484. End of the Third Day Battle
Rumble… rumble…
The dust clouds and smoke settle down to reveal the azure dragon disperse into pure energy.
"My Leaf Dagon God?!" Master Chen falls to his knees in defeat.
"How can this be? How can I lose? Why won't you give up?" He blankly stares at the sky.
"No, there was a time when I almost thought of giving up." Lee shakes his head.
"Back then in the academy, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't become strong like the rest of my classmates. However, I was fortunate enough to meet Guy Sensei.
I don't have to be like others. My strength lies in my willingness to never give up and keep pushing forward to surpass my limits. If hard work was pain and suffering, then giving up on my dream will make me suffer more. Day by day, I would have lived in regret of never trying and giving my best. But now, I am strong thanks to that resolve and the support of people around me." Lee clenches his fists.
"I see…"
A smile appears on Master Chen's face.
"You found yourself a fine teacher."
Crack appears on Master Chen's body as it slowly disperses into ashes.
"Long ago, I too had a pupil…"
Master Chen recalls the memories of his student and closes his eyes.
"Here, take this as my parting gift!"
He makes a series of hand signs and summons an ancient scroll. Master Chen passes the scroll to Lee.
"Master Chen!"
Lee tightly clutches the scroll in his hand and tears overflow from his eyes.
"This is…"
Guy glances at the scroll in Lee's hand.
"This is the complete Eight Inner Chakra Enlightenment Technique. I hope you can find a use for it!"
With these words, a white glow surrounds Master Chen's body, and he returns to the Pure Land.
Izuna observes the entire battle from the sky and murmurs.
"What a surprise! I didn't expect the technique I created by improving the Eight Inner Gates Formation to be the basis for the Eight Inner Gates Formation."
Back on the Raikage's battlefield,
"A, it's too late!"
The Raikage sighs and stomps on the ground.
Bzzt…
The giant lightning orb releases a bright glow and shoots toward the sky. It pierces through the cloud and vanishes into the sky.
"What… what's going on?"
The shinobis at HQ stare at the jutsu with skeptical gazes.
"This…"
Even the Kumo head ninja in HQ is flabbergasted by the sudden change.
"Erm… well… I only heard stories about this jutsu. I have never seen it in action. So, my knowledge is limited." He helplessly shakes his head.
The giant lightning orb reaches the orbit and supercharges into the ionosphere.
HAAH…
The three Raikages claps their hand.
Fwoosh… Shoom…
The giant lightning orb splits into several gigantic lightning spears and locks onto several shinobi camps and the HQ.
"This jutsu is targeting the vital camps of our army and the headquarters," Kushina informs Minato of the situation.
"Quickly inform the members of the barrier team to erect barriers." Shikaku swiftly issues orders to the communication team.
In a hidden underground hideout,
"Kuku… it's time to cripple the allied shinobi force. If this plan doesn't work, then I can only resort to my trump card."
Haah…
He makes a Ram hand sign.
Shoom…
The lightning spears shoot toward several camps of the Allied Shinobi forces. A gigantic lightning spear falls straight toward A and another shoots toward the First Division's camp.
Hmm…
Sakumo narrows his eyes as he senses the threat.
'The barrier team won't be able to make it. I have to buy some time.'
He steps forwards and wields his chakra blade in his hand.
"Secret Technique: Heavenly Phantom Blade Slash,"
Sakumo infuses almost all of his chakra into his blade and releases a powerful crescent slash toward the rapidly approaching lightning spear.
Bzzt… Boom…
The crescent slash clashes against the lightning spear. Their clash generates a powerful burst of energy that blows away the surrounding terrain. However, despite Sakumo's best efforts, the lightning spear eventually overpowers his technique and heads toward the camp.
"Wind users, attack!"
The vice-commander issues a command as several wind users launch a barrage of wind jutsus in an effort to whittle down the lightning spear.
The barrier team also manages to erect a barrier.
Boom… Crack…
The lightning spear explodes on top of the barrier and destroys it within a fraction of a few seconds. It strikes down the ground and generates a powerful lightning current that shocks several shinobis in its vicinity.
Boom…
A giant pillar of lightning bolt rises towards the sky and dust, and debris covers the area.
Sasuke intercepts several lightning spears with the Yata no Kagami shield.
The powerful elemental barrier of the Yata no Kagami shield nullifies the chakra within the lightning spear. However, the force behind the spears is still powerful enough to blow him backward.
Sasuke's chakra reserves drain rapidly as he blocks several lightning spears with the Yata shield.
"Sasuke, allow the attacks heading towards the HQ to pass through. The barrier around the HQ is strong enough to withstand it.
"We will also somehow manage on our own!"
Raasa also assures him.
After blocking several lightning spears heading toward the medical division, Sasuke runs out of chakra. He dispels his Susanoo and lands on the ground to recover the chakra.
Boom… Boom… Boom…
Lightning spears strike several places and havoc destruction among the ranks of the allied Shinobi force.
Sigh…
Minato and the rest sigh and shake their head.
"It could have been worse. With Sasuke's help, at least we managed to avert a big crisis. Still, we suffered heavy losses in today's battle."
Needless to say, the Allied shinobi force lost the Third day's battle.
Lee slowly escorts Guy towards the battlefield as A, Kakashi, Tenten, and Neji confront the three former Raikages.
Tenten gulps her saliva as she has no confidence in the Kages.
----------------------
On the other side of the battlefield,
Naruto finally suppresses Nagato using the Fuinjutsu seals.
"Naruto, I will entrust the hopes and the dreams of the future shinobis generation in your hands."
Nagato closes his eyes as his body slowly disperses.
"If only I could meet Jiraiya Sensei one last time and apologize to him for my mistakes."
"Very well!"
Izuna's voice echoes in Naruto's and Nagato's ears.
"This voice!" Both of their eyes widen in shock.
Fwoosh…
The next second, Jiraiya appears next to Naruto and Nagato.
"Ah… huh! Huh!"
Jiraiya is holding a bunch of playing cards in his hand as he looks around in confusion.
"What? Where am I? How am I here when I was playing cards with…"
"Pervy-Sage!"
Naruto yells and points a finger toward Jiraiya.
"Others are betting their life on the line and you are out there somewhere playing cards."
"Huh, Naruto!"
Jiraiya recognizes Naruto's voice and turns towards him. He notices the glow around Naruto and is slightly surprised to see it.
"That's Nine-tails chakra. You mastered it, Naruto?"
"Of course, I did!" Naruto smugly crosses his arms.
"But that's not the point! Tell me, what are you doing with these playing cards in your hands?"
"Oh, these! Whoops…"
Jiraiya quickly hides the cards in his pocket.
"Nothing… nothing! Currently, I am on a very important S-Rank mission. But you… Huh!"
Jiraiya narrows his eyes as he finally notices Nagato.
Swoosh…
He swiftly jumps back and enters into a combat stance.
"Nagato, is that you?"
"Yes, Sensei. It's me!" Nagato nods with a melancholic gaze.
"Pervy-sage, he's in control of himself," Naruto assures him.
"Sensei, I have a lot to talk with you. But first, I would like to apologize to you." Nagato bows his head.
"I see!"
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Somewhere in an isolated mansion in the mountains.
"Ah!"
The five Daimyo stares at the empty space in front of them with shock. Each of them is holding a bunch of cards in their hands.
"Jiraiya-san, it's your tur…"