Chapter 456: The Fallen Kage
Although Water Release restrained Fire Release, it was clear that ordinary Water Release was still too weak to block a Sage Art Fire Release.
Under the extreme heat of Great Fire Annihilation, the dense fog instantly dissipated by a large amount, and Choza, who had been pinned down, disappeared as well.
"So that means..."
Kenichi looked behind him.
Sure enough, Asuma was gone too.
Tsunade had also vanished.
It seemed Konoha had suddenly withdrawn from this battlefield.
Kenichi twisted his neck.
It seemed Tsunade intended to pull Asuma and Choza out of the battlefield.
But that was fine.
What right did mere jonin have to interfere in a battle between Kage?
If it were Konoha's strongest genin in the future, that would be another matter.
Kenichi turned his head, and a shuriken grazed past his face.
Immediately afterward, he raised his hand and blocked a kick aimed at his head.
The shuriken had been a Transformation Jutsu.
Mei had used this method to get behind him, reminding Kenichi of the similar tactic Naruto had used in the original work.
"Mei."
Kenichi looked behind him.
Mei was quickly forming hand seals. The moment Kenichi turned his head, a water ball suddenly shot from her mouth.
Kenichi clapped his hands together.
The ground trembled.
Then an Earth Wall rose high from the ground.
Even so, the massive flow of water still washed the Earth Wall away.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall?
This was truly interesting.
Such a powerful Water Release ninjutsu.
Kenichi used the force to leap backward and landed on a tree trunk. He looked down at Mei, his brows slightly furrowed.
As a woman, Mei's strength was quite good. She was also a Kage-level expert.
However, she had not appeared before, so Kenichi had been unable to figure out what she intended to do.
Now, Mei had come out, while Tsunade was gone.
Although his earlier tactic had clearly disrupted the strategy Tsunade and Mei had discussed, Tsunade had obviously taken Asuma and Choza to treat their injuries and would return once they recovered.
At that time, Kenichi would probably have to face Tsunade's violent attacks while also guarding against Mei.
Would that not become a different kind of Five Kage siege?
If he did not want to fall into that situation, the best method was to force these Kage to withdraw.
As long as one Kage fell in battle, the scales of victory would tilt toward Kenichi.
Mei cautiously watched Kenichi on the tree branch.
She had already seen his battle with Tsunade.
All she could say was that Kenichi had actually blocked that almost fatal blow, and had even seized the opportunity to sever one of Tsunade's arms.
Mei frowned as she looked at the slowly spinning Mangekyo Sharingan in Kenichi's eyes. Her expression was solemn.
This man's strength was indeed terrifying.
No wonder he had the confidence to face so many Kage at once.
However, Mei immediately lowered her head.
Now was not the time to look directly at his Sharingan.
Tsunade's tragic condition earlier had already made her realize that looking into Kenichi's Mangekyo could easily lead to being caught in genjutsu.
Even if she could quickly break free from the genjutsu, it might still put her at a disadvantage.
In a battle between powerful individuals, even a difference of one second could cause the battlefield to slide into another abyss.
"It seems... Nagato is under some pressure."
Kenichi glanced toward the other side of the battlefield, where Nagato was fighting the three Kage.
It would be somewhat troublesome for him to deal with Mei here.
It would be better to start with the weakest Kage.
For Kenichi, Rasa, who could be ambushed and killed by Orochimaru, was naturally the best choice.
Moreover, this was not a desert region.
How much of Rasa's strength could he exert here?
And even if he could exert it, as long as the plan was proper, Rasa was still bound to die.
Although Nagato possessed the Rinnegan and was very strong, his current body was severely damaged. Facing three Kage at the same time naturally put him under enormous pressure.
Among those three opponents, although Rasa seemed rather ordinary compared with the other two Kage, he was still a Kage.
And beside him were veteran powerhouses like A and Onoki.
Reducing Nagato's pressure would also help Kenichi deal with Mei and Tsunade.
Although Nagato with the Rinnegan was extremely powerful, it still depended on who his opponents were.
The current battlefield was also unsuitable for Nagato to use Shinra Tensei at full power.
Shinra Tensei was very powerful, but it required preparation and consumed a huge amount of chakra.
Kenichi did not think Nagato would use that ninjutsu in a place like this.
"You still have time to care about others?!"
Mei clenched her fists in anger.
This guy actually had the leisure to watch other people's battles while facing her?
She opened her mouth without hesitation.
Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique erupted.
The high-temperature mist instantly turned the surrounding trees into charcoal, while the corrosive acid mist within it released a strange odor.
Kenichi turned his head.
A shield made of Wood Release rose from the ground, blocking the Boil Release attack, but several holes were corroded through the shield.
Mei lunged forward without hesitation and struck at Kenichi with Water Release: Water Formation Wall.
Facing such a powerful ninjutsu, Kenichi had to concentrate on dealing with it.
He once again used Earth Release to block Mei's fierce attack, but then a Water Dragon roared and rushed toward him.
It seemed he could not free his hands to help Nagato without first restraining Mei.
"How troublesome."
Kenichi looked at Mei.
This woman's Kekkei Genkai was truly somewhat disgusting, but it was not without a way to deal with it.
However, right now, Kenichi needed to quickly reduce Nagato's burden.
Although Nagato had not asked for his help, Kenichi would not underestimate A and Onoki.
Those two were not weak.
Lightning gathered in Kenichi's hand and was pulled into a long current.
But Kenichi did not stop there.
He continued pouring chakra into it.
A glob of acidic liquid sprayed toward him.
Before it even got close, Kenichi could already smell its strange odor.
"No wonder no one dares to marry you."
Kenichi watched the rapidly approaching acid liquid, pushed off with his left foot, and quickly darted to the right.
Even so, he still had to use a small Wood Release shield to block the acid attacks.
At that moment, a dense fog quietly spread again, filling the area.
Kenichi looked at the thick fog sweeping around him, then looked down at the Lightning Release ninjutsu in his hand. He immediately understood what Mei was planning.
Although Lightning Release was powerful, when everything around him became a conductor, this Lightning Release could easily electrocute him as well.
Mei had clearly noticed the Lightning Release ninjutsu gathering in his hand, so she used the dense fog to try and restrict him.
It had to be said that there was a reason Mei could become the Mizukage.
Kenichi narrowed his eyes.
It seemed he could not use this ninjutsu against Mei.
But that was fine.
He had another target.
Thus, Kenichi threw the lightning that was already constantly leaping in his hand.
Accompanied by a dull roar, the lightning rushed toward the other end of the battlefield at terrifying speed.
The high-voltage current inherent in the lightning itself continuously shot out electric arcs as it passed through plants and other conductors along the way, forming a chain lightning phenomenon.
The dull thunder instantly attracted the Kazekage's attention.
He subconsciously looked behind him, and then he saw the lightning rapidly approaching.
"Am I the target?"
A hint of indignation flashed through Rasa's mind.
But he also knew that now was not the time to take this ninjutsu head-on, so he subconsciously intended to turn and dodge.
However, the summoned creatures in front of him kept blocking him, making Rasa more and more annoyed.
He spread his hands, and gold dust surged out, constantly dragging the summoned beasts underground.
For this battle, he had specifically brought the gold dust necessary for his ninjutsu.
Otherwise, finding gold in the Land of Fire would not have been easy.
However, the dull thunder had not only attracted Rasa's attention.
It had also attracted Nagato's.
Nagato, who was distracted by fighting the three Kage, saw that the target of the lightning was Rasa.
The moment he realized this, Nagato acted without hesitation.
He had the Preta Path absorb one of Onoki's Earth Release ninjutsu through a sealing technique.
Then Nagato controlled the Deva Path of Pain and directly used Shinra Tensei to push Onoki away before rushing toward Rasa without hesitation.
Rasa, who had just moved to dodge, suddenly felt a powerful suction force constantly dragging his body.
"What kind of ninjutsu is this?!"
Rasa was somewhat startled.
He flew directly toward the Deva Path of Pain, while the lightning in the air was already closing in on him.
Onoki's eyes narrowed.
This suction force, could it also be the opponent's ability?
However, although he saw that Rasa was in danger, Onoki had no immediate intention of acting.
He was the Tsuchikage.
His relationship with the Kazekage was not close.
Or rather, none of the current four Kage had any intention of truly fighting together.
Most of them wanted the others to go first, suffer losses while testing the enemy's abilities, reduce their combat power, and then enjoy the benefits themselves.
Otherwise, if they had truly united and cooperated fully, Nagato's Pain bodies would have been destroyed long ago.
"Gold Dust Square!"
Although no rescue came, Rasa was still a Kage.
He used his ninjutsu without hesitation, forming a hard gold dust cube to protect himself.
But then he realized something and subconsciously dispersed the gold.
Golden particles continuously fell away.
The lightning instantly struck the gold dust cube that had been flying backward.
Sand itself did not conduct electricity and was an insulator, but the falling gold dust was an excellent conductor.
The lightning strike produced a dazzling brilliance, and Rasa inside the cube also felt a strong numbness spread through his body.
But in the next second, a black rod violently pierced through the vitrified glass and stabbed directly into Rasa's chest.
Rasa spat out a mouthful of blood.
His eyes were bloodshot.
Although he had blocked the Sage Art Lightning Release that Kenichi had projected from a distance, he had no complete defense against Nagato here.
At the same time, two other black rods stabbed in from different angles.
Rasa tried to resist, but because of the numbness in his body, he could not react quickly enough.
His eyes widened, bloodshot and strained.
He struggled continuously, trying to dodge those two black rods.
If he only had a little more time, he could have...
But Nagato did not give Rasa a chance to dodge.
The two black rods instantly pierced Rasa's body.
Excruciating pain struck him.
Then, all at once, his body no longer hurt.
Rasa's vision blurred.
His hands weakly lowered, and his head bowed.
At that moment, countless figures flashed through his mind.
Granny Chiyo, who had died long ago, seemed to be watching him from far away.
Was that the Pure Land?
"I..."
Blood made it impossible for Rasa to speak.
Only gurgling bubbles came out.
A black rod had pierced his windpipe, and blood continuously poured in.
Thinking of the declaration of war he had received earlier, Rasa felt somewhat dazed.
Thankfully, he had already given other orders.
But he did not know whether this gamble would end in victory or defeat.
In the next second, a small figure appeared in Rasa's mind.
His youngest son.
Gaara.
Rasa's eyes widened helplessly.
He weakly raised his hand, trying to pull the black rods out of his body.
He remembered that there were still things he had not done.
But before his hand could touch the black rods, his consciousness plunged into endless emptiness.
"Damn it!"
A rushed over in anger.
He had naturally noticed what had just happened, but he had thought Rasa would be able to handle the situation himself. Because of that, A had been focused on dealing with the three opponents in front of him.
Who would have thought the Kazekage would be so weak?
Onoki's expression did not look good either.
Although the Kazekage's strength was not particularly great, he was still a Kage.
Onoki had never expected that something would happen just because he had not thought to save Rasa for one moment.
A Kage had died here.
That made Onoki's expression turn much more serious.
When he had received the threat earlier, he had been full of confidence. But now, a trace of worry had appeared in Onoki's heart.
Tengai Shinsei...
No.
Kenichi clearly had the strength.
He and this man with the eyes of the Sage had cooperated tacitly, directly killing the Kazekage while the others were not paying attention.
Now, only Onoki and A remained on this side.
But between Iwagakure and the Hidden Cloud Village...
There were long-standing grudges.
Especially since the current Fourth Raikage, A, was the son of the Third Raikage, who had been exhausted to death by Iwagakure.
That was a deep hatred born from the death of a father.
Could the two of them truly cooperate fully?
At this moment, the vitrified cube struck by lightning was still flying toward Nagato.
The high-temperature vitrified glass touched Nagato's hand and shattered on the ground.
As the vitrified cube broke apart, Nagato's hand held a corpse.
Nagato looked at Rasa, whose head hung low and whose breath had already stopped.
He was dead.
Blood slowly dripped from the black rods.
Nagato casually threw Rasa's corpse aside.
Then A's fist struck his face, sending him flying.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had fallen in battle.
.....
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