Naruto: From Novice to Grave

Chapter 98 - Me, the Raikage? Really?

[Righteous Thunder Sinks, Wrathful Thunder Axe]

With a roar, a tall, muscular figure crackling with lightning descended with an incomparably ferocious aura, his thick thighs mercilessly slashing down on Higashino Makoto and Kakashi's heads.

Higashino reacted with lightning speed, dragging Kakashi away in a teleportation jump.

"Boom!"

With a loud bang, the spot where the two had just stood was slammed into a large crater by the burly man's leg, and the ground trembled slightly.

Poor Teochew, even in death he cannot find peace; his body is half-buried in the soil, as if he intends to be laid to rest here.

The burly man glanced at his companion, whom he had almost saved, then glared at Higashino Makoto, his eyes blazing with fury. It was all because of that damned brat who had managed to kill Teoshi before him.

Both Higashino Makoto and Kakashi were on high alert, because standing in front of them was the newly appointed Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure—A.

"Hey, Konoha guys, welcome Killer Bee's arrival, you idiots, you bastards."

With a strange voice, another figure followed closely behind, landing beside the Raikage. He wore a white ninja hat, had dark skin, and a strong build.

This is Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki of Kumogakure, who was young at the time.

During the war, this AB duo always acted together.

Following closely behind them were a large number of Cloud Village ninjas who had come to rescue their comrades, but after looking at the situation, they realized they seemed to be too late.

After being surrounded and attacked by Konoha, only a pitiful small number of their companions remained; the rest lay on the ground, and even Troy and Theoshi had been killed in action.

Those bastards from Konoha are truly despicable.

Minato Namikaze made a hand gesture to the Konoha ninjas, then teleported to Higashino Makoto and Kakashi's side.

Hiashi Hyuga also arrived here, joining Minato Namikaze to face the AB combination from Kumogakure.

He was, after all, the head of the Second Northern Command. He couldn't possibly let his two juniors take the lead while he hid in the crowd. If word got back to the village, how could he face anyone after that?

The leaders of both sides, along with their respective subordinates, faced off across a pile of corpses on the battlefield, creating the impression that another major battle was about to erupt.

The atmosphere became extremely tense.

However, the leaders of both sides knew that if they really fought a bloody battle here, it would only make Iwagakure laugh their heads off, which was an outcome that no one wanted to see.

Although the Raikage appears to be a burly, rough man, he is actually quite shrewd. His recklessness is merely a facade.

Minato Namikaze still had a sunny image, but his expression was serious: "Gentlemen, we meet again."

"It's good to meet, we can fight again, you idiot, you bastard!" Killer Bee was an oddball, and his words immediately ruined the tense atmosphere.

"Hmph!" The Raikage snorted heavily, his anger still evident on the surface, but he began to calculate in his heart. Fight? That would mean letting that bastard Onoki take advantage, which was absolutely unacceptable. Leave? He was unwilling to accept this; he had to make Konoha pay the price.

Minato Namikaze suggested, "If you don't want to continue fighting, then please leave. Take your people with you, and let's end today's battle here."

The Fourth Raikage roared, "Go back? Minato Namikaze, are you kidding me? You led your men to kill so many of my subordinates, how are you going to settle this score?"

"This is a battlefield, Raikage. How many Konoha ninja have been besieged by your Kumogakure? According to you, the only way to resolve this is for both sides to fight to the last man. Is this what you want to see?"

"That's fine too. We Cloud Ninja won't back down. I'm just afraid your Konoha doesn't have the guts."

"Then what are you waiting for? Come on!"

"I just don't want that old man Onoki to laugh at us. If you want us to retreat, then hand over those two brats to me. They have to pay for killing Teoshi."

The unreasonable request immediately angered the people of Konoha.

"asshole!"

"Are you crazy?"

"How could we possibly hand over our comrades?"

The crowd was instantly enraged. They had never encountered such an outrageous demand before. The ninjas from both sides immediately started hurling insults at each other across the battlefield. The battle hadn't even begun before the verbal fight started.

Is the demand unreasonable? Of course it is. On the battlefield, everyone relies on their own abilities. If you lose or die, you can't blame anyone else. But if your own people die, you can't expect the other side to hand over the killer. What kind of good deal is that?

But it suddenly made sense coming from the mouth of the Yunren; these guys have always had this shameless style.

This behavior amused Higashino, who couldn't help but remind him, "Lord Raikage, is it possible that you killed that Teoshi you mentioned yourself?"

"You just kicked him, and that guy could have been saved, but you buried him in the ground. If you want revenge, you should kill yourself."

"What did you say? You brat!"

Facing the Raikage, who was radiating lightning with rage, Higashino Makoto showed no fear: "The Cloud Ninja who died here today were all killed by you."

"If you hadn't ordered them to invade Konoha, how could they have died? It was your orders that killed them. You are the murderer. If I were a Cloud Village ninja, I would have stabbed you in the back right now."

The Konoha team was completely stunned. Holy crap, can you even say things like that? Why does it actually make sense?

I've learned something! I've learned something! In the future, when I encounter ninjas from the other four great ninja villages, they can also criticize me with the same arrogance.

Lei Ying was so angry he laughed: "Heh, you sharp-tongued brat, I wonder if your strength is as impressive as your mouth."

"I'm pretty strong. I don't actually need your help to kill that Teoshi. You're really a kind person, but I won't thank you."

"Is that so? Then I'll give you a chance. If you can withstand three of my moves without dying, I'll retreat immediately. That way, neither of us will suffer any more unnecessary casualties, and we won't let Iwagakure get away with it."

"So? Do you have the guts to stand up for your comrades? Or are you just a smooth-talking brat?"

Minato Namikaze immediately refused: "Lord Raikage, aren't you afraid of losing your dignity by saying such things?"

"Identity? On the battlefield, we are all ninjas, regardless of age, and there is no such thing as Raikage."

Higashino thought about the speed and power of the opponent's kick just now and was confident that he could handle it. This guy is not yet 30 years old and is not the fully-formed Fourth Raikage in a dozen years.

He also wanted to test his current skill level.

Since graduating and joining the battlefield, all the battles had been too easy for him. He felt no pressure at all and had no idea how far he had progressed in his training. Therefore, the Raikage's suggestion came at just the right time.

Besides, if you can't beat him, you can fly away. The Raikage isn't Onoki; you can't just jump up and hit his knee, can you?

"Okay, I agree!"

Everyone was suddenly confused by these words, and even Kakashi, who was standing next to Higashino Makoto, couldn't maintain his deadpan expression.

No, buddy, although I fight desperately and am not afraid to die, and I even want to die in battle, I won't go to my death meaninglessly.

Is this junior out of his mind? Did his teammates and parents also die?

Minato Namikaze sternly rebuked, "Shin, don't mess around, you'll get yourself killed!"

"Don't worry, Minato-senpai, I know what I'm doing." After saying that, Higashino Shin showed the Flying Thunder God kunai in his ninja tool bag.

After reading it, Minato finally agreed, confident that he could save Higashino Makoto if necessary.

The originally tense situation suddenly took a bizarre turn, with neither side expecting it to end in a one-on-one duel between the Raikage and a Konoha brat.

But the Raikage is right. On the battlefield, everyone is a ninja, regardless of age or gender; strength is everything.

After Higashino Makoto persuaded the three, who were still worried about Tsukikage Unmi, to leave, he fearlessly stood at the front of the group and instantly entered Sage Mode.

Minato Namikaze, with his keen senses, frowned slightly. He seemed to sense a familiar yet unfamiliar fluctuation in Makoto Higashino, something ambiguous and quite strange.

"Kid, are you ready to face death?"

"Lord Raikage, are you prepared to fail to defeat me in three moves? That would be quite embarrassing, and you might be overthrown by your subordinates when you get back."

The Raikage tried his best to suppress his anger and stopped talking. He admitted that he couldn't argue with this brat and that he would be driven crazy if he continued. He decided to seize the opportunity to kill this genius of Konoha.

Lightning Release Chakra Mode erupted, his body crackling with electricity. The Raikage raised his aura to its peak, determined to end the battle with a single strike.

[Righteous Thunder Sinks, Wrathful Thunder Axe]

Raikage leaped up and delivered a powerful kick to Raikage's head.

He hadn't forgotten the move that had been dodged before, and now he was using it again. Let's see how this brat can withstand it. Let him rot in the ground and atone for his dead comrades!

Higashino Makoto's legs were slightly apart, and his hands were raised.

[Immortal Technique - Water Escape - A Corner of Tranquility]

A light blue, semi-transparent chakra shield enveloped Higashino Makoto in the center. Within the shield, blue chakra flowed rapidly like water, interspersed with faint white particles that swam through it like fish.

The Raikage slammed down, creating a deep dent in the top of the chakra shield, but it didn't break.

"Blocked—blocked it!"

After a brief silence, Konoha erupted in cheers.

They never expected that their family would have such an amazing genius who could withstand the Raikage's attacks at such a young age; it was simply unbelievable.

The Raikage's attack failed, and his expression instantly turned serious. He was surprised that the kid from Konoha hadn't been exaggerating and had actually withstood his attack.

At the same time, he made up his mind that he must kill this bastard, otherwise when he grows up, he will be another Hashirama Senju.

Moreover, judging from his appearance, he is definitely not as easy to talk to as the ninja god recorded in the village. In that case, everyone's life will be difficult, and they won't even dare to speak loudly when they go out.

Why doesn't such a genius appear in Kumogakure? The Sage of Six Paths must be blind.

The next strike will send him to the Pure Land.

The Raikage stepped back slightly, regaining his composure. He gathered a large amount of lightning chakra in his right arm, then leaped forward and unleashed a powerful single-handed strike: [Lightning Slaughter Horizontal Thousand-Generation Dance].

"Go to hell!"

Higashino Makoto didn't change his posture, still keeping his hands raised, but he changed his defensive ninjutsu.

[Immortal Technique - Wind Escape - Wind King Barrier]

It was still a semi-transparent chakra shield, but this time it was infused with sharp wind chakra instead of water chakra.

White chakra threads streaked through the shield like meteors, forming a dense and dangerous net of wind, resembling an enlarged version of the Rasengan.

Wind attribute is much harder to control than water attribute. He had been developing it before, but wind attribute was difficult to control. In the end, it was only after Higashino Makoto learned a lot of advanced sealing techniques from the Third Hokage that he was able to develop it.

As for the name of the ninjutsu, Higashino Makoto guarantees it has nothing to do with Saber.

Wind Kree, today is a good day to test its defensive strength.

The Raikage's arm, crackling with violent lightning, slammed into the Wind Main's barrier. It felt like he had smashed into a pile of upright steel needles. The lightning chakra in his arm was being rapidly depleted, and as the chakra decreased, his skin began to sting.

If this continues, his right hand will be crippled before the strange barrier even breaks.

What kind of weird defensive ninjutsu are these? Why have I never seen Konoha ninjas use them before?

Is it that he's not strong enough, or is this ninja world just too crazy?