"A fine slash, kid. What's that technique called?"
The Raikage, who had just been struck by the Blade of Indifference, surprisingly still had the presence of mind to ask a question. Hadn't it hurt? Anya was deeply confused. He quickly yanked his blade free, stepped back cautiously, and replied with a slight frown, "Sword Art: Draw Technique."
The Raikage praised, "Great name, amazing sword art, but your tactics are low—actually poisoning your blade."
In the darkness, blood dripped from his wound, almost blackish-red, as the Raikage easily purged the toxin from his body. The injury caused earlier by the Blade of Indifference healed rapidly.
How could this be?
Observing carefully with the Sharingan, Anya finally understood—it was a form of body activation. The cells were multiplying at an insane rate. In such a state, the poison couldn't integrate into his system at all, naturally causing no real harm.
The Raikage continued, "Although your sword skills are good enough to pierce my flesh, they're nowhere near enough to kill me. You'd need a powerful Wind Jutsu for that."
Faced with the Raikage's mocking advice, Anya didn't feel like arguing back. The truth was, he didn't even know a single Wind Style move, and there was no way he could defeat the Raikage alone.
Though the Raikage could regenerate, there was an obvious flaw in this jutsu—it drained his physical strength with every use. Anya could clearly sense the Raikage had weakened slightly. Yet, one use of Sword Art: Draw Technique only achieved that level of effect. Given the Raikage's iron-like physique, he could probably endure at least ten similar attacks.
Anya deeply realized this truth—the Raikage was definitely his nemesis. Fighting him was like a tiger trying to bite through armor—only this armor came with spikes.
To defeat the Raikage, the only viable path was a long fight, dragging things out until his body's activation wore off. After all, while this jutsu granted power, it placed extreme demands on his body, making it impossible to maintain indefinitely. Judging from the Raikage's strong, energetic voice, he hadn't even warmed up yet.
Anya, however, was nearly spent. Quickly analyzing the current situation, he formed hand seals and called out, [Lightning Release: Shadow Clone, Phantom Sword Art].
As the lowest chakra-consuming and most bizarre damaging sword technique, Anya had spent a lot of time practicing it. This time, invisible [Blade Auras] slashed the Raikage from all directions.
"Hmph, useless," the Raikage snorted, electric blue arcs crackling around his body like an unbreakable fortress, effortlessly enduring the relentless assault without any effect whatsoever.
Meanwhile, Anya silently withdrew before rejoining the battlefield. The two sides clashed once again. With the arrival of the Raikage, the Kumo forces roared back with renewed vigor, turning the previously one-sided battle into an even match.
Fugaku engaged Daichi in fierce combat. Blue and green figures—Fugaku and Daichi—stood out prominently at the center of the battlefield. This was the first stage of Susanoo. Clearly, Daichi was quite formidable, placing considerable pressure on Fugaku.
As for Killer Bee, he was now locked in battle with the small squad that had come with him. Unexpectedly, Haku emerged as the central fighter in this clash. Her Ice Release technique proved highly effective against Killer Bee, giving him significant trouble. Whether defending or attacking, she remained composed and precise. Shisui, considered the strongest among them, had finally met his match. His genjutsu had no effect on Killer Bee, and his swordsmanship wasn't enough to overpower him either. He could only assist from the sidelines, using the Body Flicker Technique to coordinate attacks with the other two. Yugao, whose blade skills had improved significantly after some training under Anya in Konoha, barely managed to keep up with Killer Bee's pace and appeared evenly matched—making it hard to determine a clear winner in the short term.
The battle had entered a close-quarters phase, with casualties occurring every second. Without hesitation, Anya dashed straight toward Killer Bee, her Blade of Indifference slicing through the air in an elegant arc mid-flight.
Sensing the danger, Killer Bee instantly grew a tentacle to intercept the attack while twisting his body midair, landing steadily.
Seeing this, Anya did not pursue further and simply ordered the team, "Retreat."
"Yes."
After resolving the fight, Anya immediately activated Shunshin and rushed toward the most intense confrontation between the two others. Though they seemed evenly matched at first glance, Fugaku was destined to lose in the end. After all, Susanoo was a life-force-consuming technique—if the opponent couldn't be defeated quickly, prolonged combat would drain him until he collapsed completely.
The Raikage's son, whose name was Daichi, felt an immediate surge of danger as Anya arrived. That terrifying blade strike was still burned into his mind. However, on the battlefield, he would not retreat. Activating the same Lightning Armor as the Raikage, a brighter blue glow surrounded him, and his hair stood straight up—he clearly intended to fight to the death.
What an idiot.
Anya had absolutely no intention of engaging him directly. Upon arriving, she formed hand seals and called out, [Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu].
A massive wave of flames surged forward, momentarily startling the Raikage's son. The fire struck the ground on purpose, missing him completely!
The flames hit vulnerable ground instead, kicking up enormous clouds of dust that separated the two fighters. Arriving beside Fugaku, Anya said, "Order the retreat now. I can't stall the Raikage for long—he'll soon realize something is off."
Fugaku, finally catching his breath, released his Susanoo, his eyes reverting to black. He nodded heavily before shouting, "Retreat!"
The Konoha ninja wasted no time retreating, moving back through the trenches they'd dug earlier, methodically setting off pre-placed traps to hinder any pursuit.
Inside the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, the Raikage already sensed something was wrong—why were the attacks becoming weaker? That initial slash had posed a serious threat, but since then, despite continued assault, even if dense and well-concealed, they only caused minor irritation without real damage.
He must realize he can't harm me like this. Could it be...a clone? Is he trying to escape?
Realizing he'd been tricked, the Raikage roared furiously, [Black Lightning!]
His self-developed Black Lightning Release erupted from his body, taking the form of a panther-shaped bolt of dark lightning. As soon as it left his body, it radiated outward in all directions. Anya's Lightning Release: Shadow Clone vanished instantly under this single blow. At the same time, the entire Darkness Approach technique disappeared completely.
The Raikage's figure reemerged onto the battlefield.
"Father, they're getting away! Should we chase them?" Raikage's son asked, running over.
Raikage glared intensely at the retreating Konoha ninja. After a brief pause, he finally shook his head and said, "We failed to seize the advantage in this battle. Now that we know what they're capable of, let's plan our next move first. This isn't the right time for a decisive fight."
With Mabui missing, Kumo reopened the Sunagakure front. At this moment, if they were to clash head-on with Konoha, Iwagakure might strike from behind—an attack that would put them in grave danger. It was a pity they hadn't uncovered that hidden threat sooner; otherwise, Konoha's forces wouldn't have withdrawn so smoothly.
[Just now, was that a genjutsu?] It didn't seem like one. If it had been anyone else, they'd have died trapped in the genjutsu by now. What a formidable young man! For the first time, Raikage actually felt fear—toward one person.
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