Defeating the Raikage!!

In the forest, lightning flashed. Wild wind blades also flew through the air.

After the Third Shinobi World War came a period of peace. Many shinobi had forgotten when they had last witnessed such a high-level duel.

Moreover, both men specialized in Nintaijutsu. From the very beginning, their clash was a head-on collision that sent sparks flying.

Aoba held no advantage in either strength or speed. Yet he could still trade blows evenly with the Raikage. That was thanks to the fine weapon in his hand: the Kusanagi Sword.

Although there was more than one Kusanagi Sword in this world, each was undeniably a divine weapon. Even with the Lightning Release Chakra Mode activated, the Raikage still did not dare use his flesh-and-blood body to collide directly with the Kusanagi Sword.

Aoba's wind blades had been unable to injure him before. That was because Aoba had previously been using ordinary ninja swords.

Those ninja swords could not conduct chakra, so he could only release chakra from his hands, coat the swords from the outside, and then add the wind element to form his own Wind-Style Nintaijutsu.

At that time, not only had his chakra received no enhancement from the swords, he had needed to expend some of it to protect them.

Now, however, with a supreme divine weapon like the Kusanagi Sword, chakra could flow directly through the blade. His own chakra merged with the Kusanagi Sword, strengthening each other and making the sword even more terrifying in actual combat.

Even someone with a body as formidable as the Raikage's did not dare touch it carelessly.

"He's so strong. He can actually fight the Raikage without falling behind." The surrounding Konoha shinobi watched with their blood boiling. Their previously depressed morale, born from the enemy having a Kage while they did not, soared once more.

Not far away, Killer B knew things were going badly.

At this point, the Raikage had actually already lost. It was still the same issue: their statuses were unequal. When facing Aoba, the Raikage should have displayed overwhelming superiority from the start.

After all, a village's strongest fighter was facing the regular fighting strength of an enemy ninja village. If he could not instantly crush his opponent, then they had already lost in terms of momentum and face.

It would have been one thing if they could win this battle in the end. But this was still deep within the Land of Fire. Since they had failed to quickly establish an overwhelming advantage, they had essentially already lost from the larger strategic perspective.

The Raikage realized this, but he did not stop. Instead, his offensive intensified once again. The more things developed this way, the more determined he became to kill Aoba.

They had waited so long for Konoha to become weak. If another figure on White Fang's level emerged, the opportunity they had been waiting for would be completely wasted.

As the Raikage exerted himself, Aoba felt the pressure again.

He had never unleashed his full power. He did not possess as much chakra as the Raikage, so he could only rely on the enhancement of Senjutsu and the Kusanagi Sword's sharpness to drag things out.

Their battle was completely unlike an ordinary clash between shinobi. It resembled two warriors desperately fighting for their lives.

Less than five minutes into the exchange, Aoba had already begun to feel that his chakra was failing to keep up.

His Sage Mode was exceptionally perfect. Its limits had yet to be tested. But his chakra was simply insufficient.

Once his chakra ran out, he would no longer be able to maintain Sage Mode either.

Under the immense pressure, Aoba had already begun preparing an escape route. At that moment, however, his gaze flickered almost imperceptibly toward the distance. Then he forced out the last of his chakra and clashed with the Raikage.

Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop, the ultimate technique of the Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode. Aoba unleashed three consecutive Vacuum Flashes, but the Raikage forcibly charged through them.

At the instant his old sword momentum had faded and new strength had yet to arise, the Raikage's speed suddenly surged once more. His right hand formed a spear and stabbed straight at Aoba's chest.

Aoba swiftly drew back his sword to counterattack. But he was still one step too slow.

He only felt a violent force strike his chest, then immediately withdraw. The next second, his entire body was sent flying backward.

However, what made the Raikage frown was that at the instant he struck Aoba, Aoba had used a whirlwind ninjutsu with his left hand.

That technique had no killing power at all. It merely swept up a vast amount of dust, completely shrouding the scene of their battle.

As a result, almost no one nearby clearly saw his supposedly fatal strike.

The next second, Aoba flew backward and crashed directly into the crowd of Konoha shinobi behind him.

He planted the Kusanagi Sword into the ground and knelt on one knee, one hand clutching his chest without saying a word.

Several medical shinobi hurried forward to treat him. But when they reached him, they saw Aoba slowly rise to his feet and release the left hand covering his chest.

Only then did the surrounding Konoha shinobi clearly see that Aoba's clothes over his chest had been completely torn apart. There was a small red mark on his chest, seemingly left by their recent exchange.

But apart from that, there was not a single other wound on his body.

"That was truly close, Lord Raikage. Just a little more, and my chest would have been pierced through by you."

Aoba took a few steps forward and continued to taunt him. Across from him, the Raikage's expression darkened.

Others had not seen it clearly, but he himself knew very well. His earlier attack had definitely struck Aoba in the chest.

Although Aoba had defended with the Kusanagi Sword and prevented a full penetration, that blow had definitely shattered the bones in his chest.

Even if that blow had not killed him, it should have crippled him. Yet now, Aoba appeared completely unharmed. Such an abnormality left the Raikage unable to believe it.

He knew Aoba must have used some sort of method. The dust Aoba had raised at the end had been meant to conceal it.

But the Raikage did not possess the Byakugan. While Aoba was flying backward, he had not clearly seen what Aoba had done.

But whatever he had done, it had to be an astonishing secret. Aoba did not even trust Konoha's own people enough to reveal it and needed to conceal it this way.

Killing intent surged in the Raikage's heart, but his wariness deepened as well. He lowered his head and looked at his right hand. It now had only three fingers left.

The Raikage's earlier One-Finger Nukite had successfully struck Aoba's chest. But at that moment, Aoba's sword had also arrived.

If things had continued, Aoba would have died, while the Raikage's right hand would have been severed.

Having already secured victory, the Raikage naturally would not make such a trade with Aoba. As a Kage famous for Nintaijutsu, losing his right hand would have been a fatal blow to him.

So, he had chosen to strike once and retreat, intending to claim this victory without injury. Based on their earlier exchanges, there had been nothing wrong with that decision.

He just had not expected that, at the final moment, Aoba's sword would suddenly become a little faster as well. His right hand had ultimately lost another finger.

Including the little finger severed during their previous fight by that strange Lightning Release ninjutsu, he had lost two fingers to Aoba over two consecutive battles. Such a record was the greatest humiliation of his life.

Most crucially, that brat had used some unknown method to heal his own injuries.

As a result, to outsiders, Aoba's clothes had merely been torn at the chest, while the Raikage himself had lost a finger.

He had actually lost this duel!!!