đ¨Insert Some Funny Memes or GIFđ¨
----------------
As the kunai fell, everyone on both sides held their breath.
Behind Hikaru, Jiraiya lifted Naruto onto his shoulders and quickly retreated to create some distance.
Tsunade and Shizune followed closely behind, the three of them pulling back hundreds of meters behind Hikaru.
As for the Raikage's subordinates, they had already started retreating without needing orders from C.
Their strength was clearly inferior to that of Jiraiya and Tsunade, and they knew exactly how powerful their Raikage wasâso they wisely distanced themselves by nearly two hundred meters.
The moment the kunai struck the ground...
Blue arcs of chakra exploded across the Raikage's body, sparking violently as if he were a human-shaped generator.
In an instant, the Raikage vanished, transforming into a flash of blue light and charging straight toward Hikaru.
A thunderous boom echoed through the forest, sending flocks of birds into the sky, startled and flapping away in panic.
Hikaru showed no intention of dodging. Against someone as aggressive as the Raikage, the only way to gain his respect... was to face him head-onâand crush him.
His MangekyĹ Sharingan activated instantly. Hikaru ramped up his chakra and ocular power, no longer maintaining just a partial skeleton.
The upper torso of a Susanoo emerged in fullâa pitch-black skeletal giant enveloping him entirely.
A chilling aura radiated from the dark titan. Its glowing crimson eyes cut through the air like the gaze of the god of death itself.
The Raikage charged from the left. Using his terrifying muscle control and bodily inertia, he abruptly twisted midair, retracting the blow he had originally aimed at Hikaru.
Flexing his back with monstrous precision, he rotated his torso and lashed out with his legâhis right foot becoming a crackling electric whip aimed squarely at Hikaru's face.
But to no avail.
The Raikage's elaborate feint failed completely against Hikaru's MangekyĹ Sharingan. Its perception far exceeded even the Byakugan.
He could see it allâevery fluctuation of chakra, every twitch of muscle.
Hikaru calmly commanded his Susanoo. The skeleton's massive left arm swept up between them, shielding Hikaru's body.
With its massive hand open, it intercepted the Raikage's charge just as he came within range.
The Raikage had no chance to change directionâthere was no foothold in the air, nothing to push off from, nowhere to go.
Still, he didn't flinch.
He doubled down.
Chakra surged to his right hand, forming a brilliant blue spikeâlightning condensed to a near-solid form.
"Thunderclap Arrow!"
This was the Raikage's ultimate single-target piercing techniqueâhis trump card. He hurled it directly at Susanoo, aiming to pierce its defense in one decisive strike.
The blue spike and Susanoo's palm collided.
A massive shockwave exploded outward, shaking the forest. The sound was deafening. Leaves, dust, and chakra flew in all directions.
Even from a hundred meters away, Tsunade felt the blast sting her skin.
She narrowed her eyes in disbelief.
No wonder he could suppress a rampaging Nine-Tails on his own.
She couldn't help but mutter in awe:
"So this is Uchiha Hikaru's power... It's just like the Madara my grandfather once spoke of."
Both fighters slid backward from the impact, carving grooves into the ground.
The Raikage was just as stunned.
His Hidden Cloud was known for overwhelming powerâand he was the Raikage!
His blows could shear off the hardened horns of the Eight-Tails... yet Hikaru's Susanoo had taken it head-on.
A few cracks had formed in the titan's palm... but even those were mending rapidly before his eyes.
This wasn't just tough defenseâit was self-repair.
The Raikage clenched his fists, fury bubbling in his chest. One strike wasn't enough.
If he couldn't overwhelm it in a single, overwhelming blow... then what was the point?
Susanoo would simply regenerate everything.
Hikaru remained silent, letting Susanoo casually flex its arm.
Then, inside the colossal ribcage of the giant, Hikaru pulled a small pouch from his ninja tool bagâleftover breakfast.
He took out a meat bun and took a bite.
Chewing slowly, he looked at the Raikage with complete nonchalance and said, "Come on, Lord Raikage. If you can't even scratch my Susanoo, how do you plan on winning?"
His voice was muffled by the mouthful of food.
The Raikage couldn't hear a word. But his expression said it all.
Fury. Rage. Resolve.
With a snarl, he tore off his white cloak.
The hair on his back stood up as chakra surged.
He wasn't just cloaking his body in lightning chakra anymoreâhe was stimulating his bloodstream, forcing chakra through his entire vascular system.
His muscles swelled visibly.
Hikaru's eyes narrowed. He recognized this.
It was similar to Might Guy's Eight Gates technique.
The principles were alike: artificially force the body to break its limits.
But this wasn't the exact Eight Gates technique. That worked by forcibly opening chakra points in the body, which came with immense risksâespecially with the final, Gate of Death.
The Raikage's version pushed lightning chakra into the blood vessels, with the heart acting as the pump. If that control slipped, the chakra could damage vital organs beyond repair.
Worst case scenarioâinstant death.
But the power boost was real.
In the original timeline, the Raikage could crack Madara's fully-armored Susanoo in this state.
Hikaru tensed.
He unleashed more power. His Susanoo expandedâgrowing muscle fibers, meridians, and skin.
The transformation was terrifying.
A completed Susanoo. A true titan of war.
The crimson light in its eyes burned even brighter.
Even standing still, it emitted pressure like a god descending from the heavens.
The Raikage hesitated. Just for a moment.
He stared at the giant.
The skeletal Susanoo was already hard enough to damage... and now this one has skin and muscle layered on top?
Can I really break through something like this... a god of death in physical form...
--------
Send Power Stones
Bonus Chapter at 150 Power Stone
---------------------
Join my Patreon and get access to 50+ early chapters before anyone else! đĽ
https://www.patreon.com/UK21