Jiraiya had shed his usual carefree demeanor, his expression grave as he called out toward Hiruzen Sarutobi in the distance.
"Old man! Are you alright?!"
When he caught sight of the severed head in Hiruzen's hand—Danzo Shimura's—his pupils contracted sharply. But now was not the time for questions.
Hiruzen's face was pale, yet the arrival of Tsunade and Jiraiya steadied him somewhat.
He gave a slight shake of his head, though his gaze never once left Karin.
"I'm fine."
"Damn demon brat! Don't get carried away!!"
The Fourth Raikage's roar exploded like thunder.
Hot-tempered and straightforward by nature, A had already lost all restraint upon seeing a fellow Kage—the Mizukage—slaughtered like livestock. His pride and fury had overwhelmed reason.
"Attack! Avenge the Mizukage!!"
Before his words had even faded, his body erupted with blinding Lightning Release chakra. Blue arcs crackled violently around him with explosive snaps.
He gave no one time to hesitate or deliberate. His figure vanished from sight.
In the next instant, he appeared beside Karin as if he had teleported.
No flashy ninjutsu—only raw speed and power.
His right fist, wrapped in berserk lightning, struck toward Karin's small head with mountain-shattering force.
Too fast.
Many shinobi couldn't even track his movement.
Yet Karin's reaction was faster—or perhaps she had anticipated it all along.
Facing that devastating, lightning-clad punch capable of splitting stone, she simply threw her own pale, seemingly harmless little fist forward.
A plain, straightforward punch.
Fist against fist.
BOOM—!!!
A visible shockwave burst outward in a ring, blasting dirt, leaves, and pebbles into the air.
Then came a series of scalp-numbing cracks.
Under the horrified gazes of everyone present—
The Fourth Raikage's massive arm, wrapped in violent Lightning Release chakra and strong enough to contend with a Tailed Beast—
From fist to wrist.
From forearm to elbow.
From upper arm—
The blue lightning shattered instantly, replaced by an explosion of blood mist and bone fragments.
"AAAAAAAGH—!!!"
Even the iron-willed Fourth Raikage, famed for his fearlessness, screamed in agony.
One punch.
Just one punch.
He had met Karin's strike head-on with his full-powered Lightning Release attack—
And his entire arm had been obliterated.
What kind of monstrous strength was this?
Karin glanced at the Raikage, now temporarily incapacitated by pain and blood loss.
"Huh. This one looked pretty sturdy too," she muttered, raising her hand again.
The gesture was unmistakable.
Just like when she had "plucked" off the Mizukage's head.
"Gold Dust Funeral!"
At the critical moment, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa's shout rang out.
A torrent of golden sand surged forward like a living waterfall, astonishingly fast.
At the same time, more gold dust shot out like agile tendrils, wrapping around the gravely wounded Raikage and yanking him back toward their formation.
Karin's small palm pressed against the wall of gold dust.
Sss—
The seemingly impregnable barrier—capable of defending against most S-rank ninjutsu—collapsed under her touch.
Rasa's face paled; sustaining that wall had clearly cost him dearly.
Karin glanced at the Raikage being dragged away, displeasure flickering across her small face at being interrupted.
Orochimaru's golden pupils shrank sharply, his heart surging with shock.
He had seen that punch clearly.
The Raikage's full-power strike—with its sheer speed and destructive force—was something even he would not dare take head-on, much less counter with pure physical strength.
Yet Karin had not only met it—
She had utterly crushed it, along with the Raikage's entire arm.
"She's grown stronger… again?!" Orochimaru thought in disbelief. "Did she receive another 'blessing' from that Demon God?"
He recalled how Karin always spoke with casual certainty, claiming she was "Lord Demon God's favorite."
Even Orochimaru—who pursued power without restraint and prided himself on his vast knowledge—could not suppress a surge of jealousy and helplessness.
This kind of unreasonable, cheat-like growth was a mockery of all who struggled through painstaking training.
At that moment, Tsunade stepped forward, taking a deep breath to suppress her shock and anger.
"Karin! That's enough!"
Having witnessed the Mizukage crushed so easily and the Raikage crippled with a single blow, Tsunade knew that if this conflict continued, the Kage present would suffer catastrophic losses—or worse.
For Konoha's sake—and to prevent the shinobi world from plunging into chaos through the loss of its top leaders—she had to try to stop this.
Karin's attention shifted.
Her dangerous red eyes moved away from Rasa and settled on Tsunade.
But her gaze did not linger on Tsunade's stern face.
Instead…
It slowly drifted downward—
And stopped squarely at Tsunade's impressively ample chest.
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