Oh No, I Got Impulsive

"Cough, cough, cough, cough."

"Pah!"

After taking a blow head-on with his own flesh, one powerful enough to shatter mountains, the Third Raikage seemed almost completely fine. He coughed hard a couple of times, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, and rose from the crater again.

If one had to say something had changed...

The Third Raikage lowered his head and looked at the dented lower ribs in his side.

"Hah!"

With nothing more than one breath in, one bracing swell of air, his muscles—tempered to an extreme—and his exquisitely precise control over his body squeezed and pushed the sunken ribs back up.

Though they had not healed, for the short term, they would no longer affect high-speed combat.

He raised his head and, following the giant trench he had just carved through the ground, walked step by step through the heavy curtain of rain toward Sahara Mizu and Tsunade.

"That kick just now... was truly terrifying."

"Could it be that legendary technique?"

"No."

As the Third Raikage spoke, he looked at that absurdly young boy, only fifteen or sixteen years old at most, while the Secret History of Warring States Ninja Legends from his village surfaced again in his mind.

"There was no red vapor. There was not even blue vapor..."

"Yet with that single strike, you pierced through the 'Strongest Shield' that I have prided myself on all my life. This is the first time I have ever encountered such a thing."

"Even the Eight-Tails failed to do that in the past."

Along with those murmured words, the Third Raikage wiped away the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. Yet the look he gave Sahara Mizu grew more and more excited.

The flickering lightning across the surface of his body raced like tiny snakes, swiftly forming a Lightning Release Armor even larger and sturdier than the last.

"How many years... has it been since I felt this?"

Just looking at him with the Six Eyes, Sahara Mizu felt as if his gaze might be burned by that unbelievably massive chakra. Whether it was that beast-like body that had taken a full-power Limitless Technique and could still move, or that surging battle spirit, it was enough to make one shudder.

Unlike his opponent's Lightning Release Chakra Armor, which could let him fight to the very end.

Sahara Mizu knew his own limits very well.

An attack with the same power as that last one—he could only unleash it five times in total.

And now, he had already used one.

So...

Beneath the curtain of rain, Sahara Mizu's azure eyes stared at the humanoid beast opposite him, their divine light gradually drawing inward.

I can't match his chakra reserves. Kyoka Suigetsu is definitely off the table.

I have to hit him in the head.

Thinking this, his expression cold, he tugged Tsunade's fingers off where they clutched the corner of his clothes, then stood and walked toward the Third Raikage.

Behind Sahara Mizu, Tsunade instinctively reached out toward him, as if wanting to stop him.

But he casually brushed her aside.

Sahara Mizu's steps were not particularly fast. The gaze of the Six Eyes pierced through the rain, sweeping again and again over that brown-bear-like figure across from him.

My only advantage lies in my observational ability.

The reason the strongest spear and shield have to be used together is because... he can't react in time.

Almost the instant he figured this out, Sahara Mizu's steps through the rain gradually quickened.

From walking to a light run, then into a full stride, his body hugging the ground.

In a flash, he turned into a straight line.

Charging straight at the opponent.

Watching this, the Third Raikage felt the long-lost hot blood in his heart begin to boil as well. That competitive spirit started to gain the upper hand, and his smile grew increasingly excited, his fighting spirit soaring. He suddenly raised his voice at him:

"Come—"

"You brat from Konoha."

"Let me see your limits!"

The instant his words fell, his own figure likewise turned into a flash of lightning and vanished abruptly.

Sahara Mizu's azure eyes suddenly widened.

"Six Eyes."

Deep within his pupils, clear as the sky, everything within a five-kilometer radius appeared in the finest detail.

The rain, the dust, the mud.

And the almost colossal chakra flame burning toward him like fire.

He could see it all.

Lightning suddenly flashed.

Almost the instant the Third Raikage appeared in front of him, Sahara Mizu, who had been charging forward, toppled sideways as if by coincidence.

"Hss—"

A fist the size of a clay pot, wreathed in lightning, sliced through the air, carrying with it the distinct fishy reek of ozone.

And yet it hit nothing at all.

Boom!

It slammed hard into the ground, blasting out a huge crater.

At the same time, Sahara Mizu, still falling toward the other side, suddenly braced a foot behind him. His body sprang up with the momentum like a coiled spring, and he abruptly stepped forward.

The Third Raikage's heart clenched.

The young man had only crossed the distance of a single step, yet it was as if countless spans of space had been traversed with effortless ease in that one stride. Carrying an equal measure of inertia and impact, he suddenly threw a punch at him.

With a thunderous roar—

An ear-piercing sonic boom rang out.

The second strike.

The Third Raikage's body tumbled down to the side, but the lightning armor on him had not completely shattered; only the portion around his shoulder had vanished entirely.

Sahara Mizu narrowed his eyes slightly.

In that instant just now, had the other man actually reacted with incredible agility and forcibly used his sturdy shoulder to block the punch he had thrown?

"Ha, hahahaha!"

"So that's how it is."

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he saw the Third Raikage slowly rise from the ground and let out a hearty laugh.

Though he was covered in mud, he did not seem nearly as battered as he looked. His sharp gaze swept toward Sahara Mizu, and his tone was utterly certain.

"That attack just now wasn't simple taijutsu, but a special kind of Nintaijutsu?"

"You nearly fooled me."

"But it's got real kick!"

He bared his teeth in a grin and, with a sharp crack, forced his dislocated left shoulder back into place, then moved it twice with some visible effort.

Although the black skin over his shoulder was still a very deep purplish color, the Third Raikage seemed not to care at all. He took up a charging stance again, growing more excited.

"Only, even for you, a technique with that kind of power must have considerable limitations."

"How many more times can you use a jutsu like that?"

Sahara Mizu did not answer. Looking at that deliberately bold posture of his, he merely let out a careless chuckle.

"Hah."

Failing to draw out any information, the Third Raikage's heart immediately sank a little.

This brat is actually this calm?

Looks like he can still use it at least a few more times.

Though he had made it sound easy himself, after personally taking two hits head-on, Ay could already clearly feel how the severe pain in his left arm and ribs was affecting the battle.

At the same time, he understood.

The strike that had landed on his shoulder just now had clearly been aimed at his head.

If that move hit his head even once, he was finished.

Where in the world had Konoha dug up a little monster like this?

Next time, where would the attack come from?

Just as that thought crossed his mind, he saw Sahara Mizu step toward him once more.

"Whoosh—"

Sahara Mizu's figure abruptly vanished.

In an instant, every muscle in the Third Raikage's body tensed, and the lightning around him blazed even brighter.

A wild wind swept through.

A blurred figure flickered suddenly.

Under the shade of the trees, Tsunade was still watching the young man make another move, but halfway through, she suddenly felt her vision twist. Her whole body was hooked up by a powerful arm, and the surrounding scenery turned into dense streaks of color.

Boom!

The instant the sonic boom rang out, the Third Raikage almost instinctively raised both arms to protect his head.

But even after waiting for a long while, the attack did not come again.

He froze slightly at first.

When he turned his head, he saw that Tsunade beneath the trees, along with the other Konoha Ninja who had been lying half-dead beside the large crater earlier, had all disappeared.

The Third Raikage stood stunned for half a second, staring at the figure that had already appeared in the extreme distance.

It suddenly hit him.

That brat had already used up his ultimate move!

The veins on his forehead bulged at once, and lightning flared wildly all over his body.

"You dare mess with me—!?"

That mighty figure charged through the trees, smashed through stone, and closed in on Sahara Mizu at terrifying speed.

Several kilometers vanished in a flash before the two of them.

The Third Raikage clearly sensed that the distance between himself and his opponent was growing shorter and shorter.

The killing intent in his chest boiled hotter and hotter, his rage surging without end.

Whether it was his fury at having been played just now, or the threat posed by Konoha producing yet another such young powerhouse, it made him chase this to the very end!

At last, the young Konoha man ahead seemed to finally run out of strength and stopped.

Boom!

The Third Raikage's body slammed into the pit like a meteor.

His voice was hoarse and heavy, like thunder rolling through dark clouds, killing intent boiling all over him.

"Brat."

"You should have already thought about how you want to die, right?"

"."

Thud.

Sahara Mizu tossed the two figures in his hands onto the ground, turned to look at him, and could not help revealing a faint, playful smile.

"Oh, is that so?"

The moment his words fell—

Another figure slowly stepped out of the forest. Together with Sahara Mizu, one in front and one behind, he formed an encirclement.

The Third Raikage was first stunned. He lifted his head to look at the indifferent man directly behind him, with short gray-white hair and a blade being drawn, then looked at Sahara Mizu in front of him, who was once again assuming a charging stance.

Inwardly, he slapped his thigh.

Damn it, this old man acted on impulse!