This ti, the Fourth Raikage's probing move—sending forces to support the Land of Hot Water—instantly broke the long-standing balance of power between the two sides.
After seizing the Sakama mining camp and driving out the Konoha shinobi, they naturally set up multiple layers of scouts to the south to monitor any large-scale counteroffensive from Konoha.
However, after witnessing the miserable state of their comrades who had pursued the retreating Konoha forces, those scouts were deeply unsettled.
No one knew what had happened to them. Their injuries didn't look severe, yet they were writhing in agony, as if so kind of small monster inside their bodies was constantly gnawing at their flesh.
An inexplicable fear began to spread among the Kumogakure shinobi along with the return of the pursuit teams.
Shinobi were not afraid of death—but fear itself was a universal human instinct, especially this kind of eerie, curse-like fear.
Makoto led his team forward step by step.
During this ti, he did not make another move. Instead, he relied on his powerful sensory ability and ntal energy to provide Konoha's forces with the positions of Kumogakure units across the battlefield.
He didn't need communication shinobi. Using sothing akin to the Yamanaka clan's ntal techniques, he linked directly to the captains of each squad—he alone functioned as the command and communication system for the entire area.
With the added support of the Hyūga Byakugan, Konoha's forces advanced like a crushing tide, systematically wiping out scattered Kumogakure squads and pushing forward at maximum speed toward the outskirts of the Sakama camp.
Everyone felt the battle was far too easy.
They had never fought such a smooth campaign in their entire lives.
This group of Konoha shinobi was essentially experiencing, ahead of ti, the command structure of the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Outside the Sakama camp, Konoha finally encountered the main force—the Fourth Raikage himself, leading a large army to et them head-on.
Clearly, neither side had any patience left to continue this years-long stalemate.
They intended to decide victory or defeat today.
The winner would feast; the loser would eat dust.
Makoto slowly floated forward from the rear of the formation, drifting to the space between both armies.
The mont the Fourth Raikage saw him like that, his mood soured instantly.
It reminded him of a certain old bastard who also liked to float in the air. Fighting flying enemies wasn't just annoying—it was downright disgusting.
"Kid from Konoha, get down here and talk."
Makoto didn't move.
"Raikage-sama, we et again. What, does this bring back so unpleasant mories? If so, I do apologize."
The Raikage ground his teeth, forcing down his temper as he sneered: "What, is Konoha out of people?"
"Is the Third Hokage too old to walk now, or is the Fourth Hokage stuck in bed? Why do you always send a brat like you out to handle things?"
"Relax. Both Hokage-sama are in excellent health. It's just that dealing with you doesn't require them. I'm more than enough. If they ca, I'm afraid you'd end up just like your father."
When it ca to trash talk, even if the Raikage had twenty more years, he still wouldn't be Makoto's match.
The Raikage knew it himself—he had invested all his talent into his temper, not his mouth.
So he suppressed his anger and went straight to the point: "Kid, those strange injuries my n suffered today… that was your doing, wasn't it?"
"Yeah. You should be grateful I only injured them instead of killing them all. They're just minor injuries. Take your people and retreat, go ho and treat them properly."
"Don't worry, it's nothing serious—easy to cure. If you can't even manage that, then it just ans you don't value your shinobi's lives. Soone like you isn't qualified to be Raikage. Go ho and reflect on yourself."
"Don't try to sow discord here. What happened with the envoy—Konoha must give Kumogakure an explanation!"
The Raikage had grown smarter—he instinctively stopped following Makoto's rhythm.
"An explanation? What kind of explanation do you want?"
"This mine belongs to Kumogakure. And Konoha must hand over the killer. Don't think I don't know who did it."
"I'm the one who killed them. If you don't believe , bring soone over—I can kill them again right here for you. What are you going to do about it?"
Playing unreasonable? As if he couldn't do that too.
"Kid, you're courting death."
The Fourth Raikage could no longer suppress his temper. Lightning erupted across his body as he activated Lightning Release: Chakra Mode.
In the next instant, he leapt upward, appearing above Makoto, gathering chakra into his right leg and bringing it down in a brutal axe kick.
Makoto flashed to the Raikage's side, then drove his right fist toward his head. The Raikage reacted instantly, crossing his arms to block.
He blocked it—but Makoto was using Monster Strength. The overwhelming force sent the Raikage crashing toward the ground like a cannonball.
Boom!
The solid rock between the two armies shattered, forming a massive crater.
Makoto descended imdiately, following up. Wind-attribute chakra gathered in his right leg, and he brought it down like a massive cleaver.
Compared to ninjutsu, he preferred this kind of close-range, blood-pumping combat. Unfortunately, in the current shinobi world, there were almost no opponents left who could match soone like him—fighting head-on while in Sage Mode and wielding Monster Strength. Only the Raikage, with his strongest Lightning Armor, could hold out for a while.
The Fourth Raikage raised his chakra-infused arms again to block, but this strike was even heavier—far beyond his expectations. It felt like facing an extrely enhanced version of Tsunade.
The ground roared again as the crater expanded further, debris flying and dust filling the air.
Forced to one knee, the Raikage gritted his teeth, then shoved Makoto back and surged forward, abandoning technique entirely. His fists rained down in rapid succession, forming a blur in front of him.
"Ahhh! Die!"
Makoto's excitent surged. He also spread chakra across his body, activating a Wind-attribute chakra mode, and countered with even faster punches.
Fist t fist. Violent winds burst outward, forcing both sides' shinobi to retreat.
"Useless, useless, useless! All useless! Raikage-sama, too slow—too slow! Faster, faster, go faster!"
The Raikage accelerated again.
"You want speed? I'll give it to you!"
"Still too slow. Too slow. At this speed, how are you qualified to be Raikage?"
Pushed to his limit, the Raikage desperately increased his speed—but no matter how hard he tried, Makoto always responded even faster.
The two of them were like humanoid beasts, clashing in raw power. Wherever they fought, destruction followed. The ground cracked into a continuous chain of craters.
But soon, the Raikage had to admit it—
He couldn't outfight Makoto.
If this continued, he would be beaten to death.
With a powerful elbow strike, he forced Makoto back, then gathered chakra into his right hand and charged forward at full speed.
Lightning Release: Lariat ×2!
From behind Makoto, a powerful figure burst out from the Kumogakure ranks, using the sa technique to coordinate with the Raikage.
They aid to execute their ultimate combination attack—decapitation.
It was the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, Killer B.
Boom!
The two brothers, though not of the sa blood, moved in perfect sync. Their combined strike exploded with force as their arms converged, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Did it work?"
"Of course! With both of them attacking together, who in the shinobi world could block that?"
"Wait…"
"What about Makoto-sama?!"
Both sides held their breath, eyes wide, watching this battle that would determine their fate.
But as always—where there's smoke, there's no damage.
In the crater, the Raikage and Killer B's arms hadn't even t.
Standing between them, Makoto had raised both arms and firmly caught their thick wrists in his hands, stopping them completely.
The two were shocked, breaking free and exchanging glances—both seeing the disbelief in each other's eyes.
They hadn't expected that soone in the shinobi world could so easily stop their combined strike.
Even Minato had relied on extre reaction speed and Flying Thunder God to fight them to a standstill.
"Raikage-sama, did you think I wouldn't notice Killer B hiding? Using tricks like this in front of a sensory shinobi—isn't that a bit laughable?"
The Raikage took a deep breath and laughed.
"I never expected to hide it from you. Maybe B and I can't defeat you—but we can hold you back."
"Kid, battles between shinobi aren't like those warlord novels you've read. There's no tradition of dueling commanders. Last ti, I just didn't want our forces to clash head-on and let that old bastard from Iwagakure take advantage, so I said you could take three of my moves."
"But today is different. I won't play those gas anymore. Maybe you'll win—but what about your n?"
"Right now, I have twice your numbers. The advantage is mine. You have to make a choice—either Konoha accepts my terms, or you watch them die."
"Sorry. I don't need to choose. If anything, you're the one who should be making a choice."
"You naïve brat."
The Raikage grinned viciously and shouted:
"Attack!"
With superior numbers, the Kumogakure forces surged forward. So units even flanked from both sides, attempting to encircle Konoha completely.
Hyūga Hizashi commanded the troops to resist fiercely. They could retreat—but abandoning their commander was not an option.
Makoto looked at the converging enemies and said calmly: "Now, Raikage-sama… it's your turn to make a choice."
"Enough boasting. I admit you're strong—but who do you think you are? The God of Shinobi?"
"Well… sorry about that. I may not be the First Hokage—but anything he could do… I can do too."
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