Severing Lightning with Chidori

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Uchiha Itachi roared, his hands weaving seals as a massive fireball gushed forth.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

The giant fireball roared as it slammed into the electric web formed by Lightning Release: Lightning Binding, yet the flames merely sparked against the grid before dissipating without a trace.

It was clear that this had caused no substantial damage.

"It's useless, brat." Kitane looked on with utter disdain. "You'd best give up on this futile struggle!"

He once again manipulated the massive thunder sphere in the sky, but this time, Kitane locked his target onto the most conspicuous flash of green in the arena: Might Guy!

A dazzling bolt of lightning darted down like a venomous snake.

"Guy!"

Kakashi's eyes widened to the point of tearing, and he began to gather Chidori in his hand; he absolutely could not tolerate losing another comrade before his very eyes.

Just as the lightning was about to strike Might Guy, Kakashi moved.

He stimulated his body with lightning-natured chakra, pushing his own speed to an unimaginable level.

Furthermore, the Sharingan in Kakashi's left eye spun frantically.

"Whoosh—!"

A silver flash streaked across the horizon.

In the split second before that lethal bolt of lightning could swallow Guy, Kakashi's Chidori acted like a sharp blade, actually slicing that thick bolt of lightning clean in mid-air!

Might Guy was dumbfounded, momentarily forgetting the crisis at hand. He looked on in shock, "Kakashi... you actually cut through lightning?"

"Don't space out, Guy!"

Kakashi did not pause for even a second after landing; instead, he wove seals at lightning speed and slammed his hands onto the ground.

"Earth Release: Earth Wave Technique!"

The ground immediately churned violently like ocean waves; since he could not break through the defenses Kazuma had set up from the front, Kakashi attempted to launch an attack from underground.

He only needed to knock Kitane off balance, and the Lightning Release would naturally be unable to maintain itself.

Seeing this, Kitane sneered, "Hmph, Lord Kazuma already anticipated this!"

As Kakashi's Earth Release took effect, the ground shook, revealing a massive iron tower beneath Kitane's feet.

It was a refined steel tower buried deep underground; not only did it stand as firm as a mountain against Kakashi's Earth Release, but it was also connected to the electric web, utilizing the tower's conductivity to amplify the defensive capabilities of the Lightning Release: Lightning Binding several times over.

Watching this scene, Kakashi couldn't help but sigh inwardly: his Earth Release was still too weak. If the Anbu Captain Ao were here, perhaps the situation would be different...

The fact that Yatsuhashi's life or death remained unknown also sent Might Guy into a rage.

Seeing Kitane preparing to guide the lightning orb to launch another attack against them, Might Guy immediately made his decision.

"Eight Inner Gates, Sixth Gate of View, open!"

BOOM!

Green chakra erupted from Might Guy's body like a volcano, and a visible shockwave exploded outward with him at the center.

At this moment, Might Guy resembled a waking beast.

This was the sixth gate, pushing far beyond his current physical limits.

"Guy!"

Kakashi exclaimed in shock.

"Protecting my comrades—that is what youth is all about!"

Might Guy transformed into a streak of green light, carrying a resolve to die, and delivered a Youthful Spinning Kick that slammed heavily into the iron tower!

CLANG—!!!

A deafening metallic shriek rang out.

The iron tower, buried deep underground, was actually forced into a tilt by Guy's kick.

"W-what?!"

Kitane's body swayed, and he nearly fell over.

He stared in disbelief at the green-glowing Might Guy. "How is this possible?! You must know this tower is buried deep into the earth!"

The Lightning Style: Lightning Illusion Flash of Lightning also lost much of its power as his footing became unstable.

The lightning orb in the air shook violently, its light dimming in an instant.

"Cough, cough..."

Might Guy knelt on one knee, his entire body wracked with the tearing pain of strained muscles.

Terrifying electrical currents rampaged through his body, but he forced himself to stay upright.

Guy gasped for air; forcing open the sixth gate had caused his meridians to ache intensely, yet he gritted his teeth, preparing to launch a second strike.

"Guy, that's enough."

Just then, a hand rested gently on Guy's shoulder.

"Leave the rest to me."

"Yatsuhashi?!"

The three of them were overjoyed to see Yatsuhashi safe and sound.

However, Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi noticed something unusual at first glance.

Yatsuhashi's original Three-Tomoe Sharingan had transformed into an eerie Mangekyo Sharingan.

Kitane regained his footing. "Hmph! Stop trying to bluff!"

He intended to redirect the lightning orb to finish off all four of them at once.

However, Yatsuhashi took a deep breath.

He locked his gaze onto the tilted iron tower.

He then channeled his chakra frantically into his right fist.

With just a simple charging process, the ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch.

At this moment, Yatsuhashi radiated a pure, suffocatingly powerful pressure.

BANG!

He threw a punch!

A heaven-shaking roar erupted at the scene, and a terrifying shockwave was born from thin air.

This punch actually formed a visible current of air.

Before Kitane could even react, he discovered in terror that he, along with the tilted iron tower, had been ripped from the ground and sent flying into mid-air by that single blow.

"I-impossible..."

Kitane shrieked in despair while suspended in the air.

This steel tower, which even Earth Release could not shake, was sent flying by a single punch.

Kitane stared at the scene before him in disbelief.

"This... how is this possible!"

Kitane's scream echoed through the air.

That punch had drained one-third of Yatsuhashi's chakra, an amount nearly equivalent to the total reserves of a standard Chunin.

Kitane fell to the ground in a wretched state, but before he could even catch his breath, Uchiha Itachi's kunai and Kakashi's Chidori were instantly pressed against his throat and chest.

"Wait, Itachi!"

Kakashi grabbed Uchiha Itachi's wrist with his other hand, preventing him from ending Kitane's life on the spot.

"Let him dispel the Lightning Style in the sky first," Kakashi said coldly.

Lightning Style: Lightning Illusion Flash of Lightning did not immediately dissipate after losing Kitane's control.

It still hung in the air, threatening the safety of everyone below.

Yet Kitane laughed, his laughter frantic and wild: "It's useless... without the formation's control, that lightning orb will plummet! Everyone will die! Hahahaha!"

Hearing this, the expressions of Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi shifted drastically.

Just as Kitane had said, the giant lightning orb high above was now descending toward the crowd on the ground with the momentum to destroy everything in its path.

If it were allowed to strike, it was feared that even the Daimyo Palace would be reduced to ashes.

At this critical moment, Thousand Jun looked up at the massive lightning orb slowly falling from the sky, and a trail of blood slowly trickled from his right eye.

"Disperse."

It was but a single word.

That orb of destruction was forcibly transformed into countless tiny electric snakes in mid-air, before vanishing into the atmosphere.

"Whew..."

Yatsuhashi wiped the blood from the corner of his eye, and the Mangekyo in his gaze faded, returning to ordinary black.

Yatsuhashi looked at the smear of bright red on his fingertips, and the words of Uchiha Fugaku instantly echoed in his mind.

"As expected, the blood of an Uchiha is precious, every single drop..."