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"Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite!"
Dazzling lightning pierced through the rain, covering dozens of meters in an instant.
However, just as he was about to pierce Tsunade, a sudden burst of smoke completely engulfed the Third Raikage.
With a rumble, he felt his body completely burrow into a special, viscous, gelatinous substance, and the Lightning Release Chakra enveloping his entire body was constantly corroded by a highly corrosive bodily fluid.
What appeared before everyone was a gigantic blue-white slug, over thirty meters tall, almost completely covering the entire forest clearing.
Tsunade, covered in Sealing Technique patterns from the Yin Seal, crouched on its head and shouted,
"Lady Katsuyu!"
"Please seal this guy as much as possible."
"Mmm."
From the mouth of this impossibly huge and terrifying monster beneath her came an exceptionally gentle and magnetic female voice, with a hint of helplessness:
"Lady Tsunade, I might not be able to hold him for long."
"Bang--"
No sooner had she spoken than the figure, wreathed in lightning, suddenly burst out from the other side of its body.
Acidic Chakra still clung to the surface of the Lightning Release armor, entwined with a large amount of rising acid mist, making a faint 'sizzle' sound.
However, this minor issue did not impede the Third Raikage's speed at all.
The only fortunate thing was that Mokume Kodachi's large-scale Earth Release had already been completed.
Almost as soon as he emerged from Katsuyu's body, the Third Raikage's figure had already fallen into a dozens-of-meters-deep pit, like an abyss.
It landed with a dull 'boom'.
"Damn it!"
Tsunade didn't have time to say more, stepping directly on Katsuyu's body, she ran quickly towards the Third Raikage.
However, one figure was several times faster than her.
"Whoosh--"
Ando Oyama, with a scroll in his mouth, rushed towards the stone wall below with extreme speed, simultaneously drawing the twin blades from his waist.
Few people knew that his speed was the fastest in the entire Tsunade Squad.
"Konoha Style: Willow!"
The genjutsu woven from sword light entered his vision, but the Third Raikage, who had just landed, merely sneered dismissively.
On the surface of his wild, long hair, only a 'crackling' flash of lightning appeared, completely dispelling the visual genjutsu.
Immediately after, he once again charged forward like a fierce beast.
"Bang!"
Gravel splash.
However, Ando Oyama merely narrowed his eyes, dodged sideways, and swung his blade with the momentum.
A violent crackle of lightning scorching the air brushed past his ear, and a thick, dark arm almost grazed his cheek, bringing a subtle stinging sensation.
The wind howled, and two katanas simultaneously slashed at his strong chest, their bodies brushing past with the momentum.
"Creak--"
The blade, wrapped in Wind Release Chakra, cut through flesh, but only a sound like metal colliding was heard, and two sparks mixed with lightning quickly extinguished.
Harder than I imagined?
Before he could think further, another horizontally swinging arm, like a giant axe, descended diagonally from above.
"Boom!"
The moment he dodged, it suddenly landed on the ground, splitting open a mark several meters long.
"Very good speed!"
The Third Raikage's praise was unbearably heavy: "But, it's not enough."
Almost the instant his words fell, the arm pressed against the ground already supported his strong body, and he spun like a windmill, sweeping Ando Oyama away with one leg, sending him tumbling and crashing over ten meters.
"Heavenly Foot!"
He perfectly seized the timing, and the instant before Tsunade landed, his figure swept across.
"Rumble!"
The extremely explosive attack left a pit covering an area of over ten meters deep underground.
"What remarkable talent."
The Third Raikage looked at this scene, a smile appearing on his face: "Just by mastering the technique, you've recreated a third of 'that person''s ability from back then?"
"But it's a pity!"
Suddenly, his already wild and unrestrained lightning armor, under the surge of Chakra, expanded several times more than the previous second, and his voice was stern:
"Even if 'that person' were still alive, he wouldn't necessarily dare to say he could break through this old man's defense with just his fists and feet!"
"Little girl, what are you?!"
No sooner had he spoken than his speed suddenly increased to its limit.
The impact that burst forth in an instant formed a brilliant stream of light in front of the two of them, heading straight towards Tsunade.
"Dodge!"
However, before Tsunade could directly take on this attack, she heard Ando Oyama's extremely solemn voice in her ear.
At this warning, Tsunade instinctively rolled to the other side.
"Pfft—!"
The next moment, the dull thud of flesh being pierced by a heavy object echoed in her ears.
The lightning-hardened Nukite, like steel, accurately pierced Ando Oyama's abdomen.
Blood gushed out.
However, this man, who resembled a samurai more than a Ninja, revealed a grim smile on his face.
"Rip!"
The scroll in his mouth was suddenly bitten open.
The Third Raikage's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he instinctively wanted to shake him off.
"Clatter!"
Black water, entirely composed of Sealing Technique patterns, shot out in all directions like raindrops, and his arms tightly gripped the Third Raikage's wrists.
Ando Oyama, blood in his mouth, almost roared:
"Everything, for Konoha!"
Tsunade stared at him blankly, her eyes wide.
"Hah!"
However, these fragile arms and body simply could not control the Third Raikage's body, which was even more terrifying than a Tailed Beast.
With just a pull and a tear, Ando Oyama, who had put everything into gaining a single opportunity, was torn in half like a piece of paper, his severed limbs flung aside.
Then, his figure retreated rapidly.
Until the very last moment, this man stared intently at him.
But he could only see his figure leaping away like lightning.
"Buzz!!"
"Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique."
A black sphere instantly swallowed all matter within a ten-meter radius centered on Ando Oyama.
In just a moment, the surroundings turned into a 'void'.
Also in that blink of an eye, a person who once existed left not a single fragment behind.
"Hoo, hoo."
The Third Raikage looked at the hemispherical blank space on the ground with lingering fear.
That kind of Sealing Technique just now wasn't something a so-called sturdy Chakra armor or a strong body could withstand.
The Ninja of Konoha truly couldn't be underestimated.
"Bastard!"
However, before he could recover, Tsunade had already charged towards him as if her life depended on it.
"Bang!"
Four palms met.
The 'Super Strength' constructed by the immense amount of Chakra accumulated from the technique and the Yin Seal, clashed with the innate strength of a body tempered by countless life-and-death battles.
Despite the terrifying size difference between the two, they were in an almost eerily stalemated state in this struggle.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak--"
The constantly rising Chakra even caused the fine gravel and dust beneath their feet to float upwards.
Watching this scene quietly within his perception range, Kato Dan, crouching behind a tree trunk, kept his hands in a hand seal posture, his eyes tightly closed.
He had waited so long, just for this moment!
"Spirit Transformation Technique!"
The suddenly erupting Chakra transformed into a pillar of fire, as if completely igniting his entire body.
Under this convergence of extreme spiritual energy, Kato Dan, in a completely ethereal soul state, immediately shot out from his body.
Formless, intangible, soundless, traceless.
Even special Dojutsu couldn't observe him in his soul state with the naked eye.
However, in his vision, everything became incredibly clear.
But in this state, he couldn't last too long either.
So...
"Die!"
No one could say how fast a soul was.
Even in Kato Dan's own perception, his soul only penetrated the distance of over two hundred meters in an instant, completely immersing itself into the Third Raikage's strong body.
Invasion, confusion, strangulation.
As the supreme technique in the soul domain, the Spirit Transformation Technique possessed ultimate power far exceeding mental domain techniques like the Mind Body Switch, directly affecting the enemy's mind.
The Third Raikage's body suddenly stiffened.
The moment she sensed this detail, Tsunade's eyes immediately lit up.
Dan, succeeded!?
However, this thought had just popped into her mind...
"Heh."
The Third Raikage's lips slowly curled into a smile.
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle--"
In the spiritual world that Tsunade couldn't see.
The moment he, in his soul state, completely invaded the Third Raikage's spiritual domain.
In Kato Dan's soul vision, a giant sealing array appeared, spreading out like a spiderweb in all directions, completely covering his entire brain.
Almost the moment he, in his spiritual form, charged forward, this massive seal immediately ignited his soul.
"Oh no!"
Souls have no pain.
However, the fear of losing nearly half of his spiritual energy in an instant, swallowed all of Kato Dan's instincts in the blink of an eye.
"Bang."
The next moment, his Spirit Transformation body was immediately ejected from this body.
"Guh ahh--"
The wail from deep within the distant forest was so painful.
Tsunade's movements involuntarily paused.
"Hmph, hmph hmph hahaha..."
Watching this scene, the Third Raikage immediately burst into uncontrollable laughter as if he had found an interesting toy, shaking his head with a hint of helplessness: "You guys, you wouldn't think this old man came into a trap so carelessly alone without making any preparations, would you?"
Tsunade stared straight at him, but didn't notice that her face had already turned pale.
The Third Raikage kicked her away with a bang, a smirk on his lips: "You must be thinking now, why would this old man have such a rare soul defense technique on him, right?"
His smile grew more disdainful, yet he recounted everything: "Some (emphasis) of your Konoha higher-ups, for merely twenty million ryo, casually handed us intelligence that our spies spent countless efforts to obtain."
"From your missions, numbers, personnel composition, and even the trump card of Kato Dan, everything was meticulously told to us."
"So, from the patrol units, to the outpost locations, and even the techniques on this old man, everything was prepared in advance."
"Only that kid who used the Sealing Technique just now was a small surprise."
"Ha."
"This old man simply doesn't understand."
"What exactly are you fighting for?"
Every word that came from the Third Raikage's mouth was like a heavy blow to Tsunade's heart.
By the end, her face was completely devoid of color.
Tsunade desperately told herself in her heart that all of this was merely the Third Raikage, an enemy, launching a psychological attack on her.
However, everything she had experienced these past few days told her otherwise.
"—Is all of this true?"
The Third Raikage looked at her expression of self-doubt, and the smile on his face grew more malicious.
He heard the distant wailing gradually subside, and then suddenly noticed a faint dampness sliding down his nose.
The soul seal jutsu in his mind had disappeared.
Clearly, Kato Dan's desperate attack was not without any effect.
He narrowed his eyes.
If he took another hit by accident, something serious would truly happen.
Out of this apprehension, he immediately shook off his opponent and made a decision.
Suddenly, his figure abruptly transformed into a dazzling bolt of lightning, leaping with a roar from dozens of meters underground, and shooting towards the direction from which the sound came.
Tsunade was a beat late, then suddenly woke up and chased after his retreating figure with all her might.
However, she couldn't catch up to the Third Raikage's figure at all.
"Stop!"
Mokume Kodachi, who was guarding above, drew his short blade, but in a one-on-one situation, his situation was not much better than Ando's.
In just five or six short exchanges, he was struck by a heavy elbow to the abdomen, and his entire body seemed to split open as he crashed to the ground, blood continuously gushing from his mouth.
Lightning flowed.
At this moment, Kato Dan was struggling to endure the intense pain emanating from deep within his soul, enduring the metallic taste of rust constantly gushing from his nose and mouth, yet still, with a life-or-death resolve, he painfully raised his Kunai towards the direction from which the lightning shot.
However, what lay before him was a bleak blur.
His consciousness was constantly draining away through the wound in his soul.
But, his hands still maintained the hand seals for the Spirit Transformation Technique.
Even if life was about to end, he had to use his last strength, his last...
Unfortunately, before he could even unleash this life-burning strike.
"Lightning Release: Lariat!"
In Kato Dan's gradually fading consciousness, this familiar voice resonated.
This moment before death seemed to be stretched out very long.
But Kato Dan found that he couldn't think of anything anymore.
However, a strong sense of shame and apology still lingered in his heart.
Sorry, Tsunade.
"Swoosh--"
In an instant, a hand blade, entirely formed of blazing lightning, cut him in half at the waist, severing him into two pieces.
Blood splattered everywhere.
The necklace with the blue crystal quietly fell to the ground.
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