Lightning Speed

On the battlefield, time seemed to stand still for a fleeting moment.

Everyone looked over due to this sudden turn of events. Amidst the spray of blood, a burly giant with dark skin punched away several rocks that had been pinning him down. With a crackling sound, several Konoha ninja who had been hiding their presence to launch a sneak attack only had time to scream before they were reduced to charred corpses.

"Danzo?"

Looking at the familiar yet strange old rival before him, the Third Raikage shook his head in confusion.

"What is it? Are you that surprised by my arrival?"

As Guo Wang spoke, he drew his twenty-centimeter-long sharp blade. A gust of keen air currents spread outward, slicing seven Kumogakure ninja in half and staining the path he slowly walked upon red.

"Stand back. Although this old schemer has a rotten character, his strength is barely on the same level as mine."

As the Raikage spoke, he cast aside his doubts and summoned his Shadow Guard.

Rumble!

On the other side, Jiraiya was already engaged with the young AB Duo.

The giant toad was a killing machine on the battlefield; with a single swing of its ten-meter-long short blade, rolling heads fell to the ground, its efficiency nearly rivaling that of Danzo and the Raikage.

"Yo? A giant toad, can you have a pure sword duel with me?!"

Killer B had barely finished speaking when A slammed a heavy fist into his head, smashing a crater into the ground.

"Idiot, didn't you see that guy kill so many of our comrades? On the battlefield, it's a duel of life and death."

"Yeah, I know, Brother!"

Jiraiya stood atop Gamabunta, facing the two brothers who had suddenly appeared before and behind him. His long white hair grew rapidly, like infinite needles, piercing toward the two of them.

"Double Lariat."

Accompanied by a piercing sound of thunder, Jiraiya's neck was caught in a cross-lock by two arms, and then the Konoha side watched as a white head went flying.

"Before I knew it, that brat has grown up."

As a contemporary of the Raikage, Guo Wang mimicked Danzo's tone to evaluate the AB Duo. Within a one-kilometer radius of the two, only a handful of people remained standing; other ninja had either fled far away or were already lying on the ground as corpses.

"The feeling of having successors is something an old dog like you, who has been single your whole life, will never understand."

Among his peers, the Raikage despised Danzo and Ōnoki the most. The former used all sorts of underhanded methods to weaken his enemies, while the latter was untrustworthy, full of lies, and only cared about his own interests. Therefore, every time they met, they were either brawling or trading insults.

"My love is a great love. The ninja of Konoha are all my children. A brute like you will never understand."

Hearing Danzo's words, Shikaku Nara and the others standing behind him couldn't help but twitch their lips. The Raikage opposite them could no longer endure it; accompanied by a harsh crackle, a hand-blade condensed with black lightning Chakra slashed down before their eyes.

"Vacuum Wave!"

Facing one of the strongest humans in the world, Guo Wang did not show the slightest contempt. He performed the Wind Release jutsu most familiar to this body, clashing with the Raikage's Nintaijutsu and erupting with the most terrifying shockwaves on the battlefield.

"Scatter!"

A battle between Kage-level fighters was not just a victory or defeat for two people, but a conflict between entire combat units.

"Lightning Illusion Flash of Lightning Pillar!"

It was as if a sun had appeared on the battlefield, sealing off the vision of the Konoha side.

"Using this move to divide us? And sealing my Shadow Possession Jutsu in the process? But this is also my chance."

Shikaku Nara's mind raced. He had already pulled a Kunai from his ninja tool pouch and stood in a well-practiced defensive formation with his two companions.

"If I remember correctly, this move is still a genjutsu, mainly used to create openings for the opponent. But at the moment the move is activated, the shadow is at its peak. I've caught it."

With a smirk, Inoichi Yamanaka transmitted the three-dimensional image of the opponents' positions in his mind to the four Konoha Jonin and Danzo.

"Not good, those bastards from Kumogakure."

As the bright light dissipated, the Raikage and two other ninja wielding large blades had already rushed to Danzo's side, each utilizing Nintaijutsu to strike at Guo Wang's head, heart, and right arm.

"Guillotine Drop!"

"Lariat!"

"Liger Bomb!"

These were three A-rank Kumogakure Nintaijutsu. Even if the Third Hokage had come in person, he could only avoid their edge. In this ninja world, apart from the Raikage himself, no one could survive these three moves.

Namikaze Minato could dodge, and Jiraiya wouldn't give his opponent this chance. How could the battle-hardened Elder Danzo make such a mistake upon arriving?

Shikaku Nara smiled bitterly while his hands continued to weave signs. In a dazzling display, a pitch-black shadow emerged from a crack in the ground, connecting to one of the Cloud ninja and freezing his movements.

His movements were fast, but another person was faster: Inoichi Yamanaka, who had been monitoring the entire battlefield with his mind. His mental secret technique ignored distance, controlling another elite Jonin from the Raikage's guard.

Both men knew their limits; their control was basically tickling the Raikage, so they left this most troublesome move to Danzo.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere."

Facing the Raikage's unceremonious, descending kick, Guo Wang took a deep breath. With a hand seal, he spat out a massive air-current projectile that resembled an air cannon.

The clash of "Gale" and "Thunderbolt"!

Ripples of invisible but tangible force spread across the battlefield.

Accompanied by a slight tremor of the earth, the Raikage's massive body flew into mid-air, spinning several times before landing heavily. After crushing several ninja who couldn't dodge in time, he left a half-man-deep trench before coming to a stop.

On the other side, Guo Wang's expression was one of surprise; with him as the center, the ground had already caved in to form a hemisphere.

This was the mark left behind because he had used a secret Wind Release technique to disperse the opponent's immense force into currents of air; had he not done so, he would likely be buried deep underground by now, entombed by a single kick.

"Danzo, as an opponent I barely acknowledge, I will give you one final warning: your Vacuum Series Wind Release will never be able to inflict even the slightest bit of damage on me again."

As Raikage spoke, his entire body's Chakra surged violently, and the long hair that had been trailing behind him suddenly stood on end, as if he were wearing a hedgehog on his head.

"Wind Release? That was merely a way to greet you."

After Guo Wang finished this sentence, he unwrapped the bandage covering his right eye.