The Sixth Prince of the Daimyo's household possessed chakra—a fact he made absolutely no effort to conceal. For him, although enjoying life was of paramount importance, preventing himself from dying a mysterious, inexplicable death was equally crucial.
However, his teacher had not hailed from Kumogakure Village, but was instead a wandering monk traveling across the lands.
Under that brief period of guidance, the prince had successfully mastered chakra cultivation and even developed three distinct elemental affinities.
His innate talent was glaringly excellent. Regrettably, this Sixth Prince had already passed the age of twenty at the time, and his physical frame had completely set into form, naturally making it impossible to further elevate his strength.
Once the terms of the agreement were explicitly confirmed, the Suna shinobi initiated comprehensive maneuvers throughout the seat of government of the Land of Lightning.
After all, the primary combat forces of Kumogakure and the Daimyo himself had already been escorted away, leaving behind only ordinary court officials. Seizing control of the Land of Lightning had consequently become an exceptionally simple matter.
Upon the Kumogakure battlefield, Yakushi Kabuto perceived that Killer Bee was growing increasingly weakened.
His body morphed into a crimson whirlwind to strike, only to find Hozuki Kaigetsu and Uchiha Kaede moving simultaneously to intercept him—the specialized rule-staff and a burning blade of flames slashing inward at the exact same time.
It was glaringly obvious that with these two anchoring the perimeter, Yakushi Kabuto stood absolutely no chance of gaining an advantage.
While the Kekkei Genkai of the Ketsuryugan was undeniably powerful, it had not yet reached a level potent enough to directly confront two Kage-level powerhouses head-on at the same time.
With the Fourth Raikage's life force virtually depleted, Kumogakure's ambush had concluded in absolute, thorough failure. Making a split-second resolution, Yakushi Kabuto rapidly wove hand signs, transforming into a cloud of eerie crimson mist to vanish from the battlefield.
"It seems he deliberately concealed the true capacity of the Ketsuryugan to preserve his strength."
"The genuine identity of Yakushi Kabuto might be deeply intertwined with the specific individual our main body has been investigating."
Otsutsuki Asura, is it...
At the core sector of the battlefield, the Fourth Raikage fell to one knee. Even though his physical frame was nearly severed in half, he nonetheless refused to abandon the fight.
Witnessing his most beloved younger brother being utterly overwhelmed by Hagoromo Masato, he dragged himself up inch by agonizing inch with excruciating effort.
The Lightning Style chakra coalescing once more allowed him to slowly stand upright through a terrifying display of sheer willpower.
This guy can still fight?
"Bee, in my name as the Raikage, I command you—leave this place!"
No matter what, this was likely the absolute last thing he could ever do for Killer Bee!
With this final thought, the Fourth Raikage transformed into a blue whirlwind, abruptly throwing himself right in front of Hagoromo Masato. Hagoromo Masato paid the Raikage no heed: "In your current state, what exactly can you hope to achieve?"
"Sufficient to kill you!"
The Fourth Raikage concentrated all his remaining energy onto a single pinpoint at his fingertips, charging forward as a vast torrent of lightning.
Lightning Style: Hell Stab — One-Finger Spear Hand!
The One-Finger Spear Hand was the ultimate ninjutsu of the Third Raikage, focusing chakra onto the fingers to achieve an exceptionally massive piercing capacity.
The Third Raikage had once utilized this exact technique to shatter a defensive Earth Style jutsu deployed by ten thousand shinobi from Iwagakure, proving its horrifying power.
Furthermore, the destructive capacity of this technique augmented progressively as the number of fingers utilized decreased. When the technique was condensed down to a single remaining finger, it was hailed as the absolute strongest spear.
Now, the Fourth Raikage concentrated the final remnants of his life force into this single finger.
Confronted by the Fourth Raikage's One-Finger Spear Hand, Hagoromo Masato let out a cold sneer. Under the explosive eruption of golden electrical currents across his entire frame, he similarly condensed a single finger, adopting the exact posture of the One-Finger Spear Hand.
At this moment, illuminated by the golden radiance at his back, Hagoromo Masato was enshrouded within a pair of manifested golden wings. Ultimately, he transformed directly into a golden tempest that lunged straight toward the Raikage.
The final clash of both sides would determine victory and defeat through the One-Finger Spear Hand!
Bee, retreat!
Witnessing the Fourth Raikage utilizing his very life to buy time, the Eight-Tails inside Bee's body made an instantaneous resolution, rapidly sacrificing one of its own tentacles as a toll to initiate their unique Substitution Jutsu.
Killer Bee did not wish to leave, yet he understood with absolute clarity that staying behind would merely waste his elder brother's sacrifice in holding the line. Filled with helpless grief at this thought, he could only cooperate.
Regarding Killer Bee's retreat, Uchiha Kaede and Hozuki Kaigetsu displayed no urgency to pursue. With the current Shinobi World War progressing to this specific stage, even if their side did not make a move, Uchiha Madara and Yakushi Kabuto would inevitably gather the Jinchuriki as leverage.
Given that their own faction currently secured seven of the tailed beasts, they had absolutely no fear that the remaining two Jinchuriki would fail to surface.
Furthermore, with the blood feud of the Fourth Raikage added to the equation, Killer Bee was functionally bound to reappear on the battlefield in the future.
"It's over. The Raikage is dead."
As the final duel settled, the light within the Fourth Raikage's eyes ultimately turned dim. The fresh, crimson trail scoring his neck symbolized that the outcome was definitively decided.
Reinforced by the Sixth Activation State, Hagoromo Masato was fundamentally a monster the Raikage could not contend against.
The absolute split-second their fingers clashed, Hagoromo Masato's finger had sliced the Raikage's head clean off...
In terms of the Lightning Style Chakra Mode, if one were to speak of the absolute strongest expert within Kumogakure, it undeniably belonged to the current Hagoromo Masato.
Even Uchiha Kaede inwardly calculated that if he were to face Hagoromo Masato in this exact state, his own chances of victory would not be high.
After all, due to the nature of the respective Kekkei Genkai powers within their physical frames, relations had always been somewhat strained among the split bodies, but this single battle forced Uchiha Kaede to thoroughly acknowledge Hagoromo Masato's genuine strength.
The Fourth Raikage's head fell to the earth. Hagoromo Masato slowly grasped the Raikage's head, gazing off in the direction where Killer Bee had fled: "The operations over on the Land of Lightning's side have already commenced."
Shortly thereafter, Sunagakure dispatched the Fourth Raikage's head straight to the Land of Lightning's Daimyo compound. Concurrently, discarding any conventional rules typical of past Shinobi World Wars, Sunagakure directly surrounded the Daimyo's estate.
Although Kumogakure had previously scheduled the relocation of the Land of Lightning Daimyo along with several of his prominent sons, the moment that specific group was escorted away, an unvenerated prince left behind within the compound abruptly proclaimed himself the new Daimyo.
Securing the explicit backing of Sunagakure, he utilized the external power of the Suna shinobi to directly plunge the internal political landscape of the Land of Lightning's capital into absolute chaos.
Sunagakure's efficiency was exceptionally high.
Very quickly, official documents declaring the unconditional surrender of the Land of Lightning were issued from the Daimyo's compound, rendering the remaining Kumogakure forces that had evacuated—along with the identity of the fleeing former Daimyo—entirely illegal entities.
While the underlying situation across the Land of Lightning had not settled into absolute tranquility, on an official, structural surface, Kumogakure Village and the Land of Lightning were functionally considered destroyed...
Nagase Bizen led the Navy Department to continue their sweeping operations across the Land of Lightning front, while Hagoromo Masato, Uchiha Kaede, and Hozuki Kaigetsu began rushing back toward the direction of the Land of Fire.
With the Fourth Raikage fallen in battle and both Kumogakure Village and the Daimyo's compound falling under Sunagakure's control, the strategic objective of annihilating Kumogakure was, in a definitive sense, accomplished.
"So this is the head of the Fourth Raikage?"
Inside the Daimyo's compound, dressed in attire he was entirely unaccustomed to, the Sixth Prince gazed upon the severed head of the Fourth Raikage. His instinct urged him to vomit, but he forcibly suppressed it moments later.
"I wish to give the Fourth Raikage a lavish burial."
"Oh?"
Confronted by the pressuring gaze of Arakawa Arashi, the Sixth Prince clearly articulated his underlying perspective: "He was your enemy, but concurrently, he was a warrior who stood to protect this nation. Can your excellency comprehend that?"
Faced with the persistence of the Sixth Prince, Arakawa Arashi could only establish contact with Shiraishi, who readily consented without hesitation.
With Shiraishi's grand magnanimity, he naturally cared nothing for such trivial matters. Right now, the absolute priority for Sunagakure was the final decisive battle against Konoha.
According to the intelligence reports he had received, Uchiha Madara had already arrived in Konoha and solidified a collaborative pact with Senju Tobirama.
In an instant, the dynamics of the battlefield shifted tempestuously once more. Awaiting the return of his other split bodies, Shiraishi was currently recalibrating his own status, thoroughly preparing for the imminent final showdown.
His opponents included not merely Uchiha Madara, but additionally the celestial clan member Otsutsuki Ryushi, as well as Otsutsuki Asura lingering in the shadows...
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