Each Flees

It was precisely because of Uchiha Shūichi's years of dedicated study that the Chidori Blade could break through the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Armor—but even that was its limit, ultimately only leaving a negligible scratch on the Fourth Raikage.

Not even the lightning-infused power of the Chidori Blade caused any extra damage, since the Fourth Raikage's lightning resistance was already maxed out.

"Raikage-sama, are you alright?!"

Just then, two Kumogakure ninja caught up, shocked at the sight before them—especially the bloody gash on the Fourth Raikage's back.

"Don't worry, I'm fine!"

The Fourth Raikage waved his hand with overwhelming authority. Uchiha Shūichi had poured everything into merely breaching his Lightning Release Armor and causing a minor flesh wound; at this point, the Fourth Raikage felt the battle was already settled.

The next second, one of the Kumogakure ninja lunged forward without a word and tightly grabbed hold of the Fourth Raikage. The Raikage's expression shifted as he sharply restrained his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, then struck the ninja hard on the neck, knocking him unconscious instantly.

In that moment when the Fourth Raikage pulled back his Lightning Release Armor to avoid hurting his subordinate, Uchiha Shūichi's Chidori Blade suddenly extended into a Chidori Sharp Spear, thrusting toward the Raikage.

With a wet thud, the Chidori Sharp Spear was blocked by the Fourth Raikage's hand—but it also pierced straight through his palm. The Raikage snorted coldly, and arcs of lightning shot out along the blade. Caught off guard, Uchiha Shūichi felt his arm go numb and painful, released his grip, and stumbled back several steps.

"Careful—that's the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Transfer Jutsu. Don't lock eyes with that guy for too long."

The Fourth Raikage tossed his knocked-out subordinate aside and ordered the other to watch him, then fixed a cold, sharp gaze on Yamanaka Fū.

"This is bad..."

Uchiha Shūichi frowned. One of his hands had just been burned by the Raikage's lightning, still slightly charred, but more importantly, his surprise attack had failed.

Ninja combat was a battle of information. The reason he'd so easily crippled one of the Fourth Raikage's hands and taken down a Kumogakure ninja was that they hadn't been prepared for Yamanaka Fū's mind techniques.

Now that Yamanaka Fū's abilities were exposed, his threat level had dropped significantly. Hyuga Homura and Yūhi Kurenai could at best hold their own in a fight of this caliber—the outcome ultimately depended on his own battle with the Fourth Raikage.

But even with the Fourth Raikage's injuries being far worse than his own, Uchiha Shūichi wasn't optimistic. He had too many secrets to hide, and fighting with one hand tied behind his back made it nearly impossible to defeat the Raikage.

"I'll hold this guy off. You three retreat for now."

Uchiha Shūichi spoke calmly. With Hyuga Homura around, he couldn't even use Kotoamatsukami. Once they left, he'd have more room to maneuver.

There was no pointless arguing. Veterans of the Ninja World War were fully mature in both efficiency and emotional control. Hyuga Homura immediately led the mentally injured Yamanaka Fū in retreat, with Yūhi Kurenai covering the rear, exiting the battlefield in textbook formation.

The Fourth Raikage raised an eyebrow. Considering his own unconscious ninja, he didn't order his remaining subordinate to pursue, instead fixing his gaze on Uchiha Shūichi:

"You think they can get away? After I take you out, I'll still have time to hunt them down."

"Hah... save the big talk for later."

Uchiha Shūichi's expression shifted slightly as his gaze swept over the nearby forest. His specially trained Sensory Ability had detected some strange creatures sneaking into the woods.

"White Zetsu is already here? Looks like I can't reveal my abilities until the very last moment."

Clenching his teeth, Uchiha Shūichi took a half-step forward, gathering his breath.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Brief clashes flashed like lightning, with no gaps between them—several bursts of light erupted almost simultaneously.

The two engaged in a contest of super-speed and illusionary clones. Uchiha Shūichi's chakra blade techniques were nothing more than simple forward-and-back slashes, but his movements were so fast they exceeded the limits of normal vision, leaving only afterimages from his Body Flicker Technique.

Against the even faster Fourth Raikage, however, such attacks were barely effective. Uchiha Shūichi's long blade could only graze the Raikage's arm guards, while every strike from the Raikage shattered one of his afterimage clones.

Even as those clones were destroyed, Uchiha Shūichi kept creating new ones—but the rate at which they appeared couldn't keep up with the Raikage's pace of destruction.

After just over ten seconds, all of Uchiha Shūichi's clones vanished at once, leaving only his real body leaping into the air, hands forming seals:

"Fire Style—Head Hard!"

A torrent of flames engulfed everything. Uchiha Shūichi was reluctant to use most of his abilities to hide his true nature, but the massive chakra from his body modifications had boosted his Fire Style power to an astonishing level, enough to leave ordinary ninja dumbfounded.

Faced with this terrifying blaze, the Fourth Raikage blurred into motion, grabbing both his subordinates and dodging the sea of fire.

Landing, Uchiha Shūichi turned and fled without a word. The Fourth Raikage started to pursue but paused, his attention caught by struggling figures within the flames.

"What are those?!"

Several strange white humanoid creatures crawled out of the fire. The Fourth Raikage's heart jolted—they'd been so close, and he hadn't sensed a thing.

Normally, top-tier fighters like him could instinctively detect other ninja at close range, even without being Sensory Type Ninja.

Yet even at the height of battle, the Fourth Raikage had felt nothing—and neither had the Kumogakure sensory ninja earlier.

At this point, the Fourth Raikage abandoned the chase. Shūichi was strong, but his displayed power was still inferior; these sneaky, undetectable watchers posed a far greater threat to him and Kumogakure.

"Who are you? Or rather, what kind of monsters are you?"

With a flicker of movement, the Fourth Raikage had captured all the White Zetsu. Though their bodies were scorched by the flames, these half-plant cyborgs were incredibly resilient and still alive.