Gusion considered himself a standard Kage-level ninja. Killing the Raikage one-on-one was tough—after all, nothing beats speed in battle.
The Raikage's speed suppressed him completely. Outsiders might think they were equally fast, but that was only because neither's moves could be followed by the eye.
In reality, Gusion was usually on the defensive. Trying to catch up to the Raikage was nearly impossible.
Plus, Kumogakure's forces were strong—more elite ninja were arriving by the minute. If Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails jinchuriki, showed up, escape would become much harder.
With that in mind, Gusion sped up his attacks, his blade flashing cold as he shaved off the Raikage's chakra.
He activated the Soul Devourer ring's active skill, combined with Mazuko's passive, dealing true damage with each strike—cutting through the Raikage's Lightning Armor, absorbing soul energy.
For ninja, this meant absorbing some of their chakra.
Chakra and soul energy weren't identical, so the conversion wasn't perfect, and Gusion didn't gain much.
The Raikage felt Gusion draining his soul energy, but he wasn't shaken—he already knew about this strange ability.
Back in their earlier fight, this had been a problem, but with Killer Bee present, they could just let Gusion drain a bit; for the Eight-Tails' jinchuriki, a little chakra loss meant nothing.
But used against the Raikage alone, it was a problem—his chakra pool was large, but not on tailed beast level.
Sensing the Raikage struggling, Kumogakure's elite jonin launched lightning jutsu at Gusion.
"Idiots, stop!" the Raikage roared. He'd wanted to yell at Darui earlier, but the fight was too intense. Luckily, Gusion had been cautious about the unfamiliar black lightning and used a defense.
But the Raikage knew best—Gusion's terrifying kekkei genkai let him ignore lightning damage!
No, not just ignore—absorb it!
Boom—
Lightning hammered Gusion, shaking the village and shattering the ground. But Gusion walked out of the smoke unharmed.
Not only that, the soul energy he'd spent in the fight was now fully replenished by the lightning base jutsu.
"Don't use Lightning Release attacks on him! You young fools, don't you know why he's called the Calamity?!" the Raikage yelled, frustrated at the incompetence of Kumogakure's new generation. Gusion's story was in the history books!
"This is bad. Where's Lord Killer Bee?" Samui frowned. She realized standard Lightning Release ninja were useless here and only made things harder for the Raikage.
Against someone who could absorb Lightning Release, only overwhelming taijutsu could work.
That's why the Raikage, knowing full well about Gusion's abilities, still chose close combat—only with Lightning Chakra Mode and top-tier taijutsu could he possibly win.
Long-range lightning attacks would just recharge Gusion.
Gusion emerged from the smoke, rolled his neck, and cracked his joints, grinning with sharp white teeth as he stared around at the surrounding ninja. "Feels good. Keep going."
His earlier defense against Darui's attack hadn't been to confuse Kumogakure's ninja—he just didn't know what Darui was using and played it safe.
After all, Darui was a Storm Release user; if it had been Storm Release, it might have hurt him.
Well, maybe only a little—he was now maxed out on defense, so young Darui's jutsu probably couldn't break through.
Mostly, he just didn't want his new clothes dirtied.
Under the confused stares of the Raikage and others, Gusion not only pulled out Mazuko, but changed his prison uniform into a black cloak—making people suspect he had space-time ninjutsu.
"You bastard!" the Raikage roared, charging forward. At this point, it wasn't about winning or losing—Gusion's power was a direct threat to the village. The Raikage had to kill him, fast.
As Mazuko and the Raikage's steel arm clashed, lightning enveloped them both and their eyes met—Gusion's gaze held both battle lust and a hint of regret.
While A was confused, lightning surged around Gusion, and suddenly, lightning from above bombarded the elite ninja surrounding him.
"Stop!" the Raikage shouted—most Kumogakure ninja weren't that tough. Even a casual blast from Gusion could cripple or kill regular ninja.
Even elite Lightning Release users, if directly hit, might be maimed for life.
But Gusion wasn't about to listen. The gloves were off—if he wanted to break out, these people were now all potential enemies.
Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself. Sensing a powerful presence approaching likely Killer Be, Gusion knew he couldn't drag this out.
The furious Raikage pushed his Lightning Armor to the limit, dashing around like a bolt of lightning.
Now, even Gusion's dynamic vision couldn't keep up. He could only rely on Haki to sense and predict attacks.
He fought while retreating, aiming for the weakest point in the encirclement. Once out of the village, he could choose to advance or retreat at will.
Of course, it wasn't just that he wanted to fight the Raikage—if he simply wanted to run, he could've pretended to agree and then left.
He fought the Raikage to plant a seed, hoping it would bring future benefits.
"Can't think of new rhymes, I'm troubled—rushing to the scene just as the message doubles—the Raikage's office has crumbled—now I mourn for the trouble—"
A figure approached, leaping from rooftop to rooftop—Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails jinchuriki and the Raikage's brother.
Unlike Konoha, Kumogakure didn't discriminate as much against jinchuriki. Killer Bee, as a perfect jinchuriki and war hero, was fully accepted by the village.
With the Raikage locked in battle, Killer Bee's arrival calmed the people.
"Bee! Use your tentacles to block his escape!" the Raikage shouted, not caring if it was two against one.
Gusion saw Bee's arrival and sighed—the fun was over.
He couldn't possibly take on both the Raikage and Killer Bee, especially with other potential threats hidden in the village.
His goal was achieved, so he prepared to retreat, using Shunpo to leap into the sky and break out.
The Raikage wasn't letting him go. As Gusion tried to escape, the Raikage pursued, aiming a Lightning Lariat at his neck—planning to decapitate him with speed.
Just as the Raikage's arm reached Gusion's neck, Gusion vanished from his sight.
At the same time, a huge sense of danger hit the Raikage. He instinctively jumped away at top speed.
His instincts were correct—Gusion had teleported behind him using Cloud Step, slashing at his neck.
If he got the chance to kill the Raikage, Gusion wouldn't hesitate—killing him would net at least 10% world exploration, maybe even an epic loot box.
The Raikage's quick thinking saved him—he dodged the fatal blow, but not completely.
The sharp blade cut through his right leg below the knee, severing it completely!
"Aniki!"
Killer Bee, seeing this, cried out in shock and anger. He half-transformed, using several tentacles to block Gusion's path, preventing a follow-up attack.
He also threw two swords at Gusion's face, charging up a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Bee, don't use that move!" the Raikage shouted, cauterizing his wound with lightning to stop the bleeding.
This was Kumogakure—using a Tailed Beast Bomb would be disastrous.
Gusion faced Bee's tentacles, slashing them apart with a Mountain-Crushing blow, paralyzing Bee with electricity for a moment.
He dodged the thrown blades and leapt skyward, fleeing toward the village outskirts.
The ninja on the ground could only watch as Gusion ran through the air—they couldn't fly, and Lightning Release attacks would only recharge him.
Bee, worried for his brother, missed his chance to chase, watching helplessly as Gusion got away.
"You idiot, Bee! Why didn't you chase him?!" the Raikage pounded the ground in anger. "Do you realize what kind of person we just let go?!"
"Your leg…" Bee said quietly, staring at the severed stump. For the world-famous Raikage, losing a leg was a huge blow.
"It's fine. The cut is clean, and I stopped the bleeding. The medical team can reattach it," A replied, not wanting to blame Bee for his concern.
"Calamity… was he really this dangerous? Eight years ago, he wasn't this strong…" Bee muttered, looking at Gusion's escape route, heavy-hearted.
Though A said the leg could be reattached, Bee knew it would never be the same—there would always be aftereffects.
Maybe somewhere in the world there was a medic ninja who could fix his brother's leg perfectly, but Kumogakure didn't have such a person.