Choji had been severely injured by Raiga Kurosuki. The rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist Village had left a long wound stretching from the fatty's belly to his left rib in the final moments. Due to the Thunderswords, the area around the wound was also torn, causing Choji immense pain. However, he clenched his teeth and didn't utter a sound.
It was fortunate that Choji had a thick layer of fat and a robust build. If Ino's slender waist had taken such a hit, she would have been down by now.
Choji, with his tough skin and thick flesh, had been chased and slashed by Raiga all the way. Though he looked covered in wounds, his face scorched black, and his hair reeking of burnt smell, he could recover after just two meals of barbecue. Ino, on the other hand, was fragile. As soon as she caught Ranmaru, she immediately used the Water Body Flicker Technique three times in succession, creating a distance of several dozen meters.
"I'm going to bury you alive! Put Ranmaru down!" Raiga Kurosuki, filled with rage, abandoned Choji and turned to chase Ino like a madman.
He continuously accelerated himself with lightning, turning the physically taxing "Thunderswords: Slash" into a movement skill. Lightning crisscrossed, and stray electric snakes flew in all directions. Trees, rocks, and even rivers were sliced apart. He was like a reckless thunder god, disregarding the consumption of his Chakra, and forcefully caught up to Ino.
"Die!"
He unleashed a technique named after himself: "Lightning Release: Lightning Fang!"
Crossing and raising his twin swords, he briefly charged up before releasing a storm of lightning in all directions!
Asuma managed to slash a deep, bone-revealing wound on his back, but the thunderstorm still descended.
Ino was the first to bear the brunt. Facing the dense barrage of lightning, she had no choice but to put Ranmaru down. She quickly formed hand seals, took a deep breath, and spat out a waterfall-like curtain of water. The water curtain rapidly spun around her body under her control, absorbing external water to reinforce the defensive wall.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
As soon as she finished the seals, lightning bolts as thick as water buckets struck the water wall one after another. Electric arcs rapidly danced across the circular water wall.
While Ino was still observing the consumption of the water wall, Raiga Kurosuki had already transformed into a sharp arrow, ferociously pouncing forward.
He charged through the water wall, allowing the erratic lightning on the wall to strike his body.
It was true that he had released the lightning, but he wasn't immune to it. These bolts could still harm him.
His shoulder, abdomen, temple, and teeth were all injured by the lightning. He simply used the Thundersword in his right hand to deflect the lightning to the side, diverting most of the electrical energy. Then, he threw himself forward, shattering the already extremely weakened water wall with his shoulder.
"Die!!" His eyes were bloodshot, truly looking as if they were about to burst. He stared intently at Ino inside the water wall, not even bothering to dodge as Ino, gripping a kunai in reverse, stabbed it into his shoulder. The Thundersword in his left hand ruthlessly pierced through Ino's heart.
"Poof!" A puff of white smoke rose. He was furious, yanking the kunai from his shoulder and glaring at the distant figure. "A Shadow Clone? Damn rats of the Hidden Leaf Village!"
Ino was becoming increasingly proficient with the Shadow Clone Technique. Naruto hadn't even developed a tenth of its potential, while Tenten could only rely on sheer numbers to brute force her way through. In Ino's hands, however, the technique had many versatile uses.
She left a Shadow Clone to buy time, while her real body continued running towards the 10 o'clock direction with Ranmaru. When Raiga, at the cost of injury, destroyed the Shadow Clone and caught up again, she would send out another Shadow Clone to block him.
Asuma was also seizing every opportunity to launch fierce attacks. His strength was actually on par with Raiga's, but the defensive and speed enhancements provided by the "Lightning Release Armour" were weakening. In the midst of Ino and Shikamaru's hostage-taking and subsequent full-speed dash across the battlefield, Raiga was left battered and bruised, while Asuma only had his clothes torn by the "Lightning Release Armour," slightly drained his stamina and Chakra, but remained unscathed.
The coordination of the Ino-Shika-Cho Formation was one thing, but the opponent's mental instability was another. A normal enemy wouldn't have been led around by the nose like this.
"Shadow Imitation Technique!" Shikamaru, who had been lying in ambush at the 10 o'clock direction, leaped out from the side. His pitch-black shadow snaked into Raiga Kurosuki's feet, forcibly restraining the enemy.
In the future, Shikamaru would be able to bind a Tailed Beast Transformation, but he was far from that level now. The internal strife initiated by Ino had made him slightly stronger than in the original timeline, but whether he could control Tayuya was still unknown, let alone Raiga Kurosuki. The gap was simply too vast.
He only managed to maintain the technique for two seconds before breaking into a cold sweat. Raiga's struggles were too intense, and Shikamaru's already limited Chakra was rapidly depleting.
"Hurry! You guys need to help too!" he shouted.
Ino quickly formed Hand Seals and cast a Genjutsu, "Hell Viewing Technique," on Raiga Kurosuki. It was a very basic D-rank Genjutsu, and even though Ino's Yin Release level was relatively high, the low rank of the technique limited her effectiveness.
However, the Genjutsu did manage to distract Raiga Kurosuki, reducing the intensity of his struggles by nearly half.
"Nice job!" Asuma seized the moment, infusing his Chakra Blade with a large amount of Wind-natured Chakra. His Chakra materialized, transforming into two sharp blades glowing with a faint blue light.
He dashed forward several steps, clenched his right fist, and, enduring the damage from the "Lightning Release Armour," swung his Chakra Blade towards Raiga Kurosuki's neck.
Shikamaru gritted his teeth, maintaining the Shadow Imitation Technique, while Choji, who had just caught up, panted heavily, eyes wide open, ready to provide support at any moment.
Just as Asuma's Chakra Blade was a hair's breadth away from Raiga Kurosuki's neck, Ranmaru's childish voice rang out. He propped himself up with both hands, his eyes glowing with a bewitching red light. "You're not allowed to hurt Raiga! Raiga, wake up! I need you!"
Ranmaru's Red Eye directly dispelled Ino's mediocre Genjutsu and even helped Raiga forcefully break free from Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Technique.
Facing a life-and-death crisis, this elite Jonin from Kirigakure unleashed his full potential. His body leaned back with all his might, narrowly avoiding Asuma's decapitating strike.
Seeing their comrades' techniques all fail, Choji, despite his own injuries, once again used the "Human Bullet Tank" to charge at Raiga Kurosuki.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Dragon Tornado!" Raiga Kurosuki, now in a frenzy, summoned a massive lightning bolt with his Thunderswords, completely abandoning his defense. The remaining energy of the "Lightning Release Armour" was fully converted as he spun his dual swords, quickly creating a colossal dragon of lightning.
The buzzing sound was incessant. Just as Choji's Human Bullet Tank was about to collide with the Thunder Dragon, Asuma realized the danger this move posed to Choji. He swooped down from mid-air, exerted force with his arms, and shouted loudly, using wind blades to sever the Thunder Dragon. Choji, transformed into the Human Bullet, shot through the gap and slammed hard into Raiga Kurosuki.
With a dull thud, Raiga Kurosuki took a solid hit, his muscles, internal organs, and bones severely damaged. The continuous injuries finally pushed his body to its limit. Like a dying wild wolf, he let out a fierce howl, raising his Thunderswords high, ready to pierce Choji's heart.
At that moment, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating Choji's young and tender face. Ino quickly used the force of the water waves to push Choji to the side.