The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
The Cloud Village Anbu who had been relaxed and ready to enjoy the show suddenly felt as though they had plunged into an ice cellar. They stared at the black iron giant as he slowly withdrew his hand, lightning blazing around him even more violently than around a Cloud Village jonin. Their eyes were filled with horror.
"Th-this quality of Lightning Release..." one Cloud ninja stammered. Facing that giant, he could feel the chakra inside him trembling with something almost like the fear of submission.
"Dragon!"
The Second Raikage, A, watched his trusted subordinate get obliterated in an instant. His contemptuous expression twisted.
Chakra erupted from his body like a volcano, raging to the extreme. Blue lightning took the visible shape of long hair whipping wildly behind him, instantly vaporizing the rain around him.
"I don't care who you are. If you dare kill one of my men right in front of me..."
The Raikage's voice was as deep as a rumble from the bottom of an abyss. Every inch of his muscles trembled with overwhelming rage.
"You die!"
With that furious roar, the Raikage became a blue comet and hurtled straight at the still-silent Iron Tower Giant.
Behind him, the clone A lowered his head, an almost imperceptible smile curling his lips.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Several miles from the clash, deep in a dense forest, Uchiha Ao's real body sat cross-legged beneath the shadow of an ancient tree.
His eyes were gently closed, his fingertips moving rhythmically as though manipulating countless puppet strings.
"The Raikage has taken the bait," Uchiha Ao murmured, his tone carrying the composure of someone in command of the board.
He had deliberately made A execute that trusted subordinate with Lightning Release to humiliate the Raikage.
Kumogakure had