"Boom!!!" The wave of light unleashed by the laser swallowed A's body, then swept toward the rear. Its radiating fan-shaped edge completely leveled the defensive fortifications formed by the Earth-Style Walls and barrier walls...!!
"Lord Raikage!!!" Amid the storm, the Hidden Cloud Village shinobi stared fearfully toward the end of the light wave!!!
Dodai shielded his face with both hands and muttered, "Though the power of that attack is astonishing, it still cannot harm the Fourth while he is protected by Lightning Release Armor."
"What truly concerns me is that enemy who used the Earth Concealment Technique to infiltrate underground. He still has not appeared. Could the technique he used to kill Yun Zhiyi threaten the Fourth?"
Glancing anxiously at C, whom he was protecting behind him, he asked, "C... did you sense anything?"
C maintained the hand seals for her sensory technique, sweat streaming down her small face. "I-I can't sense that enemy at all! H-he must have gone very deep underground. My sensory ability cannot penetrate that far..."
Dodai withdrew his gaze and said gravely, "Subterranean Voyage? If he went that deep underground, then at least he cannot threaten the Fourth."
"Boom!" Once the light wave subsided, A's figure emerged. Clad in Lightning Release Armor, he stood straight before the mountainside, without even a single hair harmed.
A's piercing electric eyes fixed coldly on Pain's Asura Path. "Satisfied now, trash?"
Pain's Asura Path said, "Thunder brat..."
"Crack!!!" Before he could finish, the Raikage's hand blade came crashing down, cleaving Asura Path's fused head and entire body in half!!!
"You really are unreasonable..." The severed head's Rinnegan stared up at A's face as it finished speaking.
"Boom!!!" A brought his foot down and crushed Asura Path's head.
Then he stomped down again and again, grinding with the sole of his foot until... he had reduced Asura Path to pieces, leaving not a single intact component behind.
"Ptooey!" Spitting to the side, he turned toward Pain's Preta Path. "You're next!!!"
"Crackle!" With a flash of lightning, he was already behind Preta Path. He locked both arms around him and raised him high overhead!!
Pain's Preta Path said, "Ah~, Thunder brat lifted me up high!!"
"Awooooooo...!!!!" A roared toward the sky as the Lightning Release Armor around his body erupted violently!!!
That display terrified the surrounding Hidden Cloud Village shinobi!!
"That stance is Lord Raikage's Liger Bomb!!!!!"
"Quick, get away!!! If you get caught in that, you'll die!!!"
Having charged his power to the limit, A was just about to slam him down when his expression suddenly changed. His Lightning Release chakra was rapidly draining away!
But he had no time to think... He smashed him down with all his might!!!!
"Boom...!!!"
With a deafening crash, the ground caved in and cracks spread in every direction, yet the expected explosion of lightning arcs never came!
The Hidden Cloud Village shinobi who had retreated into the distance looked on in bewilderment. "What happened?? The power was incredible, but it was nowhere near as strong as we expected!!!"
"Did Lord Raikage show mercy!!"
"No." Dodai stared at the two figures locked together in the crater. "Look closely. Lord Raikage's Lightning Release Armor vanished the instant before the Liger Bomb landed!"
"Ah? Why did that happen!!!"
Dodai said, "That enemy previously nullified our ninjutsu. Looking at it now, the essence of that ability is absorption, and its efficiency is terrifying."
"In just a few seconds of contact, he absorbed the Lightning Release Armor Lord Raikage had gathered around his body!!"
"That is why... he managed to survive the Liger Bomb. But even so, Lord Raikage's physical strength alone was enough to shatter every bone in his body."
Dodai's voice grew low. "That man is already crippled."
A stared expressionlessly at Pain's Preta Path before him. "With an ability like yours, that rotten old man Ōnoki should not have sent you here to die. Before I tear you into eight pieces, tell me his purpose. I can grant you a quicker death!"
"Hehehe." Pain's Preta Path grinned.
"Talk!"
"Thunder brat."
"Boom!"
A's fist, as large as a sandbag, smashed into Preta Path's face, driving his head into the ground!
"Talk!!"
"Thunder brat."
"Boom!!" His head sank even deeper!
"Thunder brat..."
"Boom!!!" "Boom!!!" "Boom!!!"
After several consecutive punches, Preta Path's head was deeply buried in the earth. Even his neck could no longer be seen. Pulled by his limbs, his upper body stood high in the air, while the curve between his hips and lower body had been stretched into an arch...
"Drip!" Blood dripped from A's fist as he crouched by the pit and said coldly, "Go on. Call me that one more time."
"..." Preta Path could no longer make a sound.
However, his hand slowly moved. Feeling around, he grabbed one of the Black Rods that had flown from his face and landed nearby. After picking it up, he tapped it against A's forehead.
"Ding!"
A crisp sound rang out... It dealt no damage at all, yet was incredibly insulting!!
"You've really pissed me off!!!!!!!!!!"
A let out a furious roar. Lightning Release Armor wrapped around him once more as he unleashed a barrage of heavy punches at Preta Path, venting all his rage!!
"Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom...!!!"
"Awooooooo...!!!"
For a time, rocks and dirt flew everywhere, and flesh and blood splattered through the air...
All the Hidden Cloud Village shinobi were left dumbfounded...!!
"Too brutal..."
Dodai asked, "C... has the final enemy made any move?"
C wore a strange expression. "It seems like... he has, but also like he has not. L-Lord Raikage's side is making it impossible for me to concentrate."
Dodai said, "Focus! As a sensory ninja, you must maintain absolute concentration under any circumstances!"
"Yes!!!" C's expression tightened to the extreme. Then suddenly... that faint, indistinct presence became clear!!
"H-he's over there, approaching the Third's grave!!"
"What!?" Dodai abruptly turned his head. "Could his objective be...!!!"
"Crack!!" Pain's Human Path, who had infiltrated underground, emerged before the Third Raikage's grave!!
"It was buried deep enough, but I finally found it!!!"
His hands rapidly formed seals, then he slapped them against the ground!
"Thanks to the main body's chakra, this technique can finally be put to use..."
--Earth Release: Moving Earth Core!
"Boom!!!"
The ground shook... The coffin buried deep beneath the earth rose toward the surface amid the rumbling upheaval!!!
Dodai steadied himself and cried out to A, who was still venting his anger by beating the corpse.
"Lord Raikage, the previous Raikage's grave has been dug up!!!!"