There was no doubt about it: the man roaring as he attacked Hyuga Lan was the Fourth Raikage.
Just moments earlier, the Fourth Raikage had witnessed Hyuga Lan kill Aida, the Storm Release ninja.
Burning with rage, he unleashed chakra rivaling that of a Tailed Beast and forced Kakashi and the others back.
Then, at an unimaginable speed, he appeared before Lan and launched a vicious sneak attack, hoping to catch him while he was gasping for breath after exhausting himself.
Hyuga Lan was in a weakened state, having spent his strength and not yet recovered. Facing the Raikage's attack now, he had almost no chance of dodging.
Would he have to use the power of the Tenseigan?
As the Raikage's fist came closer, Hyuga Lan slowly shut his eyes. Just as he was about to make up his mind, he suddenly seemed to sense something. The golden light gathering in his eyes quickly faded.
Clearly, even in this desperate situation, he had chosen not to use the Tenseigan's power. Was he going to simply offer himself up to be killed?
Looking at Hyuga Lan, who seemed to have accepted his fate right before him, the Fourth Raikage showed no hesitation or mercy.
But as he swung his hand to try to decapitate Lan, a mass of dark green light descended from above and enveloped him first.
The dark green light then took the shape of a gigantic phantom hand, which closed around Hyuga Lan and shielded him.
Rumble!
The Fourth Raikage's Lariat struck the dark green phantom hand with a series of cracking sounds, but failed to shatter it completely.
"What... what kind of jutsu is this?"
The Fourth Raikage looked toward the source of the power. It was Shisui, who had rushed over from nearby to provide support.
A vast amount of dark green chakra poured out of Shisui, gradually taking shape until it became the phantom of a gigantic skeleton.
The enormous hand protecting Hyuga Lan belonged to one of the skeleton's arms.
Clearly, seeing how dire the situation was, Shisui had set aside any concern about keeping his abilities secret. He had activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and summoned the power of Susanoo.
"What kind of eyes are those?"
Only then did the Fourth Raikage notice that the Sharingan in Shisui's eyes no longer bore the Three-Tomoe pattern. In its place was a new design shaped like a four-pointed shuriken.
"Is this also the power of the Sharingan?"
The Mangekyō Sharingan had not appeared in the Ninja World for so long that people no longer understood the power these eyes held.
Though he had no idea what this power was, the confident Fourth Raikage decided to test it anyway.
"Don't underestimate the Raikage's fury!"
"Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!"
Bang! Bang! Bang...
The Fourth Raikage struck again and again, trying to break through Susanoo's defense. The skeletal Susanoo was covered in cracks.
Just as the Fourth Raikage was about to redouble his efforts and shatter Susanoo completely, the dark green Susanoo let out a demonic roar.
Dark green chakra began forming muscles and sinews over its bones, and finally, it donned a suit of armor.
At this stage, the Fourth Raikage's attacks had no effect on Susanoo at all.
Then Susanoo's other hand began to swing down toward the Fourth Raikage.
As the massive hand came crashing down from above, the Fourth Raikage chose not to meet it head-on. He quickly retreated and dodged.
After driving the Fourth Raikage back, Shisui used Susanoo to bring Hyuga Lan over to him.
"Lan, are you all right?"
Lan shook his head in response to Shisui's question.
"Thanks to you, I'm safe."
Lan thanked him sincerely. He could have made it through the crisis with the Tenseigan's power, but the consequences would have been immeasurable.
So when he sensed Shisui activating his Mangekyō Sharingan, he had decisively abandoned the idea of using the Tenseigan.
Now Shisui had revealed the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan to everyone, all because he had taken the crisis off Lan's hands. Lan owed him a great debt.
Soon, people from other parts of the battlefield turned to look. When they saw the dark green chakra pouring from Shisui and forming a godlike giant around him, they couldn't help but cry out in shock.
"What... what kind of jutsu is that?"
"Look at his eyes!
They don't seem to be the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. What kind of eyes are those?"
Without a doubt, Shisui was now wielding the Third Power, which could only be obtained after awakening the Mangekyō in both eyes: Susanoo, said to be an absolute defense!
The Fourth Raikage stared at the dark green Susanoo enveloping Shisui. After thinking for a moment, he finally figured it out.
"Could those be the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan?
I can't believe eyes like those have appeared again after all these years."
When the Fourth Raikage noticed Shisui's age, his wariness and astonishment only grew.
Damn Konoha. Why did such talented young people keep appearing there? Was the heavens really against him?
The Fourth Raikage's expression shifted as he looked at Hyuga Lan, Kakashi, Guy, and Shisui standing side by side.
Just moments ago, Kakashi and two others had barely managed to keep the Fourth Raikage occupied. Now Hyuga Lan had joined them.
With Shisui also using the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan, the four of them together had the Fourth Raikage completely pinned down on this battlefield.
Their fight drew constant sidelong glances from those around them. People couldn't help but marvel at how extraordinary these young men were. Even fighting together, taking on the long-renowned Fourth Raikage at such a young age was a feat worthy of admiration.
With the Fourth Raikage completely tied down by Hyuga Lan and the others, Kumogakure's plan to destroy Konoha was officially thwarted.
Unable to break through and already exhausted, the Fourth Raikage finally stopped fighting and silently watched the four troublesome young men before him.
His gaze flickered among Hyuga Lan and the others. Seeing the immense power these young Konoha prodigies possessed at such an early age only made him more frustrated.
He had thought Konoha would be left without capable successors after the Fourth Hokage's death. He had never expected four more powerful prodigies to appear at once. Why had nothing like this happened in Kumogakure? Wasn't the heavens being far too unfair to them?
Should this battle continue?
The reason the Fourth Raikage was still hesitating was that he had pinned his hopes for turning the tide on the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B.
If Killer B could defeat Jiraiya, then once he returned and reunited with the Raikage, the two of them could use the AB Combination to easily defeat the four prodigies before them.
Rumble!
Thick smoke billowed in the distance. It was as if some enormous creature was heading their way, and the ground beneath their feet trembled along with it.
Soon, a bull-like monster with octopus tentacles arrived on the battlefield. It was the Eight-Tails Gyuki.
Seeing Killer B return, the Fourth Raikage was delighted. It seemed fortune was on their side after all.
But just as the Fourth Raikage was about to call on Killer B to help eliminate Konoha's elite, the ground trembled again. A gigantic purple-red toad arrived on the battlefield as well. It was Gamaken.
A white-haired figure stood atop Gamaken. It was Jiraiya.
Jiraiya's appearance had changed dramatically. Bumps like a toad's covered his face, his teeth had grown sharp, and even his pupils were horizontal like a toad's.
Two toad figures sat on his shoulders, one on each side: Shima and Fukasaku, the two sages of Mount Myoboku.
There was no doubt that Jiraiya had entered Sage Mode.
After sensing the chakra around Jiraiya, the sensory unit hurriedly reported the news to the Fourth Raikage.
When the Fourth Raikage heard it, his expression darkened until it seemed ready to drip with gloom.
But as the leader of a village, he recognized that victory was slipping away and decisively ordered his forces to stop attacking and retreat.
Konoha did nothing to stop the Fourth Raikage and Killer B as they covered the retreat.
Konoha had only recently emerged from the Third Ninja War, and everyone was eager for peace. Now that the war might finally end, no one wanted to ruin that chance.
Once the Kumogakure army had finished retreating, Konoha's forces began returning to their base as well.
On the way back, Hyuga Lan suddenly realized that with the AB Combination away from the village, Kumogakure's remaining defenses must be weak.
Wouldn't that make this a great opportunity for him?