The Powerless Raikage

Gigue flicked his hand, and a gust instantly swept the dust floating in the air clean.

He raised his eyes to the Raikage and said calmly,

"Ōnoki's way of welcoming guests is to greet them with Dust Release. Compared to him, you're still lacking in force."

The Raikage frowned upon hearing this. If not for their earlier exchange, he would have dismissed those words as nonsense. Though the Tsuchikage Ōnoki was advanced in years, his Dust Release still ranked among the very best in the entire Ninja World. How could three unknown nobodies possibly escape his hands unscathed?

But after personally experiencing his own heavy blow being effortlessly blocked, Gigue's words seemed highly credible.

Still, as the most hot-tempered of the Five Kage, the Raikage would not develop any fear over this. First of all, he was not some old man with one foot in the grave like Ōnoki. He was in the prime of his life, and Kumogakure's strength was at its peak in the current Ninja World. Even Konoha, once the undisputed leader, could only grit its teeth and endure when facing Kumogakure over the Byakugan incident.

With such immense backing, the Raikage could not keep a low profile even if he wanted to.

He clenched both fists. Amid a violent crackle, every strand of his hair stood on end as he activated his Lightning Armor at maximum output. Stimulated by the currents surging around him, the Raikage was practically a Human-Beast.

Seeing their Raikage reveal his strongest form, the Kumogakure crowd immediately grew excited. Some formed hand seals, while others drew Kunai, all glaring menacingly at Gigue and the other two.

Several Kumogakure ninja slowly shifted their positions and circled behind Gigue's group, clearly intending to surround them and cut off their retreat.

Yet Gigue did not