On the hill, Dodai's pupils trembled as he watched Li Anshi survive the Tailed Beast Bomb, and he couldn't help but take a step back.
"Lord Raikage!"
"Do not panic, Dodai," the Third Raikage said calmly. "Don't let this fellow intimidate you."
"He merely survived a Tailed Beast Bomb from the Eight-Tails. That is something I can do myself!"
"That's right! The last time the Eight-Tails rampaged, it was Lord Third who defeated it."
"Indeed, if it were Lord Raikage, accomplishing such a feat would be no trouble at all."
"After all, Lord Raikage is the 'Strongest Shield'!"
Hearing the Third Raikage's words, the emotions of the Jonin finally began to stabilize.
It was true. They had seen a ninja survive a Tailed Beast Bomb from the Eight-Tails before.
The Third Raikage standing before them was one such person.
Of course, they also knew that back then, Blue B was still young, and the power the rampaging Eight-Tails could unleash was a notch below what it was now.
Even so, with the Third Raikage's current abilities, surviving a Tailed Beast Bomb of that intensity was not a difficult task.
However, as everyone praised the Third Raikage, for some reason, they no longer mentioned that he was the "Strongest Spear," only that he was the "Strongest Shield."
In the minds of the Cloud ninjas, the "Strongest Spear" was the ultimate attack that could break through any defense.
Previously, the Third Raikage's "Hell Stab" was indeed what they considered the "strongest attack."
But after witnessing Li Anshi's daggers, they had elevated the attack power of his daggers to a level surpassing the Third Raikage's Hell Stab.
Therefore, the "Strongest Spear" in the ninja world now was Li Anshi's Little Li Flying Dagger.
The Third Raikage's "Strongest Shield" was still the strongest defense they had ever seen.
The Lightning Release Armor of his Lightning Release Chakra Mode raised the Third Raikage's defense to its limit; not even the Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb could harm him.
Before, the Cloud ninjas had debated which was stronger, the "Strongest Spear" or the "Strongest Shield."
After all, both were techniques of the Third Raikage himself, and they couldn't very well have him attack himself to test which was superior.
But now that the "Strongest Spear" had changed hands, the question of which was stronger had an answer.
The Third Raikage's "Strongest Shield" could not defend against the "Strongest Spear" of the Little Li Flying Dagger!
This point had already been decided in the last war with Konoha.
Li Anshi's daggers had not only shattered the Third Raikage's Hell Stab but had also pierced his Lightning Release Armor, striking his right chest.
If his Lightning Release Armor could have defended against Li Anshi's daggers, the Third Raikage would have entered the battlefield to fight him long ago. Why would he have let so many of his subordinates go to their deaths?
"Besides, have none of you noticed?"
Seeing that the surrounding Jonin had calmed down, the Third Raikage continued, "The scales of victory have already tipped in our favor!"
"This…"
The group of Jonin looked at Li Anshi, who was still on a killing spree in the distance, their faces filled with confusion.
They truly couldn't see how the Third Raikage had determined that the scales of victory were tipping in their favor.
"Do you think I'm speaking nonsense?"
"Or do you think I'm using lies to boost morale, to make my subordinates throw away their lives?"
The Third Raikage crossed his arms and snorted coldly. "How foolish."
"Look carefully. Is there something missing from Li Anshi?"
"This…"
Guided by the Third Raikage, the Jonin began to observe Li Anshi closely.
Soon, they noticed something they had previously overlooked.
Before, when Li Anshi had been fighting the Cloud ninjas, he had always carried a sealing scroll on his back.
All the Cloud ninjas present knew that the sealing scroll contained his weapons—a supply of over three thousand flying daggers.
If Li Anshi were allowed to throw all the daggers from that scroll, the Cloud ninjas wouldn't need to attack him anymore. Instead, they would have to pray that he stopped attacking them.
This time, the Cloud had mobilized just over three thousand ninjas to besiege Li Anshi.
Furthermore, most of these men were the elite of the Cloud Village.
If they weren't elites, they probably would have started fleeing the moment they saw Li Anshi mowing down ninjas like grass.
It was precisely because of this that the Cloud's battle plan against Li Anshi had always been focused on his supplies.
For Li Anshi, his flying daggers were no different from an ordinary ninja's chakra.
As long as Li Anshi ran out of daggers, there were Jonin in the Cloud Village who could kill him.
In fact, a few Jonin leading a dozen Chunin with good coordination could potentially take him down.
The only thing they hadn't anticipated was that the number of daggers Li Anshi carried on his person far exceeded their imagination.
By the time Li Anshi unsealed the scroll, the Cloud Village had already sacrificed more than three hundred ninjas.
Afterward, to pin him down, another three hundred had died to create a single opening for the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
"You've all noticed it, haven't you?"
"B's attack just now, although it failed to kill this Little Li Flying Dagger, it achieved an extremely important strategic objective."
"All of Li Anshi's reserve daggers have been completely destroyed by B."
"In other words, the Little Li Flying Dagger is now in his final frenzy!"
"As expected of Lord Raikage, your observation is so meticulous."
Hearing this, the Jonin sighed in admiration.
Compared to the Third Raikage, they were far too lacking in both strength and temperament.
"Then, Lord Raikage, these ninjas who are fleeing now, should we…" a Jonin asked.
For ninjas, when the battlefield commander had not yet issued an order to retreat, they had to fight to the death, no matter how terrified they were.
Anyone who fled would certainly be executed.
The ninjas of the ninja world, through the evolution of history, had become a distorted existence.
They wielded powerful strength but did not engage in production, surviving on the rewards from completed missions.
Thus, the livelihood of ninjas was completely controlled by the daimyo, nobles, and merchants who held various resources.
Once the daimyo and nobles felt that a ninja village was beyond their control, they would use various reasons to reduce that village's mission quota, forcing the village's ninjas to wage war externally to regain their share of missions.