Hyuga Shin gasped for breath.
He could no longer understand what had happened.
However.
He knew exactly what he had to do.
With Chakra coiling around his hand, Hyuga Shin hefted Younger Raikage's body.
Although his steps were heavy, he moved forward one step at a time!
"Miya...!"
Hyuga Shin returned.
He had returned to the battlefield!
At that moment, the Kumogakure and Konoha forces had suffered casualties on both sides, but the Konoha forces were already showing signs of defeat.
Smoke billowed across the scorched earth.
The Cloud Ninja suddenly came to a halt.
"A...?"
As if in a chain reaction, all the Cloud Ninja stopped fighting and nervously looked in that direction.
These powerful brutes began to show unease and fear on their faces.
Hyuga Shin's gaze swept across the battlefield like a sharp sword, passing over the stunned faces of both the Konoha and Cloud Ninja.
His lips were tightly pursed... but he knew that with every second of delay, his comrades might pay with their lives.
Finally, he drew a deep breath and spoke in a cold, resolute voice: "I defeated A! Cloud Ninja, retreat! Otherwise, I'll kill him!"
The next moment, Hyuga Shin gripped Younger Raikage's throat hard. Younger Raikage's body convulsed as if in great pain!
The Cloud Ninja could hardly believe it. They couldn't accept that A had actually lost to a Hyuga Ninja with only Chunin-level strength.
After just a few seconds, the Cloud commander, who valued the lives of his comrades, roared, "Don't get excited! We... we'll retreat! Let A go!"
Among the Konoha Ninja.
Some began withdrawing, while others went to help Uchiha Miya to his feet.
Uchiha Miya's injuries were severe. He was covered in blood. He had already been defeated by Younger Raikage, then gone through one bloody battle after another.
Commander Sarutobi had long since lost consciousness and was carried away.
Among the Konoha Ninja on the field, all the wounded were taken away, and even the bodies of those who had died in battle... were carried away by their comrades.
Uchiha Miya staggered over. He took a deep look at Hyuga Shin, who was gripping A's throat, as if he were seeing this kind-hearted member of the Hyuga Family for the first time.
"All the Konoha Ninja have withdrawn! Put A down!" The Cloud commander approached step by step.
The other Cloud Ninja also slowly moved closer and surrounded him.
"Don't come any closer! Otherwise, I'll kill him!" Hyuga Shin shouted.
Despite how tense the situation was, Hyuga Shin remained completely unflustered. He had been incomparably calm from beginning to end—so calm that even Hyuga Shin himself couldn't understand it...
The Cloud Ninja were startled and didn't dare move.
"Are you planning to break your word?" the Cloud commander shouted.
"No!" Hyuga Shin lowered A to the ground. "I'll slowly retreat. If you chase me, I'll use a Kunai to stab him to death from a distance."
As he spoke, Hyuga Shin drew a Kunai and began slowly backing away.
The other Cloud Ninja didn't dare act rashly.
At last, Hyuga Shin suddenly turned around, Chakra coiling around his legs.
Death Leg, run!
Hyuga Shin sprinted away!
Afterward, a furious roar seemed to come from behind him... but Hyuga Shin could no longer hear it clearly.
One day later.
Third Raikage A landed like a cannonball.
Countless clouds of dust rose around him!
"Lord Raikage, please accept our condolences!"
"No... no!" He shoved away the Cloud Ninja around him.
The burly man clenched his teeth and came to a place covered with a white cloth.
Raikage A's hand began to tremble...
In the end, he still lifted the cloth.
His son A's pale corpse lay there.
"Lord Raikage... please accept our condolences!" The surrounding Cloud Ninja bowed deeply!
They were filled with shame!
Tears filled Raikage A's eyes, and his voice trembled. "Everything... from beginning to end, tell me all of it..."
A Cloud Ninja then told Raikage A everything that had happened.
"But..."
"When we tried to treat Lord A... we discovered that his heart had already stopped beating!"
"There are healed scars on his neck and chest!"
"There hadn't been anything like this on Lord A's neck before!"
"We suspect... we suspect that Lord A was stabbed through the chest, and his heart was crushed... Then the enemy pulled out his hand, used Medical Ninjutsu to repair his chest, and then repaired the wound on his neck, and then... then..."
"Continue!!"
"The enemy used Lightning Release Chakra to stimulate Lord A's corpse shortly after his death... causing postmortem reflexes and making us mistakenly believe that Lord A was still alive!"
Raikage A's face turned deathly pale.
He stood there, staring at his son's corpse for a long time...
"Killer B!!" Raikage A suddenly roared.
Beneath a large tree not far away, a dejected figure sat there.
Third Raikage charged over furiously. "Where were you! Where were you?!"
"Lord Raikage... It was my fault. Kill me." Killer B offered no resistance!
He regarded A as his sworn elder brother!
That was his big brother!
Killer B had trusted his big brother, believing that A would win the battle.
That was how it should have been... That was how it should have been!!
A and Killer B formed the A and B Combination, joining forces whenever they faced a powerful enemy.
However, intelligence indicated that none of Konoha's top experts were nearby.
It was also A who had proposed splitting up. A was confident that he could single-handedly deal with a Konoha elite force!
In fact, according to Kumogakure's battle report, the initial victory had indeed been overwhelming!
A alone had severely wounded Konoha's strongest Ninja!
Everything...
Had begun when A had arrogantly pursued that Hyuga Ninja!
Third Raikage glared fiercely at Killer B, then finally threw him to the ground.
At that moment.
A Cloud Ninja approached with some trepidation. "Lord Raikage, we also found this note in Lord A's clothing."
Then he handed over the note and hurriedly retreated.
Raikage A opened the note.
It read: Those who launch invasions deserve to lose someone important.
Crackling lightning!
Lightning Release Chakra poured out wildly!
It electrocuted the note into scorched ashes.
"Konoha..."
"I'll make you pay in blood!"
Third Raikage opened his bloodshot, crimson eyes!
He not only wanted to kill that damned Hyuga Ninja!
He also wanted to kill the Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's son... Asuma Sarutobi!!
"The war will escalate further from here."
"And Third Raikage, the strongest Raikage, will probably want to kill Asuma Sarutobi in revenge..."
"You old dog Sarutobi, this is a little gift from me."
Amid a Sea of Corpses and Blood.
Su Nuo rested his chin on one hand.
Relying on his ability to use Reverse Cursed Technique to easily heal severe injuries, as well as his instant, hand-seal-less slashes, he had caught Younger Raikage completely off guard.
After Younger Raikage had been severely wounded, Su Nuo had had the chance to spare his life.
The war had only just begun.
If Su Nuo used Third Raikage's son as leverage, he might be able to nip the war in the bud in one stroke. Konoha would return to peace, and it would not later be attacked by three ninja villages.
But...
Why should he do that?
If there was a war, wouldn't there be more souls for him to absorb?
Before you continue