A roar like that of a prehistoric beast erupted as lightning surged across the man's body. His hair stood on end, stimulated by the electric currents, while his speed reached an astonishing peak.
Raikage's entire form transformed into a streak of azure lightning, clashing incessantly with a stream of cherry-pink light across the battlefield—colliding, colliding, colliding! At a glance, the sky was filled with fists, fists, fists! Legs, legs, legs! Feet, feet, feet!
Sakura faced Raikage's frenzied onslaught with calm composure. While the power of Tsunade's seal within her had granted her immense benefits, it hadn't enhanced her speed. Against Raikage's relentless barrage, she still couldn't keep up.
The gains from Tsunade's seal were limited to the brute destruction of enemy ninjutsu and a heightened sharpness that had been elevated to an impressive degree. Her emerald eyes locked tightly onto the man whose form flickered like lightning. No matter how frantically he accelerated, as long as there was a trace of his movement, he couldn't escape the grasp of those jade-green eyes.
Damn it!
What in the world had she gone through in this past month?!
Raikage naturally noticed something unusual about Haruno Sakura. The last time they'd faced off, when he'd pushed his speed to its absolute limit, it wasn't obvious, but he could still sense she hadn't been able to react in time.
But what was happening now?
Was this some kind of sensory ninja ability, a kekkei genkai perhaps?
Unable to comprehend it, Raikage could only attribute her uncanny performance to a bloodline limit.
In truth, it was nothing more than the simplest form of dynamic neural capture.
Raikage hadn't even considered this possibility.
Because no one—no one—could hone their dynamic reflexes to such a level in just a single month.
With strength no longer giving him the upper hand, Raikage could only rely on his speed advantage to try and wear Sakura down. If he ignored this pink-haired menace, her destructive power would spell disaster for the Kumogakure forces.
Funnily enough, this aligned perfectly with Sakura's own thinking.
If Raikage lost interest in her, she'd be out of options too.
In that case, it'd come down to mutual destruction—seeing whether she could take out more Kumo ninja or Raikage could kill more Konoha shinobi.
Boom!!
Dust billowed into the air as tyrannical lightning and pink chakra currents flickered within it. Raikage clashed with Sakura once again!
Her slender frame bent slightly with one hand, effortlessly blocking Raikage's heavy, momentum-driven strike. The ground beneath her feet shattered instantly under his force.
"Hey, your attacks compared to last time? They're downright soft and feeble."
"What's wrong?"
"Did that measly month wear you out?"
Sakura's face carried a taunting grin as she mocked the towering, muscular man before her, who was nearly twice her height.
Raikage's expression twisted with fury at her unrestrained jabs.
"Lightning Oppression Horizontal: Chiyo Mai!"
A razor-sharp hand chop, surging with chakra, came crashing down. Sakura didn't dodge. With lightning-fast reflexes, her other hand shot up, catching his wrist against the metal bracer!
Then, she drove her knee toward his abdomen!
Raikage, the fastest in the ninja world, reacted just as swiftly, raising his knee to meet hers in a simultaneous clash!
Thud!
A dull sound erupted from the collision of their legs!
But Sakura smirked triumphantly. On her pale forehead, centered around the Yin Seal, pink chakra flared to life.
Learning from her last encounter with Tsunade's power, Sakura didn't recklessly aim for Raikage's head this time. Instead, she used her height "advantage" to slam her head straight into his chest!
Raikage's eyes narrowed. He'd personally experienced this pink-haired girl's headbutt before.
Last time, she'd aimed for his skull—the hardest part of the human body—so he'd met her head-on, trading blow for blow.
But now, she was targeting his chest, and his height left him unable to counter effectively!
In this critical moment, Raikage borrowed Sakura's momentum. The foot he'd planted to brace himself lifted, launching toward her chest!
Sakura reacted instantly. Both hands released their grip, and Raikage's massive frame lost its anchor, plummeting toward the ground. At the same time, her counterattack struck!
A piercing whistle cut through the air as a whip-like kick lashed toward Raikage's head!
His body off-balance, Raikage quickly raised both arms to shield his head. Sakura's kick slammed into the metal guards on his forearms!
With absolute brute force, his hulking figure was sent flying like a ball kicked across the field!
!!!
A surge of invisible shockwaves whipped up a storm of snowflakes. The dark silhouette shot backward like an arrow released from a bow!
With a sidelong glance at the surrounding battle, Sakura didn't hesitate—she charged after him!
But halfway through her pursuit, Jiraiya's voice rang in her mind.
"Sakura!"
"Forget Raikage!"
"There's trouble in the rear!"
"The Eight-Tails Jinchuriki has appeared in the central ranks!"
Her advancing steps screeched to a halt, her brows knitting tightly together.
Raikage had just taken her kick. Even with his bracers, he wouldn't die—given their thickness, it might not even count as a serious injury.
If she left now, Raikage would…
But Terumi Mei alone could never hold back Killer B's advance.
In that moment, Sakura was caught in a dilemma.
Jiraiya was holding off Orochimaru, and she had Raikage under control, but there was no way Terumi Mei could stall Killer B in the rear.
"Sakura, come help me hold off Orochimaru for five minutes."
"After that, go reinforce the central ranks."
Jiraiya's words came through clear and precise in her mind.
She could handle Orochimaru and Raikage for five minutes, no problem. But the real question was whether Terumi Mei could hold out against Killer B for that long!
"Fine."
Sakura had no choice but to agree. She quickly relayed the message to Ino, asking her to pass it on to Terumi Mei.
With a soft sigh, she cast a regretful glance toward where she'd sent Raikage flying, then turned and sprinted toward Jiraiya's position!
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