"Hey! No way!"
"Is that Hyūga Naraku really that strong?!"
"I always wondered why Shisui respected someone from the Hyūga clan so much… I never expected this level of power."
On the other battlefield, the Uchiha shinobi riding black giant eagles couldn't help but turn their eyes toward Naraku's clash.
After Shisui and Fugaku's two colossal Susanoo had entered the battlefield, their side had been completely turned around. The pressure was gone—replaced by awe.
One dark crimson. The other a radiant emerald. Both had reached Susanoo's second stage.
Standard ninjutsu couldn't even scratch their armored forms.
"I was confused why he came here alone… facing the legendary AB combo of the Cloud all by himself," one Uchiha ninja muttered.
"Whether speed or strength… he's clearly above the Fourth Raikage," said another.
Naraku had effortlessly received their attacks—and flung them aside like weights too light to be taken seriously.
In the forest, the Fourth Raikage stumbled out, panting, blood staining the corner of his mouth.
The once-glorious glow of his Lightning Release Armor flickered faintly.
He glared across the clearing at Naraku—still calm, unmoved, not even catching his breath. That unshaken gaze was full of something far worse than disdain.
It was disappointment.
So this is the fastest man in the shinobi world?
The Fourth Raikage now understood why Hiruzen Sarutobi had feared Naraku so deeply—and why he hadn't dared to hand him over.
Even Namikaze Minato, the Yellow Flash, had only managed to evade their AB combo through the sheer speed of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
But this?
This was something different.
This was domination.
There was no technique or trick to Naraku's movements. Just pure, unrelenting speed and power.
It wasn't evasion.
It was crushing superiority.
"Come on, didn't you say you'd end this in three minutes?" Naraku called, taunting, casually motioning with a hooked finger.
"You bastard!!"
The Raikage roared, lightning surging from his body like an explosion.
"Lightning Style: Lateral Bolt of Pain – Chop!"
He charged in a streak of blue lightning, faster than before, chakra flaring violently.
Still not fast enough.
Naraku's figure vanished.
The next instant—BOOM!
Naraku reappeared directly in front of him and punched the Raikage in the gut, sending him crashing back through the trees like a rag doll.
"Lord Raikage!!" a Cloud shinobi shouted, panic creeping into his voice.
"Split a unit! Reinforce Lord Raikage!"
Their losses were piling up.
Ever since the Susanoo of Shisui and Fugaku entered the battlefield, the Uchiha had been mowing them down like gods of war.
The Yasaka Magatama—the very embodiment of destruction—tore through their lines like Tailed Beast Bombs.
But even worse…
The Fourth Raikage, their strongest, their pride, was being toyed with.
And now…
A black shadow loomed across the battlefield.
Hundreds of black giant eagles descended.
Konoha's main force had arrived.
From above, Nara Shikaku's pupils contracted.
Those giants… the armor… that power—
"Susanoo…" he whispered.
It was as the records said—the ultimate form of the Sharingan. Uchiha Madara once used it to challenge the First Hokage himself.
A power of absolute destruction.
Still…
Shikaku's gaze turned to the battlefield—and the Uchiha fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Leaf.
No matter how destructive, they were fighting for Konoha.
"All squads, join the battle! Support the Uchiha clan!" Shikaku commanded.
"YES!"
A unified roar from the Konoha shinobi answered.
Deep in every chest was the same feeling:
Shame.
The Uchiha, the clan long ostracized and mistrusted… were now the ones holding the line.
Three hundred Uchiha had faced off against nearly three thousand from Kumogakure—and held the tide.
They fought with honor. They fought with loyalty.
They fought as Konoha's Uchiha.
"If you don't take me down soon, every last one of your shinobi will be wiped out," Naraku said coldly, watching the Cloud shinobi falter.
His smile was thin, deadly.
Let them feel pain. Let them remember.
Kumogakure was a village of warmongers and raiders. They had stolen, kidnapped, and bled others dry for decades.
Only true defeat would make them stop.
"You bastard!!"
The Raikage screamed again, charging in blind rage.
"Heavy Current Violent Thunder!"
Lightning burst from his elbow as he shot forward with all his power, aiming for Naraku's chest.
Naraku didn't budge.
CRASH!
In a blink, the Raikage was slammed back once more.
Naraku looked down at him and said flatly, "This little strength… and you think everything in this world should belong to your Cloud? Who gave you that idea?"
Suddenly—WHIP!
Octopus-like tentacles wrapped around Naraku's body, restraining him.
"I caught you, brat! Disrespect gets you wrecked, Yo!" Killer Bee shouted, his voice full of rhythm and fire, as the tentacles pulled tight.
"Nice job, Bee!" the Raikage shouted with renewed hope.
"You're fast, but now you're caught! Let's see you escape from this!"
The Raikage's fingers reached for Naraku's glowing eyes.
"Those eyes… they belong to the Cloud now!"
Naraku looked at the tentacles coiled around him and smirked.
"Escape?"
He placed a hand calmly on one of the tentacles.
"You've got it wrong."
"I didn't get caught."
"I caught you."
"What?"
Killer Bee's eyes widened.
BOOM!
A monstrous force surged through the tentacles—reversing the pull.
Killer Bee's body was yanked toward Naraku like a projectile.
Off balance. Too fast to react.
He soared—and slammed directly into the Raikage with the force of a cannonball.
CRASH!
The two brothers crashed into the forest like meteors.
To be continued…