The battlefield of the Fourth Great Ninja War stretched across a barren expanse of yellow earth. No forests. No grass. Only fractured stone and towering pillars of rock, carved by past clashes.
Three separate battles raged across this wasteland.
The first belonged to Gaara, Fifth Kazekage, facing the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa. Towering waves of sand collided again and again with surging tides of golden dust. The clash was thunderous, earth-shaking, but even at a glance it was clear that Gaara held the advantage.
The second battlefield lay far from the main forces. There, Ōnoki, Third Tsuchikage, was locked in a deadly exchange with the Second Tsuchikage, Mū. Dust Release techniques tore through the air, detonating with terrifying precision. Ōnoki's control and experience were superior, but age weighed heavily on him, while Mū's Edo Tensei body remained at peak condition. Neither side gained ground.
The final battlefield was the most deceptive.
Here, Fujimoto Tōma, Sixth Hokage, faced the Third Raikage and the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hōzuki.
Two lightning-wrapped figures moved so fast they blurred into afterimages, colliding again and again at speeds most shinobi could barely track. In terms of raw spectacle, it seemed almost understated compared to the other clashes.
But no one watching dared underestimate it.
Speed alone made it clear. This was a battle no one else could interfere with.
Even Gengetsu found himself struggling to act. His pale, browless eyes flicked back and forth, tracking Tōma and the Third Raikage as they vanished and reappeared across the battlefield.
One moment they were there.
Blink, and they were somewhere else.
There was no opening.
And despite himself, Gengetsu didn't particularly want to gang up on Tōma. The Edo Tensei command compelled him to attack when possible, but pride still lingered.
"That really is Dad…"
On the front line, Temari stared at the battlefield, her voice quiet.
"Captain Temari, what are our orders?" a shinobi asked beside her.
Normally, Gaara would be issuing commands. With him occupied, the Fourth Division naturally deferred to Temari.
She hesitated, then glanced at Shikamaru.
Seeing him nod calmly, she straightened.
"We wait," Temari said. "If the Kage haven't ordered us to move, then we hold position."
"Trust them," Shikamaru added lazily. His gaze lingered on Tōma's battlefield. "They'll win."
The surrounding shinobi fell silent.
No one here was careless with their lives. They had asked because they feared hesitation might cost their Kage the fight. If a Kage fell, the war itself could collapse.
On the battlefield, Tōma and the Third Raikage finally came to a halt.
They faced each other, lightning crackling in the air between them.
"Impressive," the Third Raikage said, voice steady. "To match my Lightning Armor head-on like this."
Even earlier, he had only used the Four-Finger Hell Stab. Combined with his body, that alone crushed most opponents.
He had assumed Tōma was imitating Kumogakure's Lightning Chakra Mode, which had fueled his anger.
But after exchanging blows, he realized something was different.
This lightning wasn't the same.
A Konoha technique?
Something on the same level… but fundamentally different?
Tōma, meanwhile, was quietly astonished.
The Third Raikage's body truly was monstrous. In pure durability, even Might Guy wouldn't surpass him. Not in raw toughness alone.
Lightning Armor for defense.
Hell Stab as an absolute spear.
Simple. Direct. Brutal.
And terrifying.
This really is the peak of physical refinement, Tōma thought.
Unfortunately, this body wasn't his real one.
As a manifested shadow clone, he couldn't fully leverage physical reinforcement. Everything had to be done through technique alone.
That he could fight the Third Raikage to a standstill with lightning alone exceeded even his expectations.
"Worthy of the Third Raikage," Tōma said sincerely. "Kumogakure's Lightning Mode lives up to its reputation."
The Raikage snorted. "Is that praise… or you praising yourself?"
But he smiled.
This fight felt good.
Even in life, he had never enjoyed combat like this.
"Enough warming up," he said, raising his hand.
Four fingers folded down to three.
"Hell Stab. Three Fingers."
Tōma smiled.
"Only three? That's a little insulting."
He snapped his fingers.
The sky darkened.
Thunderclouds gathered unnaturally fast, swirling overhead as if summoned by will alone. Lightning crashed down in violent arcs, striking the ground and Tōma alike.
"This is—" the Third Raikage froze.
When the light cleared, Tōma stood cloaked in descending lightning, the armor around him so dense it glowed white. Thunder rolled endlessly across the battlefield.
"Is this… something a human can wield?" the Third Raikage murmured.
The same thought echoed through the watching Allied Forces.
"Come," Tōma said calmly. "Third Raikage."
This was natural energy woven into lightning. Not Kirin alone. He could draw on it whenever the conditions allowed.
The Third Raikage laughed softly.
"I underestimated you, Sixth Hokage."
His hand shifted again.
From three fingers… to one.
"Hell Stab. One Finger."
Tōma's eyes sharpened.
So this was it.
The decisive clash.
Lightning gathered in his hand, shrill and piercing, chirping like a thousand birds.
"Sage Art: Lightning Release. Chidori."
They vanished.
In a single instant, they crossed the battlefield.
Finger met blade.
The impact shattered the ground beneath them, an invisible shockwave ripping outward before exploding in blinding white light.
When the dust settled, Tōma stood in the crater, one sleeve completely destroyed.
Opposite him, the Third Raikage lay half-destroyed, his Edo body already beginning to reform.
The outcome was clear.
"Magnificent," Tōma said sincerely. "As expected of the strongest Raikage in history."
The Third Raikage laughed.
"So this is the next generation… Sixth Hokage, Fujimoto Tōma."
"Yes."
"…Then seal me," the Raikage said peacefully. "Claim your victory."
Tōma did.
White sealing cloth wrapped around the Third Raikage's body.
At that moment, a massive shape descended from above, filling the crater entirely.
A chakra-constructed explosive.
Gengetsu's signature technique.
Steam Imp: Explosive Release.
Tōma looked up calmly.
If this were his real body, he could endure it.
But a manifested clone would be forcibly dispersed.
The explosion erupted, engulfing the crater in scalding vapor.
"Is that it?" Gengetsu muttered, dissatisfied. "You sealed him, so hurry up and seal me too. I'm tired of being controlled by that snake."
A voice answered from elsewhere.
"Patience. You're next."
Tōma reappeared, having already scattered Flying Thunder God kunai across the battlefield long ago.
Above, Temari and Shikamaru caught the sealed Third Raikage as it dropped from the sky.
"So we just guard this, right?" Shikamaru sighed.
"Looks that way," Temari replied, then stood. "I've got something to say to my idiot father."
Shikamaru nodded.
Back on the battlefield, ice-cold hail began falling.
Tōma realized it at once.
The vapor wasn't dissipating.
It was being cooled, reforming again and again.
Endless regeneration…
"Excellent technique," Tōma admitted.
Gengetsu chuckled. "Space-time ninjutsu, huh? Second Hokage's work?"
"Flying Thunder God," Tōma confirmed.
Gengetsu stroked his mustache. "Then I suppose you weren't going all out earlier."
"Lightning was my strongest at the time," Tōma replied. "Water isn't my specialty."
"Is that so?" Gengetsu grinned. "Then do your best."
He slammed his hands onto the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A massive clam appeared.
Mirage illusions spread across the battlefield.
"With this," Gengetsu said cheerfully, "let's see how the Sixth Hokage handles water."
...
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