Arata wasn't completely unscathed.
The Raikage's strikes were all layered with Lightning Release chakra, and that was something even elementalization couldn't fully slip past.
Fortunately, his Armament Haki absorbed most of the impact.
Aside from a couple bruises, nothing had pierced his skin.
Hearing Arata's bold claim, the Third Raikage—under normal circumstances—would have snorted in contempt.
But after fighting this long, he had no choice but to admit the truth.
"Originally, I thought your speed came from mimicking our Thunder Style Armor. But now I see I was mistaken. Your jutsu surpasses it. Your speed… really is the fastest in the world."
Doell, still covering him from afar, froze in shock.
The Third Raikage was famous for his pride—
there were many legendary Kage-level figures he dismissed outright.
Take Zōshirō, the Kage-class swordsman Arata had slain earlier—
the Third Raikage once bragged he could kill Zōshirō within ten exchanges.
For someone like him to genuinely praise Arata…
it proved just how overwhelming Arata's strength was.
What neither the Raikage nor Doell knew was that Arata still hadn't gone all out.
He was holding back, keeping something in reserve.
Meanwhile, the Third Raikage had already committed everything—Thunder Style Armor at full output—and still lost in pure speed.
From this point onward, the Raikage would almost certainly be on the defensive.
Arata didn't get arrogant at the compliment.
Instead, he answered honestly:
"You're impressive yourself. Among all the Kage today… you're the strongest."
In the current era, most major villages had already reached their third-generation Kage.
Only Sunagakure was still on its second, and even that one rarely appeared.
Of all the Third Kage,
Ōnoki was still developing and had only recently mastered Dust Release.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was called "The Professor," but most of his battles ended in stalemates, not victories.
The Third Mizukage barely appeared in any records.
And only the Third Raikage boasted an overwhelming, battle-scarred history—
defeating multiple Kage-level enemies, subduing the Eight-Tails himself, and overpowering both Ōnoki and Hiruzen in direct clashes.
Hearing Arata's praise, the Third Raikage's expression hardened.
"Even the strongest Kage can't match you. Your potential is boundless. Which is exactly why you must die here today. Even if I must rely on numbers—I cannot let you walk away!"
The strongest Kage of his generation had already laid all his cards on the table, and Arata hadn't even drawn his blade yet.
When the Raikage's words fell, he lunged forward again—
faster than before, Lightning Style on his body deepening to a dark blue sheen.
He was fighting with everything he had.
"Lightning Style—Hell Stab: One-Finger Ultimate!"
His right hand extended, only the index finger thrusting forward.
The motion looked weightless, but the ground split open behind it in a deep ravine.
The air itself shrieked under the pressure, leaving a towering blue shockwave in its wake.
And when the jutsu locked onto Arata—
he felt something he hadn't felt in a long time:
An attack he couldn't dodge.
For a single instant, the Third Raikage's speed matched his own.
The four-finger Hell Stab had already cracked Arata's Armament Haki earlier.
This one-finger version carried far more piercing force.
He would need something real to counter it.
At that moment, Arata stopped holding back.
His hand closed around the hilt of his short blade.
As the Raikage's strike closed in,
Arata felt a strange stillness wash over him—as though the world around him had been muted.
The Raikage could tell Arata was drawing his ultimate jutsu—but by now, there was no way to stop himself.
He had already committed. He could only drive forward.
And then—
just as everything reached the breaking point—two massive crimson chakra spheres formed a kilometer behind Arata.
The swirling orbs condensed instantly…
and launched straight toward him at horrifying speed.
Arata's Mind Net sensed them long before they fully formed.
That was why his hand was on his blade.
These were no ordinary techniques.
They were Tailed Beast Bombs.
Which meant Kumogakure's Eight-Tails and Two-Tails had finally arrived.
When the Raikage spoke earlier of a "numbers advantage,"
these two attacks were exactly what he meant.
Arata whispered:
"Iaido—Draw-Cut."
With a low breath, his blade flashed free—
so fast that even the Third Raikage caught only the faint trace of an after-image.
A full ring of blue slashing force erupted outward,
expanding in all directions.
The Raikage was the closest target.
If he didn't evade, the cut would slice him clean in half—
and even his Thunder Style Armor wouldn't save him.
In that split-second, the Third Raikage made a brutal decision.
He twisted his torso midair—
turning what would have been a bisecting strike into a cut that severed only his left arm.
At the same moment, his One-Finger Hell Stab pierced Arata's torso.
A thunderous crack split the air—
the Raikage's severed arm hit the ground, blood spraying everywhere.
But he had landed the hit.
The finger-sized puncture exploded outward,
blasting away half of Arata's body in a burst of pressure.
Behind them, the two Tailed Beast Bombs closed in—
but Arata's Iaido slash split both in half, triggering their detonation a hundred meters away.
The Raikage didn't stop to recover his severed limb.
He darted aside immediately.
Because—
The half-destroyed Arata
regenerated instantly.
His body restored in a heartbeat,
he shot straight upward into the sky.
And then—
Two devastating explosions slammed into the battlefield.
The twin Tailed Beast Bombs detonated,
rocking the entire region.
A pair of nuclear-scale shockwaves engulfed nearly two kilometers in burning crimson light.
Dust and wind blasted outward.
Even ten kilometers away, the towering explosions were clearly visible.
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