Chapter 308: Death of the Raikage, Counterattack Begins
"Damn you, Ōnoki!!!"
"You've doomed the entire ninja world!!!"
In his final moments, the Third Raikage furiously cursed Ōnoki in his heart. If it hadn't been for Ōnoki's scheme back then—trying to trap them all—then together, they could have truly killed Li Yao.
But now, this is what they got.
Li Yao wasn't dead.
The Third Raikage didn't even need to think—he could already imagine the kind of insane revenge the Five Great Nations and Hidden Villages would suffer at Li Yao's hands.
No… they didn't even have to wait.
Li Yao's revenge had already begun.
That mysterious ninja who attacked Kumogakure and Kirigakure with explosive clay years ago, and the one who attacked Sunagakure two years prior—it must've been Li Yao.
The Third Raikage had once doubted it, but now he was certain.
It was Li Yao enacting revenge for the Five Great Hidden Villages' past attempt to kill him.
And even… the destruction of the Daimyō's clan in the Land of Rain—now the Third Raikage was sure that too had been Li Yao's doing.
Only Li Yao would harbor such deep hatred toward the daimyōs of the Five Great Nations—enough to commit genocide.
"No—I must warn Ōnoki!"
"We can't let Li Yao continue to hide his identity. If he does, the entire ninja world will be destroyed!"
In his final seconds, the Third Raikage summoned a desperate will to survive. He had to pass on the truth—that Li Yao was still alive.
If Li Yao kept hiding in the shadows…
Forget the future—in this very war, he was surely going to lead Iwagakure, disguised as Ōnoki's disciple, in a deadly clash against Kumogakure.
With Li Yao's strength, Kumogakure could be wiped out.
And when that happened, the rest of the Five Great Nations would fall in turn.
Zzzzz... The Third Raikage gambled everything, channeling spiritual energy into his black lightning. In an instant, black lightning flared across his body—his final attack aimed at Ōnoki.
As long as he could land the attack, the spiritual energy embedded in it would transfer a message to Ōnoki—revealing the truth of Li Yao's identity.
Crack!
But Earth Release Clone - Shiyan suddenly tightened his grip and snapped the Third Raikage's neck, shattering that last flicker of defiance.
The black lightning surrounding his body instantly faded.
"Trying to inject your spiritual energy into Black Lightning to transmit a message to Ōnoki?"
Shiyan sneered coldly. "How laughable."
With his heightened soul perception, there was no way the Third Raikage could fool him with such a petty trick.
In the end, the Third Raikage died—consumed by terror.
Shiyan continued to clutch his neck tightly, waiting until the chakra imbued with Rinnegan ocular power completely devoured the Raikage's soul. Only then did he toss the body aside.
Thud!
The corpse of the Third Raikage slammed onto the ground nearby.
Thus, the Third Raikage perished at the hands of Li Yao's Earth Release clone, Shiyan.
"He's dead! The Third Raikage is dead!"
"Lord Shiyan has killed that monster!"
"Lord Shiyan!"
"Lord Shiyan!"
Wild cheers echoed once more across the battlefield as Shiyan turned and raised both arms, basking in the moment of glory that belonged to him.
Ōnoki and Huitu descended from the sky, landing beside Shiyan.
Ōnoki glanced at the Third Raikage's body, then turned toward Shiyan, who stood triumphantly. A flicker of doubt passed through his mind.
Since when had his disciple become so flamboyant?
Maybe he was just overjoyed from slaying such a long-revered powerhouse.
Ōnoki didn't dwell on it. The battle was won.
Without the Third Raikage, Kumogakure would soon be forced out of the Land of Earth.
And that's exactly what happened.
That very night, Iwagakure launched a full-scale counteroffensive, striking at every Kumogakure outpost within their territory.
The full moon hung high in the sky—an excellent night for killing.
Outside one such Kumogakure outpost, Shiyan led a 100-man unit in an attack against the enemy stronghold.
"We're under attack! It's Iwagakure!"
As soon as they arrived outside the base, they were spotted by the enemy. Not that they were hiding.
Moments later, the Kumogakure shinobi stationed there rushed out to meet them.
They hadn't yet received news of the Third Raikage's death, and still believed they held a psychological advantage over Iwagakure. Without hesitation, they charged into battle.
The Iwa shinobi looked to Shiyan, eyes filled with expectation, awaiting his command.
After the battle where he single-handedly killed the Third Raikage, Shiyan's status and reputation skyrocketed. He had effortlessly become captain of this unit. No one questioned it.
Such was the nature of a world where strength ruled.
If you were strong enough, everyone followed you.
"Watch out for stragglers."
Shiyan stepped in front of his troops. When the Kumogakure shinobi closed to within fifty meters, he rapidly formed hand seals, his chest swelling before he exhaled forcefully.
"Fire Release – Relentless Head!"
An endless stream of fire poured from Shiyan's mouth, forming a towering sea of flames dozens of meters high, surging toward the enemy.
"Damn! It's a massive Fire Release!"
"Quick, use Water Release!"
The Kumogakure commander instantly gave orders. But he wasn't even needed—seeing such an enormous Fire Release, all water-style users instinctively stepped forward to counter.
"Water Release – Water Formation Wall!"
In group warfare, coordinated ninjutsu of the same type was commonly practiced by all major villages. Basic elemental techniques were almost universally taught.
This time, ten shinobi stood forward and cast Water Formation Wall in unison.
Ten people combining their water jutsu—producing a massive, sky-sweeping wall of water—actually created a surge bigger than Shiyan's flame wave.
Plus, water naturally countered fire in terms of chakra affinity.
On the Iwa side, everyone drew their kunai and blades or began forming seals, preparing for the next phase of the fight.
So did the Kumogakure side.
But when Shiyan's flames met the water wall created by ten shinobi, something unbelievable happened.
The massive torrent of water crashed into the sea of flames—but like raging waves hitting an immovable mountain, the water instantly broke apart, split down the middle and flowed around the flames.
Forget suppressing the flames—it didn't even weaken them.
The flames surged forward, like a mudslide or avalanche, overwhelming the water and instantly bearing down on the Kumogakure shinobi.
None of them had expected that their combined water technique would be so easily destroyed by Shiyan's Fire Release. It didn't even slow it down.
In that moment, they finally noticed that as the wall of flame rushed toward them, the ground beneath it collapsed—crushed under the sheer weight of the fire.
This wall of fire was like a mountain rolling down—unbearable, unstoppable.
(END CHAPTER)
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