Chapter 144: A Clash of Titans
The battlefield had fractured into three distinct duels. While Suigetsu and Jūgo engaged Darui and C, the central conflict raged between Ren Uchiha and the Fourth Raikage.
Their fight was a brutal exchange of speed and power. Fists met in concussive impacts that sent shockwaves through the rocky terrain. Ren, augmented by his chakra and the Sharingan's predictive capabilities, matched the Raikage blow for blow. But the Raikage was a force of nature, his every strike reinforced by the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, making his taijutsu devastating.
**CRACK!**
A particularly powerful exchange ended with the Raikage being thrown backward, his body skidding across the ground before crashing to a halt. He pushed himself up, a snarl on his face, more enraged than injured.
"Nani?! Lord Raikage!" C gasped from the sidelines, unable to believe his eyes. The invincible image of his leader had been visibly challenged.
Ren shook his hands, his knuckles stinging and his arms numb. *This monster... His raw physical power is immense. Matching him purely with taijutsu is draining. It's time to change tactics.*
A grim smile touched Ren's lips. A sinister, grey-white chakra began to emanate from his body, swirling around him like a spectral flame.
The Raikage rose to his full height, his fury igniting the air around him. The lightning enveloping his body intensified, crackling with such ferocity that his hair stood completely on end, giving him a wild, superhuman appearance. The ground at his feet began to fracture from the sheer pressure of his chakra.
"You... you damn brat!" he roared, his voice echoing like thunder. "I'll grind you to dust!"
He became a blur. Enhanced by his rage and lightning to even greater speeds, he closed the distance in an instant. His right arm, now a concentrated vortex of lightning, cocked back before hammering down toward Ren with apocalyptic force. "Raiton: Rairyū Baku!" (Lightning Style: Heavy Current Burst)
It was a technique designed to pulverize anything it touched.
But Ren didn't dodge. As the fist descended, the grey-white chakra around him solidified in a flash, forming a skeletal ribcage that enveloped him completely—the first stage of the Susanoo.
**BOOM!!!**
The Raikage's fist connected with the spectral ribs. The sound was not of breaking bone, but of an immense force meeting an unyielding object. The ground beneath Ren's feet cratered deeply, but he stood firm within his protective shell. A web of fine cracks spread across the ribs where the punch had landed, but they held.
The Raikage's eyes widened in shock. He had put his full power into that blow, a strike that could level a small fortress. Yet, this Uchiha had stopped it with a mere chakra construct.
Inside the protective cage of bone, Ren looked out at the stunned Raikage, his Mangekyō Sharingan glowing with cold triumph. The dynamic of the fight had just irrevocably shifted.
"You rely on brute force, Raikage," Ren's voice echoed from within the Susanoo, calm and mocking. "But power without finesse is meaningless. Allow me to demonstrate the true pinnacle of the Uchiha's might."
The skeletal ribs began to expand, more chakra flowing from Ren's body to construct the next stage of the legendary warrior. The Raikage took a cautious step back, for the first time that day, on the defensive.
The leader of the Clouds was facing a power he had only heard of in legends, and the Uchiha who wielded it was just getting started.
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