"Enough dawdling—time to send you on your way!"
The towering, dark-skinned First Raikage, A, stamped his foot impatiently against the ground.
In an instant, vast amounts of Lightning Release chakra surged around his body, transforming him into a streak of fierce blue lightning. With a deafening sonic boom, he appeared beside Yuyi Kurotsuki in the blink of an eye.
Lightning Release: Heavy Explosive Current!
A massive concentration of chakra gathered around his thick forearm. Twisting his torso, A drove his elbow forward with brutal force, aiming straight for Yuyi Kurotsuki's skull.
Accompanying the strike was his savage roar:
"DIE!"
The wind howled. Thunder roared.
Yuyi Kurotsuki's black hair whipped wildly in the storm, yet his expression remained utterly calm.
"No need to rush," he said coolly.
The moment the words left his lips—
SLAP!
A slender hand reached out and effortlessly caught A's incoming elbow.
Then—
The wind died. The thunder silenced.
Everything returned to stillness in an instant.
A's eyes widened as he stared at Yuyi Kurotsuki, who hadn't moved an inch. His attack had been stopped dead by a single hand—one with skin as hard as forged steel.
"Kekkei Genkai—Steel Release!"
From a short distance away, the First Kazekage, Reto, narrowed his eyes and muttered the truth with clear wariness.
Chakra nature transformations were divided into seven types: Fire, Wind, Lightning, Water, Earth, Yin, and Yang.
When two nature transformations merged, they birthed a new form of ninjutsu—known as a Kekkei Genkai.
Only a rare few shinobi could develop such abilities on their own.
Once mastered, these new techniques became imprinted into the user's genes, passed down through bloodlines to their descendants.
Many of the great shinobi clans stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world precisely because they possessed Kekkei Genkai.
Logically, as a Kage, Reto shouldn't have been so wary of a single Kekkei Genkai.
But what if the enemy had more than one?
As Reto pondered this, a furious roar erupted from A.
Snapping back to reality, Reto watched as the Raikage's massive body was sent flying backward like a rocket.
"The Raikage… truly, impatience runs in their bloodline."
Having effortlessly deflected A's attack, Yuyi Kurotsuki didn't give him a chance to counter. In a flash, he moved—faster than even A had been—and before the Raikage could react, a devastating punch sent him hurtling through the air.
But it didn't end there.
Under the watchful eyes of the other four Kage, Yuyi Kurotsuki seemed to teleport, appearing beside the airborne A in less than a blink.
Just as he raised his elbow—ready to return the favor with a crushing blow to A's skull—
A commanding voice cut through the chaos.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
A Wind Release technique of overwhelming force erupted from Reto's hands, far surpassing the scale of any ordinary shinobi's jutsu.
Yuyi Kurotsuki glanced up to see a high-density, sky-obscuring storm bearing down on him like an apocalyptic force.
"As expected of the man who unified the desert-dwelling shinobi and founded Sunagakure with sheer, overwhelming power."
This single technique alone proved that Reto far surpassed the unfortunate Kazekage who would come after him.
Unfazed, Yuyi Kurotsuki shifted tactics—grabbing the thick-skinned A and using him as a human shield.
"Don't underestimate the Raikage, bastard!"
A, now fully enraged, roared as he unleashed chakra reserves rivaling a Tailed Beast.
Ultimate Lightning Armor!
His short black hair stood on end like a Super Saiyan's as he erupted with his full power, breaking free from Yuyi Kurotsuki's grip. Ignoring the Wind Release bearing down on him, he launched a barrage of brutal strikes at every vital point on Yuyi's body.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The battlefield trembled under the force of their collisions.
"Too fast!"
Far from the center of the battle, the five shinobi who had accompanied the Kage as both bodyguards and future successors to their villages watched with unblinking eyes.
As the fight between Yuyi Kurotsuki and the First Raikage escalated beyond their ability to track, they couldn't help but marvel.
"If any of us stepped onto that battlefield, we'd be annihilated in seconds."
…Well, perhaps one exception.
The future Second Tsuchikage, Mu, his body wrapped in bandages and clad in a gray flak jacket, glanced at the silver-haired Tobirama Senju beside him.
"If the 'Fastest Shinobi in the World' joined the fray, he might not only keep up—but surpass them both."
"Konoha truly breeds monsters."
Tobirama paid no mind to Mu's gaze.
Arms crossed, he stared at Yuyi Kurotsuki with the eyes of a man beholding a priceless treasure.
"Steel Release. Swift Release. And according to intel… even more Kekkei Genkai."
"To develop so many bloodline abilities single-handedly… truly, a man who rivals the gods."
"I'd love to… dissect him properly."
BOOM!
A shockwave erupted from the two combatants, sending debris flying in all directions.
Yuyi Kurotsuki took a few steps back, shaking his stinging hand.
This First Raikage was no joke.
Even with Steel Release reinforcing his body, the pain was undeniable.
As Reto's Wind Release: Pressure Damage closed in, Yuyi Kurotsuki's gaze flickered toward another presence—one that had been irritating him this whole time.
Without hesitation, he clasped his hands together, ignoring A's relentless assault, and spoke flatly:
"Lava Release: Dissolving Mist Technique!"
A flood of highly adhesive, corrosive acid erupted from Yuyi Kurotsuki's body.
It coated him like a protective shell before surging outward in all directions—a volcanic explosion of melting death.
A's face twisted in alarm.
For the first time, the fearless Raikage retreated, his instincts screaming at him to avoid the lethal substance.
In the next moment, Reto's Wind Release crashed into the acid storm.
WHOOSH!
The battlefield was instantly transformed into a hellscape of molten rain and hurricane-force winds.
Within seconds, the surrounding hundred meters were reduced to a wasteland—a zone where ordinary shinobi wouldn't last a moment.
But the ones standing here were the strongest of their era.
A reappeared beside the other Kage, his Raikage robe now in tatters. He tore it off without a second thought, standing firm as the aftermath of the two techniques raged on.
He didn't for a second believe such an attack could finish Yuyi Kurotsuki.
Neither did the other Kage.
Exchanging glances (save for Hashirama Senju), the four came to a silent agreement.
It was time to get serious.
They needed to end this—fast.