Upon realizing the attacker was Feng Bai, young A felt a dull ache from the cross-shaped wound on his abdomen—a scar left by Feng Bai in their previous battle, which he considered the greatest humiliation of his life.
"Go after them!"
Recognizing that allowing Feng Bai to continue growing would inevitably make him a threat to Kumogakure, young A made a decisive choice to lead elite forces in pursuit, vowing to permanently end Feng Bai on this battlefield.
Just as he leaped over the blood-soaked ground, preparing to advance, his foot landed squarely on an explosive tag trap Feng Bai had left behind. In the violent explosion, young A was launched skyward.
"Ahhhhhhh! Shimura Feng Bai, I'll kill you!"
Naturally, young A, protected by his Lightning Armor, wouldn't be easily killed by the blast, but this method of ascension was supremely humiliating. The dust-covered young A stood up, his entire demeanor trending toward "super brute" territory.
Ignoring his subordinates' attempts to dissuade him, young A prepared to depart again, only to be stopped by a Cloud ninja who had just arrived.
"What is it?!"
Seeing someone dare to obstruct him, young A turned with the gaze of a man-eating beast, chilling the arriving Cloud ninja to the bone. Yet the messenger steeled himself and handed over his scroll: "This is a message from the village..."
Roughly snatching the scroll, young A had barely read two lines when an aura far more intimidating than before erupted from his body, his golden hair standing on end from the lightning's stimulation.
"Father!"
Releasing a piercing wail, young A wasted no time. Abandoning the Cloud ninja he'd brought, he turned and raced toward Kumogakure.
The Third Raikage was dead.
Feng Bai's group, who had expected fierce enemy pursuit, returned to camp remarkably smoothly and learned this news from Jiraiya.
"I see. No wonder we encountered no enemy pursuit along the way."
Orochimaru's eyes flickered as he finished reading the detailed intelligence, then fell into contemplation.
"Indeed. However, his strength was truly formidable—to persist for three days and nights under siege by over ten thousand Iwa ninja before finally dying of exhaustion."
Jiraiya marveled at the Third Raikage's prowess while treasonously wondering what fate would befall the old man in such circumstances.
"As a shinobi, the Third Raikage's strength was truly admirable."
Minato held deep respect for this Raikage.
Such thick-skinned, resilient enemies were like natural predators to someone with his high mobility—after all, he lacked any means to break through such defenses.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Flesh and blood are still too frail. Mechanical ascension would be superior..."
Only Feng Bai muttered to himself.
"Mechanical ascension?"
This murmur reached Orochimaru's ears. Upon hearing it, he immediately fixed his gaze once more on Feng Bai, who was lost in thought with his head down.
"An intriguing concept..."
Sensing he'd grasped something crucial, Orochimaru flicked his tongue like a venomous serpent, studying the oblivious Feng Bai deeply before returning his attention to the map.
"With the Third Raikage dead and their supply depot destroyed, this is the perfect opportunity to launch an offensive."
After assessing the current situation, Orochimaru believed now was the optimal moment for a counterattack.
"Minato, I need an excellent jōnin to lead a squad in breaking through enemy lines. Stay by my side for now and execute missions according to my orders. As for the youngsters you brought..."
Glancing at Jiraiya, Orochimaru chose to ignore him and once again focused on Feng Bai.
Noticing the sudden silence, Feng Bai looked up in confusion, meeting Orochimaru's narrow, serpentine pupils directly.
"Uh, me?"
...
"Obito, if you start with another useless Great Fireball, I'll dig out your Sharingan and stick it in Kakashi's eye!"
Narrowly dodging a barrage of square shuriken, Feng Bai snapped irritably at Obito beside him.
Kakashi shuddered at such fierce words.
[What would I want that thing for?]
"I don't know how things turned out this way, Feng Bai! Give me another chance!"
Equally disheveled, Obito was nearly in tears. He hadn't expected his casual Great Fireball to not only fail to eliminate enemies but collide with Water Release, creating mist that nearly got Feng Bai skewered by swarming Cloud ninja.
"Another chance my ass! Focus on staying alive first!"
Entrusted with the squad by Minato, Feng Bai glanced at Rin, who kept her head down silently, then at Kakashi, who dared not engage Troy directly but had to steel himself to intercept, and finally at the pack of fierce Cloud ninja behind Troy. He began considering whether to replicate the tactics used during Orochimaru's camp raid.
"Fine, I'll give you one more chance. Go help Kakashi hold off those guys and buy me some time. Rin, stay behind me!"
Leaping up to dodge another series of square shuriken attacks, Feng Bai looked at Troy with growing impatience. Why does this old bastard keep targeting me with shuriken?
Since you enjoy throwing them, let me show you what real shuriken technique looks like!
"Understood!"
Receiving Feng Bai's orders, Obito immediately turned around. Just as he was about to use Great Fireball, Feng Bai's earlier threat came to mind, and he changed his hand seals: "Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Small fireballs resembling phoenix flower seeds scattered in all directions, striking toward the pursuing Cloud ninja.
Sensing the heat behind him, Kakashi leaped away, exposing Troy to Obito's Fire Release range.
Facing Obito's Fire Release, Troy showed no panic, enlarging the square shuriken in his hand to use as a shield.
"Shuriken Gigantification Technique!"
Meanwhile, seeing Obito successfully contain the opposition, Feng Bai summoned a massive shuriken, marked it with a Flying Thunder God formula, and hurled it forcefully.
Hearing the shuriken slice through the air, Troy calmly observed its trajectory, preparing to dodge.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
As Feng Bai completed his hand seals, the single shuriken multiplied into several just before reaching Troy, creating a cacophony of metallic clashes as they knocked away his square shuriken shield.
"Troublesome."
Troy activated his magnetism at full power, forcibly controlling the shuriken to change trajectory. His attention was entirely focused on the weapons—he completely failed to notice that one bore a Flying Thunder God formula.
"Flying Thunder God!"
Instantly appearing before Troy, Feng Bai thrust a poisoned senbon into Troy's other kidney, then returned to his original position before his opponent could react.
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