Chapter 328: Frontal Collision
"He really didn't stop me," the Cloud squad leader muttered, staring at Kyosuke's calm face. He couldn't hold back his question. "What exactly are you trying to do?"
"Didn't I tell you? I'm going to attack the army before me," Kyosuke replied with a smile, not even looking back.
"...You're delusional," the captain sneered. "Who do you think you are? Hashirama Senju? Even the God of Shinobi couldn't defeat an entire army led by Lord Raikage."
"The God of Shinobi, is it...?" Kyosuke charged toward the incoming enemies, leaving one final sentence echoing in the captain's ears.
"After today's battle, I will be the living myth of the shinobi world."
The moment the explosion from the paper bomb echoed through the air, the Third Raikage, who had been resting in the main command tent, snapped his eyes open.
In an instant, a terrifying aura, like that of a primordial beast, flooded the area. The dark-skinned, powerfully built man smashed through the side of the tent and charged outside.
A communications ninja, who had just been about to enter the tent to report the situation, could only stare blankly at the Raikage's retreating back. He let out a helpless, bitter laugh.
"Sigh. Lord Raikage is going to wipe out the enemy before I can even make my report. What's the point?"
With that thought, the ninja silently returned to his post.
Swish!
Kyosuke moved forward, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake. The Cloud ninja behind him turned in confusion, trying to intercept him with their kunai.
"Seven Swords Style: Crescent Moon Dance."
Kyosuke, having already entered Sage Mode, mentally manipulated the snake-like shadows protruding from his back. They transformed into sharp blades, indiscriminately slaughtering the Cloud ninja who blindly rushed at him.
Just then, his sensory abilities screamed a warning. A ninja possessing an enormous amount of chakra was charging at him with incredible speed. Kyosuke knew the main course had finally arrived.
He mobilized all the senjutsu chakra in his body. Simultaneously, he activated the ability of his right eye, Ukemochi. A massive ninjutsu, resembling a curtain of the sky itself, roared toward the direction of the Third Raikage.
"Sage Art: Wind and Fire Gilded Blade!"
The howling Sage Art engulfed not only the Third Raikage but also the encampment behind him. The Cloud ninja, completely unable to react, saw a third of their forces wiped out in an instant.
"U-CHI-HA... KYO-SU-KE!!!"
Accompanied by a furious roar, the Third Raikage, wrapped in blinding Lightning Release armor, tore through Kyosuke's jutsu. With a single finger, he stabbed at the violet-red Susanoo ribcage that had materialized.
"Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite!"
This was a technique that concentrated Lightning Release chakra into the fingertips for a piercing thrust. It started with four fingers, and as the number of fingers decreased, the power increased. When reduced to the "One-Finger Nukite," it became the technique known as the "Strongest Spear."
Even the Four-Finger Nukite was far stronger than the attack Buraza had used earlier. Kyosuke knew this best, as cracks instantly appeared on his Susanoo.
"Damn brat! Watch me peel off your shell layer by layer!"
The Third Raikage, a man with the courage to face an army of ten thousand alone, was not intimidated by Kyosuke's Susanoo. Seeing that his first strike hadn't achieved the desired effect, he increased the activation level of his cells and extended two fingers.
"Hell Stab: Two-Finger Nukite!"
Crack!
The Karasu-Tengu armor was shattered in an instant. Kyosuke had mentally prepared for the Raikage's strength, but he had to admit he had underestimated this one-man army.
However, the Susanoo's resistance had bought him enough time to retreat.
Swish!
Using the Flying Thunder God Technique at the last second, Kyosuke dodged the attack, leaving the Raikage to strike empty air.
"This is the Namikaze brat's space-time ninjutsu!"
Having suffered enough from this technique during the Third Great Ninja War, the Raikage recognized Kyosuke's vanishing act immediately. He had already prepared a countermeasure. In a split second, he pushed his body's activation to its absolute limit.
"If I attack the moment you reappear, your Flying Thunder God is nothing but a joke!"
His mocking words still hung in the air as the Raikage's figure caught up to Kyosuke, who had just materialized in the distance. With a single blow, he sent Kyosuke flying.
Seeing this, the Cloud ninja erupted in wild cheers.
"Lord Raikage! Kill him!"
"Damn Konoha ninja! After we kill you, we'll march on Konoha and flatten it!"
"That's right! Hahaha!"
Amidst the rubble, Kyosuke lay with a speechless expression, waiting for his Sage Body to heal his injuries.
Being sent flying had taught him a lesson: he would likely never surpass Minato Namikaze in the usage of the Flying Thunder God. The reason was the difference in their reflex nerves.
Even though the Flying Thunder God allowed for instant teleportation to a marker, the speed of attacking or dodging upon reappearance depended entirely on the user's reflexes. If it had been Minato, he wouldn't have been hit so easily by the Raikage.
Understanding this, Kyosuke abandoned the idea of defeating the Third Raikage with speed.
He focused his mind, channeling chakra rapidly to his eyes. The power of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan was unleashed in full force.
BOOM!
Accompanied by a tremor that shook the mountains, a Perfect Susanoo, standing over a hundred meters tall, appeared before the Cloud army.
"My god..." The Cloud ninja who had been shouting the loudest stared at the giant piercing the clouds. All strength left his body, and his kunai clattered to the ground.
Many others shared his reaction. The Cloud ninja, who had just believed their Raikage could solve everything, now lost even the will to cheer.
Despair spread through the ranks. The Third Raikage, sensing the collapse of his men's morale, gritted his teeth and charged toward the mountain-like giant.
"Lord Raikage!" Some Cloud ninja instinctively reached out, but they couldn't stop their leader's solitary charge. They could only pray in their hearts for a miracle they didn't truly believe in.
"Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite!"
Using his full power, the Third Raikage transformed into a bolt of lightning and slammed headfirst into... the Susanoo's ankle.
BANG!
The immense piercing power of the One-Finger Nukite successfully cracked the Susanoo's ankle armor. However, the price for this achievement was the Third Raikage being blasted backward, spraying blood as he flew through the air.
"LORD RAIKAGE!!!"
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