Faced with the leopard-shaped attack formed by black lightning, Minato Namikaze chose to use the Flying Thunder God Technique again to teleport, avoiding the strike instead of facing it head-on.
While he was confident in his ability to break the Third Raikage's chakra armor with a Rasengan, he knew he would inevitably be struck himself in the process. The Third Raikage was renowned for his immense endurance, able to withstand even the harshest of blows. Minato would never take such a reckless risk, which could result in a disastrous loss for him.
"Tch, as expected, you're a coward," the Third Raikage sneered. "Since you refuse to face me directly, get out of the way. The only person I want to kill today is the Fire Country Daimyo."
The Third Raikage's expression was filled with disdain and arrogance.
"Third Raikage, we've been old friends. Do you really want to take it this far?" Hiruzen Sarutobi said, his voice heavy with concern.
What he received in response was a dismissive laugh from the Third Raikage: "Think about the Hidden Cloud Village? I've thought about it long enough.
Rather than be controlled by those useless bureaucrats who only know how to stuff their bellies, I'd rather the Hidden Cloud Village take its own fate into its hands.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, do you have any idea how much wealth I've seen in the homes of those minor nobles lately? Let me tell you, it's more than the Hidden Cloud Village's budget for ten years.
And that's just from the minor nobles. The wealth held by the major nobles is even more staggering. If the Hidden Cloud Village could claim just 1/10 of it, we could develop for decades in peace.
In time, the Hidden Cloud Village would be stronger than ever."
Chiba Qingyu had no way of knowing exactly how much money the Land of Lightning contributed to the Hidden Cloud Village each year, but he felt certain his speculation was on target. His conclusion, after looting dozens of noble families, led him to believe his guess was sound.
It was this realization that gave Chiba Qingyu the idea to further entrench the nobles' downfall.
He couldn't help but notice Hiruzen Sarutobi's breath quickening. Chiba Qingyu was certain that, even if Sarutobi didn't show it, he was tempted by the thought of such riches.
"Hmph." Sarutobi suddenly scoffed. "Third Raikage, you're out of your mind."
"Oh? What? Don't tell me you weren't tempted by my words?" the Third Raikage taunted.
"Shut up." Hiruzen Sarutobi tightened his grip on the Adamantine Staff (transformed from Enma) and swung it down at the Third Raikage.
Sarutobi was anxious, and it was evident in his movements. Though Sarutobi had aged, his strength had diminished only slightly. The power of the Adamantine Staff was enough to hold off the Third Raikage, but just barely.
At that moment, Minato, standing to the side, found himself in a tough position. Against a powerhouse like the Third Raikage, he had no immediate solution.
For now, both Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato had the strength to stall the Third Raikage, but their combined efforts were only enough to keep the battle from escalating further. They had yet to find a way to truly defeat him.
"Minato, I'll take care of this. You deal with the other two. Be cautious around Might Guy," Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted between attacks.
"Understood." Minato nodded firmly, without hesitation, and swiftly left.
The "other two" Hiruzen referred to were Might Guy and Hidan.
Compared to the Third Raikage, who could unleash Lightning Release to push his speed to its theoretical limit, these two were a bit slower, but still formidable.
"Hahahaha, what a lively scene! How could it be complete without Lord Hidan? I've heard killing nobles is quite fun. I never imagined Lord Hidan would be the one to personally slay the Fire Country Daimyo today," Hidan's arrogant laughter echoed as he arrived.
Upon entering the Daimyo's mansion, Hidan began searching for hiding places, hoping to find the Fire Country Daimyo.
Before he could make much progress, a strange-looking kunai with three prongs suddenly flew toward him.
"Huh? You think you can ambush me with a kunai?" Hidan hardly spared a glance. With a flick of his Blood Scythe, he deflected the kunai with ease.
But as the kunai flew away, a golden blur appeared before Hidan could react. Minato, using his Flying Thunder God Technique, struck Hidan in the face with a Rasengan before the man could even comprehend the attack.
With a resounding crash, Hidan was thrown backward, his body mangled from the impact.
Hidan was no match for Minato's Rasengan. Unlike the Third Raikage, he didn't have the durability to withstand such a devastating attack.
Once Hidan was dealt with, Minato shifted his focus to Might Guy, the eternal genin from his own village.
Minato had heard much about Might Guy's feats. Knowing his reputation, he couldn't afford to underestimate him. With a brief glance, Minato activated his Flying Thunder God Technique again and vanished, leaving the scene behind.
When he reappeared, he suddenly appeared above Might Guy's head and smashed down with another Rasengan.
It was exactly the same as when he had dealt with the Third Raikage, Ei, just moments ago.
Eight Gates Released Formation, Gate of View, Open.
Violent chakra exploded from Might Guy's body. At the critical moment, he quickly dodged Minato Namikaze's Rasengan.
'Remember, Might Guy, this is the first time. If there's a next time, I will personally control your body to fight against the Leaf ninjas.'
That's right. This smooth and flowing action was carried out by Chiba Qingyu controlling Might Guy, not by Might Guy's own will.
Just now, this guy had been thinking about being defeated by Minato Namikaze like that.
If Chiba Qingyu hadn't been watching him all along, he would've almost let this happen.
It's not that Chiba Qingyu couldn't tolerate Might Guy throwing the fight. After all, even he had been sandbagging for some time.
But for Might Guy to leave the stage without even fighting once was something Chiba Qingyu couldn't stand.
At the very least, he had to find the Fire Country Daimyo and solve all the blind spots along the way, right?
"Barrier, quick, activate the barrier!"
"Secret Technique: Shadow Binding Technique!"
"Secret Technique: Mind Body Disturbance Technique!"
A group of Konoha Anbu members rushed out from who knows where, their target being Might Dai.
To deal with Might Dai, they didn't even bother with the Third Raikage, who was still fighting Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Looking at these Konoha comrades, and thinking about the voice in his head just now, Might Dai gritted his teeth and apologized in his heart, finally making his move.
Unlike Might Guy in the future, who could unleash a variety of powerful taijutsu attacks, the current Dai only knew the most basic Konoha-style taijutsu.
Using the most basic taijutsu to deal with elite Anbu ninjas seemed ridiculous, but with the enhancement of the Eight Gates Formation, even an ordinary punch or kick could unleash tremendous power.
However, Might Dai held back. Facing his former village comrades, and as an undercover agent, he couldn't bring himself to truly kill, making sure every attack only injured and did not kill.
However, the Konoha Anbu were not to be trifled with. Might Dai held back, but they didn't.
The Nara and Yamanaka clan ninjas quickly seized the opportunity to attack, instantly binding Might Dai in place.
Hmph!
A cold snort came from his mind.
Startled, Might Dai unhesitatingly opened the seventh gate, the Gate of Wonder.
Under the impact of a massive amount of violent chakra, the restraints on his body were instantly broken.
Almost at the same time, a barrier unfolded, trapping Might Dai inside.
Feeling the condition of his body at this moment, Might Dai gritted his teeth and opened his final gate.
Eight Gates Formation, the Gate of Death, open!
Crimson chakra erupted like a torrent of flames, and Might Dai finally showed his invincible form.
The so-called barrier was as fragile as thin paper in front of Might Dai at this moment, easily pierced.
However, the price was that one of Might Dai's arms was almost crippled. Although it could still move, it could no longer unleash attacks of that magnitude.
It could only be said that Might Dai had gone all out, but not entirely. After all, he wasn't fighting a real person—this was more like exploiting a bug.
However, those supporting the barrier also didn't have it easy.
Afterwards, Might Dai didn't dare to be careless and began launching attacks at the Konoha Anbu ninjas.
Namikaze Minato, who had been observing the battle, wanted to take action, but stopped abruptly when he saw the trajectory of Might Dai's kick.
The violent wind swept past at a low altitude, instantly destroying and shattering the buildings and trees along the way.
The ninjas on the ground were also swept into the air by the momentum.
Although they were only hit by the aftermath, they were all seriously injured. Had Might Dai's kick been aimed directly at the ninjas themselves, their fate would have been no better than that of the shattered buildings.
Two of his limbs were crippled, and most of Konoha's fighting force was incapacitated by Might Dai.
Looking at Namikaze Minato on the other side, Might Dai was about to step forward and repeat his trick, but suddenly heard the voice in his mind again.
'Dai, don't waste time with Namikaze Minato. Quickly go and kill the Daimyo.'
Might Dai paused, gritted his teeth, and prepared to leave.
Seeing Might Dai's actions, Namikaze Minato revealed a thoughtful expression.
However, before he could make a move, a whistling, piercing wind came from behind.
"You damn bastard, you hit me so hard, go to hell!"
It was Hidan, who had just climbed up. This guy's vitality was ridiculously strong. After taking a Rasengan to the face from Namikaze Minato, he had actually gotten up again and prepared to launch a sneak attack from behind.
However, before Hidan could retract his scythe, he suddenly saw a golden light flash before his eyes, then felt a sharp pain in his neck as a large amount of blood spurted out.
It was Namikaze Minato. After reappearing with the Flying Thunder God Technique, he used a kunai to cut Hidan's throat.
After taking a Rasengan to the face, Hidan fell into Minato's hands for the second time, and this time, the weapon used against him was just a small kunai.
Seeing that he had succeeded with one blow, Namikaze Minato no longer paid attention to Hidan and turned to chase after Might Dai. Although he didn't know why Dai was holding back, as the Hokage, it was his duty to protect the Daimyo.
Looking at Might Dai, he knew he had to find the Daimyo, and to prevent the leader from directly controlling Dai's body, Minato began forcibly demolishing the buildings in the Daimyo's mansion out of anxiety.
The tyrannical air pressure swept past, and the luxurious manor, built with heavy gold, was instantly turned into ruins.
Fortunately, due to the arrival of Sarutobi Hiruzen and others, many servants in the Daimyo's mansion had been temporarily dispersed. Otherwise, just one blow would have resulted in blood and flesh everywhere.
Looking at the tragic state of those buildings, if a large number of people had still been inside, even a complete corpse couldn't have been pieced together at this moment.
Found it. He had actually found it.
Might Dai's heart sank.
On the other side, watching his house being lifted off as a whole, and the barrier protecting him being broken instantly, the Fire Country Daimyo was so frightened that he collapsed in his seat.
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