From the moment Aoshi appeared, it had only been a brief span of time, yet he had already unleashed multiple powerful jutsu in quick succession.
Now, he had even used multiple Water Dragon Jutsu simultaneously. That was no small feat—it was a B-rank Water Release Jutsu!
Ordinary shinobi, even Jonin specialized in ninjutsu, would never fight like this, recklessly consuming chakra without restraint. It was sheer madness!
Yet, despite the overwhelming force behind Aoshi's attacks, only Motoi and Hiko struggled to withstand them. The others handled the onslaught with relative ease.
Aware of their weaker capabilities, Dodai had already stepped in to help defend them. As a result, the six Water Dragons achieved nothing significant.
But Aoshi wasn't surprised at all. Aside from Motoi and Hiko, the remaining four were anything but easy opponents. He wasn't arrogant enough to believe that a single Water Release jutsu would take them out.
The real purpose behind the flashy attack… was to buy time. And then—he created a shadow clone, which began preparing a devastating follow-up.
Together with the clone, he formed the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!
The original spherical Rasengan distorted and transformed, reshaping into a massive shuriken-like weapon that emitted a piercing screech.
That sound—it was the wind nature chakra shredding the air itself. It was a clear indicator of the technique's destructive power.
In the original story, this jutsu had annihilated two of Kakuzu's hearts and left him paralyzed, unable to fight. It had been twenty days since Aoshi first developed the Rasengan.
During that time, he hadn't stopped refining it—and the Rasenshuriken was the result of that continuous effort.
For someone like him, who had mastered all chakra natures and possessed exceptional chakra control, developing this S-rank jutsu hadn't been too difficult.
But there was one issue—without Sage Mode, Aoshi couldn't throw the Rasenshuriken. To avoid injuring himself, he could only rely on a shadow clone to smash the jutsu.
The shadow clone said nothing—but inwardly sighed: "No one respects the clone…"
Nearby, Kushina gasped audibly at the sight. From this close, she could fully sense the sheer might of the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
Rasengan alone was an A-rank technique. The Rasenshuriken was clearly in the S-rank category. To invent such a jutsu—it was something to be proud of for any ninja.
It had to be Aoshi! Kushina clenched her fists. She had to work harder—she couldn't allow herself to fall behind anymore!
Of course, Aoshi had no idea what she was thinking.
He simply directed the clone, Rasenshuriken in hand, to charge at the six Kumo-nin, while pulling Kushina back a few steps to avoid the explosion's radius.
"Watch out!" Dodai shouted.
He had just finished blocking the Six Water Dragons when he noticed the clone rushing in.
The terrifying power of the Rasenshuriken surged ahead—aside from A, cloaked in his Lightning Chakra Mode, none of them could survive a direct hit.
Even Dodai himself wasn't sure if his Lava Release could completely block such an attack. Wind Release specialized in cutting and penetration—it was deadly.
"You bastard, don't underestimate me!" A roared, and at the last possible second, he hurled himself forward like a living bolt of lightning.
A brilliant surge of chakra erupted from his body, crackling across his skin in jagged arcs—the unmistakable sign of Lightning Chakra Mode. In an instant, his muscle strength, speed, and durability were pushed to superhuman levels.
With a swift move, he struck Aoshi's clone with a powerful hand chop, dispersing it before the Rasenshuriken could be unleashed at full force.
BOOM!
Even without direct impact, the explosion was tremendous. A deafening roar erupted across the battlefield as a blinding light surged outward, unleashing a spiraling torrent of chakra-infused destruction.
A shockwave ripped through the terrain like a wrathful tempest, tearing the earth asunder and hurling debris into the sky. The ground cracked and split open, chunks of stone and soil thrown in all directions. Surrounding trees were caught in the blast radius—shredded like paper, reduced to jagged splinters that spun away in the turbulent wind.
It was as if a miniature Tailed Beast Bomb had gone off—raw, uncontrollable, and devastating. The very air vibrated with residual chakra.
Kushina, shielded behind Aoshi, stood in awe, her eyes wide with disbelief. The display of overwhelming strength of the jutsu left her stunned.
"Aoshi… can you teach me that move?"
"Of course. I'll teach you later."
Aoshi didn't hesitate. For someone like Kushina from the Uzumaki clan, this technique suited her well.
When the smoke finally dissipated, the future Fourth Raikage A stood tall—at the very center of the blast zone. His massive frame was battered and bloodied, deep gashes cutting across his arms, torso, and shoulder.
A was injured. But judging from his posture, the damage wasn't critical—he could still fight. Even so, it was alarming.
The Rasenshuriken was Aoshi's most destructive technique, one honed to perfection with wind nature transformation—so sharp it could shred cells apart on a microscopic level. Most would have been obliterated by the blast.
But A? He survived it—though perhaps only because the jutsu hadn't struck him directly, detonating nearby instead.
But his physical resilience was monstrous. He might not be on par with the Third Raikage, but even so, it was no wonder he'd earned his fearsome reputation.
"Damn you—die already!" A bellowed, lightning chakra crackling wildly around him, veins bulging beneath his skin.
Fueled by pure rage, he launched himself forward like a human missile, the ground beneath his feet exploding from the force of his takeoff. Despite his injuries, he was even faster than before—his speed now bordering on teleportation.
But Aoshi was prepared.
The moment the Raikage entered his range, Aoshi activated Shinra Tensei—Almighty Push.
Had he hesitated even a fraction of a second, he would have been crushed by the Raikage's charging fist.
BOOM!
An invisible shockwave exploded outward from Aoshi, violently repelling everything in a wide radius. Once again, A was launched through the air like a cannonball, crashing into the ground with a thunderous impact that sent dirt and stone flying in all directions.
In the original timeline, only Naruto—empowered by the full force of the Nine-Tails' chakra—had managed to resist this technique and even reflect it back at Pain.
This was the weakness of Shinra Tensei.
"Damn it! Does this move have no weakness?!" A roared in frustration, his voice echoing from where he lay crumpled on the shattered ground.
Suddenly, dozens of shuriken and kunai whistled through the air toward Aoshi, many of them rigged with explosive tags.
Dodai and Toroi had launched a coordinated strike. Their timing was perfect—Aoshi had just used Shinra Tensei. He hadn't yet recovered to cast another defensive jutsu.
Without hesitation, he seized Kushina and vanished in a blur, using the Body Flicker Technique to escape the incoming barrage.
A series of loud explosions tore through the ground where they had just stood.
Dodai's eyes gleamed with realization.
"That repelling technique—he can't use it back-to-back!"
He was right. Shinra Tensei required a cooldown. For minor repulsions, the interval was around five seconds. But the stronger the push, the longer the recovery time.
In the original series, after Nagato unleashed a massive version through the Deva Path, he was left unable to use it again for an extended duration.
"Well done!" A bellowed with renewed excitement.
A powerful jutsu wasn't terrifying in itself—what truly inspired pressure was the unknown. But once its limits were understood, it could be countered.
"Still, we don't yet know the exact cooldown between each use. We'll have to keep pressing him and test the limit of the jutsu."
"No problem—we've got the numbers. Let's pressure him together until we figure it out." The Raikage nodded, then turned to Killer B and his team. "B, you three—focus on capturing Uzumaki Kushina. Leave Aoshi to us."
Against Aoshi, they couldn't contribute much.
Even Killer B had to admit it. Though disappointed, the trio responded quickly: "Got it. Leave it to us!"