"Takumi, be careful."
Konan's concern was pure.
She now regarded Takumi as the inheritor of the original Akatsuki's will.
Almost an incarnation of Yahiko.
How could she not worry?
If her own combat power weren't low, she would have intervened long ago.
After two days and two nights of battle,
The trees that had once littered the area were now reduced to dust by the aftermath.
This showed how intense the battle between Takumi and the Third Raikage was.
Even after such a long time, Takumi could still unleash such powerful force.
Among the onlookers, everyone had to admire him.
Especially the Third Raikage himself.
His feelings were even stronger.
He had long realized his fists could no longer threaten Takumi.
The only reason he continued fighting was partly because of Orochimaru's orders, so he couldn't retreat.
The other reason was he still wanted to completely kill Takumi and remove a major obstacle for Kumogakure.
In terms of raw power, it was impossible.
But even if it took ten or fifteen days, he would wear Takumi down!
That was the only way he could think of to deal with Takumi.
He had been through something similar himself.
His record of fighting ten thousand Iwagakure's Shinobi for three days and nights before dying of exhaustion was still circulated throughout the Shinobi World.
So the Third Raikage knew well that what limits a powerful Shinobi is their stamina.
Human stamina cannot be infinite.
And people need to eat, to replenish various nutrients to maintain strength.
People need water to sustain life.
Without food and water, no one can survive.
This was his words of experience.
And he intended to use this experience on the boy before him.
Right now, the boy's body was teetering.
"To have lasted this long, you can be proud."
The Third Raikage seized an opening, punched Takumi far away, and said in a low voice.
"Is that so?"
Takumi 'struggled' to get up, revealing a smile, but because of his exhausted appearance, the smile turned into a wry grin.
"To be praised by the famous Third Raikage is truly an honor."
His appearance stirred the hearts of Kakashi and Konan even more.
Orochimaru's heart was flooded with ecstasy.
He could almost see himself obtaining the perfect body he had always dreamed of.
And so,
The battle continued for another day and night.
By now, everyone sensed something was wrong.
Takumi still looked weak, still seemed struggling, still got knocked away occasionally.
But everyone felt an incredible strangeness.
Can someone stay weak for an entire day?
And the intensity of the battle hadn't diminished.
It was still the most brutal, blood-pumping fist-to-fist combat.
"That Takumi guy, he's completely using the Third Raikage as a punching bag to train his Lightning Release Chakra Mode."
Kakashi was the first to understand Takumi's intention, shaking his head with a wry smile.
He had been so worried about Takumi's safety, but it was completely unnecessary.
Takumi didn't need his worry at all.
Come to think of it, his concern had clouded his judgment.
Takumi hadn't even used Susano'o, and he had many other tricks up his sleeve. This also showed he hadn't gone all out.
Kakashi, who often accompanied Takumi in training and observed many of his battles up close, hadn't even noticed.
Let alone others who didn't know Takumi well.
"What a sly guy."
Konan also relaxed, chuckling softly.
But in her eyes, there was a sense of pride.
In her eyes, Takumi was completely her junior. Seeing her junior so outstanding, how could she not be proud?
"Something's wrong."
Orochimaru's excitement had long vanished, replaced by deep doubt.
When would Takumi fall?
Or rather, could Takumi actually fall?
"Orochimaru-sama, what should we do next?"
Kabuto said softly. "Konoha's Anbu have surrounded this area. Staying might be dangerous."
"Let me think."
Orochimaru frowned deeply, pondering where things had gone wrong.
Why did this seemingly sure thing seem about to fail again?
Just then,
A thunderous voice roared across the forest.
"Orochimaru! How dare you manipulate my father's soul and humiliate him like this!"
A shouted with all his might. "Don't let me find you, or I'll tear you limb from limb!"
He had initially held back, hoping his father would be powerful enough to kill Takumi directly.
Yesterday, seeing Takumi so weak, he really thought there was a chance.
But now?
Chance? All bullshit!
It was all fake!
Realizing this, A didn't hesitate to shout out his intention to deal with Orochimaru.
This was also a signal to Konoha's Shinobi: Orochimaru is here, we share a common goal with Konoha, we can temporarily unite against Orochimaru.
Because Konoha's Anbu had completely surrounded the area.
A wasn't his father, the Third Raikage; he couldn't face so many Shinobi alone.
And there were quite a few experts present.
He didn't want to sacrifice all of Kumogakure's elite here.
Hearing A's shout, Orochimaru knew he couldn't delay.
If he delayed further, he would be in real danger.
Reluctantly, the situation was now urgent.
He immediately canceled the Edo Tensei, letting the Third Raikage disperse into ashes.
And Kabuto, following a pre-arranged method, summoned them all back, instantly transporting them from the location to one of Orochimaru's secret laboratories.
Takumi was stunned by A's voice.
Focused on fighting the Raikage, he hadn't noticed when A had appeared.
After being stunned, he saw the Third Raikage before him disperse into ashes.
He immediately panicked.
"Don't go! I haven't finished training my Lightning Release Chakra Mode yet!"
In his urgency, Takumi blurted out his true purpose.
If Orochimaru had heard that, he would probably have spat blood and fainted.
Luckily, he left early and didn't hear.
A's group did hear, but they didn't react immediately.
After a few seconds, they understood: Takumi was using his fight with the Third Raikage to improve his own Lightning Release Chakra Mode?
'What kind of madman trains a technique in such an intense battle?'
'This was too arrogant!'
"Let's go!"
A ordered directly.
"Raikage-sama?"
Darui looked at him in surprise. "Shouldn't we attack him now?"
"Do you think if all of us together attacked someone my father couldn't defeat with all his strength, we would succeed?"
A's expression was extremely gloomy. "All of you, follow me back. Having witnessed his power now, what we need to do next is very simple: become stronger than him."
"Going out there now, besides dying, there's no other choice."
He finished speaking and turned away decisively.
"Let's go, before Konoha's people surround us."
B patted Darui's shoulder and followed.
Darui was helpless. Although he was usually unmotivated, witnessing his master being mercilessly dispersed countless times stirred a huge anger within him.
Most of it was towards Orochimaru, but a small part was towards Takumi.
He wished he could rush up right now.
But his reason told him that without A and B, the top combat power, going alone would be suicide.
So, he silently turned away, resolving to train hard after returning.
He had to become stronger than Takumi!
But could he?
He had deep doubts.