Faced with Locke's repeated provocations, A, who had been suppressing his anger, completely lost it. He attacked with a deep voice in front of everyone, wanting to fight Locke on the spot.
Before Choza could refuse, Locke had already accepted.
In desperation, Akimichi was forced to order Locke, with a serious expression, to hold back and never harm A. After Locke repeatedly promised, he let them go and allowed the temporary match.
On an unused training ground outside the Land of Tang village, Locke and A stood far apart across an open field.
Four hundred meters away, the negotiation teams of Konoha and Kumogakure stood on both sides. At the periphery of the training ground, ninja from the Land of Tang, Grass, and Cloud gathered, all curious, their gazes fixed on the two men on the field.
They were also curious about Locke, who claimed to have defeated the Third Raikage. After all, this was the Third Raikage, and before this, Locke had been an unknown genin.
A genin—unless Konoha was lying—how could he have defeated the Third Raikage? What was his secret?
"Master Choza, I haven't seen you in years. Your style remains the same."
A Kumogakure elder approached Akimichi Choza amiably, his words full of polite enthusiasm. But in reality, he wanted to use this connection to gather information.
Although they had seen the Third Raikage's body with their own eyes, everyone in Kumogakure had always doubted the cause of his death. Konoha's claim that a twelve-year-old boy had killed the strongest ninja of another great nation on a frontal battlefield—only a fool would believe it.
"And you?"
Choza spoke casually, his tone familiar.
"I'm not sure I remember exactly. When the Second Hokage of your village came to sign the peace agreement, I was there too."
As soon as he said this, Choza's eyes paused for a moment, and he nodded as if suddenly remembering.
"Oh, I remember now—(actually, I don't remember at all). I never expected that when we met again, it would still be to sign a ceasefire agreement. But you, Kumogakure, bowing your head to our Konoha and surrendering—isn't that fate?"
When the Kumogakure elder heard the second half of the sentence, his face instantly darkened. Black lines appeared on his forehead. He cursed the dead fat man Akimichi Choza a thousand times in his heart, wishing he hadn't let him live at all. But the situation was stronger than he was, so he could only suppress his anger and still deal with it with a grin on his face.
"Haha, Master Choza is joking. But when it comes to educating the younger generation, Konoha is indeed stronger than our Kumogakure. A twelve-year-old genin with such combat power—even our Third Raikage couldn't defeat him." His words carried a veiled temptation, deliberately bringing up Locke to try to get details.
No matter how calm Choza's character was, he instantly understood his opponent's thoughts.
He sneered, leaned slightly toward the elder's ear, and said quietly: "Let me tell you. Originally, the Third Hokage planned to send Jonin Namikaze to be in charge of security here, to avoid a repeat of last time."
"That was indeed a tragedy none of us wanted to see." The elder answered as he spoke, a hint of wariness in his eyes.
"Do you know why I refused?"
"Why?"
"Because as long as Locke thinks—" Choza's voice grew even lower, carrying a piercing chill, "you people shouldn't think about going back alive."
In fact, from the very beginning, Akimichi had instructed Locke that if there was an opportunity, it would be best to fight the son of the Third Raikage.
After all, Locke's age was too confusing—a twelve-year-old Kage-level giant. Thinking about it, Choza could wake up laughing every night. It was normal for others not to believe it.
Moreover, after the initial battle, all the Konoha personnel could testify that the Third Raikage had died at Locke's hands, but no one else could prove it.
That's why, after discussing the exchange of letters with Sarutobi Hiruzen, Akimichi finally decided to build momentum for Locke, paving the way for the subsequent war.
A strong position on the battlefield, and fame, are great supports. Just like the Professor of Ninjutsu, the Three Ninja, and the Yellow Flash—these names could make enemies unconditionally abandon their missions and exchange minimal cost for optimal results.
And now, what Locke needed most was this momentum. He needed a stage to show his true strength.
And who was more suitable for this stage than the son of the Third Raikage? Not only could it defeat Kumogakure and make them dare not make small moves, but it could also shock the entire ninja world in one fell swoop.
After A finished warming up, he fully activated his lightning-release chakra mode. Without any warning, he charged at Locke with extreme speed, driving his elbow toward Locke's face.
As the future Fourth Raikage, compared to his father, he was a bit too hasty.
Unfortunately, his opponent was someone who didn't need to be hasty at all and felt no pressure whatsoever.
Locke clenched his fists, palms facing inward, arms parallel, and summoned his strongest shikigami at this moment and in the future without the slightest hesitation.
"Mahoraga!"
The moment A's fingertips were about to touch Locke's face, Mahoraga suddenly leaped out from the shadows beside Locke, sharply intercepting the strike and then sending A flying with a powerful blow.
A barely regained his balance after spinning 720 degrees in the air. After landing, he clutched his cramping lower abdomen and stared in disbelief at the sturdy, insect-like shikigami before him.
The majestic pressure surging from the shikigami struck his heart. The terrifying, powerful aura not only shook A's entire body but also made all the ninja present change color. The entire audience instantly fell into dead silence.
When everyone came to their senses, shocked at the realization that this was just a match, a stream of subdued whispers suddenly broke out.
"What is that?"
"It looks like a psychic beast, but it doesn't have a summoning seal at all!"
"No, it emerged from the shadows. Was it hiding in the shadows the whole time?"
"Hmph, ignorant."
In the crowd, Shirano Jūrō stood with his arms crossed, his voice full of pride, and he raised his voice: "This is the shikigami that Lord Locke condensed after training the Nara clan's shadow secret technique into a bloodline limit."
At the same time, Locke in the center of the field walked up to Mahoraga, patted it, and said to A:
"Your father was truly very strong. So strong that I couldn't think of any way to defeat him except through extreme measures. To be honest, if he hadn't been too cautious, I might not have had any way to deal with him at all."
"But it's a pity. He lost. And now, he'll never have a chance to get it back. After his defeat, he didn't choose to ambush me. He even died peacefully."
"So I admire him. For his sake, I won't go too hard on you today. So... go ahead. Feel the despair your father felt in that moment. And be grateful that it wasn't you who faced me on the battlefield."
In an instant, A, feeling humiliated, flew into a rage. His entire body crackled with thunder. He roared and charged again.
"Arrogant brat!! I'm going to send you to—!!"