Especially the cat's strength-so formidable that even Matatabi had been forced to emerge.
Though this was a conflict between Cat Clans, their brief clash revealed that the opponent held their own in this technique.
Moreover, in close combat, they possessed monstrous strength comparable to Tsunade's.
According to Kirigakure shinobi, the cat also wielded Ice Release and Water Release.
After careful consideration, the Third Raikage still couldn't think of a way to counter them.
'What the hell are we supposed to do against this?!'
"Lord Raikage, you're overthinking it! No solution! Idiot! Bastard!"
The father and son turned to look, then simultaneously punched Killer Bee to the ground.
Inside the camp, Raj and Minato gasped for breath in Tsunade's tent for several seconds.
After swallowing the Soldier Pills Tsunade offered, they gradually regained some of their strength.
"Meow!"
"Lady Tsunade, that Raikage bastard even brought the Jinchuriki!"
Minato was furious.
"Damn it! Those Kumogakure bastards!"
Tsunade slammed her fist on the table, but this time she didn't shatter it.
The camp was already chaotic enough; she needed to control her anger.
What infuriated her wasn't Kumogakure's invasion of the Land of Fire, but the Jinchuriki's participation in the war.
A war involving Jinchuriki was fundamentally different.
It meant the conflict was escalating toward total war, potentially leading to a fight to the death.
Was the Third Raikage truly willing to make such a choice?
'He's gone mad! Utterly mad!'
"How effective was that Ninjutsu against the Raikage?"
"I don't know, meow. I didn't have time to check," Raj replied, shaking his head slightly.
The battle's pace had been too frantic.
He'd launch an attack, immediately teleport away with the Flying Thunder God Technique, and fire off another strike.
From start to finish, he hadn't had a moment to assess the impact of his attacks, only seeing a mountain peak leveled.
Minato was in much the same situation.
He barely had time to assess the situation.
All he saw was the Wind Release: Spiraling Shuriken launched, and then he immediately whisked Raj away, whose Sage Chakra had been depleted, to avoid pursuit by the enraged Third Raikage.
"Forget it. Whether it worked or not doesn't matter. Keep harassing Kumogakure, but only launch one at a time. Save the other for deterrence... and try to avoid direct confrontation with the Third Raikage."
Tsunade paused, then added, "We haven't tested it, so we can't be sure if this Ninjutsu can actually harm the Third Raikage."
"Meow!" Raj nodded.
It understood the logic perfectly.
Holding back a trump card was always best.
Before a direct confrontation, both sides would remain wary.
While Raj suspected the Rasenshuriken could inflict damage, it couldn't gauge the extent of its effectiveness.
If it proved ineffective, the Third Raikage would lose all restraint.
According to the Naruto manga, the Iwa Ninja Village had resorted to overwhelming him with sheer numbers, sacrificing countless lives to bring him down.
Although Iwa Ninja, who specialize in Earth Release, are naturally weak against Lightning Release, the Third Raikage's glorious battle record proves his Taijutsu and Chakra reserves were also terrifying.
The Iwa Ninja had the manpower, but Konoha did not.
Starting tonight, the Kiri Ninja have also begun making small moves, indicating a clear alliance between them and the Kumo Ninja.
Reports of skirmishes are steadily arriving from the western front.
Surrounded by enemies on all sides, Tsunade was itching to throw her own punches.
Over the next few days, Raj and Minato remained active in the north.
The Kumo Ninja attempted several attacks, but their vanguard units barely took a few steps before encountering Minato and Black Cat...
No choice but to retreat.
Without a way to counter the Flying Thunder God Technique, anyone facing Minato and Raj was doomed, unless they possessed the Third Raikage's level of power.
Even the Fourth Raikage dared not challenge them.
After suffering a claw strike from Black Cat, he had finally accepted the reality that he couldn't match the cat's speed.
Now, he sat brooding in his camp, simultaneously pondering strategies and disciplining the carefree boy who dared to rap battle anyone.
He realized he couldn't defeat them alone, but believed that teaming up with Killer Bee to use the Absolute Bull Lightning Plough Hot Blade might turn the tide.
'Now that my injuries have healed, I'm back in top form. This guy needs a lesson. What does it mean to be a one-man fortress, impenetrable by ten thousand?'
Raj and Minato embodied this perfectly.
Stationed in the north, they single-handedly halted Kumogakure's advance, forcing the Kumogakure ninja to infiltrate the ranks of the Kirigakure ninja.
This was blatant collaboration.
The synergy between Lightning Release and Water Release significantly amplified their combined power.
After the two villages began cooperating, the effectiveness of their blockade diminished sharply.
This also revealed the Third Raikage's final strategy: Evade Raj and Minato, and engage in guerrilla warfare alongside the Kiri Ninja.
This tactic proved exceedingly troublesome.
The Kumo Ninja no longer needed to navigate the mist themselves; they simply followed the Kiri Ninja, amplifying their Water Release techniques with Lightning Release.
Everyone except the Hozuki Clan members rejoiced.
Minato hesitated.
He wanted to leave the northern front
He wanted to reinforce other sectors, but if he abandoned this position, the entire line would collapse.
Besides the Flying Thunder God Technique duo, who else could possibly hold back the Third Raikage?
Once the Third Raikage moved, this game would truly be unwinnable.
"This is too passive," Minato muttered.
"Meow?"
"...Sigh."
Passive? What else could they do?
Charge into Kumogakure?
Even with the Flying Thunder God Technique, two against the entire Kumogakure was suicide.
Of course, their efforts over the past few days hadn't been entirely fruitless.
The Kumogakure's main camp had originally been located near the southern coast, but they had now moved deep into the Land of Lightning, essentially relocating from the periphery to the heartland.
This showed how desperate they had driven the Third Raikage.
"Meow~ Let's figure out a way to capture either the Two-Tails or someone from the A-B Combination," Raj whispered, lying prone on the mountain peak.
"I feel like securing any one of those three would guarantee our victory."
From their vantage point, they could see the coast in the distance, where the Kumo Ninja had established a temporary port for their naval operations.
They had been observing their daily movements from this spot since discovering it yesterday.
Yet they still hadn't devised a viable strategy.
Continuing their previous harassment tactics would still leave Konoha at a disadvantage in a two-front war.
Dragging things out would force the entire village to fight four-on-one, draining their resources dry.
By then, even if they won, it would be a pyrrhic victory, leaving them severely weakened.
"The Two-Tails?