Susanoo Appears

Needless to say, the one roaring as he charged at Hyuga Lan was none other than the Fourth Raikage.

It turned out that just moments ago, the Fourth Raikage had witnessed Hyuga Lan strike down the Storm Release ninja Aida.

Consumed by fury, he erupted with chakra comparable to a Tailed Beast, forcing Kakashi and the others back.

He then arrived before Hyuga Lan with unimaginable speed, intending to launch a brutal sneak attack while Lan was gasping for breath from his intense exertion.

At this moment, Hyuga Lan was in a weakened state where his old strength had been spent and his new strength had yet to arise; facing the Raikage's attack now, there was almost no possibility of dodging.

Must I use the power of the Tenseigan?

Facing the Raikage's heavy fist drawing ever closer, Hyuga Lan slowly closed his eyes. Just as he was about to make his decision, he suddenly seemed to sense something, and the golden light that had been about to condense in his eyes quickly faded away.

Clearly, even in such a critical moment, he still chose to forgo using the power of the Tenseigan. Was he going to just bow his head and accept his fate?

The Fourth Raikage watched Hyuga Lan, who stood within arm's reach appearing to have resigned himself to his fate, and there was not the slightest hint of mercy in the movements of his hands.

However, just as he swung his hand in an attempt to decapitate Hyuga Lan, a mass of dark green light descended from the sky, enveloping his opponent first.

The dark green light then transformed into the phantom of a giant palm, and Hyuga Lan was held within it, protected.

Rumble!

The Fourth Raikage's Lariat struck the dark green phantom palm, emitting a series of cracking sounds, yet it failed to shatter it completely.

This... what kind of ninjutsu is this?

The Fourth Raikage looked toward the source of this power: it was Shisui, who had arrived from not far away to provide support.

At this moment, a massive amount of dark green chakra surged from Shisui's body, gradually solidifying until it finally took the form of a colossal skeletal phantom.

The giant palm shielding Hyuga Lan was none other than one of the arms of that skeleton.

Clearly, seeing the dire situation, Shisui had disregarded the need to keep his intelligence hidden, activating his Mangekyo Sharingan and summoning the power of Susanoo.

What kind of eyes are those?

Only then did the Fourth Raikage notice that the Sharingan in Shisui's eyes was no longer the three-tomoe pattern from before; in its place was a new pattern resembling a four-pointed shuriken.

Is this also the power of the Sharingan?

Evidently, the Ninja World had gone too long without the appearance of the Mangekyo Sharingan, leaving people largely ignorant of the power contained within such eyes.

Though he did not understand what this power was, the Fourth Raikage, confident in his own strength, decided to test it regardless.

"Do not underestimate the fury of the Raikage!"

"Lariat Chiyo Dance!"

Bang, bang, bang...

The Fourth Raikage struck repeatedly, attempting to break the defense of the Susanoo. The Susanoo, which had been in its skeletal form, was soon covered in numerous cracks.

Just as the Fourth Raikage intended to put in more effort to shatter the Susanoo completely, the dark green Susanoo let out a roar like a demonic god.

The dark green chakra began to condense into muscles and sinews, and finally, it was clad in a layer of armor.

Once the Susanoo reached this form, the Fourth Raikage's attacks had no effect on it whatsoever.

Then, the other palm of the Susanoo began to swipe toward the Fourth Raikage.

Watching the giant hand descend from the sky, the Fourth Raikage did not choose to clash head-on, instead retreating rapidly to dodge.

After forcing the Fourth Raikage back, Shisui controlled the Susanoo to bring Hyuga Lan to his side.

"Lan, are you alright?"

Facing Shisui's inquiry, Lan shook his head.

"Thanks to you, otherwise I would have been in real danger."

Lan expressed his sincere gratitude. Although he could have survived this crisis by relying on the power of the Tenseigan, the subsequent repercussions would have been immeasurable.

Therefore, upon sensing in advance that Shisui was using his Mangekyo Sharingan, he had resolutely canceled his plan to use the Tenseigan.

In this way, Shisui, who had been hiding the power of his Mangekyo Sharingan, was now exposed to everyone; it was equivalent to the other party taking the crisis upon himself. This was a debt of gratitude that was not small.

Soon, people in other parts of the battlefield turned their gazes toward this side. When they saw the dark green chakra surging from Shisui's body to form a god-like giant around him for protection, they could not help but exclaim in shock.

"What... what kind of ninjutsu is that?"

"Look at his eyes! They don't seem to be the three-tomoe Sharingan. What exactly are those eyes?"

Undoubtedly, what Shisui was displaying at this moment was the third power, known as the absolute defense, which could only be obtained after awakening the Mangekyo in both eyes: Susanoo!

The Fourth Raikage looked at the dark green Susanoo enveloping Shisui, and after a moment of contemplation, he finally found the answer.

"Could that be the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan? To think that after so many years, such eyes have appeared once again."

When the Fourth Raikage noted Shisui's age, he felt even more wary and astonished.

Damn Konoha, why do such talented young people always appear there? Is the Heavens truly not on my side?

Looking at Hyuga Lan, Kakashi, Guy, and Shisui standing side by side, the Fourth Raikage's expression shifted uncertainly.

Just a moment ago, Kakashi and his two companions were barely able to hold off the Fourth Raikage, but now, with the addition of Hyuga Lan, the tide had shifted.

With Shisui beginning to unleash the power of his Mangekyo Sharingan, the four of them joined forces to completely pin the Fourth Raikage down on this battlefield.

The clash between the four youths and the Fourth Raikage drew constant side-glances from those nearby, all marveling at how extraordinary these young men were. Even if it took four of them, the feat of holding their own against the long-renowned Fourth Raikage at such a young age was enough to stand proud above the rest.

It was precisely because the Fourth Raikage was thoroughly restrained by Hyuga Lan and the others that the Cloud Village's plan to destroy Konoha Village was officially declared a failure.

Seeing that he could not break through after a prolonged assault, the exhausted Fourth Raikage finally ceased his movements, silently watching the four youths who had caused him such a headache.

The Fourth Raikage's gaze flickered repeatedly over Hyuga Lan and his companions. Looking at these four Konoha geniuses who possessed such immense power at such a young age, his irritation only grew.

He had originally assumed that Konoha would be suffering from a lack of talent following the death of the Fourth Hokage, yet he never expected them to suddenly produce four powerful geniuses. Why couldn't such things happen in his Cloud Village? Was heaven being too unfair to them?

Given this, was there any point in continuing the battle?

The reason the Fourth Raikage was still hesitating at this moment was that he had pinned his hopes of turning the tide on the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee.

If Killer Bee could defeat Jiraiya and return to rendezvous with him, then by relying on the power of the AB Combination, he could easily crush the four geniuses before him.

Rumble!

In the distance, thick smoke billowed as if some massive creature were rushing toward them, causing the very earth beneath their feet to tremble.

Soon, a bull-bodied monster with octopus tentacles arrived on the battlefield—it was the Eight-Tails Gyuki.

Seeing Killer Bee return, the Fourth Raikage felt a surge of joy; it seemed fate was on their side this time.

However, just as the Fourth Raikage prepared to call for Killer Bee to join him in wiping out the Konoha elites, the ground shook once more, and a giant purple-red toad arrived on the battlefield—it was Gamaken.

Standing atop Gamaken's head was a white-haired figure: Jiraiya.

But Jiraiya's appearance had changed drastically; toad-like warts had appeared on his face, his teeth had become sharp, and even his pupils had turned into horizontal slits like a toad's.

On his shoulders sat two toad figures—the Sages of Mount Myoboku, Shima and Fukasaku.

Without a doubt, Jiraiya had entered Sage Mode.

Upon sensing the aura emanating from Jiraiya, the sensory team hurriedly reported the intelligence to the Fourth Raikage.

When the Fourth Raikage heard this, his face darkened until it was almost dripping with gloom.

Yet, as the Kage of a village, he realized that the hope of victory was slim and decisively ordered a halt to the attack, turning to retreat.

Watching the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee act as the rearguard, no one from Konoha moved to intercept them.

Konoha had only recently emerged from the Third Ninja World War, and the people were yearning for stability. Seeing the possibility of ending the conflict, naturally, no one was willing to disrupt it.

Seeing the Cloud army complete their withdrawal, the Konoha forces also began to return to their encampment.

On the way back, Hyuga Lan suddenly realized that with the AB Combination currently away from their village, the defensive forces remaining in the Cloud Village must be severely lacking.

In that case, wouldn't this be a perfect opportunity for him?