"You really have me fired up!!"
"Third Raikage A!!"
He drew both fists to his waist, veins crawling like earthworms across his broad expanse of exposed muscle.
"Ah!!!"
Boom!
A surge of pure red killing intent erupted from Takahashi Yū's body.
His spiky hair shot straight up, and ripples swept across the skin of his already lean cheeks.
Frenzied gusts sprang from nowhere beneath Takahashi Yū's feet, and his black pupils all but vanished, leaving only the chilling whites of his eyes!
"Hah!!!"
Takahashi Yū slammed one leg into the ground behind him, scattering broken stones in every direction, and leaped at the Third Raikage like a starving tiger pouncing on prey.
He was so fast! Before the ninja in the camp even heard the ground shatter, Takahashi Yū had already curled both hands into claws, pinning the Third Raikage's blocking arm with one while clamping the other around his head.
The lightning around the Third Raikage suddenly flared!
It tore a great azure opening through the red ocean.
His free hand thrust back toward Takahashi Yū's face. With his scalp aching under Takahashi Yū's grip, the Third Raikage leaned backward, his right leg erupting with lightning within that tiny space as he kicked Takahashi Yū in the chest.
With the recoil helping him, the Third Raikage broke free of Takahashi Yū's claw. He rapidly toppled backward toward the ground, planted both hands, and flipped backward, feet over his head, to right himself.
The instant his feet landed, he stamped against the ground in a flash of lightning and charged Takahashi Yū with a swinging punch!
The azure lightning around the Third Raikage's arm compressed into brilliant white!
Crack!
It was as though the Third Raikage had swung a bolt of lightning!
His arm smashed into the same spot on Takahashi Yū's chest that he had just kicked!
The force radiating outward sent rubble leaping high from the shattered ground around them.
Their bodies collided with a dull clang like steel!
Thanks to [Unyielding], Takahashi Yū did not budge. He straightened his right hand into a blade and chopped straight down at the Third Raikage's head!
Seeing this, the Third Raikage pushed hard with the fist still against Takahashi Yū's chest. Using the utterly motionless Takahashi Yū as leverage, he bent his arm and drove his elbow upward, striking Takahashi Yū precisely on the wrist!
He deflected Takahashi Yū's hand chop, then sank low.
He ducked into a leg sweep!
Bang!
Takahashi Yū's left calf took a tremendous blow, but he stood like a mountain, without even the slightest stumble!
Shock rocked the Third Raikage's eyes!
Blood rapidly engorged the muscles of Takahashi Yū's right leg, veins bulging. Bracing on his agonized left leg, he drew strength from the ground and twisted through his waist, driving his right leg!
A low, sideways whip kick!
Bam!!!
Right on target!
The lightning-bright Lightning Chakra Mode covering the Third Raikage's chest instantly dimmed, flickering several times as though about to vanish.
One kick sent him flying! Hurled backward by the tremendous force, the Third Raikage's eyes held pain, but even more bewilderment!
He adjusted his posture in midair and braced both hands and feet against the ground, carving long furrows as he bowled through tent after tent.
The Konoha ninja watching from a distance immediately burst into cheers!
Outside the camp, B, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, was struggling to hold on. His expression changed at the cheers, and he shouted to the Cloud sensory ninja:
"Change of plans! We're not retreating! Send up the signals! Call for backup!"
As he spoke, another red tail sprang from the Tailed Beast Chakra around him. Madness in his eyes, he tightened his grip on his two long swords and met Hatake Sakumo.
The Cloud Shinobi, who had suffered heavy losses as Shimura Danzō chased them every which way, immediately changed their expressions at those words. Abandoning their delaying tactics, they braved Danzo's Wind Release, sparks of lightning bursting over their bodies as they charged the surrounding Konoha ninja!
The Cloud Shinobi were relentlessly militaristic, and none of those their leader had brought along feared death!
Pah! Kumogakure barbarians!
Danzo spat and rapidly formed hand seals before his chest.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
Danzo drew a deep breath, his chest swelling high, then spat a high-pressure sphere of wind forward like a rocket, blasting the charging Cloud Shinobi in every direction.
Seizing the opening his teammates had created, the Cloud sensory ninja fired every signal flare on his body in all directions.
"Not a chance!"
"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
Like a discus thrower, Danzo spat out successive wind blades, not only beheading the Cloud sensory ninja but also detonating the signal flares one after another as they rose.
Danzo looked around. Seeing no colors bloom high in the sky, he breathed a sigh of relief. Rather than help the other Konoha ninja kill their enemies, he switched targets and joined Hatake Sakumo against the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
From the moment Takahashi Yū arrived, he had wanted to make up for their losses. The Third Raikage was not among his considerations; with fewer than four thousand ninja currently in the camp, keeping the Raikage here was impossible.
But capturing the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki could end the war just the same!
Hatake Sakumo swung his treasured blade, sending a white crescent tracing a dangerous silver gleam through the pitch-black night and forcing the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki to roll backward.
A highly penetrating Wind Release followed, battering his Tailed Beast Chakra Cloak out of shape and leaving his body streaming blood. Yet he rapidly recovered beneath the Tailed Beast Chakra's covering. The price was the increasing madness in his eyes!
Seeing that no one had managed to send a signal, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki grew even more frenzied. He relaxed his tightly strained mind, retaining only the last boundary of his will, and a surge of dark red flooded into the pale red Tailed Beast Chakra!
Dark red chakra enveloped his body, his figure growing bulky. A pair of horns sprouted on either side of his forehead, and eight thick tails thrashed wildly behind him with a terrifying presence.
Partial Tailed Beast Transformation!
The result's the same. Once they sense the Eight-Tails' chakra, they'll know something's wrong. Hurry up and send help, or I'll...
B's consciousness was submerged beneath a savage will to slaughter.
"Raaaar!!!!!"
The "monster" before them let out a furious roar as though venting his rage, the gust lifting Hatake Sakumo's silver hair.
Gripping his chakra short blade in both hands, he watched the partially transformed Eight-Tails as though facing a formidable enemy. He and Danzo stood in front and behind, trapping the Eight-Tails between them.
Crackle!
Thunder erupted inside the camp!
The Third Raikage ripped away the tent cloth hanging from his body, and the lightning around him shot into the sky, illuminating the pitch-black night!
"Takahashi Yū! People across the Shinobi World always like comparing you to me. I used to consider that an insult!"
"Now I've changed my mind! You really are qualified to challenge me!"
Savage lightning coursed over the Third Raikage's body, casting his eyes entirely azure. Beneath its flashes, his expression abruptly chilled, his bearing suddenly seeming no longer mortal, but like a god!
"Challenge?!"
"Who the fuck do you think you are, Raikage Number Three?!"
"I'm fighting to kill you! Putting my life on the line!"
A ferocious presence burst from Takahashi Yū's body. Silken killing intent flowed from him like liquid, staining the sky red and shrouding the entire camp.
The lightning around the Third Raikage stood tall within the red curtain, like a reef rising from the sea. No matter how the killing intent battered it, it remained unmoving!
Without further words, the Third Raikage closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, feeling the violent chakra within him.
He slowly opened his azure eyes, a trace of red flashing through them. Spreading his legs slightly, he lowered his body and leaned forward into a firm horse stance, his body like a nail driven deep into the earth!
He slowly raised his right hand to his waist, his forearm straight and his palm open, all five fingers pressed together into a sharp blade. Chakra gathered around his arm, making his hand shine with dazzling white light, as though it had truly become a keen sword.
He slowly curled in every finger except his index finger. The chakra at its tip grew even more violent and savage, yet under his control it became supremely calm, its azure color shifting toward black!
The Third Raikage's gaze was resolute, his eyes like lightning as they locked onto Takahashi Yū. His entire body was poised to strike, ready to attack at any moment with overwhelming thunderous force.
Seeing that stance, how could Takahashi Yū fail to understand? The authentic Hell Stab was coming.
And it was the goddamn One-Finger Nukite!
Not daring to be careless, Takahashi Yū pushed his body to its limits for the first time and began controlling his breathing. With every inhalation, he relaxed his body, then tensed it again as he exhaled.
His heartbeat accelerated, his powerful heart pumping blood throughout his body. Every beat brimmed with strength, his blood boiling as though an endless flame burned within him, driving his bodily functions to their limit!
"Aaah!!!"
With the Third Raikage's low roar, the lightning around his body streamed steadily toward his arm. Arcs shooting outward shattered the ground around him, but the broken stones did not scatter; instead, they slowly floated upward!
The Third Raikage lunged toward Takahashi Yū, moving so fast that he seemed like a bolt of lightning streaking across the sky! His arm pointed straight at Takahashi Yū like a sharp longsword.
A piercing whistle rang through the air-the sound of the One-Finger Nukite slicing through it!
The killing intent behind Takahashi Yū blasted backward like a thruster, and he charged head-on at the Third Raikage at a speed he had never reached before. Light streamed over the muscles covering his body, and even dark red lightning made of killing intent erupted!
With his fist turned inward and his force concentrated on its face, he twisted around the axis of his waist, driving his right hand forward to unleash the most all-out punch he had thrown since coming to this world!
"Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite!!!"
"Smash!!!"
Before you continue