"Bang!"
Two heavy impacts shook the ground.
Fujin and Raijin, each standing two meters tall with powerful builds, leaped over from afar, crossing dozens of meters as if heavenly soldiers had descended.
They landed amid the densely packed Cloud Ninja on the battlefield.
"Lightning Release: Earth Flash!"
"Lightning Release: Cell Activation!"
"Dual Blade Style!"
Though the Cloud Ninja didn't recognize the two men, anyone blocking their path had to be an enemy. Without hesitation, they attacked with murderous intent.
"Hm?!"
"Where are they?!"
The Cloud Ninja charging in to attack suddenly found their vision blurring. The two men who had just been standing before them had vanished!
"Watch out!"
The Cloud Ninja farthest away had the clearest view. He saw a shadow flash past and immediately sensed danger.
Unfortunately, sound traveled far too slowly to warn them in time—not nearly as fast as Fujin and Raijin, whose bodies had been enhanced!
"Bang!"
The sound of a body exploding rang out. Flesh and organs burst across the battlefield, splattering the faces of the surrounding Cloud Ninja.
Looking over, they saw the towering Fujin standing before a Cloud Ninja. One punch had smashed the man's entire upper body!
Before the surrounding Cloud Ninja could react, another equally towering figure was already rampaging across the battlefield.
"Boom!"
A violent gust of wind swept past. There was no sign of the man himself, only the bodies and severed limbs of several Cloud Ninja flying through the air and smashing into trees.
In just a few bounds, he hadn't even used a proper technique. The sheer force of his movements was enough to smash the Cloud Ninja to pieces.
"A taijutsu specialist like Lord Raikage!"
"We can't react at all!"
"Get some distance!"
The Cloud Ninja had inherited the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, so they understood the might of a shinobi who had mastered Nintaijutsu—someone as powerful as the Raikage of old.
Such a fighter could move through the battlefield like the wind, slaughtering lower- and middle-ranked shinobi with ease.
The Cloud Ninja who had managed to react scattered in every direction, trying to create distance so they could use long-range Ninjutsu.
But against overwhelming speed and strength, all tactics were useless.
Besides, Fujin and Raijin had already broken into their encirclement.
The earth and stones kept exploding, turning the battlefield into a minefield and blasting it into a pockmarked wasteland.
And just like a minefield, every time the ground erupted, it marked another high-speed charge by the perfect weapons.
It meant another Cloud Ninja had died!
The Cloud Ninja, who had just rallied to attack, were soon wailing across the battlefield once more!
"Lightning Release Chakra Mode!"
A Cloud Ninja Jonin skilled in Nintaijutsu grimaced as he forced his body's cells into action, barely managing to keep up with Fujin and Raijin.
"Hell Stab!"
It seemed like a simplified version of the Raikage's Nintaijutsu. It wasn't as powerful as the true Four-Finger Nukite, but it could still pierce stone and metal!
The attacked Fujin didn't even look at him. With an impassive face, he reached out and caught the strike.
"Hmph!"
The Cloud Ninja Jonin grunted. The Hell Stab, reinforced with Lightning Release Chakra, had been crushed into a lump.
But the Jonin's willpower was astonishing. Even with the bones in his hand shattered, he leaped into the air and kicked at Fujin's head, his strike brimming with the resolve to die.
Fujin lifted a hand and hurled the Jonin away. His body became a blur, shooting like a cannonball toward the other Cloud Ninja rushing in.
More of them were killed or injured.
"If I were alone, I'd easily get bogged down in the enemy ranks."
Sarutobi Hiruzen gave a faint smile at the sight.
"But with two top-tier taijutsu specialists at my side, both willing to fight to the death..."
"And unafraid of injury or exhaustion..."
"Without an equally powerful fighter to hold them back..."
"Any number of shinobi would just be filling a pit."
Fujin and Raijin had made an extraordinary debut on the battlefield.
Their speed and strength far surpassed those of ordinary Jonin. It was like having two Raikage rampage across the battlefield, unleashing a massacre.
But Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't going to stand around watching. There was still a troublesome little girl who would have loved to tear him limb from limb.
"Die!"
A sharp cry came from nearby, followed by several blue, high-temperature fireballs.
Nii Yugito was cloaked in the Tailed Beast Cloak, her pupils pure white. Catlike whisker markings appeared on her unadorned face.
Sarutobi Hiruzen nimbly rolled backward, dodging every fireball.
"The Third Hokage?!"
Nii Yugito was a little surprised. The spirited, dignified man before her looked much younger than the one in the stories.
But her surprise lasted only a moment. After he had ambushed and killed so many Cloud Ninja on the battlefield, her hatred for this Ninja Hero had reached its peak.
"Rat Tail Ball!"
Nii Yugito parted her lips and spat out ten blue fireballs in succession. They swept toward Sarutobi Hiruzen from a variety of tricky angles.
"Earth Flow Wall!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen swiftly formed Hand Seals and raised a barrier in front of himself.
But the blue fireballs seemed alive. They went straight around the Earth Wall and chased after Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had taken cover behind it.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was surprised, but his peak physical condition gave him exceptionally sharp reflexes.
He shifted his body nimbly in midair. With a few bounds, he avoided every one of the pursuing blue fireballs.
And that wasn't all.
Nii Yugito furrowed her delicate brows. The blue fireballs in the air dropped straight down like deflated balloons.
The Chakra Threads, invisible on Nii Yugito's ten fingers, drooped as well. She had lost control of them.
Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled faintly, twirling a Kunai wrapped in Wind Style Chakra between his fingers.
He realized the fireballs were controlled by Chakra Threads in an instant, then cut the threads with pinpoint precision.
That judgment and insight...
Nii Yugito's expression turned grim. Her burning enthusiasm had been doused.
She had forgotten that the man before her was Professor of Ninjutsu, renowned throughout the Ninja World. She had only recently become a Jonin and was still too inexperienced to face one of the Ninja World's top fighters.
But Nii Yugito had no intention of giving up. Instead, her competitive spirit flared.
The blue Tailed Beast Cloak around her grew darker, almost turning black-red.
Leaving a crater in the ground, Nii Yugito shot forward in a blur.
With Tailed Beast Chakra bolstering her, Yugito's physical abilities were no match for those of a Jonin skilled in Nintaijutsu—they surpassed them.
"A Cloud girl thinks she can take advantage of me just because I'm old and weak."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression carried a hint of provocation and mockery.
"Whoosh!"
As Yugito dashed along the ground, she thrust out both hands. A pair of blue Chakra claws extended from them.
"Hm?!"
Yugito seemed to sense something and leaped, springing from the ground into the air.
Several earthen spikes surged up beneath her, narrowly missing her body. Their tips glinted with a sharp edge.
But as Yugito soared through the air, a kick was waiting for her.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had leaped up as well, anticipating her move. It was as if Yugito had flown straight into his foot, and he kicked her back down from the air.
Before you continue