The Third Raikage was intercepted by the Rock shinobi army.
In order to buy time for his subordinates to escape, the Third Raikage chose to face the enemy alone.
Kitsuchi immediately issued an order: "Don't let those Cloud shinobi escape! Stop them!"
Hundreds of Rock shinobi rushed forward, ready to intercept the fleeing Cloud shinobi.
"Guillotine Drop!"
The Third Raikage used the Body Flicker Technique and instantly appeared in the midst of the Rock shinobi forces.
Concentrating Lightning Style chakra on his feet to exert a powerful destructive force, he smashed a deep crater into the ground. More than twenty Rock shinobi died instantly from the Third Raikage's attack, and many more were blown away by the impact.
With his own strength, the Third Raikage had stopped the Rock shinobi who were pursuing his subordinates.
A barrage of kunai and shuriken rained down toward the Third Raikage.
The Lightning Style chakra surrounding the Third Raikage intensified to another level.
The shuriken and kunai that struck the Third Raikage couldn't penetrate his defense at all.
The Third Raikage moved like a wolf among sheep, slaughtering the Rock shinobi with ease.
Seeing his fellow villagers being cut down, Kitsuchi immediately used a jutsu to stop the Third Raikage.
"Earth Style: Mountain Technique!"
Kitsuchi used an advanced Earth Style jutsu to create two massive hemispheres of earth that trapped the Third Raikage between them, squeezing inward.
The Third Raikage braced his hands against the rock walls to resist the crushing pressure.
Seeing this opportunity, without waiting for Kitsuchi's command, the Rock shinobi rushed forward to finish off the Third Raikage.
"Hell Stab: Four-Finger Technique!"
The Third Raikage concentrated a massive amount of lightning chakra into four fingers and shattered the hemispherical rock prison. As he ran, he moved like a force of nature, killing numerous Rock shinobi wherever he passed.
The strength of these Rock shinobi was completely outmatched by the Third Raikage.
Sora observed the battle on the battlefield, his body trembling slightly.
This was the feeling of adrenaline coursing through his veins.
These kinds of battles—one warrior against many—were what excited Sora the most.
The Third Raikage's subordinates had successfully escaped.
In truth, the Third Raikage could leave now as well.
But if the Third Raikage departed, given the current situation of the Hidden Cloud Village, they would certainly be unable to stop the Rock shinobi army.
So he needed to delay them, buying time for the Cloud shinobi in the Land of Hot Water to return and defend their village.
"Hell Stab: Three-Finger Technique!"
The Third Raikage reduced his attack by one finger, now using three fingers to stab and kill the Rock shinobi.
Seeing large numbers of Rock shinobi falling, Kitsuchi immediately commanded: "Use the Earth Style Wall to stop him!"
Multiple shinobi began forming hand signs in unison. After completing the sequence, they pressed their palms to the ground.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall Jutsu!"
A massive wall of earth rose from the ground like a fortress, blocking the Third Raikage's path.
However, facing such a barrier, the Third Raikage's expression didn't change at all. He continued charging with his Three-Finger Hell Stab technique.
Almost all the Rock shinobi prepared to attack once the earth wall halted the Third Raikage's advance.
But what the Rock shinobi and Kitsuchi didn't expect was that the earth wall was pierced through by the Third Raikage's technique as easily as if it were paper.
The Third Raikage continued slaughtering the Rock shinobi as if no obstacle had existed.
With the speed and attack power of Hell Stab, combined with the defensive power of his Lightning Style Chakra Mode, these Rock shinobi couldn't do anything against the Third Raikage.
From the beginning of the battle until now, the Third Raikage hadn't sustained even a single injury.
In contrast, nearly a hundred Rock shinobi had been killed.
"The strongest spear and the strongest shield? He really is powerful."
Sora watched the Third Raikage's battle with amazement.
Especially when the Third Raikage used his Hell Stab and Two-Finger technique, his speed was almost as fast as Sora's Thunderbolt Flash and Divine Speed.
That meant the speed of the One-Finger Hell Stab must surpass Sora's fastest techniques.
Sora had activated his Mangekyō Sharingan to observe the Third Raikage's battle.
He was particularly interested in the Lightning Style Chakra Mode.
The lightning that Sora produced using his Thunder Breath technique only stimulated his body but didn't increase his defensive capabilities.
The Lightning Style Chakra Mode, however, enhanced both physical abilities and greatly improved defensive power. At the same time, the lightning coursing through the body increased the conduction speed of nerves. As the Lightning Style chakra intensified, both defense and speed were enhanced.
This was something Sora lacked.
Almost all the techniques Sora knew so far, except for 'Wan Jie,' were purely offensive.
Therefore, Lightning Style Chakra Mode—a technique that could increase both attack power and defense—was quite valuable to Sora.
Kitsuchi also realized that his army of several thousand shinobi was unable to defeat the Third Raikage.
Originally, Kitsuchi had planned to leave some Rock shinobi to hold off the Third Raikage while the rest continued to attack the Hidden Cloud Village.
But the Third Raikage was able to stop their entire force alone.
Now Kitsuchi found himself in a dilemma.
Even if the Third Raikage couldn't completely stop them, it would still take several days for the Rock shinobi to reach the Hidden Cloud Village in the Land of Lightning.
With the Third Raikage killing their people from behind, the Rock shinobi would suffer unacceptable casualties.
But if they left the Third Raikage alone, the surprise attack on the Hidden Cloud Village would likely fail, as the Raikage's subordinates had already spread the warning.
Once the Cloud shinobi from the Land of Hot Water retreated to defend their village, the Rock shinobi troops would be in grave danger.
Kitsuchi had inherited Onoki's cautious nature, and he was unwilling to take unnecessary risks.
Since the plan to raid the Hidden Cloud Village had been disrupted by the Third Raikage, they would continue with the plan to intercept and kill the Raikage here.
However, simply losing their own people like this was not acceptable.
Kitsuchi made his decision and ordered: "Everyone, use Earth Style jutsu to change the terrain and hinder the Raikage! Then, form teams and focus on defense!"
When Sora heard Kitsuchi's order, he immediately understood that Kitsuchi planned to wear down the Third Raikage until he collapsed from exhaustion.
Sora felt somewhat disgusted.
In such a battle, for the Rock shinobi to choose defensive tactics without any sense of shame—it was truly Iwagakure's style.
However, Sora also disliked the Third Raikage and the Hidden Cloud Village because they had kidnapped Uzumaki Kushina.
Sora stood up, rested his ninja sword on his shoulder, and walked forward toward the battlefield.
Kitsuchi spotted Sora approaching from a distance, and his eyes narrowed with recognition: "Sora, the Blood-Eyed Shura?! Is Konoha involved in this too?!"
Sora tapped his shoulder with his ninja sword: "It's just me. Watching this battle has made my blood boil. I don't want to see such a disappointing ending. You Iwagakure shinobi are truly shameless. To deal with a single opponent, you resort to such cowardly defensive tactics."
Kitsuchi narrowed his eyes and studied Sora: "So, you're here to support the Raikage?"
Sora sneered: "Support him? The Hidden Cloud and I are enemies! It's just that I'm eager for a real fight now..."
Sora drew his ninja sword and pointed it at Kitsuchi: "So let's settle this with direct combat!"
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