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Seeing the shocked expressions on the faces of the Kumogakure shinobi, Obito sneered.
"Very good. That's exactly what I want to see—your fear."
He turned his gaze toward the Raikage and said coldly, "Raikage-dono, as you can see, I have the ability to resurrect the dead and send them back into battle. My forces can die repeatedly and still return to fight. But your village, Kumogakure, cannot afford such losses.
If you refuse my proposal, I'll attack your village. After that, I'll move on to negotiate with the other villages. Before the Eye of the Moon Plan begins, I will first annihilate the village that shows the most resistance!
I'm certain there will be villages that sit on the sidelines, hoping to benefit from the chaos!"
C, standing beside the Raikage, scowled in disgust. "As expected of the Akatsuki... always exploiting the distrust among the Five Great Nations."
Tutai's tone grew grim. "Don't be fooled by him completely. These reanimated shinobi can be defeated again. We just need the sealing team to take care of them!"
With that, Tutai turned and barked orders to the shinobi behind him. "Mobilize the sealing team, now!"
Raikage A stared Obito down. "I won't let you threaten the people of my village. As the Raikage, I will fight you myself!"
Obito gave a cold snort. "Raikage-dono, how naïve. Very well, let me give you a little demonstration first. Then we'll talk."
He turned toward Deidara and said, "How about it? Got any fireworks prepared?"
Deidara's eyes lit up with glee. "Of course! I was waiting for the chance!" He immediately began forming hand seals.
Once finished, Deidara looked at Itachi and smirked. "Watch closely, Itachi. I originally created this jutsu to kill you!"
He bit into a chunk of explosive clay, chewed it, and then spat it out, forming a large humanoid clay doll that resembled himself. At the same time, his giant clay bird soared into the sky.
Obito turned away, taking Kakuzu and Sasori with him and leaving Itachi to face the Raikage alone.
"Have some fun with the Raikage, Itachi," Obito said.
Raikage A grit his teeth and shouted toward Darui, "Go activate the chakra cannon! Shoot that guy down—he's planning a large-scale explosion!"
"Understood!" Darui responded and quickly moved to execute the command.
Meanwhile, Itachi looked toward the Raikage and spoke calmly. "I'm sorry. I don't have a choice—I have to fight you. But let me warn you, Raikage-dono... your strength isn't enough to stop him. If Kumogakure can't withstand what's coming, you'd best call for outside help."
Tutai furrowed his brows. Why is a member of the Akatsuki showing concern for us?
His gaze swept across the enemy, and a thought struck him—foreign aid might be their only hope. And he knew exactly who to contact.
"C, is there any way to reach Killer Bee through sensory transmission?"
C frowned. "But the Akatsuki are after Killer Bee. If we call him back—!"
Tutai interrupted with a serious tone, "It's not about summoning Killer Bee directly. It's about bringing in those behind him!"
C's eyes widened as he understood immediately. That's right! Lord Killer Bee is traveling with Naruto. If the village is attacked, Bee will definitely come—and that means Naruto Uzumaki will come too. With them on our side, we don't have to fear this masked man.
Up in the sky, Deidara snapped his hands together.
"C4: Karura, ready to deploy!"
His manic laughter echoed across the battlefield as he dived down on his bird like a suicide missile. "Hahahaha!"
Kakuzu watched from a distance, frowning. "That lunatic again…"
Sasori chuckled. "I understand him. Just like I love puppets, he loves explosions."
Obito smiled under his mask. "He's already grasped the essence of true immortality."
Raikage A narrowed his eyes and powered lightning through his legs, preparing to leap into the air—but a massive force intercepted him mid-motion.
"—!!?"
He was knocked back more than ten meters. He snarled and saw Itachi standing in front of him, activating the full-body form of his Susanoo.
"Raikage-dono," Itachi said evenly, "your opponent is me."
He lunged forward. The Raikage, furious, activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode and retaliated with a Lightning Release: Lariat.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!"
Itachi raised Susanoo's shield to block. With a loud crack, the shield splintered under the force of the Raikage's strike, and Itachi's Susanoo staggered backward.
Itachi coughed, pain flashing in his eyes. As expected of the Raikage… a full-powered blow is no joke. But I'm not going down that easily.
Raikage dashed forward again. But Itachi unleashed his next technique.
"Yasaka Magatama!"
The spiraling magatama flew with pinpoint precision. Raikage sensed the danger behind him and tried to maneuver mid-air—only to see Itachi leap with Susanoo once more.
His lone Sharingan locked onto him.
That feeling… it's Amaterasu!
Raikage cursed internally. Damn it! If I move, that black flame will latch on! It won't kill instantly, but it's damn near impossible to extinguish!
Damn it, should've asked Jiraiya to teach me those Sealing Techniques when I had the chance!
With no other option, Raikage made a split-second decision.
If I can't dodge, I'll charge!
He raised his foot high in the air, gathering all his strength.
"One-Footed Heaven's Wrath Thunder Axe!!"
With a roar, he brought it crashing down from above, thunder erupting through the skies.
"Raikage-sama!!!" Tutai shouted anxiously.
In the explosion of smoke and lightning, Itachi's eyes gleamed. He activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Amaterasu!"
The black flames burst forth.
Raikage detected the jutsu just in time and narrowly dodged—but to everyone's surprise, the black flames latched onto Deidara's diving bird!
"WHAT THE HELL, YOU DAMN WEASEL?!" Deidara cursed. "I WAS ABOUT TO UNLEASH MY MASTERPIECE, AND YOU RUINED IT!"
Raikage smirked. His tactic had worked. He'd used the smoke and momentum to fake an opening, baiting Itachi into casting Amaterasu. Then, at the last moment, he dodged—allowing the jutsu to hit Deidara's bird instead.
Perfect timing.
C was thrilled. "Raikage-sama is amazing!"
Raikage formed a hand seal, creating a Lightning Style Shadow Clone. Using the clone as a springboard, he launched himself forward again.
Itachi dashed in, trying to intercept, but the Raikage's clone intercepted him mid-charge and exploded.
A massive lightning discharge enveloped Itachi's Susanoo.
"Lightning Style Shadow Clone?!" Itachi exclaimed, stunned.
Lightning crackled around the Raikage's body as he pushed forward. He knew explosive clay's biggest weakness—Lightning Release. He couldn't allow Deidara to remain airborne.
Deidara clicked his tongue and jumped off his burning bird, landing with the clay clone.
Raikage leapt, unleashing a Lightning Cutter that cleaved the bird in half.
"Dodai! Use Lava Style—kick it out of the village!"
Dodai didn't hesitate. "Lava Release: Rubber Binding Technique!"
He expelled molten rubber and quickly wrapped the two burning halves, forming spherical cocoons.
"Everyone in Kumogakure! Get ready to kick these out of the village!"
"YES!!!"
Two Kumogakure Jōnin leapt up and kicked the spheres with powerful chakra-enhanced strikes, launching them far from the village. If the black flames landed inside, the damage would be catastrophic.
The Raikage charged forward again, not giving the enemy any breathing room.
Deidara glared. "You asked for it, Raikage-dono…"
He and the clay doll embraced mid-air as he roared:
"TAKE IT IN!!!"
BOOM!!!
C4: Karura detonated one hundred meters above the ground, sending out a massive explosion and a rising mushroom cloud, its eerie glow casting a shadow across the entire battlefield.
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