The Third Raikage, in the midst of his frantic escape, suddenly felt an overwhelmingly powerful attractive force erupt from behind him. Even his Lightning Flicker couldn't break the pull; he was forcibly dragged backward through the air.
"Damn it!" the Third Raikage cursed inwardly. Lightning flared around him as he pushed his potential to the absolute limit. He squeezed every remaining drop of chakra from his body, preparing for a final gamble.
He forcibly adjusted his mid-air posture, turning to face Diarmuid. He raised a single finger, and lightning concentrated into a piercing point.
Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite!
If Diarmuid wanted to pull him in, he would give him a head-on collision he wouldn't survive.
However, at that moment, the shadow beneath Diarmuid's feet surged. A massive surge of darkness erupted outward, solidifying into shadow-snakes that lunged at the Raikage. The Raikage swung his lightning-clad hand like a blade, cleaving through several, but the dark serpents were endless. They swarmed him, binding his limbs and forcibly breaking his stance before the spear could strike.
"Shadow secret arts! You're a bastard from the Nara clan of Konoha!" the Raikage roared in fury. To him, this looked exactly like the Shadow Possession of the Nara family.
"Shadow arts? No... this is the power of darkness. It's on a much higher level than shadows," Diarmuid said softly.
As he spoke, the Third Raikage felt the dark serpents draining his chakra. His Lightning Release Chakra Mode began to flicker and dim. After three days of non-stop combat, his reserves were already near zero. He had just squeezed out his last bit of energy, only for Diarmuid to siphon it away before they even traded blows.
The moment the lightning armor dissipated completely, Diarmuid's hand clamped onto his throat.
"It's over," Diarmuid said.
"You..." The Raikage's eyes burned with resentment. He looked as if he wanted to say something, or perhaps trigger a self-destruct seal.
Diarmuid didn't give him the chance. He didn't want any "final words" that might lead to a hidden trap. With a sharp application of force, a sickening crack echoed through the canyon. The Third Raikage's neck was snapped.
With eyes full of unwilling fury, a Kage finally fell.
Nearby, Kakuzu watched with a mix of complex emotions. Diarmuid, himself, and Sasori made a formidable trio. Diarmuid had just killed the Third Raikage, and Sasori had already successfully assassinated the Third Kazekage.
Am I the only one lagging behind? Kakuzu wondered. Should I go kill a Kage too? Otherwise, I'll look like the odd man out in this group. Are we all playing at this level now? Killing the leaders of the Five Great Nations on a whim?
He even felt a twinge of regret for not finishing off the First Hokage back in the day... otherwise, he wouldn't have to worry about his "prestige" now.
"Seal him up," Diarmuid said, placing the body on the ground.
Kakuzu snapped out of his reverie. Collecting bodies was his specialty. He moved with practiced efficiency, sealing the Third Raikage into a scroll. "So, what was my purpose on this trip? Am I just your coroner?"
"Everyone has their specialty," Diarmuid chuckled.
He took the scroll from Kakuzu. "Now what?"
"I'm heading back to see if Sasori can crack his brain and extract the techniques. You?"
"I..." Kakuzu hesitated. He had planned to keep making money. The war was a goldmine for mercenaries, with the Five Nations and wealthy merchants all waving stacks of cash for protection.
But after witnessing the Raikage and the monstrous Diarmuid, Kakuzu's confidence in his own strength had wavered slightly. His Earth Grudge Fear was powerful, but it felt like a "trickster" path compared to the overwhelming power he'd just seen. If he ran into someone strong who knew his secret, he'd be finished.
The prospect of Diarmuid sharing the Raikage's secret Nintaijutsu, and eventually mastering Haki, was incredibly tempting. It would be a massive leap in power. He was torn between immediate profit and long-term strength.
Seeing his hesitation, Diarmuid smiled. "Come on. There's not much money to be made here right now. Later, I'll introduce you to a real business opportunity. Follow me back, we'll contact that snake Orochimaru, and we'll strip these Kages of their secrets to boost our own power."
At the mention of a "big business," Kakuzu nodded. "Fine."
As they began their retreat, Kakuzu asked, "What is this 'big business' you mentioned?"
"Uh..." Diarmuid felt a bit awkward. "I'll tell you when the time is right."
He had just said it to convince him. Who knew Kakuzu would take it so seriously? I'll just wing it. If I can't find anything, I'll send him to hunt Rasa. With Sasori's puppets, we could literally start a gold-mining operation.
…
Meanwhile, in Konoha.
Orochimaru had spent three days studying the blood sample Diarmuid had given him, yet he remained baffled. The blood was extraordinary. It possessed an abnormal vitality that remained active long after leaving the body. But he couldn't crack the secret behind it.
It wasn't like the vitality of Hashirama. Hashirama's power was overt; even after death, his cells were aggressive and vibrant. This blood felt subtle. It clearly held extreme life force, yet it appeared mundane. It was infuriatingly illogical.
As Orochimaru mused, a member of the Root appeared, kneeling. "Orochimaru-sama."
"Give it to me," Orochimaru said without looking up. A venomous snake slithered from his sleeve toward the ninja, its tongue flickering. The Root ninja, unfazed, held up a small scroll. The snake coiled around it and retreated, depositing the scroll into Orochimaru's hand.
"Dismissed."
The ninja vanished. Orochimaru opened the scroll. As expected, the mysterious Kakuzu had left a message in the underground world.
"The Land of Birds Exchange Point?" Orochimaru murmured with interest. Kakuzu wouldn't reveal Sasori's base, so a neutral exchange point was the logical choice for a meeting.
Orochimaru destroyed the scroll and picked up the tube of blood. He decided to leave Konoha to meet this Kakuzu and see what was really going on. He had begun to suspect the blood belonged to Kakuzu himself. If Kakuzu had been active for decades and remained young, had he achieved immortality or overcome the limits of a human lifespan?
If there was even a hint of a lead on such a topic, Orochimaru would not let it go. Before leaving, he stopped, went back to his lab, grabbed a sample of Hashirama's cells, and then departed.
His departure caused no ripples. He wasn't a prisoner; he was Danzo's "collaborator." Danzo didn't dare push him too hard. Orochimaru was too powerful and possessed too many hidden cards. Furthermore, Orochimaru was a "hero" of the village, a disciple of the Third Hokage, and a candidate for the Fourth Hokage position. He was free to come and go.
A few days after Orochimaru hit the road, the shinobi world was rocked by news.
Iwagakure claimed that a man named Rodriguez Diarmuid had appeared in the Land of Earth and killed the Third Raikage. Iwagakure subsequently designated Diarmuid as a "Do Not Provoke" target, someone to avoid contact with unless absolutely necessary.
This strange behavior baffled the other villages. Kumogakure was the first to react, furiously accusing Iwagakure of lies; as far as they were concerned, the Raikage had fallen to Iwagakure's forces. But it was war; accusations didn't change the reality.
Regardless of the debate, the news of the Third Raikage's death swept through the nations like a storm. And because of the conflicting reports, the name Diarmuid resonated for the first time. A man who had supposedly brought down a Kage.
Though Kumogakure didn't fully believe the Iwagakure story, they still issued an S-rank bounty for Rodriguez Diarmuid.
It was a bit surreal. A former Marine Admiral had officially become an S-rank wanted criminal in this world.
The initial bounty was set at 50 million Ryo, roughly 50,000 ounces of gold. It was the same price Sasori had offered Kakuzu for the life of Shisui's ancestor, Kagami.
They had clearly underestimated him.