"Boom!!!"
The azure lightning, with the appearance of this man, struck the ground with a resounding crash!
In an instant, it unleashed an immense shockwave, spreading indiscriminately in all directions from his body!
The powerful gale cleared everything on the ground in an instant!
It also blew the clothes of Kyo, Kakashi, and the others nearby, making them rustle loudly!
At this moment,
the white pillar of light began to slowly fade.
This man, wreathed in azure-blue lightning, knelt on one knee with one hand on the ground, his presence overwhelming amidst the storm!
After a moment, he slowly rose to his feet,
lifting his gaze slightly, sweeping it lightly in all directions, and finally looking toward Kyo.
He then spoke calmly:
"Although the surroundings already seem quite chaotic, it appears now... that the battle isn't over yet."
"It seems I have arrived... just in time."
As his steady voice fell,
suddenly, the entire battlefield fell into complete silence!!
At that moment, the gaze of almost everyone present was fixed entirely on this suddenly appearing man!
He was a robust, middle-aged man with dark skin and light yellow hair. He wore a white robe, and on both shoulders, there are emblems of a green swirling blade.
His entire body was clad in layers of heavy armor.
And the wide belt around his waist was particularly striking.
However, at this moment,
more than his appearance, what most people noticed... was the lightning enveloping him!
This scene was truly too shocking!
Everyone was frozen in place.
Although some had never seen him before, upon seeing the lightning surrounding him, everyone knew who he was!
Because this man, on the battlefields of the past Shinobi World War, had swept through all enemies with this very formidable stance!
Moreover, he bore a powerful title, one that rivaled the "Yellow Flash" of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato–
"Blue Lightning"!
With the armor of thunder, with the speed of lightning!
When he moved across the battlefield, no enemy could perceive his existence!
Only a single... blue lightning bolt would flash by!
That's right! This man was none other than...
The supreme leader of the Land of Lightning's Kumogakure – the Fourth Raikage, A!!!
At this moment,
all the bounty Shinobi who recognized him began to gasp sharply, their spines chilling with disbelief.
"Hiss..."
"Wh-What's going on! This is... the Raikage?!"
"Impossible! Unbelievable! How could the Raikage suddenly descend from the sky?!?!"
"Could it be that he too has come to... compete for the Sharingan...?!"
All the bounty Shinobi's expressions changed dramatically, shocked and bewildered by the sudden turn of events.
Meanwhile,
in a certain distant location,
several intelligence Shinobi from Kumogakure, upon seeing this scene, instantly became so excited they nearly jumped for joy!
"It's... It's Fourth Raikage-sama!!"
"Oh my god!! I never thought Raikage-sama would actually use Mabui's [Heavenly Transfer Technique] to get here directly!"
"There's hope! This time, the Sharingan... will surely belong to our Kumogakure!!!"
"Great! This is great!!"
The few Kumogakure's intelligence Shinobi, their faces flushed, celebrated as if they were already victorious.
Uncontrollable joy was on each of their faces, their blood boiling with excitement, as if they had taken stimulants.
Although Raikage's battle hadn't officially started yet, they had no worries whatsoever.
Because... the strength of the Fourth Raikage required no doubt!
His presence alone equated to the word "undefeated"!
The Sharingan,
was practically confirmed to be within their grasp!
...
However,
while they rejoiced at the Raikage's appearance,
naturally, there were those who began to worry.
One such person was Danzo, hiding in a distant, abandoned building.
From the very beginning, he had been constantly observing everything on the battlefield, naturally taking clear note of all these unfolding events.
Initially, when he saw Guy preparing to fight with full strength, Danzo's heart was filled with anticipation.
After all, he knew the immense power of the forbidden technique known as the "Eight Gates".
Danzo felt that his side still had a chance to win.
But then,
when the lightning-wreathed Fourth Raikage descended from the sky within the pillar of light, Danzo's aged face instantly changed dramatically, his eye bulging as if they might pop out!
'Wait!'
'What's going on?!'
'Why would the Fourth Raikage, far away in the Land of Lightning, suddenly appear here?!'
'The way he just appeared...'
'Could it be a Space-Time Ninjutsu?!'
'Why?!'
Danzo's hand gripped the wall beside him tightly, veins bulging, as if he might crush the entire wall!
His pupil was bloodshot from staring so wide!
As an old adversary of Konoha, Danzo was undoubtedly aware of Kumogakure's formidable strength!
And the strength of this Fourth Raikage, A, needed no further elaboration; likely, no one in Konoha today could match him!!
Even if that old man Sarutobi Hiruzen came personally, he probably couldn't win!
At the very least, in terms of speed and close-quarters combat, Hiruzen stood absolutely no chance against this Fourth Raikage!
And now, on the battlefield,
while the strength of Kakashi and Guy was decent enough...
they were far too young!!
At this point in time, regardless of combat experience or overall strength,
they absolutely could not defeat the Fourth Raikage, who was still in his prime!
They needed time to develop.
But now, with the Sharingan about to be seized, where was the time for them to develop?!
With this in mind,
Danzo's teeth were nearly ground to the point of bleeding!
'Damn it, damn it!!'
'If only... if only my Mangekyo Sharingan were still here, I could have used Kotoamatsukami!'
'But now... it's too late!!'
Danzo's aged face was incredibly grim.
...
At this moment,
someone else was in a similar predicament.
That was the masked man, Obito, watching the situation below from a distant rooftop.
At that moment, he too was narrowing his eye, finding it hard to believe!
'...What?'
'The Fourth Raikage... has personally come???'
'How... can this be?!'
'Is Kumogakure so damn impatient to compete for the Sharingan!?'
The masked man frowned deeply.
He wondered how Kitsune Ogre would fare against someone like the Raikage, who excelled so much in close-quarters combat...
However, regardless,
he might have to start preparing to intervene with a surprise attack at any moment.
The masked man's eye glinted faintly.