Caught off guard, the Eight-Tails jinchuriki staggered and fell heavily to the ground, leaving a deep imprint.
But he quickly recovered, his tails thrashing wildly, lashing out at Kaito.
Kaito met them with his fists, each punch blasting away a significant amount of the chakra from the tails.
The more he fought, the more fired up he became, finally pinning the Eight-Tails jinchuriki to the ground, unable to get up.
A flurry of relentless punches rained down, making the Eight-Tails jinchuriki howl in agony.
The Third Raikage tried to come to his aid, but after taking a few punches, he met the same fate as the jinchuriki.
Seeing the Raikage's side being unilaterally beaten, Nawaki and his group, who had originally planned to watch from the sidelines, could no longer stand by.
"Kaito is too strong! We have to help the Raikage and the others!" Fugaku said.
"Right. My Sage Mode is ready," Nawaki said, clenching his fists. "Minato, I'm counting on you."
"Got it. Get ready!" Minato activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, teleporting them all near Kaito.
Nawaki leaped into the air, quickly forming hand seals as a violent wind-style jutsu took shape. "Sage Art: Wind Style Raging Storm Slash!"
In the blink of an eye, a dense barrage of wind blades rained down on Kaito.
Kaito sneered, grabbed the Eight-Tails jinchuriki by the neck, and hurled him into the air, turning him into a human shield that blocked all the wind blades.
Hit by this attack, the Eight-Tails jinchuriki finally collapsed from exhaustion, reverting to his human form.
"Nawaki, you're next!" Kaito tossed aside the battered Third Raikage, bent his knees, and leaped, appearing before Nawaki in an instant.
Nawaki's face tensed, but he showed no panic.
Because at the same time, Minato and Fugaku had appeared by his side, launching their own attacks.
"Sage Art: Wind Style Cyclone Fist!"
"Rasengan: Super Spiraling Dance Howl Combo!"
"Amaterasu!"
Faced with the pincer attack from the three of them, Kaito smiled. "I've been waiting for you."
Before Minato could react, Kaito's fist, moving after but striking first, slammed into his body.
With a sickening crack, several of Minato's ribs were broken by the full force of the blow, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
He forcefully gathered the last of his strength and teleported all three of them away.
They reappeared on the other side of the canyon. Nawaki, seeing Minato's pale face, immediately performed the Summoning Jutsu, calling forth Katsuyu to heal him, successfully saving his life.
"Sorry. It's up to you guys now," Minato said, his voice thick with apology.
"It's okay. We'll fight to the last moment." By this point in the battle, Fugaku no longer held any hope of victory.
Nawaki said seriously, "I won't give up either."
"Alright. Don't push yourselves too hard. Konoha can't lose you."
Having lost his ability to fight, Minato withdrew from the competition, carried away from the canyon on Katsuyu's back.
"Phew. What should we do now?"
The two looked at each other, both falling silent.
At that moment, an unfamiliar voice sounded in each of their minds.
"How pathetic. Are you the current head of the Uchiha clan?"
"Ah, you must be Nawaki. It's been a long time."
Nawaki and Fugaku froze at the same time.
On the other side, although Kaito had sent his biggest threat out of the competition, his clothes had been set ablaze by the Amaterasu Fugaku had unleashed.
Before the black flames of Amaterasu could even begin to spread, he had ripped off his clothes and thrown them aside, easily neutralizing the crisis.
"Among those who are left, you're the biggest threat, Fugaku!" Kaito spread his Aura Power, taking in the entire canyon, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Found you."
Taking a slight breath, electric sparks flickered under his feet. Kaito became a flash of light, crossing several kilometers in an instant to appear before Fugaku and Nawaki.
"Oh, you've already sent Minato away. Now it's your turn."
Kaito clenched his fists and said with a broad smile, "After I defeat you two, I'll be the number one in the shinobi world!"
"You can say that after you've won."
Fugaku's face darkened. Enduring the pain in his eyes, his Mangekyo Sharingan spun wildly once more. "Susanoo!"
The black giant appeared before Kaito again.
However, compared to before, its size had increased several times over.
Not only had it grown legs, but it had also sprouted a pair of wings. Its previously bare body was now clad in Karasu Tengu armor, the patterns on it incredibly clear.
It held a heavy hammer in its right hand and a shield in its left, its majestic eyes fixed on Kaito.
"Huh? It's only been a few minutes, and the Susanoo is already in its perfect form? You're cheating, aren't you, Fugaku?" Kaito said in surprise.
"You seem to know a lot about the Susanoo. Then experience its power for yourself once more!"
Fugaku, hidden inside the Susanoo, commanded the black giant with a thought, bringing the heavy hammer in its hand crashing down.
Boom!
Kaito flew back to dodge the hammer's blow, but black flames drifted from the weapon, pursuing him like a persistent shadow.
"Hmm? Don't tell me those are Amaterasu flames?" Kaito frowned, not daring to take the risk.
He clapped his hands together, forming dozens of Aura Spheres.
Several of them crashed into the black flames, annihilating them, while the rest shot towards the Susanoo.
But they were all blocked by the shield it held.
"Good, they're not heavenly flames. That gave me a scare."
Just as he was about to charge forward and test if he could shatter the Susanoo with a single kick like Isshiki, a swarm of tree roots suddenly shot out from all around, attempting to entangle him.
"Wood Style?" Kaito looked up to the side and saw Nawaki forming hand seals.
He stomped his foot hard on the ground, and circles of fire walls erupted from below, blocking the tree roots and setting them ablaze.
But unlike ordinary tree roots, these were infused with chakra and had extremely strong life force. They crossed the fire walls, relentlessly attacking Kaito.
Remembering the properties of Wood Style, Kaito didn't get entangled with it. He dodged and rushed towards Nawaki's position.
However, Fugaku had already maneuvered the Susanoo to block his path.
"You're not getting past."
Kaito stopped, looked at the seemingly reborn Nawaki and Fugaku, and shook his head. "No way. Did someone really give you guys a power-up? Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, is that you?"
Nawaki smiled and shook his head. "As expected of Master Kaito, nothing can be hidden from you. My grandfather did indeed come to me just now and gave me a sliver of his power."
"Are you sure it was just a sliver?" Kaito was speechless. "This is cheating, isn't it?"
Fugaku replied, "Although it's not glorious, we have indeed mastered this new power. Sorry, but the title of 'World's Strongest' can't be yours."
"Hmph. You don't actually think you've already won, do you? A mere God of Shinobi can stand in my way?"
Kaito laughed in anger, frantically mobilizing the power of the four plates within his body.
He clapped his hands together, and the powers of fire, ice, and lightning surged out of his body like a tide, forging together into a colossal giant of the same size as the perfect Susanoo.