Raiga Kurosuki, hit a nerve by Shindai, raised his Twin Lightning Blades high into the air.
[Lightning Release! Raiga!]
Powerful lightning erupted from the blades, shooting straight into the sky.
The sky instantly darkened with thick clouds, within which lightning surged violently.
Zabuza turned his head in surprise toward Raiga Kurosuki, not expecting him to unleash such a powerful move right from the start.
"Lightning! Descend upon them!"
A fierce bolt of lightning shot down from the clouds toward Shindai and Kakashi.
However, before the lightning struck, Kakashi asked Shindai, "Should we dodge?"
Shindai replied indifferently, "Dodge if you want. I won't."
As the lightning came crashing down, just before hitting Shindai and Kakashi, it split into multiple streams and struck the ground instead.
Raiga Kurosuki stared in shock as his own lightning forked away. "What?!"
Zabuza noticed something unusual—numerous long needles had appeared on the ground without anyone noticing.
These needles were Shindai's Iron Sand Needles, acting like lightning rods, drawing the lightning toward them and channeling the current underground.
"What's the shock? You don't get how science works? I'm gonna hit you right back with your own jutsu."
Shindai formed hand seals.
[Magnet Release! Iron Sand Giant Needles!]
He compressed his Iron Sand Body into an ultra-dense form, shaping it into two massive spears.
Shindai manipulated these iron sand spears to rise up into the air.
The lightning in the clouds and the iron sand spears attracted each other, making the lightning gradually latch onto the spears.
Meanwhile, the ends of the two iron sand spears pointed directly at Zabuza and Raiga Kurosuki.
"Your lightning... now belongs to me!"
At the moment Shindai finished speaking, two bolts of lightning burst forth from the iron sand needles, launching straight toward Zabuza and Raiga Kurosuki.
Both of them were shocked and quickly used their Body Flicker Technique to evade.
The lightning struck the ground, leaving behind two large craters.
While dodging, Zabuza and Raiga Kurosuki vanished into the thick mist around them.
"It seems they're planning a sneak attack," Kakashi said while remaining alert. "Shindai, maybe it's time for your glasses' targeting function to get an upgrade? Even though it can lock onto body heat, the surrounding air is too cold and the mist is filled with chakra, making it impossible to track them."
Shindai twitched his lips slightly. "Ninja-Ware isn't perfect either. But I'll take your word for it—time to crank up the next-gen upgrades."
Just then, Zabuza's voice came from behind Shindai and Kakashi through the mist: "You... won't have a next time!"
Zabuza's Cleaver Sword swung forward—and landed a blow on both Shindai and Kakashi.
However, Kakashi replaced himself with a wooden stump. A loud "boom" erupted from Shindai as smoke enveloped him. When the smoke cleared, it was Kannazuki who appeared before Zabuza.
"This is bad!"
Zabuza wanted to retreat immediately, but his Cleaver Sword was stuck inside Kannazuki's body and wouldn't pull free.
Shindai and Kakashi reappeared in a flash at the edge of the bridge on the opposite side.
Mockingly, Shindai said, "Demon of the Hidden Mist? Seems like you're not that good after all. Kannazuki, Iron Sand Spikes!"
Suddenly, numerous iron sand spikes rapidly grew from Kannazuki's body.
Zabuza strained with effort, yanking his Cleaver Sword out of Kannazuki's body before dodging backward.
Still, Zabuza sustained many wounds from the iron sand spikes.
After forming a hand seal, Kakashi's right arm erupted with roaring Chidori lightning.
[Lightning Beast Pursuing Fang!]
Kakashi transformed his Lightning Cutter into the shape of a wolf and chased after Zabuza.
[Thunder Burial: Lightning Boughs!]
Raiga Kurosuki stabbed both swords into the ground and released branch-like blue lightning toward the front, colliding with Kakashi's lightning wolf and neutralizing each other.
Zabuza and Raiga Kurosuki regrouped together, watching Shindai and Kakashi at a distance with serious expressions.
Raiga Kurosuki spoke solemnly, "We'll have to cooperate properly this time, or else we'll be in trouble."
Zabuza grunted an agreement. Just now, they had nearly gotten into serious danger.
This brief encounter alone proved how well Shindai and Kakashi worked together.
Ranmaru, slung across Raiga Kurosuki's back, suddenly shouted anxiously, "Right side!"
Both Raiga Kurosuki and Zabuza looked to their right simultaneously, discovering Kannazuki raising both arms aiming at them—not regular hands, but rather two cannon barrels.
Two projectiles launched from Kannazuki's arms, firing rapidly toward Raiga Kurosuki and Zabuza.
The pair quickly dodged, but the two missiles exploded, sending both flying away.
Shindai told Kakashi, "I'm going after that boy on his back. We need to take him back to Konoha."
Kakashi nodded, "Alright, I'll handle Zabuza."
When Zabuza landed, seeing Shindai charging toward him, he assumed another attack was coming and prepared for retaliation.
But just then, a blade flash passed by, and Zabuza immediately raised his Cleaver Sword to block.
Kakashi, holding a tanto, told Zabuza, "I'm your opponent this time!"
Then Kakashi formed a hand seal. [Chidori Current!]
Electricity filled a wide area around Kakashi's body, causing Zabuza's entire body to tremble from the shocks.
Bearing the numbness and pain running through his body, Zabuza kicked Kakashi away forcefully before beginning to form hand seals.
Through his goggles' data feed, Kakashi analyzed Zabuza's hand seals and countered with matching ones of his own.
Zabuza saw Kakashi form the same hand seals, and his face instantly twisted into an incredulous expression.
[Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!]
[Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!]
Two torrents of water took the form of roaring dragons before charging at each other.
Upon impact, the two water dragons burst into droplets, cascading down like rain.
Kakashi wielded a Tanto, while Zabuza held his Cleaver Sword, clashing in close combat once again.
Meanwhile, Shindai was controlling Kannazuki against Raiga Kurosuki, occasionally launching Magnet Release techniques or ninjutsu from ninjutsu cards.
Raiga Kurosuki truly lived up to his reputation as an elite Jonin among the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist—his power was formidable. Combined with Ranmaru's ability to foresee danger using his Red Eye, Raiga managed to stabilize the current situation.
Yet Raiga felt no relief—at best, he was barely keeping things together, and still at a disadvantage.
Fighting one-on-two against Shindai and his Puppet was unsustainable—especially now that Ranmaru had lost his mental clarity.
Although Ranmaru could sense danger, the sheer number of simultaneous threats left his perceptions in chaos.
Take the current moment as an example.
[Water Blast!] Southwest! No, wait—it's not right. Southeast? No… not that either.
Shindai used ninjutsu from ninjutsu cards, launching attacks from multiple directions. Some were real attacks, others mere feints—leaving Ranmaru unable to distinguish truth from illusion.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ **4 bonus chapters** this weekend if I get kind comments.
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>