Chapter 110: Final Battle with the Third Raikage, Opening the Gate of Death
"They're coming!"
Sure enough, the Third Raikage once again appeared within Li Yao's five-kilometer chakra sensing range, sprinting toward him at high speed. The giant summoning eagle followed above.
"How are they still tracking me?"
Even now, Li Yao didn't know how the Third Raikage's team kept locking onto his location.
There had been multiple times when he was sure he'd shaken them.
Yet without fail, they would always find him again shortly after.
After so many encounters, Li Yao realized his abilities weren't enough to shake them off. He had only one option left: eliminate the ones tracking him.
"Come then. If I'm dying today, I'll make sure you suffer too."
Li Yao focused, channeling acupoint chakra into the final gate of this body—the Gate of Death.
This was his only choice. By opening the Gate of Death, he could unleash a massive surge of chakra and push his body and reflexes beyond their limits. Only then would he have the power to fight the Third Raikage head-on.
Otherwise, with his current chakra reserves, he wasn't even qualified to go all out.
The Third Raikage countered him perfectly.
Against the Third Hokage, that dead monkey, Li Yao could at least hold his ground with a single Iron Chain Rasengan.
The Hokage's attacks couldn't break through his defense.
But the Raikage—who could—was also much faster than him, leaving him no room to maneuver.
He stood no chance without unleashing the Gate of Death, sacrificing his body to shatter all physical and neural limits.
Three kilometers.
Two kilometers.
One kilometer.
The Raikage reached the mountaintop on the eastern side of the valley, locking eyes with Li Yao standing below. A strange chill ran through him.
Turning quickly to Damaokelisi and the others atop the eagle, he ordered, "You stay here. Don't come any closer. I'll deal with Li Yao myself."
For someone who had been fleeing until now to suddenly stop—he was clearly ready for a final battle.
The Raikage had never underestimated Li Yao. The four elite subordinates he brought along proved just how seriously he took this pursuit.
That terrifying genjutsu aside, Li Yao had once erupted with power comparable to Mito Uzumaki when he escaped Konoha.
It had clearly been a secret technique with a short duration.
But even for a short time, that kind of map-wiping power could kill anyone except himself.
To keep his team safe, the Raikage decided to fight alone.
"Boss..." Kafu hesitated.
As one of the Raikage's guards, he didn't want to see his leader take risks.
Li Yao's current behavior was obviously abnormal—he didn't want the Raikage rushing in recklessly.
"This is an order," the Raikage said firmly, silencing all objections. Then he charged down the mountain toward Li Yao.
Kafu and the others looked at each other, sighed, and landed on the mountaintop, ready to intervene if needed.
Crunch— Li Yao bit down on two soldier pills and swallowed them.
Sensing the Raikage's rapid approach, he focused and completely released the chakra seal on the Gate of Death.
"Gate of Death... Open!"
BOOOOM...
Instantly, the rocky ground beneath Li Yao cracked like a spiderweb. A torrent of blood-red chakra exploded from his body, forming a powerful shockwave.
Hssssss... His skin tore from the overwhelming internal pressure, and blood mixed with chakra sprayed out like a red mist.
Strong!
Too strong!
Li Yao's face twisted uncontrollably.
Unsealing the Gate of Death was far more terrifying than any previous gate.
It felt like his body had cast off all its restraints, fully unleashing its hidden potential.
Both spiritual and physical energy surged from the depths of his cells and soul, naturally fusing into massive chakra without conscious control.
The chakra volume was so vast that, for the first time, Li Yao's consciousness couldn't completely merge with all of it.
"So... even my awareness has limits..."
The overflowing chakra he couldn't control poured out, placing tremendous strain on his body.
Thump-thump-thump... His heart beat furiously like a balloon on the verge of bursting.
Body, mind, and soul—everything was running at overload, any moment from exploding.
But in return, the power he gained was overwhelming.
In that moment, Li Yao's perception entered bullet time.
The Raikage's lightning-fast movements now looked like slow motion. Every step, every twitch of muscle, was clearly visible.
With just a slight stomp, Li Yao's foot shattered the ground as if a boulder had crashed down.
Powerful—
Unprecedentedly powerful!
"Heaven above, Earth below... I alone am supreme!"
This thought surfaced in Li Yao's mind.
Blood mist sprayed from his mouth as he laughed—calmly.
This feeling of absolute control brought him a strange serenity.
"So this is it... the Eight Gates Technique!"
While advancing, the Raikage saw the blood-colored chakra erupting from Li Yao and instantly realized the technique.
Indeed, only the legendary Eight Gates, said to grant power surpassing Kage-level when fully opened, could explain Li Yao's brief clash with Mito Uzumaki.
But... wasn't opening all eight gates certain death?
A trace of doubt flickered in the Raikage's eyes—
Then vanished.
He suddenly remembered—Li Yao's body had inherited Wood Release.
Wood chakra possessed immense vitality. The First Hokage could heal almost any wound instantly because of it.
Li Yao had that same vitality.
Even if he wasn't as powerful as Hashirama, he might still survive the backlash of the Eight Gates.
Still... no matter how tough he was, the burden wouldn't disappear.
Opening the Eight Gates again in such a short time—
Even if he escaped, could he survive?
Staring at Li Yao, shrouded in red chakra in the middle of the valley, with a calm expression on his twisted face, the Raikage chuckled.
"So this is your resolve, Li Yao."
"Then let's finish this!"
Believing he had seen through Li Yao's intent for a final stand, the Raikage felt his long-dormant fighting spirit ignite again. In a world without Hashirama and Madara, few could stir such excitement.
Yet this teenager—Li Yao—had done it.
Though he hated to admit it, Li Yao was now the strongest of the new generation.
And the Raikage accepted that.
So he would end that strongest youth right here.
"Hell Stab…"
BOOM! At 500 meters, the Raikage's speed surged. He raised his right hand, one finger extended—his strongest spear: One-Fingered Hell Stab.
"Fast!"
"But not fast enough."
Li Yao remained calm.
Before, he couldn't even react to this attack.
But now... he even had time to smirk and clap his hands together—
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
FWOOOOOM!
Massive Wood Release chakra surged into the earth. Huge trees erupted from the ground, towering dozens of meters high and filling the valley and the surrounding kilometer.
Li Yao wasn't just targeting the Raikage—he was aiming at Damaokelisi and the others on the mountaintop as well.
Still, most of his attention remained fixed on the Raikage.
(END CHAPTER)
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