The Terrifying Raikage, Shisui's Consideration

Shisui was currently rushing toward his fifth mission location.

Like Ryosuke, he hadn't obediently followed the planned "reconnaissance" strategy, instead choosing to directly eliminate all the Cloud Village Anbu stationed there.

This had slowed his pace; otherwise, he should have been on his way back by now.

However, the previously established operational plan had only been intended to keep Ryosuke out of danger.

To end this war, Shisui had no choice but to make the Cloud Village feel the pain.

Otherwise, it would happen just as Ryosuke had said.

Even if they managed to return alive, it would only exacerbate the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha, or they would become the sacrificial lambs Konoha used to trade for peace.

Thinking of this, Shisui came to a halt.

He leaped onto a tree and took out some dry rations to eat.

Although these few battles hadn't had many twists and turns, they had still consumed a significant amount of his chakra.

"The battles ahead shouldn't be this easy; the Cloud Village must have realized something is wrong by now."

After a brief rest, Shisui continued on his way.

His next target was twenty miles from his current position, a distance he could cover in about a quarter of an hour.

Suddenly, a feeling of palpitations made him stop in his tracks.

Oh no, Ryosuke is in danger.

Before parting ways with Ryosuke and the others, Shisui had placed a mark on all three of them.

This special mark would trigger whenever the person marked encountered danger.

Without a moment's hesitation, Shisui rushed back at an even greater speed, no longer concerned with the remaining three targets.

Finally, after nearly two hours, he found Ryosuke, who was still resting.

"Are you alright, Ryosuke?"

Shisui leaped to Ryosuke's side and checked him over thoroughly, only to discover a hole in his chest where a piercing wound had formed, his clothes soaked through with fresh blood.

Yet, there was no corresponding wound on his back.

"Shisui-sensei? Why are you here? Have you finished all your mission targets?" Ryosuke looked at Shisui in surprise.

The man had eight targets, while he himself was only just about to head to his third.

"I still have three target locations left to scout. How is the situation on your end?"

Shisui asked.

"I've only finished scouting two target locations. I ran into an enemy ambush, so it took some time. This was their doing," Ryosuke said, mixing truth with lies.

He couldn't admit that he had been the one to initiate the attack, so he claimed to have been ambushed by the enemy.

This would dispel any of Shisui's suspicions.

Sure enough, Shisui let out a sigh of relief after confirming that Ryosuke wasn't actually injured.

With only five target locations remaining, the two decided to act together.

But they hadn't gone far when a bolt of thunder suddenly descended from the sky.

Following that, a terrifying aura instantly permeated the area.

Shisui and Ryosuke activated their Sharingan simultaneously.

They immediately discovered that the person wrapped within that lightning was someone they both recognized: the Fourth Raikage of the Cloud Village.

"The Fourth Raikage? How could he be here?" Shisui looked shocked.

Ryosuke's brows furrowed as well.

He could guess that the Fourth Raikage had been transported here using that secret technique, the Heavenly Transfer Technique.

Although the conditions for the Heavenly Transfer Technique were harsh and, in a general sense, it could only transport inanimate objects, it could be forced if one's body was strong enough or possessed sufficient regenerative capabilities.

And the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Release: Lightning Armor met those criteria.

"Finally caught you two Uchiha rats."

The Fourth Raikage, his entire body wreathed in electric arcs, walked toward Shisui and Ryosuke step by step.

"Ryosuke, go! Leave this to me."

Shisui made an immediate decision, ordering Ryosuke to leave at once.

"Shisui-sensei, I want to fight too."

Ryosuke refused to back down.

"Don't be foolish! I don't have any chance of winning; you staying here will only drag me down. Go, quickly!"

Shisui spoke to Ryosuke with an unprecedented, stern tone.

"None of you are getting away."

The Raikage suddenly transformed into a bolt of lightning, appearing instantly before Shisui.

He threw a punch the size of a sandbag, and Shisui shattered into pieces on impact.

"Hm? A Shadow Clone Technique? As expected of 'Shisui of the Body Flicker,' but as for you, brat, you die first!"

The Fourth Hokage glanced at Ryosuke and swung his fist once more.

However, his fist stopped abruptly halfway through the strike.

The Fourth Hokage looked down in surprise, only to find his own shadow crawling up his body, binding him tight.

"Cheap tricks!"

The Fourth Hokage let out a roar and exerted his strength, forcing the shadow to instantly shrink back into the ground.

He had actually broken the Shadow Possession Jutsu with sheer brute force.

Ryosuke was forced back two steps by the backlash of the ninjutsu.

Yet, this delay had bought him enough time to escape.

"Ninja Art: Thousand-Fold Illusion!"

Countless shadows emerged from Ryosuke's body and scattered in every direction.

The Fourth Hokage let out a cold snort, completely unmoved, and walked straight toward Ryosuke's true form.

"Brat, you dare try to fool me with these petty tricks? Die!"

He threw another punch.

But when his fist connected with Ryosuke, the scene of carnage he had imagined did not occur.

Instead, Ryosuke used a single finger to deflect a fist as large as his own head.

"What is going on?"

The Fourth Hokage's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

He began to attack Ryosuke with punch after punch, but the results were extremely limited.

It was as if a world stood between the two of them; the effects of force seemed to have lost all meaning.

Shisui turned back and was shocked to see the Fourth Hokage standing motionless before Ryosuke, as if he were sleeping with his eyes open.

He activated his Sharingan to inspect the man's chakra flow and immediately realized the Fourth Hokage had fallen under an illusion.

"Ryosuke, did you do this?"

Shisui jumped over, astonished.

Ryosuke nodded, looking somewhat weak.

"Teacher Shisui, can you take him out now?"

Shisui shook his head.

"He is only temporarily trapped in the illusion. Once stimulated, he will break free immediately, and the layer of lightning armor on his body is very difficult to penetrate."

"Besides, even if I could, I don't intend to. If the Raikage dies here, war between us and the Land of Lightning will be unavoidable."

"That's true. Let's leave this place first. Since the Raikage has arrived, I fear reinforcements from the Cloud Village aren't far behind."

Ryosuke said, showing great sense.

Shisui nodded, and the two of them fled at high speed.

Half an hour later, the Fourth Hokage's body finally began to move again.

He let out a roar: "Uchiha rats, I will never let you get away with this."