The earlier strike left Ringo Ameyuri both shocked and uncertain.
It was as if, in that moment, she truly grasped the weight behind the distant terms "First Hokage" and "Second Hokage"!
Darui was equally stunned.
The true strength of Lightning Release Chakra Mode lay in its balance of offense and defense.
In terms of defense alone, Lightning Release Chakra Mode wasn't much stronger than Ringo Ameyuri's Lightning Armor. Thus, the Second Hokage's Water Severing Wave had shattered his defenses in an instant.
Fortunately, Lightning Release Chakra Mode greatly enhanced his speed and agility, allowing him to dodge the attack's trajectory at the moment his defenses broke, escaping unscathed.
"Huff… huff…"
Panting heavily, Darui scanned his surroundings, still shaken.
Another attack like that, and he doubted he'd escape unharmed.
"Hey, you dead yet?"
Ringo Ameyuri's voice called from nearby.
Darui quickly replied, "I'm fine. You?"
"Got some injuries!" After a pause, Ringo Ameyuri asked, "Any ideas?"
Darui was blunt. "According to our Hidden Cloud records, the Hidden Leaf's Second Hokage was highly adept at countering Lightning Release techniques. Even our Second Raikage feared him. In this battlefield he's set up, we have no chance of winning!"
Ringo Ameyuri frowned. "Escape!?"
"It's our only option!" Darui emphasized, "Split up and flee. He can't intercept both of us at once—one of us is bound to get out!"
Using their voices, they pinpointed each other's rough positions. By breaking out in opposite directions, they figured even the Second Hokage, no matter how strong, couldn't stop both simultaneously!
"Alright!"
Ringo Ameyuri agreed without hesitation.
Darui shouted, "On my count of three! One, two… three!"
As his words fell, Ringo Ameyuri and Darui unleashed their full strength, bolting in opposite directions!
The Darkness Walking Technique's range had to be limited. If they could escape its bounds, they'd regain their vision.
With vision restored, they'd at least avoid being sitting ducks.
Swish.
Just then, Darui heard a rapidly approaching gust and thought, "Damn it, the Second Hokage's targeting me!"
Sure enough, the next moment, the Second Hokage appeared before him.
Meeting the Second's cold gaze, Darui's heart skipped a beat, but knowing he couldn't dodge, he braced to meet the attack.
Yet the Second didn't engage in prolonged combat. Instead, he closed in directly.
Then, a series of rapid crackling sounds followed. Darui looked down to see the Second's body covered in countless detonating explosive tags.
"What!?"
Darui's eyes widened.
Boom boom boom.
In an instant, relentless explosions engulfed him.
…
At the other end.
Hearing the seemingly endless blasts behind her, Ringo Ameyuri thought, "Looks like Darui's the unlucky one!"
She felt no schadenfreude, as Darui's presence could have alleviated some pressure. Now, with him drawing the Second Hokage's attention, she wasn't entirely confident in her own escape.
Swish.
Suddenly, just as Ringo Ameyuri was about to break free from the technique's range, a figure abruptly appeared, blocking her path.
Her expression froze as she gasped, "How!?"
Undoubtedly, the figure stopping her was none other than the Second Hokage, whom she thought Darui had distracted.
Already injured and caught off guard, she was overwhelmed in a single exchange. Her wounds worsened, and she was sent flying back into the Darkness Walking Technique's range.
Thud. Crashing heavily to the ground, Ringo Ameyuri coughed up a mouthful of blood, her Lightning Armor flickering as if it might collapse.
Wiping the blood from her lips, her face was grim.
She couldn't fathom how the Second Hokage, supposedly drawn away by Darui, had suddenly appeared before her.
Moreover, during their brief clash, he clearly had the chance to disarm her Lightning Blade Fang but chose not to, merely forcing her back into the technique's range.
"Damn it, does he think it doesn't matter whether I have the Lightning Blade or not?"
The thought filled her with both shock and rage.
…
At the other end, Darui, enduring countless explosive tags with Lightning Release Chakra Mode, finally broke free from the blasts, only to find himself forced back into the Darkness Walking Technique's range.
Unlike his unscathed dodge of the Water Severing Wave, he was now in a sorry state, with multiple blast and burn wounds.
Clearly, even the formidable Lightning Release Chakra Mode couldn't fully shield him from the Second Hokage's attack.
The surroundings fell silent again, save for the heavy panting of Ringo Ameyuri and Darui.
Hearing each other's breaths, both paused.
"You didn't escape either?"
"How are you still here?"
Realizing what had happened, they understood that both, despite splitting up, had been intercepted by the Second Hokage alone and forced back.
Ringo Ameyuri felt a wave of despair. "Is this the Second Hokage?"
She hadn't even seen his face clearly in this darkness, yet she was gravely injured, left helpless.
Darui sighed. "I'd always heard how powerful the Hidden Leaf's Second Hokage was, but facing him now, I realize how terrifying he truly is! If the Gold and Silver Brothers hadn't ambushed and mortally wounded him during the armistice ceremony, leading to his unexpected death, the shinobi world's history might have been entirely different!"
At that moment, Orochimaru's mocking voice rang out. "You two brats still have time for such musings! If you die by the Second Hokage's hand, I bet the Fourth Raikage and Fourth Mizukage will be furious. Who do you think they'll blame?"
Ringo Ameyuri exclaimed, "The Grass shinobi Shigenobu Tera!"
Darui shook his head. "No, he's definitely not from the Grass Village—someone's impersonating him! The Grass Village wouldn't dare provoke the Five Great Shinobi Villages like this!"
Swish.
Before Darui could finish, a gust of wind rushed toward him! His expression tightened, and he instinctively turned, only to see a hand wielding a kunai in the darkness, inches from his throat.
"It's over?"
The thought flashed through his mind.
But just then, the kunai's tip halted before his throat. Another hand emerged from the darkness, seizing the Second Hokage's wrist!