The Strongest Shield

The Third Raikage held the same standing in Kumogakure Ninja Village that Hiruzen Sarutobi held in Konoha Ninja Village. He was practically the embodiment of his village, and his strength was extraordinary. He had subdued the Eight-Tails several times when it rampaged, and during the Third Shinobi World War, he had single-handedly held off ten thousand Iwagakure Ninja, only dying of exhaustion after three days and nights.

The current Third Raikage was not yet as powerful as later accounts would describe him, but glimpses of his future greatness were already apparent. Kazemori Masaki's strike had drawn only a single drop of blood from the body known as the Strongest Shield.

Kazemori Masaki had not expected to encounter this legendary Raikage here. The man exerted tremendous pressure on him. One careless move, and he might meet his end here.

Strangely, however, Kazemori Masaki felt no fear. Instead, excitement surged deep within him. It had been a long time since he had felt his blood race like this—the first time since he had begun practicing Sage Art.

Lightning Flash flickered over his opponent's entire body as he prepared to charge. Suddenly, he saw Kazemori Masaki raise his hands to form hand seals. At the same time, he sensed something burning—and it was coming from his own body.

Looking down, he saw several talismans bearing the character for "explosion" stuck to his body. He paused for a moment, then realized that the Konoha Ninja had slapped them onto him while dodging. The speed of those movements was simply absurd.

By then, the talismans had already exploded. Blinding fire instantly engulfed him, and he took the full force of the blasts.

These tools, which used Sealing Jutsu to store Ninjutsu inside talismans, were certainly convenient and packed considerable power. An ordinary person would have suffered grievous injuries, if not died on the spot. But the man before him was the Third Raikage, and Kazemori Masaki did not believe explosions like these would bring him down.

The smoke slowly cleared, revealing his opponent standing completely unharmed. Lightning Flash clung tightly to his body, providing unparalleled defense. The explosions of several Explosive Tags had failed to breach even his armor. That was only natural—this was Lightning Release armor capable of withstanding a Rasenshuriken.

At once, the Third Raikage lunged forward, raising his fist to smash Kazemori Masaki's head. The other Kumogakure Ninja carried long swords, but he needed nothing. His body itself was the most powerful weapon.

Unlike his son, the Third Raikage did not possess speed second only to the Yellow Flash. Even so, with the stimulation of his Lightning Release Armor, he was still astonishingly fast, reaching Kazemori Masaki in almost the blink of an eye.

This was the strongest opponent Kazemori Masaki had ever faced. Unlike sparring with his fellow disciples, this was a true fight to the death. Perhaps because his concentration had become so intense, his opponent seemed to slow down. Everything around him felt submerged in water, and his opponent's attacks stirred ripples that made their trajectories clearly visible.

Not only that, but Kazemori Masaki seemed able to sense even subtler details. He did not know why. Was this the perception granted by Sage Art, or a sensory illusion caused by a change in his mind? Whatever the reason, one thing was certain: this state felt exceptionally good.

While dodging the Third Raikage earlier, Kazemori Masaki had already begun rapidly absorbing Natural Energy and gathering senjutsu Chakra. His physical abilities immediately rose to an extraordinary level, enough to react to the Third Raikage's attacks. With a sudden shift, he vanished from the Third Raikage's sight.

The young Third Raikage knew that this Konoha Ninja had not disappeared through some Ninjutsu. His senses told him that the man had merely exploited a blind spot in his vision to draw close.

Without even looking, the Third Raikage swung his arm toward his blind spot. He failed to hit his target, however, and instead felt a faint sting on his body.

The Third Raikage stopped and lightly brushed a hand over the spot. There was a shallow wound there. It had barely bled, and the active Lightning Release Chakra had already stopped the bleeding.

A wave of shock swept through him. Even within Kumogakure Ninja Village, only a handful of people could fight him at close quarters, let alone injure him. Yet this Konoha Ninja had already wounded him twice. Although the first time had been because he was protecting a comrade, the second had been a genuine hit.

This Konoha Ninja's Wind Release is far beyond ordinary!

After pulling away from the Third Raikage, Kazemori Masaki inwardly lamented the missed opportunity. The Strongest Shield truly lived up to its name. He had strengthened his Wind Release Chakra as much as he could, yet all he had managed to leave on the Third Raikage was that shallow wound.

Kazemori Masaki genuinely began to wonder whether the Third Raikage was a descendant of the Sage of Six Paths. That body was simply unbelievable, hardly something an ordinary person could be born with.

The blonde woman had recovered from the effects of the Explosive Tags. She raised her long sword, preparing to join the fight, while the Third Raikage readied himself to attack in tandem with her.

Kazemori Masaki tightened his grip on his sword, ready to take them both on.

Just then, a pillar of Lightning Flash rose nearby before bursting apart. Countless streaks of lightning shot wildly in every direction. In Kazemori Masaki's current perception, the ripples stirred by each streak were perfectly clear, allowing him to judge easily which places were safe and which were not.

At the same time, he received a signal from Senju Toka: the order to retreat. From the outset, Senju Toka had said that if they could eliminate all these enemies, they should fight with everything they had. If not, they should prepare to withdraw. After all, their mission was not to wipe out the enemy.

Presumably, Senju Toka had decided that this squad of Kumogakure Ninja would not be easy to defeat, so she had ordered an immediate retreat. Ever since the Third Raikage appeared, Kazemori Masaki had felt that continuing the fight would be unwise. Now that the order had come, he naturally withdrew at once.

Seeing Kazemori Masaki dart away, the Third Raikage and the blonde woman chose not to pursue him. Instead, they went to regroup with Hahn. The earlier ambush had cost them dearly, so straying from their unit in pursuit was ill-advised. Even if they were to give chase, they would have to wait for Hahn's orders.

Where the pillar of Lightning Flash had risen, Hahn caught his breath as his squad members gathered around him. Several had not returned. There was no need to ask—he knew they had died under the Konoha Ninja's attacks.

Hahn struck the ground in frustration. The sudden Ninjutsu assault had scattered him and his squad, after which a woman skilled in Genjutsu had engaged him in combat. Concerned for his squad members, he had unleashed a wide-ranging Lightning Release technique to give them an opening. Now they had returned, but the Konoha Ninja had fled as well, with no intention whatsoever of staying to continue the fight.

"Lord Hahn, should we pursue those Konoha Ninja?" one of the Kumogakure Ninja asked.

"No." Although angry, Hahn had not lost his reason. "They're skilled. If they keep fighting while retreating like this, dealing with them will take some effort. By then, the Land of Fire's army will have assembled."

"Lord Hahn, what should we do next?" the young Third Raikage asked. He had not yet inherited the name A. His current name was He.

"Return and regroup with the main force. Now that the Konoha Ninja are here, our surprise attack will lose its purpose if they keep delaying us," Hahn said decisively. "No more sneaking around. We'll gather our main force and launch a direct assault on the target. We may still be able to break through these Konoha Ninja's defensive line."

"Understood." He nodded.

Afterward, Hahn and the others took their fallen comrades' bodies with them. As they headed back, they sent signals to summon the Kumogakure Ninja being delayed by the other Konoha Ninja. Once everyone had regrouped, they would launch a powerful offensive.

On the way back, He glanced at the blonde woman. Her name was Sora, and like him, she was Damon's disciple. She had always been proud, yet that Konoha Ninja had defeated her with a single strike. She was probably bitter about it.

"Sora, are you all right?" He asked. Despite his rugged appearance, he was gentle by nature and cared deeply about his junior fellow disciple.

"I'm fine." Sora shook her head. Thinking of that Konoha Ninja, she clenched her teeth. "The next time I run into that bastard, I won't lose nearly so badly!"

He frowned slightly. He did not dampen his junior fellow disciple's spirits, but deep down, he did not believe Sora could defeat that Konoha Ninja.

(End of chapter)