Li Yu saw that the time was about right and used his Mangekyō Sharingan to contact his clone in the Kamui Dimension.
"Poof!"
After a cloud of smoke appeared in the Kamui Dimension, Li Yu's forehead emerged beneath his mask. A small green mark appeared in its center, surrounded by circular green markings. Green eyeshadow appeared at the corners of both eyes.
Without the opponent's knowledge, he entered Sage Mode and stretched out both hands, forming blue Rasengan. The two Wood Release Clones beside him quickly infused the Rasengan with Wind Release chakra.
Soon, he had completed a Wind Release: Rasenshuriken in each hand. Holding one in either hand, Li Yu took a deep breath and charged straight at Third Raikage A, intending to finish him in one fell swoop.
Seeing Li Yu's aura suddenly change and his speed surge until it nearly matched his own, Third Raikage A exclaimed,
"Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite!"
It was the same move again. Confident in his Lightning Release Armor, Third Raikage A decided not to dodge or retreat, intending to quickly eliminate this troublesome Konoha Ninja.
Seeing the move again—the Third Raikage's Strongest Spear—Li Yu couldn't help smiling as his plan fell into place.
Only an idiot would meet you head-on.
When they were still five meters apart, Li Yu hurled the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken in his hands and used Flying Thunder God to escape the attack's range.
"I bet you didn't know my Rasengan could be thrown."
"Boom! Boom!"
Two balls of white light flashed. As two spiraling waves of white light spread out, the nearby trees and leaves were swept into the sky. Everything inside the light was ground to pieces.
The lush forest created moments earlier by Deep Forest Emergence was immediately shredded beneath the two white spiral meat grinders.
The Cloud Ninja nearby were still watching the battle in the forest intently when they saw the woods disappear.
"What kind of jutsu is that? Two semicircular balls of light?"
"The forest was perfectly fine, and now it's been destroyed!"
"I wonder how Lord Third Raikage is doing."
"He must've taken care of that Konoha Ninja, right?"
Li Yu had actually thought so too. Third Raikage A had taken two Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. With twice the fun, he must've enjoyed himself all the way to the afterlife.
Just then, a purple figure darted between the two balls of light, charging toward Li Yu with unstoppable momentum.
"He's unharmed?"
The Wind Release: Rasenshuriken had left countless tiny marks on Third Raikage A's body, but his Lightning Release Armor quickly recovered. His momentum grew as he ran, and he held his right hand level, purple lightning coiling around it as his fingers pointed toward Li Yu.
"That's Lord Raikage's Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite!"
"The Strongest Spear!"
The Cloud Ninja watching from all around were thrilled, eager to see the Konoha Ninja defeated by Third Raikage's Strongest Spear.
Li Yu kept shifting positions and circling, trying to interrupt the Strongest Spear, but to no avail. He used two more Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, creating two enormous spirals of white light, but they only slowed Third Raikage A down.
"Multi Shadow Clone!"
Li Yu created over a thousand Shadow Clones, hoping to distract Third Raikage A. A great many clouds of smoke billowed up with a series of "poof, poof, poof," and in no time, all thousand-plus clones were cleared away.
The clones were simply too weak. Though there were many of them, they barely made a difference against true strength. He had spent a huge amount of chakra just to delay and distract his enemy.
He used Wind Release: Rasenshuriken four more times in succession, but could only inflict minor damage on Third Raikage A. Two of them even missed entirely.
Third Raikage A's Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite seemed to lock onto its target. It could turn—even make a full ninety-degree turn—and it pursued Li Yu with relentless determination.
With Third Raikage A chasing him into a desperate scramble, Li Yu had no choice but to enter Sage Mode for the fourth time. After so many failed attacks, he was even considering running away, though he was confident that his Mangekyō Sharingan and Earth Release would let him escape underground.
In all his years of training, Li Yu had never faced such a troublesome opponent. He had tried every trick in his arsenal, but Third Raikage A could take a beating and dish one out. He was a powerhouse focused on single-target attacks.
Third Raikage A fought tens of thousands of Iwagakure Ninja for three days and three nights. I have plenty of chakra, but even I can't outlast him.
For example, if Li Yu spent fifty points of chakra on a jutsu, Third Raikage A only had to spend five to ten points to defend against it. That was a terrible trade.
Li Yu also wanted to use the big moves available in Sage Mode: Wood Human Technique, the Thousand-Armed Kan'on, and Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands. But wouldn't that be exactly what Third Raikage wanted? He'd spend a huge amount of chakra and unleash a thousand strikes, but most wouldn't land. Even if a few did, would they really take down Third Raikage?
It was like using an elephant to swat a mosquito or a hand to drive in a nail: dealing five points of damage at the cost of hundreds of chakra wasn't worth it.
Seeing that Li Yu could only dodge and didn't dare face him head-on, Third Raikage A said,
"Konoha Ninja, let's see how much chakra you have left to waste!"
Li Yu had never felt so stifled, as if he had strength but nowhere to use it. Then he suddenly smacked his forehead. Hadn't I developed a new jutsu? I've been getting beaten around for so long, I've lost my head.
Suddenly, the familiar Naruto BGM seemed to ring in Li Yu's ears. His eyes brightened as he shook off his despondency, quickly put some distance between them, and formed Hand Seals.
Several wooden tendrils extended from his sides. He created two more Wood Release Clones, and each Wood Clone charged off in a different direction, stopping at a chosen spot.
This time, as Third Raikage A charged straight at him, Li Yu neither dodged nor fled. He intended to defeat his enemy head-on.
"This one move will decide it!"
Looking at the charging Third Raikage, Li Yu bit his finger and rapidly formed Hand Seals.
"Summoning Technique: Fivefold Rashomon!"
He pressed both hands against the ground. Black markings appeared across its surface, followed by a huge cloud of smoke with a "poof!" Five massive demon-faced gates rose between Li Yu and Third Raikage A.
This was the first time Li Yu had used the complete Fivefold Rashomon against an enemy. The last time had been during a spar with the Third Hokage, when he used Triple Rashomon to block a powerful Wind Release jutsu.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The first three Rashomon gates exploded into clouds of smoke under Third Raikage A's Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite. His momentum carried him straight toward the fourth gate, which began to crack under his attack.
"Boom!"
The fourth gate also dissolved into a cloud of smoke. With his momentum greatly reduced, Third Raikage slammed into the fifth Rashomon, and his body suddenly slid sideways in a direction he hadn't intended.
"Poof!" The fifth Rashomon completed its task of changing his course as planned, then vanished in a huge cloud of smoke.
"Now!"
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
The Wood Release Clone had been waiting with its Hand Seals ready for a long time, preparing this jutsu.
Meanwhile, Li Yu formed a blue Rasengan in his right hand. With the Wood Release Clone beside him manipulating it, the Rasengan slowly changed from blue to green, and a white shuriken-shaped aura appeared around it.
"Sage Art: Wood Release Rasenshuriken!"
"Third Raikage, you're the first to try out my exclusive new jutsu!"
The fifth Rashomon had redirected Third Raikage A. He had just charged out of the smoke when his feet became stuck, and his whole body began slowly sinking.
At that moment, Li Yu flashed to the edge of the swamp using Flying Thunder God, appearing beside the Specialized Kunai he had planted there earlier. The green Rasenshuriken was in his hand.
He gave Third Raikage A no time to react, hurling the Wood Release Rasenshuriken at him.
A burst of green light erupted. Vines coiled around Third Raikage A like pythons around their prey, binding him tightly. They spun faster and faster, tightening and crushing him with an awful creaking sound.
Li Yu didn't remain idle, either. He stood in place, fingers interlocked, his gaze fixed on Third Raikage A as he continually poured chakra into the jutsu.
Bound in the middle of the swamp, Third Raikage A kept yelling, struggling to break free by force. Lightning flickered across his Lightning Release Armor.
"Argh!"
The rapidly spinning wooden vines sent the swamp's mud flying in every direction. It splattered over Li Yu's clothes and face, but he remained unmoved, his fingers clenched tightly together.
The last clone in the Kamui Dimension vanished with a "poof!" and Li Yu entered Sage Mode for the final time.
With Wood Release Clones guarding him on both sides, Li Yu poured in even more chakra without hesitation.
"Haah!"
Blood quickly streamed from Third Raikage's eyes, ears, nostrils, and the corners of his mouth.
"Die!"
"Crack! Crack!"
His bones snapped all over with a series of sharp pops. A great deal of blood gushed from Third Raikage A's seven orifices. As the purple Lightning Release Armor disappeared, his life came to an end.
"Poof!"
Bones, organs, and blood burst into the air. A red fountain of blood shot more than ten meters high.
It was like crushing a piece of jelly in your hand. No words could describe the carnage.
Li Yu lowered his hands and panted heavily.
"I finally took down Third Raikage. Damn, that nearly killed me!"
When the nearby Cloud Ninja saw Third Raikage bound, they had trusted in his strength and hadn't worried much about the Raikage losing. But things hadn't gone as they'd hoped, and the outcome was far worse than they'd imagined.
"Has Lord Third Raikage been defeated?"
"How is that possible?"
One by one, they lost their will to fight. But when they saw Third Raikage's bloody death at Li Yu's hands, it roused the fury of every Cloud Ninja.
"Take revenge for Lord Raikage!"
"His chakra's almost gone. Kill him!"
"He's alone. We'll wear him down!"
Li Yu gave a few scornful laughs, then looked at the dirt and blood on himself, disgusted by his appearance. He had used up sixty percent of his chakra this time, and wasted plenty more just to end the fight.
"I'm going back to rest for a while. You two take them out."
With that, he activated the Mangekyō Sharingan in his left eye. Space twisted around him, and he disappeared.
The two Wood Release Clones exchanged a glance, then charged into the Cloud Ninja and began slaughtering them.