"Why are you still hesitating?!"
Kinkaku raised his voice when he saw the other man unmoved.
No one understood fleeing better than him—he had escaped from Renya's hands four times already. His escape skills were honed to perfection.
If this brute didn't retreat, then he'd have to run alone.
The long-haired brawny man clenched his fists in frustration, but his chakra was in disarray. If he kept fighting, things would only get worse.
"Damn it..." he growled, unleashing the last of his chakra and slamming a fist into the ground.
BOOM—!
The ground exploded, violent lightning surging everywhere. Renya was forced to retreat, and Kinkaku seized the opportunity to rush to the brawny man's side and grab his shoulder.
"Let's go!"
Whoosh—
Kinkaku and the brawny man turned into a streak of red light, dashing into the distance.
"Stop them!" Renya's expression was cold. "No matter what, at least one of them must die today!"
Having two Kage-levels from Kumogakure on the battlefield... that was ridiculously extravagant.
At least one had to die today.
Preferably both...
Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others had already heard the brief exchange between the two and understood their plan.
As soon as the two began to retreat, they took off in hot pursuit.
Renya didn't hesitate, using Body Flicker to follow closely.
Kinkaku was incredibly fast—perhaps due to how often he'd been fleeing recently. In the blink of an eye, he was off the battlefield.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others were relentless, refusing to let them get away.
"Damn Konoha shinobi!"
Kinkaku knew perfectly well—carrying this deadweight with him, they'd get caught sooner or later. When that happened, it was over!
A cruel gleam flashed in his eyes at the thought.
He suddenly turned his head to look at the long-haired brawny man whose shoulder he was still holding. A cold smile curled on his lips.
The real reason Kinkaku had brought the man with him was this exact calculation...
If Renya and the others really caught up, he could throw the guy behind to buy time.
"You stay back and cover the retreat. I'll go call for reinforcements!"
With that, he suddenly let go.
The brawny man's pace instantly slowed.
"What?!" The man's pupils shrank, rage flaring in an instant. "Kinkaku, you bastard—"
But Kinkaku ignored him, his six chakra tails lashing hard behind him.
Now that he was free of deadweight, his speed surged once again, and in a flash he pulled away.
The brawny man realized... he had been abandoned.
His chakra was in chaos; even basic Lightning Release techniques were difficult to perform, let alone Lightning Release Armor.
Burned from earlier, his combat strength had dropped dramatically.
And now, standing before him were six elite shinobi from Konoha—
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Uchiha Kagami, Mitokado Homura, Koharu Utatane, Shimura Danzō, and... the Uchiha Renya who had just overpowered him.
"Heh..." The long-haired man chuckled coldly, fighting spirit undiminished. "A shinobi of Kumogakure doesn't grovel to the enemy!"
He took a deep breath, forcefully drawing out what little chakra remained. His muscles tensed, ready to die fighting.
Renya's gaze was cold. His three-tomoe Sharingan slowly rotated as he quickly assessed the situation.
"You five go after Kinkaku. He must not escape this time!" he ordered decisively. "I'll deal with this one."
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly, but soon nodded.
"Understood. Be careful!"
Without hesitation, the five of them circled around the brawny man and darted off in pursuit of Kinkaku.
"I told you... your era is over." Renya repeated the words he'd said earlier.
Unexpectedly, the long-haired brawny man didn't retort.
Instead, in a low voice, he said:
"I underestimated you..."
From the very beginning, he hadn't taken this young man seriously. He never expected things to turn out like this.
If he could go back, he would never have been so careless.
"My teacher... was he also killed by you?" the brawny man asked, a lingering doubt in his heart.
He knew he wasn't a match for Renya and just wanted to learn the truth before he died.
"You could say that. He died of poisoning..."
Renya raised his katana and aimed it at the brawny man, his voice icy.
"Enough. You can die now."
He had no interest in wasting time. Kinkaku still needed to be dealt with.
"Hah, I won't let you have it that easy!" The brawny man's expression turned serious as he threw a punch.
Even without chakra enhancement, his physical strength far surpassed that of ordinary people.
But Renya simply tilted his body slightly. His Sharingan had already predicted the movement.
A flash of cold light from his katana.
Slash—
The blade cut across the brawny man's arm. Blood sprayed!
He grunted, but did not stop. His other hand shot out like a clamp, aiming for Renya's throat.
Even in death—he'd take a chunk out of the enemy!
Renya stepped back half a pace, pulling out the Banana Palm Fan in his left hand and swinging it hard.
Scorching flames burst forth, forcing the brawny man to retreat. But Renya gave him no breathing room. He activated Body Flicker and instantly closed the distance.
"Sharingan!"
The three tomoe spun. The brawny man's movements faltered for a brief instant. Though he broke free of the illusion with sheer willpower, that tiny opening was enough...
Squelch!
The katana pierced through the brawny man's chest.
His body froze.
He looked down at the blade sticking out of his chest, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Never thought... I'd die... by your hand..." he said hoarsely. There was no fear in his eyes—only unwillingness.
He'd wanted to avenge his teacher, but not only did he fail... he got himself killed instead.
How was he supposed to explain this to his teacher in the afterlife?
What could he say? "I went to avenge you... and got killed too"?
That was just too damn humiliating.
In the final moment of his life, he wasn't afraid of death—he was afraid of his teacher learning how he died...
Renya slowly withdrew the katana.
The brawny man swayed, then collapsed with a heavy thud.
The future Third Raikage of Kumogakure, once hailed as the strongest Raikage in history, had fallen.
Renya looked down at the corpse, a flicker of complicated emotion flashing in his heart.
"The Second Raikage died by my hand... and now the Third Raikage too..." he murmured. "If the Fourth Raikage hasn't been born yet... does that mean I've killed—directly or indirectly—three Raikage?"
Could it be... I'm the legendary Raikage Reaper?!
The thought stunned him for a second, but he quickly shook his head and cast the notion aside.
This was war.
There's no war without death.
If you choose war, you must be ready to be killed.
He gave the corpse one final glance before turning and chasing in the direction Hiruzen and the others had gone.
Now, only Kinkaku was left.
As long as Kinkaku died...
That old bastard Tobirama Senju wouldn't have to die, right?
"No matter what—Kinkaku must die!"