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The Land of Hot Springs.
The Hot Springs Mountains.
This mountain range was named for its hundreds of hot springs and was a famous resort in the ninja world.
But at this moment, the vast plains at the foot of the mountains had completely turned into a battlefield between Kumo and Konoha.
Thousands of shinobi were locked in intense combat here.
The explosions of detonating tags rang out countless times per second, and the clashing of kunai and shuriken formed a blood-soaked symphony.
When thousands of special kunai rained down from the sky, it stirred a wave of confusion. Some unsuspecting Kumo shinobi were struck, but that was the extent of the damage.
The throwing distance had been too far, making the attacks ineffective beyond surface wounds.
Upon seeing this, the Kumo shinobi continued to mock while fighting. "As expected of wealthy Konoha, just throwing away kunai like that."
The Konoha shinobi said nothing, but sneered inwardly.
Be proud now. Once you understand what this means, it'll be far too late.
Swish! A black light flickered, and Yami appeared beside a special kunai like a ghost.
The Kumo shinobi he faced even thought he was seeing things.
It wasn't until his body was sliced open that he snapped out of it—but it was already too late.
His vision went black as he collapsed.
Yami didn't stop. He instantly teleported to the next coordinate.
From the vantage point of a high ground observer, a black arc of light seemed to dance across the battlefield like a snake.
Wherever it passed, someone would fall. Every casualty was a Kumo shinobi.
"This is… Flying Thunder God!"
A Kumo sensor ninja finally pieced it together. Shocked, he fired a signal flare into the sky, which exploded with a loud bang.
The Fourth Raikage, who was locked in an intense battle with Jiraiya, heard the signal and, seeing the red flare overhead, his expression shifted.
This was an emergency signal, a request for immediate reinforcements.
How could over a thousand Kumo shinobi be pushed back by only five hundred from Konoha?
Weren't they supposed to have the upper hand?
The Fourth Raikage glanced over at the battlefield in confusion and immediately noticed the problem.
"Flying Thunder God?!"
He was so stunned that the Lightning Release chakra armor around his body visibly scattered. He hurriedly jumped, dodging Gamabunta's tongue strike. His eyes locked onto the black streak zipping through the battlefield, and he was nearly speechless.
The memory of Namikaze Minato ran too deep.
Back when the Third Raikage died in battle, he had just assumed the mantle of Fourth.
In order to quickly solidify his position and suppress dissent in the village, he once led Killer Bee—already a perfect jinchūriki—and an elite unit to launch a covert assault on the Land of Fire's rear.
But they were intercepted by Minato and that generation's Ino-Shika-Chō.
That battle ended with Minato restraining both him and Killer Bee.
From that day on, the Fourth Raikage vowed that as long as Minato was alive, Kumo would never initiate war with Konoha.
That man was too terrifying.
This time, he dared to make a move only because the man he feared most was dead.
But now, another speedster had appeared in Konoha?
"Stop!"
Seeing the black light wreaking havoc across the battlefield, the Fourth Raikage couldn't take it anymore. His Lightning Release armor surged to full power again as he prepared to break through and intercept Yami.
But… his opponent was Jiraiya.
Would a Sannin let the Raikage go that easily?
"Summoning Technique: Toad Mouth Bind!"
Bang!
A massive toad throat was summoned by Jiraiya, wrapping around both of them and completely cutting off the Fourth Raikage's ability to escape in the short term.
On the main battlefield…
Yami entered a strange state.
The world around him felt both frozen and rapidly moving. In his chakra perception, thousands of spatial coordinates resonated faintly with him.
Placing so many coordinate markers on such a compact battlefield required extremely precise perception.
Any mistake, even slightly, could teleport him to the wrong location.
Fortunately, Yami wasn't fighting alone. Every Konoha shinobi on the field was working hard to restrain their opponents and create openings for him to strike. Even if he landed a bit off, it didn't matter much.
Teleport, draw sword, kill. Then teleport again, draw again.
The battlefield scenery changed continuously before his eyes. The side effects of teleporting so many times had kicked in. After each jump, his body experienced brief stiffness.
Swish!
Yami teleported to Yugao's location and dropped down, sitting on the ground.
"Yami, are you okay?" Yugao asked, clearly concerned.
"I'm fine. Just dizzy. I need a short break."
Yami closed his eyes and shoved several pills into his mouth, chewing and swallowing them.
He had no idea how many times he'd used Flying Thunder God already, or how many people he had killed. But more than half of the nearly 60 chakra cards in his body had been consumed.
While recovering, Yami opened his system panel and used bond points to upgrade his dynamic vision by one level.
Originally, he had wanted to upgrade it by two or three levels, but it had already maxed out with just one upgrade.
Still, that was enough.
When he opened his eyes again, they gleamed with sharpness. Yami teleported again, rejoining the battle.
The Kumo forces were falling into chaos due to his disruption. Not only were they facing evenly matched opponents, but they also had to stay alert for Yami appearing anywhere at any moment.
Chūnin especially were marked as key targets by Yami.
The reason? Easy to kill.
Against someone faster and stronger than them, even in head-on combat, they wouldn't last three exchanges—let alone in a sneak attack.
With enhanced dynamic vision, the brief stiffness and disorientation after teleporting was greatly reduced.
No one noticed the two magatama spinning in Yami's eyes. As the killing continued, the rotation grew faster until a third magatama appeared.
Three Tomoe Sharingan!
As the full form of the Sharingan awakened, a cool sensation filled Yami's mind.
Now, using Flying Thunder God was no different from taking a step. With one move, he could cross hundreds of meters. With his blade drawn, another enemy fell.
Yami felt a deep insight arise in his heart.
No wonder Senju Tobirama sealed the Flying Thunder God Technique not just because it was spatial ninjutsu, but also because… it was perfect for the Uchiha.
In terms of reaction speed, vision, and insight, who in the entire ninja world could rival the Sharingan?
Tobirama must have been frustrated to discover that the technique he created to counter Uchiha actually suited them best.
The blood-red eyes faded. Yami didn't reveal this yet. There was no need to expose his eyes against these Kumo shinobi.
Now, with increased mental power, he wielded the Flying Thunder God Technique even more freely.
Within a short time, Kumo was already showing signs of defeat.
The side with superior numbers had nearly been reduced to parity with Konoha.
"Darui! We can't keep going like this!" Dodai wrapped them in Lava Release, blocking Uchiha Shisui's Fire Release, and whispered urgently.
"But the Raikage's still trapped by Jiraiya," Darui said worriedly. He had considered retreating, but the order had to come from the Kage. That responsibility wasn't his to take.
And right now, their Kage was stuck in some bizarre technique.
"Help me hold off Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Shisui."
Dodai gritted his teeth, feeling the growing heat around their protective membrane. He quickly made a decision. "I'll try breaking through Jiraiya's jutsu from the outside and get the Raikage out."
"Alright."
Darui agreed immediately.
The yellow coating dissolved, and Darui appeared alone before Kakashi and Shisui.
"Storm Release: Laser Circus!"
Several powerful black laser beams shot toward them, forcing both to stop their attacks. Dodai took the opportunity to rush toward the toad's stomach wall and launched a large stream of liquid mixed with hundreds of detonating tags.
Boom!
With the Raikage coordinating from within, they finally blew a hole through the barrier.
Bathed in lightning, the Fourth Raikage emerged, eyes bloodshot after seeing how many Kumo shinobi had fallen.
"You little brat! I'll kill you!"
Swish!
The Raikage turned into a bolt of lightning and streaked across the battlefield, arriving near Yami in an instant.
"I'm not scared of you."
Yami also stopped slaughtering and threw a special kunai at the Fourth Raikage.
All eyes were drawn to this part of the battlefield.
Crackle~!
Red flames erupted around Yami. The air around him began to distort and sizzle. He charged straight at the Raikage.
Under countless gazes, Yami, engulfed in flame, looked like a phoenix reborn. Holding a massive fireball in each hand, he collided with the Fourth Raikage.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!"
"Scorch Release: Double Sun Flying in the Sky!"
BOOM!!!
Lightning and flame exploded upon impact.
A massive shockwave rippled out across the battlefield, sending limbs, kunai, and shuriken flying in all directions.
At the center of the clash, a small mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
"Yami!"
Jiraiya, clutching his injured left arm, stared nervously at the explosion's center.
He wasn't alone. Shikaku, Inoichi, and the others were just as tense.
If anything happened to Yami, even if Konoha won, they would have lost their future.
"Hiashi-sama, check with your Byakugan!" Shikaku ordered.
Beside Hiashi, Hizashi shook his head. "The chakra reaction is too intense. I can't see anything."
Just as everyone was filled with anxiety—
Swish!
Yami appeared beside Kurenai and Yugao, immediately spotted by Hizashi's sharp Byakugan.
"Yami's fine! Look, he's uninjured!"
Everyone looked over and breathed a sigh of relief.
The Konoha forces erupted into cheers.
"Nice job, Yami!"
"As expected of Yami-sama! He fought the Raikage and came out unscathed!"
While Konoha celebrated, Kumo fell into despair.
They had no idea how to win anymore. Even their Raikage couldn't kill this speedster. Staying here would only make them sitting targets.
As the smoke cleared, the Fourth Raikage stood tall but was panting heavily, his body showing clear signs of burns.
He stared at Yami, whose clothing was still intact, and gave the order:
"Retreat!"
Despite his overwhelming fury, the Fourth Raikage made the right decision.
Shikaku didn't order a pursuit. Jiraiya was injured, and the Raikage was still in decent condition.
Yami was also extremely exhausted. While they could push for more results, the win was already secured. There was no need to take unnecessary risks.
Konoha couldn't afford the attrition.
He didn't just want to win—he wanted to win at minimal cost.
Hearing the retreat order, the already-demoralized Kumo shinobi crumbled.
Once they were at a safe distance, the Raikage turned back and asked, "You're Shimura Yami, right?"
He didn't know Yami personally, but he recognized Scorch Release.
"And you're the Fourth Raikage?" Yami took a step forward, instantly arriving at a special kunai near the Raikage. They stared each other down evenly.
The Raikage gave a dangerous grin. "Stay alive. One day, I'll kill you on the battlefield."
Yami smirked. "You can't even get close now. Still thinking about the future?"
"Wait till my birthday in two years. I'll crush you with one hand."
Having lost the battle and the exchange, the Fourth Raikage gave Yami one last glare, then vanished using Lightning Instant Movement.
Yami raised the Kusanagi sword and declared to the entire battlefield:
"We won!"
After a brief silence, the Konoha shinobi erupted with thunderous cheers.
"We won! We won!"
"Long live Yami-sama!"
"Long live Jiraiya-sama!"
"Long live the Flying Thunder God!"
The battlefield turned into a sea of celebration. Even Shikaku smiled as he assigned medics and ordered the intelligence unit to tally the battle merits.
Two hours later, the plains finally fell silent again.
Back at camp, Yami returned to his tent as fast as he could, took a shower, and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
Yugao and Kurenai were extremely concerned. They stood outside the tent like guardians, not allowing anyone to make noise or get close.
In the command center, seeing the report submitted by the scouts, even the long-time inspector revealed a rare flicker of emotion.
"Twenty-four jōnin. One hundred and eighty chūnin."
"Such achievements have already surpassed what Minato did back then."
At the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, Minato had killed five jōnin and forty-five chūnin, earning the name Yellow Flash.
Although Yami had help this time, he had killed more enemies, and of even higher rank. These weren't vegetables—they were elite jōnin.
"Yeah…" Jiraiya was also stunned, but with his experience, he quickly composed himself.
"This kid will soon earn his own title. I wonder what it'll be?"
(To be continued.)
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