"He's become stronger!"
Tsunade watched Zenkichi fighting in the distance, her face full of shock.
How much time had passed since Zenkichi's physical abilities had improved? The power he displayed now was astonishing.
With a single sword, he suppressed Chiyo—and with another, he repelled the Raikage.
Tsunade, known for her monstrous strength in the ninja world, couldn't help but admit that even she would struggle to match what Zenkichi had just achieved.
"Earth Release: Mountain and Earth Technique!"
Seeing this, Kitsuchi immediately took action, forming hand seals to release an Earth Release jutsu. The ground on either side of Zenkichi roared and rumbled.
Two enormous boulders rose from the earth, closing in on Zenkichi like giant, moving mountains.
"Boring."
Zenkichi swung the longsword in his hand, and a golden light blade tore through the air. The sword energy surged out like a tsunami.
Before the twin mountain-like formations could reach him, they were split cleanly in half by Zenkichi's blade.
"Hell Stab: Three-Finger Spearhand!"
The Third Raikage roared, lightning erupting across his body as he charged toward Zenkichi like a living thunder tank.
Zenkichi's previous attack hadn't caused him much damage.
The Third Raikage was known to have the toughest physique among all shinobi—excluding non-human Six Paths beings.
With nearly unbreakable defense and the power of his Lightning Release Armor, he was the ultimate tank in the ninja world.
The Third Raikage in the original timeline had fought 10,000 enemy shinobi over three days and nights.
He wasn't killed in that battle; he died from sheer exhaustion after his own chakra reserves were depleted.
"What incredible speed!"
Zenkichi watched as the Raikage closed in. In an instant, his body scattered into countless golden lights, and he appeared mid-air—right above the Raikage's head.
A cross-shaped golden light bloomed under Zenkichi's feet as he kicked downward with a blinding volley, sending the Raikage flying.
"Speed is weight."
"The Third Raikage... You understand this better than anyone, right?"
Zenkichi said coolly. Their fighting styles were similar. Zenkichi relied on light-speed kicks and acceleration. The Third Raikage's power was also heavily based on the speed of his Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
In the original manga, the Fourth Raikage once clashed with Tsunade and managed to overpower her monstrous strength through speed-enhanced blows.
"So speed equals power?"
The Third Raikage stood up from the rubble, a storm of lightning raging around him.
"Then let's find out whose speed is stronger—yours or mine!"
The moment he finished speaking, his body turned into a blur of pure blue lightning.
He extended two fingers and pointed them at Zenkichi, dashing at him like a bolt of vengeance.
To the average eye, the Third Raikage looked like real lightning.
But to Zenkichi, he was still too slow.
Just like in One Piece, where CP9 agents using Soru moved too fast for normal people—but still not fast enough to match someone like Luffy in Second Gear.
And even Luffy in Second Gear struggled to match the speed of Kizaru.
"Hell Stab: Two-Finger Spearhand!"
"Laser."
As the Raikage charged with two fingers raised, Zenkichi casually lifted his own finger, golden light radiating from the tip.
A focused laser beam shot from his fingertip, colliding head-on with the Raikage's attack.
Golden energy and blue lightning clashed, canceling each other out. The Raikage's fierce offensive was completely blocked.
"Now's our chance!"
Chiyo's eyes gleamed as she gave orders to the sealing corps around her.
While Zenkichi was occupied with the Raikage, Chiyo planned to have him sealed.
Multiple seal-wielding shinobi from Sunagakure acted in unison, dark tendrils spreading from the ground toward Zenkichi.
"Annoying old crone."
Zenkichi shot a cold glare at Chiyo. Golden light burst from his body, scattering into shimmering particles that danced through the air before reassembling above.
"Sunagakure shinobi... Let me send you off properly."
He sneered, his form erupting in radiant gold. The blinding brilliance forced several people to hastily don sunglasses.
These sealing and sensory-nin had limited combat power. As Zenkichi dashed into their ranks, they crumbled like paper under the onslaught.
His tsunami-like sword aura tore through them. They couldn't stop him.
With a swift motion, he unsheathed the golden sword Ama no Congyun and waved it. A massive surge of sword energy roared forth.
Before anyone could react, Zenkichi's golden silhouette exploded into the crowd of Sunagakure nin.
"Damn it!"
Chiyo growled. These shinobi were vital to Sunagakure's forces.
"Zenkichi... I swear you'll die without a grave!"
Zenkichi shrugged at her words.
"How scary."
"If you're going to kill me, I might as well send you off first."
Seeing Chiyo activate the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu, Zenkichi smirked and slashed with his lightsaber without hesitation.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Rampart!"
Kitsuchi once again intervened, erecting a thick wall of stone to shield Chiyo.
But Zenkichi's blade shattered the rampart instantly, its sword energy crashing into the Chikamatsu puppets, forcing them back.
Chiyo relied on the ten puppets to absorb the rest of the impact, breathing a sigh of relief...
Until golden light shimmered above her.
The Chikamatsu puppets were obliterated.
Dense light bullets rained down like a storm, ripping through their defenses.
They struck Chiyo directly, ending her life in an instant.
Puppet masters are weak in direct combat. They rely on deception and poison. But even high-grade puppets made from rare materials couldn't withstand Zenkichi's Yasakani no Magatama.
The overwhelming light bullets shredded them into pieces in seconds.
Yasakani no Magatama!
"Goodbye, Chiyo."
Zenkichi descended from above, his eyes cold and voice like steel.
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