"Damn, I took out so much, and you're still trying to run?!"
Kazuyama's hands throbbed with excruciating pain, his face twisted in agony, but he still forced his legs to move, pushing himself forward.
"Flying Thunder God!"
Activating the Flying Thunder God Technique once more, he instantly appeared behind A, enduring the pain.
"Stay right there!"
"Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Dozens of venomous snakes surged forth again, but this time, A didn't bother counterattacking. Instead, lightning crackled across his body as his speed surged even higher. This was the result of forcibly igniting his body's vitality. In the blink of an eye, he shot toward Killer Bee.
Kazuyama wasn't slow either. Pouring his chakra into the technique, the snakes experienced an unprecedented growth spurt—lengthening by twenty meters per second!
"Brother!"
"Asshole! Stupid! Stop, you idiot!"
Killer Bee's awkward rap echoed as he was sent flying from a punch by Tsunade. His left arm, which had just blocked the blow, now hung limp—broken.
However, Tsunade's monstrous strength had inadvertently helped, launching him directly toward his big brother. As he landed, massive octopus tentacles sprouted from his back, intercepting the oncoming swarm of snakes.
Kazuyama's serpents immediately sank their fangs into the Eight-Tails' limbs.
"Well done, Kazuyama!"
"Bite him! Tear off all the bastard's octopus legs!"
Chōmei was practically bouncing in excitement.
But Kazuyama merely scoffed.
"With the size of the Eight-Tails' legs, do you really think my little snakes can bite them off?"
Then, with a sneer, he added, "Chōmei, you're such an idiot that it feels like a joke—like you were sent here as comic relief!"
Blocked by the octopus limbs, Kazuyama knew he had lost the perfect window to attack.
"Bee! Retreat!"
"Yes, Brother!"
The A–B Combo exchanged a glance before suddenly moving—fast and violent.
Kazuyama's instincts screamed at him. Something was wrong.
They weren't even paying attention to Tsunade anymore.
And why had they raised their arms like that?
This wasn't a retreat.
This was the A–B Combo's finishing move!
"Double Lariat!"
"-Lariat!"
Their so-called "retreat" had been a bluff—this was their final attack, aimed directly at Kazuyama.
A's face was contorted with fury and pain, while Killer Bee, blood dripping from his mouth, radiated a lethal aura despite his shattered arm.
"I'll out!"
Kazuyama didn't hesitate. He couldn't afford to.
In an instant, his Flying Thunder God Technique activated again. Using the pre-existing coordinates on the battlefield, he narrowly escaped the devastating attack, cursing them internally.
Shameless bastards!
Meanwhile, A and Bee's massive arms collided with a force so immense that the impact sent shockwaves rippling across the battlefield.
"Beat it! Retreat!"
Hearing the word retreat again, Kazuyama was wary. He immediately scanned his surroundings, unwilling to let his guard down. These shameless guys might just try to attack again.
But this time, they really were retreating.
"Kid! I'll remember you! I'll definitely kill you next time we meet!"
A's roar echoed from the distance, but Kazuyama finally felt relieved.
Just then, the familiar system voice chimed in.
[Ding! Perceiving the host's bravery in the face of the formidable enemy, the Raikage sons, who suffered an indelible mental and physical wound from One Thousand Years of Death, nearly breaking their defenses, You have received a special reward! Kekkei Genkai fusion progress: 10% (Total progress: 90%).
With A and Killer Bee retreating, the remaining three Kumo ninja abandoned their trembling fight with Tsume and Hizashi. They quickly threw down smoke bombs and attempted to flee.
But they had no idea that smoke bombs were useless against their opponents.
With their heightened sense of smell and Byakugan, Tsume and Hizashi easily tracked them down, making sure none escaped.
Kazuyama slumped against a tree, his entire body aching.
Lightning Release Armor—also known as Lightning Release Chakra Mode—wrapped the user in powerful lightning for both attack and defense. He had struck A directly, but the backlash had damaged him as well.
To make things worse, his One Thousand Years of Death had completely backfired, shattering four of his fingers. No, they were beyond broken—his index and middle fingers on both hands were now grotesquely deformed…
And on top of that, he had just used Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, and Summoning Technique.
Was this even the kind of ninjutsu a normal person could use?
Feigning exhaustion to keep up appearances, Kazuyama weakly called out, "Lady Tsunade... Help..."
At the same time, he hoped to distract himself from the pain.
Tsunade used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside him. Taking one look at his pitiful state, she couldn't help but burst into laughter. Even as she laughed, she activated the Mystical Palm Technique and began healing him.
"No, sister, what the hell are you laughing at?!" Kazuyama groaned. "You're the one who was supposed to deal with him!"
"Why would he come looking for me?! Damn it!"
To be fair, Kazuyama did look completely disheveled—his body covered in soot, smoke rising from his short hair, still crackling from his brush with Lightning Release Chakra Mode. His hands were broken, and his face was twisted in pain.
"Can you still use the Flying Thunder God Technique? We're still in enemy territory."
As the pain subsided, Kazuyama gave a small nod. Pretending to pull a medicine box from his pocket, he grabbed several pills and shoved them into his mouth.
He had been using Chōmei's chakra during the fight, but he still had to keep up appearances. To make it more convincing, he had condensed all his chakra into Scale Powder, storing it within his body.
As a result, his chakra reserves were now completely empty.
Tsunade immediately noticed.
The moment Kazuyama swallowed the pills, her pupils contracted. She could clearly sense his chakra surging back, artificially stimulated by the medicine.
"Lady Tsunade, we need to retreat. More enemies are coming."
"It's obviously the enemy's reinforcements," Hizashi added as he and Tsume approached.
The two of them looked satisfied, having managed to eliminate the enemy ninjas, but the situation remained dire.
However, when they saw Kazuyama's battered state, they were momentarily stunned.
"I've recovered some chakra, Lady Tsunade. There's no time to waste."
With Tsunade stabilizing his injuries and the chakra medicine from Orochimaru restoring his strength, Kazuyama quickly urged everyone to activate the Flying Thunder God Technique.
In an instant, all four figures vanished from the battlefield, leaving the Kumo ninja arriving too late—empty-handed.
Seeing that they had fought the enemy's leader and achieved some success, Tsunade immediately announced their return to base.
Kazuyama and the others agreed without hesitation.
But none of them noticed the brief red light that flickered in Kazuyama's eyes.
Clearly, he wasn't entirely on board with this.
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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