Uchiha Retsu was on a roll with his insults.
Being able to show off his verbal skills in front of so many people as the two "armies" faced off thrilled him.
He was just about to keep it up and give the lightning barbarian opposite him another tongue-lashing from head to toe when he heard a furious shout: "You're asking for death!"
Uchiha Retsu had only blinked and was about to say, "Getting worked up?" when he saw A vanish into thin air from over ten meters away.
Before he could react, a shadow suddenly fell over him, and a powerful gust rushed toward his face...
Hatake Sakumo reacted swiftly.
From the moment A activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, he had been ready to act.
Now, seeing A about to punch Uchiha Retsu, he moved in a blur.
The original owner's masterful Body Flicker Technique, combined with Soru, one of the Six Powers. The two techniques stacked together, causing his speed to soar.
Hatake Sakumo appeared beside Uchiha Retsu in an "instant" and caught A's fist in one pitch-black hand.
A had already imagined himself killing this "barking" Konoha ninja with a single punch.
His fist was just about to land on the man's cheek when a black hand suddenly clamped tightly around it.
The hand's grip was so powerful that he couldn't advance an inch.
Uchiha Retsu was still standing there in a daze when a powerful gust hit him in the face, sending him stumbling.
He scrambled to his feet, flustered, and only then belatedly realized that the lightning barbarian had nearly killed him with one punch!
Fortunately, Lord Hokage had stepped in just in time.
Uchiha Retsu didn't dare keep insulting him and hurriedly backed away two steps. Though he had chickened out, he couldn't admit defeat out loud.
Since he didn't dare insult the other side, he could only cheer on his own.
He craned his neck and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Go, Lord Hokage!"
After shouting, he didn't forget to look back and make faces at the Uchiha clansmen behind him, as if to say, "I'm not scared; I'm making room for Lord Hokage."
After all those face-saving gestures, he could no longer maintain his air of confidence.
As he retreated, his heart pounded:
Lord Hokage, you have to keep a close eye on him, or I'm dead. I'm done for, I'm done for. Did I go too far with those insults? That lightning barbarian will definitely kill me the moment he gets a chance!
He retreated to a safe distance and instinctively felt the head on his neck.
Still not feeling safe enough, he backed away another two steps and only sighed in relief once he was hiding behind several of his clansmen.
Feeling the force coming from the fist in his hand, Hatake Sakumo let out an inward "Oh?"
Not bad. As expected of the Third Raikage's son, the future Fourth Raikage.
That's some real power.
But against me, it's still not enough.
A roared and summoned all his strength to contend with Hatake Sakumo.
The Lightning Release Chakra around his body visibly grew denser, crackling as though he were bathed in lightning.
But to his surprise, even at full strength, he couldn't overpower the hand gripping his fist.
Neither of them seemed to have moved, but the ground beneath their feet had already cracked and caved in.
A's heart sank.
He knew something of Konohagakure's "Konoha White Fang," whose name had spread throughout the Shinobi World during the Second Shinobi World War.
As far as he knew, the man's Taijutsu was strong, but his true strength lay in his swordsmanship.
And now, without drawing his sword, he was evenly matched with A using Taijutsu alone?
In that case, while the Konoha White Fang doesn't have a sword in hand, I'll strike first and beat him!
A bellowed, "Lariat!"
This was a powerful elbow strike delivered in Lightning Release Chakra Mode, incredibly fast and devastatingly powerful!
Hatake Sakumo's brow twitched.
The power behind this elbow strike was indeed astonishing.
But that elbow strike of yours-who do you think you are, Kobe? The Mamba?
Not only did Hatake Sakumo refuse to dodge, he charged straight toward the elbow strike.
He covered the spot on his chest where A's elbow was about to land with ink-black Armament Haki to defend against the attack. At the same time, he coated his right foot in Armament and kicked out.
A and Killer B were both delighted, each thinking:
Idiot! My/big brother's Lariat under the Lightning Release Armor is no joke. That elbow strike can bring down a house!
The next moment, their attacks struck each other almost simultaneously.
A's elbow slammed into Hatake Sakumo's chest.
Hatake Sakumo's chest was protected by Armament. The elbow strike looked fierce, and it certainly was fierce...
But when that fierce blow landed on his chest, it was like an iron fist striking a lump of refined iron, with no effect whatsoever!
Hatake Sakumo's kick, meanwhile, seemed unremarkable apart from its speed.
But the instant it connected, a tremendous force exploded.
A felt an indescribable force rush into his body and rampage wildly through him, sending him flying backward.
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of blood sprayed out.
Like a sandbag, A was kicked several meters through the air in an arc before crashing hard into the forest floor, leaving a crater.
What made A suffer most wasn't actually the tremendous force of the kick, but the strange power that had burrowed into his body and was wreaking havoc on his internal organs.
He could clearly feel that he had suffered severe internal injuries.
Killer B and the Kumogakure ninja stared in disbelief.
"Big brother!"
"Lord A!"
The Konoha side erupted in cheers.
"Lord Hokage! Lord Hokage!"
Hatake Sakumo showily raised a finger and wagged it gently.
"You're still too green. You're not even qualified to make me draw my sword. Your father might be more like it."
That infuriated A. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and pushed himself to his feet.
The injuries caused inside his body by Armament Haki's Internal Destruction didn't have that much of an impact on someone with A's monstrous physique.
Though he had suffered internal injuries, they weren't enough to stop him from fighting.
His face still full of fighting spirit, he shouted angrily:
"Stop looking down on me! You win one exchange and get carried away. Now I'm getting serious!"
"Lariat!"
A unleashed his Lightning Release Chakra Mode at full power, charging at top speed and throwing a thunderous hook.
It was a strike of unparalleled speed and power!
The Jonin and Chunin watching from both sides only had time to glimpse an afterimage. A's roar and the sizzling crackle of Lightning Release exploding through the air rang in their ears.
The next second, the afterimage had already charged forward.
Hatake Sakumo's interest was piqued.
This kid's pretty fired up.
All right, I'll beat you into submission today.
He stood motionless, then stepped his right foot back half a pace, lowered his body, and drew back his right fist, looking just like a baseball player preparing to hit an incoming ball.
Quite a few ninja noticed that Hatake Sakumo's drawn-back arm had turned ink-black from fist to wrist.
What kind of ability was that?
Nobody knew.
As the ninja on both sides watched, an afterimage charged straight at Hatake Sakumo. The next instant, it was punched flat on the ground.
Powerful fighters like Killer B and Uchiha Arashi, as well as the ordinary Jonin and Chunin watching from both sides, were dumbfounded:
"Wh-what happened?"
All they had seen was a flash of lightning, and the next instant, its owner was sprawled on the ground. It had happened so fast that they hadn't even seen how Hatake Sakumo threw his punch.
What had happened was that the instant A charged in, Hatake Sakumo swiftly thrust out the right fist he had readied.
The punch, imbued with "top-tier Armament Haki," struck A squarely in the chest. At the same time, Hatake Sakumo turned his body and naturally avoided A's thunderous hook.
A felt an irresistible force strike his chest.
He already had the momentum of his full-speed charge behind him. With his attack dodged and that punch hitting him head-on, how could he possibly keep his balance?
Like a charging brute who had tripped, he plunged headfirst into the ground.
Boom.
From a distance, it looked as though Hatake Sakumo had punched him straight to the ground.