Chapter 102: The Nemesis
"Is this...? The Four-Fingered Spear Hand???"
The Raikage's son felt like he was going crazy. A dog using his father's ultimate technique? He began to doubt his own sanity.
"But... your level is clearly not enough!"
He wanted to test just how strong Goldie was.
Lariat!
With a powerful elbow strike, the Raikage's son sent Goldie flying, but he was also forced to take a step back. He turned to Killer B, looking like he wanted to cry.
"B! It's real! It's really the old man's Four-Fingered Spear Hand!"
He was all too familiar with this extreme Lightning Style thrust—he had grown up getting beaten by it!
Killer B was about to say something when his dark expression suddenly changed.
The longsword on his back was drawn in an instant.
Clang!
With a loud clash, Killer B, holding his sword, stumbled back two steps, his right wrist slightly numb.
"What immense strength!"
Killer B looked to his right with shock in his eyes.
In a spot that had been empty a moment before, a human-sized green mantis now stood. Standing upright like a human was one thing, but it was bouncing rhythmically on its legs, its claws clenched into fists held in front of its chest, looking like a martial arts master.
"What the hell is this thing? Why was there no sign of its appearance?"
The Raikage's son frowned, unable to figure it out.
Any jutsu, even Body Flicker or invisibility, leaked some aura. But this strange mantis had appeared without a trace.
It was as if it had appeared out of thin air!
"Brother, Gyūki just told me... this mantis has space-time abilities!" Killer B suddenly said with a serious face.
The next moment, the Void Mantis vanished again.
It was smart enough not to clash head-on with the two powerful ninja. Instead, relying on its abilities, it circled Killer B and the Raikage's son, launching surprise attacks like an assassin from the void. to onlookers, it looked like a green blur frantically spinning around the two.
"This damn thing is annoying!"
Killer B's face was tense. His sword moved in a cold blur of light, but he couldn't touch the Void Mantis.
Several times, it looked like he was about to hit it, but its body would suddenly vanish into the void.
This was the troublesome nature of space-time abilities. When used offensively, it was even more exaggerated.
Even so, the Void Mantis could be considered the nemesis of the taijutsu-focused A-B brothers.
Suddenly, a cold light flashed in the Raikage's son's eyes. He vanished instantly, reappearing right in front of Kael on the Earth Dragon's back.
"Lightning Release: Lariat!"
His wrist seemed to turn into a blade, explosive lightning surging toward it, forming a blinding blue electric knife that stabbed straight at Kael.
The future Fourth Raikage was undoubtedly smart. He instantly realized that if he took out Kael, the summons would no longer be a threat.
Smart, yes. But what use was it?
Kael had long been prepared for speed-type ninja.
Since he chose to risk himself by entering the battlefield, he had naturally made preparations.
A brilliant ring of starlight ripples suddenly expanded around him. Like Nagato's Shinra Tensei, everything around him was repelled by this irresistible aura.
Tabby Cat's ability—Repulsion Aura!
The charging Raikage's son slammed headfirst into the starlight ripple. The next moment, he was sent flying backward. His backward speed couldn't even keep up with the expanding ripple, and he was hit repeatedly in mid-air, tumbling uncontrollably.
He rolled awkwardly on the ground for fifty meters before the circular ripple finally dissolved into starlight and faded.
Standing on the Earth Dragon's back, Kael looked down at the Raikage's son with a sneer.
I heard you're fast? I heard you cut off the Eight-Tails' horn with one hand? But you can't even touch me!
The Raikage's son climbed up from the ground, glaring at Kael in fury. His massive chest heaved violently, and Kael almost worried he might explode from anger.
Just then, a golden flash appeared.
Namikaze Minato suddenly materialized not far in front of the Raikage's son.
Compared to the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, who could be replaced, taking out the future Fourth Raikage would be a massive victory for Konoha.
He kicked off a thick tree trunk. Borrowing the rebound force, Minato shot forward with even greater speed. The Rasengan in his hand glowed white and spun wildly. In the next instant, he was in front of the Raikage's son, thrusting the Rasengan toward his chest.
After a barrage of attacks from Kael's summons, the Raikage's son was undoubtedly injured, and Minato seized the opportunity perfectly.
Although his body ached, the Raikage's son hadn't lost his combat capability. Facing Minato's strange, seal-less jutsu, he had no desire to test its power.
With a flash of lightning, he dodged the attack just as the Rasengan's force hit him.
But the moment he landed, a green figure eerily appeared behind him.
The Void Mantis turned its "palms" into blades, instantly channeling all its strength into a downward slash that created afterimages.
Five-Hit Lightning Combo!
Only then did Killer B's furious shout ring out.
"Brother, watch your back!"
Hearing the wind, the Raikage's son instinctively tilted his head.
Two curved blades pierced his Lightning Release Armor and cut deep into his left shoulder, sinking half a foot. Crimson blood gushed out but was instantly evaporated by the intense lightning as soon as it surfaced.
The next instant, the blue lightning around the Raikage's son exploded outward for several meters, paralyzing the Void Mantis and causing it to go limp.
"Got you! Annoying bug!"
His face twisted in pain, he grabbed the Void Mantis and lifted it high above his head, preparing to smash it into the ground.
"Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!"
This was a nintaijutsu technique, using his intensely trained physical strength combined with Lightning Style to inflict massive explosive damage on the enemy in his grasp.
But just before hitting the ground, the Void Mantis regained a tiny bit of control over its body. At the last moment, it used Void Slip to escape into the void.
BOOM!
An explosion rocked the ground. Centered on the Raikage's son, the earth within a dozen meters cracked open with a deafening roar. Rocks and debris flew everywhere, some large enough to snap surrounding trees in half, sending up clouds of dust as a swath of forest collapsed.