Third Raikage, Fourth Raikage A, and Killer Bee stood back to back; although they were in a desperate situation, they showed no signs of despair.
"A, and Bee, I'm sending you out. Remember, don't be impulsive, be patient, and be good at taking advice. For village affairs, consult Mabui and others. For external affairs, consult Dodai. From today onwards, you are the Fourth Raikage."
Third Raikage suddenly reached out, grabbed Fourth Raikage A and Killer Bee's arms, and then, with a few powerful swings, threw them towards the Land of Lightning.
"Father!" Fourth Raikage A flew at extreme speed through the air. The things on the ground became increasingly small, and he could barely make out that tiny flash of Lightning Release in the dense crowd.
Although that flash of Lightning Release was already extremely weak, the overwhelming numbers of Sand Ninja and Iwagakure Ninja still dared not advance, like an ancient giant standing between heaven and earth.
Killer Bee wrapped his octopus tentacles tightly around Fourth Raikage A, tears streaming down his face. Though he was usually easygoing, he understood what this meant.
They had flown out of the encirclement, still maintaining an extremely fast speed, but they were beginning to descend. They could no longer clearly see the back of that towering man.
"Father, I will uphold your legacy. I won't let a single Sand Ninja or Iwagakure Ninja go."
Fourth Raikage A's expression was sorrowful. On this day, not only did he lose his father, but Kumogakure also lost its pillar of support. However, he had to pull himself together to prevent the sky from falling on Hidden Cloud Village.
"Third Raikage threw his son and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki out. Should we pursue them?"
Karura still had the strength to fight, and leading a few elites was possible, though it would come at a great cost, perhaps even mutual destruction.
"No need. We'll directly crush Hidden Cloud Village. Without Hidden Cloud Village's restraint, Iwagakure poses too great a threat to us."
Rasa opened his eyes, looking at Third Raikage, who had already plunged into the Iwagakure army. A hint of admiration flashed in his eyes, but he had no intention of joining the fight.
On the other side, Ōnoki gritted his teeth and ultimately gave up on pursuing Fourth Raikage A and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. While doing so might completely cripple Kumogakure, it could also lead to furious retaliation from Hidden Cloud Village.
As for Third Raikage, who was battling within Iwagakure, he had no intention of interfering in that fight. The attrition of Iwagakure Ninja was something he wanted to see.
If resources aren't enough to go around and the pie can't be made bigger, then the only option is to find ways to reduce the population. War is one method, and another is to increase the cost of living and the danger of missions, making Ninja unwilling to have children.
Only by reducing the population to a suitable number will there be no chaos, and only then can his rule be maintained. As for these low-level Ninja, if they die, they die.
They themselves don't have much talent; becoming cannon fodder is their best destination. After they die, their assets can be recovered and reused.
He wasn't the only one who thought this way; almost all of the upper echelons thought this way. He could sacrifice, but not without value, but some people were destined to sacrifice without value.
He even had to thank Third Raikage for solving this big problem for him. Although Third Raikage wasn't foolish and knew that killing these cannon fodder was useless.
So he tried his best to kill the Chunin and Jonin of Iwagakure. In a Ninja village, Chunin and Jonin are the pillars, while Genin are cannon fodder in every sense.
Enough Jonin dying could truly shake Ōnoki's rule, but unfortunately, Jonin were extremely cunning, always finding ways to avoid Third Raikage's charges.
And those Genin, whose eyes were red with bloodlust and who saw Third Raikage nearing his end, were instead extremely excited and wanted to rush over, as if killing Third Raikage would allow them to escape their low status.
But the world with extraordinary power is even crueler. Even if a certain Genin delivered the final blow to Third Raikage and killed Third Raikage.
And Ōnoki kept his promise, rewarding a large amount of money and resources in front of everyone, and elevating their status to Jonin.
But it still comes down to this: if one's own ability cannot bear the position, then one will inevitably suffer a backlash. A random A-rank mission could cause them to die.
No matter how good a policy sounds, if its implementation goes awry, it becomes tyranny. No matter how sweet the words, honey can turn into arsenic.
Therefore, Third Raikage's heart was extremely bitter. His stamina, his Chakra, would inevitably be expended on these Genin who were seeking death.
Ōnoki naturally saw Third Raikage's mood. He was very pleased. Although dying in battle is a warrior's highest honor.
But for a lion to be bitten to death by a swarm of mice is the ultimate tragedy. Although calling his own Genin 'mice' might be politically incorrect, that's what he truly thought.
Third Raikage gave up on actively pursuing the high-ranking Iwagakure and Sand Ninja; instead, he was breaking through. He had already planned for this.
Even if he didn't succeed in breaking through, then to stop him, some capable Ninja would have to rush over to block him.
The speed of mere Genin couldn't stop him. This was also a way for him to achieve his goal: if I can't go to the mountain, then the mountain will come to me.
Third Raikage's speed was incredibly fast, like a winding bolt of lightning. A single triple thrust could cover hundreds of meters, leaving behind shattered Genin in his wake.
"Hahaha! Almost there, almost at the border!" Third Raikage laughed heartily. He could already see many Jonin, under the command of their Kage, coming to surround and intercept him.
"Kill! Kill to your heart's content! Today, this old man will make everyone understand that I, Third Raikage, am not someone any common fool can kill!"
Third Raikage's movement influenced the entire Sand Ninja and Iwagakure allied forces' movement, actively shifting to try and bring him back to the center.
And the first to reach Third Raikage were some relatively close Chunin and Jonin. Although he knew he couldn't break out, he was still happy.
He had indeed succeeded. As long as he aimed to break through, an endless stream of Chunin and Jonin would come to stop him, and in front of him, the difference between Jonin and Chunin was negligible.
Although he had less than twenty percent of his Chakra left and had run out of Soldier Pill, it was still enough for him to kill many Jonin.
Killing until now, he no longer remembered how many people he had killed. A thousand or fifteen hundred? Anyway, it was a lot, but compared to the more than ten thousand people, it was still insignificant.
Possessing the strongest spear and the strongest shield, no one could harm him, and no one could stop his charge. As long as he had Chakra, he could keep killing.
This was a devastating slaughter, carving a path of blood. If not for his Lightning Release Armor, he might have been entirely covered in blood.
"Sixth, good, keep coming, keep killing!"
Third Raikage was counting, counting how many Jonin he had killed. In reality, a large Ninja village only has about a hundred Jonin.
Among these nearly twenty thousand Ninja, the number of Jonin was less than two hundred, scattered sparsely, but now they had no choice but to gather to block him.
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