Susanoo

"Sorry, I'm late."

Just as the two commanders on the field were holding their breath, focusing every nerve, chakra, and reflex to prepare for a decisive clash, a golden figure suddenly appeared across the battlefield. Like an omnipresent grim reaper, he claimed the lives of one Cloud ninja after another.

"You brat, if you had arrived a second later, you would have been attending my funeral."

Jiraiya's face was deathly pale. He coughed up blood as he slumped over Gamabunta's head, gasping for air.

His body, still severely injured from the Raikage's Hell Stab, had not fully recovered. Facing the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki simultaneously, he had only managed to hold on through sheer experience and the help of his allies. Even so, he was at the end of his rope, his jonin flak jacket soaked through with blood.

"Taking advantage of a man in his weakened state may be dishonorable, but this is war."

The Fourth Raikage surged with Lightning Release chakra, throwing a decisive punch toward the exhausted Jiraiya, intent on eliminating this troublesome enemy first.

But while he was fast, Namikaze Minato was faster.

The punch landed, but it struck only empty air.

A massive cloud of smoke billowed out; the giant toad, having fought for so long, was dispelled and returned to Mount Myoboku.

"Where is Kushina?"

"She's at the camp. Although she's under the protection of Root, it's safer there than outside the battlefield."

As he helped his master retreat to the rear, medical ninjas who had been standing by immediately stepped forward to take charge of the blood-drenched Jiraiya.

"Be careful. Your speed is faster than that brat's, but he has the Jinchuriki to assist him."

Knowing his own physical condition, Jiraiya did not try to act tough. Having fought the Cloud ninja of the Land of Lightning on this battlefield for nearly three years, he knew his opponents' capabilities inside and out.

The Third Raikage was gone—one of the strongest in the shinobi world, a man who was virtually invincible in single combat.

The Third Raikage's partner, Ransui Bi, a user of the Storm Release Kekkei Genkai, had been a pillar of the village on par with Danzo in terms of both strength and reputation. Unfortunately, he lacked caution and died at the hands of Ōnoki during the Third Shinobi World War, turning into dust.

Then there was the Fourth Raikage's AB Duo. Tempered by the battlefield, A, being of the same generation as Jiraiya, already possessed sixty to seventy percent of the Third Raikage's strength. Although Killer B was still young, as the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, once he unleashed his full power, no one on the battlefield could stop him.

The rest were the Raikage's Shadow Guard. It was a pity that while the three were famous in the shinobi world, they were not yet at the Kage level. The strongest among them, Heitai, had become a ghost under Danzo's blade in a single exchange.

"Don't worry, Master. I am the man who will become Hokage; I will never fall on this battlefield."

Before Namikaze Minato could finish his sentence, he had already vanished from Jiraiya's sight. Within a few breaths of their departure, the AB Duo had already slaughtered over a dozen Konoha jonin.

"B, I'll deal with him. You clear the battlefield and create opportunities for our comrades."

A speed-type ninja could only be countered by another of the same type. The moment A saw the Yellow Flash, his hair stood on end. He switched his Lightning Release Chakra Mode to "God Speed" and charged toward Namikaze Minato.

"Leave it to me, Brother!"

Both sides wanted to clear out the enemy's effective forces as quickly as possible so they could support their respective commanders.

On the battlefield, lives were extinguished at almost every moment. Emotions, reason, anger, helplessness—all were insignificant at a time like this.

Every person had only one thought in their heart: kill the opponent and survive!

"This is... war."

At the rear base, on a hill used as a temporary encampment, a four or five-year-old boy with black hair watched the human tragedies unfolding before his eyes. For the first time, he began to contemplate the meaning of peace.

"Itachi, watch closely. This is the strongest power of the Uchiha."

A young man wearing a jonin flak jacket, with prominent nasolabial folds on his face, looked at the translucent, emerald-green ribs surrounding Danzo, barely able to maintain his cool expression. He had originally thought that only he possessed such power.

But, wasn't it true that only those with a Mangekyo in both eyes could awaken Susanoo?

"The Uchiha's... strongest power?"

Seeing the confusion on his son's face, Fugaku looked on with pride.

"The Mangekyo Sharingan, as the supreme power of the Uchiha, produces two forbidden ocular techniques. Susanoo is the third power, unlocked only after both techniques have fully matured. It is known as the power of the gods, possessing absolute defense and the terrifying ability to destroy everything."

Upon hearing his father's words, young Itachi set aside his thoughts on war and peace for a moment, looking at Danzo—who had unleashed the power of the gods—with eyes full of longing.

It wasn't just him; the duel between the two commanders, which drew the most attention on the battlefield, displayed power that overturned the ninjas' understanding of the world's peak.

"Four-Finger Nukite!"

The Raikage, decisive and seeing that the battle was no longer the one-sided rout it had been, knew the defensive power of Susanoo and immediately entered his strongest state.

With his right thumb pressed firmly against his palm and his four fingers aligned into a hand blade, the massive lightning-attribute chakra within his body—comparable to a Tailed Beast—condensed at his fingertips. It transformed into an indestructible drill and slammed heavily against Guo Wang's pale green ribs.

Crack!

Accompanied by a crisp sound and the shattering of the transparent bone, young Itachi felt a sensation known as "deception" and looked at his father in a daze.

"Impossible, he actually broke through the defense of Susanoo."

It wasn't just him; even Uchiha Fugaku could not maintain his cold facade.

The clan records clearly stated that this was an absolute defense that only Wood Release could break, yet it had shown a flaw before mere Nintaijutsu.

"Not bad. A nostalgic taste. My right eye is starting to ache faintly."

Watching the cracks in the translucent ribs in front of him continue to widen, the Mangekyo pattern in Guo Wang's right eye began to spin frantically. It was under this very technique that his right eye had been crippled by the Raikage back then.

No matter the defense, when faced with this move, it was fragile.

"Hell Stab" was known as the strongest spear in the shinobi world.

Dozens of hand seals were completed in a few breaths, and Danzo's strongest Wind Release was instantly ignited by Guo Wang.

"Vacuum Blade!"

Extremely condensed Wind Release Chakra gathered upon the Spiral Sword manifested in the right hand of the Susanoo. Accompanied by a hazy, brilliant glow, a massive blade measuring seven or eight meters in length was swung by the skeletal arm, slashing down toward the Third Raikage standing before it.

"An attack as sluggish as this cannot touch me."

Seeing the Spiral Sword slash diagonally, the Raikage had lightning flickering all over his body and was about to use a body flicker technique to dodge, only to find his body suddenly stiffening, unable to move.

"This is..."

He saw streaks of pitch-black sealing runes, resembling tadpoles, darting up from the ground and covering half of his body, starting from his feet.

"Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal."

BOOM!

Utilizing the sealing technique he had laid out in advance within the area beneath his own feet, Guo Wang seized the moment of the Raikage's physical rigidity, and the Vacuum Blade combined with the Susanoo to strike heavily into his opponent's neck.