Three days. Three full days and nights. Unless something unexpected happened, by the time darkness fell again, this earth-shaking battle would reach its conclusion.
Inside the canyon, the ten-thousand-man army had suffered massive casualties. Corpses were everywhere. And yet, their enemy was a single man: the Third Raikage, wreathed in lightning. He had fought for three days and nights without a single wound.
However, even though he was uninjured, the Third Raikage was reaching his limit. His once-clean, efficient killing strikes were becoming sluggish. His aura and speed were dropping rapidly. Inside, he was running on fumes.
On the canyon rim, Diarmuid stood with his arms crossed, watching the tragic scene below. "How does he compare to you?"
Kakuzu's expression was complex. He shook his head. "He is far stronger than I."
The Third Raikage was undoubtedly at the pinnacle of what a conventional shinobi could achieve. Even among the five Kage, his combat power was likely at the very top. Even the Third Hokage, the "Professor" himself, likely couldn't outfight him in a direct brawl. Kakuzu was confident in his own strength, but after witnessing this battle, he had to admit the gap between him and the Third Raikage was vast. He had spent three days trying to think of a tactic that could beat the man, but every simulation ended in his own defeat.
The man was fighting an army of ten thousand. What did it matter if Kakuzu had five hearts? It would only mean he'd take slightly longer to die.
Diarmuid also felt that having a freak like the Third Raikage in the shinobi world at this stage was quite absurd. His strength would have earned him a place even in the late-game power creep of the war. Above him, excluding the Six Paths tier, only the likes of Madara and Hashirama in their prime could truly crush him.
The Raikage's secret Lightning Release Chakra Mode was touted as the ultimate defense, and this battle had proven its worth. Combined with the Hell Stab, which he called his "Strongest Spear," he was a near-unstoppable monster. His only weakness was his chakra reserves. If he were a Jinchūriki, he would be god-like.
"Now you see why I'm interested in him? That Lightning Release Chakra Mode... no, that Raikage secret Nintaijutsu is truly powerful. I want it," Diarmuid said with a smile.
"I'll want to study it too when the time comes," Kakuzu added.
"No problem. Our little organization is a place for sharing," Diarmuid said magnanimously. Since they were stealing it for free anyway, as long as he learned it, he didn't care about the loss or embarrassment it would cause Kumogakure.
"Let's move," Diarmuid said.
He stepped forward and leapt from the several-hundred-meter-high cliff, entering a free-fall. Kakuzu, less flamboyant, descended the cliff face in the standard shinobi fashion, running vertically with chakra-attached feet.
The first to notice them was the nearly exhausted Third Raikage. After finishing off an Iwagakure Chunin with a hand-sword strike, he snapped his head upward. A black dot was growing larger, falling toward him, while another figure was rushing down the cliff.
"Is that...?" The Third Raikage hesitated. Reinforcements were impossible; as Raikage, he knew the Cloud's strategic layout in the Land of Earth. No high-level masters were available to back him up. So, were these reinforcements for the Stone?
As he pondered, the black dot transformed into a figure that slammed into the ground with a massive impact, bringing the entire battlefield to a standstill. The shockwave shattered the earth, kicking up a massive cloud of dust that obscured everyone's vision. This "arrival from the heavens" certainly commanded attention. The Stone ninja were also bewildered.
As the dust settled, Diarmuid's tall figure stood there, looking at the Third Raikage with interest.
"And who are you?" The Third Raikage sensed a powerful aura from the man, a warrior's instinct, and didn't dare underestimate him.
"Rodriguez Diarmuid. Just call me Diarmuid," he replied cheerfully.
"Diarmuid?" The Raikage frowned. He had never heard the name.
"Are you friend or foe?" The Raikage noticed the confusion among the Iwagakure forces and realized this man might not be one of theirs.
"Foe," Diarmuid answered bluntly.
The moment the word left his lips, the Third Raikage moved. No wasted words. His resolve was exceptional. In an instant, his Lightning Flicker brought him directly in front of Diarmuid. It was no wonder his son, the future Fourth Raikage 'A', could compete with Minato's Flying Raijin using this speed.
It was blindingly fast. If you blinked, you were dead. This was Diarmuid's first encounter with such speed in the shinobi world. It felt as fast as, if not faster than, Borsalino. No, that was likely an illusion, but it wasn't much slower. At that level of velocity, a normal person couldn't perceive the difference. (Even Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan would later struggle to keep up with Killer B's speed.)
"Lightning Release: Lariat!" the Third Raikage roared.
As he shouted, his lightning-wreathed arm lunged for Diarmuid's neck. A hit from this would shatter a larynx and snap a spine instantly; a weaker man would have his head torn off.
Fortunately, Diarmuid's reaction speed was up to the task. His eyes might not have followed the movement, but his instincts did. He snapped his arm up in a block, and Armament Haki erupted like flowing clouds, coating his limb.
BANG!
A deafening collision. The ground beneath Diarmuid's feet, already cracked, turned to powder. Yet he remained rooted to the spot, having tanked the Lariat head-on!
The Third Raikage's eyes widened in shock. He had seen people dodge his Lariat, but in all his years, he had never seen someone take it directly and remain unscathed. What is this pitch-black, invisible armor? Why can't I feel any chakra from it?
"That's a bit of an impolite way to say hello, don't you think?" Diarmuid said, shoving the Raikage's arm aside.
The Third Raikage's expression grew grim. "If we are foes, there is nothing to say."
Meanwhile, the Iwagakure ninja regained their composure. The commander of this force wasn't the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, but his son, Kitsuchi. Kitsuchi was only in his twenties, looking young but already possessing his signature stout, rounded physique. Despite his appearance, he was a powerhouse, a genius shinobi of the Hidden Stone.
Kitsuchi was stunned to see two strangers appear, one of whom was trading blows with the Raikage and actually blocking that terrifying Lariat. He wondered if these were secret reinforcements his father had arranged.
Originally, Onoki wanted this battle to build Kitsuchi's reputation. If Kitsuchi led the army to wipe out the Cloud's vanguard and defeat the Third Raikage, he would become a hero of the Stone, smoothing the path for him to eventually take over as Tsuchikage. But things hadn't gone as planned. They had underestimated the Third Raikage's tenacity. As an ambush, the mission had fundamentally failed; the main Cloud force had likely already escaped. However, killing the Raikage would still be a monumental achievement.
"Sir..." Kitsuchi called out to Diarmuid.
Diarmuid turned to him. Before Kitsuchi could speak, Diarmuid cut him off: "The Third Raikage is mine. You lot can clear out."
This statement made his and Kakuzu's positions clear: they weren't on either side. They were only here for the Raikage.
Kitsuchi's face darkened. You show up now of all times? If you'd come two days ago, I would have gladly handed him over so I could chase the main Cloud army. Now the main army is gone, the Raikage is the only prize left, and you want to snatch him?
If he let the Raikage be taken, how could he explain the heavy casualties his ten-thousand-man army had suffered for nothing?
Without a word, Kitsuchi made a hand signal. A massive number of Stone ninja immediately surrounded Diarmuid, Kakuzu, and the Raikage. It looked like he intended to kill all three of them.
Seeing this, the Third Raikage suddenly laughed. "It seems you're in trouble too. Want to team up? We can deal with these brats first."
"There's absolutely no need for that," Diarmuid said casually. He turned his back to the Third Raikage and faced the Iwagakure forces.
A murderous glint flashed in the Raikage's eyes, but he suppressed it. This man isn't a fool; he wouldn't leave such a massive opening unless it was a trap. I'll see how he handles the Stone first and use the time to recover some chakra.
Diarmuid looked at the Iwagakure crowd and whispered, "Tengai Shinsei..."
He brought his hands together in a clap, a crisp slap echoing in the air. Then, he did nothing else. There was no visible surge of chakra, making the act seem bizarre. Kitsuchi even thought the man was bluffing. Tengai Shinsei? Never heard of it.
Even Kakuzu watched curiously, waiting to see what this move meant.
After several heartbeats, nothing had changed. Kitsuchi felt he was being played. Was that just posturing?
But as he was about to speak, he froze. Why was the sky getting dark? A thought struck him, and he snapped his head upward. His mouth fell open in sheer terror.
A meteorite? A meteorite wreathed in roaring flames???
Tengai Shinsei... so that's what it means?