Chapter 320: Lightning Release Clash, Defeating A Head-on
In the simulation, Akiyama Makoto had a direct conflict with Raikage A because he wanted to make a big move.
But now Makoto didn't want to expose his strength so thoroughly, so he naturally had to take the initiative to resolve the conflict.
However, this wasn't an easy task.
Because Obito pretended to be Makoto and attacked the teams of the Rock Village and the Cloud Village, both sides maintained extremely high vigilance.
Even if Makoto could use the Flying Thunder God, he couldn't directly break into the Cloud Village team, which wouldn't be much different from the simulation.
So what specific method should he use?
Soon, Makoto determined the location of the Cloud Village team. They were currently hiding in the forest.
The Raikage guard of the Cloud Village also had sensory ninja. Although their perception wasn't as sharp as the Byakugan and the Mind's Eye of Kagura, with multiple people cooperating, within a radius of one or two kilometers, it was impossible to allow anyone to have the opportunity to sneak attack A.
Makoto could naturally discover their movements in advance, but it was difficult to act without being discovered by them.
At this time, Raikage A was gathering intelligence from his subordinates, estimating the ninjutsu and strength of the ninja on Makoto's side, so as to determine the final course of action.
This was Raikage A. He looked like a big brute full of muscles, but in fact, when his emotions weren't running wild, he was a very rational person.
"In other words, Konoha only sent people familiar with Makoto, not regular troops."
"This is probably telling us that Konoha and this Makoto aren't in the same group, and we can act freely."
A confident smile appeared on the corner of A's mouth. He didn't think he would lose to Makoto.
Even if Makoto had earned the title of Flash Ninja, he was still young. How could he compare to Minato Namikaze back then?
And compared to himself back then, A's strength had also improved greatly. He was confident that even if he encountered Minato Namikaze back then, he wouldn't be at a disadvantage.
"Just right, Konoha suffered heavy losses during this period. I will take action directly and use this method to let Konoha understand which village is truly the strongest in the ninja world now."
After the Konoha Crush plan, A actually thought about launching a surprise attack on Konoha.
It was just that he and Ōnoki didn't agree on the distribution of tasks and benefits, so in the end, he could only confront Konoha for a while and end it.
At this time, in A's eyes, Ōnoki was the most troublesome person.
In comparison, Tsunade was just a fledgling little girl without connections and was a medical ninja. How strong could she be?
As long as this Makoto was defeated, Konoha would have no ninja who could hold up the facade.
"But, Raikage-sama, isn't this too risky?"
C frowned and said, "Even without considering this Makoto, there is still Ōnoki behind us. Will he take the opportunity to act?"
A snorted coldly and said, "Ōnoki is already an old man. Even if he still has ambition, he no longer has the courage he had back then."
"Once something happens to him, the entire Rock Village doesn't even have a decent successor, so it's not worth worrying about."
Seeing C wanting to persuade him further, A waved his hand directly and said, "If you are worried, help me suppress the ninja around Makoto."
"C, lead a team to persuade Ōnoki to watch the outcome of this battle. I think he won't refuse."
C could only nod and led his team towards the direction of the Rock Village ninja.
They didn't know that all this was seen by Makoto.
Makoto, sensing all this from a big tree more than ten kilometers away, had a smile on the corner of his mouth.
C was the ninja with the strongest sensory ability around Raikage A. His departure meant that the sensory range around A was reduced by at least half.
This wasn't A being stupid, but A felt that contacting Ōnoki was more important, and only C could easily discover Ōnoki's tracks.
Unfortunately, doing so really underestimated Makoto.
So Makoto recalled the shadow clone that had already condensed natural energy, and entered Sage Mode.
Dealing with Raikage A, Makoto wouldn't lose even without Sage Mode.
But to take down the opponent quickly, using Sage Mode was the best way.
Most importantly, cultivating Sage Mode for a long time in two simulations allowed Makoto to have a small introduction to mastering natural energy.
Not only could he slowly absorb natural energy, but he could also integrate himself into the natural atmosphere to achieve the effect of evading perception.
It was just that this effect was still weak at present. He could only cover his aura in the forest with the help of his Wood Style and the cover of trees, and he couldn't move too violently.
This ability seemed a bit useless now, but Makoto understood that this was just the beginning.
When his utilization and understanding of natural energy went further, he estimated he would have the ability to hide his aura like White Zetsu.
As for the higher level, that would be completely merging with nature.
Even merging with Makoto's own Wood Style was a quite powerful means, enough for Makoto to quietly solve most enemies in the ninja world.
As for not moving violently, because Makoto had the Flying Thunder God Technique, he could easily avoid it.
So on the only path of Raikage A's team, Makoto lay in ambush.
His figure gradually became illusory and disappeared under the cover of trees.
This wasn't changing color or invisibility, but the disappearance of aura. Makoto himself was actually sitting there.
It was just that only eyes could see him, but sensory perception couldn't.
Soon, Raikage A entered Makoto's attack range.
Although he wasn't swaggering, he had taken off his Haori and was ready to activate the Lightning Release Armor.
He knew Makoto knew the Flying Thunder God Technique, but he also knew that the Flying Thunder God Technique required leaving a Flying Thunder God formula before teleporting.
He and Makoto hadn't met yet, and there were sensory ninja around him. A didn't think he would be sneak attacked at this time.
But the moment their team passed by Makoto, the sound of breaking air rang out.
A didn't think and struck a hand chop in a certain direction. In this direction, Makoto appeared for an instant. If Makoto had normal speed, he would definitely hit the hand chop.
However, the current Makoto had activated Sage Mode, and his basic quality alone exceeded that of ordinary Kage-level powerhouses.
Therefore, A's hand chop only hit Makoto's afterimage. At the same time, all the sensory ninja around A were hit by Makoto's palm.
Makoto didn't kill them, but he didn't show mercy either.
All the sensory ninja spat blood and disappeared, sent by Makoto into the prepared prison with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Ino and the others immediately sealed the chakra of all these sensory ninja and threw them into the corner of the prison.
When A put down his arm and prepared to attack again, he had become completely blind in the forest.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
With a cold chant, all the trees around A began to grow crazily. Finally, within a radius of one kilometer centered on A, all the trees grew to a height of more than fifty meters.
The dense canopy blocked all sunlight. It was pitch black in front of the Cloud Village ninja. In such an environment, the faint golden light emitted by Makoto's eyeshadow illuminated his face.
Makoto's figure then landed in front of Raikage A. He clapped his hands and said, "So it's the Raikage. I wonder what business you have coming to my Land of Waves?"
"Charging in directly without my permission, can I understand this as the Cloud Village declaring war on the Land of Waves without declaration?"
At this time, A realized that things were bad.
He was confident that he could confront Makoto, and decided to confront Makoto alone, which included the idea of not letting the people around him take risks.
Unexpectedly, their arrival was discovered by Makoto in advance and a trap was set.
Was the intelligence leaked, or did Makoto predict things like a god?
Was that peculiar eyeshadow some unknown ninjutsu?
Raikage A knew the Flying Thunder God, but didn't know Sage Mode.
After all, activating Sage Mode guaranteed at least the strength of Kage-level peak. Raikage A back then wasn't qualified to encounter such an enemy.
But this didn't affect Raikage A's judgment. He roared, "Everyone scatter and break out, rendezvous with C, and then listen to his command. Leave this to me!"
The next second, Raikage A activated the Lightning Release Armor and rushed towards Makoto involuntarily.
At this moment, he was using his life to cover the rear for his subordinates.
This wasn't some Will of Fire, but a purely rational judgment.
Because he judged that no one except himself could stop Makoto. Only by letting at least one subordinate contact C and letting C conduct follow-up command could the Cloud Village have a chance to turn the tables.
Makoto didn't stop the scattering Cloud Village ninja either, because one of his shadow clones was sensing the positions of these ninja in the villa, and then used the Flying Thunder God Technique to send the girls around Makoto to these ninja.
This was a rare opportunity for actual combat, and Makoto naturally wouldn't let them miss it.
As for Raikage A, he was naturally left to Makoto himself. He wanted to personally experience the taste of the real Lightning Release Armor.
The next second, Raikage A turned into a stream of light and rushed towards Makoto, firing on all cylinders instantly.
Under the blessing of the Lightning Release Armor, Raikage A's Body Flicker Technique also achieved the effect of near teleportation, appearing behind Makoto in just an instant.
The only drawback was that this was ultimately the Body Flicker Technique, not Space-Time Ninjutsu, and couldn't avoid obstacles in front.
Then A concentrated Lightning Release chakra on his elbow and struck towards Makoto's back. This was exactly the fighting technique called Elbow, if hit by this move, most people in the ninja world would die instantly.
Unfortunately, he met Makoto.
Makoto didn't dodge, nor did he counterattack.
Instead, Byakugan pupil power flashed in his eyes. The next second, Pure Light Heavenly Armor appeared on Makoto's body.
Pure Light Heavenly Armor, no less than Susanoo, appeared on Makoto's body, resisting Raikage A's blow.
Under Raikage A's ghostly gaze, Makoto was knocked flying, but landed easily with just a somersault, and a hole was punched in the Pure Light Heavenly Armor on his back.
But the next second, with the flow of Makoto's chakra, the Pure Light Heavenly Armor returned to its original state.
Feeling the loss of pupil power in his pupils, Makoto nodded with satisfaction.
This ninjutsu meant little to him, barely able to withstand Raikage A's attack under the blessing of Sage Mode.
But this was because his pupil power wasn't enough. If given to Hinata, it would be enough to deal with most enemies.
Seeing that his proud attack and speed couldn't gain any advantage in front of Makoto, A finally was moved and said, "What ninjutsu is this?"
"I've never heard that Konoha ninja know this jutsu."
Makoto smiled slightly and said, "I invented it."
A broke defense directly and said, "Impossible, how old are you! Learning the Flying Thunder God and Wood Style is incredible enough, where do you have time to invent such ninjutsu?"
Makoto smiled even brighter and said, "You don't understand the world of geniuses."
"I might happen to have the bloodline of the First Hokage, the ninjutsu research talent of the Second Hokage, the five-nature chakra talent of the Third Hokage, and the Space-Time Ninjutsu talent of the Fourth Hokage—you can't assume I don't exist just because you don't have them, right?"
Makoto clenched his fist, and lightning flashed on his fist.
Seeing this scene, Raikage A couldn't believe it even more, because Makoto seemed to be about to display his special skill.
Raikage A felt humiliated. Was the skill he practiced hard since childhood imitated by others just like that?
Absolutely impossible!
He wanted to use his body and spirit to defeat this imposter in front of him!
A rushed towards Makoto again, and then the hand chop in his hand turned into lightning and chopped towards Makoto's neck.
This was exactly one of A's strongest means, Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop.
When he was young, A cut off the Eight-Tails' left horn with this move. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, A even cracked the initial form of Madara Uchiha's Susanoo with this move.
Unfortunately, A still underestimated the current Makoto.
Makoto directly activated Monstrous Strength, Sage Mode, plus the blessing of Pure Light Heavenly Armor and Lightning Release Armor, and smashed a hand chop towards A's arm as well.
The next second, the arms of the two collided.
Strong chakra erupted, sweeping away the surrounding trees and clearing a large open space.
The arms of the two were still deadlocked together. A looked expressionless, as if this move was ordinary to him.
But only Makoto knew that A's tempered body had collapsed, and his bones were shattered.
He maintained this appearance to maintain his last dignity, and even more to buy as much time as possible for his subordinates.
Makoto withdrew his hand calmly. Seeing that A still wanted to continue, he said, "A, do we have a life-and-death feud?"
A frowned. Makoto not pursuing was what he wished for, so he said, "Naturally not, but you insulted the Cloud Village, so I naturally have to seek justice."
Although A still had a fierce tone, those who knew him knew that A was softening at this time.
He knew that if he continued to fight like this, he would definitely die today.
If only he died, A wouldn't be afraid.
But the guard members he brought today were all the mainstays of the future Cloud Village, and they couldn't all die here at once.
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