Blue lightning burst into a dazzling shower of sparks in the air.
A was already moving too fast for the naked eye to follow.
The heat of his Lightning Release instantly baked the mud beneath his feet dry, and his stomp gouged out an enormous crater.
He became a straight blue afterimage, charging directly at Qian Ye's face.
Minato's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
Before he could throw the special kunai in his hand, A's attack was already within three paces of Qian Ye.
Too fast.
That kind of explosive physical power would have ranked among the best even in the Ninja World's prime.
"Qian Ye, dodge!"
Minato couldn't help shouting.
A flattened his hand into a blade, piercing arcs of electricity crackling around it like a thousand birds chirping at once.
It was the signature technique passed down through generations in the Land of Lightning: Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop.
If that knife-hand strike landed cleanly, even a rocky hill several people could barely encircle would be sliced in two on the spot.
A's broad, fleshy face twisted into a savage grin.
"Little brat, learn to respect your elders in your next life!"
A roared, his knife-hand slashing viciously toward Qian Ye's neck with tremendous force.
The Auxiliary Management Unit Members behind them didn't even have time to close their eyes.
Qian Ye stood where he was, without so much as lifting a heel.
As he watched the lightning-wreathed hand slash toward him, a mocking smile curled across his lips instead.
"Respect my elders?"
Qian Ye sneered.
"Then you should learn how to walk first, little lightbulb."
As the words left his mouth, Qian Ye raised his right hand.
Ink-black Armament Haki swiftly spread across his palm, coating his skin with a metallic sheen.
There were no hand seals, no use