"They… actually captured the Raikage." Ikawa Kamimi's face was filled with shock and disbelief.
Though she already knew Danzo was Kage-level, she hadn't expected him to be this powerful. After all, the Raikage was the leader of an entire village.
"Danzo-sama once defeated the Kazekage. Now it's our turn to move."
Seeing Kumogakure's forces starting to charge, Hyuga Zensuke waved a single hand.
The Konoha ninja formed small squads, skillfully avoiding Danzo's battlefield and preparing to intercept the advancing Kumogakure troops.
Although outnumbered, with the Raikage defeated, Kumogakure's charge was nothing more than a desperate, fading effort.
Danzo reinforced the Raikage's restraints with three layers of sealing jutsu, each one more intricate than the last, until black runes covered every inch of the Raikage's body.
Danzo's Vacuum Blade inched toward the Raikage's chest, piercing his lung bit by bit under the man's furious, hateful gaze.
It felt as though the blade was cutting into solid stone, and Danzo couldn't help but admire the Raikage's sheer physical toughness—impressive even without Lightning Armor.
Once the Raikage's face turned pale and his resistance fully faded, Danzo finally stopped, pleased with his prize.
Capturing a living Raikage was an extraordinary accomplishment. Even Danzo coveted the Raikage's unique body-strengthening techniques.
"It's time to deal with the stragglers," Danzo muttered, turning toward Pakura, who was wrapped in blazing orange flames several hundred meters away.
She and Itachi had done an impressive job holding off Kumogakure's reinforcements, preventing them from breaking through.
Konoha's reinforcements had already engaged the rest of Kumogakure's forces.
"Watch him," Danzo ordered a few Root operatives before dashing toward Pakura and Itachi, who were still surrounded.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Wave."
Before Danzo even reached the battlefield, a narrow column of wind shot from his mouth, cutting down a Jonin and five Chunin, as well as a few unlucky bystanders.
His arrival threw Kumogakure's formation into disarray before they could react.
"Wind Style: Divine Wind!"
A powerful wind pressure tore up grass and dirt as it surged toward Kumogakure's main force.
"Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder"
Three basketball-sized orange fireballs flew into the air and split off toward Kumogakure's formation.
When the fireballs exploded, their flames merged with the wind pressure, creating a massive wave of fiery destruction that swept across the battlefield.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!""Water Style: Water Wall!"
…
"Aaaargh!"
The defensive jutsu were far too weak to hold back the overwhelming wall of flames.
The orange inferno swallowed everything in its path, forcing Kumogakure's troops to flee in terror.
"Help me—aargh!"
Pakura's Scorch Style didn't merely burn its victims. Those who were a step too slow were devoured bit by bit until the flames passed, leaving only charred, contorted corpses behind.
In a single strike, the entire Kumogakure unit was thrown into chaos.
Even the three Raikage bodyguards who survived couldn't stop their army's collapse.
The wide-scale devastation left behind desiccated bodies that even the pursuing Konoha ninja found chilling.
Ikawa Kamimi, in particular, couldn't help glancing toward Pakura, who stood by Danzo with an almost playful air.
Just remembering Pakura's murderous gaze made Kamimi shiver.
"I'd better stick by the Elder… or I'll end up dead on this battlefield."
Uchiha Itachi, masked and silent, brushed past Kamimi, continuing his pursuit of the fleeing Kumogakure ninja.
Kamimi hesitated, clenched her teeth, and gave up the chase. She turned and sprinted toward Danzo instead.
…
"Well, Danzo-sama, our combined jutsu really is unbeatable! As long as I'm by your side, no one can stand against us!"
"Good work, Pakura. You truly are my right hand. I can always count on you."
In high spirits from their victory, Danzo didn't hold back his praise.
Pakura leaned forward slightly, her eyes narrowing with amusement behind her mask.
Danzo gave a faint smile. He reached out, as if intending to pat her head like usual—but stopped halfway and withdrew his hand.
"Elder-sama…" Kamimi arrived, bowing respectfully.
Her gaze darted toward Pakura, only to meet those cold, murderous eyes again. Kamimi shuddered but felt a small sense of relief as well.
"There's no need for formalities on the battlefield."
Kamimi's bow revealed quite a lot, and it left Danzo more than a little frustrated. Tsunade was… well-endowed, too, but at least she didn't bow like this.
Seeing that Danzo neither sent her to pursue the enemy nor gave her further orders, Kamimi relaxed and stood at attention behind him and Pakura.
With Kamimi present, Pakura was a bit more restrained than she usually would have been in private.
Still, Danzo's keen perception could feel the lingering tension—the same murderous aura she had shown toward Kabuto, Itachi, and even Ryoma Aburame.
"Boom!"
A massive explosion erupted behind them.
Two enormous octopus tentacles burst from the ground, enveloping the Raikage's sealed form.
Danzo's face darkened instantly.
The Eight-Tails should still be in Kumogakure.
Why was it here?
Without hesitation, he sprinted toward the Raikage's location, Pakura close behind.
Kamimi bit her lip before finally following suit.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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