As he spoke, the Third Raikage had already raised his other fist, aiming straight for Pakura's chest. Without a doubt, if his blow landed, her body would be pierced clean through.
There was no way to dodge, no chance to use a substitution or Body Flicker. The Third Raikage's speed was simply too fast—this was already at the very limit of human capability!
Around them, the Suna shinobi shut their eyes one after another, unable to watch their hero meet such a brutal death.
Pakura herself had already resigned to her fate when, suddenly, a sharp whistle split the air.
The Third Raikage initially intended to tank the mysterious projectile flying toward him, but the closer it came, the more dangerous it felt—even his Lightning Release Armor might not withstand it.
Trusting his instincts, he pulled back a step.
And in that moment, he saw clearly what the object was—sword energy!
Shhh!
The sword energy struck the ground between him and Pakura, carving out a deep chasm. Seeing the abyss opened up by the slash, the Raikage's expression grew darker.
That sword energy… there was no mistaking it. It could only belong to one man—the one they called Konoha's Silver Moon, Gekko Hoshiyomi!
As that thought flashed across his mind, a mocking voice echoed from above:
"So this so-called strongest Raikage in history only knows how to bully young Suna shinobi? It seems the past generations of Raikage aren't all that impressive after all."
The words were amplified with chakra, reverberating across the battlefield. "past generations of Raikage aren't all that impressive.." The echo made every Kumogakure shinobi's face sink with anger.
Who dared to be so bold as to insult the entire line of Raikage?
Just as everyone was looking up, Hoshiyomi slowly descended, standing atop the Grass Long Sword, Kusanagi Blade.
Such an entrance was unheard of, unseen before. Both Kumo and Suna shinobi froze in disbelief. How could a man stand on a sword and fly?
Pakura, who had just brushed past death's door, watched the figure approach with a storm of emotions. She was alive—saved by Konoha's reinforcements she had thought would never arrive in time.
But now, faced with Hoshiyomi's calm landing, words failed her.
Under everyone's gaze, Hoshiyomi landed steadily. With a flick of his sword hand, the Grass Long Sword, Kusanagi Blade sheathed itself. Only then did he lift his head, flashing a dazzling smile:
"So—don't you agree with what I just said?"
Behind him, Pakura hesitated a moment, then asked somewhat awkwardly:
"Um… about Konoha's reinforcements… are there others? Or is it just you?"
Hoshiyomi turned to her, amusement in his eyes. Teasingly, he replied:
"What's this? You think I'm not enough?"
Pakura nearly staggered. A single man… how could that even count as reinforcement? Even if he was a renowned, battle-hardened Kage-level shinobi, this kind of confidence was insane.
The Third Raikage, glaring at Hoshiyomi, growled darkly:
"So Konoha really did dare to send reinforcements. You truly mean to help Sunagakure to the bitter end?"
Hoshiyomi only shrugged, completely unconcerned.
"Don't make it sound so noble. As if sparing Sunagakure now would mean you wouldn't come after Konoha once you're done with them."
The Third Raikage felt a surge of irritation at Hoshiyomi's dismissive attitude. This brat Gekko Hoshiyomi hasn't even been a Kage-level shinobi for that long, and he's already this arrogant?
He decided he'd test just how much strength this so-called Konoha's Silver Moon really had.
"In that case, today you'll die together with these Suna worms. That suits me fine—if I bury you here, it'll make things much easier when we deal with Konoha later."
As he spoke, the Third Raikage drove his fist forward. The speed was so great it split the air with sonic booms. The weaker Suna shinobi couldn't even follow the motion of his punch.
Hoshiyomi raised an eyebrow. This speed is terrifying—already comparable to Might Guy's Sixth Gate in the original story. And this is only a probing strike. If he went all out, he might even rival Seventh Gate Might Guy.
But even such speed posed no real threat to Hoshiyomi. After all, he had sparred against Minato countless times; if he could deal with Minato's instantaneous space–time assassination attempts, avoiding a punch like this was trivial.
As the massive fist came barreling toward him, Hoshiyomi shifted his step with a Shunpo, slipping back and to the side, cleanly dodging the lightning-fast strike.
At the same moment, he drew the Mikazuki Munechika from his hip, slashing straight at the Raikage's arm.
Seeing Hoshiyomi evade his punch so effortlessly, the Raikage was momentarily startled—but he recovered instantly. Instead of blocking with brute force, he swung his other elbow sideways to strike at the sword's body.
That alone showed he was no mindless brute; his combat instincts were razor-sharp, instantly adapting to Hoshiyomi's counter.
Hoshiyomi clicked his tongue, pulling his blade back mid-swing, then thrust his left palm toward the underside of the Raikage's elbow, trying to divert the strike and create an opening for his sword.
The Raikage's eyes glinted with a cruel smile. What a fool—using bare flesh to touch me directly.
His Lightning Release Armor wasn't just for defense—the constant flickering arcs of lightning across his body weren't for show. Anyone who touched it would be fried to ash almost instantly. Even a Kage-level with chakra protection would be stunned by the shock, left paralyzed for an instant.
And in that instant, he'd smash Hoshiyomi's head to pieces.
But just as he imagined Hoshiyomi's head exploding under his fist, shock struck him instead—Hoshiyomi was completely unfazed, his hand altering the path of his elbow as planned.
Impossible!
The Raikage tried to retreat, but it was too late. Hoshiyomi's draw speed surpassed even the Raikage's punch by a fraction of an instant.
Though the Raikage desperately pulled back to widen the gap, the edge of Mikazuki Munechika still carved across his ribs.