Five flaming arrows, looking like heavy ballista bolts, shot out in rapid succession.
Whoosh!
The rising wind whipped the long, upturned white hair of the old man charging through the lightning. At the critical moment—just as the crimson arrows and the lightning were about to collide—the savage figure of the Third Raikage leaped off the ground.
With one finger pointing to the sky and his other hand behind his back, he twisted his massive frame mid-air. The flaming arrows streaked beneath him, striking the ground behind with a deafening roar!
—PONG!!
A jagged sea of blazing fire erupted across the shattered rocky terrain. The earth trembled and debris flew, yet the lightning moved even faster than before, pressing forward with a terrifying momentum.
Amidst the electrical discharge, A caught a fleeting glimpse of the exploding arrows behind him. After a quick mental calculation of their power, a trace of disdain flickered in his eyes.
He flipped and landed, his feet driving into the earth as he leaned low. Like an indestructible lightning spear, he ignored the remaining four arrows, meeting them head-on with a single finger.
Charge!
Whoosh!
His robust figure pulled a peerless explosive gale in his wake! The flaming arrows and the finger gleaming with pale lightning collided like the points of two needles!
BOOM!!
The formidable flaming arrows were instantly detonated by that single finger, turning into a straight line of four backward-trailing crimson beams. The sea of fire exploded toward the sky, enveloping the area!
"Now—!"
Setsuna Uchiha's eyes flashed with cold light. His solemnity turned into a snarl. He pressed his left index and middle fingers together, forming the Tiger seal.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction!!"
His elderly frame leaned back as he exhaled nearly all of his accumulated chakra into an endless sea of fire. This technique, fueled by a chakra reserve expanded by the awakening of the Mangekyo Sharingan, manifested as a literal ocean of flames!
It lunged forward like a pack of wild dogs, expanding into a fan-shape nearly a hundred meters wide at its tail end, drowning everything in its path!
At the same time, Setsuna's gaze grew fierce. He swung his right arm back, fingers spread wide as he yanked the wires to change their trajectory. He didn't pull Ren back; instead, he hurled the mangled, barely breathing "Ren-sauce" straight toward the Third Raikage!
Inside the fire that sought to drown, crush, and incinerate everything...
The savage old man within the lightning tore through the flames, advancing as if they didn't exist. The only effect the fire had was obscuring his vision.
Trying to use this jutsu to hide your tracks and retreat?
A's gaze grew cold. It didn't matter; he had memorized the Konoha group's position. He was confident his speed would let him rip through the fire before they could escape.
However, right then, a black shadow was hurled directly in front of him. It was Ren Uchiha—the boy he had just crushed with the Liger Bomb.
A was momentarily stunned. He was saved, yet they didn't take him away? Why throw this kid back at me? Isn't he their clan's Young Master?!
But at that moment, Ren Uchiha—who looked as dead as can be, his body mangled and his neck folded—suddenly snapped open a pair of crimson snake pupils!
He was still alive!
"Well done, Great Elder!"
Facing the Third Raikage who had suddenly appeared before him, a savage grin spread across Ren's face. Then, he opened his mouth!
A thick white snake was instantly vomited out from the wreckage of his broken body!
The Great White Snake lunged, latching onto A as he streaked past. Its scales were charred black by the lightning armor, yet it coiled its body tightly around A's chest. The sight was bizarre—like a hitchhiker latching onto a high-speed train.
"Is this... Orochimaru's jutsu?"
A had never imagined someone would dare hitch a ride on the Hell Stab, especially in such a grotesque manner. He was startled, a chill running down his spine.
Then, the white snake opened its mouth. A brand-new Ren Uchiha, covered in slime, was vomited out!
This Ren was deathly pale, with two eerie purple markings around his eyes. Upon closer inspection, that pale skin wasn't human; it was composed of countless white snake scales. It possessed a strange, macabre beauty.
Ren snapped his eyes open, his crimson snake pupils glaring at the Raikage.
"Go to hell, you old turtle!"
The change was too fast. A couldn't alter his movement or break free from Ren's entanglement in time!
Ren stared wide-eyed, the blood vessels in his eyes bursting as tears of blood streamed down.
"Sage Art: Sharingan: White Rage Pupil!"
And accompanying this Sage Art ocular jutsu—which A absolutely could not dodge—Ren opened his mouth once more!
A golden sword light surged out! He vomited the Kusanagi Sword, which shot from the right side toward the temple of the savage old man within the strongest lightning armor!
"Composite Ninjutsu: Super-Vibrating Vacuum Wind Blade!"
In this heartbeat, A truly felt the shadow of death! His survival instincts made his forehead run cold; every hair on his body stood on end!
Normally, the boy's golden blade would take time to cut through his strongest defense, giving him time to react. But if he were caught in a Genjutsu and lost consciousness, the situation would change entirely. He would be a fish on the block, giving Ren all the time he needed to carve him open!
Damn this disgusting Uchiha brat!
A's scalp tingled. He glared back at Ren, who was perched on his shoulder looking at him with a gaze that wasn't human. His fury reached its peak!
The crimson snake pupils transformed into two red dragons, coiling around him and dragging him into the world of illusions. Then, the dragons swallowed a pearl and exhaled a pale beam of light that enveloped him.
The massive body kept charging forward, but the old man within the lightning had lost consciousness.
Psh-tkk!!
The golden blade slammed into the strongest lightning armor! Watching A tremble as he lost consciousness, leaving only his instincts, Ren licked his lips excitedly.
"Now, let's see what's left of you without this turtle shell! Raikage!"
His throat pulsed as he spat out more golden light, pressing the Kusanagi Sword down inch by inch.
Pierce, shred, carve... reveal it all to me!
But as Ren was focused on his strike, a sudden change occurred!
"HRAAAAAAAAH—!!"
The unconscious A suddenly let out a furious roar! His eyes were dull and vacant, yet he was possessed by a mindless rage. His muscles rippled and surged with that fury!
To Ren's growing horror, A used his raw muscular instinct to drive his right arm—which was held behind his back—and swung it forward in a brilliant arc of lightning!
"Lightning Style: Black Panther: Lightning Oppression Horizontal Thousand-Year Dance!!"
Under A's instinctual drive, the lightning on his hand-blade turned pitch-black and deep, carrying a power far exceeding ordinary lightning. The black lightning shifted into the shape of a panther, coiling around the Raikage's hand-blade.
He swung the blade at the golden light that was currently carving into his armor!
Squelch!
Flesh and bone against a legendary artifact. Half of A's left hand was instantly sheared off!
Yet the remaining half-palm, formed into a black-lightning blade, struck Ren squarely in the face with peerless force!
BANG!
Like a watermelon exploding, red and white matter sprayed everywhere. Ren lost his balance, falling from the shoulder of the high-speed Raikage and crashing limply into the ground.
At that moment, the Third Raikage snapped awake, gasping for air. He looked with a lingering sense of dread at the Kusanagi Sword, which had carved through his armor and remained lodged in his shoulder.
In front of him stood the Konoha shinobi, frozen in shock at the scene.
A's gaze turned savage, his eyes like two sharp blades scanning the crowd. He let out a horrific grin. Without stopping, he raised that single, charging finger and aimed it at the group!
Charge! A mad sprint! The fury in his heart churned like a stormy sea.
I was actually pushed to this state by that evil Uchiha brat!
His rage reached its zenith, fueling the final note of this hellish thrust—
"Then everyone just go to hell!!"
However—
"The one who's dying is YOU!!"
A raspy, familiar voice that seemed etched into the very marrow of his bones rang out from his side.
Bolting out from his right, appearing once again like a persistent ghost, was Ren Uchiha. His face was a mask of blood, his Sharingan glaring with fury.
He held a massive, swirling azure sphere, slamming it toward the right arm of the old man!
With a roar louder, more furious, and more savage than A's, he bellowed:
"SAGE ART: SUPER-I-DO-NOT-GIVE-A-RASHENGAN!!!"