Cloud formation.
A tall, dark-skinned Cloud shinobi was half-kneeling on one knee in front of the Fourth Raikage, reporting the battle situation.
"Good — those guys over there have firmly pinned down Jiraiya and his group; tomorrow, once we smash the Leaf forces across the way, this war is ours."
When the messenger finished his report, a satisfied smile spread across the Fourth Raikage A's face.
He abruptly stood, strode out of the command tent, and looked toward the direction of the Konoha positions, a hard edge appearing on his face.
"Uchiha Yuan — tomorrow I will kill you on the spot!"
There were multiple wounds on the Raikage's body, each dusted with medicinal powder — the marks left by his fight with Uchiha Yuan earlier that day.
The next day.
As a squad of Cloud shinobi broke through Konoha's forward pickets, the battle flared up again.
Uchiha Yuan stood on a cliff at his side of the front; squads of Leaf shinobi leapt down from either side of him, dropping into the fighting below to clash fiercely with the Cloud shinobi.
To his right, Captain Iwamaki Sumero was observing the Cloud forces across the valley, issuing orders constantly as the situation demanded.
"The Fourth Raikage has appeared."
Suddenly Iwamaki spoke up; several nearby Konoha jonin tensed immediately.
A heavily oppressive figure stepped out of the Cloud positions, walking onto the battlefield one measured step at a time.
The Fourth Raikage looked up toward the Konoha side, his gaze meeting Uchiha Yuan and the others standing on the cliff.
He pointed at Uchiha Yuan and called out, "Uchiha Yuan, I'm waiting for you to come up and meet your death."
Uchiha Yuan casually produced a kunai and prepared to launch himself forward, but Iwamaki grabbed him.
Seeing En's puzzled look, Iwamaki said in a low voice, "This is not a one-on-one match. The situation isn't in our favor right now — Lord Jiraiya's side is in trouble. If the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki fully manifests, he'll be nearly unstoppable."
Iwamaki then turned his gaze to the Fourth Raikage. "If we want to change this disadvantageous situation, there's only one path in front of us: capture or kill the Fourth Raikage."
At that, Uchiha Yuan's expression shifted slightly. "Captain, what's the plan?"
Iwamaki said, "En, stay put for now. We'll go up first; while we keep the Raikage occupied, you find an opening and finish him with a decisive strike — take him out."
Uchiha Yuan glanced at Iwamaki and the others. "Captain, be careful — from what I can tell, the Fourth Raikage is no weaker than the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki."
"Don't worry, I understand. He's the Raikage — one of the strongest in the shinobi world."
Iwamaki led nine Konoha jonin as they leapt forward. While airborne they formed hand seals in unison and unleashed a powerful combined jutsu.
Earth Release — Super Earth Dragon Bullet.
A massive surge of earth-nature chakra erupted; a hundred-meter-long yellow earth dragon formed from nothing and roared toward the Fourth Raikage.
A cold smile tugged at the Raikage's mouth. He leapt up high, lifted his elbow, and slammed it into the charging earth dragon.
Heavy Current Burst!
Lightning flashed and ran along the length of the yellow earth dragon.
The entire yellow dragon shattered with a thunderous crash.
Dazzling lightning danced over the Raikage's body like countless silver serpents.
Lightning Ravage — Level: Chiyo Dance!
The Raikage swung his hand-blade and charged at Iwamaki and the others, slashing in a连连 succession; a chaotic, violent cascade of lightning instantly engulfed them.
In the next moment the Fourth Raikage landed; the jonin who had attacked him fell from the sky like dumplings.
He gave them a disdainful glance, then looked up at Uchiha Yuan. "Uchiha Yuan, what were those guys trying to do?"
Uchiha Yuan felt heat flush his face — Iwamaki's earlier words still ringing in his ears — yet he hadn't expected them to be wiped out in a single exchange.
Iwamaki struggled to his feet. His flak jacket was torn, revealing two horrible, charred wounds. Those were cuts inflicted by the Raikage's Lightning Ravage slashes, through which writhing internal organs could be faintly seen.
Iwamaki glanced around: three of the jonin who had accompanied him to attack the Raikage were already dead; the rest lay gravely wounded, their breathing shallow.
Finally Iwamaki looked at the Raikage, fear flickering in his eyes.
'Is this the Raikage's power? He's a monster… and Uchiha Yuan can fight someone like this.'
Uchiha Yuan stepped forward and met the Raikage's gaze. He flicked his hand and threw a kunai.
The Fourth Raikage thrust a fist forward; the kunai shattered into countless pieces the instant it struck his knuckles.
At the same time the air convulsed with a thunderous sonic boom.
Uchiha Yuan's figure flashed to the space before the Raikage and he lashed out a fierce whip-kick.
Smack!
The Raikage's figure dispersed under the kick.
'A clone — when did he—!'
Uchiha Yuan startled, his scalp tingling as an alarm rose in his chest.
At that moment the Raikage's image appeared above Uchiha Yuan's head.
A mass of lightning chakra coalesced beneath the Raikage's feet into a blazing sphere of thunderlight as he launched a kick.
Righteous Thunder — Sinking Wrath Thunder Axe!
Feeling the dreadful force within that strike, Uchiha Yuan's expression changed drastically.
He couldn't take that blow head-on!
With the attack about to land, Uchiha Yuan abandoned all restraint; before the terrifying kick could connect he vanished in a flash.
The Raikage's kick slammed into the ground, and the earth exploded — a scar over thirty meters long was gouged into the terrain.
Atop a nearby cliff, Uchiha Yuan's form shimmered into view.
A special kunai carved with a sealing diagram was embedded in the cliff face — a directional anchor point En had laid earlier. By activating the anchor and performing a reverse summoning transfer, he had escaped the Raikage's fearsome kick.
The Raikage frowned slightly. En's sudden disappearance reminded him of his bad memories fighting the Fourth Hokage — how the other's figure moved too fluidly to catch.
He scanned the area with wide eyes and soon found Uchiha Yuan.
Thunder roared as the Raikage became a bolt of lightning and appeared before En.
Boom!
A brutal, domineering punch slammed out, and the whole cliff collapsed.
Uchiha Yuan flipped nimbly midair to land lightly, then his figure flickered across the battlefield, dodging the Raikage's following lightning hand-blade slashes.
The misses made the Raikage furious. He roared and used Lightning Release: Body Flicker — his speed surged.
A streak of lightning suddenly flashed before En's eyes, and he saw the Raikage emerge and grab him with a huge hand.
Lightning I: Explosive Bomb!
Uchiha Yuan felt the world overturn; a violent surge of lightning-nature chakra wrapped him and smashed him down onto the ground.
Boom!
The explosion left a crater over twenty meters across.
Uchiha Yuan stood in the center of the crater, his clothes shredded and in tatters.
He coughed and spat up a mouthful of thick blood.
'What's happening? The Fourth Raikage's power and speed have increased far beyond yesterday. I have to end this quickly.'
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
patreon.com/nani_kaito