Sakumo gazed intently at the man and the tailed beast before him.
"Konoha's White Fang!?"
The Third Raikage, A, locked eyes with Sakumo.
"And that Uchiha brat as well."
A's gaze shifted to a hidden spot.
Gin walked out from the shadows, expressionless, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, eyes fixed on the Raikage.
"Sakumo-sama, the situation doesn't look good."
Hearing Gin use the honorific "-sama" made Sakumo's lips twitch slightly.
It wasn't easy to hear that coming from Gin.
But indeed, the situation was far from ideal.
According to Konoha's intelligence, the Third Raikage was a taijutsu specialist, possessing immense destructive power and defense, alongside impressive speed.
Defeating such a high-speed shinobi with a single strike was nearly impossible.
Sakumo's strongest attack, aside from leaving him drained, required significant time to charge, meaning it was not an option here.
Without an opening for a decisive strike, there was no telling if he could withstand the Raikage's power.
"Have you two decided how you want to die here?"
A's sharp gaze and overwhelming killing intent bore down on them.
Gin felt like the air around him had turned into a suffocating, sticky substance, and even moving a finger took a hundred times more effort.
This opponent was far beyond what Gin could handle right now.
Under the sheer pressure of A's killing intent, Gin had lost the will to fight back.
"So this is what it feels like to face a Kage? Terrifying."
Even Orochimaru didn't feel this menacing. Gin unsheathed his sword and cut into his own thigh.
The sharp pain snapped Gin out of his frozen state.
He quickly moved behind Sakumo.
No matter how overwhelming the killing intent was, as soon as it met Sakumo, it dissipated instantly.
Hiding behind Sakumo, Gin no longer felt the oppressive pressure from the Raikage.
"Quick thinking, Uchiha brat."
A gave Gin an extra glance.
For someone to use self-harm to snap themselves out of his killing intent wasn't something just any Uchiha could do.
The boy clearly had talent.
"Raikage-sama, appearing here like this—does that mean you're ready to go to war with Konoha?"
Sakumo used the conversation to buy time, quietly recovering his strength.
The previous battle against the tailed beast had taken a toll on him.
For some reason, the Raikage allowed Sakumo to recover without interruption.
"The title of the first ninja village… that's quite a claim. But I think Kumogakure is more deserving of that name."
Though Kumogakure wasn't at that level yet, A didn't hesitate to state his ambition for the village.
As he spoke, A suddenly charged forward, his body transforming into a bolt of blue lightning.
In less than half a breath, he was upon the two of them.
The four fingers on his hand gathered a massive amount of lightning chakra.
"Raiton! Jigokuzuki Yonhon Nukite!" (Lightning Release: Hell Stab – Four-Fingered Spear)
Sakumo was just as fast, blocking the attack.
Luckily, this happened just as he had fully recovered.
However, the immense power of A's attack wasn't easy to stop, and Sakumo was sent flying backward with A's force behind him.
A blue streak surged along the ground as Sakumo was pushed back.
Meanwhile, Gin remained silent.
He glanced at the enormous Nibi, its two tails waving as its massive eyes locked onto him.
Gin grew even more silent.
Aren't you going to take this thing away first?
A massive claw swung down toward him.
Boom!!
A deep gouge appeared in the ground, but Gin had already jumped into the air.
The Nibi then unleashed a massive fireball from its mouth.
It was close—too close.
Gin's hair began to curl from the heat, and the new clothes he had just changed into were already singed.
The gigantic fireball drew closer.
In his pupils, it looked as if he was seeing an enormous sea of fire.
In the blink of an eye, it engulfed him.
The fireball smashed into the ground, leaving a massive trench.
Gin slowly emerged from the shadow of a rock.
He stared at the immense fireball's destructive power.
The sheer violence of it flattened everything in its path.
Gin began questioning his life.
He looked at the tailed beast, which had turned its head to focus on him again.
"This thing is way out of my league!!"
Meanwhile, Sakumo was clashing with A.
Both were speed-type shinobi, evenly matched in terms of speed for now.
In the mountains, a white streak and a blue streak collided, separated, and collided again, over and over.
Under the impact of their battle...
Rocks shattered, trees were obliterated into dust, and a vast, barren clearing began to form where they fought.
The clearing was still expanding.
"Raiton! Jigokuzuki Sanbon Nukite!" (Lightning Release: Hell Stab – Three-Fingered Spear)
A's fingers attacked Sakumo again, now with only three fingers. Despite this, his attack grew even stronger.
This time, Sakumo didn't attempt to block. Instead, he swung his blade directly toward A's neck.
Before the blade even reached him, A's hair stood on end from the sharpness of the incoming attack.
In that moment, he knew—his strongest defense wouldn't be able to block this strike.
There was no way he could stop it.
If A continued his attack, both of them would die.
He was forced to retreat quickly, causing Sakumo's blade to miss.
The retreat wasn't to end the fight but to prepare for an even stronger attack.
"Raiton! Jigokuzuki Nihon Nukite!" (Lightning Release: Hell Stab – Two-Fingered Spear)
The retreat gave A even greater speed, and his next strike was twice as fast as before.
In the face of this attack...
Sakumo quickly threw a small iron ball.
He immediately turned his head and closed his eyes.
This was one of Gin's experimental creations:
A high-powered flash bomb.
The next moment, a blinding light erupted.
A was instantly blinded by the light, his hand missing Sakumo and stabbing into the mountainside instead.
Boom!
Half of the mountain top crumbled under the immense force.
A's vision was filled with white, temporarily blinded by the flash.
"Damn that White Fang!!"
Why was he so devious!?
Sakumo didn't waste a moment.
With both hands, he gripped his family's heirloom short blade and was already behind A.
"Konoha Taijutsu Secret Art! Sennen Goroshi!" (Konoha Taijutsu Secret Art: One Thousand Years of Death!)
Sakumo's fearsome attack.
Though A didn't know it, he wasn't about to let it land. He stomped his foot hard, sprinting forward rapidly.
No matter what was ahead, nothing could stop him.
For a moment, Sakumo couldn't keep up.
As A's vision began to recover, he turned around, sliding across the ground on one knee from the momentum.
He had managed to put some distance between himself and Sakumo.
"You're no ordinary opponent, Konoha's White Fang."
A's expression grew serious.
Although devious, this man already had the makings of someone who could become a Kage.
Perhaps, in the future, he would be A's greatest rival.
"One last strike! Face me head-on, Sakumo!"
"If you can withstand this, I swear on the name of Raikage to let you both leave."
This was his strongest attack. If even this couldn't defeat Sakumo, then it meant they couldn't stop him from escaping.
"Alright."
Sakumo sheathed his blade.
"Come!"
He trusted the Raikage's word.
A raised one finger, lightning chakra surging into it.
"Raiton! Jigokuzuki Ippon Nukite!" (Lightning Release: Hell Stab – One-Fingered Spear!)
"Basic Inner Technique: Third Layer! Pseudo Shield!"
Blue light clashed with the massive white figure.
(End of Chapter)
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