For Shisui, it was his first time experiencing the feeling of flying.
As they flew higher and higher, the ground beneath them gradually became distant and insignificant. The battle between the Konoha and Cloud ninjas below seemed like nothing more than ants fighting, completely detached from him.
At that moment, Shisui suddenly thought of Byakuya, who was carrying him through the sky. He finally began to understand Byakuya's perspective.
Once you master the ability to fly and reach a certain level of power, the battles between ninjas become meaningless. It felt as though one had become a god, overlooking the entire world.
Was this how Byakuya had always viewed Konoha and the Uchiha?
Shisui's thoughts didn't last long, as the Cloud ninjas on the ground had already noticed them and began pulling out weapons to aim at them.
Normal kunai and shuriken had an effective range of only a few dozen meters.
Standard Lightning and Water Release techniques also struggled to hit enemies in the high sky. The only weapon capable of dealing damage was the kunai launcher used for attacking Tailed Beasts.
However, even if a kunai launcher pierced Byakuya's body, it would do no real harm.
Taking advantage of their altitude, Byakuya began raining explosive tags down on the enemy. The tags fell like snowflakes, each one causing a small-scale explosion upon hitting the ground.
Under this near-saturation bombing of explosive tags, countless Cloud ninjas scattered in all directions, but many still couldn't escape the blast radius.
Only those who managed to hide under cover barely survived.
Seeing this, Shisui gained a new appreciation for efficiency. He had always thought that his clan members, with their Sharingan activated, were killing machines on the battlefield. But Byakuya was something else entirely—a demon.
If Byakuya had launched a similar attack on the Cloud forces earlier, this war might have ended long ago.
Whoosh!
From the ground, Killer Bee launched another Tailed Beast Bomb. The roaring projectile was dodged by Byakuya, creating a second sun in the sky as it exploded.
Without wasting any words, Byakuya continued his counterattack, throwing more explosive tags as he flew over Killer Bee, bombarding him relentlessly.
Though the Tailed Beast form of Killer Bee was impervious to the explosions, the Cloud ninjas around him weren't so fortunate.
The blinding flashes of the exploding tags left everyone disoriented, while the violent shockwaves and detonations made it difficult to even stand still.
---
Such an intense battle naturally drew the attention of everyone on the battlefield.
Inside the Konoha camp, Jiraiya had just summoned Gamabunta to block a previous Tailed Beast Bomb. Now, he was leading his troops in defending against the main Cloud force.
And on the opposing side, the commander was none other than the Fourth Raikage, A.
After engaging with the Fourth Raikage, Jiraiya truly felt the overwhelming strength of his opponent. The Raikage wasn't particularly skilled in ninjutsu or genjutsu.
But with his sheer speed and power, the Raikage could easily defeat Jonin, even shattering low-level ninjutsu with a single punch, turning the tide of battle against Konoha's Jonin.
Faced with the ferocious assault of the Fourth Raikage, Jiraiya anxiously asked the toad on his shoulder, "Master Fukasaku, how much longer until I complete Sage Mode?"
"Don't rush, Jiraiya-boy! Gathering natural energy isn't that easy!" Fukasaku replied.
"Please hurry, Master Fukasaku. I don't think Shikaku and the others can hold out much longer. Besides the Fourth Raikage, there's also the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki lurking nearby, ready to strike."
Shima, the female toad sage, scoffed and said, "It's not that bad. The Jinchūriki has already been held up. There's quite an intense battle happening over there."
Jiraiya was momentarily stunned, then looked off into the distance.
There, the sky was shrouded in dark clouds, with flashes of lightning and streaks of red clouds within them. The ground trembled from distant shocks.
Seeing this, Jiraiya muttered to himself, "Isn't that the direction where Byakuya and Shisui are? Looks like they're the ones fighting the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki..."
The Fourth Raikage also noticed the commotion coming from Byakuya's direction and narrowed his gazes.
He had confidence in his brother Killer Bee's strength, but the fact that Killer Bee hadn't come to support him yet suggested trouble. Was Bee facing someone like Orochimaru, or maybe Danzo or the Third Hokage himself? Or, perhaps, was the Konoha ninja who had taken down Yugito back at it again?
At this thought, the Fourth Raikage felt a surge of unease. He immediately increased the output of his Lightning Release Chakra Mode and charged straight at Jiraiya.
As long as he could eliminate Jiraiya, the commander, this offensive would be over.
At that moment, the Konoha ninjas realized the Raikage's panic and rushed forward. They shared the same thought—if they could take down the strongest Raikage, the war would quickly end.
However, the exhausted members of the Ino-Shika-Chō trio were no match for the Fourth Raikage.
The Shadow Possession Jutsu couldn't keep up with his speed, making the Mind Body Switch Technique useless. The Expansion Jutsu, in front of the Raikage's agility, was nothing more than a joke.
Seeing this, Uchiha Fugaku led the Uchiha clan members to face off against the Raikage.
The Uchiha Jōnin all activated their three-tomoe Sharingan and tried to trap the Fourth Raikage in a genjutsu, but the Raikage didn't give them a chance to make eye contact. He darted around the battlefield, and the blinding lightning surrounding him blocked the activation of their genjutsu.
Realizing their illusions were ineffective, Fugaku quickly used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of the Raikage and stabbed at him with a kunai.
Clang!
The kunai snapped in half upon contact with the Raikage's hardened body, falling to the ground in pieces.
The Fourth Raikage broke through the Uchiha encirclement and continued his charge toward Jiraiya.
At that moment, Hizashi Hyūga and the Hyūga clan appeared before the Raikage. With a swift movement, Hizashi appeared in front of him and performed the Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation.
As Hizashi spun like a top, a whirlwind appeared on the spot, forcefully stopping the Raikage's advance.
Other Hyūga ninjas quickly joined the fray, shouting, "Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms!"
A flurry of precise strikes rained down on the Raikage, leaving white marks on his skin.
A faint smile appeared on Hizashi's lips. He knew the Fourth Raikage's defense was comparable to a Tailed Beast's, but the Gentle Fist technique excelled at bypassing outer defenses and attacking the internal organs. No matter how strong the Raikage was, his organs couldn't be harder than steel.
However, the Fourth Raikage endured the Gentle Fist attacks, pressing onward until he was right in front of Jiraiya.
With a fierce punch, he aimed directly at Jiraiya, who was kneeling on the ground, still gathering natural energy. His fist was mere inches from Jiraiya's face.
In the next moment, Jiraiya raised his head and caught the Raikage's fist with his hand. His face was now painted with oil and markings, radiating a powerful aura.
This was none other than the Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku.