As a Bloodline Elimination technique, Dust Release possesses the terrifying power to pulverize objects down to the atomic level.
Not to mention the Raikage's Lightning Release Armor; even the Susanoo of the Uchiha clan would be directly decomposed into atoms.
Under the Bloodline Kekkai Mora, the destructive power of Dust Release is nearly unstoppable. If the user weren't limited by their own physical strength, this battle likely wouldn't have lasted so long.
Kawaki Aoba's round trip to Iwagakure probably took a full day, but the battle here still hasn't stopped.
At this moment, Raikage A's condition doesn't resemble someone who's been fighting a ten-thousand-man army for a day. No, his terrifying physical strength doesn't seem human at all.
Kawaki Aoba, with his Saiyan bloodline, admits that he couldn't do it without resorting to shortcuts.
Tell me, which normal ninja can fight day and night without rest?
Putting aside the endurance of one's spirit, just the chakra consumption alone would drain their body dry.
If that future 'Fifty-Fifty' were here, he'd probably be on his knees in less than half an hour.
"Without a unique physique like the Uzumaki or Senju clans, the chakra limit within a person's body is inherently finite. Raikage A's chakra should be temporarily extracted by forcing his body to its limits. Is such high physical strength reliant on Lightning Release body-strengthening techniques?"
The repetitive battle process offers nothing new. Kawaki Aoba is more concerned with the Raikage's terrifying physical strength.
"Apart from the Lightning Release Armor, there are only basic Lightning Release ninja body techniques. The rumored strongest spear of the Third Raikage—I haven't even seen a shadow of it. As expected, it's being too heavily restrained, right?"
Kawaki Aoba shook his head. The Raikage's performance in this battle is frustrating. His strongest output method has no place to be used.
This is the ninja world. As long as information is known, and one isn't at the level of Madara or Hashirama, they can be caught and targeted for their weaknesses to death.
Isn't this the perfect example of the Third Raikage? Looking at the current ninja world, aside from Uchiha Madara, who hides in the shadows, no one can consistently defeat him.
But now, isn't he also about to be schemed to death by this old man Onoki? What's even more frustrating is that, before his death, the damage he can inflict on Iwagakure is still very limited.
Looking at the Third Raikage charging through the battlefield, with no one daring to approach, Kawaki Aoba shook his head. The outcome is already sealed. No matter how invincible the Third Raikage seems, this battle is no longer worth watching.
However, for the sake of his corpse, Kawaki Aoba still has to continue waiting here.
But while waiting, Kawaki Aoba didn't idle around. Instead, he reached out and summoned three scrolls wrapped in smoke in front of him.
These three scrolls are none other than the three S-rank ninjutsu he had stolen from Iwagakure.
The sacrifice to the sacrificial altar only requires ninjutsu information, so there's no need to sacrifice the scrolls themselves.
However, Kawaki Aoba has never touched these scrolls; they have always been wrapped in smoke.
Although these scrolls look fine and the ninjutsu within them are real, Kawaki Aoba doesn't want to risk touching them. Who knows if he might accidentally leave a special mark on his body?
As for why he suspects the scrolls could be problematic, yet still keeps them nearby, it's because these scrolls are also extremely useful.
Reaching out, he formed a hand seal and created a shadow clone. After the clone appeared and nodded to signal the main body, Kawaki Aoba manipulated the smoke to wrap the scrolls and sent them flying into the sky.
Fortunately, after acquiring the incomplete Saiyan bloodline, his chakra had surged. Otherwise, Kawaki Aoba wouldn't have been confident in entrusting this task to a shadow clone with limited chakra.
So, what was the task? Of course, it was to care for the elderly.
Crossing mountains and rivers, Kawaki Aoba flew over towering peaks and made his way directly to Kusagakure.
His destination was a rather inconspicuous bridge: the Kannabi Bridge.
This bridge was the site chosen by Iwagakure to raid Konoha in the original timeline, and it marked the turning point that changed the fate of Minato's team forever.
However, now that Kawaki Aoba has stirred things up on the battlefield, it's uncertain whether Iwagakure's raid on Konoha will happen as planned.
Kawaki Aoba's purpose here is simple: to hide the three scrolls obtained from Iwagakure.
If the scrolls haven't been tampered with, it would be fine, but if they still contain tracking mechanisms, and if Iwagakure can locate this place in the future, it would be a show worth watching.
Kawaki Aoba hasn't forgotten that beneath the Kannabi Bridge lies a major BOSS of the ninja world.
Uchiha Madara. Although he's old and dying, having even gouged out his own Rinnegan, it's uncertain whether his strength is even half of what it once was. Still, he should not be underestimated.
This action is also part of Kawaki Aoba's plan to stir up trouble for Iwagakure. If left unchecked, who knows what chaos they might cause?
One Kumogakure is not enough to keep them at bay.
Arriving at the location of the Kannabi Bridge, Kawaki Aoba maximized his Kenbunshoku Haki and began probing the ground.
Through the river, through the sand layers, his perception descended 10 meters, 20 meters, 50 meters… until he reached nearly 100 meters underground.
It's not that he can't go deeper, but Kawaki Aoba has already located his target.
A massive, exaggerated cave, and within it, a monster of enormous size is squatting.
That monster is dead, but the feedback from Kawaki Aoba's Kenbunshoku Haki is cold and filled with evil, as though countless dead souls and resentments are trapped in it.
The husk of the Ten-Tails, or the Gedo Statue, or the Divine Tree.
In any case, Kawaki Aoba has found the right place. But is a depth of 100 meters underground really that exaggerated?
In the original timeline, the Kannabi Bridge collapsed, burying Obito, who was later rescued by Uchiha Madara. But no matter how much the bridge collapsed, it shouldn't have caused a direct collapse to a depth of 100 meters, right?
Moreover, if the cave that houses the Gedo Statue collapses, not only would the Kannabi Bridge be affected, but even the river itself wouldn't be enough to fill that vast space.
Just as Kawaki Aoba was thinking, he suddenly shuddered violently. Without thinking, he flew straight into the sky, forming a smoke circle around himself and hiding within the clouds.
Meanwhile, in the underground cave, in front of the Gedo Statue, the old figure suddenly opened his eyes. The scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan spun in his pupils.
The stern gaze emanating from his eyes did not resemble that of a normal old man.
This was Uchiha Madara, the legendary figure of the ninja world who had been considered dead for decades.
Madara turned his head, his Sharingan sweeping across every corner of the cave.
Having spent decades here, Madara knew the area like the back of his hand. However, after scanning the cave several times, he didn't notice anything unusual.
He was surprised and suspicious. Just moments ago, he had clearly sensed a feeling of being watched. Yet, that sensation had suddenly disappeared.
"Zetsu."
At Madara's call, two figures, one black and one white, emerged from the ground.
"Madara-sama, did you call us out because Afēi needs to help you take a dump?" The white Zetsu, wearing a swirl mask, brought his face close to Madara's. You could almost see the anticipation in his eyes.
Madara glared at the annoying white Zetsu, a figure who angered him every time he saw him. If this wasn't a special individual cultivated using Hashirama's cells, Madara would have had him remade.
He pushed the fool's face away from his sight and instructed the black Zetsu beside him, "I sensed someone watching. Send a few white Zetsu outside to investigate. If you find any traces of ninjas, deal with them immediately."
"Understood." The black Zetsu sank slowly into the ground.
Afēi, the special white Zetsu, tilted his head, watching the black Zetsu disappear. "Madara-sama, do you need Afēi to go out and investigate too?"
Afēi pointed toward the top of the cave. "Maybe someone is taking a dump up there and disturbing Madara-sama's rest."
"Get lost." Madara's glare intensified, and for a rare moment, anger appeared on his face, scaring Afēi into fleeing with flailing limbs.
However, as Afēi made his way toward the top of the cave, Madara's eyelids twitched in irritation.
This Afēi was getting more out of hand than he had anticipated. How dare he imply that someone was taking a dump on Madara's head?
If Madara wasn't sure that white Zetsu didn't have digestive organs, he might have seriously doubted whether Afēi would actually try to take a dump on his head.
He had made a grave mistake adding Hashirama's cells to create this idiot.
Now, this special white Zetsu acted like an absolute fool, undoubtedly due to Hashirama's cells interfering with his intelligence.
As for the feeling of being watched, Madara was certain no detection method in the ninja world could penetrate a hundred meters of soil. Not even the Byakugan from the Hyuga Clan.
Indeed, the earth was the perfect material to block detection. Even Kawaki Aoba's high-level Observation Haki would be blocked underground. While Observation Haki usually could detect things several kilometers away, when trying to detect underground conditions, a few hundred meters was the limit.
Meanwhile, beneath the Kannabi Bridge, a head emerged from the mud and into the water.
Afēi's expression, hidden beneath his mask, was one of astonishment. He had forgotten that there was a river above the cave.
Once his whole body emerged from the mud, the current carried him, washing him back and forth.
Afēi struggled in the water, trying to cover his mouth and nose with his hands, but the mask on his face prevented him. His struggles intensified, and he seemed to be drowning.
After a while, Afēi realized something very important—he didn't need to breathe.
With that realization, Afēi calmly swam to the surface.
From his position in the clouds, Kawaki Aoba had retracted most of his Observation Haki because of Madara's vigilance. However, he still kept a trace of it active to observe the movements below.
Madara's current state meant his main body was not capable of investigating in person.
Afēi, drenched, climbed ashore from the river, startling Kawaki Aoba so much that he nearly blurted out, "Shit."
It was understandable, given Afēi's appearance—his swirl mask made Kawaki Aoba almost mistake him for Obito, who had gone rogue prematurely.
However, after a closer inspection, it was clear that this was simply a white Zetsu.
By the Kannabi Bridge, Afēi jumped around, loudly claiming to catch the person who dared to take a dump on Madara-sama's head.
Seeing such a strange white Zetsu, Kawaki Aoba quickly recognized his identity.
This was Afēi, the future intern of the Akatsuki organization. In the future, Obito would also operate within Akatsuki, impersonating Afēi for a long period.
At this point, it was hard to say whether Obito or Afēi was impersonating whom.
Kawaki Aoba watched Afēi frolic for a while before deciding to ignore the idiot. He resumed using his Observation Haki, searching for the exit to the cave.
This time, he was careful not to investigate toward Madara's location.
After about 3 kilometers of searching, Kawaki Aoba found the cave's entrance.
The entrance was small and discreet, hidden deep within the mountains and forests. It was clearly designed to be concealed, but after such a long time, it had left no traces behind.
Kawaki Aoba also detected several white Zetsu near the entrance, likely searching for something.
Muttering to himself, "No doubt about it now, Grandpa Madara really noticed me. But I wonder what actions he'll take next?"
It seemed unlikely that Madara would do anything too drastic. After all, his current state was not suited for extended activities outside.
Kawaki Aoba decided to wait until the white Zetsu had finished searching and returned. Then, he would make his move. But what he didn't expect was…
Even after the white Zetsu failed to find anything, two stayed behind to guard the entrance to the cave.
This left Kawaki Aoba feeling awkward. Did he really have to wait here indefinitely?
Spending time with the white Zetsu, who didn't need food, water, or rest, would be fine if the main body was here, but he was only a shadow clone.
Was there another option? No.
Helpless, Kawaki Aoba decided to wait it out. To conserve chakra, he descended from the sky and found a hidden spot.
And thus, the wait continued for another two days.
The situation remained the same for the shadow clone, but on the main body's side, the moment for action was almost at hand.
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