Beast Bomb to blast this eyesore of a place... into the sky!" The reason in his eyes was being consumed by savagery. Dark-red Chakra covered his entire body like thick blood, and the phantom of a third tail flickered in and out of view!

"Blue B! Calm down!" Ay barked, but Blue B was clearly already on the verge of losing control.

Duanmu Ci's eyes turned cold. An invisible aura abruptly surged upward, descending like a towering mountain! He slowly raised his right hand, palm facing downward toward Blue B, whose Chakra was boiling violently. His voice was icy, without a trace of warmth:

"Looks like negotiations are over. Taoyuan Village has rules—intruders are expelled. Those who intend destruction... are shown no mercy!"

As his words fell, countless tough vines burst from beneath the scorched earth. Like giant serpents awakening, their tips gleamed with metallic chill as they silently locked onto the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Blue B, who stood ready to strike. They carried immense vitality and frigid killing intent, and the atmosphere across the battlefield instantly dropped to freezing point!

The morning mist had not yet fully dispersed when golden sunlight impatiently pierced through the branches and leaves, casting mottled shadows across the still-developing lands of Taoyuan Village. The air carried the scent of freshly turned soil, the distinctive fragrance of medicinal herbs, and a vitality known as "hope." Hizashi Hyuga walked through this thriving land with the young Hinata, accompanied by Duanmu Ci.

Hinata tightly clutched Uncle Hizashi's clothes, her little head slightly lowered, a faint flush on her fair cheeks. Her pure, spotless Byakugan cautiously flicked toward Duanmu Ci walking ahead, then immediately lowered again like a startled fawn. This little girl, so often questioned within her clan for her "lack of talent," was now filled with an emotion she had never felt before—an almost reverent admiration.

"Lord Duanmu, this is the newly built herb garden." Duanmu Ci's voice was gentle and clear as he pointed toward a carefully divided plot, where tender green sprouts stretched beneath the morning light. "I've tried using... well, a special Chakra catalysis method. I hope it can shorten the growth cycle and improve the herbs' potency."

Hizashi Hyuga looked at the herb seedlings, which were visibly more vigorous than similar plants outside, their leaves fuller and richer. He could not hide his amazement. "Lord Duanmu truly possesses extraordinary methods. This is no longer merely within the realm of Medical Ninjutsu; it is nearly an act of creation itself." His tone was sincere. As someone from the branch family, he understood even more keenly how precious such creativity was.

Duanmu Ci merely smiled modestly and did not explain the role of Wood Release. Noticing Hinata's curious yet timid gaze, he deliberately slowed down, walked to her side, and bent slightly. "Miss Hinata, do you like the flowers here?"

Hinata went rigid as though someone had struck an acupoint. Her little face instantly flushed crimson as she stammered, "I... I like them! They're... they're very pretty!" She meant the clusters of unknown pale-purple flowers at the edge of the herb garden, which Duanmu Ci had specially cultivated with a tiny amount of Wood Release. They swayed gently in the breeze.

Duanmu Ci's smile softened further. He extended a finger, and an extremely faint, nearly imperceptible pale-green glow gathered at its tip—the vitality naturally carried by his Sage Body, not an intentional technique. He gently touched a flower petal. The blossom seemed to receive an extra burst of vitality; its petals spread wider, and its color appeared to grow more vivid.

"Wow..." Hinata could not help letting out a soft gasp. Her pure Byakugan opened wide, filled with astonishment. In her eyes, this simple scene was like a miracle. She saw the flow of Chakra, saw the flower's vigorous life force erupt in an instant, and saw the gentleness and patience in Duanmu Ci's movements.

"Life is wondrous, but it is also fragile." Duanmu Ci's voice was soft, as though he were speaking to Hinata and also talking to himself. "Feel it with your heart. Protect it, and it will return unexpected beauty to you."

Hinata nodded as though she only half understood, but Duanmu Ci's words and that miraculous sight had already been deeply etched into her young heart. She no longer hid behind Hizashi. Instead, she gathered her courage and followed a short distance beside Duanmu Ci, step by step, her little ears perked as she tried hard to catch every word he said.

Afterward, they arrived at the orphans' temporary study area. Several children slightly older than Hinata sat gathered together, learning to identify basic medicinal herbs from a young Medical Ninjutsu genin. Curiosity and seriousness filled their faces. Though the environment was simple, the atmosphere was peaceful and focused.

Duanmu Ci did not disturb them and simply watched quietly from a distance. Hinata's attention was drawn there as well. She saw how Duanmu Ci's gaze, when it passed over those children, was full of gentle encouragement. One child accidentally snapped his charcoal drawing stick and looked dejected. Duanmu Ci walked over, crouched down, and seemingly pulled a sharpened little wooden stick from his sleeve—actually a tiny Wood Release creation—then handed it to him. He patted the child's shoulder and whispered something. The child immediately smiled through his tears and nodded vigorously.

Scene after scene seeped silently into Hinata's heart like warm streams. The clan's harsh training, her father's disappointed eyes, the whispers of the clan members... all those things that had made her feel oppressed and inferior seemed like clouds scattered by sunlight here in this place called Taoyuan Village, beside this adult named Duanmu Ci. They became insignificant.

He was so strong... like a hero from a story.

He was so gentle... so gentle with little flowers, little animals, and little children...

He... he could even use that miraculous power to make life better...

Hinata secretly watched Duanmu Ci's focused profile. The once-vague image of a "hero" in her heart was gradually replaced by the real man before her—gentle and powerful—becoming incomparably vivid and tangible. A feeling mixed with admiration, yearning, and faint dependence quietly sprouted and entwined at the bottom of her heart like vines in early spring. He was a sudden beam of light in her gray world.

At the border of the Land of Fire, dark clouds pressed overhead.

Amid rolling thunderclouds, the Fourth Raikage, Ay, stood side by side with the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer B atop a mountain peak, overlooking the outskirts of Taoyuan Village below.

"B, that's the Konoha Azure Dragon's lair." Lightning Release Chakra crackled over Ay's body, his muscular lines looking like forged steel beneath the electric glow. "He dared face the Cloud Village's edge alone. Let's see how many lives he has."

Killer B raised one index finger, rare gravity mixed into his rap-like cadence. "Yo! Wood Release and Sage Jutsu, that guy ain't simple. Don't capsize, big bro!"

An alarm suddenly rang out in Taoyuan Village.

Duanmu Ci stood atop the central watchtower. With an almost imperceptible sweep of his Rinnegan, he caught the two violent sources of Lightning Release and Tailed Beast Chakra twenty li away.

"So the Raikage came personally..." His lips curled up. "Perfect. I'll use you as whetstones."

Tsunade pressed a hand to his shoulder, her golden ponytail flying in the wind. "Don't overdo it. The AB Combo isn't like those Kirigakure trash."

"Don't worry." Duanmu Ci covered the back of her hand with his, and green light flashed as Wood Release Chakra condensed into a leaf-shaped talisman. "Wait for my victorious return."

In the next instant, he became a green afterimage and swept toward the border.

Chapter Fourteen

Konoha Azure Dragon vs. Raikage—The Clash of Speed and Strength! (Part One)

Boom!

Lightning and green shadows collided violently in the center of the gorge, and the shockwave uprooted ancient trees within a hundred meters.

Ay's Lightning Armor took one of Duanmu Ci's Sage Body Chakra Enhanced Strength strikes head-on. He retreated only half a step and bared his teeth in a grin. "Interesting!"

"Sage Art: Wood Style: Consecutive Pillar Houses!" Duanmu Ci slapped the ground with one hand, and ten wooden pillars two meters in diameter burst from the earth, twisting like living creatures to lock onto Ay's limbs.

"Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!" Ay transformed into a blue lightning arrow and shattered the wooden pillars with a single hand chop. The exploding wood chips turned to ash amid the lightning.

Killer B took the chance to circle behind him, his Eight-Tails tentacles swelling wildly. "Eight-Tails Eight Twists!"

Without even turning his head, Duanmu Ci shared his Rinnegan vision—

"Wood Style: Wood Golem Wall: Triple Rashomon!"

Three massive wooden gates rose from the earth, forcibly blocking the tentacles. Lightning snakes writhed across the gates, yet they could not advance an inch.

"So this is... Wood Release defense enhanced by Sage Jutsu?" Ay's pupils shrank as he discarded his contempt for the first time.

Chapter Fifteen

Sage Art vs. Tailed Beast! The Eight-Tails' Roar! (Part Two)

Unable to break through after prolonged attacks, the Raikage growled, "B! Partial Tailed Beast Transformation!"

Rumble—

Crimson Tailed Beast Chakra shot into the sky. The bones and muscles of the Eight-Tails Gyuki emerged across Killer B's body, while four tails whipped wildly.

"Tailed Beast Bomb!"

A dark-purple sphere of energy compressed in Killer B's mouth, drawing the air from the gorge into a vacuum.

Duanmu Ci's eyes narrowed, and the Rinnegan patterns flickered deep within his pupils.

"Sage Art: Wood Style: Wood Dragon Technique!"

A hundred-meter wooden dragon burst from the earth. Its jaws clamped around the Tailed Beast Bomb while its body coiled around the Eight-Tails, madly absorbing Chakra.

"What?!" Thirty percent of Killer B's Tailed Beast Chakra was forcibly drained by the Wood Dragon.

Boom!!

The Tailed Beast Bomb exploded within the dragon's jaws. The Wood Dragon and the shockwave perished together. Amid flying wood chips and lightning, Duanmu Ci flashed before Ay, green light flowing through his palm—

"Sage Art: Myojinmon!"

Two torii-shaped wooden shackles descended from the sky, suppressing Ay's Lightning Armor until electric arcs scattered wildly.

"Raikage, this ends here." Duanmu Ci's robes snapped in the wind, and the ground beneath his feet had already turned into a verdant sea of trees. "Keep fighting, and the Cloud Village elites will all be left here."

Ay broke free of the wooden shackles, his chest heaving violently. He stared fixedly at those calm, ancient-well-like Rinnegan eyes, then finally snorted coldly.

"Konoha Azure Dragon... remember this. The Cloud Village will collect this debt sooner or later!"

The lightning faded, and the Eight-Tails Chakra dissipated.

Duanmu Ci stood with his hands behind his back atop the sea of trees, watching the retreating thunderclouds as he said softly:

"Next time you come, remember to bring enough money for medical bills."