The chakra-transformed chains were cut with a single slash. In midair, Kushina stabilized herself and landed safely, her feet dragging two long grooves into the ground. Blood slowly seeped from the corner of her lips.
The chains, now devoid of chakra support, lost their binding power. A's arms flexed, and he effortlessly shattered the chains. The golden fragments fell to the ground, dissipating like smoke.
"Good job, Bee," A twisted his neck.
"Big bro, that woman is strong!"
Killer Bee stood side by side with A, staring at the dusty Kushina.
"Indeed. We underestimated her earlier; after all, she is the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki." A placed a hand on his shoulder, rotating it with a cracking sound.
"Big bro, should we use that move?" Killer Bee asked.
"No, we need her alive," A said coldly, implying that using that move would kill the Nine-Tails.
Kushina, breathing heavily, wiped the blood from her lips as she faced the duo.
It was tough handling both of them at once. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to take one out first. Now, after revealing some of her trump cards, creating another opportunity like that wasn't going to be easy.
"How are the others doing…?"
As that thought crossed her mind, she couldn't help but glance at the movements of the other Konoha ninjas. But this brief moment of distraction was all A and Bee needed.
Zzz!
"Nine-Tails, don't ignore our speed!"
In the instant her eyes refocused, A and Killer Bee, covered in lightning, were right in front of her, each punching her in her left and right arms.
Crack!
The crisp sound of bones breaking echoed, and Kushina was sent flying like a cannonball, slamming into a giant tree. The force was so strong it broke the upper half of the tree, while Kushina collapsed at its base.
Struggling to her feet, her face filled with pain, both of her arms hung limp, broken by the powerful punches.
"Next, the legs," A said coldly as he looked at her pathetic state.
"I… am not called Nine-Tails!"
Kushina slowly raised her head, her eyes fixed on the duo. A surge of chakra flowed into her broken arms, healing them in no time.
"My name… is Uzumaki Kushina!"
Before her words finished, chakra solidified around her, forming a surge of energy. Cracks like a spiderweb spread from the ground beneath her feet.
At the same time, hearing Kushina's words, A and Killer Bee silently activated their Lightning Release armor, causing lightning to crackle wildly around their bodies.
Leaping through the forest, Ye Zi suddenly heard a commotion from afar, like the sound of a flock of birds flapping their wings, rustling the leaves.
"Is it close?"
He thought to himself as he quickened his pace and heightened his alertness.
Boom!
A violent explosion echoed from afar, followed by a massive shockwave.
Ye Zi paused on a tree trunk, one hand gripping it as the wind blew back his hood.
He didn't bother pulling it back up, letting his short black hair flutter in the wind as he coldly watched the rising black smoke ahead.
Now that he was closer, he could sense two powerful chakras clashing. After a brief pause, he kicked off the tree and headed in that direction.
Crack!
A large tree was forcibly broken, and beside the fallen tree lay a patch of mud.
"Tch."
Raikage's cold eyes swept over the mud, his expression slightly impatient. Orochimaru was like a slippery eel. Though thoroughly suppressed, killing him wasn't easy. While his subordinates were almost done dealing with the Konoha ninjas, he had yet to deliver a fatal blow to Orochimaru.
The imbalance in forces made the Konoha ninjas fall quickly. Even with Manda's presence, after most of the Konoha ninjas were killed, it had only managed to hold on for a bit longer before being forced back to its dimension under the fierce attacks of the Cloud ninjas. Orochimaru, meanwhile, was still being relentlessly beaten down by Raikage.
About two hundred meters away, Orochimaru's figure slowly emerged, covered in dirt and full of cuts from the residual effects of Lightning Release attacks.
"My chakra… is almost depleted..."
Orochimaru's sharp gaze swept across the battlefield. The Konoha ninjas he brought were nearly all dead, and Manda had already retreated.
"This is the end."
His expression was grim. The purpose of the ambush had been achieved, so there was no point in continuing. As he made up his mind to retreat, Raikage turned around, appearing in front of him in a flash, his fingers pressed together, aiming a strike at Orochimaru's neck.
Now familiar with Raikage's attack patterns, Orochimaru bent backward, dodging the two-finger strike. His hands formed seals rapidly, spitting out several wind blades aimed at the Raikage, who was just inches away.
Raikage, expressionless, bent his arm and, with his elbow as the attack point, slammed it towards Orochimaru's neck at high speed.
The wind blades collided with his lightning-covered elbow and disintegrated instantly. Despite their elemental advantage, the Wind Release technique was completely ineffective at such close range, a testament to Raikage's fearsome strength.
Crack!
With a powerful blow, Raikage's elbow severed Orochimaru's head from his body.
After snapping Orochimaru's neck, Raikage snorted and didn't bother with the corpse on the ground. Instead, he looked in a certain direction and disappeared using Lightning Body Flicker. In the next second, he appeared two hundred meters away, raising his lightning-covered arm and slamming it into the ground.
Boom!
With strength comparable to Tsunade's, his punch shattered the ground's surface, sending a figure flying out from beneath the earth. That figure was the battered Orochimaru.
"How many times are you going to use the same trick?" Raikage tilted his head, looking at the fallen Orochimaru with cold indifference.
Despite completely suppressing Orochimaru, Raikage had been unable to finish him off, which was frustrating. Now, he could finally end it.
One of Konoha's Sannin—killing him would significantly reduce the difficulty of invading the village.
Ye Zi, who had just arrived at the battlefield, witnessed this scene, his expression changing beneath his mask. This was the first time he had seen Orochimaru in such a desperate situation, seemingly on the brink of death.
Should I save them or not?
The moment this question appeared in his mind, there was no time to hesitate, as Raikage was already launching an attack on the fallen Orochimaru.
Zzz!
The familiar sound of lightning crackled through the forest.
The same Lightning Release armor, but a different level of physical strength.
There was no time to hesitate. Instinctively, Ye Zi's body was covered in a Lightning Dragon Armor, with a dragon's head solidifying above him, its mouth wide open, as if roaring.
Then… he charged at Raikage.
This action wasn't a product of thought but an instinctive reaction, made in the split second Raikage moved, without any hesitation or doubt.
Orochimaru's snake-like eyes reflected the lightning surrounding him. His broken arms lay limp on the ground, but his will to survive made him force his arm up to form seals. No matter how he struggled, though, he couldn't match the speed of lightning.
"I… cannot die here!"
Under the pressure of life and death, his expression remained cold, but inside, he screamed in defiance. Then, a figure surrounded by lightning stood between him and Raikage.
Wooden roots spread far and wide as Ye Zi landed, thrusting Eihō directly toward Raikage's fingers.
"Who are you!?"
After moving at such high speed, Raikage saw a figure standing in his way. In the next instant, everything was enveloped in blinding lightning, filling the eyes of everyone present.
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Currently on Chapter 252 - Shokui's Desire and Ye Zi's Confidence