Seeing there was no point in hiding, Kojima tore off his tattered fisherman disguise, leaving only his tactical vest.
Blue sparks of lightning began dancing across his body, lifting his hair in a halo of electricity.
Arata's expression darkened. "The Lightning Release Armor of the Raikage lineage… even at stage one, this is top-secret in the Hidden Lightning Village.
How did you acquire it?"
Though he had never seen it firsthand, Arata had read about it.
The Raikage had used this armor in combination with his chakra-enhanced body to overwhelm a Susanoo-wielding Uchiha.
This technique wasn't just a jutsu.....it was a cornerstone of their fighting style, equivalent in scale to the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God or Onoki's Dust Release.
And now, a mere Special Jonin had managed to wield it.
Arata recognized the danger immediately. Stage one Lightning Armor already placed Kojima at elite Jonin level, and its speed made it extremely difficult to stop a retreat.
The priority was clear: prevent Kojima from escaping.
His three-tomoe Sharingan began to spin deliberately, analyzing the situation with deadly focus.
Kojima laughed, the sound wild and manic. He looked almost unrecognizable compared to the furious man from moments ago.
"Ah, the famed Uchiha finally takes things seriously! Hahaha! I see fear in your eyes.
I never expected my little secret, stolen from my former student, to be so powerful!"
His grin widened, charged with electric energy.
"I didn't even know I had this talent for Lightning Release!
Born with lightning chakra, yet never formally taught… and now, I've unlocked the path to power!
Once I master this technique, I'll rise faster than anyone expected.
One day, I'll surpass all of you who looked down on me, and trample every one of you underfoot!"
Arata watched silently, understanding the source of Kojima's rage.....it was years of being undervalued and underestimated.
But this outburst was also a warning: Kojima was ready to strike.
With a flash of movement, Kojima threw two kunai, sealing Arata's evasion routes.
He then surged forward, faster than ordinary Jonin, his hands crackling with lightning.
Arata's body shifted just enough to dodge the incoming kunai.
Though his speed couldn't match Kojima's outright, the Sharingan's enhanced perception allowed him to anticipate every motion.
For attacks that couldn't be dodged completely, he deflected with his own kunai, countering with pinpoint precision.
Though Arata was slightly on the defensive, his experience and ocular abilities allowed him to hold his ground, buying precious moments to analyze Kojima's new Lightning Release Armor and plan a counterattack.
The forest trembled as two shinobi, each a master in their own right, prepared for the clash of lightning and shadow.
The Uchiha clan's Kekkei Genkai never granted a true enhancement to the body itself.
They were famed for ninjutsu and genjutsu, not raw physical strength.
Why expend effort on taijutsu when chakra-based techniques could do the work far more efficiently?
As a typical Uchiha, Arata's physical combat ability was average at best. Against Kojima Murafu, whose Lightning Release Armor amplified his body to near-superhuman levels, Arata's taijutsu shortcomings were immediately apparent.
He could barely keep pace, reacting defensively rather than trading blows evenly.
But Arata was not foolish enough to pit weakness against strength.
As Kojima's attacks grew faster and more relentless, Arata began to feel the limits of his body.
His eyes tracked every motion.....but sometimes, it wasn't his vision that failed; it was his body that lagged behind.
Finally, Kojima spotted a momentary flaw in Arata's movement.
With a swift flick, he struck Arata's clone with a kunai at the neck.
Bang! The clone vanished. Kojima's confidence soared.
Though he had anticipated some risk, seeing the clone eliminated still gave him a surge of satisfaction.
He spat venomously onto the ground, as if to vent his triumph.
Now, brimming with arrogance, Kojima taunted:
"So this is a Uchiha elite? I wonder how you even became a Jonin. Did the Hokage lower the standards for your clan?"
At that moment, the real Arata finally stepped forward.
But his eyes were no longer the familiar three-tomoe Sharingan.
A new pattern, unfamiliar to Kojima, swirled like a four-bladed pinwheel, spinning slowly, exuding a subtle, unsettling aura.
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