Chapter 93: Granduncle… Number Two?!
BOOM—
BOOM—
BOOM—
The deafening roars of battle echoed nonstop. The once-bustling town in the Land of Sugi had been completely evacuated—everyone had fled.
Now, the entire village resembled a war zone, and outside the town, crowds gathered with torches, staring in from a distance.
"Wha… what's going on?"
Shizune stirred groggily, still hugging Tonton in her arms. Never good with alcohol, a few sips had been enough to knock her out. If it hadn't been for the nonstop noise, she probably wouldn't have woken up so quickly.
But when she looked around, she realized with a jolt—she wasn't in the tavern anymore.
And in the distance… people were fighting.
Her heart skipped a beat—especially when she saw the grim expression on Tsunade's face.
"Kakashi-senpai? What are you doing here?!"
"Quiet," Tsunade cut her off, voice low. "Now's not the time for questions."
She turned to Kakashi, narrowing her eyes.
"That kid—what's going on with him?"
Even though it all happened in an instant, she'd seen it clearly: Kitagawa Gen had stepped in front of them without hesitation, and purple lightning had exploded from his body—shielding them from the Fourth Raikage's full-force attack.
"That lightning jutsu…"
"That's something Gen developed himself," Kakashi replied quietly, rubbing the back of his head as he watched Gen now locked in combat with the Raikage.
"Gen is a prodigy—his talent even surpasses the Fourth Hokage. Both Lord Jiraiya and the Hokage agreed on that."
"Tch. Talent, huh?" Tsunade frowned. "You seem to put a lot of faith in him."
She paused for a moment, then lowered her voice again.
"So what exactly is your purpose in seeking me out? And shouldn't you be stepping in to help that kid?"
If only you knew how outrageous that kid really is… Kakashi thought with a wry inner smile.
With his purple lightning and mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique, Gen was already a headache to deal with. But now, he had even learned Sage Mode.
Whether he could win or not wasn't the issue—the real problem was that, if he wanted to leave, almost no one could stop him.
Still, Kakashi remained ready to jump in at any moment. While he kept his Sharingan locked on the Raikage, he explained calmly:
"Don't worry, Lady Tsunade. I'm prepared to assist. But the real reason we're here… is that the village may be in serious trouble."
"Trouble?"
"Yes. And Orochimaru is at the heart of it. There's more involved—things like Wood Release…"
While Kakashi and Tsunade discussed the situation, the battle between Gen and the Raikage only grew fiercer.
"This damn kid…"
The Raikage's expression was darkening. He was starting to realize that this boy was far more troublesome than he'd expected.
He hadn't wanted to go all-out—after all, he still needed Tsunade's cooperation—but this brat was proving difficult to deal with.
"You don't seem quite as fast as I imagined," Gen taunted, easily dodging another of the Raikage's punches. In the same motion, he pulled out several kunai and flung them forward.
At the same time, he raised one hand and made a sign—the next moment, a massive fire dragon erupted from his mouth, roaring toward the Raikage.
"A single-handed sign? And such stable, powerful ninjutsu?!"
The Raikage dodged the kunai with ease, but as the fire dragon barreled toward him, he couldn't help but curse.
"No wonder that purple lightning is so versatile—this kid's chakra control is insane."
Gritting his teeth, he let his chakra explode outward. With a single swing of his arm—
"Lightning Release: Lariat Severing Slash!"
The fire dragon was cleaved in half by the sheer force of his lightning.
But by the time the flames dispersed, Gen had already closed the distance—a short blade crackling with purple lightning thrust straight toward the Raikage's heart.
Just as the blade was about to land, the Raikage vanished.
Then his voice boomed from above—
"In this entire shinobi world, the only one faster than me… was Namikaze Minato!
And he's dead!
Lightning Release: Wrathful Thunder Axe of Justice!"
He came crashing down with a thunderous kick, lightning surging violently from his body, enough to chill the air around him.
BOOM—
The earth split open with a thunderous shock. A crater several meters deep formed instantly—but the Raikage didn't relax.
"A clone? So fast…"
"Not bad yourself," Gen replied, seemingly unfazed.
Without hesitation, he launched another strike toward the Raikage's head.
The Raikage ducked, flaring his chakra even more violently before throwing another devastating punch.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!—
Under the night sky, the two became blurs of chakra, their high-speed clashes impossible to track with the naked eye.
With every collision came shockwaves and sonic booms. The air itself trembled.
Buildings, walls, even the ground itself crumbled like paper. In the blink of an eye, the street was nearly obliterated.
And still, the battle raged on—devastation spreading further and further.
"…What the…!?"
Tsunade, still deep in thought from Kakashi's explanation, was jolted back to reality. Shizune stared, stunned.
Even Kakashi looked unsettled. He could follow their movements—but his Kamui couldn't lock onto either of them.
"Damn… I can see them, but Kamui needs time to focus…"
Even after unlocking his Mangekyō Sharingan, Kakashi still struggled to master the jutsu fully. Targeting enemies was draining—and with how fast those two were moving, it was nearly impossible.
Kakashi watched with growing worry. Meanwhile, Gen… was actually enjoying himself.
The Fourth Raikage was ridiculously strong—no question.
Even with one arm, he still exhibited terrifying power.
For most ninja, losing an arm meant disaster—just look at Jiraiya during his battle with Pain. He went from holding his own to being completely overwhelmed the moment he lost his arm.
But the Raikage? Even missing a hand, he could still shatter Madara's Susano'o with Ōnoki's help.
Even if Madara was only toying around… how many people in the world could still claim such a feat?
"Fighting someone like him is a huge help. And… I think I've almost figured out how the Lightning Release Chakra Mode works!"
From the start of the battle, Gen had been studying the Raikage's chakra flow.
Sure, he was a "Fake Sage"…
But he wasn't faking everything. Whenever possible, he'd take the time to actually learn the real technique.
Faking it was just the first step—pretend to know it, then actually learn it. That way, the lie becomes the truth.
"…Too bad he doesn't know Storm Release."
Storm Release was something Gen had been coveting, but he hadn't had any luck acquiring it.
Still, he wasn't greedy.
"Damn brat!"
While Gen was having fun, the Raikage looked increasingly irritated.
This punk moves like a greased eel… And is he seriously learning Lightning Chakra Mode mid-fight?!
Gen had been using some strange enhancement technique to boost his speed and strength.
The result? He could just barely keep up—and even seemed to predict Raikage's attacks, using substitution and transformation jutsu to slip away.
And then there was that damned Purple Lightning.
Its defensive power was incredibly high—and it could even reconfigure itself mid-battle.
Worse still, it had started to refine, no longer looking like a crude energy cloak. It was evolving.
He's learning just from fighting me?
The Raikage found that hard to stomach. What were Konoha's ANBU even doing—how did no one know about this freak of a prodigy!?
"…Kid. You're impressive."
But enough was enough. He had to finish this.
His voice dropped, sharp and cold. "But unfortunately… your fate ends here."
"Oh?"
Gen raised an eyebrow, amused.
"You sound awfully confident."
"I was holding back because of Tsunade—I need her help to save someone. But looking at you now… I think you might be more useful."
Lightning surged across the Raikage's body, his hair standing on end.
"To master Lightning Chakra Mode during battle, and even integrate it into your style… That kind of talent is unbelievable. So—"
"Y'know," Gen cut in, his expression suddenly strange. "I heard a rumor…"
He gave the Raikage a once-over and asked with a smirk:
"Is it true that your village just takes whatever you want? Kekkei genkai, secret techniques—if you see it, you try to steal it? What, was Kumogakure founded by bandits?"
"You insolent brat!"
The Raikage's chakra exploded in fury, shaking the already-ruined earth even more.
"And didn't you guys have a move called Hell Stab or something? How come I haven't seen you use it yet? Don't tell me… you don't know how?"
"You won't live long enough to see it!"
In a flash, the Raikage appeared behind Gen, hand raised high—his legendary hand chop ready to smash the boy to pieces.
But just as it fell—Gen vanished.
His voice came from behind.
"Oh yeah? Then let's see how mine stacks up."
"…Crap. He's going for the kill."
Kakashi and Tsunade felt the shift in the Raikage's aura—and knew things were turning deadly.
Tsunade frowned and immediately tried to intervene—
But the next second, she froze in place. Her eyes widened, disbelieving.
A figure appeared in her mind's eye. Someone she hadn't seen in years…
Her granduncle.