The ocean surface ceased its churning. The massive shockwave from Nanami Kento's previous attack had dissipated, leaving the water between the lone Konoha shinobi and the four Kages perfectly flat, vibrating only with the residual tension of accumulated chakra.
Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, hovered just above the water. He scrutinized the blonde man standing before them. The youth lacked the visual markers of a high-level threat. He projected no massive chakra cloak. He wielded no legendary weapons. He stood with his hands at his sides, his posture entirely devoid of defensive readiness.
The Third Mizukage tightened his grip on his staff, his eyes scanning the horizon for hidden reinforcements. The Third Kazekage narrowed his gaze, a dense sphere of iron sand rotating slowly at his hip.
The Third Raikage stepped forward. He crossed his massive, heavily muscled arms over his chest. Sparks of blue electricity jumped between his shoulders, hissing as they struck the damp air.
"Maintain your positions," the Raikage ordered his fellow Kages. His voice resonated with the deep, rumbling frequency of thunder. "Do not interfere. I will break him myself."
Onoki frowned, his hands glowing faintly with Particle Style chakra. "Do not be foolish, Raikage. He dismantled the vanguard without weaving a single sign."
The Raikage did not look back. He dropped his arms. He channeled his chakra inward, forcing it deep into his flesh and blood.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
A dense, visible armor of blue electricity erupted around the Raikage. His hair stood on end, spiking upward from the raw charge. The water beneath his feet boiled instantly, converting to steam from the sheer heat of his aura.
Nanami watched the transformation. The white flame of his Ten tightened around his skin, reinforcing his bones and muscles in preparation for the impact.
The Raikage vanished.
There was no blur. The space where he had been standing simply tore open, creating a rush of wind that pulled the surrounding mist inward.
Before a normal eye could blink, the Raikage materialized point-blank in front of Nanami. He twisted his massive frame, utilizing the terrifying momentum of his dash, and drove a right straight punch directly toward Nanami's chest. The fist carried enough force to shatter a mountain.
Nanami did not attempt to evade.
He planted his back foot. He channeled his spirit, condensing the white energy of his Ren entirely into his right hand, utilizing the advanced application of Ko. He drove his own fist forward to meet the incoming strike head-on.
Fist met fist.
Flesh and bone reinforced by absolute lightning chakra collided with flesh and bone reinforced by absolute spiritual density.
The initial impact produced zero sound. The forces involved were so immense that they compressed the air between their knuckles into a solid barrier of pressure.
A heartbeat later, the world caught up.
BOOM.
A cataclysmic shockwave erupted from the point of contact. The sound shattered the remaining wooden debris floating in the vicinity.
The ocean surface could not support the downward pressure of the collision. The water directly beneath them was forced outward in a perfect, towering ring. A massive crater formed in the sea, descending deep enough to briefly expose the rocky seabed to the open air.
The wall of displaced water rushed outward, forcing the Tsuchikage to fly higher and the Kazekage to erect a sudden barrier of iron sand to avoid being swept away.
In the center of the crater, hovering over the exposed earth before the water collapsed back inward, Nanami and the Raikage remained locked in their collision.
The Raikage's eyes widened slightly. His lightning armor cracked against Nanami's knuckles. He felt an absolute, unyielding resistance. His forward charge was entirely halted.
Nanami looked back at the Raikage, his expression neutral, his arm perfectly straight.
The ocean crashed back down, filling the crater with violent turbulence.
The Raikage utilized the shifting water to disengage. He pushed off the surface tension, sliding backward across the waves and coming to a halt. He lowered his right arm. A thin line of blood ran down his knuckles.
Nanami remained standing in the exact same location. The water settled around his sandals. He lowered his fist, shaking it once to dispel the numbness, before resting his hand back at his side.
The Raikage looked at his bleeding hand, then at the unbothered Konoha shinobi. A fierce, battle-hungry grin split the Kumogakure leader's face. He let out a booming laugh that shook the air.
He crouched low. He launched himself forward again.
The high-speed melee commenced.
The Raikage became a storm of blue electricity, circling Nanami and striking from multiple angles simultaneously. Each step he took vaporized the water beneath him, wrapping the battlefield in a thick, blinding screen of steam.
He threw a horizontal chop aimed at Nanami's neck. Nanami raised his left forearm, parrying the strike outward and disrupting the Raikage's balance. The Raikage instantly recovered, spinning into a high roundhouse kick. The lightning trailing from his leg scorched the air.
Nanami ducked, allowing the electrified leg to pass over his head. The wind from the kick sliced a clean trench through the ocean surface ten paces behind him.
As the leg passed, Nanami stepped completely inside the Raikage's guard. He delivered a rapid sequence of three short, brutal punches to the Raikage's gut.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The Raikage grunted. The Lightning Armor absorbed the lethal intent of the blows, but the sheer blunt force successfully disrupted his breathing rhythm.
The Raikage retaliated with a downward elbow strike, aiming to crush Nanami's skull. Nanami sidestepped the descending limb, placed his palm flat against the elbow, and pushed sideways. He used the Raikage's own falling weight to throw him off course.
The elbow missed Nanami and slammed into the water.
A geyser erupted fifty feet into the air, superheated into steam by the electrical discharge.
They moved across the ocean surface, their impacts creating continuous explosions of water. To the observing Kages, the fight appeared as a chaotic, blinding intersection of a blue lightning bolt and a white flash.
"His evasion is flawless," Onoki noted, floating higher to observe the rapid exchanges. "The Raikage is moving at his peak. The boy isn't just matching the speed; he's anticipating the strike before it's thrown."
"He doesn't retreat," the Third Kazekage observed, his iron sand shifting defensively. "He pivots. He parries. He stays within the range of a single blade's length. He is fighting the Raikage toe-to-toe and holding his ground."
The Raikage realized his standard assaults were failing to break the boy's defense. He backed away, creating a short gap. He raised his right hand, extending his four fingers and pressing them tightly together. He channeled a massive concentration of lightning chakra directly into the fingertips. The electrical output intensified, changing from a bright blue to a darker, more volatile hue.
"Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite!"
The Raikage charged. The speed of the dash tore a trench through the ocean surface.
He thrust his hand forward, aiming the spear-hand directly at Nanami's heart.
Nanami executed a precise, minimal rotation of his torso. The Four-Finger Nukite bypassed his chest by a hair's breadth.
The electrical discharge radiating from the Raikage's hand grazed Nanami's aura, creating a harsh, screeching sound as the two energies violently repelled each other.
With the Raikage overextended from the thrust, Nanami retaliated. He brought his right hand up, forming a rigid knife-hand. He focused his aura into the edge of his hand and struck downward, aiming directly for the Raikage's extended elbow joint.
The Raikage did not attempt to pull his arm back. Instead, he dropped his entire body weight, plunging downward into the water to avoid the joint break.
Nanami's strike missed the elbow and grazed the Raikage's shoulder armor. The impact sent a spiderweb of cracks through the hardened lightning chakra.
The Raikage submerged completely.
Nanami stood on the water, his eyes scanning the surface.
The ocean erupted beneath Nanami's feet.
The Raikage launched upward from underwater, utilizing a rising uppercut wreathed in blue lightning.
Nanami jumped backward, executing a backflip to create distance. The Raikage pursued him through the air, pressing the assault without granting his opponent a moment to land.
The Raikage landed heavily on the water and folded his pinky finger inward.
"Hell Stab: Three-Finger Nukite!"
The concentration of lightning chakra at his fingertips doubled. The sound of the electrical discharge became a continuous, high-pitched shriek.
The Raikage thrust his hand forward again. The speed of the attack was visibly faster than the four-finger variant.
Nanami extended his right arm. He held his hand open, fingers extended. He channeled his natural Wind affinity, layering it densely over his aura to create a pressurized blade of wind along his forearm.
The Raikage's Three-Finger Nukite collided with the outer edge of Nanami's forearm.
The intersection of piercing lightning and cutting wind created a violent elemental reaction. The wind barrier continuously shredded the incoming electrical currents, dispersing the energy outward into the atmosphere. Sparks of erratic lightning and erratic blades of compressed air shot outward, slashing deep gouges into the ocean.
The Raikage pushed harder, utilizing his massive leg strength to drive the spear-hand forward. Nanami held his ground, his boots pressing deeply into the water.
For three seconds, the two forces deadlocked.
Nanami altered the angle of his forearm by a fraction.
The sudden shift caused the Raikage's Three-Finger Nukite to slide harmlessly off the wind barrier. The Raikage stumbled forward, his primary attack deflected.
Nanami seized the opening.
Nanami right arm rose.
The movement possessed no start and no acceleration phase. It simply went from stationary to maximum velocity instantly.
Nanami brought the side of his hand down in a vertical chop, striking the exact point where the Raikage's neck met his shoulder.
The chop connected.
The Lightning Armor shattered. The blue electrical shroud fragmented into thousands of dissipating sparks.
The raw physical force of the strike transferred entirely into the Raikage's bones. The massive Kumogakure leader was driven downward.
He was shot into the ocean like a falling star.
He struck the water surface. The impact cratered the ocean again, generating a massive tidal wave that surged outward. The Raikage crashed into the seabed, fracturing the bedrock beneath his weight.
Nanami stood on the turbulent water surface above the impact zone. He lowered his right hand, exhaling a measured breath.
On the periphery, the remaining Kages observed the result of the exchange.
The Third Mizukage lowered his staff slightly, his eyes wide. "He shattered the Lightning Armor. With a single bare-handed strike."
"The boy's speed generates its own devastating weight," Onoki corrected, his voice tight. "He bypassed the armor by hitting it faster than the chakra could react to harden the flesh. The technique is terrifying."
The ocean water rushed back in, filling the massive crater and burying the seabed once more. The surface churned violently.
The water began to bubble. Steam rose in thick columns.
A surge of blue electricity shot upward from the depths, illuminating the water from below.
The Third Raikage erupted from the ocean.
He launched himself into the air, landing heavily on the water surface ten paces away from Nanami.
The Raikage's breathing was heavy. His dark skin was flushed. A distinct, deep purple bruise had formed along his right shoulder and neck, clearly visible where the Lightning Armor had failed to protect his flesh. His right arm hung slightly lower than his left.
He looked at Nanami.
A wide, ferocious smile spread across the Raikage's face. He threw his head back and let out a deep, booming laugh that vibrated with genuine joy.
"Excellent!" the Raikage shouted, rolling his injured shoulder. The joint popped loudly, and the arm regained its proper alignment. "I have fought beasts. I have fought armies. But it has been decades since I felt a blow that could bypass my shield!"
The Raikage raised his right hand again. The blue lightning flared back to life, enveloping his body in the dense chakra armor once more. The water beneath him boiled instantly.
He folded his ring finger inward, joining the pinky.
Only his index finger remained extended.
The lightning chakra concentrated entirely on the tip of the single finger. The energy became so dense that it transitioned from blue to a dark, unstable black. The sound of the technique changed from a high-pitched shriek to a low, ominous hum that physically shook the air.
"Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite!"
The Raikage initiated the dash.
The speed of the assault surpassed all previous iterations. The sheer force of his charge parted the ocean entirely, creating a dry trench from his starting position directly to Nanami's location.
He thrust the single finger forward, the black lightning screaming as it tore through the air, aimed perfectly at Nanami's chest.
Nanami did not move his feet. He waited until the black lightning was inches from his heart.
Nanami brought his hands up.
He brought his palms together, clapping them horizontally, catching the Raikage's extended index finger directly between his bare hands.
The impact of the catch generated a spherical shockwave that flattened the ocean surface for a hundred paces in every direction.
The forward charge of the Raikage was halted instantaneously.
The black lightning flared violently, attempting to discharge into Nanami's palms, attempting to burn through the flesh and bone.
Nanami's hands did not burn. He clamped his palms together with the absolute, crushing pressure of his aura. He locked the finger in place, denying the lightning the space required to arc or expand.
The Raikage stared in absolute shock. His ultimate spear was caught. It was completely immobilized.
Nanami shifted his weight. He maintained the vise grip on the Raikage's finger. He pivoted his hips, rotating his entire body with terrifying torque.
He threw the Third Raikage.
The massive Kumogakure leader was lifted off his feet by the grip on his single digit. He was flipped over Nanami's shoulder in a violent arc.
Nanami released the finger precisely at the apex of the throw.
The Raikage was launched across the ocean. He skipped across the water surface like a thrown stone, bouncing three times before crashing violently into the base of a distant, rocky atoll. The impact shattered the stone formation, burying the Raikage beneath tons of rubble.
Nanami lowered his hands. He inspected his palms. The skin was reddened from the intense heat of the black lightning, but his flesh remained intact.
He turned his attention away from the rubble and looked toward the remaining three Kages.
Onoki, the Third Kazekage, and the Third Mizukage stood frozen. They had watched the strongest physical combatant in the world unleash his ultimate technique, only to have it caught bare-handed and used to throw him into a mountain.
Nanami adjusted the collar of his shirt. He looked at the three leaders, his sea-green eyes entirely calm.
"Who is next?"