"Be careful!"
Neji stared at the figure on the cliff. In the mist, it was hard for them to scatter and act alone, so they could only stay together.
But he never imagined that staying together would expose them to an even greater threat.
Boom!
"Die!"
Raiga roared, and suddenly a thunderbolt descended from the sky, directly striking Neji and the four.
The lightning was too fast; they barely had time to react.
Just then.
A figure stood before them, blocking the thunderbolt.
"Takumi-kun!"
Tenten exclaimed in surprise, identifying the newcomer.
Her eyes were full of concern, but as the lightning faded, she was astonished to find Takumi seemed completely unharmed.
Not only her, but the others also stared at Takumi in shock.
That was lightning!
Yet Takumi had withstood it with his body, completely uninjured.
Yugito also stared at Takumi in surprise. She hadn't expected his physical constitution to be this strong.
Withstanding lightning with his bare body, his physicality was on par with A.
"Your attack failed!"
Ranmaru exclaimed in surprise. This was the first time he had seen anyone withstand Raiga's lightning.
"Is that so?"
Raiga couldn't clearly see the enemy's movements either; he mostly relied on Ranmaru's guidance for long-range attacks.
In the art of silent killing, he was far inferior to Zabuza.
"If one strike won't do, then I'll keep striking until he dies."
Raiga was unconcerned. He had participated in countless battles.
There were always some enemies with special talents.
Like that man they encountered back then, clearly not that strong, yet suddenly burst out, kicking four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to their deaths.
Sometimes, people couldn't be judged by appearance.
He raised both blades, preparing to summon lightning.
"Careful!"
Ranmaru's warning made him pause.
Then, he saw the mist suddenly dissipate, and a huge black panther came into his view.
"Lightning Release: Black Panther."
Takumi calmly formed hand seals and used Black Panther.
But the Black Panther he used was far larger than Darui's.
Darui's was a normal-sized Black Panther, while Takumi's was as large as a small mountain.
This was the powerful boost provided by his newly acquired Lightning Body.
Behind him, Neji and the others stared dumbfounded at this scene.
They had also witnessed Darui's Black Panther.
Especially Neji and Lee, who had fought Darui directly and knew the power of that technique.
But seeing the colossal Black Panther Takumi used, they were still deeply shocked.
Every time they saw Takumi fight, even though they knew the gap between them and Takumi was huge, they still couldn't avoid being shocked.
And Yugito was directly dumbfounded.
She had never seen such powerful Lightning Release.
This Black Panther was almost as large as Matatabi inside her, and this was just one Ninjutsu Takumi used.
Seeing how easily Takumi did it, she knew this was just a casual strike for him.
But this casual strike was at a height most Shinobi in the world would never reach in their lifetimes.
The mist obscuring vision was also dispelled by this technique of Takumi's.
Black lightning continuously spilled from the Black Panther's body. It was this escaping lightning that dispelled the mist, revealing Raiga standing on the cliff.
Raiga was also stunned.
From this charging, mountain-sized black panther, he felt an extremely intense threat.
The next moment, without hesitation, he threw the small sleeping-bag-like bundle containing Ranmaru behind him.
He could die, but he would absolutely not allow Ranmaru to die before him.
Seeing this, Takumi revealed a smile.
Although the lightning black panther charged forward, its speed was controlled by Takumi, not too fast.
Mainly to give Raiga a very short reaction time.
He had reason to believe Raiga would disregard his own safety to save Ranmaru.
Because Ranmaru was a very special existence to Raiga.
Sometimes, Takumi couldn't help but wonder.
What was wrong with these Seven Ninja Swordsmen?
Whether it was Zabuza and Haku, or now Raiga and Ranmaru.
But Zabuza and Raiga were still somewhat different.
Boom!
With a loud crash, Raiga was knocked down by the huge black panther.
The entire cliff collapsed, and Raiga's body was also crushed under the rubble.
"Alright, it's over."
Takumi said calmly, then headed towards Ranmaru.
The others stared blankly at this scene.
If their fighting methods were still within the realm of understanding-
Then Takumi's battle completely exceeded ordinary comprehension.
"This can't even be called Ninjutsu anymore, right?"
Tenten couldn't help but comment.
As someone skilled in hidden weapons, she would never be able to use such a spectacularly powerful Ninjutsu in her lifetime.
"Maybe this is the kind of technique top-level Shinobi can use."
Neji shook his head seriously. "Don't forget Uchiha Itachi who attacked Sasuke before. His techniques were also extraordinary."
Tenten was stunned, immediately thinking of the battle from a while ago.
Two mountain-sized giants fighting before their eyes, and they couldn't even get close.
"Damn! I feel like I'm being left further and further behind!"
Naruto said unwillingly. "I plan to become Hokage, how can I do that if I'm like this!"
"No way. When I get back, I'm going to double my training! I absolutely have to surpass Takumi!!"
Naruto's fighting spirit infected Lee.
Lee also raised his fist, his face full of fighting spirit. "Me too, let's work hard together, Naruto-kun!"
Tenten looked at the two speechlessly.
She didn't have much competitiveness. Compared to being a Shinobi, she preferred running her family's weapon shop.
Takumi ignored the few behind him.
Although the Black Panther he used was quite powerful, he had still held back.
At least, before changing Ranmaru's death wish, he didn't plan to kill Raiga.
Because Raiga and Ranmaru were almost inseparable.
If one died, the other wouldn't want to live alone either.
So he had to give Ranmaru a reason to live.
And what he could do was enable Ranmaru to walk freely.
Let Ranmaru walk on the earth himself, instead of being carried around the world by Raiga.
Soon, he found the small sleeping-bag-like bundle containing Ranmaru.
Opening it, a delicate face appeared, but the eyes were full of death wish.
"Harboring a death wish?"
Takumi said calmly. "Clearly just a child, yet with such eyes. It seems you've been through a lot."
His words seemed to touch Ranmaru.
Ranmaru looked at Takumi. "I am an incomplete person. My only reason for living was being Raiga's eyes and ears."
"Now that Raiga is gone, the meaning of my existence has also disappeared."
He didn't say things like asking Takumi to kill him.
With a death wish, he just needed to lie here. Unable to move, he would starve to death in a few days.
"Do you want to truly live?"
A slight smile tugged at the corner of Takumi's mouth, carrying a hint of mischief. "What if I said I could make you walk freely on this earth like a normal person? Would you like to try?"
"Impossible."
Ranmaru's gaze didn't waver, and therefore he didn't see the malicious smile at the corner of Takumi's mouth. "No one can cure my illness. But I am already content."
"Is that so."
The malice at the corner of Takumi's mouth grew. "Then I suppose you wouldn't mind whatever I do to your body?"
"Wait, what are you going to do?"
Ranmaru finally realized something was wrong.
But unable to move, how could he resist Takumi?
In the end, he was directly carried by Takumi and brought to Grandma Sansho's shop.
"Takumi-kun, this child is...?"
Tenten looked curiously at the child struggling in the sleeping bag. "Why does he look so upset?"
"Ah, probably because he doesn't like what I'm going to do."
Takumi smiled. "As for this child, I'll leave him to you for now, Neji."
"Huh?"
Neji was stunned, not understanding what Takumi meant by this.
Takumi didn't say much more. Instead, he asked Grandma Sansho for a room to use as an operating room.
Everyone else was shooed outside.