Did None of You Consider That I Was the One Who Did It?

On the battlefield, three Kage-level fighters clashed. Ōnoki and A had never been true allies, and whenever an opening appeared, Ōnoki attacked the Raikage without hesitation.

In Ōnoki's eyes, the Third Mizukage was old and posed little threat. The Third Raikage A, still in his prime, was Iwagakure's real concern. If Iwagakure's main force had been there, Ōnoki would have arranged for ten thousand ninja to surround him.

The Third Mizukage was glad to see it. If the other two had joined forces in earnest, he could never have withstood their assault alone before Kirigakure's reinforcements arrived.

For a time, the three fought to a standstill. Every other ninja kept well clear of their battlefield.

The shockwaves from three Kage-level fighters were more than ordinary Chunin or Genin could endure. Even most Jonin had to stay far from the fight.

The Third Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode alone could kill or maim anyone it touched. Add his occasional wide-area Black Lightning, and he was a monster—a killing machine on the battlefield.

Each village's ninja had reason to fear the melee. Iwagakure and Kirigakure ninja feared being killed by a stray attack from the Kage-level fighters; Kumogakure ninja feared being caught in their own leader's attacks.

The Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki unleashed wide-area Earth Release Ninjutsu with a wave of his hand. Ninja caught at the edges of his attacks were either crushed by boulders or buried under clouds of earth.

And whenever he used Dust Release, anyone caught in it was reduced to nothing, without even a body left behind.

The Third Mizukage's Water Release was better in that respect: at least those who drowned were left with an intact corpse. Near the sea, his Water Release grew far stronger, dealing several times its usual damage. His determination to fight two