"We got him!"
Even though the Raikage had switched his Chakra Mode to its "hard" form in time, Guo Wang could still feel Susanoo's Spiral Sword, empowered by the Vacuum Blade with the three properties of "sharpness," "keen edge," and "God Speed," cutting through the "Lightning Release Armor," known as the Shinobi World's Strongest Shield.
The vivid red blood proved it. There was no such thing as the strongest defense, whether Susanoo or Lightning Release Armor!
But the wound didn't seem deep enough.
Though smoke filled the air and obscured his vision, Guo Wang had already judged that Danzo's Wind Release nature transformation, developed to its utmost, hadn't inflicted a fatal wound on the Raikage.
Last time, I was lucky to stop this guy by sacrificing just one eye.
Recalling the moment closest to death in Danzo's memories, Guo Wang's right Mangekyō Sharingan stalled. One of its Four-Diamond Prisms had begun to grow dim, and the Dojutsu stored within it was nearing its time limit.
Shisui's Susanoo-no-Mikoto!
By then, the smoke had cleared. The Spiral Sword, enhanced with the three properties of the Vacuum Blade, had only cut into the Raikage's right shoulder, lodging in his collarbone. His bones were certainly hard enough, but the real reason was that the three fingers of his right hand, held together like a blade, had gathered a vast amount of Lightning Release Chakra at their tips, forming dazzling black arcs of electricity that held back the semitransparent blade.
"So he switched to Three-Finger Nukite!"
Susanoo-no-Mikoto was the god of war, destruction, and nature in mythology. His strength was so great that he could split mountains and cleave seas.
He also had other titles: Susanoo-no-Mikoto, Ox-Head King, Horse-Head Subduer...
Shisui's left-eye Dojutsu was named after him.
It allowed a Mangekyō's wielder to use Susanoo, the Third Power, at minimal cost. If their Dōjutsu Power had matured enough, they could even use one Mangekyō Sharingan to unleash this world-shaking forbidden technique.
That was why Guo Wang could use Susanoo freely despite having barely a tenth of his left-eye Dōjutsu Power remaining.
"Guh..."
With a furious shout from the Raikage, the black arcs of electricity at the tips of his Three-Finger Nukite erupted. The hazy radiance surrounding the Spiral Sword dissipated first, then the enormous blade began to shatter inch by inch. Even the giant bone arm gripping it began to turn illusory.
"Even though 'Susanoo-no-Mikoto' lets me bypass my lack of Dōjutsu Power and activate this forbidden technique, it still depends on my own Chakra."
After using four A-rank Ninjutsu and relying on Susanoo's defense to withstand the Raikage's Hell Stab, Danzo's already frail, injury-riddled body was beginning to give out.
As Guo Wang considered his next move, he released the Fuinjutsu on the Raikage.
At the same time, his figure blurred, and he was already a hundred meters from his opponent.
Without his Chakra sustaining it, Susanoo's skeletal arm, already at its limit, could no longer hold together. The Raikage's Three-Finger Nukite smashed it to pieces, and it dissolved into nothingness as formless Yin energy.
At the same time, the black arcs of electricity carried the giant man straight to Guo Wang. In less time than it took to blink, a fierce thrust that warped the air and made it hard to breathe slammed into the unprotected head.
"Good thing I put some distance between us beforehand."
A hundred meters might have been no different from a thousand to the Raikage in "God Speed" Mode. But for a veteran fighter like Guo Wang, with his keen eye, it gave him the opening he needed to strike first.
Rumble!
The shinobi on both sides watching the generals' battle saw the Raikage hurled backward even faster than he had charged in. He slammed into a mountainside, leaving a massive human-shaped crater.
"What technique was that? He stopped Three-Finger Nukite without Susanoo, and I didn't see Danzo form a single hand seal."
Back at the base, Uchiha Fugaku had activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan. He was one of only two shinobi on the battlefield who had seen the two generals' exchange clearly.
"The instant Elder Danzo waved his hand, a terrifying repulsive force burst out from his entire body. He sent the Raikage flying without even needing hand seals."
Shikaku Nara was also keeping watch over the whole battlefield.
With Heitai, the strongest member of Kumogakure's Shadow Guard, dead, Choza Akimichi and two Jonin could keep their opponents pinned down. Inoichi Yamanaka was free to survey the whole situation and tell Shikaku Nara what strategy would work best.
"Contact Minato. Have him mark Lord Danzo. If possible, help him land a serious blow on the Raikage."
At his comrade's instruction, Inoichi Yamanaka projected his mind from his body and precisely found the streak of golden light on the battlefield, clashing with blue arcs of electricity.
"So that's the plan? Understood. I hope Elder Danzo will go easy on me after the battle, since I'll have made amends for my mistake."
Dodging the Fourth Raikage's "Lightning Style: Lightning Opposing Susanoo Blade" with a flash, Namikaze Minato suddenly appeared behind Danzo. He placed his right hand on Danzo's shoulder, and four Fuinjutsu characters were already stamped onto the man's flak jacket.
"Sword of Shinobi Love!"
Guo Wang, who had been the first to receive Shikaku Nara's battle plan, merely gave the blond young man a cold look and spoke in Danzo's aloof tone.
"Unnecessary. I alone am more than enough."
Crackle! Crackle!
The Fourth Raikage didn't pursue Namikaze Minato as he withdrew. He was wary of Danzo, who had sent his father flying, but more importantly, a team of Konoha shinobi had appeared—ones Killer B couldn't handle.
"Delicious Chakra. My insects are quite satisfied."
Aburame Torune wore his trademark sunglasses. Black insects covered his body and surged out in streams, pinning down the Jinchuriki, whose Gyuki tentacles were emerging.
"After the Nine-Tails, now it's the Eight-Tails?"
The short Anbu wearing a fox mask drew a blade of the same design as Danzo's. Black Three Tomoe appeared in his blood-red eyes.
"Keep formation. We rushed here, and the three of us don't have your ability to absorb Chakra."
Gui, the only woman in the group, spoke. She panted lightly, her full chest rising and falling in a pronounced swell.
"Then I'll take the lead this time. The three of you can recover first."
As his footsteps fell softly, Aburame Torune swallowed a piece of octopus tentacle, and the Chakra within him was nearly overflowing. He stepped in front of Killer B and watched the Jinchuriki struggle and roar inside the Insect Sphere, his eyes calm behind his sunglasses.
"Senpai, give me five minutes."
Feeling that only two or three tenths of his Chakra remained, Shisui didn't overexert himself. All three took Military Ration Pills from their ninja pouches and swallowed them.
"The battle on Lord Danzo's side seems to be going quite well."
"This time, maybe we'll get to see that technique."
Gui's words made Shin, usually so calm, speak with a tremor in his voice.
"Your lord has already mastered it—the Ultimate Wind Release, even more powerful than the Vacuum Blade!"
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