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Chapter 91 - Chapter 91: Fourth Raikage, Can You Stop Me?

After a brief and eerie silence.

Finally, Ryutetsu boldly took a tentative step forward.

One step, two steps, three steps...

"Ha! What lunatics! Even crazier than me!"

Seeing that the two had no intention of stopping him, even he couldn't help but laugh out loud. Fearing they might change their minds, he quickly fled.

The others, seeing this, hurried to follow, casting pitiful glances at the corpse of the Prajñā Group leader as they passed.

There was nothing they could do; the oppressive aura of "Kage" and Nagato standing there was simply too overwhelming. Everyone assumed the two were blocking their path, but it turned out they had no such intention.

So, they were actually waiting for someone?

Waiting for whom?

Everyone simultaneously thought of Kakuzu, who hadn't emerged yet, and couldn't help but feel a flicker of pity for him.

Finally, after everyone else had left, 'Kage' looked at Nagato beside him and asked, "That's the Two-Tails Jinchuriki. Aren't you going to make a move?"

"..."

Perhaps feeling a bit uncertain about his original plan to collect the Tailed Beasts, Nagato remained silent for a moment but then shook his head, calmly saying, "It's not time yet."

Making a move now would only alert the other villages and make them wary.

Just then, heavy footsteps echoed, and a figure finally emerged from the door.

It was clearly Kakuzu, struggling somewhat to carry the "Sword of Kusanagi."

"..."

The moment he saw Nagato and 'Kage,' Kakuzu's already exhausted body completely gave out.

Thud!

The heavy single-bladed axe crashed to the ground with a loud thud, and Kakuzu, almost numb, sat down in the pool of blood.

"Let's skip the fight," he asked, his voice flat. "Just tell me, what do you want?"

He was truly exhausted.

Today was practically the unluckiest day of his life.

He thought of this cursed thing, named "Sword of Kusanagi" but actually an "axe," so heavy it felt like it would kill him, yet it was a single-bladed axe.

What kind of twisted mind would create such a monstrosity?

Never mind the tens of millions in outstanding payments, he wasn't even sure if Onoki would flip out when he handed over this monstrosity to the old man.

This time, he really lost big.

Kakuzu just wanted to go home quickly, find his secret stash, and lie on a pile of money to relax.

"..."

Seeing his battered appearance, Nagato's gaze was a bit strange, but he still said calmly, "We're here to invite you to become a member of the Akatsuki organization."

"Akatsuki?" Kakuzu asked, puzzled.

"It's an organization founded to achieve true peace," 'Kage' said with a playful tone.

"No..."

He knew immediately it was a boring organization. Kakuzu instinctively started to refuse, but before he could finish, Kawa interrupted him.

"Those heads over there," 'Kage' pointed to the mountain of corpses nearby, smiling, "are a welcoming gift for you."

"..."

Kakuzu instinctively looked at the mountain of corpses. After seeing the familiar faces, he fell silent.

In his eyes, that wasn't a mountain of corpses.

That was a mountain of gold!

"Heh."

After a moment, he let out a sneer and said, "An organization that can attract a monster like you must offer plenty of opportunities to fight bounty targets in the future."

"Fine, consider it a temporary base."

With that, Kakuzu stood up again, pointed to the single-bladed axe behind him, and said in a muffled voice, "Of course, on the condition that you help me carry this damn thing out."

Meanwhile, on the cliff face of the abyss.

Everyone, without exception, pushed their speed to the extreme.

They transformed into streaks of afterimages, desperately rushing towards the faint light above, the massive crevice leading to the surface!

Having endured the bloody battle in the underground palace and witnessed the massacre, everyone was now like cornered beasts pushed to their limits, unleashing power with a fierce, brutal aura.

Though suspicion and caution still lingered among them, escaping this hellish place was their only common goal.

However, just as they neared the crevice, Hyuga Kawa, who had been rapidly ascending, suddenly stopped.

Seeing this, Hatake Kakashi, whom he was carrying, wide-eyed and looking utterly resigned, couldn't help but be startled.

"Kawa, what's wrong?" he asked.

Hyuga Kawa didn't speak; he just looked down below him.

The next moment, Ryutetsu's figure zipped past him, charging straight out of the crevice without any hesitation.

"Hahaha! I'm out!"

His vision shifted from dark to bright, and Ryutetsu's eyes adjusted.

However, the instant his feet touched the flat ground.

A furious figure, completely enveloped in dazzling lightning, tore through the distance like a bolt of thunder.

 Ryutetsu didn't even catch a clear glimpse of the figure's face, only a blue blur in his peripheral vision.

"Lariat!!"

The Fourth Raikage's furious roar exploded like thunder. An elbow strike, infused with furious Lightning Release chakra, was propelled with immense force and absolute speed.

The savage and fanatical grin on Ryutetsu's face froze in that instant, as if solidified.

Boom!!

It wasn't the wet "thwack" of flesh being struck, but a terrifying roar like a collapsing mountain.

The clothes around Ryutetsu's waist and abdomen, along with his flesh and bones, erupted with an incredibly dense, shattering explosion the moment they made contact with the Fourth Raikage.

Beneath the flesh, his hard bones were like they'd been crushed by a giant boulder, instantly collapsing, shattering, turning into countless bone fragments, like a skin bag flattened by an invisible giant hammer!

"Pfft!"

 Ryutetsu's body violently caved in and he was sent flying. A large mouthful of blood mist, mixed with fragments of internal organs, spewed from his wildly grinning mouth, staining the air crimson!

Thump!!

The hard rock was impacted, forming a deep crater covered in spiderweb cracks. Ryutetsu's limbs were deeply embedded at an utterly twisted angle, revealing clearly fractured bone splinters and mangled, bleeding flesh!

"Ugh... cough... cough..."

 Ryutetsu was like a fish with its bones removed, only left with weak twitching and coughing up blood.

Blood gushed from his seven orifices like a floodgate had opened.

One move! Just one move!

The leader of the Jashin Cult, a notorious figure in the black market, was instantly crushed to the brink of death like an ant!

This was the power of the Fourth Raikage.

"Now tell me, what happened down there?"

The Fourth Raikage stopped his movement and stood watching Ryutetsu. But the next moment, a white streak of light shot out from the crevice behind him.

The piercing whoosh made him instinctively turn his head, only to see Hyuga Kawa, with wings, hovering in mid-air, looking down at him.

"Those wings..."

The Fourth Raikage's pupils slightly contracted, instantly confirming his suspicion.

Indeed, Yugito and the others must have entered the underground palace, and there truly were some treasures there.

"Brat, you should know who I am. Get down here yourself."

He stared coldly at Hyuga Kawa above, as well as Hatake Kakashi and another Konoha ninja in his arms, and spoke.

"So it's the Fourth Raikage," Hyuga Kawa gave him a deep look, his tone calm. "How about you guess if you can stop me with my speed."

"And guess again, if you can't stop me, what will I do at your Cloud Village's outpost?"

At these words, Kakashi's head snapped up, looking at Hyuga Kawa as if realizing what he intended to do, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"You're asking to die!!"

Hearing this, the Fourth Raikage's expression darkened slightly. After letting out a furious roar, he crouched down slightly, gathering power in his legs.

With his strength and speed, just touching Hyuga Kawa once would be enough to swat him out of the air like a fly.

However, Hyuga Kawa had no intention of giving him that chance. His wings behind him flapped again, launching feather blades.

Swish! Swish swish!!

The sound of wind swept through like a sudden downpour, stirring up ripples in the air!

The Fourth Raikage paid no mind to Hyuga Kawa's actions. With his body's toughness in Lightning Release Chakra Mode, most Wind Release ninjutsu wouldn't easily break through his defenses.

However, just as he finished gathering power and was about to lunge forward.

Splat! Splat!!

The feathers pierced him, causing countless stinging pains and creating fine wounds.

"How is that possible?" The Fourth Raikage's expression stiffened slightly. "That thing can actually do that much..."

The people behind him had also emerged from the crevice by now. Apart from Yugito Nii and the Cloud Village ninja, everyone else's pupils contracted instantly upon seeing the Fourth Raikage.

"Run!!"

Someone shouted, and the few scattered and fled immediately.

"Stop right there!"

The Fourth Raikage was about to give chase, but then realized it wasn't over. The shattered winds that had been swirling around him suddenly transformed into countless wind blades.

He heard the whistling of the wind around him become piercing. The sharp wind blades, as if trying to slice him into a thousand pieces, instantly slashed at his chest, neck, and the back of his head...

"Annoying brat!!"

It was meaningless, but it filled the Fourth Raikage with irritation. Veins popped out on his dark forehead, and a nearly tangible murderous aura erupted from his body.

Boom!!

The fine wind blades wrapped around him were all shattered.

But when he looked up, Hyuga Kawa's figure was gone, as were the others, and even the heavily injured Ryutetsu had vanished...

"Huff! Huff!"

The furious Lightning Release chakra around the Fourth Raikage hummed deeply, and his heavy breathing, like a burning furnace, declared the Raikage's boundless rage.

Soon, however, he calmed down, realizing that he had lost his composure because that kid had provoked him. A chill ran down his spine.

"Yugito!"

He sharply turned to Yugito and the other Cloud Village ninja, saying in a deep voice, "Send people to pursue those who took things, and at the same time, send a message to the ninja troops stationed in the Land of the Moon, tell them to guard against airborne threats!"

That kid, that Hyuga clan kid!

What else does he want to do?

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