The Third Raikage was ambushed by the Rock Ninja army.
To buy time for his subordinates to escape, the Third Raikage decided to hold off the enemy himself.
Kitsuchi immediately issued orders. "Don't let these Cloud Ninjas leave! Block them!"
Hundreds of Rock Ninja rushed forward, attempting to intercept the escaping Cloud Ninjas.
[Lightning Beast Crashing Fang!]
Using the Shifting Body Technique, the Third Raikage instantly appeared among the Rock Ninja forces.
Focusing Lightning Release chakra into his feet, he unleashed a devastating blow that smashed a deep crater into the ground. More than twenty Rock Ninja died instantly from this attack, while countless others were sent flying.
The Third Raikage, all by himself, blocked these Rock Ninja who were trying to pursue his subordinates.
A massive barrage of kunai and shuriken rained down upon him.
The Raikage once again intensified his Lightning Release chakra.
The projectiles striking his body failed to penetrate his defense.
Like a wolf among sheep, he tore into the Rock Ninja.
Witnessing their comrades being massacred, Kitsuchi immediately prepared to use ninjutsu to stop the Third Raikage.
[Earth Release! Mountain Earth Technique!]
Kitsuchi used an advanced Earth Release technique, creating two massive hemispheres of earth that moved to enclose and crush the Raikage.
The Raikage braced his hands against the walls of rock, preventing them from fully closing in.
Seeing this, without needing further command from Kitsuchi, the Rock Ninja surged forward on their own, attempting to kill the Raikage.
[Hell Stab: Four-Fingered Spear!]
The Raikage concentrated lightning chakra into four fingers, piercing straight through the rocky hemispheres. As he dashed across the battlefield, cutting down enemies like targets on a string — wherever he went, many Rock Ninja fell lifeless.
These Rock Ninja stood no chance against the Third Raikage.
Chinya watched the battle unfold, his body slightly trembling.
It was that rush of adrenaline pumping through him.
A fight like this — one man against many — gets Chinya's blood pumping like nothing else.
The Raikage's subordinates had already successfully escaped.
He could leave right now, if he wanted to.
But if he pulled back now, Kumo wouldn't stand a chance against the Rock Ninja army.
Therefore, he had to stall for time, allowing the Cloud Ninja from the Land of Hot Water to return and reinforce the Hidden Cloud Village.
[Hell Stab: Three-Fingered Spear!]
Reducing by one finger, the Raikage continued his assault, stabbing and killing the Rock Ninja with three fingers.
Seeing the large number of Rock Ninja being killed, Kitsuchi immediately commanded, "Use Earth Flow Wall to block him!"
Multiple ninja began forming hand seals together, slamming their hands onto the ground after finishing.
[Earth Release: Ten-Mile Earth Flow Wall!]
A towering earthen wall rose from the ground like the Great Wall, blocking the Raikage's path.
Yet facing such a wall, the Raikage showed no change in expression, continuing his forward assault with the three-fingered Hell Stab.
Almost every Rock Ninja stood ready, waiting for the barrier to halt the Raikage before launching their attack.
However, what neither the Iwa ninja nor Kitsuchi had anticipated was that this earthen wall was as fragile as paper before the Third Raikage's Three-Pin Penetration, which pierced straight through it.
The Third Raikage continued his slaughter among the Rock Ninja like a man entering an empty room.
With the speed and attacking power of Hell Stab,
and the defensive capabilities of Lightning Release Chakra Mode,
these Rock Ninja couldn't do anything against the Third Raikage at all.
From the beginning of this battle until now, the Third Raikage hasn't sustained even a single injury.
In contrast, nearly a hundred Rock Ninja have already perished.
"The mightiest spear and unbreakable shield? Truly formidable."
Chinya observed the Third Raikage's battle with great admiration in his heart.
Especially when the Third Raikage used Hell Stab: Two-Pin Penetration—the speed was almost comparable to [Thunder Flash Swift Speed].
As for Hell Stab: Single-Pin Penetration, its speed definitely surpassed Chinya's [Thunder Flash Swift Speed].
Chinya had already activated his Mangekyo Sharingan in order to closely observe the Third Raikage's fighting techniques.
He found the Lightning Release Chakra Mode utterly fascinating.
The lightning Chinya produced using Thunder Breathing merely stimulated his body—it didn't enhance his defense.
But with Lightning Release Chakra Mode, not only was physical vitality increased, defense capabilities were significantly improved as well. The lightning generated inside the body could boost neural transmission speed; with more accumulated Lightning Chakra, both defense and speed would increase accordingly.
This was something Chinya lacked.
Among all the jutsu he currently knew, except for Wanju, everything else was purely offensive.
So techniques like the Lightning Release Chakra Mode—boosting both offense and defense—were exactly what he needed.
Kitsuchi also realized their thousands of ninja forces were actually helpless against the Third Raikage.
Originally, Kitsuchi planned to leave part of the Iwagakure ninja to stall the Third Raikage while the remaining forces continued advancing toward Kumogakure.
Yet alone, the Third Raikage had blocked them all by himself.
Now Kitsuchi felt somewhat stuck between two choices.
Even if the Third Raikage couldn't stop them entirely, their forces from Iwagakure would still require several days to reach Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning.
With the Third Raikage relentlessly attacking them from behind, no matter how numerous the Iwa forces were, they couldn't withstand these losses.
But if they focused on dealing with the Third Raikage, then the surprise attack on Kumogakure would likely fail since the Raikage's men had already caught wind of it.
Once the Cloud Ninja from the Land of Hot Water withdrew support and rushed back to Kumogakure, then the Rock Ninja forces would find themselves in serious danger.
Kitsuchi had inherited Onoki's cautious nature—he never liked to gamble when the risks got too high.
Since their plan to raid Kumogakure had already been disrupted by the Third Raikage,
they'd stick instead to the plan of intercepting and killing him here, eliminating the Raikage right on this spot.
Still, letting their men continue getting slaughtered wasn't sustainable either.
Kitsuchi quickly made a decision and ordered, "Everyone, use ninjutsu to change the terrain and impede the Raikage! Then, form into squads and switch entirely to defensive operations!"
Upon hearing Kitsuchi issue this command, Chinya immediately understood Kitsuchi's intention—to wear down the Third Raikage over time.
Chinya felt slightly annoyed.
Faced with such a battle situation, the Rock Ninja had chosen defensive combat—completely shameless. Truly typical of Iwagakure's style.
However, Chinya also held disdain for the Third Raikage and Kumo, because they had once kidnapped Kushina Uzumaki.
Chinya rose to his feet, slung his Ninja Sword over one shoulder, and strode forward.
Kitsuchi noticed Chinya approaching from a distance and immediately narrowed his eyes: "[Crimson-Eyed Asura Chinya]? So Konoha has arrived as well?!"
Chinya tapped his shoulder with his Ninja Sword: "It's just me alone. Watching alone was enough to get my blood boiling. I really don't want to see such a pathetic ending. You Iwagakure shinobi are truly shameless, using defensive counterattacks against one opponent."
Kitsuchi looked at Chinya with narrowed eyes: "So you're here to help the Raikage?"
Chinya scoffed: "Help him? The Cloud Ninja and I are enemies! It's just that right now, I'm starving for a fight..."
Chinya drew his Ninja Sword, pointing it at Kitsuchi: "Then let's plunge right into the fray!"
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