The newcomer was none other than the man acclaimed as
"the strongest of his era" — the Third Raikage.
The Third Raikage, A, had trained his body to the very limits of what a human could achieve.
His burly physique, muscle lines hard and defined,
looked like a Greek statue hammered out by a master sculptor,
overflowing with terrifying, violent beauty.
Thick, black veins bulged and writhed under his skin,
like coiled, living black dragons wrapped around his hulking frame.
His dark, bronze skin and pale yellow hair
stood on end under the stimulation of lightning,
every strand like a steel needle.
The character for "雷" (thunder) was tattooed on his left arm.
A rope belt as thick as another man's arm circled his waist.
Over his body he wore a white sleeveless top.
Most eye-catching of all,
on the left side of his chest
was a jagged lightning-shaped scar.
The origin of that scar
was inseparable from the Third Raikage's legendary feats.
He might not have been officially acknowledged as "the single strongest,"
but among the Five Kage of the current era,
his record was undoubtedly the most exaggerated,
most ferocious,
and most terrifying.
Because he had once—
single-handedly fought the Eight-Tails
to a draw.
The two of them fought until they both collapsed from exhaustion,
ending the battle in mutual ruin.
Rumor even said that the Eight-Tails
hadn't been able to tear through
the Raikage's body,
tempered to an extreme beyond steel.
With that inhuman physique,
plus his ultimate technique "One-Finger Nukite,"
the Third Raikage was known throughout the ninja world
by two titles:
The Strongest Spear
and
The Strongest Shield.
The Third Raikage first glanced at his son and Killer B,
both lying on the ground severely injured and unconscious.
Then his gaze shifted.
Those deep, dark eyes fell on Namikaze Minato.
He didn't speak.
But the pressure was suffocating.
The air vibrated like frenzied lightning.
In that moment,
the atmosphere grew heavy and oppressive,
like the crushing weight of deep ocean.
Under that pressure from all directions,
even Minato couldn't help feeling
a faint chill of fear inside.
So this… is the legendary strongest Raikage…?
The three kids hiding behind him
didn't even have the guts to meet his eyes.
Forget taking a stand—
they could barely stay upright.
The oppressive killing intent rolled over them like tidal waves.
They were like rocks on the shore,
battered again and again.
Only by clenching their teeth
and holding on with everything they had
could they avoid having their mental defenses shattered.
Too terrifying… this is a Kage…?
Kakashi's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
His complexion was pale,
lips drained of blood.
That feeling—
The sense that his life could be stripped away at any moment.
The fear of a prey animal staring into a predator's eyes.
The dread of being completely overpowered in every way…
It made his soul and body scream silently,
every instinct begging him to run away,
to turn and flee without looking back.
If not for his reason still barely holding,
just seeing the Third Raikage
might have been enough to break him.
If Kakashi was in that state,
there was no need to mention Obito and Rin.
The two of them had been scared so badly
their legs had gone weak.
They stood there like puppets,
stiff and motionless.
Feeling the condition of the three behind him,
Minato sighed inwardly
and stepped sideways to shield them more fully.
"You did well, Yellow Flash of the Leaf."
At last, the heavy silence broke.
The Third Raikage's voice was rough and gravelly,
but carried innate authority and dominance.
"I've heard of you.
They say your speed is extraordinary.
If I'm not mistaken,
this should be the Flying Thunder God Technique
created by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama… right?"
"Why… is the Raikage of the Hidden Cloud here?"
Minato tightened his grip on his kunai.
His expression grew even more grave.
Every muscle in his body tensed.
He didn't dare relax in the slightest.
"There was an old man,"
the Third Raikage said, arms crossing over his chest,
looking as though he wasn't guarding at all,
his tone light.
"He came all the way to the Hidden Cloud
just to tell me something… interesting."
"So I sent B and A to take a look.
Didn't expect the two of them
to end up almost dying here."
Minato's heart sank further at those words.
He was afraid the Raikage would
suddenly use this as an excuse to cause trouble.
He hurried to explain:
"Since you're the Raikage,
you should understand that
crossing another country's border uninvited
is absolutely forbidden.
Besides, things here
aren't what they look like on the surface.
In reality, it's actually—"
"No need to explain, Yellow Flash of the Leaf."
The Third Raikage raised a hand, interrupting calmly.
His gaze was steady.
There wasn't the slightest flicker of anger there.
"I'm not angry.
I'm not blaming you.
In fact, putting myself in your shoes—
I understand quite well why you acted as you did."
Minato blinked, surprised.
He hadn't expected this mountain of a man,
who looked so violent and straightforward,
to be this… reasonable.
But then, the Raikage's next sentence
made his heart sink like a stone.
"But—"
Nothing good ever followed a "but."
Especially not now.
The Third Raikage slowly lowered his hand.
Lightning danced all over his body,
the bright blue chakra forming an armor around him.
A savage aura burst out,
stirring up violent winds.
In an instant,
terrifying pressure rolled out like a world-shaking tsunami,
crashing down over the battlefield.
"B and A ended up like this," he said.
"As their Raikage,
it's only natural that I take revenge for them… isn't it?"
His light blond hair stood straight up like steel needles,
and his voice rumbled like a giant beast's low growl.
"You're a Konoha ninja.
I'm the Raikage of the Hidden Cloud.
We both have things we must protect,
positions we must uphold.
Even if I understand your actions,
that doesn't mean
I'll let you go."
His meaning was simple and clear:
If there's a grievance, pay it.
If there's a grudge, avenge it.
Minato felt the pressure double again.
Even at his peak,
he wouldn't have been confident
of defeating the Third Raikage one-on-one.
And right now,
he was far from peak condition.
"Raikage-sama,
are you sure you want to fight here?"
Minato said solemnly,
"Please calm down.
If you insist on doing this…
it could very well lead to war."
Every word was reminding him:
You're not just a ninja.
You are the Raikage.
Unlike A and B,
he was the shadow of an entire village.
Making a move like this on another country's border
would definitely create a massive political storm.
If this set off Konoha's already fragile nerves…
war might erupt at any moment.
"I know."
To Minato's surprise,
the Third Raikage simply nodded calmly.
Then he said:
"But I don't care.
War?
If that's what you want—
the Hidden Cloud will accompany you."
As the leader of the second-strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages,
both in geography and strength,
he had the qualifications to say that.
Minato's heart sank a little further.
From the seriousness in the Raikage's eyes,
plus the earlier intrusion of the next-generation A-B combo,
his thoughts flashed to a frightening possibility:
"Could it be…
you've already joined hands with Iwagakure…?!"
"Your nonsense is getting excessive."
The Third Raikage stepped forward.
The moment his foot touched the ground,
it was like a massive earthquake struck.
BOOM!
Kakashi felt the entire earth tremble.
The next second,
Minato and his three students blinked out of existence.
Where they'd been standing,
the ground shattered,
a spiderweb of cracks spreading rapidly outward.
Fierce shockwaves lifted chunks of stone into the air
like thrown shuriken.
"As expected,
it really is Flying Thunder God."
The Raikage pulled his fist out of the broken ground,
his gaze instantly tracking Minato's new position.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"I've only heard of him before—
the Second Hokage, famed as the 'Swift God.'
But I never had the chance to fight him.
Today,
I'll test for myself
which of us is truly faster."
RUMBLE—
Thunder roared across the sky.
The Third Raikage tore forward,
ripping the air apart.
In theory,
Flying Thunder God should give Minato an overwhelming speed advantage.
But the Raikage's speed was beyond reason—
almost matching Minato's teleportation in practical effect.
Each time Minato flickered,
a hulking figure wrapped in lightning emerged right after,
close enough to always keep pressure on him.
Minato instantly realized
that as long as he was carrying his team,
he had no way to properly fight the Third Raikage.
"Kakashi!
I'm leaving Obito and Rin to you."
He pushed his body to its limits,
dodging as fast as he could,
and spoke quickly:
"I'll lure the Third Raikage away.
You must get this intel back to the village.
Tell the Hokage:
The Hidden Cloud has joined with Iwagakure—
they're preparing to launch a war against Konoha!"
With that, he tossed all three of them away from the immediate battlefield.
Then, taking a risk,
he reached out and touched the Third Raikage directly,
activating Flying Thunder God.
Under the shocked gazes of Kakashi, Obito, and Rin,
Minato and the Third Raikage vanished together.
Shu!
In the next heartbeat,
the two of them reappeared hundreds of meters away.
"For the sake of your juniors, is it?"
The Third Raikage showed a rare hint of approval on his face.
"Not bad.
You're a good teacher,
Namikaze Minato.
You didn't abandon your subordinates to flee."
BOOM!
He launched another charge.
His speed was so great
it felt like he was shredding space itself,
shock rings blasting out like stacked sonic booms.
Flying Thunder God!
Minato threw out a kunai
and immediately teleported away.
"Too bad, Yellow Flash."
The Third Raikage's first strike missed,
but he didn't pause for even half a beat.
Completely ignoring momentum and inertia,
he pivoted and thrust forward again,
four fingers pressed together like a spear:
"If this were back there,
where you'd already set up a field of marked kunai,
you could jump around as you pleased.
But here,
you only have one place you can go."
"Hell Stab — Four-Finger Nukite!"
Lightning compressed densely at his four fingertips,
forming a blade of pure destruction that sliced the air apart.
This was the Third Raikage's signature technique—
the "Strongest Spear."
"No.
You're wrong."
Suspended in midair,
Minato's gaze deepened.
"I did that on purpose, because—"
The Hell Stab pierced empty air.
The Raikage paused for half a heartbeat,
not quite understanding—
Then he whipped his head around.
Behind him,
Namikaze Minato had appeared out of thin air.
"This is Flying Thunder God: Second Stage."
Chakra gathered in Minato's left palm again,
a storm condensed into a spinning sphere.
He slammed it down on the Raikage's back.
"Rasengan!"
And then—
The Rasengan hit the Lightning Armor with a heavy thud.
It felt like slamming into solid steel.
The terrifying rotational force did manage to
break through the armor at that single point—
But against the Third Raikage's inhumanly tough body,
it went no further.
An incomplete Rasengan
simply didn't have enough power
to pierce the "Strongest Shield."
"Lightning Release: Heavy Thunder Plough!"
The Raikage's hand became a bladed edge,
chopping straight into Minato's chest.
Crack!
Minato spat blood and went flying.
"Not bad. I acknowledge you, Yellow Flash of the Leaf."
The Third Raikage stood with arms folded,
nodding slightly.
"You're one of the very few
who have managed to break my Lightning Armor.
Give you a little more time
to refine that technique you used just now…
and you truly might be able to fight me one-on-one.
But right now—
you're still too green."
"'Strongest Shield'… truly lives up to its name…"
Minato managed to glance at him one last time,
then lost consciousness.
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