Raiden's body crumpled, his soul and lifespan already stripped away. He would have fallen headlong into the snow if not for Youki, who caught him just in time.
"Fourth Raikage, Raiden is dead."
The Kumogakure forces froze.
Youki's tone was heavy, his expression twisted with fury and dread, furious that his comrade had been slain before their eyes, and fearful of Uchiha Gen's terrifying Genjutsu.
Whether it struck through sound or sight, a Jonin had been utterly helpless.
Even though everyone had seen Raiden's soul leave his body, hearing his death confirmed still struck like a hammer blow. The Fourth Raikage, Yugito, Darui, and the others erupted with killing intent.
"You bastard..!"
The Raikage roared, his massive frame igniting with Lightning Release Chakra Mode. The storm around him tore apart as he exploded forward with godlike speed. His men moved too, hands flying through seals, ready to unleash Ninjutsu.
Uchiha Gen only smiled faintly. "Kyouki."
"Understood, Master."
Kyouki shifted instantly. Gen pulled Itachi back onto the white cloud, and in the next moment Kyouki shot upward, soaring into the sky.
But to the Raikage, that only looked like retreat. His muscles surged, Lightning Release roaring even wilder around him, golden hair standing on end.
Boom!
The ground split apart beneath his feet as he rocketed upward like living thunder, the frozen soil shattering into snow and dust in his wake. His speed was so explosive that even Kyouki, slowed for an instant by pulling Itachi up, could not escape the pursuit.
Gen, however, remained calm. His Mangekyo spun as black Chakra erupted around him, forming the skeletal outline of Susanoo.
It wasn't to block. Both enormous arms swung downward like a colossal hammer, slamming from above.
Even at Raikage's blinding speed, Gen's eyes tracked his path effortlessly. To him, the trajectory was crystal clear. The hammer struck squarely into Raikage's back, smashing him down like a meteor.
He hit the ground with an earth-shaking crash. Snow and rock blasted outward, a crater smoking where his body struck.
Almost simultaneously, fireballs, lightning bolts, and beams of light surged upward from Kumogakure Jonin. Kyouki wove through them effortlessly—dodging flames, swelling in size to shield his masters from the light-based Genjutsu, and soaking up the lightning to charge himself further.
The entire volley had been neutralized without Uchiha Gen lifting a finger.
"Lord Raikage!"
The Cloud Shinobi rushed forward in panic, only to see their leader stride out of the crater, battered but unscathed. His face, however, was as black as thunderclouds.
"No. You'll be in trouble very soon."
Gen's voice was calm, almost mocking. "Let's see whose lightning is greater, heaven's… or Kumogakure's."
The sky itself answered. Clouds above twisted and boiled, black thunderheads rolling outward until they blanketed the entire canyon.
The dim winter sky turned into night. Wind shrieked through the snow as thunder rumbled, and arcs of white lightning slithered like serpents through the storm.
Even for veterans of war, the sight was unnerving. An ability like this, controlling the weather, was unnatural, overwhelming.
"Yugito," the Raikage barked. "He's yours."
"I'll try."
For once, Yugito's usual pride wavered. Dark-red Chakra exploded around her, cloaking her in the Tailed Beast shroud. Twin tails lashed behind her as she raised her head, yin and yang Chakra spiraling.
Crack!
A lightning bolt the thickness of a thigh dropped from the clouds, spearing straight toward her skull.
The Raikage leapt, fist wrapped in surging blue lightning. He met the bolt head-on and shattered it with raw strength.
"—Tailed Beast Ball!"
From Yugito's mouth, a condensed sphere of annihilation launched upward. Guided by her will, it streaked toward Gen's group above the storm.
The next moment, the black clouds boiled brighter. Dozens, then hundreds of slender white bolts poured down in sheets of incandescent rain. Each struck with surgical precision, weaving into a net of lightning that swallowed the Tailed Beast Ball whole.
The orb hissed, crackled, and dissolved like fat on a hot pan, evaporating completely before it could escape the storm.
"Damn you!" The Raikage roared from below, veins bulging with fury. "If you've got any guts, come down and fight fair! What kind of so-called master hides in the sky?"
Gen's laugh drifted down from the storm. "Is that fairness you're preaching? Was it fair when your men broke the rules of combat? Was it fair when you stacked the odds against us? You of all people should know—the way of shinobi is deception. Victory is all that matters."
He swept his hand across the sky, lightning dancing to his will. "This aerial advantage is mine because I earned it. Why should I not use it?"
"Stay patient, Raikage-dono. The next wave is coming."
Shisui and Itachi stood just behind him on the cloud, eyes shining with awe.
The Raikage clenched his fists, then forced himself to breathe. If he lost his temper now, everything would collapse.
"I accept what happened with Raiden," he growled. "And I'll admit what just occurred was our fault. But the gamble continues."
He jabbed a finger upward. "Push me further and I'll unleash Yugito's full transformation."
Gen smirked. "Even the full Two-Tails doesn't frighten me." His gaze slid toward Yugito's form, voice lowering with amused disdain. "Your beast is less useful to me than you yourself, kunoichi."
Then, in a voice loud enough for all to hear: "Since the Raikage himself has apologized, I'll show him face."
The storm receded as quickly as it came. Clouds shrank and light returned to the canyon. Kyouki carried his master back down into view.
"This time, I forgive your shamelessness. But if there's a next time, there will be no fight."
The Kumogakure shinobi bristled but held their tongues. They were in the wrong, and against Uchiha Gen's overwhelming presence, anger was useless.
"If there's a next time," the Raikage said heavily, "I'll clean house myself."
Gen gave a noncommittal shrug. "Then let's continue."
Itachi stepped down from the white cloud once more. Kaito moved through the crowd, his expression grim, and the duel resumed.
This time, Kaito abandoned any pretense of restraint. He slammed his hands into the ground.
"Earth Release: Flying Gravel!"
The snow-covered stones around him tore free and shot toward Itachi in a storm of projectiles.
Itachi's eyes sharpened. He shouted with calm resolve:
"For the glory of the Uchiha!"
The Transcription Seal activated.
An eerie melody, thick with dread, filled the canyon, the 'Forest of a Hundred Ghosts.'
The battlefield warped.
Snow and rock dissolved into a fog-shrouded forest. Kaito staggered as spectral shapes emerged, the Red Fiend riding a sedan chair, the White Fiend carried by a coffin, gliding closer and closer. The sinister tune wrapped around him, pressing into his bones.
Terror pierced him to the core. His scalp tingled, his limbs froze, and in panic he tried to form hand seals…