Sora's ninja sword pointed directly at Kitsuchi, announcing his intention to join the battle.
He wanted to gain more Witness Points by participating in this conflict.
But what Sora desired even more was to fight the Third Raikage himself.
So after declaring his challenge to Kitsuchi, Sora didn't attack him but instead turned toward the rampaging Third Raikage.
"Breath of Thunder: Fourth Form—Far Thunder!"
Lightning erupted around Sora's body as he attacked with blinding speed.
All the Rock shinobi in Sora's path fell to his blade.
The Third Raikage noticed Sora approaching.
"Lateral Bolt of Pain!"
The Third Raikage concentrated Lightning Style chakra in his hand and slashed at Sora like a sword.
When Sora's ninja sword made contact with the Third Raikage's hand blade, the immense force knocked Sora back several steps.
Yet the Third Raikage's hand remained unwounded.
Sora steadied himself and said excitedly: "You're truly powerful, Raikage! You actually blocked my slash with your body!"
The Third Raikage stared at Sora, noticed the forehead protector, and frowned slightly.
Sora observed the Third Raikage's gaze and promptly removed his forehead protector, placing it in his ninja pouch.
He then said to the Third Raikage: "I'm not fighting you as a Konoha shinobi now, but as myself. I fight in my own name and have come to see you off on your final journey."
The Third Raikage showed a smile, then unleashed his full power: "Kid! Don't be too arrogant! Be careful not to get killed by those Rock shinobi's sneak attacks! That would be too embarrassing!"
The lightning surrounding Sora's body surged wildly as he replied: "You're the one who needs to be careful, old man. Don't let your guard down and get killed by those Rock shinobi. I still want to take your head with my own hands!"
"No Yue!"
Sora activated the Mangekyō Sharingan in his right eye and began performing a recording jutsu.
He then quickly formed hand signs: "Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Sora gathered chakra in his throat and released an enormous wave of flames that spread forward like seawater.
Because the Rock shinobi were so densely gathered, the fire burned through large numbers of them.
The widespread flames cleared an entire section of the battlefield.
The Rock shinobi countered with Earth Style jutsu, causing the ground beneath Sora and the Third Raikage to tremble.
Before the Earth Style jutsu could fully activate, both Sora and the Third Raikage moved simultaneously.
Whether intentional or coincidental, though they were targeting each other with no Rock shinobi directly between them, both slightly altered their paths to cut through the Rock shinobi forces, killing many in their advance.
Sora and the Third Raikage finally came face to face.
"Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!"
The Third Raikage focused Lightning Style chakra at his elbow and struck at Sora.
"Thunder Breath: Land Form—Electric Boom and Thunder Boom!"
Sora released countless lightning slashes around himself in an instant.
The lightning slashes landed on the Third Raikage's body but seemed to cause no damage. The Raikage continued his elbow strike at the same speed.
Sora jerked his head back violently, and the Third Raikage's elbow narrowly missed his chin.
Sora immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to retreat and create distance between himself and the Third Raikage.
He touched his chin cautiously.
Although the attack hadn't connected directly, there was still a faint stinging sensation.
If it had hit, his jaw would have been shattered completely.
The defensive power of the Third Raikage's Lightning Style Chakra Mode was stronger than Sora had anticipated.
And this wasn't even the limit of the Third Raikage's power.
The Third Raikage also possessed the strongest Lightning Style Armor.
Sora realized that his current attacks, except for a fully charged "Bujian Yue," seemed unable to penetrate the Third Raikage's defense.
The Third Raikage was now filled with fighting spirit: "Boy, your speed is good, but your attacks seem too weak. At this rate, you won't be taking my head!"
Sora pointed his ninja sword at the Third Raikage: "The battle has just begun. Whether I can take it or not remains to be seen!"
"Breath of Thunder: Fifth Form—Heat World Thunder!"
Sora released high-temperature lightning slashes to attack the Third Raikage.
The Third Raikage quickly formed hand signs in response.
"Lightning Style: Black Panther!"
Leopard-shaped black lightning erupted from the Third Raikage's body, colliding with Sora's lightning slashes.
Black and blue lightning roared as they met.
The black lightning spread to the surrounding area, striking another group of Rock shinobi, who writhed in pain, unable to move.
This time, the Third Raikage took the initiative.
"Lightning Style: Lariat!"
The Third Raikage raised his arms and rushed toward Sora at maximum speed.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
Sora created multiple earthen walls to protect himself.
A series of dull crashes sounded as the Third Raikage smashed through these walls one by one.
When the final wall was about to break, there was a loud explosion.
Sora had placed a dozen paper bombs on the back of the last earthen wall.
As the explosive tags detonated, Sora completed another sequence of hand signs.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
Sora spat four fire dragons toward the smoke cloud. The sound of the fire dragons exploding rang out again, and simultaneously, the dust became infused with oxygen.
"Hell Stab: Four-Finger Technique!"
The Third Raikage burst through the smoke and thrust four fingers toward Sora's chest.
Sora had remained vigilant. He didn't believe such a small attack could defeat the Third Raikage.
So when he saw the Third Raikage charging, Sora immediately counterattacked.
"Breath of Thunder: First Form—Thunderbolt Flash."
Sora moved faster than the Third Raikage. After approaching the Raikage at high speed, he twisted sideways to avoid the Four-Finger Hell Stab and slashed at the Third Raikage's neck with his sword.
The Third Raikage made no attempt to dodge.
Sora's blade struck the Third Raikage's neck with full force.
Sora frowned in disbelief.
His ninja sword, swung with all his might, failed to even break the Third Raikage's skin.
This defense was beyond mere strength—it was monstrous.
As expected of someone who could battle the Eight-Tails in hand-to-hand combat.
Suddenly, Sora felt a sharp pain under his armpit.
The Third Raikage's hand blade had cut him.
Sora immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to escape.
He felt his ribs gingerly.
They weren't broken, but the bone was definitely cracked.
Powerful defense, incredible speed, devastating attacks—there seemed to be no weakness in the Third Raikage's fighting style.
At this moment, the Third Raikage extended three fingers.
Sora bit his thumb and began forming hand signs. After completing the sequence, he pressed his palm to the ground.
"Hell Stab: Three-Finger Technique!"
The Third Raikage's speed increased noticeably as he thrust forward again.
"Summoning Jutsu! Double Rashomon!"
Two enormous gates materialized in front of Sora.
This was a jutsu Sora had learned from Orochimaru, who had inherited the Five-fold Rashomon technique from the First Hokage.
The Rashomon, with its gaping maw, was a defensive wall summoned to absorb all attacks.
The gate summoned from the realm of Shura seemed to mock anyone who dared challenge it.
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