On the battlefield of the Fourth Great Ninja War, in a vast wasteland where there was no vegetation and only endless yellow soil and stone pillars rising from the ground, three major battlefields had formed.
The first was the battle between the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, and the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa. On this battlefield, immense waves of sand clashed against equally powerful tsunamis of gold dust. The scene was grand and overwhelming, but overall, Gaara clearly held the advantage.
The second battlefield featured the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, versus the Second Tsuchikage, Mu. Their fight had moved far from the main army, as they continuously bombarded each other with bloodline limit techniques.
The clash was just as fierce, and for now, it was hard to tell who had the upper hand.If purely comparing mastery, Ōnoki's Dust Release was superior, but his advanced age left him at a disadvantage against Mu's youthful, Edo Tensei-restored body.
Even though Mu couldn't exert his full strength due to Edo Tensei's limitations, compared to the aged Ōnoki, he still had the better condition.
The third and final battlefield was naturally where Natsuro, the Sixth Hokage, faced off against the Third Raikage and the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hōzuki.
At that moment, two figures clad in lightning were colliding at speeds almost imperceptible to the naked eye.In terms of sheer visual spectacle, this was the least impressive battlefield, but no one dared to underestimate it.
The speed alone made it clear, this was not a fight any ordinary ninja could hope to interfere with.
This also included the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hōzuki.
His browless eyes kept tracking Natsuro and the Third Raikage, but just as he locked onto them, they would vanish and reappear elsewhere, making it impossible to find an opportunity to assist.Besides, he wasn't too eager to gang up on someone anyway; he was merely obligated to look for a chance to attack due to Edo Tensei's orders...
"That's definitely my old man," Temari, watching the battlefield from the frontlines of the Allied Shinobi Forces, muttered.
"Captain Temari, what should we do now?" The nearby ninja asked.
Usually, they would follow Gaara's orders, but now that Gaara was too busy, they naturally turned to Temari.
"Well... since our Kage haven't called for us to intervene, we should just observe for now,"Temari said after glancing at Shikamaru and receiving a confirming nod from him.
"Let's believe in our Kage, they'll definitely win," Shikamaru added, looking toward Natsuro.
Even though Natsuro was facing two Kage alone, Shikamaru still felt the advantage was on Natsuro's side.
Hearing this, the surrounding ninja fell silent. If the acting commanders had made their decision, they would follow it.
No one wanted to risk their lives unnecessarily, they had only asked because they feared that hesitation might cause their Kage to lose, leading to even greater disaster.
At this moment, Natsuro and the Third Raikage finally stopped, standing across from each other.
"Not bad, kid," the Third Raikage said,
"Your Lightning Release is impressive, you're able to clash evenly against my strongest Lightning Armor."
Even though he had only used Hell Stab - Four-Finger Spear earlier, that was still no small feat considering his physical durability.
Initially, seeing the lightning flickering around Natsuro's body, the Third Raikage had assumed Natsuro had stolen the Cloud Village's Lightning Release Chakra Mode, which had infuriated him further and led him to go all out.
But after their exchanges, he realized the nature of Natsuro's technique was fundamentally different from the Lightning Chakra Mode.
So...Was this a lightning technique developed by Konoha, one that could rival Lightning Chakra Mode?
At the same time, Natsuro was also marveling, the Third Raikage had truly polished his body to the absolute limit.If they were only comparing raw durability, even someone like Might Guy might not match the Third Raikage.
Of course, this referred solely to physical toughness, in terms of pure taijutsu, Might Guy was superior.
But the Third Raikage was incredibly strong in a simple, direct way: the perfect combination of invincible defense with his Lightning Armor and unstoppable offense with his Hell Stab.
Natsuro, on the other hand, was at a disadvantage, he was just a shadow clone.
He couldn't fully utilize his physical strength, relying instead on pure ninjutsu techniques.
Honestly, he thought it was already surprising he could match the Third Raikage's physical clashes using only his version of the Lightning Armor.
"Truly deserving of the title of Third Raikage. And the Cloud's Lightning Release Chakra Mode is worthy of its fame," Natsuro praised, his gaze growing serious.
"Hmph. Are you flattering yourself too, kid?" The Third Raikage snorted, but he smiled as well.
Even if he was irritated by Natsuro's earlier stubbornness, he had thoroughly enjoyed this fight.
Not even when he was alive had he experienced such an exhilarating battle.
"But from here on, it won't be just small tricks anymore," the Third Raikage said, lowering his extended fingers from four to three.
Hell Stab - Three-Finger Spear!
"Is that so? But using only three fingers feels like you're still underestimating me," Natsuro chuckled.
Snapping his fingers, Natsuro darkened the sky.
Suddenly, black clouds billowed into existence.
Within the clouds, lightning surged violently — and in an instant, countless bolts rained down, striking the earth... and Natsuro himself.
"This is..." The Third Raikage had never seen such a technique, he was stunned.
Moments later, the Third Raikage saw what had happened, Natsuro's body was now wrapped in natural lightning, so dense it glowed blindingly white.
The entire world was filled with the crackle and roar of lightning.
"Is that really something a human can control?" the Third Raikage muttered.
The distant Allied Shinobi Forces were thinking the same thing.
"Let's continue, Third Raikage," came Natsuro's voice, wrapped in thunder.
Thanks to his control over natural energy, Natsuro could draw upon true lightning without needing to use Kirin, even in ordinary combat, he could summon the power of the skies.
"Hmph. Sixth Hokage... I admit, I underestimated you," the Third Raikage said, now addressing Natsuro properly as a sign of his full recognition.
Then, the Third Raikage lowered his fingers from three... to just one.
Hell Stab - One-Finger Spear!
Natsuro watched calmly. He understood, this was going to be the final clash.
He smiled, eager to test the true extent of his current Lightning Release.
The lightning around his hand grew even more intense, accompanied by a shrill, bird-like chirping.
Sage Art ~ Lightning Release: Chidori!
The Third Raikage also sensed Natsuro's intent and smiled.
The two launched themselves at each other.
Despite the distance separating them, in the blink of an eye, they collided.
The Third Raikage thrust his single finger forward, the ultimate spear. Natsuro countered with his lightning-infused Chidori.
The clash of Hell Stab - One-Finger Spear and Chidori wasn't as visually overwhelming as massive-scale ninjutsu...But the moment they collided, an invisible shockwave shattered the ground beneath their feet.
Then came a blinding explosion of white light.
The already cracked earth was blasted into an enormous crater.
Some time later, as the explosion cleared, Natsuro was revealed... His arm bare, his sleeve completely shredded in the clash.
Compared to his torn clothing, the Third Raikage had suffered far worse, half his body was shattered, now slowly regenerating thanks to Edo Tensei.
The victor of the duel was clear.
"An amazing Hell Stab, you truly are worthy of being called the strongest Raikage," Natsuro said, looking at the fallen Third Raikage.
"Heh... Looks like the future belongs to the young after all. To be this strong at your age... Sixth Hokage... Natsuro, right?" the Third Raikage asked with a smile.
"That's right," Natsuro nodded.
"Good. I'll remember you. Now claim your victory, seal me away," the Third Raikage said.
"Of course," Natsuro nodded again, quickly sealing the Third Raikage in a binding cloth.
Just then, standing in the crater, he looked up. There was a massive figure loomed overhead, filling the pit completely.
Its robes matched those of the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hōzuki, but it was clear at a glance that this giant was made entirely of chakra...
It was a bomb!
It was none other than the Second Mizukage's signature technique...
S-Rank Water Release: Steaming Danger Tyranny!
After observing the battle for so long, the Second Mizukage had finally found the perfect opportunity.He had completed the preparation for Steaming Danger Tyranny during the massive explosion caused by the clash between the Third Raikage and Natsuro.
Natsuro looked up at the enormous Steaming Danger Tyranny clone looming above.Its bloated form was a clear sign, once it exploded, it would obliterate the entire area.If Natsuro's true body had been present, perhaps he could have withstood it, but as a Spiritual Shadow Clone, facing this kind of explosion would forcibly dispel him.
However, he showed no sign of worry.
This was the advantage of information disparity, the Second Mizukage didn't know Natsuro's true capabilities.
If it had been a ninja from this era, they would never have tried such a technique against Natsuro.
Because it would simply be a waste, Steaming Danger Tyranny, no matter how powerful, consumed a massive amount of chakra, and it was foolish to use such a move against someone capable of Flying Thunder God.
Of course, being Edo Tensei, the Second Mizukage didn't need to worry about chakra exhaustion.
The next moment, the giant form began to explode, flooding the entire crater with vapor and violent blasts of water.
"Is it over just like that?" The Second Mizukage frowned as he stared at the mist filling the crater, muttering unhappily,
"Hey come on, you sealed the Third Raikage, so try a bit harder and seal me too. I really don't want to keep being controlled by that damned Orochimaru."
"Don't worry. You're next," came Natsuro's voice from a different direction.
Earlier, he had scattered his Flying Thunder God kunai across the entire battlefield, every division had them.
Temari and Shikamaru, watching from the frontline, noticed the white-cloth-wrapped sealed body of the Third Raikage fall from the sky, obviously thrown by Natsuro.
"Looks like our job is just to keep this thing safe and prevent the enemy from breaking the seal," Shikamaru said calmly.
"Seems like it," Temari agreed, though after a moment's thought, she stood up.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Shikamaru asked.
To him, all three battles seemed to be in their favor so Temari didn't need to move.
"I have a few things I want to say to that stubborn old man of mine," Temari replied.
"...I see." Shikamaru glanced toward Gaara and Rasa, who were clearly having a conversation in the midst of battle, and nodded in understanding.
Meanwhile, Natsuro looked around at the hail that had begun falling from the sky.
He quickly understood, the hail was being used to cool and solidify the vapor left from the Steaming Danger Tyranny explosion, allowing the Second Mizukage to re-form his clone once again.
In other words, as long as the Second Mizukage had enough chakra, Steaming Danger Tyranny could explode infinitely, constantly reforming after each blast.
"Quite the impressive technique..." Natsuro genuinely praised.
"Space-Time Ninjutsu, huh?" The Second Mizukage narrowed his browless eyes.
Under such conditions, a normal Body Flicker Technique couldn't bypass obstacles to escape, only Space-Time Ninjutsu could.
"This is Flying Thunder God, created by the Second Hokage," Natsuro answered.
"That guy's jutsu, huh? What a shame... I never got a proper chance to fight him," the Second Mizukage mused, stroking his beard.
Then he looked at Natsuro thoughtfully and asked, "So... you weren't even going all out when you fought the Third Raikage?"
"Not exactly," Natsuro replied, "At least in terms of pure Lightning Release techniques, that was the strongest jutsu I currently have."
(Of course, that didn't include his true body — all his clone's jutsu were weaker to some extent.)
"I see. Then, you used Lightning Release against the Third Raikage, are you planning to use Water Release against me?" the Second Mizukage asked.
"That's my plan. Although I'm not as proficient with Water Release as I am with Wind and Lightning," Natsuro admitted.
"Is that so? Well, give it your best shot. If you could defeat the Third Raikage with Lightning Release, I won't doubt that you can defeat me with Water Release," the Second Mizukage chuckled.
Then he quickly formed hand signs and pressed his hands to the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A gigantic clam appeared beside him, it was his summoned beast, The Giant Clam.
By using the Giant Clam, the Second Mizukage could conceal his true position and continuously launch Steaming Danger Tyranny attacks.
Even if the enemy possessed Space-Time Ninjutsu, they couldn't dodge forever. And if Natsuro could, the clone still wouldn't be able to teleport the entire Allied Shinobi Forces out of danger at once.
No matter how strong Natsuro was individually, there was a limit.
Hidden within the mirage created by the Giant Clam, the Second Mizukage smiled, eager to see how the Sixth Hokage would handle it.
If he had been alive, his chakra reserves would have quickly run dry using this tactic.But as an Edo Tensei, with effectively infinite chakra, this flaw no longer existed.
"Originally, if I were fighting the Allied Forces, I would have revealed my weakness to them...But since you plan to take me down with Water Release, perhaps you won't need me to spell it out for you," the Second Mizukage said, gazing at Natsuro.
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Currently on Chapter 397 - Spreading Natural Energy